#because he's so flexible in his morals and motivations

[vagabond-pinky]

me looking for all those bad Shadow the Hedgehog characterizations yall keep talking about

[autisticrosewilson]

Every time I see a story, be it canon or fanfic, where Jason is like "wow my morals are kind of fucked up I should never kill again" I have to put it down, close the tab, ect. Because HE WOULD NOT FUCKING DO THAT. We're talking about Bruce's number one fan turned antagonist.

Do you not think he's maybe already considered such a thing?

The thing about Jason is that he's as devoted to his views and sense of justice as Bruce is, maybe with a little more flexibility (i.e. he's willing to temporarily stop killing if it's necessary for his overall goals where Bruce wouldn't be able to kill even if it would benefit everyone in the long run) and any run or story where he completely disregards his own moral compass and personal experience to follow Bruce's rules is just a disservice to his character.

His whole thing is that Batman's methods are ineffective and his unwillingness to either do what needs to be done or let someone else do so is a clear sign that he's not the hero Gotham needs. Jason genuinely believes everything he says about the system, and Bruce's ineffectiveness.

His crime lord era wasn't just a silly little thing he did to fuck with Bruce with the final confrontation as the REAL point of Under the Red Hood, he became a crime lord because he believed it was the best way he could help. The point of Red Hood is protecting Gotham, fucking with Bruce was just a bonus. Like the confrontation wasn't even initially planned, Jason haphazardly threw that at the end of his to-do list after he realized he couldn't just blow up the Batmobile.

Stop reducing Jason's motivations to "get Bruce's attention/make Bruce kill".

[batw1nggg]

hi. im here to kamukoma ramble. ok so i reeaaly hate how all kamumeshi Fan Content (which is basically all kamukoma content) waters down izuru to being the dominant one and servant to being his cute little dog like i feel like its so much more complex then that.

izuru was created to be subservient, to be smart enough to see through manipulation tactics and yet not care enough about himself to do anything to stop them, always doing something to serve someone else’s interests - and even when he does do one thing in his own interest (the killing game), it was largely because of his obsession with junko, so we see her still pulling the strings on him from beyond the grave (emphasized by his convo with her in his udg cameo). he doesn’t have power and he’s been designed not to want it. he’s been robbed of his humanity over and over again and been taught to accept it. he even explicitly states all of this in talent dev plan with taka

komaeda, on the other hand, is always framed with such heavy control over the narrative - he heavily influences dr2’s ending and takes that same puppeteering role in udg too. although he has that inferiority complex, he still holds so much power over everyone else, manipulating them like chess pieces. he is just as dangerous as izuru is, considering he has not only the intelligence but the motivation to act out like this, something izuru lacks.

and so this creates a really cool complexity where servant believes he’s meant to be subservient to izuru but this may not be wholly reflected in the way he acts, and izuru most definitely does not care for/about controlling servant. and, if izuru does take a domineering role, it’s because that’s what servant wants (especially after junko’s death, when he has no one left to place himself beneath), and so izuru’s still letting himself go with whoever the people surrounding him want him to be. he’s not with servant for the power trip, that goes completely against everything he’s ever been - because, in reality, IZURU is the one who exists to serve. to serve his creators, and then junko afterwards, even after her death. his purpose has always been assigned to him, not created by him.

both characters are fucked up and morally grey. both characters are the man, both characters are the god.

this is what i wish people would focus more on when writing their general character development and the development of their relationship. because they barely get any screen time you get lots of creative freedom and you can take this concept in either a “they are going to heal and get better together” route or a “they are doomed to always hurt each other in their codependency” route or some weird thing in between; again, personal preference, and if you want to keep izuru and hajime separate postgame this opens a whole new plethora of dynamics and development to write about after komaeda becomes himself again. the flexibility of their dynamic is whats so intriguing to me - kamukoma is a very complex and fluid idea that i wish more people would mess around with like this join me and we can play with them like putty

[nanowrimo]

How to Set Realistic NaNoWriMo Goals

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Dabble, a 2023 NaNoWriMo sponsor, is a tool specifically designed for fiction novelists. Today, Dabbler Robert Smith shares a few tips to help you set daily writing goals that will work for you:

November looms, and with it the thrilling, harrowing, and sometimes carb-loaded journey of National Novel Writing Month. As we tie our writer's capes and ready ourselves for a month of intense creation, there's a small matter we need to address: our writing goals.

The Weight of 50,000 Words

Setting goals for NaNoWriMo is like setting a pace for a marathon. You wouldn't expect to sprint a marathon. The same goes for writing. If you try to sprint through, chances are you'll burn out faster than a candle in a windstorm.

However, only doing the minimum can leave you in a precarious position. Because if something comes up—and something always comes up—you’re suddenly behind on your goal, and that can really hurt morale.

So here are some goal setting tips to crush NaNoWriMo this year:

1. Start off strong, so you can end strong.

There is a simple fact about motivation. It starts strong and wanes with time. 

Now to be honest, you won’t be able to write a book with motivation alone. It requires a lot of discipline, and you’ll have to write even when you don’t feel like it.

But a great way to get the most out of that early motivation is to channel it into higher early output.

We all know that 50,000 words split over 30 days is 1667 words a day. But authors who win NaNoWriMo often don’t start there. They shoot for 2,500-3,000 words a day in the first week. That way they build up a buffer for the later weeks where motivation isn’t as high.

Plus, it gives them great forward momentum on their project. So consider setting higher goals early and taking advantage of your early NaNo fervor.

2. Account for daily life.

Even if you've cleared your calendar for November, life has a knack for throwing curveballs. 

Kids get sick. Work projects pop up. You know what I mean. If your word count goal is teetering on the edge of feasibility, any small disturbance can throw it off. 

To combat this, make plans and backup plans. Schedule your writing time around family gatherings. Plan what happens if you miss a day. Set yourself up for success before those situations arise.

3. Use the buddy system.

Find a writing buddy to be accountable to. It could be a friend participating in NaNoWriMo, or even someone you connect with in the NaNo community. 

Check in with each other daily. Celebrate your wins, commiserate over the tricky bits, and hold each other accountable. 

Sometimes, knowing someone else is in the trenches with you can be incredibly motivating.

