#i love it when magic users LOVE the consequences of their actions | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theresattrpgforthat · 10 months

Note

Been on a werewolf kick recently. Any recommendations to scratch that itch? Love the blog btw

THEME: Werewolves

Thank you so much! Heck, have I got some werewolves for you!

Wolf Hounds, by Devin Fortman.

Wolf Hounds is a historical fantasy roleplaying game about the Benandanti, a society of werewolves dedicated to protecting their communities from supernatural threats. Uses a lightweight Apocalypse system based on John Harper's World of Dungeons: Turbo.

If you want a more action-based game about werewolves, then I definitely recommend Wolf Hounds. As members of the Benandanti, you play shapeshifters and magic users fleeing the Inquisition while also protecting your local communities from vampires and other supernatural threats. The game feels very similar to Powered by the Apocalypse games, but in specific circumstances, allows you to roll with advantage, or disadvantage, represented by a third dice. You then take the two best or worst results, depending if the situation was advantageous or detrimental.

The creator for this game has also created a campaign sourcebook, called Let Us Prey. There are some very interesting campaign hooks in there, including one in which a young monk has just discovered he is a werewolf - and is being framed for a recent murder. I absolutely recommend that you check it out!

Bite Marks, by Becky Annison / Black Armada.

The Pack is a deeply intimate and close family; like a family, sometimes it is full of love and happiness and sometimes it is brutal and dysfunctional. But love it or hate it, you can’t ignore it – it will shape you. Fearless Alpha, dedicated foot soldier, pacifist scholar or rebellious cub – your relationship with the Pack is the cornerstone of who and what you are.

In Bite Marks you’ll uncover the story of the Pack, exploring the relationships between Packmates, drawing out their loves, rivalries and betrayals. What are the cracks that could shatter the Pack and drown you in hate, and how much stress can those pressure points take before they explode?

PbtA games excel at examining relationships and the relationship of a werewolf pack can be used to explore a number of different kinds of familial relationships. Bite Marks will push your characters together and pull them apart, challenging them to honour or chafe against the role of a pack alpha. If you want gritty interpersonal conflict and collaborative storytelling, this is the game for you.

Howl at the Moon with Friends, by Litza Brown.

This is a TTRPG about catharsis. This game is a power fantasy. It's about running wild and free and facing no consequences and knowing that no roll is a bad roll.

If you want a game full of intimacy and wildness and freedom, this is probably worth checking out. Yet another PbtA game, you are saddled with only two stats, and given full license to go wild and break stuff. Your characters are encouraged to transform, to go berserk, to lash out, and to be really fucking cool. Litza Brownyn has a number of evocative and interesting games in her repertoire, so when I saw her name on this game, I definitely got excited.

Women are Werewolves, by 9th Level Games.

Women are Werewolves is an ENNIE-nominated card-based story game where players portray nonbinary characters in a family where only the women transform into werewolves. Using a beautiful deck of tarot-sized cards containing roleplaying prompts, players explore their relationships to gendered spaces, family customs, and queer and non-queer family members.

As a GM-less game, Women are Werewolves relies on a deck of carts to give your characters prompts. As a group, you’ll decide the setting as well as the level of bigotry you’re willing to explore in play. This is specifically a story about gender and what it means to be non-binary through a werewolf metaphor, so expect more stories about family relationships and less about dramatic transformations. The structure to the game gives you a lot to work with if you’re unfamiliar with this kind of game or these kinds of themes, and I really appreciate that.

Wolfspell, by Dig A Thousand Holes Publishing.

A prophecy told in your youth dictates that only fang and claw will rend your destiny, so you must be reborn as beast. You gather with friends and transmogrify yourselves into wolves and place your destiny in the hands of the dice of Wolf and Blood!

Wolfspell looks like a game of deep emotions and grand action. You are young people burdened with a heavy prophecy, requiring you to take on wolf flesh to fulfill it. How exactly you became a wolf is up to each player. The storytelling is meant to be very collaborative, so I’d recommend picking this game up with folks who don’t mind providing a bit of their own narration as they play. The rules system is, along with a number of other games on this list, PbtA. This means that your characters will be faced with hard choices and mixed results as part of the process of play.

Games I've Recommended In the Past

Lesbian Werewolves on a Beach, by WhatNames

Silversworn, by fret.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #werewolves

117 notes · View notes

snitchesnsneeds · 3 months

Text

After too much stalling, I finally finished the other half of Miraculous Season 2. Here's my thoughts episode-by-episode:

Zombizou: The episode focused on Ms. Bustier. Honestly I get where she's coming from in that statement to Marinette. This is a world where people can become butt-ugly abominations because they felt upset, although I think Chloe still needs consequences for her actions as well as something like positive reinforcement. She had plenty consequences in season 1. Speaking of Chloe, That Asshole was wrong. There was clear intent for Chloedemption. Also could we at least have seen all that stuff Ms. Bustier does in previous episodes?

Syren: This was an episode the salters talked loads about, and honestly, I get where Adrien's coming from here. On a fundamental level the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculi aren't equals due to the Ladybug's magic reset button, but as one of the first Miraculous users, Adrien should've still been let in on the loop. Kid felt like he was useless, that Ladybug could save the day without his help. At the very least have Master Fu go one-on-one or have both kids show up while transformed or blindfolded. Also the water voices ticked me off, but that's relatively minor.

Frightningale: A fun character-of-the-week episode, especially since I'm fond of Clara Nightingale's constant rhymes and rhythm. She's dedicated to it and I love it. It's also good to see Chloe be an exceptional and talented dancer! It's good to see her having talents and interests that aren't just making people suffer!

Troublemaker: Another episode showing why I think Marinette and Adrien shouldn't date in any of their forms. I don't know enough about stalker shrines but I think Marinette's room is getting close enough to be one for Adrien. Though I'm pretty sure Adrien's seen worse or has been conditioned to not care, based on his reaction at the end. Still a shame that the local TV show had to live-film Marinette's room and beach her privacy in the local city-town of Paris while the real Paris has been converted to an amusement park for tourists. You got any other reasons why the population is so low? One more thing: I'm pretty sure the lack of ladybug-vision was more due to anxiety over losing one of her earrings and the difficulty of the villain more than anything else.

Anansi: I find the new heroes good, personally. They give more screentime to other characters. Also again with Adrien's insecurity about being useful. And I think this episode would've been over sooner if they noticed that Anansi was going to get herself akumatized over the stress and maybe just let her come or something. Or if they got Marinette to arm-wrestle her instead. Marinette has muscles, right?

Sandboy: A lore episode, mostly. The nightmares were funny for a second and I was a bit annoyed by the Akuma's voice, but that's small potatoes. I like how compared to season 1, where we would be given a bunch of development for Sandboy it's just explained to us afterwards while we instead get more time for lore.

Style Queen: Hawkmoth has a contender for the most evil character in the show. Audrey Bourgeois is the kind of person that would be made fun of in those Karen freakout videos. She cheats on her husband, neglects her daughter to the point of not remembering her name, fires people over the most minor inconveniences, and starts G-rated killing people over getting a seat in the second row. She needs to be cancelled, deplatformed, and Chloe needs a therapist and better role models. I really liked the split-second of Adrien looking shocked after Marinette told him he had the catwalk down, btw. Did he think his identity was outed there?

Queen Wasp: This is why teenagers shouldn't get superpowers. I get secondhand embarrassment watching them. Also Marinette What The Fuck why the Hell are you getting Chloe to bond with the Absolute Worst Person For Her

Maledictator: This is what happens when you make Chloe bond with a Chernobyl-level toxic influence, Marinette. In general this episode was funny, both intentionally and unintentionally. Everyone starts celebrating Chloe ditching Paris with her mother except Adrien because Chloe was her only friend even though she was a detriment to everyone else and suddenly Marinette feels bad because she worships Adrien. The first thing the villain of the week does is make Audrey stop being such a horrible person and later he made Chat Noir reach the limit of catboyness. It's like a Smiling Friends episode. Also it was cool to see Chloe's depths and self-loathing. Surely that won't be forgotten and Chloe will be given therapy so she can become a better person, right?

