#they exist to get their asses beat by the main characters

[whoblewboobear]

*holding everyone’s collective face in my hands* Guys, please be normal if the rat grinders get killed without redemption. This is still dnd and in dnd more often than not you walk into a battle knowing that it’s either kill this npc or get killed and lose your pc.

You can redeem them in fanfic, guys it’s okay. The bad kids have enough npcs to drag along, it’s the whole reason most of them were taken away for junior year. They’ve redeemed so many people already, if senior year happens, they’ll most likely pop up one time and we’ll have the same outcry we did all season for Ayda. Guys pls just let these ones stay irredeemable and/or die.

[phantomrose96]

"Okay but we're all totally recommending Gideon the Ninth to our male friends, right? Because can we TALK about what good male character representation Gideon the Ninth has?? Because it's literally so so good.

First off there's Palamedes, who's witty and smart and sarcastic and he literally solves like half the plot. Literally the plot would not have worked without him. And he's regularly shown to be smarter than even Harrow. And best of all, no one ever questions him or belittles him for being a man. Literally everyone treats him like an equal, even the women who see him as an enemy.

Then there's Isaac, who really feels like a real teenager he's so fleshed out. He's got a lot of personality and angst and big emotions, and the author literally never once sexualizes him. Like you know she gets it. Then Magnus is literally so nurturing and wholesome, he's like a genius inversion of the usual Strong Man trope. Literally God HIMSELF is a man.

It's really refreshing how much you can tell the author is a staunch meninist, just from the way the narrative respects all the men across the board. The only time a woman belittles a man is when Ianthe belittles Naberius, but she does that to everyone so it's not sexist. Plus Naberius is a bad ass. He literally beats Gideon in a duel. In fact the only male characters who feel like "bad" male rep are maybe the eighth house, cuz they're both kinda stereotypical male personalities... but when you consider there are 4 or maybe even 5 other prominent men in the story, it stops being "bad male stereotype" and just becomes "good male diversity :)". I really wish more authors felt brave enough to include 4 or even 5 prominent male characters, who all MATTER to the story.

Like I think that's what gets me? It was like every male character mattered. All the main character women wouldn't have gotten to where they did if not for the men who were playing SUPER important secondary roles to them? And those men weren't just there for love interests either, except kinda Palamedes whose whole motivation was the two women he's in love with, but it's REALLY done well! He literally has full autonomy of his choices the whole time and when he steers the trajectory of his whole life for the women he's in love with, it's genuinely so human and heartfelt.

But yeah it's like they were all HUMANS. It was so refreshing how easy it was to empathize with them? It wasn't like "they were men", it was like "the author knows these characters are humans, and they are men too". Idk how to explain it but it makes me really feel like I can understand men better when I usually think they're such a mystery or just really shallow in books :). I just think men should know books like this exist and that they know authors like Tamsyn Muir are out there and they get it :)."

[candyskiez]

thinks about teru again. he’s so funny and tragic to me. like. ok so he got targeted by a psychic terrorist organization that sent adults to try and kidnap him at a young age. and he rationalizes it by going “i am the Protagonist this is happening because i am the Main Character” and then lives his life by that idea bc it’s that or face the fact that he’s nothing, that he’s an average person and all these things happened to him for no reason. and then he meets mob and wants to befriend him, has questions he wants to ask- here is someone who might finally understand him. and then bc teru is thinking like a Main Character i think he goes “ok so if i defeat him then we’re friends otherwise we’re rivals” bc he’s still going off of tropes and cliches. and then shigeo fucking curbstomps him and he goes “oh ok i get it im not the main character 👍 KAGEYAMA’s the main character. so i must be The Rival Character then” but it’s just a way he can act as a friend without breaking the tropes he uses to rationalize his trauma

YEAH YOU GET IT! YOU UNDERSTAND! He's so horribly lonely but also literally everything about his mindset is directly standing in the way of giving him any connection. He holds people to such high standards that they're always going to disappoint him, so he spends time with none of them. He craves constant approval and affection but none of it is enough to satisfy the need for actual connection. So he just goes through shallow relationship after shallow relationship going Yep. This is great. I am happy. And I genuinely think he doesn't realize he's NOT happy because like. When you're in a shitty situation for your entire life you don't necessarily realize things can be Better. So Teru is not captured by claw when other people are, and he can do things that other people can't, so his situation is better than most! Nevermind the fact hey maybe there shouldn't be Claw. Maybe people shouldn't be attacking random kids. Maybe this is all insane. He's just like. Wow I'm so strong and smart for evading claw, because the idea that he just was Lucky would be terrifying and take away his entire sense of safety. He needs to be the smartest toughest guy that Has Ever Existed™ because if he's not, then suddenly he could get captured or die at any moment. And that's suddenly way less haha my life is so cool! The denial juice is strong here.

Literally everything about his introduction episodes is so damn telling. He tells the body improvement club everyone always underestimates him. But he conveniently leaves out how this makes him feel, or if he's offended. We see him lose his shit when Mob says he isn't able to hurt him, so clearly he's far more affected by it than he wants to admit. But he can't be upset by it. It's an Advantage in this Battle he's in. No one takes him seriously, and that means he can get away with more shit, and that means it's easier to beat them in battle! Nevermind the fact that he works his ass off, he is not upset at all, because that would be ridiculous. It's an Advantage. He wraps literally everything in his life that hurts him up in a bow of "Actually, this is good." He cannot admit that anything about him or his life is bad. He cannot admit that he isn't perfect, or that his life isn't just a fun challenge, or that he maybe misses his parents a little bit. He like...just fully submerges himself in the idea of being a character so he doesn't have to realize how easily he could die or have his life ruined. If his parents stop sending him money, he's fucked. If claw beats him, he's fucked. He doesn't have actual connections with people, because he views them too lowly to let them in at all, and he is fucking himself over so hard with it. He needs this to not be terrifying. And he also needs to be in the right, I think. I mean, he treats all of the fights at school like a game. It feeds his ego and it means he's safe. People can't touch him and it feels good to take out his anger (he's just angry that they disrespect him, he has nothing else whatsoever to have unresolved anger about, he is completely fine and is just enjoying being able to wipe that smug smile off that assholes face. He is so okay and well adjusted!) He's just. A mess of weird ass coping mechanisms. If he isn't right, which he definitely is!, suddenly he isn't the main character, suddenly he's not just Doing Whatever, suddenly he's just another asshole. Y'know. Do I make sense. He needs to be right because if he's not right it goes from a fun game to he was just an asshole for no reason and he didn't actually gain anything at all.

God. I need to rewatch EP five, because it's insane and also tells you so much about Teru, I'm sure it's even better on a rewatch. I need to rewatch this show soon or I'll die. But like. God. He takes the idea of the only other natural esper his age he's ever met being different than him SO personally. Because he's right. He is doing everything exactly the way he is supposed to. Clearly this guy is an idiot and weak. That's why he's afraid to fight him. Clearly. He can't comprehend that maybe Mob just straight up doesn't want to hurt him. Mob thinks he's better than him. Mob needs to be taken down a peg. And then he can't hurt Mob. Then he can't break his fucking barrier. Hes fought espers before. He knows how to fight espers. He is perfectly capable of it. He has literally everything he needs to beat him and for the first time he very suddenly Can't. And this person is so different and is treating him like he's having a temper tantrum and isn't following his rules that he's formed his entire life around. Can I interest you in autistic Teru. Can I please interest you in the fact Teru has autism. Please ma'am I just want a minute of your time.

I also feel like. The fact he Needed to idolize Mob is very telling. Mob defeated him so CLEARLY he's so powerful and perfect and amazing. He still can't let go of Being Amazing, of the idea he can't fail for no good reason. He needs Mob to be special or else he means nothing. Or else he's worthless. He needs to mean something. His entire identity is hinged around Mob now which. No pressure. He needs Mob to be perfect or else he's worth Nothing. So he puts him on a huge pedestal so he doesn't have to do any reflecting and now he can have the added bonus of a friend and it's Fine! It is totally fine. He is not affected by the fact he almost killed a man on accident. He is not affected by the fact he may have severely injured several people. He is not affected by the fact Mob could've killed him. He is not affected by the fact he was wrong. None of this affects him at all. He is So Fine.

And then he switched the narrative around to haha I was the one who needed to be taken down a peg. This is fine. My world view is not in shambles. I don't need to reassess anything. Everything that happened to me is still cool and fine and I still matter because I'm in the main characters life. So it's fine. He goes from nothing matters except Me to nothing matters except Kageyama, but at first he's done absolutely zero reconfiguring.

Also like. He romanticized that fight so much. Can we please talk about that. God. Hi. This fucking kid. Someone please like. Get him a therapist and maybe a Capri Sun.

I'm too tired to write more right now and think I should probably go ahead and post but like. Yeah. God. This show. Teru makes way too much damn sense. I want to shake him. What is his problem (just spent several paragraphs analyzing his problem.)

