#yes that was a choice he made

[tavina-writes]

someone stop me from writing an essay about the themes of LOCH being commonly misunderstood by later works.

okay I guess I get frustrated sometimes because adaptations and also later wuxia goes "well it's okay to want to rule the world and or be the greatest martial arts ever if you're pure of heart!" "possessing the macguffin that ruins lives won't ruin YOUR life if only you were a good enough person!!!" which. explicitly not what LOCH is about.

Like, one of the MAJOR introducing elements of the 9 yin manual is "it's a doomed book because human nature such that it is will never allow something so powerful to exist peacefully in the world! and that's why everyone who comes into contact with it either dies or suffers immense tragedy explicitly because of the book, and like, this is not just.... a... it's not just a "oh that's neat" that's a thing that happens in the plot of the book. Everyone who gets near it or hears it or touches it....dies.

For example: at the first tournament at mt hua, Wang Chongyang beats everyone else there, becomes "the strongest in the world" takes the book and doesn't look at it. He's dead within the next five years, and someone (Ouyang Feng, dw we come back to him) tries to grave rob his casket for the book.

Book then passes to Zhou Botong, Wang Chongyang's younger sworn brother, who is tasked with hiding it. On his way to hiding the book he runs into Huang Yaoshi and Huang Yaoshi's wife, Feng Heng, who are newly married and in love. HYS wants the book, so he and Feng Heng concoct a scheme to get it, tricking ZBT. HYS gets his hands on the second volume of the 9 yin manual, and within the next two years or less: 1) two of his students steal his version of the manual, betray him, and run away 2) his wife, trying to cheer him up, tries to recopy the book and dies of fatigue and exhaustion post the birth of their daughter, Huang Rong. ZBT, meanwhile, because of the book comes back to Peach Blossom Island and gets imprisoned there for the next 15 years by the angry HYS.

Mei Chaofeng and Cheng Xuanfeng, because of stealing the book and running away from Peach Blossom Island, are persecuted by the Jianghu until they make it to Mongolia where MCF is blinded and her husband CXF is killed by the six year old Guo Jing in what can only be surmised as a....weird skill issue accident. Now, MCF carries the book with her for the next ~12 years, until y'know, plot keeps happening and people keep attacking her for the book.

Her copy of the book ends up accidentally with Guo Jing, who, right after learning it gets Suicide Boated by HYS who is also now his father in law. Also on the Suicide Boat are ZBT and Hong Qigong who were only tangentially involved with the book.

Ouyang Feng (told you we'd get back to him), wants the book and uh. lets just say he loses his nephew, gets nearly drowned several times for multiple days in the ocean, and then finally loses his mind. Which, turns him from a nobleman and a respected grandmaster to a crazy person for several decades.

Oh, and as for Guo Jing who is pure of heart and a good person and learned the martial arts in the book? Yeah his reward for having the abilities he does is...defending Xiangyang for the rest of his life. The next like three decades. Yes. He dies there. With the love of his life, 4/5 of their children, their grandchildren, and his teacher.

I don't know about you but that's not a reward that's a curse on his entire family lmao.

[legobenkenobi]

there is quite genuinely not one single day where i don’t think about this and feel like i’m going to be fucking sick.

they purposely isolated Cody from not only grieving over Obi-Wan but also from other people close to Obi-Wan because they didn’t want any risk of the mission failing. i’m gonna be fucking SICK do NOT talk to me!!!!!

[haunted-xander]

Sometimes I think about Urianger's role in and feelings on the Thancred-Ryne dynamic and I think watching it kills him a bit inside. For several reasons.

Like, to begin with there's the guilt he's been carrying with him since he ushered Minfilia to the first, how he effectively killed the person Thancred cared about the most in the world and who's "death" ended up causing Ryne's entire Situation. He looks at what's happening between them and can only think "I caused this" even though that's not really true. No one person is responsible for this outcome, it's a culmination of several circumstances and the consequences of them. Logically, Urianger knows this. But it doesn't matter, because his guilt is overpowering his logic.

