#not like i would've killed someone

[danityrose]

I need a serious explanation for why the invigilator took away my rounder before i entered the exam hall

[dootznbootz]

Penelope is also Athena's pet/blorbo/special little mortal/etc. and if you think otherwise you're straight up wrong.

You're also wrong if you think Athena only likes Penelope because of Odysseus and/or Telemachus. As if Athena didn't see a young Penelope pull some shit and immediately think "Oh! Another mind to mold! C'mere you! Let's do some riddles and weaving!". Athena was happy that two of her favorite pets have met and fell in love!

[nellasbookplanet]

The fandom god discussion is interesting, but I feel it’s sometimes hindered by an unwillingness to separate gods from mortal society, or even a sort of over-eagerness to project our own reality onto them, which simply doesn’t work. I've seen the gods referred to as rulers or tyrants demanding worship (which I kinda understand because it’s something Ludinus says in-game, though it’s funny to see fandom corners confidently repeat the inaccurate talking points of the antagonist) but more interestingly I've also seen them referred to as a higher/the highest social class, as colonizers imposing themselves on mortals, the raven queen specifically as new money. Overall these comparisons tend to talk about the gods and their actions regarding Aeor in the past and predathos/the Vanguard in the present less as if they're about saving their own lives and more as if they want to preserve their powerful position.

The gods, by their very nature, are above mortals. They cannot be compared to any mortal ruling class because they didn’t choose or strive for that power and cannot feasibly get rid of it/step down/redistribute it (nor do they actually in any sense rule; killing the raven queen, unlike killing an actual queen, will not end the 'tyranny' of death), they simply have it by virtue of being gods. Saying that’s unfair or unequal and that the gods should be killed because of it is akin to saying it’s unfair a mountain is bigger than you and demanding it be levelled, except the gods, unlike mountains, are living, feeling beings who shouldn’t have to die because some people can’t stand the idea of not always being top dog. Thing is, the gods themselves ultimately understood this power imballance and that they can't help but hurt Exandria the way humans can't help but step on bugs, and thus removed themselves from the equation by creating the divine gate. Saying this isn’t enough and that they're clinging to power is just demanding they line themselves up to be killed.

[agnesandhilda]

watched a (pirated) mr. birchum episode out of curiosity and in it the asshole conservative protagonist has a homoerotic daydream about the other teacher who's a stand in for the ""woke left"" that he hates, which is the opener for the episode and is also never referred to again, gets his sleeve caught in a machine in his woodshop at work and spends days contemplating his life and regrets while he's trapped (or so he thinks). this montage includes how he met his current wife who he doesn't respect and who isn't honest with him (the b-plot expands on this), how his ex-partner left him after coming out as a lesbian and was repulsed after he tried to persuade her to stay with him, reasoning that her being queer meant they could just share a girlfriend now (that was not what it meant), and culminating in a marlboro man-esque image of commercialized rugged usamerican masculinity telling him to chew his own arm off to escape, before one of his students comes along and frees him by just cutting off his sleeve. all that and he thought to chew his own arm off before he considered just tearing his sleeve. and it's all played as a comedy. fever dream episode

[niinnyu]

Here's why I think the Gojo bait is not great writing and why you should maybe think so too (Spoilers till jjk 260).

We've spent the last few chapter consistently establishing a few things about our protagonist (Yuuji) and our antagonist(Sukuna).

1. Yuuji's father's soul is a reincarnation of Sukuna's twin: This instantly creates a connection between Sukuna and Yuuji.

As if you needed one outside of Sukuna's constant mockery of his former vessel's lack of "competance", and that most of yuuji's biggest losses can be attributed to Sukuna, building his wrath brick by brick. But surely adds to it all.

2. Yuuji feels incredibly lonely right now: Anyone he's created any sort of meaningful (?) Bond with outside of just 'hey you're an ally I can fight alongside with' is currently either dead or greatly incapacitated.

3. Also ofc the absolute damage that Yuuji has started incurring on sukuna. Damage that the slew of sorcerors before him couldn't. Forget about everyone teaching him abou love, Yuuji will show him Burning Rage.

This while also having hinted at Yuuji being possibly strong enough to do so on his own. He can go head to head with the King Of Curses with or without the help of his fellow sorcerors once he is able to harness this power.

Anything that was Gojo vs Sukuna feels absolutely irrelevant with the build up that Gege themself has been creating through the past few chapters.

Gojo's form right at the end of the chapter undercuts the pacing completely. Readers are more interested in those last 2 panels of Gojo which are completely removed from and rather jarring to the buildup between Yuuji and Sukuna. Fan interest in Gojo isn't their fault because that's what the chapter makes you focus on.

The only way I see this continue the buildup is if this is somehow Yuuji's doing or done with his knowledge, in which case it'd have been better to end the chapter by showing that Yuuji is aware of it and has an ace up his sleeve, bringing it back to the 2 relevent characters, and for people to stew in what Yuuji could be up to for a week.

But no matter what Gojo's visage there means, Yuuji in this moment has been so greatly undermined, not by his lack of strength, not by Sukuna outright demeaning him, but by the writing itself. By Gege.