Reverser (Put here so it makes sense timeline-wise): It's Yaoi time. Except that Nathaniel is into Ladybug (who I assume he knows is Marinette) here and Marc is fine with that. Overall a good episode. Some nice humor, and Reverser's probably the best akuma design so far I love the paper stuff. Plus more info on the side characters and a spot of good humor, excellent!

Frozer: Ah, there's the Nathmarc. And explicit Julerose. And Marinette getting some idea that her fantasy of Adrien is unhealthy and shouldn't be followed. And Adrigami, albeit a bit one-sided. Quit pining over someone who doesn't love you and get with someone who does, kid. And a smidgeon of Marigami. And Adrien's bodyguard being his daddy in place of his father. And a pinch of me seeing what the salters were talking about with the girlsquad and them forcing Marinette and Adrien together. Or at least Alya and Mylene. I couldn't hear what Alix, Juleka, and Rose were saying, but they disagreed, right? At least one of them had to disagree, right?

Heroes' Day Two-Parter: Marinette you're being too hotheaded against Lila no you gotta be like Columbo. Also yet another Marinette Costanza moment. Otherwise not much to say here. It's the boss rush episode, it's the series finale, Alya managed to catch onto Nino being Carapace but still can't seem to connect the dots between Ladybug and Marinette, the Peacock Miraculous is introduced, and Natalie is on my suslist.

I might procrastinate again on the first half of season 3. The first episode deserves a post of it's own. It's the salt episode.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous marinette #adrien agreste #miraculous adrien #ml salt #chloe bourgeois #miraculous chloe #alya cesaire #miraculous alya #miraculous #lukanette #adrigami #nathmarc

32 notes · View notes

allaboutthedrama · 4 months

Text

I know that I'm pretty late to the conversation, but I've just reread all of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines (possibly for The Untitled Jill Project) and it's the first time I've reread the VA series in years.

I'm just thinking about how, in my opinion, the quality of the VA series improved as we got into the last few books, and with Bloodlines, I think the reverse sort of happened. Spoilers for both series ahead. (Yeah, the last book came out nine years ago, but you never know.)

I think I hadn't realized how cohesive the ending of Last Sacrifice was. Details from as far back as the first book came up and were very relevant. The political plotline came together in a really tight way, Sonya Karp turned out the be Chekov's spirit user, we got more world-building details, the antagonists had complex and convoluted motivations, and even when there were plot threads left dangling, those actually served a purpose. I loved the part where Adrian pointed out to Rose that her actions had consequences and even though she had gotten what she wanted, not everything else was resolved, so people like Eddie and Sydney and Jill were left in bad situations, and she was partly responsible. It created a little more moral ambiguity, which I really enjoyed, especially since YA tends to like the very neat endings where everything winds up happily ever after.

The Vampire Academy books improved the deeper into the series you got. And, although I love Bloodlines, I do think that the first three books are much stronger than the last three. Which is a shame, because the series has so much potential.

I think Mead is at her best when she's writing something of a mystery. Last Sacrifice obviously comes to mind (they're solving a murder mystery, after all). Bloodlines had that, with the tattoos, Lee, and Keith being shady all building up to a really exciting climax. The Golden Lily wasn't quite as much of one, but the clues leading up to the reveal of the Warriors were well-placed. Indigo Spell went straight back into mystery territory, trying to find Jackie's sister. And then The Fiery Heart is where, in my opinion, things start to falter. There's a lot of interesting worldbuilding information introduced, with the new details about spirit and magic coming up, and it was fun to get into Adrian's head, but it definitely felt like this supernatural romance was shifting to become a lot more romance and a lot less concerned with the supernatural. But that's not such a big deal. It's the middle of the series, we're building tension, Re-Education has been a threat hanging over Sydney since page one of Bloodlines and we're finally seeing that fear pay off.

But then we get to Silver Shadows, and while I guess figuring out where Sydney is could be a mystery, it doesn't really resonate the way 'who killed the queen' does, in my opinion. Sydney's arc in Re-Education is great, and I do like the way the books deal with Adrian's mental health issues, but some of Adrian's chapters felt more like filler. And a bigger issue, imo, was that this was when we really started to lose the side characters. Some of my favorite parts of the first few books were characters like Jill, Eddie, Trey, and Angeline, and then the ensemble atmosphere was largely gone, because Sydney was in Re-Education and Adrian left Palm Springs. The final fight and flight sequence was really good, though, so I had high hopes going into The Ruby Circle.

The Ruby Circle is probably my least favorite of the books between both of the series, and I think that's a shame, since it's the finale. We'd just had a 'kidnapped character' arc, so I think there was less emphasis on describing everyone's reactions. We saw the biggest reaction from Eddie, but as a result, he got kind of flattened out from the really well-rounded character he'd been from the back half of the VA books and the first part of Bloodlines.

The Ruby Circle could have been a really good mystery, with lots of twists that tied up a lot of the lingering questions from the series. Except that a lot of threads from the rest of the series were dropped and didn't resurface. They never caught whoever was behind the assassination attempt on Jill. I don't think we even got an official resolution on whether Lissa managed to change the quorum law. The political plots that were integral to VA weren't significant in Bloodlines, despite it all starting because of a politically motivated assassination. We also never got a resolution on the rogue spirit user who turned Lee back from being Strigoi, or the spirit users who had been sent to the psychiatric facility in Tarasov (the prison from Spirit Bound). We never found Robert Duro. The bond itself was somewhat discarded, too, whenever it wasn't immediately useful for a plot point. Instead, we just got a scavenger hunt across the country, a few fight scenes where the protagonists were pretty much guaranteed to win, and a final showdown with a magic barrier that, as we learn after, would have dropped down on its own in a few hours for them to bring Jill food, anyways.

I obviously still like the series, since I'm rereading it and talking about it nine years after the fact. But I think that there were a lot of opportunities to continue plots from VA that were lost, even when they should have been brought back into the story.

If anyone has made it this far, I suppose I should throw in a pitch for The Untitled Jill Project, which will be my attempt to rewrite the Bloodlines series from Jill's perspective, because I think there's still a lot more story to be told. I haven't got it all mapped out, but I intend to at least tie up some of the narrative loose ends I mentioned that bothered me about the series in that story. I might write up another post here soon about how Jill's characterization also suffered as Bloodlines went on, if anyone's interested.

Anyways, if anyone has any strong opinions on what I said (agreeing or disagreeing) please let me know! I'd love to talk about the series with people, since no one in my real life has read it, and I'm curious to know what the rest of the fandom thinks about how the narrative progressed in Bloodlines.

#Vampire Academy #Vampire Academy books #Bloodlines (Richelle Mead)#Eddie Castile #Sydney Sage #Adrian Ivashkov #Jill Dragomir #Jillian Dragomir #Jill Mastrano #The Untitled Jill Project #Rose Hathaway

31 notes · View notes

lazulirus · 2 years

Text

Cheap copy

• There are so many worlds, so many people, it’s impossible to not change your focus from time to time. It’s logical, it make sense - it still upsets the vision holders. Especially when your new favorites are so irritatingly similar to them.

• Pairing: Ei/Childe/Ayato/Itto/Zhongli/Diluc x reader (gender neutral) • Genre: SAGAU, Angst • Word Count: 3.8k • Warnings: Smallest mentions of blood (Childe) • Note: Ei vs Shiranui (Onmyoji), Childe vs Ciel (Elsword), Ayato Kamisato vs Azul Ashengrotto (Twisted Wonderland), Arataki Itto vs Mammon (Obey Me!), Zhongli vs Jumin Han (Mystic Messenger), Diluc vs ??? (???)

Ei loved eternality, after all, she was made to protect it and by that protect all Inazuma and her fragile heart itself.

