#he hurt people and was willing to kill himself/others (tho none of them actually died. save alpha i guess)

[brittlebutch]

think it’s kind of funny how hard s12 tried to go in on the Wash-Locus Soldier parallel when i think you’d be hard pressed to find a period of wash’s career where he Ever unquestioningly followed orders

Like, even in his run of the mill military career he got court martialed for wounding/killing his CO who ordered his squad into what would have been a suicide mission. When Price interviews him about joining freelancer Wash undoubtedly Understands that he’s being blackmailed even as he’s grateful for the intervention; he doesn’t ever seem to question the work he’s doing there But he also doesn’t seem to have any qualms with the Years he spent working as a Recovery agent with the Explicit intention of ratting them out and fucking them over the moment he got the evidence he needed. he wasn’t under orders when he went after epsilon; it was his idea, and His bargaining chip And he was totally willing to spit in the face of it when he planned on handing over the busted storage unit. fuck even when Carolina comes back he listens to her until he decides he doesn’t want to anymore and then he pulls a gun on her and bails. Wash literally Could Not give a shit about orders lmao, he’s just Out There

[phantaloon-books]

Things about Tower of Nero that I want to highlight to remember them forever:

Lu being an absolute badass woman, I just love her too much

Piper McClean being canon wlw, she was actually kissing another girl, we really fell in love in october

Chaos being canonically female (just chaos being mentioned as a deity rather than what's below tartarus)

nobody DIED, like no one on the good side at least?? yes plenty of beings have died throughout TOA, but nobody died in TON?? so many died in TLO and BOO, I expected to mourn someone and I didn't have too??! it made me so happy

solangelo. that's it. solangelo makes me happy.

will being incredibly supportive of nico, and instead of stopping him, going with him on dangerous adventures because he doesn't want to leave him alone. also them treating Nico's PTSD for what it is

WILL SOLACE CANONICALLY GLOWS IN THE DARK. HE'S A GLOWSTICK BABY.

also will just appearing at the gates of the throne room, glowing in rage because someone touched his boyfriend (and tried to kill his dad), and him just marching through everyone (everyone else letting him), just to pick up his hurt precious boyfriend and take care of him.

meg McCaffrey got her happy ending. she's baby, she deserves her family and her happy ending. also Lu being the mother and the 12 children being siblings?? that's one hell of a way to tell nero to fuck off and right his mistakes. we love meg.

dionysus being the best olympian after apollo. the duo content we needed, and now will never get

nico mentioning bob and how he wants to go look for him, because he can still be in tartarus

rachel still being a Total badass and hitting people in the eye with her blue hairbrush thus being iconic

meg acting as lester's anchor and only reason why he didn't let go of the ledge, not falling into chaos, is top tier 'reasons why I cried reading', because if you think about it, Meg is the first ever friend apollo ever had, and them being best friends is everything to me

also apollo choosing to go looking as lester rather than apollo because lester feels like home is on top tier 'reasons why I cried reading' too

again, the only thing apollo did in the end (once he was god again) that could be described as 'godly' was be in several places at once, fly his chariot, and get meg her unicorn

but apollo shooting fucking fire out of his hands is crazy asf, it was so cool. he really got amazing godly powers this book.

rick being bold enough to showcase abusive parenting knowing that a huge porcentage of his readers are minors, helping many realize that they could be in abusive households, and giving them a tool to reach out for help

apollo defeating nero was so satisfactory, because you realize in the end, that nero wasn't really a monster, he was monstrous, but still very much human (if only with some godly power), and pretty useless once he couldn't hide behind props and weapons, his being wasn't powerful, he was just under layers of protection

the jackson/blofis scene was so warm and loving, they really are willing to put their family in danger, baby estelle in danger, to help 'percy's friends' even tho she knew percy didn't like apollo, but she still takes in everyone who needs help, and paul being a loving and accepting husband

sally working on her SECOND novel, she really is having her best life

none of the big heroes from other series having protagonism, besides nico and will, instead giving the other kids from camp halfblood their chance to show they're just as worthy as the "heroes of olympus"

(still I would have loved to see a scene with everyone else, like the heroes of olympus guys, fighting together one last time, just for nostalgia's sake - I legit hoped to see percy and annabeth arriving with chiron in triumvirate tower, but yeah)

the arrow of dodona may have been a dumb, cringey, and slightly ridiculous thing at first, and I personally rolled my eyes everytime it said anything, but it knew what would happen from the start, and without its sacrifice, apollo would have achieved nothing. we stan one arrow

nico wearing a white cowboy hat. idky but it makes my heart swell with joy. he a gay cowboy

y'all know I love Apollo's arch, and I just gotta point this out. his trials, his time as lester, started with him falling to earth, and ended with him getting up after purposely throwing himself off the earth, towards tartarus, almost falling to chaos. that's really clever writing.

the olympians watching over him, and some actually being concerned for him rather than his progress.

poseidon not really giving a fuck about the world or council meetings anymore because percy's not there anymore

athena being the only one apart from artemis who trusted apollo could do it makes me warm fsr

lester deciding that the best way to retell his adventures is by singing is hilarious to me, he really thinks it'll solve everything

Grover not telling percy and annabeth jason died seems so funny to me, he really said "nah it doesn't matter much, field trip, yes"

"hey man" my heart broke in twenty million pieces. like I don't know where I expected to see jason. but that wasn't it. and it hurt me as much as it hurt apollo man.

(also I kinda hoped we would see nico summon his spirit or smth, but I'm actually happy nico realized that jason went by his own choice, and he was in peace, so he decided not to summon him, because it was alright. that hurt too)

kinda love how lester passes out after literally every battle. it reminds you that even tho he's apollo, his body isn't. I'm sure we all would pass out too if we did a quarter of what lester did in the span of 4 days. his body isn't made to endure that, it doesn't even have a halfblood endurance, it's a weak mortal body

the trogs were fucking hilarious. their screeches and grrs, idk there's something ridiculous and so childish about them, it's so fun

really happy that apollo never had a /real/ love interest (reyna doesn't count), cause that wasn't what his story was about. instead he got to make so many friends, and have quality time with them and his children, it's amazing

apollo being thankful people were telling him he'd grown, and was more human, because he realized that was the best thing he could have learned from his time as a mortal

also him saying fuck you man to zeus and his speech, like "no asshole dad, I did learn, I'm not going to see this as punishment, it was a great time in which bad things happened but I enjoyed it." yes, we love apollo not letting zeus win

getting to see what everyone will do now. nico and will figuring out rachel's prophecy, probs saving bob. rachel living her best life away from her parents. leo doing what leo does, always helping those who have no one else. the hunters' open storyline about this fox, possibly hinting at content? piper settling down in a quiet life is what she deserves tbh, she's earned quiet life with a cute gf, wish her the best. Frank and hazel being the best praetors, and I bet they will continue to be so. And annabeth and percy, who chose their happiness over all, at last

kinda wish we got to see someone still really miss jason after apollo becomes god again tho lmao like apollo missed jason more than the others, nico and piper being the exception. I mean, leo is fine and dandy, hazel and frank are okay, percy and annabeth are done mourning... I just we got to see any of them really mourning, rather than reading they mourned. it would have made it feel more emotional

the last conversation and the last words in general. "the sun always comes back" and "we're friends now. call on me. I'll be there for you" that shit got me sobbing my heart out. rick really managed to do right by the books and end it like he should have, unlike BOO. he took what made TLO good and used a similar formula. it's very different from "and for once I didn't look back", but it still fills you with warmth and the feeling that even though it's over, it's okay.

I'm just really emotional, this is all I can think about, but you bet I'm gonna add more when I remember

[c-chickens]

((Spoilers for up to chapter 125 of JJK))

I’ve been wanting to tackle this topic for awhile now and have touched on it super briefly before, but I want to explore what kind of dynamic itadori and fushi have, the effect it has on them, and how the events of the shibuya arc will possibly impact them in future arcs. In previous instances I feel I had a stronger ground to stand on in terms of things like “evidence” and things like that, but this time around will have a lot more speculation and personal interpretation than usual.

So, with that being said, let's begin by first talking about fushi’s decision to save itadori in the first arc. We know now that it was a selfish choice fueled by personal desire and it completely ignored the potential consequences that spring up later in the manga. Now, fushi isn’t dumb, he knew exactly what he was doing: right before gojo swoops in the save the day he was readying to kill itadori. But he doesn't, and ends up thrusting itadori into a world where he will be forced to kill people and be bombarded with constant suffering and he knows this. And that’s why it hurts when itadori says that he’s a reliable, nice person. Fushi might have saved itadori, and itadori might be grateful for that, but later effects of these actions are MASSIVE and are a result of fushi’s decision.

The guilt of being the person to put itadori in this position would eat fushi up inside and lead him to want to protect itadori as much as he can, to make sure that him keeping itadori alive isn't in vain. The same goes for itadori but in a different kind of way. Itadori was saved by fushi, so i think it’s only right that he wants to keep fushi safe as well, as a show of thanks and appreciation as well as also making sure that fushi’s actions weren’t in vain. They protect each other and save each other and look out for each other to ensure that the events that played out in the beginning aren’t something that will be a regret later. But they can’t always protect each other, they fail, and it's important to think about how that impacts how they see themselves and one another given that their dynamic is centered around protection. (As a quick sidebar here i think a great example of this sort of “protecting” is when they both lied to each other that they’d meet up again after they parted from their battle with awakasa in chapter 95. Like,,, they both “”died”” and were willing to die during their respective fights, but said those things to each other to protect one another even though they knew that wasn’t realistic). 