4. Have weekly check-ins.

Instead of focusing solely on daily targets, also have a weekly goal. This gives you a broader view and allows for some flexibility. If you have a slower day, you can make up for it later in the week without feeling like you've thrown the entire month off course.

5. Actually track your goals.

Obviously, you need to track your goals, but there are multiple ways to do it.

Dabble integrates with NaNoWriMo, so you don’t have to manually submit your word count. And if you fall behind a bit, Dabble will automatically adjust your daily goal accordingly to keep you on track.

But even if you’re just marking off your goals on a napkin at your desk, tracking your progress will help you stay the course to victory.

Now go forth, share your stories, and remember: it's not all about the word count; it's about the words that count.

All NaNoWriMo participants can use the discount code  NANOWRI2023 for 20% off 1 year of Dabble! Offer expires January 31, 2024.

Robert Smith is a Dabbling Writer, and a Writing Dabbler. He likes playing board games with his wife, and deconstructing plots from movies in his spare time.

Top Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash.

[piracytheorist]

something i love about spy family is that its a very funny manga, but it isn't afraid to be serious and talk about serious things (and its also really good at transitioning between the two)

Tatsuya Endo has an amazing grasp of balance. There are a lot of posts going around about how Spy x Family goes from something as heavy as "war makes monsters of us all" to something as silly as "Anya finds Loid's tourist fashion choices lame" and it somehow works.

It's one of the things that made me fall in love with the story from the second if not the very first episode of the anime. It dares to be realistic about how war impacts humans and how it takes them into a path they wouldn't normally take, but at its core it's a story filled with humor and love and connection, because this is how humans are supposed to live like. I mean, not to break it down to a "live laugh love" moral, but at the end of the day it does prioritize people living happily together and in peace. Even the "enemy" is shown in a sympathetic light from time to time.

And the humor and silliness attributes to that. It makes the story light-hearted despite the heavy issues it tackles. It would be hard to find hope in a story that focuses only on those heavy issues, if its vibe was constant grittiness and violence and dark themes. Not that there's anything wrong with stories with such themes; but you wouldn't usually watch such a story and expect to feel full of hope afterwards, nor expect it to have the humor that SxF has.

What is amazing is how Endo manages the balance of it all. How he works in the silliness amidst an environment of a cold war, of hardened spies and assassins, because it would be very easy to veer right into tone-deaf cheesy territory that gives you (unintentional) emotional whiplash. I think it's due to how the characters are only slightly exaggerated versions of something you'd see in real life. Anya behaves as any five-year-old would, where her focus is to work in protection of peace, make sure the family won't break apart, and above all, have fun. Yor's view of the world has been impacted by how long she's worked as an assassin, but her "naivete" is mostly her tendency to see good in everyone, even the "bastards" she's sent to kill. Twilight keeps telling himself everything he does is "for the mission" but he's only human and can't help bonding with his family even if he doesn't realize it.

The characters may behave in an exaggerated way from time to time, but they're not caricatures. The humor and ridiculousness (affectionate) in their actions are based on real human traits and behaviours we can see in real life. The want to have fun, the tendency to see the good in people, the desire to love. Endo simply takes those and has three people whose special traits clash with those three mentioned traits. Anya grew up as a science experiment in a lab where she wasn't allowed to have fun, so now that she has people who care for her emotional growth she goes all out with fun activities. Yor was forced into the choice of becoming an assassin, having to be told "This person is BadTM so you play judge jury and executioner", but with Yuri being her motivation (and later on the Forgers too) she managed to keep her kind heart. Occasionally she can't control her monstrous strength and may also consider killing people who inconvenience her and then go like "Yo wtf chill maybe". Twilight became a spy and distanced himself from human connections, but now that his job brought him into the position of staying long term with a kid and a wife and a dog, his desire for such a connection is rearing its persistent head. And so you get a Professional Master SpyTM playing "Rescue Princess Anya from the Evil Clutches of Count Scruffy Head".

It's the contrast that makes the humor of it all, and in such a way that it never takes only one character's side. I think that also adds to the "flexibility" of the story. It's easier to connect to a story when there's multiple sides explained and understood by the audience; and I mean, the only thing the story looks to be trying to "convince" you of is that humans live best when they live in peace and surrounded by people they love, and that's an undeniable fact of human nature. The characters can and do make mistakes but they're shown to be able to grow from them, and even someone radicalized and extremist like Yuri has understandable motives and a very human nature - just one that was taken advantage of by people in power.

Overall yeah, I think it's how focused on the characters' humanity the story is that it makes the balance between humor and heavy issues work. Again, though it can be exaggerated at times, it's not a caricature or slapstick, just for the sake of making the audience laugh. There's a depth and a genuine reaching out for the audience's emotions and understanding.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga 😁)

[stromuprisahat]

"I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream."

Siege and Storm- Chapter 15

Oh nein! Mal has issues! With consequences of his actions he should be grateful for, and his girl not sharing every waking thought with him, when her worst worries spring from his most hated topics- the Darkling and her role in politics.

And Alina once again feels responsible for his feelings.

Yeah, this would have a bit more weight, if Alina didn't do it only for appearances' sake. Or if she granted the position due to merit, not random pick of what she views as the lowest low. Or if she didn't continue speaking as if she were a narrator of wildlife documentary, describing a new species of animal that just appeared.

Not necessarily, but it's one of Alina's less far-fetched deductions.

Aleksander could've been aware of David's fascination with Morozova's work. He could've picked the most skilled in bonework or the one most experienced in forging amplifiers- they're supposed to be rare, so not many Fabricators will have that.

*mumbles* And somehow we're to believe this pragmatic man chose to follow Alina, because... ? She's the good one, or whatever?!

*chants* Double agent Kaminsky, double agent Kaminsky!

Alina: Why would you want to kill this man! How horrible! At least question him first!

She would make a delightful morally flexible character, if she were acknowledged as such, and embracing that quality.

Says who? Zoya?

He KeEpS mE So BuSy!

Saints, Alina, you can't believe everything people say about themselves!

Alina: I'm not sure my three months of training are enough, but I can do like two things with my powers, so let's focus on increasing them further AND on the mythical forbidden art that created my goal no. 1 in the first place. I bet nothing can go wrong...