And also, like. What Thancred is doing here, the way he's knowingly letting Ryne be and stay hurt because he literally cannot bring himself to tell her his feelings, is the exact same mistake Urianger made with Moenbryda. Of course, the circumstances are vastly different, and the potential consequences to Thancred telling Ryne the wrong things or her misinterperating it is far greater (being a matter of literal life or death), it's still the same sort of paralysis they are trapped in.

And he knows it. He sees it. But he can't say or do anything about it, he doesn't have the right to. He acknowledges the mistake, but he hasn't really improved upon it yet. He still doesn't voice his thoughts and feelings as he should. He's also non-confrontational by nature, he doesn't argue or try to change peoples minds, he probably doesn't think he has any place to.

So, he tries to help in what little ways he can. Because he doesn't want it to become Monebryda again, he doesn't want to know he stole not one but two people from Thancred. So he does what he can. He tells Ryne little tidbits about Thancred, things that help her understand him but are safe to share. Nothing too deep, nothing too personal. Just small things, things that are purely factual, because he can't afford to give her a false image of who Thancred is. He teacher her fun and interesting things, because Thancred isn't in the mindset to provide her with non-essential skills.

I like to think Urianger has brought it up with Thancred at least once, during one of his stays. But nothing would've come of it. Not really. Unlike Y'shtola, Urianger isn't pushy, he'll bring it up once or twice and when he sees this won't go anywhere, he gives up. He wants to help, but he knows that persistance only does do much, and he is not the person who has the resiliance needed to push and push until Thancred finally budges (because he won't budge, it won't help anything but to sour things further by adding aditional stress to an already strained dynamic).

And like. Urianger gets it. He gets it because he's been the same way- not saying what he should to someone he loves more than anything else because she was meant to figure her life out herself, and 'steering' her in any direction by telling her his feelings (regardless of if the 'steering' is intention or not) will go against that. He gets it. He gets it and it's all the more painful for it. He knows it can't just be fixed by acknowledging it or with encouragement, something needs to happen to break the stasis.

I think this is probably why he stayed behind while they went off to Nabaath Areng. This is the very last chance they have to say what they want to, and he can't afford to be the anchor anymore. This is about them, not him, he can't let their resolution be buffed by his presence, so he stays behind. Which was probably for the best. Ryne got nervous when Urianger said he's staying behind, probably not too excited about being alone with Thancred (well, not alone, but WoL doesn't count) so soon after she had ran away crying. But she needs to be nervous. For anything positive to come out of this Thancred and Ryne both can't afford to be too relaxed. As sad as it is, the stress is necessary for anything to happen. He knows it. Does he like it? Absolutely not, but nor does he like his other plots. At least no one dies this time if it goes right.

[time-woods]

Doodle request: I found a hc that Scarab had wings that were removed for fucking up his job somehow and that's part of why he's Like That. What's your take on this hc?

i like to think that he got into a scuffle with some other cosmic entity in the past and in the fight his wing got torn, but cause of that he started wearing the suit exoskeleton thing he does now to prevent it from happening again

in my head hes got 2 exoskeletons- the suit is a false one thats tougher than his true one underneath

i feel like prior to that happening he used to wear more actual clothes but alas being an immortal creature doesnt mean you cant still get hurt

[an-established-butt-dent]

At home in the shadows. Forgotten dreams.

Solas: Dragon age

Ink on paper

[ministarfruit]

having normal thoughts about the demon king today

[finncakes]

"I'd be up shit's creek by myself. I was by myself. It's not great."

"Yeah. No, it's not."