 Fushi fails to save itadori which leads him to die. That makes him feel guilty and weak asf and so when he finds out that itadori is actually alive, that makes him want to get stronger so that he won’t lose him again (though he was already working towards that). For itadori, there are a few more layers to this: he failed to save junpei, keep sukuna in check, save nanami and nobara, and kill mahito among other things.  Itadori wants to protect ppl, he wants to save ppl bc that is the only thing he’s good for. And if he can’t do that, then he is better off dead, at least in his eyes. While it pushes him to become stronger, it makes him fixated on the wellbeing of others rather than himself. I think the one thing left keeping him on the ground is what fushi said to him: that he didn’t regret saving him, not once. However, if Fushi knows abt this failure, if he knows abt this mass loss of life that came abt bc of itadori, will he regret saving him then? We can see this fear best towards the end of the origin of obedience arc after the two learn that sukuna’s fingers are resonating as a result of itadori eating one of them:

What fushi asked itadori in the cursed womb arc is extremely important here because they've now become the people in that scenario. Fushi is the savior of a murderer and itadori is a murderer that was saved. I can’t help but just see itadori thinking, “you saved me and this is how i repay you: with blood.” While both parties withhold this information from each other in order to protect the other, I believe it was also to protect themselves in a way. If fushi regrets saving itadori, then that reaffirms itadori’s self-sacrificing tendencies and will make him want to die even more than he already does. But I think it's important to specify the kind of regret that fushi could possibly feel here: he could regret being the reason that itadori has to suffer or he could regret saving someone who killed hundreds of ppl, or both. Of course he could also have none at all, but I can still see a potential tug-o-war in his mind over how he should even feel abt itadori at this point whenever all this information comes to light. In general though I just think this next period will be extremely hard, not just for them but everyone, having to cope with the responsibility, with the guilt of being the reason for others sufferings and struggling with facing those facts. While the blood may be on itadori’s hands, i think they trickle down to fushi’s, too. 

 As much as I’d love for them to have this great sit down discussion to sort all of this shit out, i don’t think that’s realistic at all. In fact, i can honestly see them avoiding each other like the plague after this arc (itadori would probably isolate himself from everyone tho tbh), and if they do talk it will be just as brief, if not more brief than before and filled to the brink with tension. I can also see another argument between the two happening as well, but we’ll just have to wait and see where this goes.

The more I think abt this whole situation, the more complex I realize it is, and I kind of curse myself for not being able to elaborate on it better. I'm sort of just barfing out text and hoping it makes sense and that the message gets across. And the more I write about these two the more I also realize how fucked this all is, like everyone feels guilty, everyone feels unworthy and like scum here, even if they really aren’t and it's completely unavoidable. How do you even patch this up? How do you “get over'' this when the events that lead to the mass killing of hundreds of people are so deeply rooted in one event that built the basis for your relationship with that other person? Jfc, and the fact that this is only a *crumb* of the possible ramifications of this arc and probably doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of the manga just shows how fucking insane the shibuya arc really is.   

[finalgirlbrainrot]

I have two unpopular opinions 1) if roles were reversed and Dean was the one drinking blood, Dean stans would have excused the shit out of it and even liked it. 2) if none of Dean's trauma was addressed and ignored (like most of Sam's trauma is) Dean stans would fucking riot.

intensely aggressively strongly agree | strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

(sorry in advance, I ranted A Lot)

2) I'm gonna start with this one. YESYESYES I mean dean stans are already constantly unironically whining that dean's traumas never get acknowledged (EVEN THO IT'S LITERALLY NOT TRUE, HIS TRAUMAS ALREADY GET ACKNOWLEDGED MORE THAN ENOUGH. EVERY TIME HE STUBS HIS TOE. EVERYONE IS CODDLING HIM AND ASKING HIM HOW HE'S DOING. HALF THE SHOW IS LITERALLY DEAN MANPAINING ABOUT HIS TRAUMAS - but apparently that's not enough for them, so I can't imagine the uproar if it was actually true). meanwhile sam's traumas either get ignored or they get treated like a fucking joke? well I guess it's just another tuesday

I've also seen a lot of dean stans moaning about sam "forcing dean to talk about his traumas", because apparently sam actually acknowledging dean's traumas and encouraging him to open up about them and being always supportive af because he actually cares is unacceptable (and I'm willing to bet that if he didn't acknowledge them, they'd still complain because sam literally can't win no matter what he does)

but dean ignoring and never acknowledging sam's traumas (not even when he's directly responsible for said trauma) or making them all about himself (mystery spot, hallucifer, soullessness, gadreel possession) or vilifying and victim blaming him (being force-fed demon blood, soullessness, gadreel possession) or using said traumas to justify his actions (hallucifer) or making cruel, disgusting and unnecessary jokes about them ("you had a girl inside you for a whole week" [meg possession] "you know how wrong that sounds, right?" "you've like an episode of teen mom" [gadreel possession - let's talk about how these two in particular are a thousand times more disgusting than the rest since he's actually joking about a violation he's directly responsible for] "smores foot" [bmol torture] "crybaby pie" [cole torture] "you saw the [devil's] john [or butt]?" [the cage] dick of death jokes right, left and center) is perfectly acceptable behaviour

1) again YESYESYESYES. I mean, this isn't even a hypothesis, we already have an extremely similar storyline for dean - the moc - and everyone made excuses for him and glorified him, even tho he was worse than demon blood sam in every possible way

actually I wrote a rant on reddit a couple of days ago about the awful double standards between demon blood sam and moc/demon dean. I'm gonna paste it here because I'm Bitter Af

comparing demon blood sam and moc/demon demon is ironically and hysterically bitter because, logically, no matter how you spin it, s4 sam is much more understandable and easy to sympathize with - both in intentions and actions - and should have the moral high ground, while s9-10 dean was flat out awful and damaging. yet both the show and the fandom crucify sam and treat dean as some poor victim or a great martyred hero who made some great noble sacrifice and I just... don't get it. so let's break it down:

> reason for drinking blood / getting the moc

- sam: exorcising demons without harming the host, thus saving people (which apparently isn't that relevant to dean) and killing lilith, first because she sent his brother to hell and then to stop the apocalypse and because she was an actual threat

- dean: because he couldn't face the consequences of his actions after the gadreel mess and decided he wanted to kill abaddon, who, at that point, wasn't even their problem (she only became a real problem in 9x17, when they learned about the soul harvesting, so unless dean has some sort of prophetic knowledge, he had no reason to take the moc in 9x11) and was a real threat to no-one but crowley

> trusting / working with a demon

- sam: I've already said this before, but ruby was a master manipulator and went to extraordinary lengths to gain sam's trust and even managed to fool every single demon (aside from lilith obviously). as far as both brothers knew, she's done nothing but help them, saved their lives multiple times and helped them save others, fixed the colt for them, was there for sam after dean died, is basically hunted by other demons for helping them, has risked her life for them several times and even got tortured for them and was helping sam to go after the demon who was trying to start the apocalypse. sam had absolutely no valid reason not to trust her. I'd really like someone to look me in the eyes and tell me that, if anyone did everything I mentioned above, you wouldn't trust them

- dean: trusted a demon who they knew is extremely untrustworthy and self-serving and only does what's in his best interest and has screwed them over one way or another every time they worked together and has hurt people they're close to

> level of manipulation involved

- sam: as I already said, ruby was a master manipulator and spent two years carefully manipulating sam to get him to do what she wanted. not the mention everything azazel did to get him there, lilith pushing his buttons at every turn to get him to kill her and the manipulation from heaven as well, who were lying to the boys at every turn

- dean: while crowley was manipulating him, the level of manipulation isn't remotely comparable to the one sam went through is s4. crowley saying “let’s kill abaddon” and pretending to be afraid of cain is not comparable to a plan that’s been set on motion since the beginning of time and crowley wasn't the only one involved in dean getting the mark. cain was involved as well and he wasn't manipulating him (unlike sam, who was being manipulated by everyone involved). on the contrary, he was completely honest with dean and even offered to tell him more about the mark and DEAN REFUSED (like can you imagine how many problems would've been avoided if dean sat on his ass for one minute and listened to cain's warning???)

> actions

- sam: in s4 sam was trying to use something that was forced on him when he was six months old, and that he hated about himself, to do good because he felt like he had to and was literally SAVING PEOPLE and trying to stop the apocalypse, I literally still don't get why he's vilified for it????? in s4 sam killed a total of one (1) person: the possessed nurse and while that was obviously bad, 1) he was clearly upset about it and 2) I still haven't seen one (1) valid reason for why she's any different from the demons dean drained and killed in swan song or from any of the other possession victims they killed with the demon knife or the angel blade

- dean: meanwhile dean was going around murdering people left and right (also another example of fandom double standards: everyone defends moc!dean and demon!dean because "he only killed bad people" - which isn't even true, but let's say he was - and yet, I seem to remember a certain kitsune named amy pond, who was ALSO killing bad people (and not for the lolz of it, but to save her son) and dean killed her and the fandom defended him back then as well. is killing bad people okay only if dean does it?), tried to kill sam, beat cas bloody

> keeping secrets

- sam: keeping his powers and the demon blood a secret was his god given right, since it affected no-one but sam himself and the demons he was exorcising. not to mention, he had pretty good reasons for not telling dean, considering his bigotry, black and white views and judgmental attitude. and yet, he was, and still is, vilified by both the show and the fandom for keeping secrets and dean even punched him for not telling him about his abilities (something in particular about this point that absolutely drives me up the wall: in 4x04 sam accidentally revealed that he knew about what azazel did to him and dean got mad at him for not telling him about it, even tho dean himself found out about it and didn't tell sam and no-one - not the show, not the fandom and not even sam and dean themselves - notices the hypocrisy. they're literally saying that it's okay for DEAN to keeps something about SAM a secret from SAM, but not okay for SAM to keep something about HIMSELF a secret from DEAN. if you don't think that's super fucked up, then I don't know what to tell you)

- dean: no-one says anything about dean keeping the effects of the mark a secret, even tho, unlike s4 sam, lying about the mark directly affected other people and put everyone around him in danger, including sam

