#needlessly difficult but. fun

[imflyingfish]

*grits teeth* I gotta learn spanish more

[chiyana]

this is the stupidest crossover possible but I want Tim to make House his doctor

yes that House

why? He needs someone who is very good, will not give up or send Tim out to a different specialist just because his medical condition is difficult, will not be overly concerned about the danger Tim puts himself in, and will lie on Tim's medical records AND to Batman/Bruce Wayne/all of the Bats without hesitation or fear.

House is and will do all of those things without hesitation. He has no shame, no boundaries, he WILL get into a public fight with Bruce Wayne if it means keeping that man out of his patient's (and House's) business. He will help Tim lie to and gaslight the rest of his family without hesitation.

in exchange, Tim is his favorite patient. Not because they get along, necessarily, Tim is a know-it-all little shit and they constantly bicker and House hates how practically every facet of Tim's existence is a lie (and Tim thinks House is a smug know-it-all jackass who is needlessly cruel and callous bc he thinks the world owes him and never delivers just bc he's in pain, news flash a lot of people are in pain and manage not to be assholes) BUT, 1, Tim brings him really interesting cases and problems, and 2, Tim NEVER lies to House about his medical conditions or what he was doing when they happened.

He lies about literally almost everything else under the sun TO everyone else, but he is 100% completely upfront and honest about his medical history and what is going on with him with House.

admittedly it takes a while for House to realize Tim ISN'T lying to him because some of the shit he says is completely insane ("the vigilante thing is pretty obvious but what do you MEAN you got the Apocalypse virus TWICE, AND SURVIVED, AS A FOURTEEN-FIFTEEN YEAR OLD")

but once he realizes Tim doesn't ever lie to him, he becomes House's favorite patient because at least TIM gives him all of the data he needs as best he's able the moment he asks. At least House doesn't have to waste his time following up on bogus information or figuring out the truth, he can just get right into the meat of the medical issue at hand.

also it's so fun to lie directly to Batman's face, know the man knows, and know he can't do anything about it

[brucewaynehater101]

AU - Ra's al Ghul being a grandfather to all of the Wayne kids

During their ongoing petty battles, Tim makes the mistake of calling Ra's "grandpa" as an insult. He meant it as a term to call the man old.

Ra's did not take it this way.

After being called "grandpa" by his rival/desired heir (pt. 3), he starts to wonder if all of Bruce's kids consider him to be their grandfather (they do not).

Cue Ra's al Ghul picking up grandparent guidebooks and trying to implement the advice. Because he's so out of touch with reality and society (he's a 600 year old assassin cult leader), he doesn't implement them correctly.

His go to method for hangouts with any of the Wayne kids is kidnapping. They don't know he's just trying to spend time with them. There's a ton of miscommunication.

Ra's quickly learns that if he has grandfather-grandchild time with Damian by himself, the Waynes.... overreact (they're not overreacting. They think Ra's is kidnapping Damian for some nefarious plot). Ra's then starts kidnapping Damian with one of his siblings for group hangouts.

He also will have grandfather-grandchildren days when Talia visits Bruce. He wants them to be able to spend time without the kids interrupting (even if the kids are in another country from Bruce, Ra's still kidnap them. Talia is also going to Bruce to beat him up for Damian instead of a date. Ra's thinks it's just their relationship dynamic).

The old man also spends a lot of time debating what makes someone a Wayne kid. Bruce's adoption habit makes this needlessly more difficult. He eventually lands on only considering those Damian claims as his siblings as his grandchildren.

It gets to the point that Ra's al Ghul even starts lecturing Bruce when he's being an ass to the grandkids.

How Ra's spoils his grandkids:

Damian - Ra's sets up a bunch of animal sanctuaries around the world. He takes the kid to all of them and seriously implements all of his ideas. He also sends him expensive, rare art supplies that can double as weapons (Damian thought the paints doubling as poison were fun to use).

Jason - The Outlaws get access to a bunch of weapons and gear. He also occasionally provides assistance or information.

Tim - Ra's doesn't do anything different. They already "hang out" a ton when Tim is in a petty and vindictive mood (Tim tries to fuck up Ra's day and the ancient bastard sees it as a bonding activity).

Cass - Ra's, after seeing that Cass sometimes experiences issues communicating with civilians, starts funding organizations that increase accessibility. He also attends every single recital she has.

Duke - Ra's provides access to his research material so that Duke might be able to find a way to help his parents. He also buys him really expensive glasses and blackout curtains to help with his migraines

Steph - The old man will gift wrap people who were shitty to Steph so that she can beat them up or get revenge. Her many hobbies (gaming, gymnastics, music, etc.) get funded as well.

Dick - Ra's either kidnaps Dick with a sibling he hasn't seen for a bit (allowing Dick to have quality time), or he'll enforce self care days for the acrobat.

Barbara - She is helped by the same organizations that help Cass, but Ra's usually just provides her with information the Birds of Prey can use.

[utilitycaster]

this may seem needlessly finicky but I do actually believe it's important: calling Verin a himbo is just one of many examples where like, one of the cast says something off the cuff and it's not exactly the right word or it is highly contextual, and that is fine because no one is perfect especially in improv, but then it gets repeated ad infinitum within the fandom when it never really fit in the first place. We have Verin's stats and he's decently more intelligent than average with a 13 (smarter than most of Bells Hells for one; as smart as Pike); it's just he's the guy with a bachelor's degree with good grades followed by military service in a family where everyone has two PhDs - Matt said "himbo of the family" the way in a family where most people are exceptionally tall you'd call the 5'11" child the short one. In Call of the Netherdeep he appears as thoughtful and competent and promoted to a difficult position at a very young age, and in the campaign his appearance is simultaneously as a leader of troops in a dangerous mission, and someone who cares enough about poetry from a completely foreign and distant culture to have tried to learn more about it. I'm sorry, but if you're using the word "himbo" I don't think you're processing a thing about the character yourself; you're just the latest repetition in a game of telephone that's been going on since mid-2021.

And that's not deeply bad on the surface, and I'm using Verin not because he is the character most wronged by this sort of thing but because he's recent and it's really clear where the word came from and that it's not a good assessment, but something I happen to have a decent knack for is pattern recognition in language. I usually find it really easy to pick up on when someone's plagiarized because of the language and pattern shifts. I tend to remember urls and out of place words well. So I do tend to notice when everyone suddenly starts using a single turn of phrase and I tend to flag it. Sometimes that's not bad; sometimes it means everyone came to a similar conclusion and that's the best way to express that conclusion. But like, when Taliesin called the Yios episode a gas-leak episode and the entire fandom started parroting it? The line "bone-dry takes"? The fact that a lot of ship defenses I see were phrased precisely as "I have eyes"? without actually talking about the ship itself? the fact that I've seen a spike in the use of the term "ontologically evil" including in myself and not all uses are actually correct? And extending this beyond strictly language but consider any headcanon with minimal textual support that catches like wildfire (sidebar: remember how we make, or made fun of the SPREAD THIS LIKE WILDFIRE tendency on Tumblr a decade ago? same concept of repetition of a specific turn of phrase without internalizing) all sort of ping this.