Only signing? Not reading to get into picture? And who prepares them?!

Bureaucracy, baby!

Welcome to responsibility!

I would sympathize with Alina much more, if she showed genuine interest in those she doesn't know. If her motivation weren't merely "Do the opposite of (what I think) the Darkling did". I she truly believed in her own philosophy.

Shocking!

People forced to sit next to half-strangers they're not used to interact with, create unpleasant atmosphere!

My work experience considered- you're lucky there's no visible enmity- you could've made the wrong people sit next to each other and tableware could've ended up in wrong bodyparts.

Also: How is Nadia sitting next to Marie? I thought breaking up already existing friend groups was a point of this whole exercise.

They're not gifts, Nikolai. They're just your father's property, but let's remember the Darkling didn't wait for the Queen to request a specific one's service, and turned it into a gesture of his own thoughtfulness. Fuck his strategems!

Alina's misplaced sensibilities are incredibly frustrating.

She wants to lead Second Army, but not order them, not assign them tasks directly, because that would somehow make her a bad person, instead of efficient leader.

What if no one will volunteer? What if weak, incompetent Squallers will? You don't look at special assignment and think- Yeah, whoever wants to do it... You PICK the most capable person with both sufficient skills AND suitable personality.

Awwww!

Poor granny deserves an Oscar!

[justallihere]

i don't think you've ever answered that question but if u have i'm sorry: what did you think about Iron Flame's finale ?? that whole xaden turning venin ? do u have any theories??

my very humble opinion is that it wasn't a good enough plot twist it felt kind of lazy to me bc we know Violet will find a cure BUT i am curious to see how insane she will become next book and i truly hope RY explores her morality whenever xaden is concerned. like will she kill someone to save xaden and if yes, is she okay with it ??

Okay so I am honestly sort of still processing my thoughts about this one. It was definitely a shock at first because I read the book in like 2 days and there was SO much going on, but looking back on it it’s not that much of a surprise. It’s entirely in character for Xaden to do whatever he feels is necessary to protect Violet.

One of my friends said “I hope Violet fixes him” and my immediate response was “I hope she makes him worse” 💀 I personally love to see morally flexible characters though, like why do we assume that being venin is something that needs to be fixed? If it weren’t for Violet, would Xaden care or even want to be fixed? To me, Violet is his moral compass. I think it will definitely be interesting to see her reaction to it, and I’m hoping that we’ll see a lot more of the venin, specifically their origin and motivations. We don’t really know what they want, right? We’re just kind of assuming the riders and the dragons are the good guys and I hope we get more on that.

As for Violet’s morality, doesn’t she all but say at one point in IF that she would kill Dain if it meant protecting Xaden? I think her morals have already changed a lot since the beginning of FW, I’m curious to see which direction they sway after this, if she ends up going back to a stricter moral compass or if it loosens in her attempt to do whatever she has to fix Xaden

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

The Catpeople Laboratory AU (full v3 cast, saiouma)

First shared in The Saiouma Pit discord server, parts said by others start with their names

Hina: So who started this project?

Dra: I wanna make a haha funny and say Tsumugi but

returntozero: No way Togami Corp was interested in monopolizing the Catboy/girl/Nyan trade

ofc they're experimenting on prisoners first [replying to Ryoma being suggested as the first person the experiment is tried on]

idk, maybe that's too dark for a silly idea, but like, Togami corp fucking with genetics? that's not going to be very moral anyway

so yeah, exploiting prison labor

what if Kokichi was in the batch of the first testing with Ryoma? Like, he was a notorious thief, pissed off some people he shouldn't and cops framed him for murder to give him the sentence those people wanted him to get and that's how he ended up in the same situation

because the project only takes people off death-row at the time, in later testing, when those seem to be successful they'll be maybe hiring people for more testing and there has to be a control group that lives alongside them in the same conditions without getting modified, right?

for comparison, seeing what's because of the environment and what's because of the modifications, Shuichi could be in that group

unless you want them all to get modified, then I guess the control group can be strangers that don't interact with them, it's fun if it's all 16 of them, but also catboy x human…

Dra: How do they all get involved lmao

some of them are criminals (first phase), some of them are there for the money and some for the experiment's sake (second phase)

Iruma signed herself and Akamatsu up, because she wants to fund some project of her own

Korekiyo is probably in the criminal group

Angie could be any of those

Himiko wants to be a catgirl, Tenko wants to be catgirls with Himiko (that ship doesn't sail in my world, but canonically, the one-sided thing has to be there at least for a bit at the start, eventually tho, Tenko needs to meet someone who will be able to match her energy AND tell her she's got to be more normal, my choice for that is either Maki or Kaede. I do not think Himiko has interest in romance, but that's my hc, no hate, just how I see things)

Kiibo wanted to be included, they let him wear cat ears and hang out with the participants of the experiment

Kaito is in the group that just wants money (he needs it for that astronaut education)

Tsumugi is there for the experiment's sake, she believes it'll make the world a better place, actually, she's the one that convinced Gonta to join, he wants to help too

Maki must have been in the criminal group too, cause no way in hell she would choose it

Kirumi must have some ulterior motives, maybe she had to disappear because the rumor of teenage Prime Minister got a bit too loud, maybe she fucked up somehow, somewhere, but a new & low-profile identity will do her good or maybe she's here because the government is invested in the project, but why would it be?

Rantaro actually personally knows Togami, since they're both rich boys, but since Togamis have flexible moral spines they have access to some resources he wouldn't even know of. So, having something of a frenemy-like relationship, Amami asks him for help searching for his sisters and he's like "okay, but do this very stupid thing to entertain me in exchange"

lastly, Shuichi is there, because he can't let a mystery go and he has a fucking gut feeling that Kokichi was framed. unjust sentence? not on his watch (so yeah, he tries to get close to Kokichi to learn his side of the story. and they're cats)

Dra: What do you think they'd need cat people for?

High demand = good business. The end product is selling the modifier to the people, so the masses can become catpeople Or selling the cats as exotic pets/ worse if you want it to be darker

[inaconstantstateofchange]

astarion/durge/halsin & hanwenzhou: a manifesto

For @sugarbabywenkexing and @realitycheckbounced, because you asked, and I am more than happy to deliver.