> general treatment

- sam: everyone treated sam like a monster in s4, dean straight up called him a monster, told him he'd hunt him if he didn't know him, forced him into a torture-detox that almost killed him, tried to control him and refused to see his point. at the end of s4 sam apologized to dean. in s5 dean repeatedly told him that he doesn't trust him. sam was blamed for everything that happened in s4 and his mistake kept getting brought up even seasons later

- dean: everyone and their mom was coddling him and helping to get rid of the mark. everyone considered the mark to be the problem, not dean himself. sam was unconditionally supportive. dean never once apologized to sam for any of the awful things he said/did to him while he had the mark. sam never once blamed dean for anything that happened in s9-10 and instead placed the blame on crowley and none of the things dean did ever got brought up again

> at the end of each arc

- sam: paid for his mistake by sacrificing himself and jumped into the cage and saved the world and got tortured by the devil himself for centuries

- dean: paid for his mistake by having his mother brought back to life

send me unpopular opinions

[dmcofficial]

i really love how dmc approaches the relationship between human and demonic selves, especially in the light of it acting as contrast to how regular, average people struggle to accept parts themselves, the beautiful, the ugly, the parts that are both. dante has the most development simply bc he's the longest running protag of the series but also he's had games entirely dedicated low-key to his developing relationship and eventual acceptance of his human and demonic sides, even tho i think his are more clear cut (dmc1 & dmc3) meanwhile nero (dmc4 & dmc5) and vergil (dmc5) have more subtle and almost cramped development in a way

[ranting abt dante, vergil, & nero's character development throughout the franchise under the cut bc this also got rlly long,,,]

dante is interesting post dmc3 just bc he's both written 2 b a continuous character w no real conclusion to his character in order to continually write him into dmc games and content, BUT he still reaches SOME conclusions to character arcs in dmc1 and dmc3, and afterwards we see how those conclusions have aged with him— aged is the important word there, because changes in dante's character are both from the perspective on nero (his villainous aura at the beginning of dmc4) and the simple fact that where a lot of characters don't actively age and mature the same way real people do, in video game media especially, dante DOES and this changes how we would expect him to react in games liek 4 and 5

i think part of the reason the dynamic between vergil and dante has shifted by dmc5 is not only bc of vergils speedrun development in the same game, but also because you could reasonably say that while vergil expects a fight w him similar to their past fights, you could argue he is also a little bit unsettled with how dante's changed in the time theyve been separated. because despite how they tend to mirror each other as children and their journey thru dmc as a franchise can be framed as the same One character put thru different yet similar traumatic events, vergil even remarks about it at the top of the qliphoth, that difference here is that by dmc4 and DEF dmc5 dante has evolved past that where vergil is just beginning to really see it.

dante has had the time to process it. he went thru all this development years ago. it's had time to sit with him and age and ferment. dante is now tired, almost apathetic. he's disinterested with life and the cards he's been dealt with. at least in dmc4 and between dmc1 and 4, the anime too, he was sort of. rueful and upset about it? but he's seemed to move past that at this point. he is a character who has done everything there is to do. there is nothing and nobody who can challenge him, and even the concept doesn't catch his full attention. vergil is a trigger topic, it sets him off instantly, probably because vergil is the only constant in his life that will live as long and is as impossibly stubborn as dante is.

he doesn't chase vergil because he's necessarily hurting people with the dmc5 red grave massacre or trying to end the world in some great fashion and dante will have fun or at least get a thrill from defeating him or dying trying— cutting thru urizens forces are a pain in the ass and a waste of time. he wants the main course. he wants to be done with it. not to say he wouldn't have fun fighting, but he doesn't get the thrill he does when he's younger anymore. he wants to end their feud, seeming to be with the intention of making up with him even if he's come to terms with vergil's pride being what will force dante to kill him in the end

fighting with vergil in the underworld afterwards, having someone like him to keep him company, to share those experiences with, it's everything he needed and more i think. the repairing of their relationship, the new partner in a life none can truly relate to. i mean, both brothers treat nero like a child, he's the closest either of them can get to someone who understands, but nobody will understand truly like they will

vergil meanwhile, decides very young that power is all he needs and it will solve all his problems. and you know, at the time maybe it does. but eventually, when forced to admit it isn't, when put between dante and more power despite it being a hollow motivation, he chooses power and the end of dmc3 to the events of dmc1 happens.

dmc5 is unique in that v is forced to retrace vergils steps. they're put through the same paces: he is put in a position of fear after his 'birth', he chooses life, and then goes hunting for power to keep himself alive afterwards. but not only does he have his familiars to balance him out in a way vergil never had (and that dante has in trish and lady,) but his demonic tendencies can't overwhelm him, he has room to grow and accept and come to realizations he can only reach as a clear headed human. he is able to actively use empathy and sympathy, even against his will. he realizes that power isn't everything. that the atrocities he's committed in the name of his own growth in power are just that, atrocities. that he feels regret for what he has done. that he wants to find away to atone for those actions.

he is forced to accept the strengths and weaknesses of his humanity, but also the same coin's other side, the horrible things he's done in the past, the horrible things his demon self is currently doing unchecked, and v resolves to change that even at the cost of his human outlook, even at the gravity of his actions being leveled against vergil in all their horror. he learns to accept that part of himself, both parts, everything bad he can commit with his two hands, but also with nero, nico, his familiatr, the good that can be done. the weeds that can fight to grow through the cracks.

nero spends dmc4 learning how to be a demon. hes force to learn how to deal with and manage his demonic changes. for a few weeks he has his demon arm, when he previously believed himself to be entirely human, and is then forced to come to terms with his yamato trigger and all the changes that brings. he even promises to himself, having grown up on a hyper religious island that loathes demonkind and reveres sparda, that even if humanity learns to hate him and fear him, he will still stick to his steadfast morals, his drive to achieve his goal of saving kyrie and greater fortuna. i also think a lot of dmc4 is nero becoming comfortable with his true nature. he comes into himself in dmc4 as a mouthy, demonic-warped demon hunter with a bad attitude in contrast to the bored, slightly tempered teen who broods in church even as kyrie attempts to wrangle him at the beginning of the game

dmc5 i think is nero's human game in the sense that he's forced to relearn how to be human. he spends five+ years as a demonic freak of nature, powerful on an island of human people with no demonic power. he's downright untouchable. after losing his bringer and his powers, he's forced back to square one, human again. i think dante believes nero is deadweight in the sense that nero is weak again, without any kind of demonic power and will get himself killed easily fighting urizen despite his hybrid resilience that still lingers. nero is angered by this— by his weakness, by the fact that he promised dante to keep the yamato safe and had it stolen from him, by his lack of agency. dante wasn't even going to tell nero, v, some random-ass goth, had to fetch him. he feels he isn't enough anymore, and dante's words are poorly timed— they sting particularly hard i think, considering he is nero's only unofficial family at the time, and family is his soft spot.

i also think nero coming to terms with vergil and dante being his father and uncle respectively takes up a lot of this arc of his– he is forced to grapple with what family means to him, what he is willing to do for family, when his only relationship with family has been his experiences as an orphan with strange white hair and a bad attitude in fortuna of all places, fostered by kyries parents who seemed to only take a liking to him at first for how much he resembled the Savior™. kyrie and credo were his only family after they died, and it's kyrie who reminds him of his own beliefs, in his own love and stubborn, headstrong dedication and determination for the well being of his found family, even as that found family suddenly includes actual blood family. he also has to try and understand dante and his perspective, who hid this from him. maybe out of fear of disappointing him, maybe out of concern of how he would take it, maybe because he thought nero was better off with the family he found than with the knowledge of how much bloody weight he carries, the heavy history of their family, didn't want to give that weight to him.

nero sort of learns here that seemingly good people do bad things for the right reasons. sometimes bad people do bad things because they think it's the best of the shitty choices. sometimes bad and good people just don't exist, and there's no good choice. he learns unwavering forgiveness, unconditional and true. all of these lessons he's lost between dmc4 and 5

[mangleschmidt]

DRV3 Boys playing TF2 Headcanons

(First made long before the F2P mute and bot crisis but I added the bot crisis)

Me and my bro made up many scenarios AND cosmetics for the class (my brother mostly help me with the idea)

I originally have the terminologies explained like market gardening, friendly and such but cut it because it’s getting too long. If you want the terminologies, you can tell me. Btw, I’m not an imagines blog, just doing this one for fun.

Kaito Momota

Main: Soldier

Thrilled to play this game, saying that's very manly and it's one of the coolest games yet

He, along with Kaede (and to an extend, Chiaki), are the ones who introduced the game to the class

Was a scout main at first and likes the scout unironically

A terrible tryhard warpig soldier

Saw a rocket jumping soldier at a High-tower map and wanted to imitate that, almost like he's blasting to space

Watch this guy try to market garden someone and then get fucking rekt by a Medic of all classes

He just dies, a lot, which is frustrating and his team gets mad at him

Kaito gets better at it fortunately, but it's a painfully slow process

You'll be lucky if he decides to go back to Scout in a round lmao

Rages in chat or voice but is the best cheerleader you can have in your team, he never actually shits on you for being shit on the game

There's that one time where Kaito got the Rocket Jumper from a drop, fired it at an enemy, got angry how it didn't worked, realized it doesn't do damage and embarrassed himself

Gets a bit pissy when no one is doing the objective so he avoids the maps Hightower and 2fort most of the time

Capture the flag and payload races mostly pisses him off for the same reason (tho he would go to Hightower for the sick rocket jumps)

So he doesn't like friendlies (but he may or may not, you know, do the conga, rock paper scissors, mannrobics, kazotsky kick-)

Anything that looks cool and manly cosmetics, but mostly you'll see him decked with space cosmetics

Bonus: Avoids Full Moon and Scream Fortress, is obviously afraid but he gives Alien Invasion a shot when it comes up, loves it. Also like Doomsday

Rantaro Amami

Main: Engineer

Everyone seems to be like it so why not give it a shot?