And it's fine, truly, to come to fandom and turn off your brain. I know this will sound sarcastic from me, and that's because I don't personally agree, but I do strongly agree that you can do what you want in fandom and you don't have to listen to my opinions so in the end, yeah, it's fine because I am not the arbiter of "fine". But I think critical thought is a vital exercise and I think precision with language is part of it and so if you find yourself using the same exact words and thoughts as everyone else, that should, ideally, trigger a process of "but are these the right words? what do I see when I see this character and how would I describe them? do I agree with this assessment?" Fandom is an interesting and easier microcosm than reality in which to start doing that.

[i-need-a-slurpee]

My best friend and I came up with a stupid little concept for our silly little "akechi lives don't ask how though" persona 5 AU

So you know how middle school and high schoolers use codenames with their best friends to talk about other people in public. Like referring to someone's crush as "pineapple" we were thinking that akira does that but since they already have codenames he just switches everyone's codenames down one in order of who joined. We used a whiteboard to illustrate what kind of shenanigans could ensue

I'm gonna write down everything that was on the board in case it's difficult to understand when looking at the picture

A key to all the symbols

-> are Akechi's thoughts

On its own are things that are said

Codenames: Akira - Violet, Ryuji - Joker, Morgana - Skull, Ann - Mona, Yusuke- Panther, Makoto - Fox, Futaba - Queen, Haru - Oracle, Akechi - Noir, Sumi - Crow. The only people who know and understand the codename switch are Ann, Akira and Ryuji and they use it to gossip

The fun begins when we decided to torture Akechi by having him accidently overhear almost every conversation where these confusing nicknames are used.

Akechi overhears:

Akira: omg Noir is so cute

-> cries and calls Ann

[This is the phone call Akechi has with Ann, which is labeled with 3 on the whiteboard:

Akechi: heyyy Ann so funny story um does Akira like...yknow...like Noir? Haru?

Ann, knowing the truth and thinking this is the funniest thing ever: omg yea girl he totally for real likes Noir

Akechi, wanting to die a lil bit: haha cool thats great thx bye]

"Queen is gonna ask out Crow"

-> gag, ew, distance from Makoto bc omg WHY

"Fox and Oracle are dating"

-> ?? I thought Oracle was a lesbian??

"Shujin is gonna fall apart now that Fox left"

-> he went?? to Kosei?? hello??

Akira: "Skull is so heavy T^T like he decides fo sleep right on my ribs it hurts"

-> ?????

Akira: "so yea I'm gonna ask Noir to go to the jazz club tonight, since it's like, our place, yknow"

-> WHAT THE FUCK.

-> (gets a text from akira to go to the jazz club 2 minutes later)

4. Akechi rants to sumi about it cause he doesn't trust ann anymore

☆ has a detective board with w/ quotes ect.

☆ sumi also tries to help (even more confused than he is)

Ann: violet needs to ask noir out already

Ryuji: I know dude, like I love the guy but, c'mon

-> SUMI'S IN ON IT TOO T^T

Akira does this needlessly complicated name system just to be messy. He doesn't plan on akechi finding out but he keeps it complicated in case any of the others overhear him. He didn't think the possibility of akechi overhearing was very high but Akechi loves to eavesdrop.

[fortune-maiden]

The Hundred Line: Romance Route

Finished the Romance Route for better or worse and...

Wow what a terrible first route xD

(Thoughts and spoilers for the whole route)

I guess for a start this route made me realize the 100 endings thing is less 100 routes and more maybe 10+ routes with several endings each. Romance Route had 8 endings. Curious to see if it's an outlier in that sense or what I should expect going forward

Things I liked:

Some of those endings were really fun actually! I liked Tsubasa's ending, the Nozomi rejects you ending, the fake out Harem ending, and the Graduation ending. But my favorite ending was the one where Takumi rejects all three girls & denies feeling anything romantic for Nozomi and then just proceeds to break down about how stressful and exhausting the whole thing was and gets comforted by Moko. It really sums up all my feelings about this route, and Takumi really deserved the comfort

Moko herself! She didn't make the best impression on me as a combat unit before the route split, but getting to see her playful side, and her caring, protective side towards her girlfriends is beautiful. The way she shut down the harem ending and apologized and comforted Takumi for the whole thing in the Forever Alone ending was also really nice

Tsubasa & Kyoshika's chapters were decent enough. Though I'm not sure if it's because anything was good after Kurara or because they were genuinely cute in their own right. Kyoshika was cute and silly, and Tsubasa was just more of Tsubasa being one of my fave characters in the group. So overall I am left with more positive feelings towards them!

The way the girls all comforted whoever got rejected. It was just Moko for Kurara, then Kurara & Moko for Kyoshika, and then all three for Tsubasa. Girl friendships are always so nice, especially in a romance route like this! I genuinely like that they never made the girls needlessly catty towards each other and instead had them being supportive. At worst it was just Kurara being Kurara.

Getting to mess around with the Safety difficult and learn how to one-round bosses was also really fun.

One rounding the Supreme Commander after the first Kurara Chapter Battle especially was sweet beautiful vengeance.

The Bad

THERE ARE NO FREE TIMES IN THIS ROUTE! From Day 24 - Day 100 you are locked into endless cutscenes and battles. Sure I got enough BP out of it to start giving my characters lots of upgrades BUT I HAD TO FIGHT SO MANY BATTLES JUST BARELY STRONGER THAN I WAS AT THE END OF THE FIRST ROUTE!

I also have like zero materials so even when I do get another Free Time, I'll need to spend it exploring instead of upgrading anyway T_T

It is. Extremely. EASY. to get onto this route. Like if you're someone who goes back to the last decision when you hit an ending or plot lock, and your first two choices where No -> No like mine were, and it's very easy for them to be that when the character whom you'll have a strong affinity for is nudging you towards those choices specifically. I'd probably hate this route a lot less if it wasn't my first full route in NG+. Could I have jumped to another choice at any time? Sure, but I like seeing things through to the end.

Having to experience those NG+ battles for the first time in this route is especially painful because they! are! Interesting! I would much rather be exploring the plot and implications of that than ignoring them as soon as the battle ends and spending 75 days with [Insert Girl Here]

Also have I mentioned that EVERYONE outside of Moko, Kurara, Kyoshika, and Tsubasa becomes a non-entity in this route? There were so many opportunities to include moments of Takumi interacting with the other characters so we can see what's happening in the school while the bs game is going on and hearing their thoughts or giving us a chance to learn about our main girls from other characters like we did with Hiroko on the day you go to if you DONT get onto this route - that's just insult to injury really! But also the group dynamic was something I really loved in this game and losing that completely for this route makes me really worried about other routes.