"Well, isn't that unusual? Not touching your sweets at all." Yae coos, walking into the Shogun's private rooms as if it was her own. Ei doesn't answer, choosing to stay silent as she sits on the grand balcony overseeing the ocean as neverending as pain in her heart, as silent as her chambers. She missed you dearly, even as much as her long-dead companions.

Helping you was a new responsibility, but somehow so sweeter - better than the best chocolate and pastries. Ei was made for battle, and those fever dream-like adventures with you were just what she needed to find peace of mind. Closing her eyes to suddenly feel your warmth despite the coldness of the Dragonspine that you make her go to. Unleashing her power so freely and seeing wonders, meeting people she didn't have a chance before; closed off in Inazuma and her own mind.

Maybe that was why now she could feel the overwhelming coldness so strongly; your warmth was gone for days now.

Your soft words of praise became a routine, your warmth as you sent her towards enemies a new eternality - now you were gone.

Ei hated changes.

"Don't pout like a child," Miko shook her head as she loomed over her archon, "you know how hard I worked to get those sweets from Liyue? You whined about them for so long!"

"...They're bitter." Ei mumbles. Nothing was sweet, even creations of the best bakers, masters from overseas. Yae tsks, but knows she has no right to bash Ei more, after all, kitsune was to blame as well.

It was a mistake to show Ei why you were away. In a single instance, when Yae was summoned to help you, she, to simplify, used her sly fox magic to learn what was stealing your attention so much. To her surprise, it was another world, one the kitsune would fit way more - a place where yokai thrive, and where Shiranui stole your love.

Elegant like a butterfly, deadly like fire - Shiranui was the perfect combination to make any person swoon.

Yae couldn't help herself but turn Shiranui's story into another bestseller - the greatest songstress for whom Rijin Pavilion was both a reason to live and a cage, finally set free by sacrificing herself to protect her lover; in return becoming yokai, free like her beloved butterflies. People weep over the sour-sweet ending, parents swearing to name their daughters Ri, so they grew into such wonderful women like the book's protagonist.

Even Ei enjoyed the book till Miko revealed how she got inspiration.

The greatest master of Electro for whom Inazuma was both a reason to live and a cage… never set free since she never craved freedom and sacrificed others for the sake of herself and her cage.

Was that why you abandoned her? For that copy of her, but way more refined and kind; for sure, you would also prefer the elegance of Makoto over Ei's mastery over weapons. No wonder Ei didn't deserve your love, it was too pure for her hands tainted with the blood of both her foes and comrades. It made sense, it was just another consequence of her actions, and yet, yet…

Miko watches silently as water droplets disturb the calm surface of the tea; the sky was cloudless.

At first, it was endearing. Your new coy side was adorable, almost like a play of prey and hunter. Childe hummed happily when he saw you shower other vision users in artefacts and weapons, using them for commissions instead of him - you wanted to become better friends with them? How cute, but he was sure you would scramble back to him when more challenging monsters come after you.

Monsters of the Enkanomiya, creatures of the Abyss or many domains - those kids, lil adventures, alchemists and artists knew nothing of the true battle, you had to use his power for it, and Childe would gladly provide!

A day, two. A week, two.

Childe grinds his teeth, with every passing day, hour, minute he felt even more frustrated. Were you summoning different vision users? Maybe that Kamisato? Or Yelan? He remembers your comments on how similar they were to him when it came to combat… But it was none of them, and the man was unsure if to be happy or sad.

If you had chosen someone else, he would just fight his way for your attention but… You simply weren't here. When visiting Mondstadt he overheard a girl in fantasy-themed clothes bragging about how many commissions she did in Liyue, and in the mentioned place, Yun Jin was dreamily describing the places she saw while helping you. But Zhongli shook his head when asked if he had left Liyue Harbor in recent times, a letter from Inazuma also verified that the Kamisato siblings didn't mention any new expeditions.

You didn't choose other vision users over him, you simply stopped coming for more than commissions with the kids, and with enough ears dropping on your chosen pupils, Childe learnt: you did choose someone else but in a different world.

Yun Jin writes him into her play - a beautiful man with fair skin, who shares his soul with a demoness.

Wasn't his fall into the Abyss similar?

Who loves to cook and bake, and despite being equal with the demon lord, he still acts as her butler.

Wasn't his love for household chores the same?

Ciel - a man that also loved his family, especially his younger sister, more than anything.

Chopsticks snap in his hand. Were you playing with him? Did you want him to get jealous, was that the goal of that over-the-top coy play? He felt like a cat that lost its owner - now bored, with no new toys to play with, with no praise to hear for hunting down the mice. The training was still thrilling, missions still enjoyable, but there always was something missing, and burning jealousy never left his chest, slowly consuming him whole and scorching everyone around him.

Traveller scolds him for going too hard during sparrings, Zhongli comments how easily annoyed he was recently; conversations between them are no longer enjoyable. Even Xinyan was hurt when after so long of not seeing each other, Childe dismissed her with a scowl.

You closed Childe in routine, like a wild animal thrown into an empty room with nothing to bite, scratch, hunt. As if that wasn't enough, you did it for the sake of a new plaything, exchanged him for a puny imitation - Childe was never as disgusted with his bow skills as when he heard that your new love chose a ranged weapon as well. Was that why you threw him away? Was he not good enough for you?

Zhongli starts to be concerned, Qiqi writes in her notes to get more bandages and ointments for corns, scrapes and burns. But for Childe, it didn't matter if even his fingers bleed for the bowstring and muscle shook too much in the morning for him to even eat. For you, he was ready to ruin himself, just to become your weapon again.

He loves your pranks; Ayato always fills his surrounding with intriguing and fun people for a reason, but don’t you think it’s going too far?

He could understand growing tired of something, Ayato wasn't a stranger to pushing his hobbies aside when they got too monotonous, but he never threw them away. That's why it had to be a prank; you wouldn't throw him away, right? It couldn't be anything else when in your new, favourite world, your new object of affection looked so similar to him.

The vision of the man came to him suddenly, unexpectedly during a dream. Ayato never dreamt of anything of your world, his sleep was always peaceful and dreamless, sometimes adorned with memories of your voice. But that time, the picture was so vivid that he couldn't believe his own imagination created it from scraps of your conversations - maybe Celestia or even you wanted to punish him for crimes unknown to him.

It was like looking into a distorted mirror, a painting of him that got splashed with water - the man named Azul Ashengrotto was too similar for it to be a coincidence.

Silver hair, but shorted and wavy. Blue eyes, but of a deeper hue and covered with glasses. Classy, tasteful clothes, but greyer and different fashion. But from the beauty mark under his lips to the magic of water bestowed upon him, even the scheming and charming personality - dear, you couldn't make your taste more obvious. The only problem was that your attention was on that copy, not him, and it made Ayato scowl. It was rare, so rare Ayaka worried something fatal had happened when she found him in such a state, but he simply waved her off. How could he even explain it to her? The helplessness of listening to you ramble about the man, of seeing your bored gaze as you do commission as the last thing of the day, hearing you say "I don't wanna even do it" breaks his heart little by little.

Dealing with politics became boring, visiting Itto seem like a nuisance, and playing chess with Thoma only made him irritated - how could he enjoy it, knowing that your new love adored board games? It all became repetitive, monotonous; he craved the thrill of exploration, your words of praise, sweet pleas during wishes and sweat on his back from fighting - from puny hilichurls to monsters of the Abyss. Anything done with you was better than being like a bird in a cage; the memory of Chasm and Mondstadt fading with every day without you.

Ayaka silently sets tea on the table as her older brother spent another sleepless night, her worries of him getting sick from staying outside, in a thin kimono during the night, so close to the ocean's cold breeze, fell on dead ears. He doesn't need words to dismiss her as she sadly retreats to the building - his fingers cannot feel the warmth of the tea. Even its rich taste became mundane, the sakura aftertaste made him frown. It couldn't compare to your cooking, even to simple fried eggs which memory felt heavenly on his tongue.

Ayato gave you so much - his time, his help, his heart. Could you grant him one wish and return to him to save him from this withering boringness?