He got invested and also found the trading system

Rantaro usually plays engineer but is willing to change classes if the team needs a class

Is at least good at every other class

Rarely does turtling or battle engie but enjoys doing it with the other engies for laughs, and is very good at battle engie

Some people confused him with Uncle Dane

Hc that Rantaro looks up to Uncle Dane

Imagine Rantaro and Uncle Dane having a collab, that would be sick as fuck

Casual and competitive but more casual, often plays in community servers

That type of person who voice chats

Rantaro is one of the ones who would help his classmates play, along with Kaito. Imagine him like in a server with Kaito and Gonta, helping Gonta how to play and Avocado and Space boy act as a translator while Bug boy plays cutely

Doesn't mind friendlies, he chills with them a lot and he is easily well liked by the community

Some even suggested him to make a tf2 youtube channel

Has an unusual hat, making him look like a pro, has a lot of medic girlfriends because of this

One of the two reasons why the whole class have a wide array of cosmetics

Gonta Gokuhara

Main: Medic

At first he doesn't like how violent the game is

But since this violence is just for fun and in game and no one is actually getting hurt and dead so he's at least convinced

Still wants to play passively so Gonta goes with Medic, healing and helping his team seems to be a fitting choice!

The game is not too complex so he learns easily... i-in a way

Best boy learns fast, he should be fine

He's definitely that type of Medic who would go to someone when they press the E key and whoever is near him

Doesn't know where to look most of the time, gets lost easily to big maps like the control points

Gonta still has a firm grasp on what to do, like if he noticed that someone is in low health, he'll heal them immediately without needing the 'e', build up uber, spy check the patient, and never heal spies when they're disguised

Can't aim for shit, though he supposedly gets better at it with the crusader's crossbow

He sometimes would accidentally forget to pop when it's necessary and then die

"Danke!" Says that a lot

He doesn't play a lot despite having fun, he's an outdoor type of guy

Absolutely LOVES friendlies and just loves it when someone just stops, does the conga taunt and everyone follows, creating a conga line (until someone kills them all but it's all in good fun!) He loves silly servers

Is honestly surprised that there’s even such thing as silly servers and friendlies, thought it’s all blood and gore (he sometimes switch to pyro vision googles to avoid gore)

Sometimes plays as Heavy for the protecting part and the friendly Hoovy part for this reason

Anything fancy for the cosmetics, especially for hats the Gentleman's Gabsy or the Vintage Tyrolean (a good cosmetic for a good gentleman!)

Has a lot of cosmetics like Rantaro and trades them with the class

Bonus: Isn't fond of Banana Bay and the Second Banana... because banana

Kokichi Ouma

Main: None (most played: Scout)

Bold of you to assumed he never played this game before

... or is it a lie?

Needless to say he likes it for the cartoony and chaotic vibe of the game

Switches between the 9 classes, even if there's 5 spies he'll be the 6th one

He'd be that Medic who would leave the others to die, Scout that steals sandwiches from Heavy that's meant for the dying Medic and so forth

He might as well pretend to be a sniper bot

Chaos incarnate

This is the fucker who spams E and X+5 (Place the dispenser)

Also taunts in every kill

When he's on a losing team, he would try to bind kill right before the time is up or taunt kill in humiliation, sometimes works

Actually really good at the game, he's one of the very few people who picked up very quickly

Though he fooled Gonta once as a disguised enemy spy. He got rekt when they both noticed the achievement

Also dominated someone so badly that they immediately rage quit, another achievement

Another "you'll be lucky if he plays seriously" which is rare

Is definitely on a 30+ killstreak

People would sometimes thought he’s a squeaker (a kid who rages in voice chat) so he just fucks around with them and then just pulls a no u card

Neutral opinion on friendlies though he gets bored when no one is doing the objective or any action happening so he burns them all and watches them get mad in the chat

Obnoxious combos of cosmetics that you can easily recognize that purple neon Scunt from afar even if he's under an alias

Korekiyo Shinguuji

Main: Spy/Sniper

Not interested at first but is interested when others play and hovers over their shoulders to watch

While watching Gonta and Kiibo playing with the friendlies, he got interested

You don't see that in a lot of fps games

Korekiyo looks like an edgy sniper/spy main who just watches the chaos enveloping from the distance and getting headshots/backstabs out of nowhere

He's very calm and collective despite the crazy amount of chaos and all the deafening sounds of the vc

It's amusing to him, he even find the Administrator interesting and would sometimes go into many modes to hear her voice tone changes and a lot of behaviors of many players too

He even noticed the voice lines of the mercs and got invested in the lore of Team Fortress 2

Korekiyo still does his job in the game but can sometimes be interpreted as him in afk, almost got him kicked

Though he does get kicked for the being good at sniper, people getting butt hurt and called him a hacker

Also an amazing spy checker

Is interested about friendlies, he would come up to them close and observe them and he plays along with the taunts

He got really interested to see this "culture", like how most of the players collectively decides to play silly, serious or both, resulting him trying out almost every game mode and map there is

Unironically loves 2fort, Hightower, Suijin and Degroot Keep

Often joins community servers and silly servers but will do casual/pub servers whenever he feels like it

Something that resembles him irl, he looks edgy with the mask tbh

Other than that, his cosmetics changes depending on what mood or observation he wants to do

Ryoma Hoshi

Main: None (most played: Demoman)

Convinced by Kaito into playing

Not that much actually

Mediocre at best, he’s just doing his own thing

Definitely would stick around even if there’s one person in the server

Imagine getting killed by a Medic as a Demoknight in a melee fight with a shit weapon Do No Harm, couldn’t be me... or Ryoma

Likely plays Passtime

He will never admit it but he finds the ragdolls in the game funny

Also unironically likes the Scout

Demoknight tf2

God, imagine Ryoma has demonknight speed, combine it with his own speed and Solarlight skills, he’d be infinitely flying across all maps and go beyond the skybox

Ryoma too strong pls nerf

Doesn't play it often, not really his thing

Doesn’t mind friendlies, honestly surprised that there’s even such thing as one

Doesn't customize himself, though he likes the animal cosmetics

I apologize to the Ryoma fans out there for this being short

Shuichi Saihara

Main: None (most played: Spy)

Also doesn't see the appeal, but convinced by Kaito into playing

When he played the game for the first time, every time he dies, he switch to a class just to test them out

It’s too much for him, please hold him

Probably fell off a cliff several times-

Imagine the sheer amount of panic he feels when playing any class, especially Medic since Medic is a death magnet

Rockets, explosives, bullets, fire, blood and ragdolls everywhere! ... oh hey why is that guy just crouching with a melee?

He gets the hang of it over time

One of the best spy checker there is as well, not only as Pyro, though he feels sorry for the new spies (or newbies in general) so he tries to teach them the best way he can

The server kicked him for using hacks to find spies but for him, it’s obvious???

He usually plays the class whatever the team needs at the moment

Hard reads are strong in this one

Sushi likes the friendlies, chills with them a lot :>

Doesn’t customized himself, Kaito’s the one who helped him with it

K1-B0

Main: None (most played: Heavy)

Tries it out

It's ok I guess

He also doesn't have a main because he'll try to accommodate in which class is needed

If the whole team is like a full house of cards (in a 4 snipers, 5 engies type of way, you get the idea), he'll mostly go for the Medic since he knows it's vital for a team to have a Medic

There's rarely any Medics or Heavies in the start of the round, are they an endangered species??

He might start an event or something dedicating to the two classes

It never goes well despite Keebo's efforts in those, let's be honest

Though sometimes the team has like three Medics, the poor boy is confused

He's actually doing alright with all the class

The bot problem, oh god the bot problem

So there's that one time where the Myg0t bot joined, the enemy team said in the chat about kicking the bot

Well... obviously this made Keebo upset, as he thought they were referring to him

The server thought Keebo was trolling when he said something about him being a robot and saying that they're being robophobic... and sending them to court-

By some kind of miracle, the server liked Keebo because of this so he wasn't kicked out but he's incredibly salty throughout the match

"The server is robophobic" "Keebo, they were referring to the aimbots, they weren't robophobic" "... What Aimbots?"

His classmates were able to explain with videos and experiences, and also told him about several other types of bots that ruins the fun, which made Keebo embarrassed for having the wrong assumption

Though he still gets offended whenever it happens-

Like Kaito, he also doesn't like friendlies, insisting that that it's not how really play the game, though is guilty in pre-game conga lines, mannrobics and kazotski taunts, he likes the mannrobics

Bonus: Does NOT like the bot deco and is conflicted with the Mann vs Machine game mode

[bigskydreaming]

Dick is abused by Bruce in canon.

Fandom: ...yeah but not really though, I mean its not like the times with Jason or Tim, now you wanna talk abusive, let’s talk about those....

Dick dies in canon.

Fandom: ...yeah but not really though, I mean it was only for a couple of minutes, its not like the times with Jason or Damian, now you wanna talk death trauma, let’s talk about those.....

Dick was fired as Robin after being shot, with Bruce taking away the name and mantle he’d created to honor his first family.

Fandom: ....yeah, not really though. I mean, its not like that time with Jason replaced by Tim or Tim replaced by Damian, and c’mon, the being fired thing is really only a retcon that didn’t even need to happen, now you wanna talk being fired or replaced or wronged, let’s talk about those....

Dick grows up being subjected to constant racism and classism from Gotham’s upper class.

Fandom: ....eh, still seems like a spoiled rich kid to me. I mean its not like as bad as Jason had it, now you wanna talk tough time growing up with Bruce, let’s talk about him....

Dick is shot in the head and gets amnesia.

Fandom: ...yeah, but not really digging his personality changes, tbh....

Dick is brainwashed and psychologically manipulated and controlled.

Fandom: ....okay but did he have to be such an asshole about it though?

Dick is lost and grieving when believing his father dead, and forced to shoulder impossible burdens and expectations with no clear solution and usually with conflicting expectations heaped on him by multiple different parties he feels responsible for.

Fandom: .....okay but Tim was more hurt and grieving and also why didn’t Dick believe him tho.....