(I also just generally got worried that Takumi was being deliberately isolated which is um... maybe not how you want to structure a romance route of all things?)

Also who wrote this route? I want to know to avoid their routes! D:<

The Ugly

I can't decide if it's a good thing or bad thing that this route front loads it's single worst part. On the one hand, it means starting from Day 50, the route gets consistently better, but on the other it means Day 25-49 is completely insufferable to go through

In other words, if you had any sort of positive sentiments towards Kurara before this route, YOU SURE WON'T AT THE END OF IT! Congrats Kurara, you've become the single character I went from being whatever towards to ACTIVELY DESPISING!

And no her Romance ending doesn't make it better. It makes it WORSE ACTUALLY

I'm genuinely left under the impression that being isolated in his room for 25 days with her has given Takumi a severe case of stockholm syndrome. It's the only way I can explain her endings, especially the Mask one.

I'm still salty about not being able to absorb the TWO Commanders I had to beat in her chapter. Commander kills were literally my only way of getting stronger here >.>

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for asking someone out as a joke?

😥🙊

Normally I would never ask someone out as a joke but I thought it would be funny this time because of the situation!

So we are all in high school. I'm the youngest. I'm 16m, and everyone else involved are seniors. There is a girl in our friend group who I was pretty sure didn't like me. "Em".

We don't really get along, but Em's not too mean or anything. Sometimes, she disagrees with me just to disagree with me. An example is one time I was talking about how one of my classes was hard and she said "I don't think it's difficult" I'm in an AP class and she isn't, so she has no idea how challenging or unchallenging my classes are. Another time when she found out I liked dogs, she made fun of me for being 'one of those men who hates cats because I don't understand consent' I don't really know what that means. I like Jack Russell terriers. I wasn't aware that was indictive of some sort or personality trait or lack of boundaries. I also don't dislike cats so I'm not sure where it came from. She also shoots down every suggestion I make on principle. Once I suggested we go bowling, and she gagged, but then got excited about it when someone else in the friend group agreed with me and acted like it was the other friends idea. She's also made negative comments about my body, namely that I don't have a girlfriend because I don't work out and my arms are small. I'm the only one in the group she acts like this with.

I just always got the impression that she just did not like me in any way at all.

Em dumped her boyfriend 3 months before Prom because he was "boring" (her words) and wasn't sure what she was going to do. I jokingly suggested she take me to prom, with the joke being. "You don't like me, imagine being stuck with me at prom." Because we have never once had a normal conversation and I genuinely thought she disliked.

She agreed, and I thought she was matching my energy and I was like "ok hahaha"

One of our other friends came to talk to me about prom and I said I wasn't going, I'm too young. They said they thought I was going with Em. I replied "that was a joke because she kind of hates me?" And I was told she thought we were actually going to prom together.

The next time we were together I apologized and told her I thought we were joking about prom because she obviously doesn't like me.

She started crying and it was super awkward. She now isn't speaking to me at all. She says I embarrassed her and was needlessly cruel.

Our friends are divided but ultimately decided it's between us.

Some of our friends think it was just a miscommunication and not a big deal because they also thought Em disliked me and got the joke when I made it. Others think I was being a bit cruel to her but ultimately decided it was none of their business. There were secret third options as well but they still agreed that they didn't want to be involved in the drama.

She also left our friend group because the others chose not to get involved instead of backing her up. She sits with different people at lunch now (or so my older friends say).

There are two people who might see this from my friend group so I'm going to just here ask them: hey if you see this please don't not weigh in because you have a bias, thanks!

I also won't get defensive if I'm voted the asshole.

aita?

[lizardanya]

not to continue being annoying and bringing up dead and irrelevant discourse (totk) but it’s kind of crazy to me how much almost mandatory resource farming they added into that fucking game.

like i Understand why they made armor upgrades cost rupees in addition to resources, it’s the same motivation they had for making hearty resources rarer and upgrading gemstones to functional items instead of just something you sell or an occasional upgrade item, it’s balancing the game to be a little more difficult by making its systems a little more complex. the difference is that 1. making hearty food more rare is just basic balancing 2. the reason the gemstone thing worked is bc it’s fundamentally about making me make an additional choice, going ‘do i sell this ruby to be richer or do i use it to set things on fire. what do i want more money or to set things on fire”. that choice is kind of diminished by the fact that there’s so many other elemental items that could be used for that purpose that are easier to get and that you accumulate naturally (i.e.: monster parts from elemental variants of enemies), but it’s still a choice that the player will most likely engage with at some point (probably early game). the idea is there.

the fairy fountain thing is just lazy. it’s not forcing me to engage with an existing system in a new way, it’s not asking me to make an interesting choice, it’s just like great. i have to grind for two things now instead of one. this process that was already inherently about grinding for resources is now just even more so. that’s the type of shit that doesn’t make engaging with this system more challenging, just more boring, meaning i’m just more likely to not engage with it more than necessary. and maybe that’s the goal? people said botw was too easy so we’re just gonna make one of the ways to make the game easier for u so boring u wouldn’t want to do it. great, guys. wonderful.

and like for context this criticism is coming from me, a guy who upgraded every single piece of armor in botw after completing the game just for fun. a guy who found every single blupee and cave in this game at the time when guides to the game were still being written so no one resource had the complete list of all the caves, nor all of koltin’s locations. a guy who FARMED STAR FRAGMENTS IN BOTW. do you know how boring, tedious and meaningless farming star fragments in botw is?

my point is i’m not someone who’s unfamiliar with boring, repetitive tasks that offer little to no reward apart from the feeling of accomplishment. i don’t mind farming for resources in theory. its just that there are aspects of totk’s resource farming that just make me feel cynical and not want to engage on principal, like it feels like the developers are sending me on a boring side quest that will make me feel like this game has more content than it does, just because they’re refusing for its systems to be simple or convenient. don’t even get me started on how needlessly complicated upgrading ur battery is, there is no reason for me to be talking to more than one npc, there’s no reason for this amount of transactions or locations being involved, this is all just busywork.

i’m gonna be so real i never finished totk, i at least checked out all the content it has to offer apart from the final boss fight, and part of it was bc i was like this game didn’t earn a final cathartic moment. this game just made me do a bunch of busy work, insulted my favorite characters (except for mipha ig… ill take it as a small peace offering from the devs for wasting her potential in botw), and took my favorite horse (guardian stalker) in the divorce.

also gleeok is a bad mini boss

[boinday]

Happy STS!

What's the funniest scene/line you think you've written?

Happy Solstice!! (I think that's what STS stands for? 😅)

omg this is such a fun question, thank you for asking!! It's also a very difficult question, because it made me confront the fact that I basically never write anything funny ;_;

Truthfully, I'm not very skilled at writing jokes, but I think I am good at sprinkling humour into non-funny scenes, if that makes sense. I usually write quite intense and earnest subject matter, but I try to always make it fun to read ^_^ So instead of having any good standalone lines, I end up with a funny vibe more than an actual funny scene.