[scekrex]

Imagine sinner!Adam walking inside the Hazbin hotel with Charlie and everyone is glaring at him except reader and was very confused he didn't even know who is Adam until one of the character told him and he just listens to them while eating a peach

Imagine them both just being awkward and silent because reader is like don't know what to tell him but when one time he was asked to watch over Adam and he sees one random sinner was messing with Adam reader goes protective mood and beat the leaving soul out the sinner while cussing at them...in Russian and just grabbed Adam's hand like nothing happened murmuring that if a sinner mess with Adam again they will face readers wrath

Okay so since it's x reader and not everyone speaks Russian, I changed that part to a more neutral wording, not naming a specific language. Hope that works for ya, enjoy!

All the violence makes a statement

pairing: Adam x male!reader

warnings: language & canon typical violence (kinda)

note: not beta read bc fuck you I don't have beta readers

When the main door to the hotel opened with a loud noise as it hit the wall, all of the residents’ attention shifted towards it. A man quite tall stepped through it, entering the hotel’s lobby, his walk was confident, the look on his face a mix between lazy and prideful and he stepped inside like he owned that place - and while you had no clue who the brown haired man was, you did know that he did not own that place. The hotel was Charlie’s after all.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” the princess of hell was the first to raise her voice towards the man that had just entered her building, given the way he had phrased it, she knew him quite well. Was he someone important? Were you supposed to know him? The stranger sure acted like it and even though he had not spoken a single word yet, you already knew you didn’t like his attitude. That assumption was proven right when the brown haired demon opened his mouth to respond, “This shithole is about redemption, so I’m gonna fucking crash here until Sera moves her fucking ass and gets me the fuck outta here.” Charlie crossed her arms over her chest, she was really not fond of the seemingly new guest and given the way he had just spoken to her you really didn’t blame her. Vaggie was the one to bite back at the stranger, “No. Absolutely not, get the fuck out.” You leaned over to Angel, who was sitting next to you at the bar, in his hand a freshly poured drink, “Who the fuck is that?” Angel looked at the brunette, then at you, “You don’t know him?” he asked, clearly confused about the fact that you really didn’t know the man that had just entered the hotel. “I wouldn’t be fucking asking if I did, dipshit.”

The brunette stranger had overheard your conversation and was answering you before Angel even had a chance to explain it to you, “I’m fucking Adam,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing. You raised an eyebrow at him in confusion, that hadn’t really answered your question, “Am I supposed to fucking know every Adam in existance?” And the stranger - Adam - seemed to take your response quite personal, “Babes, I’m not some random fucking Adam, I’m the fucking Adam, the original dick.” Oh. So he was the asshole that had blown up the hotel. He was the bastard that had not only almost defeated Alastor, but was also responsible for Sir Pentious’ death. “I agree with Vaggie, let’s kick him out,” you directed your words to Charlie, who seemed to be considering something. “Actually,” the princess of hell started and you heard Vaggie sigh at her word, “Forget it Charlie, he’s not staying.” The devil’s daughter shook her head though, “No but Adam is right,” and while her voice gave away that she wasn’t very happy about that fact, she still admitted it. “Duh, obviously I’m right,” the brunette commented. “This hotel is about redemption after all.” Vaggie put her hand on Charlie’s shoulder as she disagreed with her girlfriend, “He doesn’t wanna get redeemed, hun, he only wants to get his ass back into heaven so that he can continue to fuck up your plans.”

-

Well, Charlie turned out to be quite convincing and that resulted in Adam staying at the hotel. And he was a fucking bitch about it, god forbid, you couldn’t believe that asshole was once an angel. There was simply no way with the way he acted towards you and your friends. And yet you had ended up as his personal bodyguard - or at least you felt like that. Because Charlie knew that if Adam were to roam hell on his own, the sinners living there would tear him into pieces. Your opinion on it? He deserved it. Charlie however saw things a little different and therefore she had asked you to keep an eye on Adam. That motherfucker obviously laid it out as something different entirely, in his eyes you were following him around, playing bodyguard, because he was so goddamn fucking important. Which he really wasn't, not in the slightest.

“Watch it,” a sinner Adam had just walked into hissed as he was about to continue to walk past the first man, he was definitely not having it though. “‘Watch it’?” the brunette repeated in sheer disbelief, grabbing the sinner by his upper arm to prevent him from leaving, “Do you fucking know who I am? I’m fucking- the first man was interrupted by a fist that met his face with more force than he had expected from the smaller soul.

And despite the fact that you disliked Adam's guts just like everyone else at the hotel did, something inside of you clicked into place when the first man got hit in the face. You rushed over to the two sinners, pushed yourself in-between them and shoved the sinner that dared to mess with the brunette you had promised to protect backwards, away from yourself and most importantly away from Adam. “The fuck you think you’re doing, bastard?” you hissed at the stranger who was quick to recover from your shove, yet he made himself appear smaller than he actually was as he bit back, “Teaching this fuckhead a lesson, you got any fucking problems with that?” His question was answered by your fist meeting his face, hitting him right in the eye, “Yeah, I fucking have a problem with that.”

Adam couldn't help himself, the first man simply stood there, watching you as you hit the stranger over and over again - if the brunette was honest the punch the sinner had landed hadn't even hurt him, it hadn't been hard enough to do so. Yet he was quite impressed by your fighting skills, he sure didn't expect you to be as strong as you were. The language you spoke as you seemed to insult the stranger Adam wasn't able to recognize, he had never heard it before and yet it sounded fucking hot coming from your lips. Has anyone ever put up a fight with a stranger for him - like a physical hand-to-hand combo? No. Not even Lute had done that in the past. So when you grabbed a firm hold of the sinner and rang him to the ground, Adam watched with fascinated eyes as you kept your promise and protected him - not that he couldn't have stood up for himself of course. But you doing the dirty work for him seemed quite nice, that way his hands would remain pure. As pure as the hands of a fallen angel could be, that was.

The sinner laid on the ground, blood covered his face and dripped onto the dusty ground he was laying on. You got up with ease, acting like nothing had happened, like that had been the most normal encounter you had ever had with a sinner - and knowing how things in hell worked, that might not be too far off. You grabbed onto Adam's wrist and pulled him away from the body that was twitching in pain and from the hungry eyes that had attached themselves onto the first man once people had started to recognize Adam for who he was. “I swear if one of ‘em bitches ever touches you again, I'll rip ‘em apart until all that's left are little pieces,” as you spoke you noticed the smug grin on Adam's face, in rage you asked, “The fuck you're so happy about?” “Oh nothing, that was just hot as fuck.” And even though you still disliked the guy, his words made you blush a little.

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

Oh look more headcanons

Who'd have guessed

Not me for sure

Okay sorry I'll shut up.

I'm highly music-driven and have been for many many years of my life.

And I'm presently unreasonably obsessed with The Fratellis after suddenly remembering they exist after like fifteen years of not hearing a single one of their songs. Don't ask me, it just happened a couple months ago and I decided not to question it.

So this is really stupidly niche of me, but these are their songs/lyrics that I associate with the Best Boys™, in a Character X Reader sense. The songs that are typically playing halfway on repeat when I'm writing any of them lately.

The song-links go to Spotify. It's not necessary to listen to them, the lyrics here are the main catalyst, but if you want to listen I'm not going to complain.

no but please I hope you like the music that I like I have no one to talk to about it and as a half-assed musician it's literally killing me and

Anywho.

Zoro

Living in the Dark

I was nothing less than torn, crying out to be reborn

Come back, baby, you could make me happy,

Maybe you could prove me wrong

You're the only one who could ever save me,

Maybe you could prove me wrong

I've been living in the dark down here too long

The song itself is far more upbeat than I'd generally associate with Zoro, but the lyrics speak to me on his behalf. The upbeat tempo is the equivalent of what you do to his heart when you're near him; it's strange and unfamiliar, but it's nice. He's iffy about being close with anyone, and he won't admit it out loud but he wants to be.

He's been alone for years, for damned near all of his life, and you're like the light at the end of that tunnel. He might try to push you away or be aloof and impersonal at first because the thought of being vulnerable frightens him a little, but he wants to be proven wrong. He wants to let you in, and he's willing to try.

Sanji

Sugartown

I get the strangest sense we were lovers past-tense

Like a dog in heat I just can't be indiscreet

And when I see you there, I whisper my prayer, so sweet

I'm getting shakey on my feet, I'm incomplete

And if you just can't do me right

Then, honey, please, do me wrong

I'll be your one man band, I'll be at your command

Just say the word and I'll be your Renaissance man

This entire damned song is the anthem of Sanji. It's like a 1950's bop, the type of song that you can't help but smile at. It's sweet and cute and pining, just like our favorite chef. He's just utterly obsessed and hoplessly devoted to you and every single thing you do. He can't keep his eyes or his mind off of you at any given time.

Just the sight of you entering the room takes his breath away, puts stars in his eyes. He would do or give absolutely anything to have you and to keep you forever, and he's going to make sure you know it.

Shanks

Babydoll

Babydoll, do you believe they'll catch you when you fall?

And when morning comes, the sun is gonna shine

Don't forget, your minor keys your half-lit cigarette

'Cause when morning comes, I know that you'll be mine

So let me in

I'm ready to beg and to sing for my sins

Not leave it to chance and sweet coincidence

I don't know. The soft yet slightly playful tone of the song in general just screams Shanks to me for no reason I can completely put in words. This particular portion of the lyrics is what I associate most with him.