Dick has lost countless friends who’ve died over the years, not all of whom have been brought back to life some way or another.

Fandom: .....I mean, who hasn’t, am I right?

Dick watched his parents die right in front of him.

Fandom: ....okay but at least he had parents who loved him, Jason and Tim and Cass didn’t even have that much!

Dick was thrown into juvie by the very system that was supposed to protect him.

Fandom: ....sure, if you wanna insist on going with the one super angsty take that tbh doesn’t seem all that believable, compared to his siblings’ super realism based origins....

Dick was kicked out or driven away by Bruce at multiple times, in multiple continuities.

Fandom: ....sure, if you wanna insist on going with the two or three super angsty takes on years worth of continuity, but gotta say, seems like you just got a hard on for the dude suffering....

Dick spent months passively suicidal, eventually getting more and more reckless and seemingly with a death wish.

Fandom: ....okay but its like his dad said when dishing out the tough love, he lost sight of the value of his own life and wtf dude, that’s not cool.

Dick saw his circus burned down, everyone in his apartment building killed, a woman shot in the head just for sitting across from him, all simply because these innocent people crossed his path, and him feeling guilty and responsible for each of their deaths because of this.

Fandom: ...yeah but wasn’t it kinda a little bit his fault? I mean, if he didn’t exist, they wouldn’t have died, y’know?

Dick found out that his direct ancestor is an undead assassin for a secret society intent on ruling Gotham from the shadows, and that he was intended by them to be another of their tools since before he was even born, and the circus he loves and remembers fondly from growing up there was complicit in the conspiracy to force him into a life of servitude to the Court of Owls as their personal assassin.

Fandom: ....ugh I just hate how everyone always makes a big deal about Dick Grayson, like he’s gotta be the most special ever, eww.

Dick was battered and guilt tripped by his father into going undercover away from his family for a year immediately following his death and revival, with the rest of his family believing him dead and blaming him for this upon his return.

Fandom: ....like we’re supposed to feel bad for a guy who faked his death and made his family all mourn him while he was off playing James Bond? Pfft.

Dick has lost siblings at various points and grieved for them over extended periods, being extremely affected by their deaths.

Fandom: ...umm, he literally hated Jason though, according to the fact that we said so, and yeah he was sad about Damian dying but then he faked his death so we had to stop caring because fuck that guy.

Dick has struggled with abandonment issues, fear of disappointing Bruce and other related issues, such as his own ongoing battle with people trying to make him into a killer and his own repeated struggle with whether or not he believes its never justified, such as when he killed the Joker.

Fandom: ....that didn’t count, though.

Dick was tortured on multiple occasions, almost to the point of death.

Fandom: ...source?

Dick was left to fend for himself in multiple instances where he’d been there for his family in similar situations.

Fandom: .....mmmm, sounds fake.

Dick was estranged from Bruce for years after being fired, and again after Jason died, with Bruce never reaching out or apologizing in either instance and their estrangement only ending when Dick extended the olive branch and came back.

Fandom: ...oh boohoo. Drama queen.

Dick had to find out from the news that Bruce adopted another kid and also gave him Dick’s mantle, as well as find out from computer files that his brother died, because Bruce never deemed it necessary to inform him of any of these things.

Fandom: ...jeez Dick, sometimes, things aren’t about you. What a narcissist.

Dick’s entire city is blown up by supervillains.

Fandom: .....uh, pretty sure we’d remember that happening.

Dick’s subjected to constant sexual harassment by Dr. Netz while working for Spyral.

Fandom: ....didn’t see it. Sorry. Was busy laughing at Dr. Netz’s jokes about sexually harassing Dick. Look, they were funny, okay?

Dick was raped, not once but twice.

Fandom: .....ALRIGHT! NOW we’re talking! Tell me more, I mean, fuck, that’s so sad and tragic, I wanna know all the details. Who was it, why did they do it, how many times, did Jason kill them like the good brother he is or was it traumatizing for Tim and Damian to learn that the brother they looked up to was subjected to something like this? DETAILS, MAN, DETAILS.

Dick is frequently written as the focal point of fics wherein a villain graphically rapes him in addition to the rapes he endured in canon, but in far more specific and traumatizing ways and with the vast majority of fics having this villain be male and in a vast majority of those fics, the rapes rendered in ways that are sexually gratifying and titillating even in scenes emphasizing the emotional devastation the actual actions inflict on Dick.

Fandom: ....not sure I see the issue, bro.

Me: One of these things is not like the others.

Fandom: ....still not seeing it.

Me: Its almost like there’s only one specific kind of trauma many of you are willing to consider Dick an actual victim for suffering.... 

Fandom: ....okay but its not our fault literally none of the other things count.

Me: .....and the way many people write this specific kind of trauma being inflicted on him in particular, lends the impression that even here its still not about sympathizing with him so much as enjoying the acts inflicted on him and the emotional distress they cause him.

Fandom: ....nah. LOL.

[flightfoot]

Many of the side character’s stories and development in Trials of Apollo mirror and support Apollo’s own development

One of the things I love about ToA is how many of the other characters’ stories, their situations, their development, mirrors and compliments Apollo’s own development, reinforcing the story of how Apollo changes from being a selfish, arrogant, shallow, apathetic person, to one of the most selfless, humble, aware, and empathetic people in the Riordanverse.

Meg Mccaffrey

Obviously Meg’s story is the one that mirrors Apollo’s the most. I’ve already talked about this in past analyses however, and it’s so blatantly obvious I don’t want to waste time making a point that I’m sure all my readers already know. Maybe I’ll make another analysis focusing on Meg later, but I’ll skip over her for now.

Calypso

Fairly superficial similarities here. Calypso is also a former immortal who’s learning to deal with the loss of her powers (though not TOTAL loss) and being thrown into the demigod world headfirst. The emotional core of their experiences is different though, since Calypso’s whole thing was that she was trapped on an island (albeit a nice one) under house arrest for thousands of years. Apollo wasn’t really trapped like that. Even saying he was METAPHORICALLY trapped is a bit of a stretch, Zeus doesn’t seem to have been to involved in the day-to-day business of what Apollo got up to.

Lityerses

This one IS fairly similar actually. Lityerses is controlled and manipulated by his father, and it sounds like he’s okay with that - like he’s as bloodthirsty as his father is.

“Right.” He regarded Calypso. “I think I’ll keep you alive long enough to kill you in front of Valdez’s face. That’ll be fun. But this former god here...” Lit shrugged. “I’ll just have to tell the emperor that he resisted arrest.” (TDP 152)

But there are hints that maybe there’s more going on there. His muttering of “I hate that” when Midas casually mentions accidentally turning Lit to gold in The Lost Hero, him being glad that Apollo gave his father donkey ears, his casual mistreatment by Commodus - all of it gives the clues that maybe there’s a REASON for his attitude, for his behavior.

What it does NOT do, however, is hint that Lit could be a better person. None of any of the heroes’ encounters with Lit actually suggests that. That’s a leap of faith that Apollo makes, hoping that MAYBE, just maybe, Lit will be a better person if someone gives him a chance. If someone shows him kindness, helps him when they have no good reason too. He identifies with Lit. The hidden depths that Apollo’s shown as a mortal... they wouldn’t be apparent to a casual observer of him as a god. Heck, APOLLO didn’t know they were there! He’s constantly surprised at himself, at the kind of person he is now, at the sort of things he’ll do. Apollo gives Lit the chance he wants people to give himself, the sort of chance that he didn’t even really realize he needed. Showing him - showing Apollo - showing Lit - that level of kindness, mercy, and concern, when there’s no ulterior motive, showing it just because this is another person, and they haven’t really done anything to ‘earn’ compassion beyond that simple fact - that threw both of them for a loop.

In Apollo’s case, he really started appreciating others compassion in THO, when his children took him in, treated him as family, cared for him, said they’d protect him against anyone who gave him trouble.

“If anyone gives you trouble, Kayla will shoot them. Then I’ll curse them so bad they’ll be speaking rhyming couplets for weeks.”

My eyes watered. Not so long ago - like this morning, for instance - the idea of these young demigods being able to help me would have been ridiculous. Now their kindness moved me more than a hundred sacrificial bulls. I couldn’t recall the last time someone had cared about me enough to curse my enemies with rhyming couplets.

“Thank you.” I managed. I could not add “my children”. These demigods were my protectors and my family, but for the present I could not think of myself as their father. A father should do more - a father should give more to his children than he takes. I have to admit this was a novel idea for me. It made me feel even worse than before. (115)

It makes a difference here that his kids are helping him when he couldn’t offer anything back. If he’d still been a god, he wouldn’t have given their help much thought. He would’ve just thought that he was entitled to it, and that it’s not like he’d REALLY need them anyway. But this? This is different. They’re helping him just because they care - it’s not anything transactional. Apollo isn’t used to thinking about relationships this way - not for the most part anyway. His relationships with Artemis and Leto are solid, and he seems to have genuinely cared for Hyacinthus, genuinely loved him as a person, and cared for Asclepius quite a bit, but aside from that? Not so much. Certainly not caring about someone who’s practically a stranger.

This set an example for Apollo, one that he carries forwards to Lit. Lit also has never been shown this sort of kindness before, kindness when he’s at his most vulnerable, compassion without an expectation of a return, and most especially, compassion when he’s given Apollo and the Waystation residents every reason to reject him. And that compassion is enough to cause him to break down, to rethink his whole stance on life. Seemingly overnight, he changes from being the brutal, cruel killer who would murder Calypso in front of Leo just to hurt him that much more, to being a lost person just looking for something or someone to live for, to fight for. And having found it, he suddenly softens, becoming kinder, more balanced. 