Probably one of the funniest characters I've ever written is Peggy, the "woman of the house" in The Water Dog. Peggy is essentially the matriarch of her community, a grand, elderly woman who always says exactly what she means to. Peggy is cunning, devious, and generally just a lot of fun in every scene she's in.

A bit of a running joke (if it can be called that) in the novel, is that Kennedy, an army Sergeant with a gun on his person, is always the absolute height of gentlemanly to Peggy, and she basically just bullies him for being nice to her. When I say it like that, it really doesn't sound fun, but I do think it's quite funny to read in-text.... Up to a point ;3c

In this scene, Peggy has just come inside, dripping wet from the storm raging in from the ocean:

“Help me to the kitchen, ainnir.” Peggy waddled awkwardly under the weight and discomfort of her soggy wool clothes. “I'll warm myself by the range.” “There's water heating on the fire-” Sybil started. Kennedy, sharing that thought, had already stood. “I'll fill the bath for you,” he said to Peggy. “Go and warm up, I'll call when it's ready.” “Ah, thank you,” Peggy nodded feebly. She could not resist adding under her breath, “...Mustachioed pest.”

And later in the same scene, when Kennedy comes back:

“The bath is ready for you, Peig,” Kennedy said gently. “Will you be alright getting up the stairs?” “The cheek,” Peggy tutted as she laboured to her feet, apparently oblivious to the fact that the conversation was not over, Sybil was not satisfied, and she had not answered enough. Instead, she hobbled past the speechless young woman and bat a hand against Kennedy's shoulder as she went out. “Can I get up the stairs – I climbed a mountain today, as well you know. Bold little bollox.”

I guess what I'm saying here is... I find it very funny when elderly people are needlessly abusive to nice young people?? A niche sense of humour, but that's what I got 😅

[melishade]

I love the way you wrote Primus and the Primes! I feel like they'd make a great sitcom. What was your inspiration for their personalities? Was it the books or other Transformers media? Maybe your own headcanons?

In Between OVA

It was mainly from the books, like the Covenant of Primus, and then also headcanons spouted throughout the fandom and through online friends.

Because at the end of the day, the Primes are like siblings thrusted into the role of god killers to protect the universe. They're not stable or regal or mysterious like show continuity have chosen to portray them, if they ever portray Primes at all. They're all idiots trying navigate the universe. They are a family with their own quirks and personalities and opinions. Bringing them to life was absolutely fun.

I've made some tweaks to how certain Primes are portrayed, like Megatronus. Megatronus has constantly been portrayed as the big bad. The Fallen, the one who went against his fellow Primes and killed Solus in order to have unlimited power. In the Covenant of Primus, he let his anger get the better of him due to the other Primes own failings and treatment of him and it led to him killing Solus. He goes into exile willingly, out of shame and hope that he can become better than what he was. There are still remnants of him having a temper in the OVA, but Megatronus has learned to control his anger from his moment of exile. Although he did lose his cool after the whole Mikasa comment that Eren said.

Vector is a recluse. He barely hangs out with the others unless he absolutely has to. He'll just stay hauled up in his pocket dimension unless he needs to take care of something or if he's asked to do so. And because of his ability to see through the veil of time, I feel like he would know more than he's letting on, but would intentionally withhold information unless absolutely necessary to share. I'd like to imagine that Vector sees a multitude of possibilities, so he also sees how his fellow Primes will react to certain things he'll say. Vector is a patient mech, able to handle the weight of his power, but he couldn't help but get angry at his fellow Primes and creator regarding what happened in the cave.

In regards to Onyx, I'd like to imagine that he would be the most sympathetic to any and all living creatures. I'd also like to imagine that he felt most connected to Ymir because of his ability to connect with any and all living beings across the galaxy with his mask. He can see their dreams, their life, their pain. He felt Ymir's pain and was so relieved to see Ymir safe and sound. And because of his ability to connect with all life, he would absolutely come to Predaking's defense while Prima would not.

Solus is the Forgemaster, the builder, but she's also someone that values justice and also has a temper. She values justice because she was needlessly killed herself by Megatronus, and while the two of them have reconciled over it and imparted their wisdom onto Mikasa, Solus is still angry at the fact that Primus is considering showing Eren mercy because of the injustice he has wrought. I'd also imagine her having a bias with Lara simply due to the fact that her abilities allow her to create anything, she's earned her honor, and she has a hammer.

And I know that Alpha Trion is Optimus' mentor and friend, but he's a shady librarian and we should all accept that. He was constantly writing the future and could have altered it any time he wanted but simply chose not to. And while he might have been thinking about the greater good, I make sure he gets called out/acknowledges his own decisions in putting Optimus down a difficult path.

Liege Maximo just exudes Loki vibes, from his appearance to his darts to his silver tongue. He was also the one causing the most damage to the Primes and manipulated Megatronus which prompted the Fallen to kill Solus. Sure, they've all reconciled over it, but they still hold it over Maximo from time to time. At least I believe they would.

Meanwhile, Prima is the leader. The one with the most responsibility and the damning mistakes. And in the Covenant, Prima made some rather horrible decisions. The catalyst for the Primes falling apart, at least in my opinion, was him creating that list of who was most like Unicron. On top of that, he let the Predacons die during the Great Cataclysm because he feared them, which is why Onyx and Prima were having that conversation regarding Predaking, Darksteel, and Skylynx. He still cares, but his responsibilities have taken a heavy toll on him no doubt.

Nexus and Amalgamous are tricksters in the Covenant of Primus, but I'd imagine because of their status that would take important matters seriously, like Optimus' fate and what not. Meanwhile, Quintus is more serious, focusing on the logic and reasoning behind every decision he makes and every experiment that he's working on. Alchemist is basically his Cyberverse self, specifically Maccadam. Micronus is someone that I'd imagine gets annoyed very easily, but still cares.

And Primus is the one that allows them to just be. He lets them act freely and lets them speak freely. He values their input and their individuality. Their flaws and imperfections. He loves them all, yet feels guilty about leaving them behind and putting them through turmoil for the greater good. He is a benevolent god, but he can be neglectful. He will try to do better.

Their personalities and powers were supposed to be explored in Eren's trials, but again, I have no idea what's going to be happening from now on. I am hoping for the best, expecting the worst though.

Also, thank you for resending this ask after I accidentally deleted it lol

[ronearoundblindly]

Re: Steve with a baby boy versus a baby girl: how would the reader in your different stories react to this? Which ones would ask him what's up with that, who would ignore it, who would start talking sports with the baby girl very pointedly in front of Steve . . . ?

I knew--I f***ing KNEW--someone would ask for the distinct series' Steves eventually, but this is not the ask I thought it would be about 😅 These contain some spoilers for things that either have yet to be written into fics OR won't be detailed into full storylines. You've been warned!