He knows he wants you, and he wants to make sure you know it. Not to beat around the bush about it, but not pressure you either. Just make sure you know how much he cares about you and be as gentle and sweet as possible to prove it...and he knows it's going to work, and that you're already his whether you know it or not. But jfc also imagine that goddamned voice of his calling you babydoll please excuse me I need to go touch grass now

Mihawk

Medusa In Chains

I'm not your miracle man, I'm not your spirit guide

Before this whole thing began I had some sense of pride

Just one more night with your lips, your company is hard to eclipse

Weak-kneed, yes indeed, guardanteed, make my heart bleed

Give me a reason to breathe, don't let my sun go down

I'll make you stand and recieve, I'll be your sacred ground

Be my Medusa in chains, petrified

Only your beauty remains

The entire song. The ENTIRE SONG screams Mihawk to me. Slow-burn and seductive from start to finish. I get the same exact chills from this song that I get when he delivers that "Magnificent" line.

Lyrically relevant too. Falling for you in spite of his pride (and he has a LOT of pride to get past). You're like nothing he has ever experienced and he's utterly and hopelessly addicted to you. As much as he wants to fight it, he can't. In the same breath that he's trying to push you away and retain some grip on himself he's also pulling you back for more. He hardly even knows who he is anymore when you're near.

[strangecloud]

Do you remember your first Skyrim playthrough?

I played Skyrim on the 360 when it came out. I remember the starting Helgen cutscene making me uncomfortable, being carried to an executioner's block. The character I ended up playing was a paladin sort of dude who instead of shielding or avoiding blows would use Restoration to heal himself back up when he inevitably got hit.

I've been on an Elder Scrolls kick lately, playing Morrowind and Skyrim and even some ESO. I think they're good games, but I believe I've puzzled out why so many people prefer Morrowind over the rest of the series.

When I say the starting cutscene in Skyrim made me uncomfortable back in like, 2011, I mean it has since lost any of that power. I've just seen it so many times. I think this is the core of why Skyrim, despite being indubitably an absolute achievement in game design, seems to be less and less appreciated as time goes on. Simply put, most people have played it to the point that it's almost like a solved game.

This is a phenomenon that has happened to me across some games, even my favorite game of all time, Fallout New Vegas. I've just played it so darn much that the whole thing is predictable, like I can see all the decisions and consequences without even booting up the game. This contradiction of the medium has been commented on and explored by the metafiction of games like Undertale. The artificiality of an entirely predictable system, no matter how lifelike, will lessen your investment.

And it's not the game's fault. If anything, a game being good to the point of wearing out its welcome with diminishing returns because people just insist on playing it over and over again is a crowning achievement. However, transcending that, making a game that's quality to the point of beating that almost invincible limitation? That's on a whole other level.

Enter: Morrowind.

On the surface, Morrowind just looks like an old ass game. Everything is a little weird, to the way combat works to how it expects you to visually navigate the world with directions, sometimes daisy-chaining instructions on how to get where you're going. You know, go here following a path, to ask this person who actually knows where you want to go how to get there. And then follow a path again. The game expects you to study in-game lore books to figure out what to do. Like, actually roleplaying a researcher poring over tomes for answers. It's real weird.

But it makes a lot more sense when you consider, all of this, intentionally or not, contributes to a very interesting result. It makes the game a kind of perennial experience.

Even if you know what you're looking for, there's no map markers telling you where most things are in Morrowind. Some things might be easier to do off the top of your head when you're familiar with the game but even then, most of the time there's nothing for it but to knuckle down and search around. Like, actually paying attention to the world instead of some compass or map.

The character building works almost the same. You can steer your character into some set of gear you really want, assuming you know it exists and how to get it, but until then you're mostly gonna use whatever fits. Random magical items are more likely to dictate your effectiveness than anything else. You just don't control your builds and progression as much.

And the main story and lore are probably the best in the series. There's just so much to think about, find out, and discover. Even the little blurbs that random NPCs will spout about how their job works are very well written and made with a ton of thought. It's like the anti-Skyrim, the more you put into it, the more you get in return.

All this to say, playing Morrowind is still a rewarding experience decades after it was released, because there's a weird kind of harmony in its crazy designs. It's like it was made to be played and enjoyed forever, there's so much in there. Even if you've played it before many times, you might just forget where an important item is and have to navigate manually. You might decide to make a wacky character that leads you down factions and quests you've never done. You might find out some fact about the lore you've never really thought about.

It just keeps going.

I'm not one of those people who resent modern Bethesda for "dumbing down" or "selling out". I love Skyrim, but there's very little it can give me after all these years. On the other hand, Morrowind just keeps on giving.

I think that's the difference, and I think that's why people like it so much.

[greenerteacups]

forever grateful to you for sharing your musings, as if the book writing weren't great enough and hard work enough, you truly spoil us and i love you.

I'm popping in here to ask if you would like to talk about how you see Dumbledore. Sometimes I feel his manipulative side is abused in fanfiction, depicting little more than a heartless chess master.

And well, I guess I'm curious to find out if Lionheart Albus has a heart and will we get to see it. Maybe the more generous glimpses you give us of Snape and his interactions with him will shed some light on his hidden depths? Or will his appearances remain fleeting and enigmatic, always far and above all the little people we do know and adore?

Sorry, I know you can't possibly be completely balanced in your portraying of the whole cast, or they would spread too thin. I am here for the plot, for the Dramione and the Blacks, but I deeply enjoy all the character building (I truly live for all of them, not only our loved ones, I even cherish Warrington with sincere hate and am waiting for his comeuppance ) so I thought I would ask if you wouldn't mind a few comments on our opaque headmaster.

Thank you, friend! You're really kind.

Dumbledore has a relatively minor role in Lionheart for a few reasons — chief among which is, as you point out, that we just don't have time for everybody to get the same level of characterization the mains do. I have plot justifications for that, but it'd be disingenuous to suggest otherwise: Dumbledore's minor because I'm less interested in him than I am in Snape and Narcissa, and Lionheart is much more about Draco's sphere of the world than Harry's. That being said, I think some people forget how small Dumbledore's role is in the original books. He pretty much exists to deliver exposition and tell Harry how to beat the final boss; dude doesn't even get a gesture at a backstory until he's already dead. In fact, it's kinda weird to me that everyone (including a lot of people in the series) treats Dumbledore like he's some kind of guardian for Harry, especially with respect to the decision to keep him at the Dursleys. I know it's set up in the prologue, but if I'm Dumbledore, and I'm catching strays for Vernon Dursley being a piece of shit, I'm gonna be like:

The TLDR on Dumbledore is he's blamed way too much for stuff he doesn't do instead of the stuff he does. People seem to blame him for everything bad that happens to Harry because he's a competent adult in the general vicinity of the kid. But with the possible exception of hiring Lockhart — a bad decision I attribute to Early Installment Weirdness and, just maybe, a certain scarcity of applicants for a position where the last dude Literally Fucking Died — there's not a whole lot of shit that happens to Harry in the first few books Dumbledore could've prevented. Plus, he does in fact have Other Shit to be Doing. Is he a really powerful wizard who probably could've saved Harry's ass in a lot of the fights he gets into? Yes. Does he also have a whole school to run, a secret guerrilla group to direct, a Ministry full of political enemies to placate, and — oh yeah — a snake-faced immortal evil sorcerer he's playing 4D chess with at all times? Yes!

The whole lamb-to-slaughter thing with Harry is admittedly quite dark, but I don't read it as machiavellian. For one, Dumbledore obviously comes to this conclusion after a lot of deliberation, and to his death, he refuses to tell Harry about it, because (one assumes) he never intends to kill Harry himself. He's willing to hinge the fate of the free world on his respect for Harry's autonomy and/or his faith that Harry will make the "right" choice. That's pretty humane, given the circumstances. And he holds off on telling Harry about the horcruxes because... he doesn't want to inform a literal child that he'll eventually have to kill himself for the war effort. Oh, GOD, what a SCHEMING MONSTER. Surely this is motivated by menace, and not the grieving reluctance of a seasoned veteran who wants to preserve whatever few years of happiness this kid can eke out of life.

The areas where Dumbledore is morally shady come out most in his interactions with other adults. His conversation with Severus in 1981, for instance, is the one time in the books where I was legitimately frightened of him, because it's a rare time he's completely without mercy or grace. "What will you give me in return, Severus?" is a character-defining line, because Snape has just told him that two twenty-somethings and their infant child are about to be murdered, and Dumbledore's hit back with the subtextual equivalent of: "Tough shit. Why is it my problem?" Which is COLD AS FUCK! And we can kind of infer that he's not in earnest here, that he's manipulating Severus by making him think Dumbledore won't protect the Potters (even though they're Order members, which this theory requires us to assume Severus doesn't know) so that he can get him to work as a spy — but we don't know that for certain, right? It's all inference. We hope that his implicit threat isn't genuine, but what would happen if Severus said no, and walked away? How much did Albus understand about Snape's feelings for Lily, and what kind of person does it take to bluff like that in front of a known Legilimens? That line is intimidating as fuck whether or not Albus means it.