The Great Arataki "I totally don't need others' praise" Itto was in desperate need of your praise. Sure, he was pretty much self-motivated, not a procrastinator, thank you very much! Especially when Kuki looms over him.

But recently, even Kuki couldn't force him into some things, and Itto wasn't keen on starting anything - preferring to just whine. Inazuma was getting boring!

With you by his side, sending him to the craziest places of Teyvat, not a day was dull, and returning to Inazuma was like coming back to bed after a day of hard work! His gang could never understand it. For them, he just closed his eyes for a few minutes, but for Kuki and him, it was days of adventures.

Itto loved to brag about it, show off that you chose the great Arataki Itto to help you with most crazy missions - He always knew before Inazuma's news what happened on the other side of the world. Of course he knew, he was there!

Now, he felt… useless. You didn't summon him for weeks, and at first, he thought that you just picked someone else for adventures! Nah, nah, that would be totally fine! He heard how epic those elemental reactions are, you can't play with geo all the time; though, he gotta say, it's the best element.

But with enough pestering, Sara admits the Shogun wasn't summoned either, and during one beetle fight, Ayato merely shrugs, saying that you probably choose a different world.

Ayato knew something, and seeing enough of Itto's puppy eyes and even hearing respectful requests from Kuki to put the boss' mind at ease, the young lord tells the truth: you didn't probably choose a different world, you did precisely that. For sure, without a doubt.

Ayato himself only met you once during those long weeks, and during it, he was sure you were rambling about Itto.

A rather carefree, a bit dumb man, but with a heart of gold, that always gets into trouble even when he tries to do a good thing.

Itto beams in pride at that description, in the happiness of such praise, even ignoring the "dumb" part. But the longer he listened, the smile on his face grew smaller and smaller, till it disappeared completely. That man described, for sure, it wasn’t Itto. Otherwise, you would come back already… Ayato’s gleam of worry makes Itto quickly return to his upbeat attitude, everything was fine, and he was happy to hear you were okay!

The two part ways, and Itto stays in the fields, the unusual melancholy falling over him.

That Mammon - he sounded like a really great guy! Funny and caring about people he loved, and always trying to help them! Itto loved such good guys, that Mammon would be a great addition to the Arataki gang. For sure he wasn't as strong as Itto, but it would be awesome to meet a demon; it was almost like oni!

But maybe, there was a bigger difference… maybe demons were cooler? If Mammon also wasn't the type to get a stable job, who did whatever he wanted and didn't go along with the law then… Did itto get too annoying? He wasn't dumb, he knew some people got tired of how loud he was, and okay, he was a bit hot-headed but… Ayato said Mammon was rather hot-headed and loud too!

Itto sits on some random rock, the fields never seem so empty, even a big, pretty onikabuto doesn't catch his eye, walking right in front of him; Itto’s face was twisted by thinking. The oni just couldn't understand. He didn't know what he did wrong to push you away, into the arms of some other dude that seemed so similar to him and yet… and yet you choose him over Itto.

Was Itto not cool enough? Not strong enough? Kuki one said he was brash… was that too annoying for you?

Without you, the poor oni wasn't sure if he was as awesome as he always thought.

Despite living for so long, seeing countless places thrive and collapse, people being loved and then never mentioned, Zhongli never considered the option of him becoming forgotten.

His image as Rex Lapis was history, but lived and will live in the hearts of countless people - some of them even believing their beloved deity was still alive. Even if he forsakes the Zhongli persona, he still would be remembered as the refined gentleman with the knowledge that outshined scholars. The feeling blooming in his chest, like poisonous vines around his heart, was new and very unwelcome - he never had to fear you'll forget him.

You didn't come one day, then another and another, it quickly changed into weeks, and even others vision users stopped mentioning you.

He didn't miss the places you brought him to - most of them were familiar to him others, even if new, couldn't compare to things he had seen. What he missed was your awe - how you took pictures of the landscapes, and he couldn't stop smiling when you picked him to pose. How you would stay in places to just babble about how beautiful they were, how much care had been put into them.

Now, those memories were more sour than sweet when you were no longer here.

The longing for your presence guides him to places you adored so much; Zhongli never expected to see himself in Angel's Share. He didn't mean to drink away his sorrows, only drink in the atmosphere, remember how you praised the warmth of the place.

The drink wasn't flawed, although Zhongli was sure the taste was muted. Certainly, a man next to him thought differently, his face flushed by alcohol, as he whined to the red-headed bartender; with every word, Zhongli became more interested.

Saying how he got bored of doing commissions and wanted more action, but you only were interested in rewards and rambling about that man.

You, he was talking about you; Zhongli's heart skipped a beat.

The bartender answers that it was an honour to help you - his calm demeanour was like ice to the annoyed mumbling of a blushy blue-haired man.

The drunk man doesn't buy it, continuing his rambling. How annoying it was to keep listening about that rich man, who you just can't wait to get a message from.

A refined gentleman loved for his knowledge and fine taste - Jumin Han.

Zhongli keeps his eyes on the liquid in the cup, his amber eyes looking back at him. Have you found another? A man just as cherished as him, as elegant as him, as calm and as well not understanding ordinary people's customs - one because of his godhood, other from living in richness.

His grip on the glass grows tighter; what did this man possess that he didn't? Why did you enjoy his company more? His questions were quickly answered as the drunk man starts to mock you.

Jumin turns out to be cute, a gap moe; the drunk man explains to the confused bartender it meant a person who does something contradictory to what their personality or looks dictate and others finding it cute. Cute, did you like cute men? Was he not cute?

He chuckles to himself. Of course he wasn't. He was a warrior god - winner of Archon War, the Morax - God of Contracts, Zhongli - knowledgeable in history, arts and culture, but not in how to be cute. He was just that - refined, but cold in his elegance, knowledgeable, but unreachable in the way he presented himself. There wasn't anything not fitting in his personality, everything was perfectly fitted - he was a gem without a flaw. Remembering way too late that the irregularly shaped pearls were the ones cherished when the perfect pearls were forgotten with thousands of identical ones.

If he finds hobbies that won't fit him, becomes imperfect to fit your definition of perfection - becomes even closer to the copy of him you fell for - would you reconsider seeing him again?

Recently, finding the motivation to finish his responsibilities was hard for Diluc. From protecting Mondstadt at night to dealing with winery and contracts during the day, even working at Angel's Share during some evenings - it all becomes draining, suddenly hitting him with withering exhaustion.

He sighs with frustration, the wet rag hitting the counter Diluc had no more patience to clean. The moon was high in the sky, he should get ready for a patrol around the city, but his body just refused. It was heavy, and Diluc had to stop himself from sitting down, knowing that if he did, he just wouldn't get up.

Clean. Change clothes. Close. Go on a patrol. Go back. Change clothes. Go back home. Sleep. Go to work.

His goals were simple, easy to follow, and yet it seemed like an unachievable mountain - all because he lost motivation. He lost you.

Diluc missed your voice, how you looked in awe at his swordsmanship, praising how hard he worked, rambling to someone about how you couldn't wait to see him in new attire. In a life where he had to be self-motivated, and never expect help nor praise from others, hearing you shower him with such sincere kindness was a blessing. Better than morning sun after a cold night, than a cold glass of water after working in the scorching sun.

Now he was in endless freezing nights and burning days, with no one to help him.

Oppositely, there was someone who wanted to make it even worse.

Kaeya barges into the tavern, and Diluc was too tired to point out the obvious; not even a soul in the building, even the biggest drunkards knows when to go home. Although Kaeya swears he wasn't drunk, he was as sober as every grumpy Diluc and brought great news.

You. News about you. Were you safe? Were you okay? Did something happen in that far-away world? What if you didn't have anyone here to protect you?

Diluc hoped that finally, after that blood-freezing night, the dawn would be warm like a lover's embrace—

All those questions were hidden behind the ever-calm face, although Kaeya seemed to be able to see through it; snickering over how finally Diluc became soft for someone. It pained his heart to know that person so dear to him fell for someone like you.

You just got bored of Diluc.