**Follow up to this post. Warnings for some curse words, whoops.

Fools Rush In

JJ Rogers, little boy, super curious and loves science like his own Ma, sickly like his papa was originally. Keeps though? Keeps is pretty darn happy with how Steve gently dotes on his son. Since James Joseph isn't exactly built for wrestling and running around, Steve doesn't push for that kind of interaction. They love doing crafts together, and Steve willingly participates in small, fun experiments--he's even super fascinated by some of those like a little kid himself!

It Had To Be You

The worst offender of the stereotyping for his kiddos, but in his defense, the fancy little girl's clothing from designers is precious, too. Sarah and the Power Ladies gift so much cute sh*t that it's difficult to get away from, but they also set a great example for your daughter doing whatever she wants in any clothing!

Since Steve has that workout equipment right there in the penthouse, he immediately involves his son in exercising. Precious has had so much bad experience with toxic masculinity, you are protective of your daughter anywhere near business workplaces. It's rarely only Steve taking her around the office with him. That's the hazard of your rise to power, though, and you and Steve both actively think about how not to pass that concern onto the next generation needlessly.

Steve gets way better about treating them differently as boys and girls age. By the age of ten or so, Steve's universally just a pushover. Spoils all his kids completely rotten--though, in all fairness, the kids have good heads on their shoulders.

Autumn Is Healing

To be honest, Rosie is just elated to see someone show kindness to her children at all, and you don't really have any issue with Steve's traditional approach. (In my mind, however, Rosie does not have any biological children with Steve. She's been through too much to start that again. They could adopt an older child or two, perhaps, but I don't think she gives birth again.)

Hideout

Ooooooooooooookay, there's...some plot points I have to skip over in order to answer this one, but yes, Tops certainly dings Steve when he treats boys and girls with different standards. You're having none of it. Steve, of all people, should know you can't predict what anyone is going to be, or be good at, as an adult. He should nurture any and all hobbies. Period.

Threadbare

I never specified girl or boy for this baby, and I've never leaned either way. You best believe Button does not allow Steve to favor 'girly' vs. 'manly' activities **if either kid has already shown interest. That's the big caveat to that: if your daughter hasn't shown any interest in sports or whatever, then you're not going to step in. If your son shows interest in fashion, like you, or art, like Steve, then you can be damn sure you fight for Steve to honor that.

Sun, Salt, and Shield

No one knows what sex the baby/child is until puberty due to the variations in tail- and mermaid-anatomy. Tony isn't allowed to try to figure it out, and very pointedly, you don't care. It doesn't matter.

This drives Steve a little bonkers. Does his kid need to cover their chest for modesty? Or are there different levels of nutrients needed for girls and boys? Steve wants a classic fatherhood experience, but that's very hard to do when he has to explain why there's a different way to toss a ball based on their genitalia...

You respond by having him show you the different ways to pitch and then whacking the ball so hard with your tail that it can easily be categorized as a 'home run' both ways. It doesn't matter.

Safety Captain

No clue if they ever have kiddos. The main story won't go nearly that far into their relationship, but as a father, I could see this Steve being pretty relaxed. He would be so excited to enjoy sports and stuff with a son, but he'd be the most open to including a daughter in physical activities right away. They'd obviously learn to swim alongside learning to walk, no questions asked, no exceptions. Pool and water safety would be drilled into those toddlers.

Thank you for asking!

[Main Masterlist; Who Would... Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

A/N: If there is another series I didn't touch on that you want to know about, just ask. Some of them weren't an immediately unique answer, so I left them out.

[unopenablebox]

top 5 agatha christie novels (bonus question bottom 5 agatha christie novels)

ok caveat that all agatha christie novels have like, a layer on which they're a mystery novel, and a layer on which they're very deliberate social commentary, which is really interesting to me but not necessarily 'good' let alone 'endorsed'

top 5:

murder on the orient express the reason everyone likes this one is because it's good evil under the sun i just think this is well done. classic, central example of the christie mystery structure and cast of characters, fun setting, fun writing, fun solution. a brief swerve toward goofy commentary on Teens, but i think it rescues it in the end. a mirror crack'd from side to side very fun marple. i really love miss marple which is kind of an unpopular opinion amongst christie fans, and i think she's shown off well here. not a perfect book but in practice i reread it often because i just really like the one-off characters and i think it's a fun example of the classic agatha christie The Solution Is The Personality move. sleeping murder more marple! fun mystery premise, enjoyable characters, well-written, not history's most difficult mystery to solve but a good enough time that i don't care. the hollow really fun interesting character work. obvious of me to love henrietta but i insist upon doing it anyway

[pause here for the best-worst superposition book, a murder is announced, which on the one hand is a clever, fun, entertaining book with a great setup and great use of miss marple and on the other hand is one of the cruellest, most needlessly antisemitic depictions of a holocaust survivor you could possibly imagine]

bottom 5:

every single thriller. this includes every tommy and tuppence novel. they're bad examples of an already bad genre. she just wasn't good at writing these and they're all very overwrought, very boring, and depict the least meaningful conception of Organized Crime possible elephants can remember just not good. this has maybe the most unbelievably obvious solution of any christie novel i've ever read, it's not otherwise particularly good on any axis, and the whole thing just feels like a plod toward the book finally agreeing to reveal the incredibly obvious twist. they do it with mirrors also reeeally obvious, at least if you've read a few christies before, and it's set in a school/rehab/asylum for Criminal Youths and therefore involves a lot of agatha christie explaining her understanding of the top criminal psych theories of 1952

the pale horse i just didn't like this one. she's going for an Atmosphere of the Supernatural, like in endless night (which i also dislike), and like in endless night, she does this mostly through invoking scary Romani rituals (not called that) and endless wibbling about OooOoh is MAGIC REAL???? but then it isn't. the revealed motive and method here are both much worse then in endless night, and so is the narrator, whom i dislike enormously.

and then there were none fuck this book. everyone likes it but they're wrong because it's not good. premise is ludicrous eventual solution is even more ludicrous moral underpinning of the book is deeply irritating and i'm deducting points both for how hard it goes on the Oily Jew cameos relative to other christies and because of its history of having a really racist title. but fundamentally the problem with this book, as i've said before when explaining my theory of why basing glass onion on it was one of the fundamental problems with that film, is that this is not a mystery novel. it's a thriller. and her thrillers, as we just discussed, are all terrible and make no goddamn sense

[shallowseeker]

"it sounds loony" is such a funny comment from castiel. i hope he said it intentionally bc he was like "dean likes cartoons... haha looney tunes."

I too love Cas’s forays into human wordplay/culture. <3

It almost feels like he makes more of an effort when he’s entertaining the thought of of staying permanently. He watches TV, he plays along a little more, etc. In Hunter Heroici, Castle is completely goofing off, and it’s so fun!

Alas. In Cas’s mental framework, he decides that his dream of becoming a hunter was just a pipedream. That becoming one was just a balm he was using to fantasize about running away from his responsibilities in Heaven.