Starting notes: I do not at all like reducing characters to simple archetypes/tropes, so trust that the complexities of the characters and their interactions are implicitly maintained, and this is of course not anything like a 1:1 connection (how could it possibly be), just core themes that stood out to me from both relationship dynamics.

Also, the Durge connection is going to be affected by how you personally conceptualize/play Durge, but I am writing this with a Neutral Resist!Durge in mind, so that's what we're going with for the sake of this meta.

Spoilers for both canons, but especially the Dark Urge backstory.

Durge & Zhou Zishu

[Using my own Durge, Kelis, for the image - incredible art by @somespareserotonin-please]

A cult leader of a murderous organization, with an ocean's worth of blood and evil on their hands, who has broken away from that past but doesn't expect or even pursue anything like forgiveness or true redemption.

These characters are so unique to me because they hold regret for their actions, but not in the traditional "past evil seeks redemption" way that is familiar. They're so much more complex in their motivations, desires, and conceptions of the world than that.

Astarion & Wen Kexing

Steeped in blood and spending the majority of their lives being taught that power is all that matters, and those who have power will only ever use it against those who do not. The only way to get out from under the heel of those above you is to overthrow them, take their position, become worse than they could ever be.

When free from the oppressive darkness they were "raised" in, even for a brief period, they grasp onto it with a bloodthirsty glee.

Halsin & Han Ying

Loyalty and devotion are the very core of these characters, deep-rooted. They feel the weight of responsibility upon their shoulders and they wear it like a mantle. When they make a promise, especially to one they are devoted to, they will see it through, no matter how long it takes, or how much it requires of them.

Relationship Dynamics

Astarion and Durge are to each other, in so many ways, what Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing are in another universe. They find each other at a time when their fates are at a point of divergence, and they find a kindred spirit - a kindred monster - within each other. They make each other better, but they do not make each other morally good.

Durge and Halsin have the capacity for a very similar relationship dynamic to Zhou Zishu and Han Ying. In an ideal situation, Durge is the one who makes it possible for Halsin to make good on his century-old vow to see the Shadow Curse broken. He showcases a great deal of respect for Durge as a leader, and a significant amount of loyalty and adoration for them as well.

Finally, Halsin and Astarion have the potential for a relationship with similarly disparate and flexible conceptions as Wen Kexing and Han Ying. They can be equal partners in truth, bonded first over their shared devotion to Durge, if provided enough time and narrative support to build such a relationship. They can be comrades with a bond of devotion only, not engaged romantically with one another but appreciating the other for their importance to Durge. They can be neutral parties, without true care for one another, but still cordial for the sake of their shared love. These are just three examples of a truly infinite number of variations.

Thank you for coming to my TedxTalk. All six of these idiots are so absurdly important to me. I'd love to hear any thoughts you may have!

[maxemilianverstappen]

as a max Stan( but you also seem like a very objective also), you thoughts about CL in RBR? I know it’s probably the most common discussion on twitter but I don’t remember your take on it.

Okay. I am completely leaving aside how Max said it would be a disservice to Charles' talent and how Charles always says he wants his WDC to be in Ferrari.

I am not y'alls favourite dilf Christian Horner, but let's think from a TP's point of view:

Having two equally talented guys in the team seems like a great idea, right? You have the two alpha wolves of the pack and your car suits to both their driving styles and you expect all the p1-p2s there can ever be, yes? Everything will be great, because your drivers won't have to adapt themselves to the car, since both Max and Charles seem to prefer a pointy front and a looser/flexible rear..... Until you find yourself with a civil war and a hellish amd toxic work environment for everyone involved, a divided garage and political shit which will tear up the morale and the motivation day by day.

There is a reason why you don't get two top dogs of similar age. Toto experienced it first hand. The current demographic of the fans is very young, so they possibly haven't witnessed how Nico and Lewis literally tore each other a new one every race weekend both in front of the cameras and behind closed doors. Even to the point of Lewis blaming the engineers at the factory with developing the car more towards to Nico's liking and insuniating that they sabotaged his car somehow.

Would Christian want to deal with shit like this every day? Of course, he wouldn't. Why should a team lose precious time and energy on intra team shenanigans (and also fight other teams in the meanwhile, thus dividing all resources and patience and morale) instead of standing united and fighting against other teams?

I am a shipper, but I am not stupid. I have watched both their career for a long time and I know how they treat their team mates. In the first wiff of blood, I am pretty sure Charles will turn cold and political while maintaining a PR look. Max is more open and gets going by seeing good faith in people, but if you play dirty with him, I doubt even Charles can take it. Max has a cruel and merciless side that he chooses to not show much, which is very clinical and unfeeling. He also has the psychological edge of having multiple WDCs and also knowing the car and the team much more intimately. Charles can be quite detached and cold, too, when he wants and also can be very sassy with a forked tongue. But he has a lot to prove and is also getting very desperate as years go by and has to sway the team to his favor. He is much more mistake prone and he will be measured up against a 3x WDC even if he jumps ship next year. It is a lot to shoulder. It is a huge task. And RedBull will not politically sway to his side in the way he'd want until he'd beat Max tooth and nail and within an inch of his life. Which will also be within an inch of his own life, too.

And this process.... It is ugly to watch and manage for both the TP and all the team from the mechanics to the media personnel to the pitwall.

Nobody would want to deal with it.

Getting a strong and consistent second driver who will accept their role and be there when the first driver can't deliver for whatever reason and can get all the points they can for the WCC is much more manageable, peaceful, and ideal.

I can completely understand Charles fans wanting to see their boy in the top team, but that's neither feasible nor possible. What we should all need to understand is how the team mentalities should change, not just the car.

2022 Ferrari challenger seriously could have been a WDC car. But we all saw how having a good car doesn't mean shit when you aren't a team that has cleared its head about what it wants in what way and how. Indecisiveness, being divided, saying you don't have a 1st/2nd driver, saying the team is over everyone (Ferrari should really think of their priorities they aren't a football team) and team success is much more important than a driver's and thus you can sacrifice your wdc contenders race just because otherwise you can get more points as a team.....