But it’s not really an overnight change, is it? This other side has always existed, it’s just been hidden under layers of bravado and cruelty. That’s why both Lit and Apollo are able to change their mindsets so quickly - not all the aspects of what they’ve learned is truly “new”, they just haven’t applied them like this before, or not for a long time. Apollo’s experienced these sorts of caring relationships with Leto and Artemis at least, so they’re not totally a foreign concept. I’m betting in Lit’s case that he and his sister, at least at one point in time, did truly care about each other. The difference is seeing it applied more broadly to themselves by people who don’t already know them well, and then applying it to others that same way in turn.

Piper

Piper’s whole identity crisis has similarities to Apollo’s own. She was thrown into a situation where people expected certain things of her, and she just kinda... conformed to them. Which isn’t to say that she might not have chosen them herself on her own, but she didn’t really get that choice. Now that she has the time and has had a chance to think, she’s trying to find herself, figure out who she is. Her dad being financially ruined throws a wrench into it, but both of them returning to their roots, her father seemingly having more time to spend with her - those aspects are familiar. Apollo’s now figuring out who he is, now that he doesn’t have “being a god” to define him, along with everything else associated with that. His having his godhood stolen, and only now spending time really getting to know his kids and his demigod half-siblings, along with many, many others, is like how Piper’s dad now has time to spend with her, time he didn’t have before - a silver lining in this whole mess. 

Apollo’s advice to Piper seems to be talking about himself nearly as much as it’s talking about Piper.

“It’s been my observation,” I said, “that you humans are more than the sum of your history. You can choose how much of your ancestry to embrace. You can overcome the expectations of your family and your society. What you cannot do, and should never do, is try to be someone other than yourself - Piper McLean.” (265)

With how Apollo’s grown throughout the series and ESPECIALLY in TTT, this fits him as well. Apollo is more than the sum of his history, of what he has done, of what has been established by the older gods. He can choose how much of his past - and his family - to embrace, and overcome the expectations of his family, both godly and mortal, and of godly society. And he will do it by being himself, his WHOLE self, including the parts of his being that he’s been nurturing as a mortal, the compassionate, empathetic parts of himself.

Jason

Jason is a little different, because I don’t think his development, his situation parallels Apollo’s CURRENT situation, so much as Apollo’s future development. His willingness to sacrifice himself, to be the one who dies so that his friends can survive, wanting to keep secret about the prophecy so that Piper doesn’t try to stop him, so that hopefully he can keep her safe, even if it means merrily walking to his own death.... I’m expecting Apollo to get into a similar situation in TON. Though there are elements of that he’s already lived through, since he ALREADY chose Meg’s life over his own in TDP, and in TTT, he tried to conceal and downplay just how badly he was hurt to try to stop Meg from worrying as much.

Frank

Frank carries his mortality - the stick that’s attached to his life force - around with him. He’s decided that in order to lead the Legion effectively, he has to put one hundred percent of himself on the line. He can’t let fear hold him back. 

Apollo’s mortality is also on the line all the time. Originally he wanted to hide away, to cower behind others so as not to die (not that he actually tended to go THROUGH with it, either because he couldn’t or he wasn’t willing to abandon them) but now? Now he doesn’t even try. He wants to live, that’s true. But he values his companion’s lives more. He won’t hesitate to put himself on the line, to commit himself completely if he believes that it gives them a greater chance of survival.

The greater parallel however comes later, with Apollo’s hypothesis for how Frank survived his stick burning up. He believes that maybe since Frank took charge of his own destiny by willingly sacrificing himself, that he was freed from his old destiny and forged a new one:

“It’s just a guess,” I admitted. “Frank went into that tunnel knowing he might die. He willingly sacrificed himself for a noble cause. In doing so, he broke free of his fate. By burning his own tinder, he kind of… I don’t know, started a new fire with it. He’s in charge of his own destiny now. Well, as much as any of us are. The only other explanation I can think of is that Juno somehow released him from the Fates’ decree.” (393)

I don’t know how plausible this explanation is. Honestly, it kinda sounds like BS to me, especially since Jason did the same thing and HE died. But what’s important here is what APOLLO thinks happened. His explanation says as much about him as it does about what he thinks happened with Frank.

Breaking free of your fate by accepting, by EMBRACING your own mortality, putting everything on the line, sacrificing yourself completely in order to have a shot of stopping your friends from being hurt or killed... it’s similar to what happened with Jason, but with the added twist that Frank survived and started a new story, free of his previous destiny.

The destiny thing is really important. As a god, Apollo’s not ‘supposed’ to be able to change or mature. The gods seem to believe that their nature is more set in stone than mortals are. But Apollo has disproven that. He’s changed a lot, and has continued to change. He’s forging his own destiny, one different than he ever imagined it could be. And maybe, just maybe, one that Zeus won’t have control over. One that’s truly his own.

Don the Faun

Don has only a small role, but what Apollo says about him - what he thinks about him - says a lot.

“Hey, Apollo, you- you know the difference between a faun and a satyr…?”

[…]

A moment later, his body collapsed with a noise like a relieved sigh, crumbling into fresh loam. In the spot where his heart had been, a tiny sapling emerged from the soil. I immediately recognized the shape of those miniature leaves. Not a hemlock. A laurel - the tree I had created from poor Daphne, and whose leaves I had decided to make into wreaths. The laurel, the tree of victory.

One of the dryads glanced at me. “Did you do that…?”

I shook my head. I swallowed the bitter taste from my mouth.

“The only difference between a satyr and a faun,” I said, “is what we see in them. And what they see in themselves. Plant this tree somewhere special.: I looked up at the dryads. “Tend it and make it grow healthy and tall. This was Don the faun, a hero.” (398-399)

Here, Apollo’s noting that the difference between satyrs and fauns are purely societal. That there’s no inherent difference between them. Like the difference between gods and mortals, mentally, isn’t that different. Gods may be more powerful, but they’re still people, like mortals are. The differences between them, psychologically, have more to do with how society sees them, and how they see themselves. Having had his godhood stripped away, this is very apparent to Apollo. Because he’s still himself. A better version of himself, in fact, but that has nothing to do with him being mortal - not in and of itself. But with the things he’s learned as a mortal. He can be a hero, truly. Because he is just as capable of such things as any mortal.

Reyna

And lastly, there’s Reyna. She too, like Frank and Don previously, broke free from expectations to forge her own path. 

“My whole life, I’ve been living with other people’s expectations of what I’m supposed to be. Be this. Be that. You know?”

[…]

“But you showed me. When you proposed dating…” She took a deep breath, her body shaking with silent giggles. “Oh, gods. I saw how ridiculous I’d been. How ridiculous the whole situation was. That’s what healed my heart - being able to laugh at myself again, at my stupid ideas about destiny. That allowed me to break free - just like Frank broke free of his firewood. I don’t need another person to heal my heart. I don’t need a partner… at least, not until and unless I’m ready on my own terms. I don’t need to be force-shipped with anyone or wear anybody else’s label. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. So thank you.” (405-406)

Reyna thought that she was supposed to find a partner. Everyone else thought she needed a partner - needed romantic healing. Until Lester asked her out. Until she saw how ridiculous it was to let others expectations - or curses, or whatever you’d call Venus’s little prophecy - control her life.

Apollo has a similar thing going on with letting expectations about what he’s supposed to do, about who he’s supposed to be, control what he does - or did, at least. I’ve gone over that already, so I’ll skip past that.

But the romantic angle? About thinking - or having others think - that she needs to be healed romantically? That also falls in line with Apollo’s development. Apollo’s had a LOT of romantic relationships, and a decent number of them have ended in disaster. He seems to be convincing himself that some romance will “fix” things, like with how he convinced himself that getting together with the Cumaean Sibyl would fix things:

But that wasn’t enough for me. I was smitten. I convinced myself it was love - the one true romance that would wash away all my past missteps. I wanted the Sibyl to be my partner throughout eternity. As the afternoon went on, I coaxed and pleaded. (131)

But he wasn’t in love with her, not truly, or his love wouldn’t have turned to hate so fast when she refused him. He just really WANTED it to be a shining romance, one that would finally fix things.

He actually does seem to be finding this sort of fulfillment now, but not with romantic relationships - with more platonic, familial relationships instead, such as with Meg.

I’d always wondered what it would be like to have a younger sibling. Sometimes I’d treated Artemis as my baby sister, since I’d been born a few minutes earlier, but that had been mostly to annoy her. With Meg, I felt as if it was actually true. I had someone who depended on me, who needed me around no matter how much we irritated each other. I thought about Hazel and Frank and the washing away of curses. I supposed that kind of love could come from many different types of relationships. (192)

I don’t think he’s realized it yet, but in a way, Meg seems to be “washing away” his curse of loneliness, of feeling empty. Taking care of her, connecting with her, bantering with her - this is what he needed. To be a protector. To be a friend. Romance is fine, but they’re not the only fulfilling sorts of relationships. 

Honestly with Reyna and Piper both taking a break from romance in order to find themselves, I think that Apollo may lay off the romance for a bit after ToA’s over, work on his more platonic relationships instead. I don’t think he’d swear it off, but maybe look for something more steady than he was before. And with the experiences he’s had as a mortal, I think he could better recognize truly serious love versus a temporary infatuation.

Final Thoughts

I really love how focused this series is on developing Apollo! A lot of aspects of this series seem geared to do that, from who the antagonists are and how they act, to the storylines of the side characters. It allows a level of development for Apollo that’s deeper and more nuanced than with any of Rick’s previous protagonists, even Percy. I look forward to seeing how Rick will conclude his development. If his writing for Apollo in TON is as solid as for previous entries, I’m sure it will be worth the wait.

