Masterpost 2: Electric Boogaloo
Me, the pollrunner pollmaster
i'll just bullet note this 'cause my identity isn't too important to the champion
silver
they/it
minor
also, i still go to school and am an artist, this is a stupid little side thing i'm choosing to do in my free time. this is not a serious thing. this is not a priority of mine, but i'll try to keep it fairly timely.
Rules of Submissions & Propaganda
Rules
i remember last time people were confused about what this tourney was actually about. well, it's a "most beloved/fun to hate villain" type of competition, not a fight
this is a bracket of 64
don't take things all to seriously, i'm not, neither should you
don't make joke submissions, it's not that funny
basic things for blogs (don't fight, essentally)
basic DNI, i'd just rather not have that type of people here, y'know.
i will only use one character (unless it's a duo or trio) for ever scource.
Other Things
have fun with it!
feel free to message me about any concerns or issues
my capitalization n kind of punctuation are interesting. don't mind that
i probably will leave my opinion in the tags
tag this account in basically anything i don't really care
Submission Guidelines
which of your favourite guys can you submit? what games, shows or other medias are out of the picture?
anti-heros/villains have a chance if you have a good reasoning for them to be included
no real people
i'd rather not include problematic media, but again, if you have a good reason they'll be considered
reformed villains only count if they were a villain for a majority of the time they appeared
stupid 'villain of the week' type characters can be included
twist villains are going to be avoided if they are a major spoiler for a big plot point of the media
no ocs
only submit one(1) character per submission form please.
Propaganda Guidelines
anything form of it is allowed, reblogs with a couple sentences, shitposts, things in my askbox, anything!
just keep it sfw
Submissions
submit in this form, go crazy, honestly. ramble about you're favourite evil guy(s) if you want. submissions are open for 3 weeks. go wild.
submissions are closed
New Tags
New tags to separate round 1 and 2
#not villian championship II - things unrelated to the championship (this includes asks even if they are about the championship)
#villain championship II - for the championship itself
#villain championship masterpost II - the tag for this post
#villain reblogs II - reblogs. be it of other polls/tourneys, the polls from the championship, or anything i deem fitting
#villain championship propaganda II - propaganda, either asks or reblogs this is the tag for propaganda
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Back Hugs in Tian Guan Ci Fu:
1. Volume 2, "To Ascend is Human, to Fall Is Also Human", pg. 380
The Deputy State Preceptors hurriedly moved aside, and Mu Qing and Feng Xin didn't know whether to act. Seeing that everyone was avoiding him like he was poisonous vermin, the child was shaken and started thrashing even harder, biting and screaming with all his might.
"I'm not! I'm not!! I'M NOT!!!"
Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, encircling his small form. A voice came from above his head.
"You're not. I know you're not. Don't cry, now. I know you're not."
The young child pressed his lips closed tightly, grabbing on to the pair of snow-white sleeves around his waist with a desperate grip. He forced himself to hold back for a long time, but in the end, he couldn't. A stream of tears suddenly rolled down from that round black eye, and he burst out into sobs.
Xie Lian embraced him from behind and reiterated with conviction, "It's not you. It's not your fault."
Honghong-er whipped around, buried his face in Xie Lian's chest, and wailed.
2. Volume 6, "Cave of Ten Thousand Gods- Faces of the Ten Thousand Gods Revealed", pg. 78-79
Hua Cheng inclined his head slightly- it was like he wanted to glance back but was too afraid to look Xie Lian in the eye. Only the two streaks of blood on his cheek could be seen.
"Your Highness, would you please... not tell me?"
His voice cracked as he asked.
"I'm sorry," Xie Lian said. "Something like this has to be made clear."
Hua Cheng didn't need to breathe, but he still sucked in a deep breath. Although his face was awfully pale, he still smiled and replied courteously, "That's true. It's for the best."
He was like a criminal on death row, waiting for his sentence. He closed his eye.
Yet his eye didn't remain closed for long- soon it snapped open once more as a pair of arms suddenly circled him from behind and caught him in a forceful embrace.
Xie Lian buried his face in Hua Cheng's back, but he didn't speak either. Though nothing was said, it was enough.
It was a long time before Xie Lian felt the man he was hugging turn around. Hua Cheng fervently returned the embrace, engulfing Xie Lian in his arms.
3. Volume 6, "Warm Words of a Cold Ghost Beguile the Lost Child", pg. 203
And then, Xie Lian abruptly froze.
White No-Face was hugging him.
As Xie Lian tilted and fell to his knees in a slump, he had been captured by a pair of cold, powerful arms that pulled him into a lifeless embrace. At some point, White No-Face had sat down on the ground with him.