Michael, Seb, Lewis, Max all had their teams wholly supporting and accommodating them. Sure they all had problems with their 2nd drivers, but it was all managable. Unless Charles feels like they did/do, unless the team takes its head out of its ass and starts to act more rationally, Charles won't win for them ever. I don't think anyone can, tbh. Because this team literally fears another Michael level ownage. Michael had them by the throat and no matter how much glory songs they sing about him, I think the top brass fears giving up the reins to a driver to that extent again. Shit always has to be done their way. I remember reading an article about how Seb seemed to be disillusioned by the way the team and development kept him at bay from involving himself too much into how shit was done unlike the way he was accustomed to in Redbull. A driver is just an instrument for this team, not a focus. I wonder if Charles understands this.

Realistically speaking, he doesn't have anywhere else to go. But continuing like this also seems like a career ending choice. Man, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

[bea-ce]

Genshin men and women underwear hc(s)!

characters: Albedo, Al Haitham, Ayato, Ayaka, Baizhu, Beidou, Candace, Childe, Cyno, Dehya, Diluc, Eula, Ganyu, Gorou, Heizou, Hu Tao, Itto, Jean, Kaeya, Kazuha, Keqing, Kokomi, Shinobu, Layla, Lisa, Mona, Ningguang, Raiden, Rosaria, Kujou Sara, Shenhe, Sucrose, Thoma, Tighnari, Venti, Wanderer, Xiao, Yae Miko, Yanfei, Yelan, Yoimiya and Zhongli

genre: crack, headcanons

summary: me and my friend (Ilie) came up with this in 3 seconds without critical thinking and using our frontal lobes then decided to fully commit to this instead of properly doing our homework (math finals are next week)

notes: There's no moral or intellectual motivation for this we just decided to do it and went fuckin AT IT like it was our god-given mission to save the world.

all characters mentioned are above 18 no nsfw mentions, just hc of what genshin characters would wear for underwear

Albedo

Very particular about the fabric and the cut of the underwear. Have to be the right color, shape, HAVE TO BE THE RIGHT EVERYTHING! He would stick with regular 100% cotton, BUT, he has some silk once for when he really wants to treat himself or for fancy occasions.

Al Haitham He coordinates his underwear with the weather or some other arbitrary bullshit that doesnt make sense to us normal plebeians. He has to have something really stretchy because "Oh! having good joint mobility and being stretchy is good for combat, therefor I NEED the stretchy underwear. THEREFOR it is VITAL for my E V O L U T I O N to have them stretchy.” - Al Haitham, probably

Ayato “He wears normal basic black and white boxers Just cotton material because he's so normal, he's so normal, 100% normal, there's nothing special or weird about him that's so normal and it's a testimony to his normalcy, there's nothing wrong here and nothing weird here to see!” Ilie

Ayaka She's just like her brother. Her underwear is morally correct AND politically correct. Her underwear is a pinnacle to human righteousness.

Baizhu His favorite color is purple, therefore it's vital for him to have purple ones!! Has some magic kind of underwear that doesn't get lint on them whenever he washes them. His underwear just kinda rejects lint!

Beidou There is lace trim and there is silk, she wants nothing but the best for her divine feline of treasures. She has specific underwear for specific occasions. She has one for when she knows she's going to fight, for when she’s going to partying, drinking, SHE HAS SPECIFIC UNDERWEAR FOR SPECIFIC OCCASIONS!!!!!

Candace Kinda like Al Haitham with the flexible, stretchy part. She wants her joints open and stuff, doesn’t wear underwear past her hips. Probably a thong type of person.

Childe He has a pair with tiny little narwhals embroidered on it. The thread is shiny so whenever he’s stressed he just stares in the mirror and wiggles to see the light reflect on the shiny thread. Bonus: he wore them while fighting the traveler to boost his own confidence. He’s a cotton type of guy, not a silk type of guy because it feels weird against his skin. Feels wrong!!

Cyno “I can’t see him as a person that wears underwear” Bea

Dehya Fashion type of gal, correlates her outfits with her underwear for her own confidence. “Ooh all of my outfits matching today oh yeah baby” Def a silk type of person, despite it being sticky and feeling icky she still wears it because IT'S PRETTY! RAHHH! Wears lace.

Diluc *Argues whether or not he wears batman underwear or not*

Eula Wears lace! Is a thong type of person, she has them high up. Underwear that aren’t thongs fucking SUCK!!!

Ganyu “There’s grass in her ass.” Ilie (I WAS JOKING!) Too tired to bother wearing something pretty, only cares that her underwear feels soft and nice to wear. Kinda like: “waaah, I have to go to work” *Throws whatever on (puts on a sock)*

Gorou Doesn’t wear underwear, he needs to let it breathe.

Heizou Doesn’t give a shit, throws on whatever. So long as it’s vaguely underwear-esque

Hu Tao She definitely has to have cute little ghosts embroidered on them. Wears only red and black ones, she would have really cute underwear in the color that she likes!

Itto “He ALSO doesn’t wear any underwear” “He wears YOU as underwear” Bea and Ilie He probably doesn’t own any, and the pairs he does own have fucking holes in them. Spends his money on other stuff that makes it impossible for him to buy a new pair. Economically irresponsible.

Jean Wears flower patterns. Cute patterns! But not super basic patterns, just flowers and stuff. IN MUTED COLORS, SPECIFICALLY!!!

Kaeya He wears LACE!!! Definitely DEFINETLY wears leather underwear for fun times ;) Outside of that he also likes to spoil himself, man just look at him. Ain't no way you lookin like Kaeya and not giving a shit about the way you look! Buys quality underwear that both feels nice and looks nice.

(Bitch wrote this all on her own im not included in this fucketry - Ilie)

Kazuha Doesn’t really care so long as its underwear. Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, he’s def shoved a leaf down there at one sad, sad point of his life.

Keqing Shits expensive and shit is purple! Has bows on her stuff in the front.

Kokomi She wears cut out underwear, just look at her outfit. She also likes matching her underwear with her outfit, only if she isn’t busy with life or work where she’ll settle with whatever.

Shinobu Does she even fit underwear in those shorts?

Layla Def wear blue, white and black ones. She's the type of person to not put super much thought into it, so long as it's the things she likes. Color, feel and material, stuff she deems acceptable!