///

By Ouroboros, another episode where Cas plays with human sayings, the shift is clear. He’s not just observing anymore—he’s grounding himself in humanity. Back in season 5, he called human emotion “dangerously crippling,” and as late as season 12, he said humans often make interactions “needlessly difficult.” But by Ouroboros, Cas is using more human metaphors, a sign that he’s becoming more comfortable integrating with them.

But with Jack on Earth, everything changes. Jack becomes a new mission for Cas—a holy excuse for Cas to stay. It gives Cas permission to settle on Earth in a way he never had before.

[terrence-silver]

How would Terry react if his beloved said they feel like a prostitute bc he's spoiling them all the time ( with presents, vacations and whatever) and refuses his presents or give them back to him?

---

We've seen Terry Silver preform almost every sort of foul act under the sun but slutshasming.

So, the fact beloved does it to themselves? Inconceivable!

Like, he'd legitimately be infuriated and demand to know who was it that filled their head with something so dumb because he's convinced they couldn't have come up with it all on their own and the moral guilt stems from somewhere outside of themselves, or rather, from someone outside of themselves. It's usually the case. Nobody's feeling tremendously bad about flying a gas guzzling, air-polluting private jet until Greenpeace comes along to remind them they should feel bad. That's just the truth. He knows. Actually, he tends to feel better about flying a gas guzzling, air-polluting private jet precisely because Greenpeace criticized and protested him that week on the streets of LA, but that's neither here nor there. As such, Terry's convinced it was someone being jealous. Envious of everything he's giving and affording beloved. Someone looking to piss on beloved's sunshine. Someone looking to piss on him! Was it the way beloved was raised? Was it some green eyed punk somewhere convincing them of this bullshit behind his back? He genuinely wants to know who or what it was! He genuinely wants revenge on them, be they a person or a concept! He's outright angry, probably telling beloved they should snap out of this crap and start enjoying life immediately, or more precisely, the life they have by his side because he's smart enough to know who deserves what out of him, why and when. For how long. He's smart enough to differentiate who's a whore and who isn't (and he's undoubtedly been with enough of them to know) and in any regard, even if beloved was a whore, they're his and he decides what label he's going to ascribe them, not someone else, not even beloved themself, in fact.

That privilege is his alone.

If he tells you you're a robot, you're a robot.

And if he tells you you're the apple of his eye, you're the apple of his eye.

If he tells you to take pleasure in soaking in a jacuzzi, eating strawberries dipped in chocolate washed down with some expensive champagne, guess what --- you'll take pleasure in it. He can suggest nicely or he can just give you a wordless look and you'll know he expects you to do as you're told.

Returning his gifts and rebuking his generosity on this principle of shame only results in even more anger out of him.

If beloved doesn't want the presents he gave them then those presents might as well not exist because you see, their purpose is now obsolete from his point of view, which means, he's very likely to just destroy whatever it was beloved gave back in front of beloved's own eyes as a way to teach a rather sadistic lesson in gratitude and he'll do so with the utmost relish and glee. Terry undoubtedly smiles ramming his fist into the protective glass of a Rolex watch because that Rolex is pointless and worthless unless beloved likes it and wears it. Didn't want it? Thought it's making you into a hooker? So be it. Now you're something worse than a hooker and you're being gaslit into feeling actual shame because you're needlessly wasteful and costing him millions of dollars in mangled gifts. Not that he cares. But you do. And that's what matters here. For all intents and purposes, he's having a sick amount of fun. You're to blame. The consequences are on you. Wanna be difficult? Okay, so be difficult then. Be it an expensive car, revenue, jewelry, clothing, man will find ways to just ruin whatever it was that was shoved back into his keeping to provide the understanding that there's extreme consequences, to, as he sees it, rejecting his generosity --- said consequences stemming anywhere from demolished cars, smashed jewelry, furniture used instead of punching dummies, torn designer clothes, flats (mysteriously) burning down in the night and my god, if this man ever gave beloved a private island, that private island might just end up as a garbage quarry for his next toxic waste dumping ground. Who's to tell? None of this would've happened if beloved simply, oh, I don't know, loved his presents. Suffice to say Terry Silver doesn't have the moral quandaries most people have. To him money functions under the simple equation of 'I have it = I splash it because I can.' When someone starts acting stupid around his lavishness and open handedness, it tends to push his buttons and when he feels his buttons pushed, he tends to retaliate in the most juvenile, almost childlike way imaginable, control being threatened and things escalating to some unhinged levels.

He won't even flinch when he's accused of it. He's self-aware. He knows what he's doing because he's doing it on purpose and what's worse, he likes it. He likes the chaos and he likes the destruction. He'll grin through his teeth even as he does it and confesses to doing it. Even as he makes beloved watch what they brought about through their actions. But, it's not all giggles and cackling even as Terry kicks, punches. elbows and practices his Tang Soo Do on the windows, the hood and the shiny, color coated plating of the newest sport's car beloved felt uncomfortable about. Thing is, this all stems from a place of hurt and offense too.

He wanted to do so many lovely things for beloved.

And now that they don't want him to, he'll do bad things instead until they beg him to stop.

[maruyaaya]

hihi ime (if u dont mind me calling u that) but once again i need ur help, so as you can i am making a fanfic in modern au (kinda filipino highschool love vibes) andndndnd i need your opinions on the characters from greek myth i will using (writing)

the character includes

neoptolemus telemachus peisistratus orestes nuisicaa electra iphigenia hermione nicostratus

andand if yk ppl from greek myth that like in the afterwar of trojan war plsplspls tell me so i can add them :3333 should i add the gods also? (also can i add on how would you think writing them i mean the other characters esp the women?) btw, im making this fanfic fluff and cheesy (NO ANGST!! i have enough of them) thank you mwamwamwaps

HELLOO!!! i absolutely do not mind you calling me ime!! my name is very difficult to pronounce for english speakers so i basically go by every variation of it ever LOL anyways i digress

so surprisingly enough, i actually haven't reread the odyssey in a very long time (i'm an iliad girlie at heart i'd sleep with that thing under my pillow like alexander the great) but, to nobody's surprise, i have a lot to say so i'm going to do my best!!