[croseau]

It’s just fascinating to me that head engineer’s intelligence ranges from “I used glass windows for our ship” to “I built a technology so advanced it almost destroyed the whole universe all by myself from scratch”

[mildcicada]

[jimmysea]

Defending day on the internet is not enough I need a gun

[astranauticus]

𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘳-𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴

[andromeda-galaxy2877]

So a little while ago me and my friend @latersgayt0rs kinda realized something about the ROTTMNT movie.

Leo’s plan at the end made perfect sense.

And I don’t mean that from a writing standpoint— of course that made sense for plot purposes— I mean from an in-universe perspective. Leo’s perspective.

People say it was suicidal, or say he didn’t have to do it that way, which is a totally valid interpretation! But me and Ferr saw it a little differently.

So, let's look at all the facts of the situation. After regaining their ninpo, the turtles all fought Krang Prime (or, Krang One) with everything they had. EVERYTHING.

Donnie fired that big barrage of missiles, Mikey threw an entire goddamn SKYSCRAPER at him! Everyone gave it their all, but when they combined their powers and tried to punch Krang Prime with ALL of that—

He stopped them by simply flicking his fingers. He knocked Donnie and Mikey off the building, both unable to catch themselves so Raph of course had to go save them.

And Leo was left alone.

With all of that prior information, what else was Leo really supposed to do in that situation? 

Sure, he could ask where the others landed and form a portal to get them back up there, but again; Everything. They threw EVERYTHING they had at Krang Prime, and he flung them away like it was nothing. Who’s to say he wouldn’t just do that again? Or kill someone?

Not to mention Leo had to be exhausted. It was nighttime when the movie began, then daytime in the middle, then it looked pretty dark when everything was going on at the end. Maybe that was just dust and debris kicked up by the Technodrome, but hours had passed with no sleep, no rest, only action. Only fighting.

Leo went from the first fight to the Krang to the subway tunnels fight, to the stuff that happened in Metro Tower, to his 1v1 with Raph, to this fight with little to no breaks in between. Physically at least; again, he did not sleep between these times. And emotions had to be going INSANE after Raph was taken.

How do we know he even had the energy to make enough portals to get everyone back up there then be able to portal them/himself around during the fight? 

So, Leo was tired. Leo knew how strong Prime was. And most importantly, he knew the stakes.

If Krang Prime was not stopped here, then the entire world would be destroyed. His family would be killed. Everyone would die.

Leo had NO choice. There was no other choice, no other option for him. No other route to take. 

He HAD to lock Krang Prime back in the Prison Dimension. And the only way for him to do that and keep him inside was to teleport them both.

There was no other alternative that would have worked.

[mugentakeda]

Headcanoning transman Lu Ten so that him and Jiro can have a baby girl ❤️ Im obsessed with two characters having child even though I don't want any of my own 😭

yeah me and my hostage think its a great idea anon

[thankstothe]

[randomwriteronline]

"Come dance with us, Takanuva," Kopaka says.

Takanuva startles: his eyes fall on the Toa before him for a moment before turning again to the Ko-Matoran festivities. Further away from them Nuju looks thoughtful.

"I never learned any Ko-Koro dances," he replies, quietly, sheepishly.

"They can be taught," Kopaka just says without batting an eye, his welcoming hand extended.

It's familiarly cold when Takanuva accepts it.

He is pulled to his feet, but does not yet join the celebrations. His brother takes him a little to the side so their slowness won't be bothersome to those much more confident in their dancing.

"Your right arm," Kopaka instructs, showing him the right movement; Takanuva mirrors him. The Toa of Ice's gaze turns half-lid. "Right arm."

The Toa of Light looks down.

He quickly changes limb.

His brother nods.

Ko-Koro dances are rhythmic, harsh, heavy, powerful, Takanuva finds out as he follows along - like breaking ice into enormous blocks: motions that in Onu-Koro are lighter become heavy enough to sink in the snow, strikes that in Ta-Koro are faster turn slower to build up momentum, swings that in Po-Koro are more calculated appear sharp enough to cut through stone; they maintain a certain minute grace despite it, like certain Le-Koro leaps or the ways they move their hands in Ga-Koro, and the Toa of Light tries his best to imitate it. The songs they dance to are instead thin and crystalline despite the strict pronunciation of their dialect, their pitch high and strong like wind through the icicles as the Matoran circle the bonfire.