Lisa Lacey, purple and expensive. Wears high waist underwear that's expensive and purple, and expensive and purple.

Mona She has a few good ones, but that she only wears when she wants to really REALLY want to treat herself.

Ningguang Expensive, lace trimmed and solid laced ones. She’s got weird cut-out and strappy underwear that’s more complex than a mathematical problem. Shits made from silk spun from the rarest flower on the globe that blooms once every 15 years and a pair of undies cost the entirety of Liyue’s BNP.

She also coordinates them with her outfits because she’s organized and sleek like that.

Raiden Dark purple, and LACE! ITS LACE, SOFTER THAN CLOUDS AND COMFY AS HELL! THEY WILL LAST FOR ETERNITY! RAHHHHH!!!!

Rosaria Has a really specific requirement for her underwear to be dark red and black ONLY.

Kujou Sara Black, all solid, no lace no details no nothing. Vaguely devoid of any soul. Her underwear having any type of pazzazz would be a fucking crime against humanity and her devotion to the shogun, somehow.

Shenhe ‘People wear underwear? Glad im not people, underwear sucks’---Shenhe

Sucrose Just basic. Like basic basic, except shes very particular about the material feeling ‘right’ (there’s literally no boundary for right and wrong material, if she doesnt like it its due to some arbitrary fact that not she can figure out. The underwear is simply doomed to be disliked)

Thoma ‘I feel like he doesn’t really care, wears whatever colour, just slaps em on. Only comfy fancy pair he has are a pair that Ayato gifted him’ - Bea

Tighnari Ilie: “He has a pocket in the gooch are yk?”

Bea: “Like a fucking kangaroo??”

Ilie: “yeah, he puts herbs and stuff in there to marinate his balls in the positive calming effects of weirdass plants”

Venti “He wears thongs” - Bea

(Ilie was mortified and tearing up a little bit when I described it as a bag for genitalia)

Wanderer Has only a few pairs he religiously recycles like his life depends on it because hes so UTTERLY, INSANELY, ILLOGICALLY specific about how his underwear should be. Bro gets new underwear like once every 50 years because he’s so damn unwilling to try and find new ones. Once he blew up a store because he was so offended about the underwear not being right (during his evil scaramouche era)

Xiao “Hes been wearing the same pair of underwear since birth” - Bea

Yae Miko She wears expensive silky stuff because come on, look at her. Is any other answer even close to correct?

“shes definitely stolen one of raiden’s pairs lol” - Bea

Yanfei Her underwear are like lucky-go charms, she has a pair she wears as emotional and moral support to really big, risky cases.

Yelan God whats up with rich fancy women and my human instincts screaming silk. Shes rich! Of course all of her underwear are the softest and finest silk known to man.

Yoimiya Just wears the weird damn bandage short undie things??? That stuff honestly cannot be comfortable, image your skin getting pinched between the bandages. Ow.

Zhongli

Ilie: “His underwear are all 300+ years old-”

Bea: “NO! When he was Morax he went down to Liyue, saw someones underwear hanging out to dry or something, stole them because they looked weird and tried to figure out how to wear them and couldnt figure it out. Some random guy came around and was like ‘wtf no you wear it like this’”

Ilie: “What, like in public?”

Bea: “YES. And ever since hes worn only that pair, and he didnt get any other ones until he decided to become human”

[theminecraftgay]

Yes danganronpa is mainly a battle of hope and despair, but to forget the third category can lead to a huge misunderstanding of some character dynamics. I’m talking about Takumi again. Spoilers for Killer Killer and Zero.

Hope is typically watered down to the “good” side. It can be flexible because “goodness” in itself is a complicated subject, but in the face of disaster and destruction, hope is needed to rebuild, example of course being Makoto risking it all to try to save people who “don’t deserve it” because giving up on people is against everything he stands for. Okay, clear enough, that’s easy.

In the opposite side, despair is chaos and destruction, but more basic it’s the “bad” in the world. Hurting people because there’s nothing else to do and nothing matters. Of course, this is Junko, we know this. A great example is the opening to DR Zero, where she’s killed the entire reserve course but specifically realizes when she’s coming down from the misery of it she doesn’t hurt enough. Despair is the destruction of everything you love because misery is all you know.

It’s stated pretty clear that Yasuke doesn’t align with either side. His motives are our secret third option; love. Love is like a wild card, it’s the grey area between hope and despair. He’s a doctor, he has spent his entire life only wanting to help people out of love for his mother. It’s his love of Junko that allows him to be blackmailed into comprising his morals and working for Jin Kirigiri.

The there’s Takumi. I think when people frame him as the protagonist of DR Killer Killer, they’re making a huge mistake. Misaki is the protagonist, and I believe has the potential to the an ult. hope. Shinji is despair, he’s destructive out of disgust of destruction, he tries to kill Misaki more than once and is upset Takumi cares about her. Takumi though has his own code. He’s obsessed, he wants to be just like Mukuro, and his love of the “perfect” murder motivates everything he does until Misaki is in his life. Once she’s there, however, and actually tries to understand him, his goals shift. While murder is still important to him, so is Misaki. Killer Killer ends with each of them fulfilling their roles perfectly; Shinji has become the thing he hates most, Misaki has put the fate of the world on the unmovable hope Takumi will to the right thing, and Takumi destroys the “perfect murderer” for Misaki.

Takumi isn’t the hope in Killer Killer, he’s LOVE. He’s the wild card, the grey area. And isn’t that more fitting?

[power-chords]

Happy Mannday: I love how quietly, profoundly fucked up Vincent Hanna is as a character. Which is ironic given his temperament, but by "quietly" I don't mean his behavior, I mean what the text inserts and is actually quite subtle about with regard to this specific takeaway. It’s there, but it’s mostly inferential.

The film explicitly, repeatedly tells us that Hanna is obsessive about his work to the detriment of his personal life. But the default assumption is that his devotion to his work is motivated by principle, whereas Hanna is actually just a guy who gets off on hunting people. Principle is the laundering. It's there, and it's sincere, but it's so miniscule, flimsy a consideration compared to the pure adrenaline high of running people down, intimidating them, beating them, and occasionally extrajudicially murdering them (he does this in the book!) that even Hanna himself is uncomfortable about it. The only person who raises this subject directly – who calls him on it in a single, carefully worded line of dialogue over the course of a three-hour movie – is his [soon-to-be-ex-]wife, Justine. And he has nothing to say to her in reply, because he knows she's right, and it scares him.