THIS IS A BANGER CAST THO the dynamics between them will be so fun thats so exciting. i love that its kinda a "younger gen" bc so often you see a focus on the achilles/odysseus/agamemnon generation and a lot of the children get ignored so this is really fun!!

maybe im dumb and stupid but i think youre asking abt how i write those characters so ill yap about that and if thats not what youre asking then idk me and my iliterate ass will just go fuck myself i guess? LMFAO i have written so many essays in the past week april is the worst month of the year i'm so dumb right now

neoptolemus is so... ugh i did not care for him at all until i started writing senses and then suddenly he became one of my favourites. neo is typically written as very abrasive with a short-fuse. he's very arrogant in his abilities, but like achilles, that arrogance is earned as he's written as a very good fighter. i think he should be written as very emotionally stunted—he doesn't understand other people's emotions but he also doesn't understand his own. this could be hilarious to me in a modern au because that man just does not understand anything that anyone says to him. he should have a resting bitch face. he always looks angry and he probably is angry. his self-esteem should be crazy wacky like he should be constantly telling people "i am the best and you are nothing compared to me" but at the same time, he should be constantly afraid of disappointing people. neo's characterization is really interesting bc most of the myths portray him as being needlessly brutal, but then you have ones by sophocles or euripides who portray him as actually having a lot of remorse for what he does and only does them because he thinks he has to. i think you could have a lot of fun deciding which of these characterizations you want to lean into.

telemachus is, to put it in the simplest words possible, a brat. he's very pessimistic and he's convinced everything sucks. basically in a modern au, he is your typical 16 year old going through an emo phase. i like to write him as very emotionally intelligent. he knows exactly what to say to piss someone off and he won't hesitate to do so. his favourite hobby is pushing at people's insecurities and seeing how they react. he also has a temper and he's very emotionally driven though i do think he's better at regulating his emotions than neo is. he's also very insecure. he is constantly afraid that he isn't good enough and i think that's very clear in his actions. he loves being annoying he's my fav brat and his words shoot to kill when he's mad (taylor swift reference even tho he would lowkey fucking hate taylor swift)

peisistratus is gay as hell (he and telemachus canonically share a bed in the odyssey btw). telemachus canonically refers to him as "joy of my heart" like i am so glad i'm a multishipper bc i could not come out of the odyssey and not ship telemachus and peisistratus. peisistratus has a fairly small role in the odyssey so you have a lot of free reign in how you want to characterize him (i'll be honest, i'm not 100% sure what fandom characterization of peisistratus is bc i've never been too into the telepeisi ship). in the odyssey, he's very well-spoken and eloquent. i like to think of him as kinda being impulse control for telemachus—he's better at controlling his emotions and not flying off the handle like telemachus does. he's also very horrendously down bad for telemachus. that cannot be ignored. he wants to hit so bad. he will laugh at so many bad jokes just to get a chance to hit.

orestes is so interesting to me! i think he's very logical and serious. i think he has a strong moral compass and gets very conflicted about whether he should stick to his moral compass or be loyal to the people around him. like after clytemnestra kills agamemnon, orestes doesn't want to kill his mother, but he does because he feels obligated to out of a sense of justice. he sees it as an act of loyalty to his father and the gods. and after killing his mother, orestes basically goes insane because he has so much guilt about it. i think he definitely does value justice. he wants to do what he thinks is right and he is willing to sacrifice himself for that . he's a very conflicted person. personality wise, i do like to think of him as relatively serious and not someone who flys off the handle or gets angry easily. i think he definitely thinks with his head, not his heart.

if you do want to include another character, there's pylades, who is orestes' cousin (and also rumoured lover (as is ancient greece) they could be written just as cousins tho or as romantic lol up to u. i’m pretty sure there’s some myths where they’re romantic where they aren’t even cousins at all and they’re just friends so u can do whatever u want really). when orestes can't decide whether or not he should kill clytemnestra, it's pylades who convinces him to go through with his plan. i kinda view pylades as being the impulsive side of orestes. they play off each other and where orestes is careful and logical, pylades is the guy who goes "fuck it we ball". orestes and pylades can have such a fun friendship. their relationship is very pylades: i'm gonna cut the sleeves off all of my shirts iphigenia: why? pylades: orestes isn't here and he's like 95% of my impulse control

(also btw orestes and pylades is where the “i’ll take care of you” “it’s rotten work” “not to me. not if it’s you” quote comes from so yeah. homosexual)

NAUSICAA MY BELOVED <3 some myths have her marrying telemachus after the events of the odyssey. she's extremely kind and compassionate. i like to think of her as being very trusting and like, she would give her life for anyone. she's definitely fairly emotionally mature, but i really like to think of her as kinda a hopeless romantic. she loves romance novels and daydreaming. however, this is not to say that she's naive bc i think the odyssey portrays her as pretty much the opposite of that. she's very aware of societal expectations and such and she knows how to carry herself in a way that ensures people will think of her positively. she's socially aware and intelligent. despite her hopeless romanticism, i think she's also pretty good at reading people and i like her and telemachus having that in common. they're both very good at reading each other. i think nausicaa's compassion and kindness should be some of her main traits when writing her. she should always be thinking about helping others out of the genuine goodness of her heart. i actually think in a modern au i would love to write telemachus and nausicaa having embarrassing puppy love crushes on each other like theyre so cute

ELECTRA IS SO INTRIGUING i'm honestly very attached to the electra, orestes, iphigenia sibling trio theyre so cute and tragic to me. as an interlude, i recommend the book clytemnestra by costanza casati! its a retelling of clytemnestra's myths and though the book has its flaws, i really love the way casati writes the dynamics between clytemnestra and her children. def worth reading it's very very good.

anyway electra is so <3 to me. she's one of my fav mythology figures. i think that she, orestes, and iphigenia should all be very close as siblings. that's what makes their myths all the more tragic. like not a day goes by that i don't think of the orestes: how could you recognize me after all these years? electra: what a stupid question. i was born knowing you exchange like oh my god it makes me sick. i think electra should be very emotional and that should be a point of conflict between her and orestes. orestes thinks things through logically, but electra follows her heart for better or for worse. electra feels things very intensely. she wants vengeance. she gets consumed by her grief and rage. i think of her as someone who very badly wants to understand the world. she wants to know everything. she wants to understand why she feels things so deeply. i'm very influenced by the way casati writes electra in her novel, but i love seeing electra portrayed as someone who is a little unsettling. like you look at her and you cant really tell what's going on in her head. there's a quote from casati's clytemnestra that says "sometimes electra says things that make [clytemnestra] suffer, and she wonders if her daughter does it on purpose. it seems unlikely, but a thought creeps through her mind, making her restless: what if electra can be as unkind as her father? what if she is not quiet because she is shy but because she is crafty?" and later in the novel, electra tells clytemnestra "broken people fascinate me". i love electra being portrayed as someone who is a little shy and quiet, but it's because she is feeling all these emotions so vividly and passionately and she doesn't know what to do with them all. and she wants to understand the world because she thinks it will help her understand herself. she can be purposefully cruel if she thinks it will aid her