Those words echo in the tavern and Diluc's mind, not fully processing it or not wanting to. He opens his mouth to protest, but Kaeya beats him, telling him how Mona was able to see what stole your attention.

A different world, with a grumpy protagonist who goes around the country to save people, always battling between smaller and greater evil.

A man who wields a sword, can use fire magic, and has a complicated relationship with his adopted family - Kaeya smirks at the last thing, and Diluc scowls.

At first, he was sure that Kaeya was just pulling his leg, no way you would find someone so similar to him and… just leave him behind. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense… Maybe you got tired of seeing his way with Claymore, maybe the battles he could offer you got too annoying, too tedious; the memory of your disappointment with the low "numbers" he did burning him more than the first time he used his vision.

Geralt - even Kaeya starts to ramble about him, praising how the man was able to use crossbows, magic or rather sigils, various types of weapons and even creates his own potions and weapon oils. A jack of all trades.

Diluc couldn't do those things, all he had was a claymore and a pyro vision that never resembled a vitalising sun like Amber's or Bennett's, but killing flames - never saving anyone, always pushing everyone away.

Kaeya laughs, asking if brother dear would share a drink with him, as a celebration - after all, Diluc finally could be at peace, knowing you just found another world to enjoy! His smile trembles, then fade when he sees Diluc's lowered head, hands gripping the counter till his knuckles get white.

He was too weak to protect anyone dear to him and too weak to keep you by his side.

—instead, the day was as scorching as any other.

662 notes · View notes

justatalkingface · 2 years

Text

The problem with Endeavour's redemption arc isn't actually Endeavour

It's literally everyone else. I'll be honest: I hated Endeavour since the first time he opened his ridiculously bearded mouth, but he's... actually trying to do the right thing, with his family. He's not doing it perfectly, of course, but I don't actually expect him to, and I'm not holding him to such an unrealistic standard. He's trying to talk to them, he's apologized, and so on and so forth. These actually are the right actions he should be making in a general sense.

The thing is both the narrative of the story, and every character not named Dabi has either barely given a shit about, or has seemingly skipped several steps in the process of forgiving Endeavour for, being a child abusing shit, and as cool and iconic as I find The Man Literally Too Angry To Die Or Become Charcoal, an unbiased narrator he's not.

'Now Face', I can already imagine one of the three people who will actually read this say, 'It's not actually a redemption arc! Endeavour isn't trying to redeem himself, and there's no guarantee he'll ever actually be forgiven by his family!'

Well, imaginary reader, I'm sorry to tell you that it is. His family is going to forgive him, to some extent, and they end up a loving family in some shape or form. It's been signaled that way for awhile now, ever since the big family meeting where only Natsuo seems to be actively angry anymore, or when Endeavour fought the High End and his entire family went "ENDEAVOUR NOOOOOO PLEASE DON'T DIE!!!!'. Personally, I've known it was always going to happen since Shoto started interning with him, way back when, which is actually where my problems with this character arc even started!

Now, let's all pause and reflect on Earlyroki. Earlyroki, while a complex character, had some very simple motivations, and his biggest one was his complete and utter hatred of his father. Everything he did was done with an eye to spite his father with that action if at all possible, and if someone had handed Earlyroki a magic Quirk saw that'd let him physically cut off the fire half of this body and live, he'd have done it in a heartbeat and happily lived the rest of his life spitefully hopping around on one leg, if he didn't make himself a ice leg or something to walk with. That's why Izuku's famous line was so big for him: it separated him, in his mind, from his father for perhaps the first time in his life, and nothing more than that. Not forgiveness, not even acceptance, but just... that he wasn't his dad.

It was a great start, but the problem is the next step on his growth process wasn't separating more from his father, wasn't finding out more who he was, it was.... interning under him to learn how to fight like him. On an objective level, as much as I hate to admit it the plan is actually pretty smart: Endeavour was the Number Two Hero, and the best fire user in existence. He is the quickest and easiest path to power for Shoto, and the option was something he could easily do. But the thing is, this is before the power levels ate a lot of the story line; everything wasn't about power back then, and Shoto's story wasn't about getting stronger as a fighter anyways, but as a person. More than that, I honestly got the vibe that the only reason he hadn't tried to actually kill his dad was, 1, a the realistic knowledge that Endeavour could take him, and 2, what morals he had left in him and the fear of the consequences, since he hadn't progressed to the point where murdering him was worth giving up his moral qualms and his life as a free man. And so, you'd think he'd want to continue distancing himself from his father, right, but just do it in a healthier way, right? But he didn't.

Because Endeavour was going to be important later on so Hori had to get the readers used to him, because people hated him too much, because Hori had made him too hateable, and he had to be in the story. And, as a sign of how mature Shoto was, he was going to put up with his dad anyways, and it was that which confirmed Endeavour's redemption for me: because it was 'good', in the story's narration, for him to do that. Not to grow apart from him, not to just never talk to him ever again, not to stop thinking about him or having his life revolve around him, but to interact with him more. To spend time with him, even if it was an actual burden to Shoto. And that tolerance, I knew instinctively from all the other shonen storylines I've read, was going to be the foundation to forgiving him, the same way that sending time with him being 'good' was the first step in Shoto growing to love him, (and I was right! After growing to slowly tolerate Endeavour's existence his general area, the High End fight suddenly reveals that actually, Shoto loved his dad all along, despite him never once acting like that before now, or showing him any emotions at all beyond something on the spectrum of rage or disdain) and it was that abrupt jump from burning hatred that ruined Shoto's arc in forgiving his father for me, which tainted his family's arc in forgiving him because it's built off that for the audience.

...Well, that and one other thing: Rei. Rei finally shows up in the manga and one of the first things she does is say, 'No, wait, he's not that bad anymore! He's improving!' You know, despite the fact she's still hospitalized, and from what I remember still so traumatized he couldn't even see her yet... but he got her a flower!

You know, there's a post I read somewhere (but I don't know where it is, sadly, it was great) that analyzed the flower scene and how messed up that is.

They compared Rei and her flower to Harley Quinn in Mad Love and her getting a flower. The thing is? Mad Love was about showing how damaged Harley was, and how fucked up the abusive relationship she lived in; she spends the entire story getting hurt and used by Joker, and the end of it she finally, finally realizes that, hey, he's a piece of shit and terrible to her until the Joker gets her a flower. And oh, suddenly she's back in love with him all over again!

In Mad Love, that flower was about proving how broken Harley was, it was a symbol about how toxic and one sided her relationship with the Joker was. In MHA? Well, that flower is Rei's entire basis for saying that everyone should forgive Endeavour: he remembered that she liked that flower (which is assuming he didn't just get it accidently, lol) and so that's a sign he's better now! Not because he's acting differently to her, not because she's even talked to him, but because of the flower, and narratively? That's a good thing! You're supposed to agree with her, supposed to take that single flower as a symbol of Endeavour's growth and how you should think better of him now! Never mind all the things he did to her, never mind she basiclly hasn't interacted with him in over a decade, never mind how terrified she was, how she was so traumatized that seeing him in Shoto lead to her throwing boiling water at him; ignore all those details because the flower exists! It turns her from a character in her own right, to a tool that only exists for the sake of Endeavour making up with his family, since if she forgives him, if Fuyumi is too beaten down to have ever really dissented and if Shoto has moved on several months and one random personality twist or so ago into spending time with him, then clearly Natsuo is just irrationally angry and should rethink his own opinions, instead of being angry for completely valid reasons and having no real need to even want to make up with his father in the first place.

But the family drama of Endeavour is only half of it: like I said at the beginning, the problem with his arc is literally everyone else, along with the narrative of the story as a whole. Thing is, until Dabi's Dance, no one knows better, so there's only one really good example to look at pre-Dabi: the second internship arc, with Izuku and Bakugou.

With Shoto telling Izuku about how his father is a massive tool, and Bakugou blatantly eavesdropping, both of them know Endeavour is a piece of shit. They both know... and yet they go anyways, and the fact they do that and don't have a major problem with him is a way the narrative is trying to push to the reader that Endeavour is better now, now, that we should all move on and not hate him anymore! But honestly, that's just set up for the Dance, and that's when things really get serious, because everyone knows now.