[normal-thoughts-official]

please hate rant about how much lorenzo sucks to me i also hate him and wish more people talked about it

MY TIME HAS COME

no, but really, like............... he’s so awful? like ever since he’s first introduced, he does nothing but abuse his power in order to antagonize magnus and it’s so unnecessary and ugly and like. magnus says he doesn’t like him when he’s first introduced (tho i think part of it is just the salt of losing his job talking, which, i mean, fair) but still he’s not even, like, unpleasant to him (really it’s more alec who’s bitching and making faces, and honestly icon) and then lorenzo is just the fucking ugliest from the start. 

and EVERYTHING he does is literally horrible like it’s not just some general petty rivals thing, he legit tries to kill him. i cannot fucking stress enough that that’s literally what happened. only lorenzo could undo the magic transfusion, and if he didn’t, magnus would die, and lorenzo decided not to do it knowing full well of that. he left magnus to die. he was gonna let magnus die. on purpose. he was gonna kill magnus. i don’t think people treat that as the horrible thing that it is, honestly. i see some people talking about them like they’re fun rivals or something like that, or like there’s just some dumb beef, but no, it’s literally like. he tried to FUCKING KILL HIM, and i don’t give a shit if he ended up taking back the magic at the end, because he only did it because Alec not only begged, but specifically told him that Magnus was no threat to Lorenzo. the only reason he did it was because he knew that he would still be at the top at the end. I wouldn’t even be surprised if his thought process was “oh, it’s gonna be even more torture for him to keep living as a mundane knowing he has no other choice”. and then the way he takes magnus’ magic away is so forceful like... i’ve talked briefly about how violent asmodeus was when giving magnus his magic back before, and when lorenzo takes his transfusion back, it’s the same. literally if alec weren’t there to catch him he would have let magnus drop to the ground (might i remind you that he had almost died and was basically like coming out of surgery) and he didn’t even look at him. he did it super fast and violent and forceful on purpose just to make it extra hurtful and draining on his already fragile body. and i don’t mean fragile like “he was weakened” i mean like HE WAS STILL AT THE RISK OF DYING. and lorenzo deliberately hurt his body even more when it would be the easiest thing in the world not to. and then he finishes by being like “i’m keeping your home though”. like it’s so unnecessarily cruel.

and even if i ignore the fact that lorenzo is a literal murderer who tried to murder magnus for zero (0) reason, just. everything else. from the start. off the top of my head, i remember Lorenzo: accusing Magnus of sabotaging his party and basically wanting to arrest him without a single ounce of proof; abusing his power to keep Magnus from getting help with the whole owl thing; abusing his power again to keep him from getting medical help (a magic transfusion) from anyone; rubbing it in that Magnus had just lost his magic, which is basically equivalent of rubbing it in that someone lost a limb, like, he’s also a warlock, he knows that magnus is mourning and he still goes out of his way to humiliate him (if you don’t remember, i’m talking about when magnus goes for him to ask for a magic transfusion and he’s floating and all like “oh, i didn’t see you there” and refuses to come down. it’s like magnus had lost his legs and lorenzo was jogging and he just kept running so magnus couldn’t talk to him like. it’s so disgusting); naming a completely unfair price for the transfusion because he made magnus desperate enough to accept anything, which was clearly the plan all along, just so he could humiliate him further by making him homeless as well as miserable, and not even giving him a single day to move out, like, he really wanted magnus to just rot; yeah i think that’s it.

literally like none of these things is anything short of absolutely horrifying, incomprehensibly cruel, and borderline psychopathic. and he doesn’t even have a reason for hating magnus this much. it’s just like, oh, he’s asmodeus’ son, he’s more powerful than me! CRY ME A FUCKING RIVER, YOU PIECE OF SHIT. and let me just tell me i thought i was gonna die with laughter when he said that magnus was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, like doiuahdsiajnsada. dudebro was born a rich european at the height of Spain’s glory, got the HWoB position at a very young age for a warlock after making zero (0) efforts to actually help anyone, lives in a mansion. magnus has been abused at least twice (asmodeus and camille), has been homeless and almost died when he was just a kid, literally built himself from the ground up, invented portals and a shitton of other spells, making his reputation, has dedicated basically his entire life and more than what is healthy to the downworlder community as a whole, was literally tortured not a month ago. like shut the fuck up??? literally lorenzo is clearly so much more spoiled than magnus ever was (which explains his willingness to go this far to fuck him over, like......... imagine the amount of privilege you need to have to think taking away someone’s house is okay just because you’re jealous that they’re better at magic than you) and magnus’ reputation is way less the fact that he’s powerful and way more the fact that he’s 1- a genius, and 2- a great leader. but go off i fucking guess

but then we’re supposed to think he’s been “redemeed” because, what, Magnus didn’t go out of his way to unturn him into a lizard when asmodeus got him his house back? (honestly just the fact that he set up a nice environment for him is already so much more than he deserved, like..... id have thrown him in the sewer lmao magnus got him a whole cage with good lightning and temperature control and leaves and shit) because he agreed to go to edom literally ONLY because he was promised glory, clearly his #1 drive in life considering he’s done all of this to magnus purely because he’s mad magnus gets more recognition than him? for being like “yo alec don’t freak out and kill us all maybe” when alec was about to hurricane his ass into the depths of edom? like it’s so funny that magnus is all like “alec told me how you helped him in there...” bitch all he did was say “bitch calm down” like he didn’t even say anything besides “calm down” and “i know you can calm down” which is......... a surprisingly small amount of effort considering that if alec didn’t calm down he’d probably obliterate all their asses magically. like lorenzo probably wouldn’t die but still. also it’s his own magic, so you know. anyway, he did the literal bare minimum and didn’t even bother to be particularly supportive or anything, and suddenly he’s a hero? and he even had the fucking audacity to be like “i’m simply doing what any high warlock would do” when magnus saw him like doaiushdiuajdsamdksamda bitch first of all you weren’t gonna come. second of all it’s a little late to be all like “i care about my position and the responsibility i carry over other warlocks” AFTER you have already abused your position to deliberately antagonize someone more times than you have, like, gone to meetings. literally LORENZO FORBIDDING OTHER WARLOCKS FROM HELPING MAGNUS IS ABUSE OF POWER. it’s clearly personal, it’s fucked up, and it’s downright dictatorial behavior. it’s fucking abhorrent, and i’m gonna say it again, it’s completely crazy that the warlocks were juts like “k” with that. magnus had been HWoB for centuries and he’s never done anything of the sort and he dedicated himself fully to his people, willing even to sacrifice his relationship with alec for them, and has gone out of his way to help people individually his entire life, and then suddenly some other guy takes his position and immediately starts abusing it to antagonize the very person that had been on their side for centuries, and they’re all just fine with that??? like it’s already bullshit that magnus lost his position to begin with, because yeah the seelie queen was uh bad but honestly given the circumstances of even the most progressive side of the clave refusing to actually work with them instead of trying to control them (cuz that’s what alec did when he refused to tell him about the sword like. magnus explicitly said that the reason he broke up with him was because he felt like it was betwenen alec and his people after that and he was choosing his people, and honestly? he was right) and the world being at war with a very high possibility of a mass genocide and the seelie queen being their most powerful ally, he made the right call. but okay, i’ll believe that people were unhappy with that decision and he lost his position, whatever. but i cannot in any way believe that everyone was just watching lorenzo do that shit and didn’t care. anyway, in conclusion, sh writers: YOU DIDN’T REDEEM SHIT, lorenzo didn’t get a redemption arc, he shouldn’t have been at the malec wedding and i don’t give a shit if he flirted with underhill.

in short:

fuck lorenzo

yeah that sums up my feelings quite nicely

[adamarinayu]

I feel like babbling a bit about this AU I thought of a while ago but have not mentioned or written or drawn about. Everything below the cut so you can skip it if you want to, this is probably gonna be disjointed as all get-out because I have not organized ANY of my thoughts lol

Mmkay so it’s a Dark Ducks Lite AU, Lite because it’s not too bad (none of the main characters are really evil or anything like that, either) but the world is still a pretty dark world.

Universe: It’s a Magic!Donald AU, which again mixes DT17 with elements of PK. Donald is not a superhero tho. He’s more of an antihero tbh, and he lives almost full time as Paperinik due to certain circumstances. His mask is also different, as he uses it to hide a very identifying mark on his face. Della is alive in this universe and raising her children, and Donald has been missing since he was 7 (~25 years).

Setting: The modern world is a lot different from the one in DT17 or PK. In this world, androids came into being a few centuries earlier than they were supposed to, and magi (umbrella term for all magic users of any type) were exposed to the rest of the world and aren’t an “underground” population anymore. Therefore, there are three different classes of people; Androids, Magi and the Mundane. Androids are currently fighting for civil rights, and Magi are seen in only a slightly more positive light than Androids by the Mundane (the whole “people fear what they don’t understand” thing). 

Characters;

Donald is a Magi from a family of Mundane. He ran away from home after an accident when he was 7, which exposed him being a Magi to his family. Their initial reactions (fear, confusion, disbelief, horror, etc), including his sister and cousins’, is what prompted him to run away, having been a very young child at the time he interpreted their reactions as rejection. He was taken in and trained by another Magi alongside his closest friends Mickey and Goofy. He grows up with a distaste for the Mundane and bitter towards his family, but finds himself back in Duckburg about 12 years before the start of the story, where he meets Uno. He’s lived with Uno at Ducklair Tower since then, specifically the 151st floor inaccessible to anyone snooping in the tower. Although Donald would choose Androids and Magi above Mundane any day, his true loyalties lie with Uno and, therefore, you could say the only side he chooses is his own. He lives almost exclusively as Paperinik, even going so far as to fake “Donald Duck’s” death.

Uno is an Android, created by Magi scientist Everett Ducklair some years before Donald returned to Duckburg (between 5 and 15 years). He lives in the abandoned Ducklair Tower (which he can still connect to and control at will), alone, after Everett was supposedly killed in a witch hunt. He does not like the Mundane because of what they did, and when he first meets Donald he wants Donald to leave his tower. Upon finding out that Donald is a Magi, and not Mundane, he lets Donald stay under certain conditions (and only lets him stay because he thinks of Everett and Everett’s fate). Eventually he and Donald develop a real friendship and relationship, and are each others’ closest friend, ally and confidants. He does not ally himself with any class of people, much like Donald, and instead chooses to ally himself with Donald. He helped Donald convincingly fake his own death.