on the contrary, i like writing iphigenia as someone who is very bubbly and outspoken. i like her as being very optimistic and likeable. she's charming and you can't help but fawn over her when you meet her. she and electra act as foils in this way in my head bc iphigenia is someone that you can't help but love while electra is someone who is very difficult to love (i say this in very simple words). i think iphigenia is very compassionate and also feels emotions deeply, but in a different way than electra does. iphigenia, i think, is very empathetic and likes to help people. i think she is objectively, the kindest and most likeable of her siblings which is what makes her sacrifice even more tragic. but i really do like writing iphigenia and electra as the extrovert/introvert duo. i think the orestes/iphigenia/electra trio is so fun to write because they all have such complex issues and i have so many thoughts on them. in a modern au, iphigenia is probably the popular girl of the school, but the popular girl who is actually really nice and everyone loves her. like she's head cheerleader, but she's also saying hello to everyone in the hallways and all the teachers love her and it leaves electra in her shadow a little bit. ugh i could talk abt electra, orestes, & iphigenia for so long theyre so <3 to me

hermione! i think you have to give hermione mommy issues. it would be really fun to explore how hermione is affected by having the most beautiful woman in the world as her mom and how it felt to have her mom leave her (or kidnapped depending on interpretation) when she was just 9 or so. i really like to write hermione and orestes' relationship as one based on love. i think they really do love each other and it's why orestes fights neo for hermione. i think hermione can def be entitled and a lot of it stems from her parents (her mother is literally helen of sparta like cmon now i don't blame her). hermione can be jealous and i love to write that as coming from insecurity—hermione grew up with the most beautiful woman ever as her mom. her self-esteem has to be insane like no wonder she's jealous; she probably thinks she can never live up to her mother. i think hermione probably lashes out emotionally because of that jealousy. a lot of her characterization has to stem from her circumstances—she's used as a political pawn for most of her life and that def affects the way she views herself. she needs so much therapy. if anyone has seen saiki k, i actually think of teruhashi a little bit when i think of hermione. hermione is definitely her mother's daughter and i see has as very similar to helen. i think hermione is definitely someone who acts as if she is much more confident than she really is—it's kind of a mask. you guys know the song oh no! by marina? the line that says "cause i feel like i'm the worst so i always act like i'm the best" that's so hermione to me.

now, i won't lie to you, i don't know much about nicostratus. i don't think there's many famous myths on him at all iirc? or at least, i can't think of any off the top of my head. i think he's probably a character you can have fun with it and shape how you like. you can def give him the same kind of parental angst from helen and menelaus that hermione has and giving hermione a sibling dynamic is so funny. but yeah, i don't know much about him so i'm not going to just lie to you and make stuff up LMFAO

as for other characters, clytemnestra has a few other kids you could include though they're not as interesting as the main 3 to me. there's also pylades that i mentioned earlier. there's polyxena too! she might be a bit older as she's a daughter of priam, but she is the youngest one. off the top of my head, i think she's described as being 18 in the final year of the war? this would make her a couple years older than neo who is typically between the ages of 12-15 in the final year of the war. so she could be included albeit she is slightly older (she was promised to achilles tho so again, she might be too old for the story you want to write). on a similar vein, there's cassandra and helenus who are in a weird age range of likely being younger than the achilles generation, but quite a bit older than the neo/telemachus generation. i love cassandra sm tho (i named my dnd oc after her LMAO) she's one of my favs ever. those two could be included if you want, but are older than polyxena who is already older than neo so idk if that's too much of an age range for what you want.

okay so as for the gods, one thing i really like doing is that in modern aus where they go to school, i love writing the gods as their teachers LMFAO. idk if that's what you wanna do, but i think it's so funny. like can you imagine poseidon being your gym teacher. or athena teaching you math or something??? it's hilarious. so that is definitely an idea

ALSO LOVE THAT THIS WILL BE FLUFFY AND CHEESY too much angst in this fandom LMFAO (i say, as i write my mcd neomachus fic)

I HOPE THIS HELPS i think this answer might be even longer than the last ask you sent which is genuinely a feat. oh my god i fear i have mental problems. VERY EXCITED TO SEE WHATEVER YOU WRITE <3

[cerastes]

ngl Shadows of the Erdtree feels like the first FromSoft experience I’ve had where the optional superboss stuff feels *less* difficult and unfun than the main story bosses in general - I have to wonder what the development of the DLC looked like from a top-down design perspective or something

The only real native-to-DLC bosses I have issues with are Death Knights (incredibly boring movesets), Commander Gaius (That Forward Charge's Active Frames Are Kinda Bullshit) and The Final Boss' Phase 2, I think everything else was fun, Midra, Metyr, Romina, Rellana, Putrescence, Avatar, Dancing Lion, Messmer, Bayle, I loved all of them. At most, I think Metyr has some dumb attacks as well, Bayle has some camera issues when up close, and Dancing Lion's Lightning Form has some pretty fucked up combinations in which it calls lightning on top of you but you can't see it because the camera is looking at it from below, rendering the lightning markers invisible, but that's about it

The bad parts were mainly tied to fighting Another Death Rite Bird, Another Ancient Dragon, stuff like that, things that were already jank in the base game. Closest to True Jank in the DLC is when you have to fight a Ghostflame Drake on extremely uneven terrain, and not really a boss, but Wicker Men/Furnace Giants are so, so, so incredibly dull to fight. Otherwise, I think bosswise the DLC goes hard.

"I have to wonder what the development of the DLC looked like from a top-down design perspective or something" -> This is a really interesting line of thought, I have to say. I personally think that they focused first and foremost on having a big area that didn't feel empty: Both the base game and the DLC, for all their virtues and flaws, undeniably have the single best open world I've seen in my life. It never feels empty. My main complaint with open world games is that, sure, you have a big world, now, do you have jack all to do in these huge swathes of digital land that you used to make sales? Usually, No, but Elden Ring definitely manages to nail this spectacularly, so I think that was their priority, at the unfortunate cost of other things. I think it also has to do with FromSoft feeling like they need to keep upping up the ante compared to previous entries and overblowing things with sensational looking fights instead of thoroughly mechanically sound fights: Malenia, for example, I think suffers from this, because she's an amazing fight right up until she uses Waterfowl, which is by no means undodgeable, but it being a lingering, persistent implication of damage+healing throughout the fight past a certain point serves to annoy more than to enrich the fight; Waterfowl is cool as hell the first time you see it, and just a bummer every time afterwards. It's a really beautiful, showy move that'll have journos and youtubers making content for it, but it gets in the way of gameplay ultimately. Now, multiply this by 50 and you have Phase 2 of the Final Boss: EVERYTHING is this big extravagant light show, no simple attacks, everything has to be a rave. To a certain degree, this happens with other bosses, too -- 80% of the bosses announce their Phase 2 with a HUGE explosion, it gets boring and old fast -- but Final Boss Phase 2 is just needlessly extra in ways that make me think they wanted to make it look good first and make it play fun a distant second.

So, yeah, I think their priority was the open world, and they nailed it, but it was such a huge undertaking that everything else kinda suffered, in particular user experience imo, in conjunction with Making The Game Escalate More almost by necessity at this point.

Mind you, please don't get me wrong, I loved the DLC, it's just that I'm talking about the flaws more, but it's important to keep in mind this is coming from someone that Enjoyed It.