...And they know, and... no one seems to... care? Emotionally, the only ones who seem to be affected by the fact that the Number One Hero's son is one of the greatest villains/criminals in the history of Japan is the Todorokis. Everyone else barely even seem to blink.

And look, I get that there's a giant crisis, and everyone needs to step up (Obviously. The real reason that it happened then was so it would be like that, so the author could paper over that giant issue with a problem magnitudes worse), but the other heroes only talk about Dabi is a problem to be solved, not his origins. There's not one moment where any of them seem to doubt Endeavour's abilities as a hero, or the institution of heroism if it literally seemed to cause their greatest problems, or hell, even Endeavour's ability to deal with it.

Not one of them look at Endeavour and tell him, "You disgust me." None of them say they can't trust him anymore, or that they're willing to follow him but only because the country itself is literally in danger. Hawks, who had been built up as the dark, edgier hero this entire time, wavering on the edge of good and evil and what is right or wrong, whose entire foundation of heroism started with Endeavour indirectly saving him as a child, doesn't even seem to be disappointed in his idol.... though that's as much on how his character seemed to get assassinated as of the war as anything else, but still.

As far as we, the readers, can tell, there is not one hero, beyond Shoto (who supports his father anyways) who is even slightly upset that Endeavour decided to start a eugenics campaign in his own home, before emotionally abusing his own son so badly he almost kills himself, and came back from near death as a burnt corpse of a man who devoted the rest of his life to destroying Endeavour and everything he loves.

Needless to say, that is... deeply fucked up. And sure, there may be some people (somewhere) who feel otherwise, but that's the problem: we never see them. We never see anyone's thoughts that differ from the party line. The narrative doesn't want us to see 'the good guys' doing anything other than falling in line behind him. This is all capped off by the fact that we see Endeavour's fall into being a child abuser, but we see it from his perspective.

We see him just... 'meaning well', from his own memories, and however distorted they've gotten over the years as he's rationalized it. We see that it isn't as bad as we suspected, that he wasn't the one to burn Dabi like that (even though he acted early on like he'd do exactly that, so it was never something that out there) but even if he didn't, Endeavour clearly drove him to burn himself like that and ignored every possible warning sign in the process. We know he slapped at least Rei at least once, and at some point hit Shoto so hard he puked, but "oddly enough" that never comes up in his version of the story; why would it? It's not like he'd want to think about those times.

So let's sum it up: Endeavour is, at least trying, to be better. He's making real, realistic, moves to apologize to his family, to make amends, and to stop being such a colossal piece of shit, and while he definitely makes some poor choices in that process, the attempt itself is real. I don't like him, but I can admit that much, and admire it.

The problem is that Hori, through the narrative of the story, how it's being shown to us and through the characters in it, wants us to like Endeavour too much. He wants it so much that he's refusing to show just how bad Endeavour actually was, and it taints his story and his growth as a person. It changes it, lessens it, because it's being forced by the author, and shows that he's afraid that if he didn't protect Endeavour from the consequences of his own actions, the audience wouldn't like him anymore.

Really though, if he didn't want that he shouldn't have made Endeavour such a detestable person in the first place, or when he made his story as this singular asshole among the heroes he shouldn't have been afraid to let him just... be hated.

#mha critical #bnha critical #anti endeavor

169 notes · View notes

albentelisa · 9 months

Note

Hi! Here is a really intresting ask. What do you think would happen if Claire was the one to use the time stone instead of Jim?

Hi! That idea has so much potential!

Of course, the most reasonable decision for Claire would be to time-travel to a different time point. However, lately, I started to think that perhaps, the time stone user has no choice about the travel destination, which might explain Jim's not-that-smart decision to go to the very beginning.

Anyway, let's assume that Claire somehow ended at the same point as Jim at the end of ROTT. Unlike Jim, she has no reason to make someone else the Trollhunter (if anything, I imagine she will be watching so that no one else picks the amulet). For Claire, Jim is her Trollhunter, and I'm sure she'll be invested in keeping it that way.

She will also be way friendlier to Jim as she hopes their love will bloom in this timeline as well. Perhaps, she will even go a bit overboard, and Jim will freak out (or think she has lost a bet or something).

I believe that Claire will consider watching from the sidelines at first, but quickly will reason against it. She will orchestrate 'an accidental finding out about the amulet and trolls' for herself (barging in during Blinky's and Aaarrrgghh's second visit). Claire is a good actress, so she can pull that out, joining the team early on. However, it will be a source of stress for her - unlike Jim and Toby, who lived through the events of the original timeline, Claire knows about those only from what they told her before. I imagine she will freak out a lot, wondering about if small details caused by her presence might have caused a butterfly effect.

Claire will discover that she still possesses shadow magic rather soon and that her stress makes it develop. That will be when she considers contacting Douxie for the first time but later decides to try and solve everything herself.

The biggest issue for Claire will be a choice between endangering Enrique and preventing NotEnrique from entering this world. They both are her brothers in the end. She'll decide to keep Enrique away from the danger in the end, but not without long sleepless hours of doubts and deciding to enter the Darklands alone later and look for NotEnrique there (alone because she also doesn't want to endanger Jim for no reason).

Meanwhile, unlike Jim and Toby who never know Claire well enough to see that she is acting sus, Mary and Darci will notice that something is off right away, starting an investigation of their own and pressuring Claire for answers. She might be able to throw them off initially, but it'll lead to some consequences later.

Another issue will be Toby (and later Blinky) suspecting Claire of being a changeling once the information about those drops. After all, she approached Jim out of nowhere right during the day when he found the amulet. Obviously, the gaggletack test will show nothing but it may leave some nasty aftertaste. Claire will be forced to reveal her magic aptitude and lie that she is a newbie witch to throw some suspicions off.

And her actions will bring the first major change in the timeline - because Claire has prevented goblins from abducting Enrique, the Janus Order simply picks a different child as a familiar for 'NotEnrique' (who isn't NotEnrique in this timeline now). The Trollhunters will know that some kid is abducted but have no way to learn who is that one.

They'll find out thanks to Mary's comment (as it will a child she babysits occasionally). Yes, somehow, Mary and Darci will end in the original timeline Claire's position and learn the truth around the same time as the original her.

Claire will finally contact Douxie after Bular's defeat. She will hope he can help her with sneaking to the Darklands and saving the kid she unwittingly endangered (because there's no way she will force Jim to fix her own mess!). Meanwhile, Jim will also do his best to save the kid as he also feels responsible for that (and even in the original timeline he didn't save Enrique only because he was Claire's brother).

Mary and Darci will be part of the team by this point, but Douxie will be reluctant to join at first because Merlin made him promise to stay away from everything (and Claire hasn't told him about her time travel). He still agrees to act as Claire's magic advisor.

Claire will get the shadow staff from Angor Rot and show a suspiciously good proficiency with it. It will be the point where Douxie gets suspicious and corners her, getting the truth about the time-travel. He will warn her against revealing too many details or changing the timeline too much (well, Claire knows it already).

However, she still cannot help but wish that Jim doesn't go to the Darklands. It still happens despite her efforts. Moreover, this time Usurna manages to destroy the bridge even faster (yes, it's because of the butterfly effect).

At least, this time Claire manages to steal the formula of antidote for Aaarrrgghh without negotiations with the Janus Order and losing Vendel's staff. She also hopes to keep Gunmar locked in the Darklands this time, but he still gets out.

However, Claire still achieves two things - saving Vendel and teleporting even more trolls out of the Trollmarket. She thinks her better gasp on shadowmancy will prevent Morgana from possessing her, and it's partially right - Morgana tries to take over Claire, but Claire fends her off.

Unfortunately, it doesn't arise Morgana's threat entirely as she uses one of her changelings as a medium to help her revive Angor Rot. She also hopes to recruit Claire as a fellow shadowmancer and keeps haunting her dreams, which causes Claire serious insomnia (not that she has much time to sleep as she keeps hunting Gumm-Gumms together with other trollhunters). At least, Douxie joins this time.

