Thinking about how Chilchuck and Laios started adventuring at around the same relative time in their lives
There are a bunch of similarities to their backstories - leaving home at a young age (14, 12), starting careers in exploring dungeons as young adults (19, 22), developing a complex about the first monster that killed them (Mimics, Living Armor), getting scammed or taken advantage of by other adventurers (succubus-hunting party, gold-peelers) - that they give me "past and future" vibes
Chilchuck is the older mentor to the less-experienced Laios. He joined Laios' party when Laios had only been exploring the dungeon for a year, and Chilchuck regularly gives advice based on his own 10 years of experience in an effort to support Laios as leader. There are several occasions of Chilchuck either teaching or wishing Laios would learn something in particular that he thinks would help with the job
Laios is a reflection of Chilchuck's past from when he was just starting out as a naive adventurer, while Chilchuck is an example of the future that Laios is striving towards as a seasoned dungeon explorer and leader
But also, they can represent missed opportunities and paths not taken for each other
An example for Chilchuck is that he isn't treated with the same respect as a tall-man because he is a half-foot. He can lead a union of half-foots, but leading a party of other races, many of whom would infantilize him, is unlikely. There are limitations to what he can do (physically and socially) compared to Laios simply because of how each were born, and it's partly why he's so hard on Laios to make him a good leader and not waste the opportunities afforded to him
Meanwhile as an example for Laios, who left his family and fiancée behind when going out on his own at 12 years old, who wasn't shocked that Chilchuck became a father at 13, and who even mentioned that some tall-men get married at 13, too...
If Laios had never left home, would he, at 13, have married someone from his childhood and also become a father of three?
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It’s back!
If you missed it the first time around, the “human are weird” anthology is back for a second printing. (There’s even a new story included: “Black Box” by Dara Brophy.)
Here’s the blurb:
In science fiction, humans are usually boring compared to other races: small, weak, with no claws or tentacles, and no special abilities to speak of. But what if we were the impressive ones, the unsettling ones, the ones talked about by all the other aliens? What if we're weird?
If you’d like a collection of excellent stories about humans inspiring awe, fear, and utter confusion, it’s available everywhere books are sold!
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A Revenant for The Red Knight
Your typical Dp x Dc Summoning AU, but with a twist.
Jason is having a bad time.
The most of the family to be honest.
Why? Cultist. In Gotham.
One that worship some kind of All Powerful Eldritch Death Outer God from Beyond and plans to summon the Thing to this plane of existence.
The worst part? Most of the bats are being use as sacrifice. Wait no, the worst part is that Jason is the main sacrifice.
They did contemplate whether to use Jason or the Demon child, but end up deciding to use Jason instead. Something about being having essence of Death and the Multiverse in his veins and you know what? He's not gonna touch that with a ten foot pole. Nope.
The demon child is lashing out like the unvaccinated feral racoon that he is, Dick is trying to escape and so does Bruce as well as trying to make sense of the Summoning circle that the cultist were using. The replacement is snoring, the asshole.
Hah. Thats what he get for drinking five mugs of expresso instead of sleeping then gatting tranq.
Also, fuck Bruce for not calling Constantine or Zattana the moment they smelled something supernatural.
God, he hates magic.
The cultist started chanting by then, speaking in a language that no one understood—huh? Well look at that. He could apparently. He could hear them chanting in that unknown language and english at the same time, its over lapping. Weird, its like it was being translated especially for him since the others didnt seems to show any recognition with the words the cultist was using.
Except maybe the demon child, but the others? Nada.
"—Ruler of the inbetween, Heed our call. Defeater of the Dark Tyrant. Master of Space, The bridge between Every Realms, The Great One, The Balance—"
Thats a fuck ton of titles.
The circle began glowing green and fucking Lazarus waters began to pour out and thats not fucking good.
Pillar of unnaturally Neon Red Fire emerge from the Circle and destroyed the ceiling and shook the entire ware house.
A tall armoured figure emerge as the pillar of fire began to settle out. It was floating above the circle, looming over everything in a terryfing manner. Temperature began to rise as the being's Unnayurally white gaze fell upon them.
It was… a knight? A knight cross over a biker??? It also had guns which is weird and is that a fucking Bat Insignia on its chest?
Pressure from all side crash over them as the beings gaze intensified before vanishing all together the moment its gaze fell on jason.
After what seems to be eternity, the being finally spoke.
"Huh. His majesty was right, I really was that stinky and fuck up before he find me."
???
The knight biker then remove his helmet to reveal his own face with a domino mask with his color pallete just inverted.
The doppelganger then pull out his gun and began shooting down the cultist all against the other bats protest. One by one the cultist vanished in to tin air as if they didn't exist all together.
He snapped his fingers and the rope that tying the burst in the same crimson flames and vanished all together.
"What the absolute fuck is going on here?!"
Or cultist used kidnap batfam and use jason as a sacrifice to the ghost king to summon him.
They summon Alternate version of jason who is a halfa and work as one of Danny's Fright knight: Red Knight.
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it takes years for terry pratchett's books to get consistently good. I would argue that the series doesn't really hit its stride until Feet of Clay, which means that pratchett was writing and being published for 12 years before he found his groove.
and I genuinely can't imagine that. in part because I do think that pratchett's publication calendar looks different than what's expected of writers today---he had about 2 books published per year for his entire career. he must have been writing furiously, and the publisher must have relatively quickly gotten these to press.
but also....I just can't imagine any modern-day publisher keeping an author on their list for twelve years, unless that author is a prestige get or a constant presence on the bestseller list. And what does it say about the state of publishing that you can't go on publishing someone's good-but-not-revelatory books until they figure out what story they're trying to tell?
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It is WILD to me that GMMTV is fielding OffGun AND TayNew in the same quarter
That Last Twilight is airing AS WELL
That they optioned 3 JBLs
That The Sign is up there licking kicking ass and taking names (and Saint is behind it!)
That there's a high heat omegaverse BL staring Pavel
That there are 20 BLs airing right now and none of them Korean.
With 5 VAMPIRE BLs announced for next year
Thailand legit looked at 2023 and thought "yeah but we could make it worse better weirder"
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