All this "I gotta hold on to my angst" crap? There is some weird, fucked up, self-flagellating logic going on in there. Even if only subconsciously, I think he figures it's OK for him to get his rocks off eating speed and doing violence provided he continues to torture himself with the grisly spectacle of senseless death, and so long as the perpetrators are Bad People. So when he says, "I don't know how to do anything else" to Neil in the diner, that's honestly like, so beyond deranged LOL. He envisions himself the tortured crusader even though he's a dangerous, explosive drug addict who may or may not be guilty of actual war crimes (based on an ominous passage in the novel). In other words, he is the very model of a modern Hollywood cop. And this is why he and Chris are the survivors at the end of Heat/Heat 2: they are the shapeshifters, the silver-tongued fast-talkers and manipulators, the masters of bullshit artistry who can be as flexible as they need to be, morally and otherwise. Hanna mostly bullshits himself, and he's extraordinarily good at it. Do NOT give this man therapy; he will get worse!

[starwalker03]

It is interesting that Lex Luther treats Conner like an employee despite enslaving him. He seems a lot more hands off then the other Light “mentors”. I’ve wondered what it means but I’m leaning towards Lex feels he owns his employees 😬

I mean we've touched on a few pieces here so I'll just skip to the end piece which is oh absolutely for sure Lex feels like he owns his employees.

I don't know the history myself but if you ask me it seems a lot like DC writers just kinda sat in a room and said 'we need a villain for Superman and they all said in unison 'capitalism' then nodded to each other very pleased for this decision and went to get coffee. I could be wrong but like. Who cares this is obviously the best origin story.

Luthor does everything with the motivation of how much more power he can get and he equates money with power. That's half the problem with Superman's existence is that he is not a symbol of power associated with money. There is no amount of money that beats Superman. There is just things he can do because he has money. But furthermore he can't buy Superman. And Superman himself is not motivated by power and money which makes Luthor even more antsy because he doesn't understand him.

The enemy of capitalism is people who don't care about/don't need money. And thats why Luthor and Clark are the dichotomy that they are.

Anyway, that aside. Luthor is a capitalist. Big daddy capitalism. Monopoly man but worse.

His employees are assets to him. This is absolutely the kind of guy who pays minimum wage and refuses to give you a more flexible work schedule so you can't get a second job to make up for your abysmal salary. This is the guy that says no to healthcare, maternity leave, dental because it'd 'cost too much' (false). This is the guy who forces all staff to use lexcorp branded stationery and equipment but doesn't supply it for free and instead takes it out of the employee's salary. This is that guy.

Do I have the basis in canon for this? No. Do I care? Still no. Because to me this is a fundamental part of Luthor's character. He can't be so blatantly anti-superman and also a good guy. One, because this is a type of fiction where good guy protagonist (Superman) is the moral back bone of the story and his trials and tribulations are an exploration of morality and ethics, because he's so overpowered it can't really be anything else. This is a character who's story is a metaphor for Jewish immigrants after the second world war. There is no way for these pieces to coalesce and allow for Luthor to be a good man. Not only because there are no ethical billionaires, but because he is actively a xenophobic man at the top of a capitalistic ladder stood atop bodies of the poor.

Ahem. Anyway whoops I kinda got a bit political there whoops. I didn't realise I had this many opinions on Lex Luthor. Wild.

[dimensionslip]

Fire Emblem Engage Thoughts

I finished the main story recently and thought I would note down my thoughts on the game.

TL;DR: Definitely buy the game if you enjoy Fire Emblem’s battle system. If you’re looking for a deep story or something that involves the supporting cast more, this isn’t the game for you. But if you can tolerate the weak plot, I think it’s generally a fun time.

Story spoilers for the whole game are included, so tread carefully under the cut!

Things I liked:

The battle system!! The engage system adds a really interesting dimension to the base tactical RPG system and I like how it makes things quite more flexible (you can either use it to make the game easier or try out some interesting matchups to see what happens).

I also enjoyed the maps in general! They make me think, especially the later maps but not to the extent where I find it unfun to try and strategize/figure things out there.

The rewind mechanic for when you mess up. I love tactical JRPGs but one thing I’ve hated about them is having to restart a whole ass 30-min battle from the very beginning when I mess something up. So for me this is a really nice qol thing because I do not have so much time in the world to keep restarting battles that I fuck up.

The Japanese voice acting is really great. It allowed me to tolerate one of the biggest issues I had with the game (the story) and factored in to my enjoyment.

The character models and animations. They are so fluid and also good. I like that you can see them animated too before you commit to an action. 

Them making the Somniel as your base (similar to what they did for Garreg Mach Monastery in 3H, though with a caveat–see stuff in “Things I wish this game had”)

Things I didn’t like:

The story in general, but I think it’s more an issue of, it’s not what I’m looking for in a plot. I could see why the simpler storytelling might appeal to some people, but I prefer a lot more morally grey characters and while one can argue that they do exist in this story, I’m not sure I like the execution of said characters. Specific bones I have to pick with:

Lumerra’s introduction and death. At first I was a bit suspicious of her because, wow, isn’t it convenient to have a very kind mother?? And apparently she IS a kind mother all along indeed, BUT THEN. She’s killed off really early and honestly while the voice-acting in that scene was really great, the way it hits you out of nowhere is just… jarring? In the sense of it’s hard to feel anything about it because you barely knew Lumerra.

In general, everyone’s acceptance that you are the Divine Dragon and having zero doubts about it. Like a little more suspicion would have been neat to play into, even if it’s easy to prove that you are who you say you are.

The game’s habit of telling you ALL about an antagonist’s backstory and motivations before they get killed (either by your hand or someone else’s). They repeat this formula so much, even for the big bad and it’s just. One heck of a text vomit without any creativity to it, and we’re just supposed to accept how it is. It doesn’t make the characters very redeemable to me though, but I wish they exercised more creativity in getting people’s motivations across.