It's bits like these, where he's talking to people that he actually dislikes, where we get hints of the real Machiavellian Albus Dumbledore, and it's absolutely fascinating. He's the veteran of two wars, going on three when he dies, and you can tell in how he conducts himself. That includes, by the way, his gentility with children and his respect for innocence. But he's not just Good Funny Grandfather Dude or Crafty Mastermind. He's a general. He's been waging wars from the back lines since his twenties. That does something to your brain, and it doesn't leave a lot of you left over for anything else.

[aeithalian]

brought to you by walker scobell's correct opinions

okay so this is super unhinged but I've held this opinion for a long time and I was reminded of it when Walker Scobell adressed it in an interview and I need to yell it from the rooftops - Percy Jackson would absolutely kick ass in a fight against Harry Potter. And I say this as a lifelong fan of both series (who obviously knows which author is better).

But it's more nuanced than that. Because apparently I can't be normal about things.

Here's the thing: Percy and Harry both serve completely different purposes as the protagonists of their respective plots. Because Percy's special. Harry's not, at least in the ways that matter. Hence, Percy would absolutely kick ass.

Allow me to explain. We're in the great position here of both stories being set in the "main character has to go learn how to harness their power" archetype for both characters, (Percy at Camp Half-Blood and Harry at Hogwarts) so luckily, this also gives us a pretty good idea of how skilled they are in comparison to their peers.

Percy, over the span of the series, and even in the first book alone, excels above his peers. He's the child of the second most powerful god in the pantheon, he's given a prophecy and a quest almost immediately upon arriving at camp (a privilege other campers have to wait years for), and at the point we've reached in the canon books, is one of the most powerful demigods ever. Like, his power level is compared to that of a minor god, he's a respected leader, and he beat the god of war in single combat at age 12 based on (mostly) skill alone.

But Harry, in comparison to his peers? Painfully average in most regards. Every single life-threatening situation he was in throughout the entire series required some fluke of nature/magic for him to get out alive. As a baby? Only survived by some ancient magical loophole. Book 1? Use of aforementioned magical loophole. Book 2? Sure, he saved the day but he also almost died, but didn't because Dumbledore sent... a bird. Book 3? Harry's mastery of the Patronus charm is one of maybe three exceptions to this rule in the entire series. Books 4, 5, and 7? Magic loophole!!!! And let's be real - Dumbledore saved Harry's ass multiple times in the book 6 climax, but I'll let the bygones be bygones and not question Dumbledore's methods. My point being: Harry sucks at most things. But, you know, at least he's self-aware about it.

Now before anybody comes screaming to me, I know that Harry's not dumb as a rock, or anything. Yes, he's good at DADA, I am aware, thank you. But let's be real - if the aforementioned magical loophole didn't exist, Harry would not have survived a good 80% of his altercations in the series, considering the aforementioned magical loophole literally only works against one person. To be real, he also wouldn't be in those life-threatening altercations to begin with.

FURTHERMORE. They both fall into the "Chosen One" archetype, right? But here's the thing: Percy is powerful in his own right, and being the chosen one isn't what makes him powerful. Harry, on the other hand, is powerful because he's the chosen one, because of all the mysticism built around an arguably average person of middling talent. He's only special because of the whole "[Voldemort] will mark him as his equal" thing from the prophecy.

Even if you assume that an average demigod and an average wizard hold about the same power levels (which, honestly, I don't think you can say, but for the sake of the argument, that's what we're going to go with), the pure fact of the matter is that Percy is like a Dumbledore-level demigod, and Harry is a Michael Yew-level wizard. (Who is Michael Yew, you may ask? To which I say: exactly.)

Are you catching my drift? Percy kicks ass against Harry because he's more powerful. It's as simple as that.

But allow me to extrapolate further, because I fear that some may take this to mean that Harry is a bad protagonist. He's not, he just serves a different narrative purpose as a character. Imagine if you were to swap Percy and Harry into each others' stories:

Harry would probably die in the first PJO book. As an untrained wizard with at most, one year at Hogwarts under his belt, he'd probably die in the initial fight against the Minotaur. Done deal. Sure, you could take it a step further and assume that he does carry good problem-solving skills in moments of high stress, so maybe he could have made it out of that fight alive, but he's probably toast from that moment on. My main point is that Percy's skills that get him through his first quest are inherent. He doesn't necessarily have to practice to have heightened battle senses, water powers, and sensitivity to the Mist, all things that helped him survive. Harry simply does not have those things, and as a wizard of about the same age, doesn't have the skill set to match those powers with his own magical abilities. And by the end of the series, assuming Harry doesn't die immediately, the last book is one long, big battle, and Harry's one-on-one combat skills aren't necessarily bad, but if I have a hard time remembering how many times Harry was in a duel against a fully trained wizard and won in his own right, what makes you think he could beat ultra-powerful Titans like Percy did?

As for Percy - Put him in the climax moment of the first HP book against Quirrell. Harry survived that moment by using the aforementioned magical loophole, but Percy would have probably chopped Quirrell's head off within the first five minutes. No biggie. No moment in the first three books comes to mind as a situation that would have given Percy a ton of trouble at around the same age. And the fact that I think that Percy would definitely give Voldemort a run for his money in a one-on-one duel in the second half of the series should really say something.

Again, that's not to say that Harry's a bad protagonist. I think that their respective power levels serve their respective plots well! Imagine how boring the PJO series would be if Percy wasn't powerful enough to go head-to-head with Titans, or how boring the HP series would be if Harry had no problems beating Voldemort ever.

It's also interesting when you consider the implications of what being the Chosen One means in their respective universes. Percy knows he's the Chosen One, and he's actually more offended when Rachel suggests that he's not the hero of the prophecy, rather Luke is. Harry, on the other hand, has a hard time believing he's the Chosen One, because he knows just how generally unremarkable he is aside from the fact that he keeps surviving against all odds. Percy is the typical Chosen One, Harry is not.

And that gets even more interesting when you consider how they interact with their peers once their "Chosen One status" becomes common knowledge. Percy, who spends most of his time on quests, doesn't interact with his peers much on-page (meaning we don't see him go through everyday life like we see in the HP series), but that aside, he's generally well-respected. People are in awe of him. People know who he is, and have decided that he is deserving of his claims to fame and power. Harry, on the other hand, is generally not respected to the same degree, and people have a hard time believing him when he tells them about his close calls with death. Adults, specifically, find his stories unbelievable, because to them, he's untrained and not significantly powerful. And you know what? They're completely right.

I tend to also see that manifest a lot in their personalities. Percy, as the Chosen One, tends to struggle a lot with the fact that there are a lot of expectations placed upon him. People come to him for help all the time, and the gods tend to take him for granted, so he ends up with this very 'leave me alone let me live my life in peace' kind of thing going on. Harry, on the other hand, struggles in the different way of, as I said before, never being believed, and while he also struggles a lot with expectations, has this issue that he doesn't, nor will he ever, live up to them because that's not who he is (insert rant here about why Harry becoming an Auror was so out of character, and why he should have become the DADA professor instead, kindly fu JKR). Harry isn't some overpowered godling, he's just some random kid, placed well enough in society that Voldemort took an unhealthy interest in him.

I'm getting off track here. But my point stands: while both Percy and Harry serve the Chosen One protagonist archetype, they are inherently different characters and serve different purposes. Harry is atypical, and doesn't succeed in his own rights as much as you'd predict from a YA protagonist, regardless of the fact that he's got an über-powerful failsafe button. Percy, on the other hand, is a much more cliche example of a main character, being overpowered and wildly successful with barebones training.

Now, this is not me saying that PJO is a cliche YA story. I would never say that, because Rick Riordan is a masterful writer who still incorporates Percy's struggles as a person into a world where he's considered extremely powerful (meaning he's not a Mary Sue). That, and the fact that Percy isn't actually the 'hero of the prophecy', but the main villain is, is what should disprove that statement in a split second.

All is is basically saying that, while Percy would absolutely whoop ass against Harry, that does not mean that Harry is a bad character. Harry is, I think, the only kind of character that could fit well enough in the HP series for it to be considered a fulfilling story (insert rant here about how the final fight in movie 8 is stupid and Harry could have never held his own in a duel against Voldemort for that long, and completely missed the point of the finale of book 7 and it's been pissing me off for years).

Anyways, yeah, point made, come yell at me if you think I'm wrong, but I don't think I'm wrong.

More (mostly TOA) rants here if you want them.

[animentality]

Isagi fans in the Blue Lock fandom are really getting on my nerves, mostly the way they say Rin sucks, Shidou sucks, Kaiser is a fraud, no one but Isagi is good at soccer -

Literally shut. the fuck. up.

I'm so tired of hearing every other goddamn character getting called terrible - I'm sorry, if Isagi is the ONLY character you like, just keep your mouth shut, then. Jerk off to his endless glazing and inevitable win as the MC and protagonist of the world, and stop harassing other people with your half a brain cell.

God for fucking bid this manga with hundreds of characters actually have content for any of those characters, when Isagi exists.

God forbid Shidou get a fucking goal or Rin beat Isagi again, or Isagi have any challenges at all.

These people, man. I know what they are. They're the same people who think genocidal dictator villain characters should "win" or that the MC is a "cuck" if they don't get the main girl at the end. They're a bunch of incel ass losers who just read manga bc they wanna project on the MC and circle jerk over this fantasy of themselves as better than anyone else ever, and fuck any character who isn't the MC.