And oh, how Yuuji deserves better.

[dlldior]

i cannot begin to tell you guys how much i hate this charles grey fucker and his ugly face and ugly hair someone fire his barber. why is he always here. can he fuck off for once with his annoying ass chipmunk voice and his annoying ass chipmunk face.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Nora: I bet Jaune Could take Ironwood in a fight.

Jaune: Nora no!

Winter: You must have a great deal of confidence in Mr. Arc. Why is it you believe that?

Jaune: We really don't need to do this!

Nora: Well, Fearless leader has a Shield, which means bullet will do pretty much nothing, He's spry enough to avoid most gunfire, and the General could easily run out of bullets before Jaune manages to close the distance entirely.

Winter: But as Jaune could be knocked back by the Gravity dust infused ones.

Nora: He Held a Charging Nuckelavee back! Gravity dust is nothing!

Jaune: Nora Stop!

Nora: And as for the Cannon, well, Jaune tanked a hit from Cordovin's Mech while amping my own aura so we could survive and still had some to spare, plus that thing takes a while to charge a single shot, giving Jaune ample time to get close and/or recover aura!

Winter: Hmm. Fair Points. What had you so hung up on this conversation, Mister Arc?

Jaune: ... Well ... Given my luck I'd figure that the general would've-

Ironwood: Huntsman Jaune Arc, report to the training field immediately. And Good Luck.

Jaune: ... Overheard.

Jaune: Nora?

Nora: *Smug* Yes?

Jaune: No Pancakes for a week.

Nora: NOOOOOO!

[khattikeri]

kind of impressive how lan xichen manages to still be perceived as a smart but tragically kindhearted and righteous man when he consistently, easily, and very intentionally turns a blind eye to wrongdoing from people (jin guangyao) or groups (gusu lan, the jianghu in general) whom he tells himself "have a good reason" to do violent and immoral things. he's not dumb and he wasn't sadly misled by one bad apple. he was just an enabler who didn't want to examine or challenge his perception of them as good people.

[wonderlandsakura]

The gods won't make the same mistake twice

There's one hero Percy Jackson is similar to, someone the gods broke, and they regretted it

Someone kind, that they made ruthless

Someone loving, that they made brutal:

Odysseus

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Wang LingJiao used the chance to scramble out. She took out a cylinder of fire-light from her lapels and shook it a few times. A light shot out of the cylinder. Along with a sharp whistle, it rushed out of the wooden window and exploded in the sky outside. Then, she fumbled out a second one, a third one. Hair tangled, she mumbled, “Come… Come… Come here… Everyone, come here!” Through the pain, Wei WuXian pushed Jiang Cheng, “Stop her from sending any more signals!” Jiang Cheng let go of Wei WuXian and lunged in the direction of Wang LingJiao. Yet, at the same time, Wen ZhuLiu was closing in on Madam Yu. He looked as if he was about to knock her down. Jiang Cheng hurried, “Mom!” He immediately gave up on Wang LingJiao and threw himself over. Wen ZhuLiu didn’t even turn his head as he struck, “Not even close!” Jiang Cheng’s shoulder suffered the attack. Blood immediately burst from his mouth. Wang LingJiao had already let out all of the signal fire-lights. Sharp whistles and bright sparks filled the entire grey-blue sky. - Chapter 58, EXR

It's quite interesting how, in this moment, Jiang Cheng does exactly what he's always criticised Wei Wuxian of doing: endangering the Yunmeng Jiang sect by 'playing the hero'. That's not what either of them are doing, of course – it isn't a motivation for Jiang Cheng here, it's not a motivation for Wei Wuxian anytime else, and the motivations they have definitely make sense – but it's exactly the sort of behaviour Jiang Cheng would criticise Wei Wuxian for, with those exact words.

Yet, no character ever criticises him for this – Wei Wuxian doesn't, even when it was his (necessary) advice that was disregarded; Madam Yu doesn't, even when her sect suffered as a consequence. Even when it very likely played a role in Lotus Pier's downfall (at least in getting a lot of Wen sect cultivators to get there very fast), it's never brought up by any character ever again... whereas Wei Wuxian's action of saving Lan Wangji, Jin Zixuan and Mianmian in the Xuanwu cave constantly is, even when the Wen sect was pretty certainly going to attack Lotus Pier anyway*. That's not to say Jiang Cheng should be blamed for the fall of Lotus Pier, either – that's on the Wen sect, and regardless of both of their actions, the attack was probably going to be a success. And can we blame someone for making a panicked decision protect his mother? – but one's action is definitely more direct than the other, and it's not the one that's constantly blamed.

The aim, though, isn't to compare the actions so much as the attitudes of the people involved, and this is another little detail that shows the imbalance in Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's dynamic. Again, Wei Wuxian doesn't say anything about this afterwards, and doesn't seem to blame him, even when it's his words that were disregarded, and when the Jiang sect and Lotus Pier were undoubtedly very important to him as well. Which is good! That's a good thing and definitely the healthier option for both of them! If the roles were flipped, and Wei Wuxian saved a(n admittedly non-Yu Ziyuan) person, disregarding Jiang Cheng's orders while leading to more danger falling on Lotus Pier? Jiang Cheng would never stop blaming him or bringing it up. Even after the many years that passed between then and Wei Wuxian's resurrection, he still blames Wei Wuxian for the fall of Lotus Pier due to his actions in the Xuanwu cave** – once again, a much less direct scenario.