"So sad, so sad," he murmured. "Your Highness, look. Look at what they've done to you."
He whispered softly as he stroked Xie Lian's head, his hands gentle and full of pity. It was like he was petting a wounded puppy or his own gravely ill child on the brink of death. The smiling half of the crying-smiling mask was hidden in the darkness; the moonlight revealed only the half that was crying, looking like genuine tears of grief shed for Xie Lian.
Xie Lian remained stiff and curled in on himself, moving no further. The man in white behind him raised his fingers to wipe the filthy mud from Xie Lian's face. He sensed a peculiar kind of loving compassion in the man's touch. Like the embrace of a close friend or a dear family member, it miraculously returned a bit of warmth to Xie Lian's shivering body.
He never expected that this sinister creature would be the one to finally offer him compassion.
4. Volume 7, "Dominate Heaven and Earth, Divine Being Breaks Through the Kiln", pg. 19
Xie Lian stood on the giant's palm, one hand pressing the bamboo hat down on his head while the another blocked his face from the snowstorm. The stifling hot air was swept cleanly away, and Xie Lian took a deep breath of fresh, freezing air and shouted:
"San Lang-!"
The first syllable was still echoing in the air when a pair of arms pulled him into an embrace from behind. Xie Lian stiffened at first, but he relaxed when he looked down and saw red sleeves and silver vambraces circling his waist.
A deep, forlorn voice came from above his ear. "...I was about to lose my mind!"
Xie Lian hurried to turn around. He cupped his captor's cheeks with his hands and soothed him, "Don't... don't. I'm here... I'm out!"
Hua Cheng stood before him. His raven hair was mussed, and there was a lost look in his eye. He gripped the cry-smiling mask Xie Lian hadn't been able to remove no matter how hard he tried, easily tore it off, and tossed it away.
Bonus: Volume 7, "Dominate Heaven and Earth, Divine Being Breaks Through the Kiln", pg. 29-30
Before Xie Lian could finish his thought, the three mountain spirits besieged them together. They surrounded the giant stone statue and pressed firmly inward, trying to crush the state to pieces. The divine state couldn't move a single limb, nor could Xie Lian. He poured all of his strength into getting the statue to push them back, but it didn't budge- and at that point, it was probably powerless to fight back!
As he tried to think of another way to escape, he unconsciously took a step backward and bumped into a chest. When he looked back, Hua Cheng grasped his shoulders.
"Fight freely! It'll be fine- none of them are a match for you. Nothing in this world can stop you!"
His chest was the strongest backing in existence, and in an instant, Xie Lian was brimming with confidence. A refreshing current flowed through his body, and he struck back with all his might.
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THE KNITTING SAGA BUT HERMES IS A DUMMY
previously: part 1 part 2 part 3
m'kay, so, we've talked about Athena & Telemachus' issues. now let's touch on Hermes, because a Diva™ like him deserves his own post. and also because this had been sitting in my notes for so long i've genuinely forgot about it (i'd say that it's what translating a musical does to you, but honestly my attention span is just shit)
now, as much as I love Soft Boi!Hermes, I even more so love prankster Hermes who doesn't really recognize personal boundaries or the meaning of 'too far'. he's the guy who'll commit to the bit so far, he'll commit mass murder with a Tee-Hee and genuinely wonder what has got everyone so upset.
kid!Telemachus, holding a cup of poison: grandpa, are you sure it's a good idea? I'm scared…
Hermes, laughing his ass of in the corner: of course in sure, champ! it'll be hilarious! good ol' game of Ithacean Roulette! now dump it into the wine, let's see who we'll get this time!
at the same time, he's not selfish. he's very keen on doing things for people he likes, and he cares enough to know when someone is distressed. he, as a god, is just so removed from traditional human morality that casual acts of cruelty are perfectly acceptable to him, while, for example, breaking an oath is a horrible sin.
think blue and orange morality stuff.
telemachus, outraged: …murdered his own family, can you imagine?
hermes, equally outraged: I know, right? he gave a blood oath and broke it! disgusting!
telemachus: why is that your only concern?!
but don't worry, helping to raise Telemachus and hanging around the same people consistently makes a real boy outta him gives him enough time and insight into humanity to start understand mortals better, and, as consequence, adopt some of their values.