Sombron is such a bad offender, maybe I just don’t pay attention to his lines very well but there was little to no indication that he was doing everything just so he could reunite with an Emblem. The whole time it’s really just postured as “this guy wants to take over the world(s)”

I understand this is typical of older games in the series and large casts, but the lack of relevance of most characters after the chapter you acquire them is kinda meh in my opinion.

The minigame controls. Coupled with my controller drift issues, my poor A button is just never gonna be the same way again, huh. I think the wyvern ride one is quite fun, but the reliance of spamming the A button isn’t the best way to handle some stuff I feel, especially with the way the Switch controller is designed. I know I can just get a controller or something. But still.

Gold being so scarce in the game. I never had a gold issue in the past games I’ve played as I would earn it passively by not spending on things so much, but in Engage you can’t even do that. It seems like a ploy to get you to buy the DLC as it has some stuff there that will make your life easier, so that kind of adds to the mixed feelings I have regarding the situation.

Most characters being very one note, and it reflecting in their supports. Like if you have a character who was an antagonist turned into an ally, half/most of their supports will end up with them being eager to make amends. If someone likes muscles/training, that’s also gonna be most of their lines and their supports. But it’s a very taste-based thing, and granted I haven’t looked at everyone’s supports yet, so I might change this bullet point in the future.

Things I wish this game had:

More unique dialogue in the Somniel based on what point of the story you’re in. There are some unique dialogue for plot-relevant characters but it would have been interesting to see what the others thought too instead of their dialogues changing depending on where they were located. I think this would also solve the problem where the characters don’t feel relevant to the story anymore after you acquire them.

Lengthier support conversations. Wishful thinking, but the supports in general felt really abrupt, though this is nothing new in FE. Some were pretty deep/thoughtful, but most didn’t really leave much space for characterization.

Please let us change people’s clothes in battle. It was a little disappointing since you spend more time in battle than in the Somniel. The clothes customization in this game is pretty nice, but I guess they just left it to the Somniel because rigging those properly for battle was probably extra work they didn’t have time to properly test/implement.

My rating in numbers: 6/10 if I had to account for the plot, 8/10 if we’re just focusing on gameplay/how fun I found it.

To end this more positively, Diamant, Ivy, and Seadall are my favorite characters. Ivy (with Celica) and Alcryst (with Lyn) are my MVPs, with a special mention to Seadall and Emblem Byleth for letting me do some crazy stuff in one turn. Chloe was also really fun both in and out of battle (okay, I also like Saori Hayami) and training Anna to be my gold farmer eventually paid off lmao. Praise be to Anna.

[katyspersonal]

Here's an interesting question: What's the best Paleblood Hunter ship and why? Would love to hear your thoughts on this lol

This is a quite hard question because even if you take the default Hunter (some guy with grey hair and grey/blue eyes we always see on the merch with something-something distant Cainhurst affiliation), the story still allows such flexibilities for that;;

I am personally compelled to think that Paleblood Hunter must have some moral restrictions and compass, even if he might be not completely lucid as the game functions like a dream and he loses load of memories upon awakening after Blood Ministration! And pair that with exhausting as many questlines as possible - so, wanting to help Alfred and seeing what happened, saving everyone and sending them to Oedon Chapel, completing Eileen's questline, having both Eileen and Valtr retire (they are still alive because I say so AAAAA!!!!!), all that. And let's presume that despite having to murder quite a lot of people, Hunter doesn't fall for needless cruelty and like, cares ok? He is not simply a murderous psychopath!

So yeah, Bloody Crow's ass is kicked to carry on Eileen's quest, Alfred certainly wrecks him up by showing his true face, Beggar he murders after the first victim (though still feels pangs because of the 'I did not ask to be like this'), Brador is seen as a total bitch, Imposter Iosefka is perceived as insane and Hunter would not really get behind her motivations, Micolash.... well, after wading through a whole village of display of his atrocities, and finally seeing THE man guilty for all this, I think this would be when Hunter actually loses it and murders him very cruelly, like, to the point of forgetting himself! You recall anon ask that suggested this scenario, and I still agree!

Basically? I feel like Henriett or Simon as the best ones! I talked about Henriett's potential as a character in this ( x ) post more, but she could be the similar type of a friend as Simon. Both knew some lore and are willing to share with Hunter, both follow us, both share reasonable and noble motivations (to stop/expose the Healing Church despite having once been part of it). I just really like this type of dynamic it seems? Paleblood Hunter is roughly following a good goal too - to find "paleblood" and stop the ritual that is fucking everyone over! And I still really love the idea I've got that since Bloody Crow has Repeating Pistol and is in Grand Cathedral and there is cut content Henriett's corpse file - he killed her, so- Yeahhh, these ships are very much straight vs gay version of one another, you feel?? xd It is a good type of a buddy that resonates with an interpretation of a Hunter who is rather a decent guy, not evil and callous, still in touch with the humanity despite mysterious connection with the paleblood on his own. These awesome buddies are as close to humanity and human values as our Hunter could stay, without ascending. And they are qualified to fight along his side, though Simon would be more like sniper + rogue and not blunt close combat like Henriett. There is not just ship potential - there is companionship potential, that I love. Like... let's just say that 'death' is a strong word for Bloodborne setting and they can live yet again. I mean, if Henryk was given second life just to fight again, clearly Yharnam functions a bit different :')

Funny enough, Eileen or Valtr are of the same nature - straight or gay variant of the same dynamics; an old person with very grim quest that is sort of in secrecy from the others, who also retires at the end and passes the mantle to Hunter! They are second best ships, yeah. There might be just drastic age gap (I think Paleblood Hunter is not really old, but rather 'colored' by paleblood and hence hair gone grey early), and a gap of mentor/student thing - nothing bad here, just that more "equal" ships are a personal preference!

____________________

Honorable mention: Things might get.. interesting, following the idea of Paleblood Hunter being incarnation of Laurence (elaborated on here: ( x )). That could create really heart-rending bond with Gehrman (and also with Micolash, Fauxsefka and Brador maybe? depending on how much of the sentiments long gone resurface), but I do not even know where to begin with this idea... @_@" It always felt quite hefty with how many factors there are to keep in mind. But Hunter x Gehrman is very good regardless, even if doomed. @ Flora pls get SECOND host of the dream for a change ;-;

Thank you for an ask!!