--

*Very strategic location (trade hub etc), they attacked the Cloud Recesses already, Jiang Cheng's internal narration literally admits this:

In his heart, Jiang Cheng knew clearly that back in the cave of the Xuanwu of Slaughter at Dusk-Creek Mountain, even if Wei WuXian hadn’t saved Lan WangJi, the Wen Sect would have found some reason to come over sooner or later. But he had always felt that, if the whole thing with Wei WuXian didn’t happen, maybe it wouldn’t have been so soon, maybe there would’ve been some way to turn things around - Chapter 59, EXR

Yet there was some time between the end of the Wen indoctrination and the Fall of Lotus Pier, and we never even saw attempts at security adjustments!

**As we see in the Ancestral Hall:

Jiang Cheng mocked, “Look how forgetful you are. What does unwelcome people mean? Then let me remind you. It was because you played the hero and saved Second Young Master Lan, who’s standing beside you right now, that the entire Lotus Pier and my parents went down with you." - Chapter 87, EXR

[randomfandomss]

I literally don't want to use the word que*rbaiting in 20 fucking 24 but istg Hacks is making it realllyyyyy difficult for me.

Like obvs only for Ava and Deborah idek if it qualifies as that but I'm reallllyyyy feeling baited ig idkkkk

[master-of-the-railway]

Moment of appreciation for Diesel and Bruno's bond because they genuinely mean so much to me. All of the main cast are good friends to Bruno but I've noticed that Diesel is almost always the one with him if they need to put him next to someone and I think that's great. Like there's multiple occasions of Diesel looking out for him and encouraging him to use his headphones to block out the overstimulating things he's hearing. They're even canonically best friends like does it get any better than this.

[brother-emperors]

crassus is the man who lined the via appia with crucified slaves. why did you have to make me like him

alright, so I don't actually make anyone feel one way or another about crassus.

the thing about crassus is that he's unusual even for the unusual era that he lived in, and that makes him compelling. the other thing about crassus is that even though he commits horrific acts of violence, he's not actually behaving worse than any of his other contemporaries. there's a lot of violence happening, and it's all kind of awful. caesar commits a genocide, and he's still the special guy to a lot of historians who probably would say that committing genocide is bad, actually, and you shouldn't do it.

he's not even behaving particularly badly by roman standards, since his crucifixion of the slaves along the via appia falls in line with roman ideals of what type of violence is acceptable, which is it's own kind of upsetting in a broader context of state and imperialist violence.

it's fine to have complicated or contradictory feelings about him, you don't even have to like him to sympathize with aspects of him or his life if you don't want to. you can actively dislike everything he's ever done and find him compelling because he's like, a guy, he did stuff during an interesting period of time, and a lot of it is objectively interesting and weird.

there's something in how rome did not spiral into successive civil wars and with massive body counts while he and pompey held joint power. there is something else in how he was the guy who brought back decimation and came out of it with a morale boost. he loved his sons. he crucified an appalling amount of people who suffered under roman slavery. pompey took credit for it, and somehow that strikes me as it's own repulsive violence.

I like crassus as much as I dislike him! I contain contradictory multitudes. it's fine. so did he. I contain no contradictory multitudes about caesar tho, which is a kind of contradiction as well. get out of the way brutus, I'll stab him myself.

[archgabrielangel]

Still thinking about that one time in Hammer of Thor when magnus remembers annabeth telling him that they can't give up on randolph, literally saying "He's family, Magnus,... We can't give up on family." do yall think she was thinking of luke when she said that? because even though he did kinda get magnus killed, his intentions and heart were in the right place just like luke😭 luke wanted revenge for the awful shit the gods had done to him so he walked the wrong road and killed and sacrificed anyone who got in his way just so he could make the world "better". and randolph sided with loki (somewhat) and got magnus killed so he could get his family back. uhh anyways

tl;dr the magnus, randolph situation in HoT probably reminded annabeth of her and luke and that is the reason I cry at night

[thatsnotbuddies]

so pink, so sweaty

[lucreziagiovane]

juan loves lucrezia too much in his own peculiar ways. he is fiercely protective of her and becomes hideously jealous when any man comes near her. he was even spiteful and mean to her upon learning about her and paolo. and after killing him, he remained remorseless. however, at the same time, it still pains him that he hurt her, as he never meant to do so. his impulsiveness often takes over, causing him to act or speak without thinking it through. he feels so torn between apologizing to her and his pride that prevents him from doing so. because he truly believed he did the right thing as he thought lucrezia and paolo's relationship would bring shame to the family. yet, he tries to make it up to her by gifting her a rare panther and attempting to win her over but she'll always hate him for what he did to paolo, and that drove him even more insane.