Oh, I'd love to introduce them to deodorant and suppositories to fix their kidney stones.

[false-cowboy]

Do you have any litrpg recs?

OH BOY DO I

I will attempt to give little descriptions but I'm not the best at writing so if nothing else I hope the names pique your interest! This post will be more personal opinion than direct plot summary, though if you'd like I can add those too

Noobtown: Humor is a bit high school boy especially in this first one, but it definitely gets some full body cackles outta me. Though this is a comedy series supposedly, it knows how to tug at your heart strings with some genuinely good characters and an interesting break of the system surrounding the book itself. More than anything, this shits Fun. It gets really interesting, Shart the demon is a pathetic mound of anger issues, Jim’s name is the equivalent of a dog’s in this world, all hail Badgalor king of the badgers, fuck the fecking puma forest.

Chaos Seeds: Classic of the genre, though definitely dated and the series degrades with the more recent books. Very nice magic system, one of the better uses I've seen, and the characters are notably very colorful/fun. Good fights and damn graphic, isn't afraid to be gruesome though there is a beating heart of humanity through the series I personally enjoy

Dungeon Crawler Carl (mix of LitRPG and apocalyptic dungeon elements, what it says on the tin): one of the best, and I mean BEST of this genre in my opinion. extraordinarily dark and horrifically funny. This shit will depress you as you giggle at it. But its just so damn good with some really nice underlying as well as overt commentary. More gorgeous character writing though here it's all Carl and the beautiful Princess Dount (his show winning, talking, cat whom deserves the universe in her paws) all the way. Very absurdist humor by the by, if that's your thing

Ascend Online (town builder litrpg): I mainly love this one for something that happens I think at the end of the first book though it might be the second. It sort of flips the magic system against our hero in a wonderfuly monstrous way. This one is Very Big, and honestly a little boring at times. But the game mechanics and magic system are drooling off of the page, begging to be thought about. Our main character is smart and resourceful, as a veteran of video games he capitalizes his knowlage for a satisfying build. If you’re really into game mechanics this shit was MADE for you, it is also just plain interesting. Good ideas and good fight scenes to go around for everyone! And mainly I just consider it a bit boring because I listened to the audiobook and the narrator read off the Entire Status Page ever like chapter which, if you're an avid LitRPG reader, you’ll understand the pain involved in such a thing

He Who Fights With Monsters: Another insanely long book, another absolute banger. While personally I'm not a fan of the series as it progresses, the first one is a full experience all on its own, lightning in a bottle to me. The main character is one of the best I’ve read about, the magic system is deliciously unique, the side characters are memorable as hell, but most of all I adore the worldbuilding in HWFWM SO fucking much. I have like full posts thirsting after it GOD. I could sit here and just talk. This is one of the best on the list to me, right up there with Dungeon Crawler Carl; even better in the side character department

Ritualist (The Completionist Chronicles): This one’s strengths are a surprising mix of absurdist comedy and a somewhat well thought out magic system. The writing is,,, Not The Best especially compared to some others, but it was a fun and very quick read, especially compared to some others on this list. a popcorn turn your brain off read

System Apocalypse (While most LitRPG exist in fantasy worlds, this one is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi vibe): This is another short one. It takes place in Canada and the main character is a ball of severe anger issues and angst, he has a very cool motorcycle and kicks hella ass. It’s great. His companion is top tier as well, there may or may not be a hot space elf prince involved. If you don't like romance you’re still good though because there isn’t any since John is a pussy ass bitch. Sorry, sorry, I'm trying to be fair and balanced. It's good! John is definitely a flawed individual, I think people often miss a lot of the little nuances in his character and write him off as petulant and pissed (to be fair, he is) but to me at least there's a bit more going on. Even if he can be genuinely irritating to read about

And finally, my two favorite series... and guilty pleasures

The Good Guys: A quintessential barbarian. Think of a barbarian character. Boom. There it is. That’s our man Montana Coggshall. this series is my version of embarrassment exposure therapy, Montana is constantly being humiliated and nothing good ever happens to him. But Also, this is not a sad or angsty or dark series at all. Its fun and light and god are the fights amazing. a fantasy romp to its core. Charming and delicious and fun and action packed to the gills.

The Bad Guys: A quintessential rouge. Think of a rogue character. Boom. There it is. That’s our man Clide Hatchett. This series has a style and comedy and charm to i cannot physically understate and there are So Many genuinely clever moments

there are so many characters that fuck around with morality and right/wrong and different view points that make the world feel so lived in

Everything from plumbing to lumberjacks is explored and given loving attention.

Reading it feels like coming home, I honestly don't care that the plot has turned into side quests and atm the side characters haven't gotten enough time in the spot light

The main character and fucking sheer amazing awkward kind conflicted energy of his dialogue, I've developed a connection to Eric ugland's style of writing further than I thought and I can't get enough of this shit. Also every problem Clide Hatchett has is solved with some sort of fucking batshit way I Adore

He's the guy who used a dagger that could travel through liquid to travel through a guys stomach and out the other side. Did I mention how gorey these books are? Because Yeah. I adore Clide Hatchet, my favorite character to ever be written in any place ever. He walks into places he absolutely shouldn't be, gets called elf boy, kicks everybody's ass while simultaneously being the most awkward and uncoordinated mess elvenly possible, then leaves. He is in the palace throne room profusely apologizing to the servants for getting dirt on the floor and beating the shit out of the king, he is at the altar of your wedding punching you in the face and then turning around and tripping on his dress, he is calling himself a hero before robbing a home blind. And also he keeps on shoving acid globs down people's throats and managing to do that while maintaining pure silly little guy energy is genuinely character writing talent. He's perfect. Yes it is very dorky.

Eric Ugland (who wrote both the Good Guys and Bad Guys series) has this way of writing, this STYLE I cannot properly articulate how much I find myself in love with it. though I will warn you I'm definitely bias, since I've been following both of these series almost since conception my perception could be entirely skewed by nostalgia

[hollowed-theory-hall]

do you have thoughts on ariana dumbledore?

Like about her character or about her situation?

Because we don't really know Ariana as a person at all. So, I can't really analyze her. I can have thoughts about her situation and what was going on with her magic.

I should note I don't consider anything about Obscurials from the Fantastic Beasts canon. I think it's a retcon and I don't like it. I mean, you’re telling me Obscurials are created when wizards bottle up their magic and then say Harry "cupboard under the stairs" Potter didn't become one? I don't buy it.

So, let's take a look at the tragedy that is Ariana Dumbledore's existence:

So, the information about Ariana is quite scarce when looking just at the books. And most sources are unreliable. Rita Skeeter lies more often than not. Elphias Doge thinks the sun shines out of Albus Dumbledore's ass. Aunt Muriel just wants mean gossip. Then there are the brothers, Albus and Aboforth, Albus with their own biases and agendas, leaving Abeforth as the best source about Ariana (even if he has his own biases).

But, limited information is when theorizing is the most fun.

I don't think she was an Obscurial

As I mentioned above I don't believe Obscurials are a thing in the Wizarding World of the books. The main reason I mentioned above is Harry. We know Harry, Tom, Snape, and Merope were all mistreated heavily as children and none of them become an Obscurial. Harry says so himself:

Numbly Harry thought of how the Dursleys had once shut him up, locked him away, kept him out of sight, all for the crime of being a wizard. Had Dumbledore’s sister suffered the same fate in reverse: imprisoned for her lack of magic? Had Dumbledore truly left her to her fate while he went off to Hogwarts to prove himself brilliant and talented?

(DH, page 137)

Harry was raised to not use his magic. To bottle it up and not use it, and yet, neither he nor any other wizard with similar circumstances became an Obscurial. It's weird that Obscurials could exist and we never heard of such creatures in the books themselves. If they did exist, I would assume muggleborns and muggle-raised wizards would be watched more closely for how dangerous they could be. Personally, I don't think Obscurials exist at all. It doesn't make sense within the universe we know.

So what was going on with Ariana?

“When my sister was six years old, she was attacked, by three Muggle boys. They’d seen her doing magic, spying through the back garden hedge: She was a kid, she couldn’t control it, no witch or wizard can at that age. What they saw, scared them, I expect. They forced their way through the hedge, and when she couldn’t show them the trick, they got a bit carried away trying to stop the little freak doing it.”

....

“It destroyed her, what they did: She was never right again. She wouldn’t use magic, but she couldn’t get rid of it; it turned inward and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldn’t control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous. But mostly she was sweet and scared and harmless.

(DH, page 479)

These are two quotes from Aboforth about what happened to Ariana and how her magic responded. That same magic that eventually killed their mother, Kendra.

Now, we don't really know what these muggle boys did. It could have been sexual assault, even if Ariana was only 6 (as gross and horrifying as it is), it could've been they beat her up badly, we don't know. Whatever it was, it was incredibly traumatic to both her body and mind.

I wrote about how magic is very connected to a wizard's or witch's intentions and emotions and I believe that is the key to understanding what happened with Ariana. We also know, that when a witch or wizard is hurt, their magic will attempt to heal them. We also know from Harry and Neville that a child's magic will try to keep them out of harm's way when they can't control it yet:

Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. 