especially the concept of spousal loyalty. Hermes is a patron god of thieves, and at the time taking someone's wife was viewed as an act of theft (because women were property, yeeesh). which is why to him Penelope's situation was less of a tragedy and more of "well, my dumbass great-grandson Odysseus should've seen it coming. snooze you lose! ¯_(ツ)_/¯"
that is, until he gets to know her better. and suddenly she's not a prize to be won or a challenge to conquer. she's a smart, capable person that commands respect from anyone who's got a shred of self-awareness. she's got gentle hands, and a radiant smile, and a spine of steel. Penelope looked Hermes dead in the eyes and told him serenely to keep being a good influence on her son, she does not deserve to be reduced to a token and given away to the highest bidder.
hermes, initially: well, penelope's a rich, gorgeous, basically single queen. I'd steal her too if she was my type.
hermes, 10 years later: she's the smartest, ballsiest human woman i've ever met and if she only wants her Ugly Ass Groom then she'll fucking stay single until he comes back.
unfortunately for everyone else, Hermes cannot step in to protect her, because Zeus and Poseidon are both pissed at Odysseus already, and if either of them notices Hermes (and Athena) interfering with mortals on Ithaca, they might take it as an invitation to follow suit, and then it'll be Troy Story 2: Electric Boogaloo.
so he stays his hand, and hangs around Telemachus discreetly, mostly posing as a human. for a god of liars, he's surprisingly bad at blending in for long periods of time. Hermes thinks he's an awesome conspirator. meanwhile little Telemachus didn't even realise it was a secret.
the only people who don't know that [insert alias] is a god in disguise are the suitors, who are notoriously either too stupid, too overconfident or too drunk to connect the dots. the exception is Antinous who pretends to be oblivious and makes sure the gods don't see him as a threat to their beloved little pup (otherwise he'd have killed the prince long ago).
the suitors, however, unanimously agree that they hate this weird annoying stranger, and try to get rid of him in increasingly elaborate ways, from poison to stabbing to wild animals to dropping pots on his head.
spoiler alert: it doesn't work.
hermes, next day: *comes back every morning like nothing had happened, whistling cheerily*
suitors: WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!
eventually Antinous convinces them to give up so they don't piss off Hermes.
years pass, Telemachus grows. Athena teaches him strategy and arts of war. Aeolus gradually comes out of the hiding and becomes the resident lovable comic relief side character. and Hermes? he teaches the kid all the good stuff.
and it's not just lying, okay? (though it's a signific significant part if it) music, diplomacy, geography, street smarts, some history. he's a worldly god, had observed and been a part of countless cultures. above all else, he knows people. he may not really understand them, but he knows how to get what he wants from them, how to find common ground and how to spin things to get along with practically anyone.
and girls. Hermes helps Telemachus with girls.
because he's the cool uncle figure that Telemachus admires, the kid trusts him enough to ask the god for advice when he starts growing older and gets his first crush in his early teens.
and, on one hand, Hermes is ecstatic. on the other one…
telemachus, blushing and stuttering: there's a girl I met, she's so pretty, and cool, and, and, and how do I talk to her, do I just come up and say hi, but what if sh-
hermes: …
hermes: *blue screen of death*
hermes: MY BABY-
it's the first time he truly starts to grasp how short the kid's life will be. because in the blink of an eye he turned from a newborn to an adolescent, and soon enough he'll have his own family, and Odysseus had become a king himself at this age, and he's not ready it can't be this he can't just grow old and die
so anyway, he pushes the thought aside and pretends it never came up at all (because that always works, and bottling shit up never blows up in anyone's face, right, Athena?)
he gives lots of advice, from useless macho stuff to golden nuggets like "be yourself" and "show her respect". and, of course, he cheers from the sidelines, hiding 'inconspicuously'.
and it goes surprisingly well. the girl appears to find Telemachus' awkward attempts at flirting sweet and charming, and the boy is on the cloud nine.
but Hermes isn't. because, unlike the prince, his judgment isn't clouded by a puppy crush and he can see that the girl is actually a lying bitch, who's playing Telemachus like a fiddle, hoping to become the next queen of Ithaca. and he won't stand for it.
except Telemachus, for some reason, doesn't seen thrilled when Hermes tells him to dump the girl. he flat out refuses to believe that, because love is blind and so are sheltered insecure teenage boys.
so Hermes, in his infinite wisdom, decides to prove to his naive little charge once and for all that the girl is just using him and doesn't actually love him. now, what's the first example of true selfless love from a woman that comes to mind to the god who had spent the last few years hanging out with the royal family of Ithaca? right, Penelope. and the one thing that characterises Penelope is her unconditional loyalty, even into the face of countless threats and temptations.