Everett was a Magi who was attacked and supposedly murdered by supposedly anti-Magi people (in a witch hunt). It’s assumed that the group was made solely of Mundane, but the truth is it was a group made of different people (including Androids and other Magi), and his status as a Magi wasn’t their reason for attacking him. Uno doesn’t know this. Everett is, in fact, still alive, but for certain reasons is unable to return to Duckburg or get a message to Uno.

Della is a Mundane, Donald’s twin sister and mother of Magi triplets Huey, Dewey and Louie. She isn’t yet aware that her sons are Magi. She has a scar on her face that almost perfectly mirror’s Donald’s, received in the accident when Donald was revealed to be a Magi. She and her family spent a long time searching for Donald, but gave up when Donald “died” as it seemed then that it was too late. Her greatest regret in life was not assuring Donald that she and the rest of the family accepted him, even when he’d accidentally hurt her. She chooses not to tell the triplets about Donald, knowing she just doesn’t have much to tell them.

Gladstone is a Magi, Donald’s cousin. His magic is his luck- it’s passive, and most people don’t even put the dots together. Gladstone was present during the accident when they were all seven. When he figured out he himself was actually a Magi, he didn’t fear the family’s reaction as he’s been with them the entire time they’ve been desperately searching for Donald and knows they’d accept him if it ever came up. He believes the triplets should know about Donald, even if they don’t have much to tell them- and even less happy things to tell them- but he respects Della’s choice.

Scrooge is a Mundane, and Donald’s uncle. After Donald ran away, he poured a lot of money into finding him. However, Donald’s mentor kept Donald well away from the world, so none of his attempts even came close to reaching Donald. To this day he refuses to believe Donald is dead. Most people call him a hopeful old man, but Scrooge thinks it’s too convenient- that Donald Duck, missing for over ten years, should suddenly show up without any record, without any trace, dead? He refuses to believe it. He continues to search for Donald, only now it’s less openly and he does it more privately, while juggling his family and his business.

Fenton is a Mundane superhero. He’s been trying to catch Paperinik ever since he showed up in Duckburg, completely unaware that the petty criminal is his employer’s missing and “dead” nephew. He’s also an ally to the Androids, openly supporting Android civil rights.

Gyro is a Mundane scientist and works with Fenton. Much like his colleague, he openly allies himself with Androids. He won’t give someone the time of day if they indicate that they don’t believe Androids to be people. Honestly probably only hired Fenton because he was the only applicant who made is clear he shared these views.

Geena is an Android and the leader of the Androids’ Civil Rights movement. She often calls Donald a friend of Droids, and despite him not being an Android would be willing to die to save him. Her resentment towards the Mundane blinds her to exactly what kind of future she’s leading her people towards, unaware that it is not a future she wants.

Now I’mma just throw down some bullet points because I can

Donald and Uno have a very obvious romantic relationship that neither even try to hide when, eventually, Donald is reunited with his family

Donald’s mentor is an ass and will probably be the big bad of the entire story. She may have also orchestrated the accident that caused Donald to run away, and is pulling so many strings “puppetmaster” doesn’t even begin to cover it. Her name may even be Magica de Spell... *cough*

Donald has a hard time believing that he misinterpreted his family’s reactions to him being a Magi, and the idea that his entire life has been based around a misunderstanding and a lie is hard for him to swallow

I’m not sure what, but something prompts Donald to kidnap Della, Gladstone, Scrooge, the triplets and Webby, and bring them to Ducklair Tower (with Uno’s help and permission, of course). They only know him to be Paperinik, and fear he might be dangerous. They haven’t seen him since he was seven, so when he reveals his identity to them he does it by removing his mask- and revealing the scar he’d received that last day they’d seen him

The above event may be prompted by an unconscious desire of Donald’s to protect his family during a dangerous and chaotic time in the city. Uno goes along with it because, again, he’s on Donald’s side- not the Androids or the Magi or the Mundane’s, but very specifically Donald’s

Of course at some point Donald has to choose between loyalty to Geena (and the Androids, minus Uno) and loyalty to his fractured family, most of whom are Mundane who would get hurt or possibly killed during Geena’s plans. He ultimately decides he wants his family back.

That’s sadly not the end of the conflict. Donald manages to stop Geena’s plans from going through, saving both the Mundane and Androids (the latter of which none of them actually realize), when Everett finally manages to return to warn them about the real threat coming. Donald, of course, recognizes his mentor’s name, and now has a crisis of conscious as he realizes he and his friends, and everyone else who had been taught and trained by her, were being groomed to be her future army. Thankfully, this one he doesn’t have to fight alone

So yeah basically Donald’s life has been really screwed up, so his moral compass, while not completely absent, is a little wonky. He’s a petty criminal in that he occasionally steals, and he messes with people, but he’d never murder anyone or something like that

Uno’s own morality isn’t the best either, here; being designed as an Android from the start, and experiencing so many negative emotions so early on in his existence has led him in a direction where he could easily slip down either the path of good or bad. Although he can definitely make his own decisions and is not, in any way, dependent on Donald (if anything, Donald’s dependent on him), if Paperinik had gone bad Uno probably would have followed him still

Oh yeah almost forgot, after the final battle is over they end up on Grandma’s farm. Della, Gladstone, the kids and Scrooge are reunited with Grandma, and Donald goes to leave with Uno back to the tower when Della grabs him by the raggedy remains of his cape and drags him over to Grandma. Grandma recognizes him immediately and hugs him. It’s quite a moment.

[painpro]

Maedis Even and Gil every number that ends with 2

warning for drug+abuse mentions

maedis

2. Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect?

thanks to cik its sort of becoming scarves

4. What kind of clothing does your OC wear?

he basically always wears his leather armor. other than that he just prefers tight fitting clothing to be Aerodynamic , but not fashionable tho im talkin like leggings and a henley

6. What’s your OC’s favorite animal? Least favorite?

DOGS!!! LOVES DOGS!! fish bad.

8. What is your OC’s theme song?

:)

10. What deadly sin would best represent your OC?

greed

12.  How patient is your OC? How hot-headed are they?

LOL well youve all seen.... he is not very patient and gets irritated VERY easily. like hes rarely violent and can still recognize when people are his allies but he is a very very prickly guy

14. What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods?

good old imuran potato soup is good enough for him

16. What does your OC smell like?

pine and dog

18. What are your OC’s greatest fears? Weaknesses? Strengths?

fears: being trapped both literally and metaphorically

weaknesses: anything that has to do with being likeable or making a good impression (charisma 7.)

strengths: SNIPING 

20. If they came from their world to ours (if not already in our’s) how would they react? What would they do?

figure out the quickest and easiest way to make money legal or not

22.  What kind of student were they/would they be in high school?

dropout 

24. What is their outlook on life? What is their philosophy / what do they think in general about living?

Its Bad. he is just always prepared for the worst and if he ends up dying oh well

26. Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them (that still has an impact and why?

you know...that big ol lizard that like CARES about him for SOME REASON

he doesnt like cezall at all but he did say some things at hardersfield that stuck with him

28. What kind of nervous habits do they have? Do they stim? Do they have any kinds of addictions?

he clenches and unclenches his fists when hes nervous or uncomfortable, and also bites his nails. he got over the drugs a couple years ago so right now NO good on him

30.  Do they want to get married? Why or why not? Would they ever want kids? Do they have kids? Why?

no. its just not for him. he has never seen a positive marriage and doesnt get the point of it he thinks its human bullshit. he can barely take care of himself and the idea of a little gremlin following him around calling him dad stresses him out so much and its not like he had good model parents either

32. If they could have one thing in the world, what would it be?

just like... certainty and knowing he can 100% trust someone

36. What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

see this is complicated. he himself would say he doesnt want anything that bad bc he has kind of developed an aggressively apathetic way of viewing things to distance himself from them so it doesnt hurt when they die or leave ... but this question also strikes me as being about ambition, and he has None, he has kind of completely given up on himself and doesnt dream about doing anything anymore so im going to say probably really nothing he does not care about anything that much yet

38. What would your character do with a million dollars?

buy himself an actual house instead of living in a harry potter broom closet in the theater

40. Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What do they wear? Who will they be with?

i imagine cik is probably taking him out. hed wear his normal armor but before leaving as an afterthought take off his red scarf and put on the black one cik got him

42. Does your character have any scars? Where did they get them from?

made this chart for this very question

44. How does your character react/ accept criticism?

DONT LIKE THAT. usually with a “shut the fuck up” or “dont tell me what to do” he bristles a lot at that

46. Your character is given a voodoo doll of themself. What do they do with it? Do they see if it actually works?

god he would..at first be like “this is bullshit” then when no one was looking hed def try to poke it (he actually is curious about magic a little bit but would rather die than show it)

48. What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult?

hoo okay. his mom died when he was 2 giving birth to his little sister, they were left with their dad who was a hardass and super rough w maedis frequently . he always felt like both his dad and sister resented him and hey he didnt like them either and resented his sister for “killing his mom” 

basically he feels like he cnt trust anyone and believes everyone dislikes him by default , like you cant assume anyone likes you if your own family didnt

he also only has like 1 or 2 memories of his mom but theyre good and they had the same hair

50. If your character was presented with imminent and unavoidable death/fatality, how would they react? Would they try to avoid death anyways? Would they try to make their last days count?

he would get high as FUCK ex-addict be damned . hed probs get so high hed overdose and die before his death date

gil

2. Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect?

he really likes like...pressed leaves and stuff like that. cool rocks. sticks

12. How patient is your OC? How hot-headed are they?

not super super patient, but more in an annoying “are we there yet” sort of way rather than being hot headed and aggressive 

22. What kind of student were they/would they be in high school?

the kid that brings his guitar to school. hed really like bio in theory but actually is not very good at the work and does not want to dissect the frog

32. If they could have one thing in the world, what would it be?

answers

42. Does your character have any scars? Where did they get them from?

not YET.....