At the point when the team decides to contact Merlin, Claire strongly opposes the decision, much to everyone's surprise. Douxie asks her about her reasoning in the private later, wondering what exactly his master had pulled during the first timeline. Claire doesn't share much, only that she can't forgive Merlin for the thing he did to Jim in the first timeline.

The team still goes looking for Merlin as Claire remains in the minority. Claire feels helpless and decides to pull a dangerous stunt - connecting her mind to Morgana's in the hope of finding a way to revert Jim's transformation after he beats Gunmar.

That is something way beyond her current capabilities - and Claire nearly ends up possessed by Morgana in the end. She barely escapes but part of her hair turns white (it didn't happen during the portal incident here). However, Claire still has gotten some information on how Morgana created the first changelings, so while she cannot fully revert Jim's transformation into a half-troll, she still gives him the ability to change forms at will.

After Gunmar's defeat, the team doesn't travel to New Jersey. As Vendel's staff is still intact, they try to use it plus several more ingredients to revitalize the Heartstone.

However, Claire's actions don't go unnoticed by Merlin, who starts to suspect her of possibly being connected to some malicious forces, perhaps, even the Arcane Order. He doesn't believe Douxie's explanation, and Claire is forced to flee Arcadia. The Trollhunters team goes searching for her, refusing to believe Merlin's accusations as Claire is their teammate and friend (and in Jim's case, his girlfriend). That is where they encounter the Green Knight. Claire comes to save just in time, so no one is hit with the obsidian shard.

Merlin arrives and gathers everyone in the flying castle. His plan was to send Douxie only to the past, but much like in the first timeline Jim, Claire, and Steve also go back. However, this time Jim escapes imprisonment as he can turn human, and no one suspects him. However, he gets in trouble with Arthur when he notices some trolls being captured and tries to intervene. Only Morgana's involvement saves him from the consequences. Later that night the team plans the big jailbreak for trolls. Jim decides to escort them to safety and befriends Callista on the road. He shows her his ability to shift between forms and gets warned that other trolls might not have been as open-minded as her. Jim decides to keep to his half-troll form just in case.

The rest of the past travel goes more or less the same as in the first timeline (minus Claire's struggles with shadow magic and Jim's curse).

When the team is back to the future, they encounter the Arcane Order, and Merlin is captured after the brief fight. Obviously, no one wants to save him (except Douxie), and honestly, Merlin doesn't plan to be saved. However, the Arcane Order finds a way to learn about the secret Merlin's staff contains, and now they only need to destroy it and get Nari back. They also put Merlin under mind control.

Claire goes to the Shadow realm to negotiate with Morgana and convinces her to join their side.

The Order engages the team in the battle. Jim fights against the Green Knight, while Douxie is forced to encounter the mind-controlled Merlin, with everyone else against Bellroc and Skrael. Arthur dies, as well as Merlin, though the latter snaps from control momentarily before the death and says some parting words to Douxie. Morgana sacrifices herself to seal Bellroc and Skrael.

And Claire is finally able to tell everyone about the first timeline and the events that could happen.

#tales of arcadia #toawizards #toa trollhunters #what if scenario #claire goes back in time instead of jim #claire nunez #jim lake jr #text post #extremely long post #ask box #anon ask

31 notes · View notes

macgyvertape · 8 months

Text

Castlevania Nocturn s1 thoughts/liveblog

This season more like Castlevania: colonialism, and power structures that support it

For a Symphony of the Night adaptation the inclusion of symphonic and operatic music was fantastic, especially the attention to the times the music was diegetic vs nondiegetic

Really enjoyed how many outfit changes characters got, I really want some meta about the Emissary's costume changes because she has a wide range of outfits from modern to 2 different historical ones.

Favorite plotline: the whole Orlox/Mizrak relationship and both characters (it probably seems obvious based on what I focused on), least favorite plotline Richter gets his mojo/magic back based on processing grief aka vibes

Felt much more like a coming of age story line for the protagonists, and (without checking a timeline) them a few years younger than the series 1 Trevor/Sypha /Alucard

This show really balanced well the introduction of the cosmic threat (cat goddess filling Dracula’s place) vs local threat (Emissary here vs leader night creature s1 of main show) in a way I haven't seen since s1 of the original show

more liveblog notes below cut

I knew going in Olrox was gay, a fan favorite favorite of blogs I check, and had gifs portraying him sympathetically. Funny how that probably influenced my initial impression of the opening

Lmao of course the abbey is on the evil vampire side considering I saw gifs beforehand of one of the guys with Olrox. (edit: funny that Olrox isn’t with the main vampire group at that time in the season, so I was right about the alliance for the wrong reason)

I like how the Emissary's clothing is so modern I can't tell if she's wearing hoof heels or has cloven feet

Edouard’s singing sounded super awkward without musical backing, sure the fact its Dido's lament is foreshadowing.

Edouard has a tailcoat, I didn’t expect to see it during this time period considering this is before the Regency. Olrox is wearing a frock coat, that’s older style?

Oooh wish they had done the fight to Vivaldi’s summer presto instead and made it nondiegetic music vs generic action music

Devil forgemaster automation!? Note to self check when first steam engine is and the Victorian times which is when I usually thing steam/magic punk

Also lmao Olrox gets the last word again

Ok so they have the French aristocrat vampires doubling as confederate vampires with the explicit colonialism slavery

Do we get more evil lesbian vampries with a take over the world plan?

I’m glad night creatures are a thing here too, its such fun monster designs

Real inversion of Castlevania’s Isaac having forge mastering be freedom from slavery and here it be a process used by the institution of the church as a method of slavery

How does “we need a plan” mean “children with no experience of the world and no experience of the hard choices adults make” in Annette’s response and not have a response because the subject changes??? Like Richter has a point about snapshot moral decisions, 2 or 4 doesn’t have experience so they should really work out any difference of opinion

Oh no the last alive mother figure keeps being helpful that’s a death flag

Damn lol Olrox and abbey sword guy were dtf Grindr quick. Ass shot!! lmao having that final conversation about demons and Olrox is doing it leaning back, legs spread, dick out

Can’t wait to see how it goes paying that price, what demon and Olrox’s seemingly invested question “will you [pay the price]” edit: season 1 seems to have ended demon consequence free

The world building this season seems so much richer and broader than the previous Castlevania series, all these different types of demons, magic users, gods, and spirits

Nick pick note: ok the waterproofing can’t be good enough for water to not flow down the staircase into the cellars and give away the secret passage. ask me how I know water loves to travel into basements

I'm enjoying the Emissary's ahistorical fashion in modern club/bdsm gear. Holy shit the “all about sex with you priests, every orifice I have has teeth” holy shit vagina dentata. I literally had to rewind to make sure I heard that correctly

When Maria’s mother was pushing the stone and talking about being there for people she loves I was thinking “wow considering the hair colors for Maria it would be funny if the Abbot was her father because it would explain why Maria’s mother, a speaker, would be so defensive of him. But surely they won’t be that tropey predictable” then as soon as the eyes met I was like LMAO

Interesting that Olrox chose then to step in vs letting Mizrak fight Belmont, since maybe he’d be better off letting the Emissary get killed

Love vampires talking with vampires about being an immortal being trapped in the shadows as they power play each other

“You’re the one with the brand on your forehead” this was such a metal af scene burning the slaver vampire in a cage of crosses. Especially the extremely distorted fisheye focus on the symbol that distort’s the vampries face even creepier

Oh that’s a good shot of Maria being visually isolated in the black of the Abotts’s cloak when she learns he’s her father, with a bit of visual exaggeration. The selected impressionism animation in this series is great

The Emissary is now in her second period style outfit (red militaryish tailcoat) the first being the black outfit worn for the funeral/graveyard that looked a lot more rococo aristocratic

Wait wat, so the vampire messiah look like a white woman with red hair wearing double side petticoats in the European aristocrat style, who has a Russian name and was living in snowy Russia, but she’s talking like she is Sekhmet despite having no Egyptian characteristics at all. Like she looks nothing like the Emissary who is Egyptian. What’s up with that?