hermes, to himself: so, if I show the kid that the bitch will leave him as soon as she finds better prospects, he will definitely admit I was right all along! and dump her! it's a perfect, easy, foolproof plan! I am so smart! what could possibly go wrong!
another spoiler alert: everything goes wrong.
the girl does happily jump into his arms as soon as he hints that he's a god/demi-god/just a cooler prince or something. she does it right in front of Telemachus, in fact, so there's no way he'd be able to deny the obvious.
on the bright side, Hermes immediately outs her as a lying bitch and publicly shames her, embarrassing her family and ruining her prospects of marriage and causing her to suffer for the rest of her life ('disproportionate revenge'? what's that?).
on the down side, for some unfathomable reason, Telemachus doesn't seem very grateful??? what???????
hermes: and so, AS ALWAYS, I was right.
telemachus:
hermes: but please, hold your applause!
telemachus:
hermes: I did it all for you, out of the goodness of my heart!
telemachus:
hermes: and please, don't apologize! you were wrong, I get it! no need to-
telemachus: *bitch slaps his smug face and runs away, hurt and betrayed*
hermes: *shocked pikachu face*
thing is, Hermes doesn't understand what he did wrong. in his mind he did a rather good deed: showed the liar's true colors, and spared the kid a lot of heartache down the line. he doesn't understand the feelings of betrayal from having someone he trusts explicitly outing him as a naive fool in front of everyone he ever dreamed of earning respect from. doesn't get the pain of having been cast aside by someone he liked in favor of a god, with whom he could never compete. can't imagine living in the shadow of someone he had never even known and being constantly reminded of all the ways he's lacking.
telemachus: I'm not a stupid child, hermes. I could've handled it.
hermes: but you didn't listen to me, maybe you'd have never seen it on your own-
telemachus: and maybe I would've. maybe I would've had the opportunity to find out myself, and maybe I would've learned from it, but you never gave me that choice, did you?! did you think i'm that dumb?!
hermes: oh, come on, kid, you're not dumb-
telemachus: THEN WHY DO YOU TREAT ME LIKE I AM?! WHY DON'T YOU EVER TRUST ME?!
aaaaand there's the core issue. Telemachus had spent his whole life being babied at best and looked down upon at worst. constantly compared to Odysseus and his more vicious peers, always shielded from making tough decisions and proving himself. he feels like he will never amount to anything, because no one ever lets him really try. as soon as it looks like he's going to make a mistake, someone (usually Athena, Aeolus or Hermes) swoops in and 'fixes' everything for him, just like they used to do when he was an accident-prone toddler. which he isn't anymore.
and Hermes doesn't understand that. to him, ten years is basically nothing. the kid can't have changed that much in ten years. because if he did, then he'll change a lot in the next ten years, and the next, and very soon he won't change anymore, because ten years are nothing and so are human livespans.
ten years are nothing, because to admit otherwise would force Hermes to face the fact that Telemachus, no matter how precious, is just as mortal as any other human. which amounts to basically losing him already. and Hermes can't.
he held that boy as an infant. he fed him, helped to teach him walk and talk and make silly faces. he can't lose this child to time, the one thing even gods can't really protect humans from.
Penelope finds Hermes sitting on her balcony with the most human expression on his face she'd ever seem him wear. he's lost, and confused, and full of regrets, and kind of terrified. in that aspect, he reminds her painfully of her husband.
hermes, mumble: he's growing older
penelope, sighing: I know
hermes: he's not a baby anymore
penelope: believe me, I know
hermes: but... what do I do now???
penelope: you let it happen. not much else you can do.
she talks him through it.
hermes, rambling: but I will lose him. I'll lose him if he grows old and dies. this is why I don't get attached to mortals, you die too soon. he can't die now.
penelope: he's not going to die now. he'll become the king first, he will find a good wife and have children and grandchildren. he will become great, greater that I and his father could ever dream of. and he'll be happy. don't you want to see that?
hermes: I do, but- I don't want him to grow up!
penelope: then you finally know the biggest joy and the deepest pain of parenthood.
it doesn't fix his fear. doesn't fix his pain, either. but it does help fix his attitude.
because she's right. Telemachus is growing old, and he can't shelter and protect the boy forever. soon he'll become a man, then an elder. and there's nothing Hermes can do about it, short of dragging the prince to Olympus and begging Zeus to grant him immortality, which will never work.
Hermes and Telemachus make up, of course. the latter knows, deep down, that the former is just trying to take care of him. they make up and forget the fight - at least, the boy does.
Hermes will always remember.
and he will count every day, every wrinkle, every grey hair.
the joy and pain of parenthood indeed.
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