(PS, page 91)

Dudley’s gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry’s surprise as anyone else’s, there he was sitting on the chimney.

(PS, page 21)

So, I wondered, what would happen if a magical child got so traumatized they were stuck in a fight or flight state? What if they feel under threat constantly? Well, I'd expect their magic to act up, as it always does when a young witch or wizard is under threat.

Basically, what I think is going on with Ariana's magic is kind of like a muggle allergy. Her magic (white blood cells, essentially) that wants to protect her and heal her, registers everything and everyone, even Ariana herself, as a threat it needs to fight. So it lashes out unpredictably like any child's accidental magic when under threat.

And the descriptions from Aboforth really sound like a child's accidental magic trying to keep the child safe by going highwire. I think she actually was sickly. I can't imagine her magic left her completely unharmed. It was also likely exhausting to constantly have her magic stretched thin trying to protect her from a threat that wasn't really there.

And we know this instability of her magic is why she was never let out of her mother's sight:

“—to permit her to leave the house?” cackled Muriel. “And yet she was never taken to St. Mungo’s and no Healer was ever summoned to see her!” “Really, Muriel, how can you possibly know whether—“ “For your information, Elphias, my cousin Lancelot was a Healer at St. Mungo’s at the time, and he told my family in strictest confidence that Ariana had never been seen there. All most suspicious, Lancelot thought!”

(DH, page 137)

because the Ministry had known what Ariana had become, she’d have been locked up in St. Mungo’s for good. They’d have seen her as a serious threat to the International Statute of Secrecy, unbalanced like she was, with magic exploding out of her at moments when she couldn’t keep it in any longer.

(DH, page 479)

They hid her from everyone. From Bathilda, any other neighbors, and from St. Mongos. And they were right to be concerned about what the ministry would do if they knew about Ariana. She was a danger to herself and the people around her, not because she meant to be. Because she was a young, traumatized witch whose magic kept trying to protect her when the threat was long gone.

[jamethinks]

Every time I see someone call Homelander weak I lose a day off of my life. Such a fundamental misunderstanding of the whole entire show and it drives me insane.

Like yes, he does seem very weak and he would pale in comparison to most iconic superheroes. Hell he could get ass kicked by Tom from Tom and Jerry. But the whole point of the show, the main fucking thesis, is that it does not fucking matter at all because there is no Superman, there’s no Batman, there’s no Iron Man, nor captain America or whatever random comic character you think can beat his ass.

At the end of the day you cannot fight Homelander, and that’s the problem with the whole system.

Superheroes in the Boys are overpowered compared to you. There is no need for such powerful heroes when their main enemies are just regular criminals that cops can handle. The first scenes shows Homelander and Queen Maeve just destroying a bunch of bank robbers with far more force than necessary. This season we see Ryan casually throw a man into a wall and completely murder him. No human being should have that much raw power. The only person who could beat Homelander (in universe) was Soldier Boy and he was an even bigger piece of shit. Homelander let that plane crash because he could not care less. He found it more valuable to let them die than to even try and do something. It didn’t matter if he had the physical strength to do it, he was never going to because he does not care. Not to mention it was because of his recklessness why the plane started to crash in the first place.

And don’t get me wrong I do think the Homelander is a fucking wuss jokes are hilarious because he is just a big baby. But when I see people treating it like an actual critique of the show and complain about the lack of action and combat it makes me want to rip my fucking hair out. The Boys isn’t here to romanticize superheroes for you to wank off to. The whole point is that superheroes suck and they shouldn’t exist. The creator hated superhero movies and hated how popular they were and so he created an entire comic about why he hated them.

The Boys isn’t a love letter to the superhero genre, it’s hate mail.

[c6jpg]

natlan 5.0 brain dump

i did this in a lot of small chunks so i already forgot all of my detailed thoughts so i'm gonna try to keep it brief

general environment/exploration:

first off music and scenery is 💯💯💯

i particularly like how much wildlife there is and i really love the saurian gameplay (for me its hydro > dendro >>>> geo)

i feel so awful every time i accidentally kill a capybara they should be immune like the rhinos

it makes sense that there isn't "one huge city" like the other nations since natlan is composed of tribes, and each tribe looks like it gets a decent amount of attention, but i was still kind of disappointed by how small the stadium of the sacred flame feels in comparison for being the "main" area. i feel like they could have done a lot more with it

archon quest:

tldr; it was... not good? or at least very underwhelming? especially coming off fontaine/sumeru which had incredibly strong opening acts

act 1 was particularly like. whatever. felt more like a kachina story quest that rolled right into a mualani (but npc-focused) story quest

like for how important the pilgrimage is it just felt so. underwhelming and anticlimatic. yes yes i know kachina is precious and everyone loves her but i wish we spent less time doing kachina support group and focused more on the pilgrimage itself like can we at LEAST see some of the other playable characters participating instead of just hearing about it in passing

literally was soooooooooo fucking annoyed with the entire atea plotline. i wrote a whole rant in my first write up but basically that entire arc only existed so that they could bring back the purification plot device which WE HAVEN'T SEEN SINCE MONDSTADT

i was just incredibly annoyed with how that was all handled lol atea is also just such a non-character how am i supposed to care about her. she didn't even die in the end!!!

also mualani's tribe's whole thing being super stereotypical hawaiian tourism left a really bad taste in my mouth i wanted to get out of there as fast as possible

act 2 was weird because like. i felt like they were saying a lot of things that were like "this is a serious national crisis" but it didn't... feel that way? and a lot of the lore itself was pretty glossed over

i think a problem with the natlan story is that you need the first acts to set up the stakes but we just spent the first act gallivanting around with kachina/mualani and then when they DID get to the "main problem" in act 2 it just info dumped so hard to the point that i. didn't care?

pacing in general just felt all over the place

the only investment they gave us is through caring about kachina and i guess hating the abyss/not wanting a nation to be destroyed on principle but idk. especially with the "nah we gotta wait for the last 2 heroes first" the stakes are Not there for me

reminded me of when nahida was like "yeah i needed you to figure this out for yourself bc if i told you directly your head would explode." but at least that one was fun/could just chalk it up to nahida being cheeky and didn't like. prolong the plot for too long

SHOW US DON'T TELL US DAMN IT. i might just have recency bias but i genuinely feel like natlan might be one of the worst cases of telling and not showing as far as archon quests are concerned

also capitano's appearance felt so random LMAO he really showed up, said some cryptic shit, got his ass beat, and then left. at least the cutscene was cool?

chasca girl i'm shaking crying throwing up somebody get that girl a full pair of pants and brown contacts PLEASE

i find it interesting how detailed/fleshed out chuychu (chasca's sister) is, both in terms of design and personality/character. it kind of felt like they originally intended for her to be playable but turned her into an NPC instead

also citlali is definitely some kind of faruzan situation where she's old but young looking

night kingdom was cool i guess nothing really to say here. i am very interested in the wayob lore though especially in regards to how it ties into the rest of teyvat/why natlan has particularly weak leylines

i feel like mavuika's younger sister might also become relevant in the future... in a bad way. like the insistence to not being forgotten/seeing mavuika again, the fact that mavuika doesn't "really" know what happened to her. also she also got a pretty unique npc model. or maybe she won't be brought up ever again idk

in general that whole reminiscence sequence with mavuika was like. fine but again you just info dumped the shit out of me i have no emotional attachment to feel anything about whats going on right now???

also we all know that was fucking ororon at the end with capitano like lmao come on. but im willing to bet both he + chasca are the last two heros bc like. who tf else do we have left LMAOOO

capitano was supposed to be cool but he's just giving goofy villain right now. sorry capitano fans they flopped so hard with him in this act

[mammothartist]

Reasons why Ijin is great :)

This is going to be partitioned In sections because actual essays are for school. :/

All this is gonna be my opinion and what I see, so yeah.

Reason #1: He is so genuinely kind.

    What I’ve seen is that it’s a common theme that the main characters of manhwas are kind, but it feels like Ijin wishes the best for people. For example, he never brings down others emotionally. What I’ve seen is that people make MC’s inherently jealous to add flaws to their character, but with Ijin his flaws come from his inability to be vulnerable ( we’ll come back to that later). It’s really refreshing.

Reason #2: He cannot lie for his life.

    I just find it so funny that he is only able to lie by omission and when he actually gets a ‘good’ lie out , they see right through him. That leads to our next point

Reason #3: He has no poker face.

    Sure, he is able to hide his past, but by other characters he is extremely easy to read. Like how Maya was able to find out that he didn’t kill the numbers just by his face alone. I just find it funny because of his non- existent poker face it we get those bulging eyes shots. 

Reason #4: He is pretty. 

     Do I have anything else to say ?

Reason #5: He is so hot .

    I swear my heart skips a beat anytime we get a handsome Ijin shot. 

Reason #6: He has androgynous features and Characteristics 

    To be honest, he has so many ‘feminine features/Characteristics’ that aren’t his strength,skill in fighting, and like- his hair. I swear if you were to turn him into a woman he should serve that exact same purpose in the story. He has such a gender neutral role in the story. But tbh,I think it’s my bisexual ass speaking but 🤷‍♂️

Reason #7: He’s so traumatized 

    I have a love-hate relationship with this fact because yes, it’s the main reason why he is a pretty 3 dimensional character but also it’s like , :’( . He acts the way he does throughout the story because of his grueling past, for example…

his food insecurity- food was probably not a main concern to the camp.