The warm glow flicks across the spectacled white mask with a brilliant flicker, and as Takanuva watches it entranced a thought runs through him - are Ice and Light not the same element?

"Very well," Kopaka praises gently, "Very well."

He fixes his eyes on Takanuva and sees him.

It stuns the younger Toa when he realizes it, just for a second: he sees him. He doesn't see through him, past him, before him, he just sees him - he sees Takua, he sees Takanuva, when it would be so easy to superimpose someone else on him, someone whose armor was also grey and white, who was not quite as he seemed, who was much more than what he seemed, if one in a way so different from the other.

(But was it so different, in the end?)

"Very well," Kopaka repeats with the voice he has when he smiles without showing it.

Takanuva straightens his spine.

Nuju breaks their concentration, chittering and chirping and clawing at the air: Kopaka nods, whistles something that sounds in intention like 'coming, Turaga', and kindly pushes his brother among the cheering Matoran who welcome him without questioning his presence as another song commences and with it another dance.

Takanuva stumbles, unsure. Kopeke pulls his arm and shows him how to start before his Ice brother can do so himself; Ehrye yells out the chorus to the song, to teach it to him, but he messes up a line or two in his hurry before he gets it right, and so it has to start again.

Kopaka sings, too. His voice is powerful, rolling out of him like an avalanche.

Takanuva just listens at first, dancing as best as he can, slowly forgetting to look at his feet and arms and starting to have fun. He meets Nuju's eyes: the Turaga smiles calmly, content.

He starts off murmuring the chorus so softly that he can barely hear himself, volume rising slowly with each repeat; at last he's bellowing it out, syllables a little wrong but voice clear, by his brother's side, dancing just like him, singing just like him, in a crowd of whites and azures and greys that reflect the bonfire's shining light into a thousand stars like quartz prisms, until his throat feels sore and he's stumbling and laughing while holding onto the Toa of Ice's arms breathless and so very happy.

"You're a good dancer, Takanuva," Kopaka smiles at him.

"Thank you, brother," Takanuva replies, and among the dozens of things he is thanking him for on the forefront are welcoming him in his loneliness, and seeing him.

[thebookworm0001]

I just think the fandom’s nastier responses to the bg3 men is wildly interesting

like. you have three men who are coming out of highly unhealthy relationships.

One of them gets super sexualized and infantilized at the exact same time. literally people put him in the bdsm harness while simultaneously misinterpreting elven cultural norms to say he’s mentally no more mature than a teenager despite having been a whole-ass local judge who died because he gave out corrupt rulings and got his ass jumped because of them.

the other gets treated like he’s an incel because he catches feelings quickly, despite being wildly respectful when you turn him down. Half the issues were due to a bug, the other is that this man is so starved for validation because his goddess - whom has paid special interest to him since he was a toddler - kept him constantly feeling lesser-than because despite calling him her Chosen, she gives him none of the power we see Chosens be given by other gods. Not to mention she sends her other ex - his mentor and friend - to tell him to off himself to earn her forgiveness. For some reason his attempts to gain god-like power are received worse than the borm-sexy-yesterday-vampire despite both of them having the goal of being safe from manipulation and control. I assume because the vampire gets a sex scene when you let him destroy his soul for power and the wizard does not.

The fairytale prince route, despite typically being very popular, is being called boring and dull and while, yes, he has less drama than some of the others, is still compelling and has high stakes for that character. He’s sold his soul but he thinks the price is worth it and he’s made his peace with the personal cost because he’s helping people. The only real difference between this character and others who are willing to sell their souls for the good of their lands is that this time around, he’s Black