His constant paranoia- when those girls asked for his number in the most recent chapters, even when they did nothing wrong, he still had that jolt of fear before they asked. 

His inability to be vulnerable- not allowing people that aren’t hospital staff to tend to his wounds, was taken advantage of by the people in the camp.

His stare- he’s gained as a way of warning people to not harm him. 

He seems to dissociate when under stress- I noticed this when we where showed the first time he got a nightmare while he was in Korea, and instead of crying or reacting strongly ( What I would’ve probably done) he blanks out.

He has trouble rationally thinking when under intense stress- when his grandpa and sister was kidnapped and he was pitted against the numbers, instead of killing the numbers , he just squeezes his eyes closed like he is a child waiting for a bad thing to pass. 

He has an extremely emotionally damaged inner child- We’ve seen Ijin get sentimental over things that would be considered the bare minimum ( it’s a bit of a stretch but eh) but we as the readers know that he has experienced one of the worst things that could happen to him at a young age . But, he never grew up with a frame of reference of what a normal life is . I believe this also leads to how he never matured at a normal pace, he is just allowing his inner child to have some fun, we’re told this by the other characters.

( This is the ones I could list off the top of my head) He becomes an inherently ‘flawed character’ due to how emotionally stunted he is. He gets a lot of character development that revolves around him being more honest. That leads me to my next point. 

Reason #8 - Character Development 

         He gets a lot of character development, like him progressively opening up to his family, him making deeper connections to the people he cares about. Not being on edge all the time. One that I’ve seen the most is his ability to be merciful. He progressively becomes better at determining who deserves mercy or not and I think he’s awesome for that.

These are the reasons why I think Ijin is pretty awesome. I could write down more but it’s 11:55 and my brain is melting. Let me know if I got anything wrong about trauma response stuff. And if you disagree I’d like to know why! I don’t bite :) ( sorry the grammar sucks, I have no excuse ). 

[celticcatgirl2]

God I fucking hate Vegeta so fucking much holy shit. Holy shit, every frame he's in, every scene, every gif, every jpeg, he's got this painfully smug, stupid as shit, fuckass look on his stupid scrunkly face. Absolutely no part of his ugly as sin piece of shit character design is endearing. His stupid fucking hairline? Who the hell makes a "bad boy" boy friend of the main girl with a hairline like that. His dumb short ass stumpy legs? His shitty, lumpy bastard head? The three thousand percent unnecessary dumbass shitass fucking POINTY HAIR STANDING UP IN ONE DIRECTION that no Saiyan has EVER FUCKING HAD IN tHE HISTORY OF GOD'S GREEN FUCKING EARTH? God, I hate him. I hate him so much. So FUCKING much. Every time I see a stuffed toy Vegeta or an Vegeta gif or a shitty goddamn anime clip, it ignites my primal rage response and I'm overcome by the need to punt this shitty little homunculus into the fucking sun. "Bhurr blur, I'm Vegeta the fuckshit monkey fucker, I am the prince of all Saiyans ". Fuck you. Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you. You look like the grumpy troll from trolls world tour summoned a patronus. Your dumb fucking twig hair makes your whole shitty head look like a hairy skin tag. I hate your dumb fucking creased forehead and your stupid, empty souless eyes and your over-the-top douchey ass arrogant asshole personality. Any scene he's sad it invokes all the wrath and fury of a spoiled child having a meltdown over a chocolate bar in a w*lmart checkout line. And I know its irrational. That's the worst part. I know he's just a shitty fucking side character in a stupid fucking Shonen anime, I know it doesn't matter, I know I shouldn't care. But that's part of the problem. The part where no matter the might and fury of my hatred, the locus of my homicidal intent is alltogether inconsequential. I find myself laying awake in the dark in the early hours of the morning consumed by the spirit of Wrath itself, all the force and might of a flaming hurricane directed at a bottle of piss in a ditch by the highway. The absurdity of it all burns me to my core. What better things could this energy be directed towards? And yet my disdain for this stupid, useless, insubstantial failure of endearing character design utterly eclipses the intrigue of all other pursuits. I hate him. I hate him on a level of my mind reserved for the worst of the world's array of sinners, and I can't even begin to justify it. Shitstick the Prince of all shitfucks is, for all intents and purposes, the animated corpse of all of humanity's saccharine pretenses- every condescending, passive-aggressive statement of meaningless upper middle class suburban drama distilled into a single, hateable form. The fucking. Fuck. I have no words. There is no cuss or epithet in any language that can encapsulate the height of the emotions I am experiencing. God, I hate him so much. I hate him so, so fucking much. I want to light his ugly little dumpster body on fire. I want to graphically beat him to death with his own stupid fucking scouter. I want to punch him to death. You know that weird feeling you get, when you see a picture of something so cute you find yourself overcome with the bizarre, inexplicable urge to squeeze it? It's EXACTLY like that, except instead of cuteness it's disgust. The wordless knowledge that his existence as a fictional work is evidence of all the failures of mankind. I find myself possessed by the will of a Holy Angel gone rogue with the belief that God has made a mistake, and I alone must correct it. This is the trial by which Samael himself fell from grace. This wild, meaningless rage. A thousand blades of shining steel cast with inhuman force in the direction of a plastic grocery bag floating on a breeze. What horrors must I have committed in a past life to be plagued by this torment now? I must Unmake this fictional alien

[haikyuufanficwriting]

Chapter 12: Terushima

Prompt: Reader pressing their forehead against Character's forehead to check if they have a fever Character: Terushima _________________

When you had decided to be the next manager for the Johzenji Boys Volleyball Team, you distinctly remembering being warned. In fact, the reason you remember so clearly is because of how ludicrous you remember it sounding.

“These boys are a handful, you know. They’re bound to give you troubles and endless headaches. But they’re worth it if you put in the effort. Do you think you have what it takes?”

The question that was posed by the, at the time, third year and current manager, Hana Misaki. And though you had the urge to roll your eyes and snort, the look on her face seemed infinitely serious. Her eyes bore into your soul, and you couldn’t form the strength to look away. It was almost as if she was sizing you up, trying to deem you worthy of such a treacherous feat. Yet still, instead of taking it as a sign that maybe you should find another extracurricular activity to get your parents off your back, in your second-year naivety and rebellious nature, you assured Misaki that you could indeed handle it, and to ‘leave it to me’ as she gave you a doubtful yet hopeful gaze.

In your current position now, you could easily say that she was with full certainty trying to warn you.

Because while they did grow and learn from the absolute beating of the preliminaries last year, it didn’t change the nature of the team. They were still childish, which was only cute to a point, and still completely dependent on your leadership. The constant reminders to not fool around, to clean up after them, and the countless variations of ‘No Terushima, that’s not physically possible, put Futamata down.’

But on the other hand, you still don’t regret joining the team. Watching them evolve has definitely been the highlight of your final year in high school, and whether you wanted to or not, you’ve grown to care for the whole team. 

Right now, however, the care has seemed to dissipate for one particular member.

“Where the hell is Terushima?” You mutter to yourself, glancing at the clock, then to Runa to which she gives a nimble shrug. Fifteen minutes had passed since the start of practice, and you were all currently waiting on the man of the hour, the captain. You let out a sigh of frustration as the grip on your pencil gets tighter.

“Okay,” You start, causing all the attention to go on you. “Anyone know where Terushima might be?” You get a bout of silence, before some shakes of the head and some shrugs. You turn to the other two main culprits, and your fellow third-years, Futamata and Okudake, for them to only look at you with just as much confusion as the rest.

“Last I saw Yuuji was before last period. Haven’t seen him since.” Okudake recounts a similar story, and you have to close your eyes for the wave of fury to subside.

“Alright, then. Guess I’ll have to go look for him and drag his ass back here. The idiot was probably after some girl and lost track of time.” You utter the last bit to yourself in distaste. While he was recently on the high of wanting to do well in the preliminaries, he never really could shake that fuckboy mentality of his. “The coach is going to be here in about 20 minutes, so I’ll try to find him before he loses it. I know he’s usually in charge of the drills, so Okudake, you’ll cover them for now. Remember the preliminaries are coming up; this is the chance to redeem yourselves. Don’t mess around. Runa, you’re in charge till I get back.” You delegate as they all nod, showing their understanding. You take another deep breath, before putting your notebook aside and walking out of the gym frustrated at the extra task you sure as hell didn't sign up for, leaving the boys to themselves.

“He’s gonna be the death of her.” Okudake chuckles.

“Nah. She’ll probably kill him first.” Futamata states before picking up a ball.

~~

You can’t seem to stop muttering curses at the existence of Terushima Yuuji, all the while scouring the halls at all the usual spots he goes to either pick up girls or skip class. In the year you’ve been manager you’ve come to learn a lot about Terushima, albeit unwillingly, though it does come to help at times like these.

However, he wasn’t in any of them. Which was a little more than odd. Because with the multiple occurrences in which he has lost track of time, he was always in one of the untracked corners of the school. Could he have really gone home?

Now more than outraged, you slam the door of the staircase open to return to the gym, no longer caring if the coach chews him out, when you swear you hear the weakest utterance of your name. You pause. What the hell?

“[Name]? Is that you?” You recognized the voice instantly, but it was so much weaker, so much more lifeless than any time you’ve heard him speak. You were instantly worried. You ran up the stairs to find the one and only, Terushima, sitting on the stairs and the worst shade of green you’ve ever seen on a person. You have to forcibly hold in a gasp.

“Terushima? What in the hell are you doing here?” You can see the amount of effort it takes for him to lift his head. Eye bags prominent, sweat adorning his forehead.

He looked like death personified.

“I’m going to practice. I just needed a little break.” The sentences seemed to be too much for his lungs to take, because he immediately had a coughing fit afterwards, and you flinch with every sound that leaves his throat. It was not pretty.

But you couldn’t focus too much on that.

“What do you mean ‘going to practice’? You look like you’re dying! You’re clearly sick. You need to go home!”

“The preliminaries are coming up again. I need to practice.”

“The hell you are!”

“It’s not that bad-“

His raspy voice is cut off, by your grabbing of his head. He doesn’t have any time to process anything before you bring your face to his. Your cheek touches his moist forehead, to be met with a sudden burning sensation.

Just as you suspected. Fever. And a high one with that.

“Idiot. You’re burning up; and if you had any sort of brain that wasn’t already mushed up by the fever, you’d know that you wouldn’t even be able to do much.” Your voice has turned soft, and for some reason you still haven’t released his head. Perhaps it was this gentle attitude that causes him to lay his head into your hands, or the fatigue or the illness that was eating him upside.

Regardless, it causes your own face to heat up. You clear your throat.

“Okay, you need to get up. We can go to the nurse, and they can call your parents.”

“They’re away. Trip.” His eyes are barely open at this point. Once given the opportunity to rest, he couldn’t get up. His whole body was shutting down. You tsked at the unfortunate circumstances.

“Okay, I’ll call a cab and take you home.”

“What about practice?”

“It’ll be fine. Runa and the coach will be there. I can’t leave you like this.”

And you didn’t. You texted Runa all the details, telling her to tell the coach and others, all the while ordering an uber to take you and Terushima to his house. You remember the address from the countless times you’ve brought notes over to help him study for a test that he seemed to forget until the day before. The hard part was about to come.

Getting Terushima to move.

He seemed to be on low power mode, and still a couple seconds away from passing out. You weren’t even sure how he made it this far on his own. But, with all the strength you could muster, you grabbed waist and hoisted him up and to lean on you. He was warm, which was partially due to the fever but, it was a weight that was extremely comforting to you. He also didn’t smell terrible, which was odd to you. If he was in good health, you’d say that his scent wouldn’t even be bad.

Probably really good.

You shake away the intrusive thoughts, which soon come right back to you when you feel his hand grip your waist. Tightly. You squeak, surprised, but he didn’t seem to notice, only focused on standing upright.

It was for the better anyways, because he would’ve likely seen you blush all the way to the car.

You open the door to the car, and greet the driver quickly, before carefully placing Terushima inside, being mindful of his head and making sure he was comfortably seated and walking to the other side. He turns to you.

“Yo-you’re coming?” He asks weakly, and you roll eyes. “Of course I am, moron. You can’t even walk properly.” You mumble the last bit, but you were sure he heard because his expression changed to something you couldn’t quite place.

The ride consisted of the usual tension that came from uber rides, along with you making sure that Terushima didn’t fall asleep, knowing it would be a lot harder to get him up if he did. Finally, you got to his house, and thanked the driver while pulling Terushima up like a ragdoll and dragging him to his house. You unlocked the door with the keys from his bag and once opened, you scourged a place to put him, knowing damn well you wouldn’t be able to get him up the stairs if getting him down was such as issue. After some scanning, you managed to get him on one of the long couches in his living room. You let him down gently, not thinking too hard about his blatant refusal to let go of you for a few seconds. You put his stuff down and blow out a sigh.

Okay next steps.

“Hey.” You weren’t sure why, but you used a hushed voice. Maybe because he seemed extremely out of it now, but also because just the state of him made you feel a certain kind of way. A way you would’ve never thought you would feel. “Which room is yours? I’m going to bring some of your blankets down.” He groans a little.

“It’s too hot.” He says before coughing into his pillow, and you grimace. Yeah, okay you’ll deal with the fever first. Since you don’t know where his family keeps the medication, and you don’t think Terushima is the most trustworthy source at the moment, you decide to do the best you can. You go to the kitchen and get a small rag to put under cold water. You rung it out slightly, coming back to gently place the rag on his forehead. You hear him let out a sound of comfort, to which you give a sigh of relief.

You figured that once he cools down he still might get shivers, as true of any fever, so you decide to head upstairs and try to find his room. But you feel a slightly sweaty hand grab your wrist weakly.

“Stay.”

Terushima muttered it lightly, but it made your heart do a full flip. Was he usually this clingy when he was sick? You bit your lip lightly, bending down to his level. “I’m just getting you some blankets, I’ll be back.”

He held your hand for a while, before letting go, seemingly understanding that you were going to come back. You let out a huge breathe, rubbing your cheeks to rid them of your blush, before going upstairs to look for his room. You found it easily, and grabbed the blankets, bunching them up in your arms. You come back down and throw them on a chair in the living area, close enough for easy grabbing if he’d get cold.

“You came back.” Terushima notices weakly, and snort. “Yeah, of course. What, you thought I’d jump out the window?” You go to check on the rag, making sure it was still cold, trying to avoid eye contact. But you couldn’t avoid his tired eyes.

“With how much I bother you, it seems possible.” He seems to be forming longer sentences, which is a good sign. “Do you really think I’m that cruel?” He laughs quietly. “No, but you’re a hardass.” You roll your eyes.

“Yeah, cause you guys are stupid enough to pull shit like this.” Terushima shifts in his place, rotating to face you properly.

“Preliminaries are coming up. I needed to practice. I’m the captain.”

“Not to death, moron.” He stays quiet. You sigh. “Look, I admire your dedication, but you need to find a balance. Know when to put yourself and your health first.” He still doesn’t say anything, but shivers slightly. You immediately grab the blanket from the chair and cover him with it. “Told you you’d get cold.” Terushima clicks his tongue, piercing shining in the light of his living room. You take the rag of his forehead, using your hand to dab up any remaining moisture.

“You need to sleep it off. Get some strength back.” You order, getting up to rewet the rag.

“Will you be here when I wake up?” His question catches you off guard, his eyes watching your whole-body twist around, mouth open like a gaping fish. You take a couple seconds to formulate your answer.

“…Of course I will.”  The answer leads him to give you a comforted smile, before closing his eyes, letting exhaustion take over.

“You’re a really good manager, you know.” And with that, Terushima is out like a light. You stare slightly, flustered.

“Thank you.”

~~

Terushima wakes up with a slightly pulsing body ache, a sore throat, but not much else. He doesn’t know how long he’s slept for, but he did know it was deep. He sits up to see the sky darkened tremendously, and across the living room to clock to read that it was close to midnight.

He clears his throat uncomfortably. He winces at the pain.

“Hey you’re awake.” Your voice causes him to jump, muscles aching from the sudden movement, as he whips his head to you in his kitchen, stirring a pot over his stovetop. His look of confusion must’ve been evident, so you decided to fill him in.

“I made some soup with some things I found around the kitchen. Hope you don’t mind.” He watches you ladle some soup into a bowl and make your way to him. You give him the soup, smile comforting yet still worried.

“How are you feeling now?” He clears his throat again.

“Better.” Terushima’s voice is extremely hoarse, to which he starts to cough painfully. You grimace. “The soup should help with your throat. Then I’ll get you some cough drops.” He nods numbly. You sit across from him on the couch.

“Do you… still have a fever?”

“I don’t think so?” He still felt a little hot, but not nearly as badly as before. You hum. “Where do you keep your thermometer?” You ask, about to stand again, to which he stops you, putting the soup you had given him to the side. “Outta batteries…” He paused, before continuing, looking at you with a certain kind of intensity. “You could check the same way you did at the school.” He mumbled the last bit, and you reddened at the memory.

Right, you had repressed that moment. You were stressed and the movement had just come out of instinct. It was the way your mother did it. You looked to Terushima, who was having trouble keeping eye contact with you.

“Okay…” You moved slowly, taking his head in your arms, before pressing your cheek on his forehead. You stayed like for a couple seconds, having this action being much more intimate than before. You pulled away, staring deeply into his eyes.

“It’s better than before, but you’re still a little warm.” You practically whispered, still holding his head in your hands. You watch with slightly widened eyes when he cups your hand and nuzzles into your palm.

To your shock, you pulled away, leaving a slightly confused and hurt Terushima.

“Uh- You seem to be doing a little better though… And it’s getting a little late so- I- I’m just going to go. There’s more soup in the kitchen and I hope you feel better soon. See you on Monday, uh- Hopefully.” You stumble through your sentence, backing away slowly and grabbing your things, pulling his door open and quickly exiting.

You shut the door, breathing quickly, a hotness running across your face at the vivid detail of how nice his hand felt against yours as you ran to the bus stop.

What. The. Hell.