Grandpa Belmont is somehow beating “I attacked my son and devastated a country Dracula” in worst hurting a family member reaction to grief IMO

Lacrimosa is GOATed really just best choice to include for this moment especially how they did it with nondiegetic string accompaniment in Edouard’s PoV but that cuts out with the shift to Mizrak/Olrox PoV

“I love everything about adding tension to the relationship and denial of feelings with: "is [turning me into a vampire without permission] what you had planned for me" “Of course not… I’m not in love with you”

Fucking gun axe, and did the vampires just sit around listening to the family drama to know so much

Nooo don’t hang a lampshade on an ending line be “witty, cunning, and brutal” then say “fuck it” which fits the standard

Power play the Messiah calling Olrox a dragon when he turned into a Quetzalcoatl in ep1, and then doing a show of force to force him from an insincere bow into a deep on. You can tell he’s fucking pissed off

“Just read the fucking book” and Orlox gets the last word again lmao

Lmao the very on the nose bible verse lines “lift up thy feat” when the birds lift Maria up, the line about slipping after she nearly slips. Wonder what was done first; picking the psalm (Psalms 73:2-5) or the animation direction?

So I thought the vampire messiah was supposed to be an a fraud in identity, but damn she can control the moon. Or was Selhmet not a delusion but a actual magic being waiting to possess her and take over, as seen by the physical transformation to part cat?

I guess Orlox does care enough for Mizrak to get involved awww

Ah the establishing shot visible proof of the limit to the eclipse which doesn’t even cover all of France

Love the angst breakup, Orlox/Mizrak favorite ship in the whole show

It felt obvious the mother figure character wouldn’t last the whole season but I wasn’t expecting her to be turned

Word Effect where The Emissary is built up as a power threat the whole season then she’s 1 hit KO to show Alucard’s power

#castlevania #castlevania nocturne #castlevania nocturne spoilers #mac watches tv #liveblog #orlox/mizrak isn't a filterable tag on ao3 and it pains me

11 notes · View notes

autisticethanmorgan · 1 year

Text

How I would continue mbav in comic form

disney, teletoon, fresh tv, whoever the fuck owns the rights to this, please let me have them

LONG ASS POST WARNING

we are past the days of any further mbav television content, but you know what has a much lower production cost and would fill a specific niche? a comic/graphic novel continuation >:) Teen rating because pretty much anyone who was the target audience of mbav when it was airing is late teen or older and I want the characters actions to have more consequence, basically i want to injure my protagonists

I would pick up a month or two after the lucifractor explosion, establish the new status quo, we cant really do a continuation if they all died so Ill settle for injury and property damage, including putting out main man Ethan in a half magic/half head trauma induced coma! this is kind of a cheap story beat but i cant help it I love a coma and its a good opportunity for both sarah and benny to get a little bit darker and have some interesting character development, with the most important difference being that sarah basically gets through it and refuses to compromise her morals whereas benny is very lost without ethan being his moral compass and becomes more and more reckless with magic, eventually leading to him attempting a very risky spell to wake ethan up which does work but basically has sarah and his grandma like 'wtf is wrong with you'

meanwhile erica and rory are fucking around in the states bc this would be a very fun B plot for a while before they return, if youve read the comic crowded im thinking of that kind of vibe

so anyway ethan is back up and running now and everyone is kind of trying to get back to normal but its really hard and theres a lot of residual magic causing problems and making bennys magic more powerful, and its giving ethan basically constant migranes and really vague visions and horrifying dreams and all that good 'plauged with visions' stuff.

sarah and ethan have not gone on any more dates at this point so theyre not dating but they do have this kind of romantic aspect of their relationship and they basically havent talked about it since the explosion, kind of a silent understanding of like 'i love you and i dont really care that its platonic or romantic but i just understand whats happening in a way almost no one else can and Im here for you even if now just isnt the time for us'

benny is continuing to get more reckless and kind of vengeful with his magic use, testing his limits, using magic to get back and the people making snide comments in the halls, especially after ethan comes back to school, when your best friend is in a coma for two months you get kind of defensive about it I guess. If you’re not a bethan truther I’m sorry but Ethan can have two intense friendships that border on romantic, both of which are societally non conventional/acceptable. In fact he has to. It is so good narratively. but anyway at some point there is a particularly bad incident benny gets more vindictive than ever before and hurts this guy pretty badly till ethan is yelling at him to stop

at this point ethan and sarah and grandma are like 'uhhh benny is getting kinda intense' but they dont even know the half of it because secretly he learning magic that isnt in his book, researching on his own and making stuff up. the magic itself wants him to be getting stronger, its not like sentient but it does have kind of a self preservation instinct? like a power begets power type thing that magic users can very easily be driven mad by their own magic if theyre not careful or dont have another magic user telling them to touch grass.

i think benny can have unexamined mental repercussions due to his parents having either left him or died. as a treat. so when he get magic and suddenly he can control things he couldnt before yknow who can blame him for getting kind of lost, i personally would become insane. I havent really though about the specific of him devolving and mentally deteriorating. I dont want him to be too evil yknow? bc we will be letting him get redeemed latr bc im a sucker for that.

at this point erica and rory return from their wacky adventures bc this is no time for a silly b plot. and they are like huh benny got kind of weird and different and ethan is like haha no hes fine

he is not fine

he is actually sneaking out of town to meet another magic user who is basically like 'i will act like a father figure to gain your trust' and benny is like 'epic!' yknow because he. becuase. because he has no dad :D. he gets exposed to magic that grandma doesnt do and is both scared and impressed and this other magic user is like 'she doesnt want you to learn this >:| she doesnt want you to reach your fullest potential' and benny is like 'hmm idk about that' but they keep talking until this guy is like 'arent you tired of being nice?dont you just wanna go apeshit?' but benny is still like 'hmmm my really close boy best friend probably wouldnt like that' but its too late. its already in motion.

benny gets more evil. he is causing problems in whitechapel and does not seem to care. benny be like 'thought acquired: if i control everything and destroy the things i dont like then everything will be good and i can protect my friends forever. i see no moral problems with this' more development into evil, dont ask me the details i dont know.

bennys evil girl summer culminates in some kind of fight where ethan enters his mind bc yeah obviosly thats where this has been going, idk if ive just spent to long thinking about jean grey and scott summers but this is the most interesting thing ever. i want to see ethan walking through bennys memories end of life is strange style and realizing that all of his most important memories are of them together, times that theyve comforted or protected each other and it ends with a memory of from just before they met sarah. that memory fades out and ethan is standing on the street in front of his house, so he goes up to his room and benny is there but this time its really him and not just a memory version of him and benny is like 'i dont know how it got to be like this, this isnt what i wanted, how do i fix this?' and ethan is like 'i havent given up on you, you can still come back and we can try to make it right' and they hug and they come back to reality and benny basically breaks down sobbing yeah i <3 sad boys. he has a lot of regrets. ( i have written a lot of this scene bc i am insane and obsessed)

by the next morning hes left town. only leaving a note saying he needs to go away and clear the magic out of his head. hes reversed as much of the magic he did as he could, and left ethan with a spell leaving the words 'semper reveniam ad te' on his arm that will disappear when they see each other again or if benny dies.

#this is longer than the essay i was supposed to write tonight needed to be #mbav #my babysitter's a vampire #ethan morgan #benny weir #et al

25 notes · View notes

hannahwindy · 6 months

Text

Since there are so many people putting their OCs in fandoms, why shouldn't I do the same? :)

It's kinda fun tho

Also english isn't my first language so... Bear with me 🙃

Meet Marta Chiwaco (art from picrew)

She is a woman of Nigerian origin, born from a time different from ours and theirs, and raised in a Yoruba tribe.

Her grandmother was skilled at healing and magic and taught it to Marta. She learned about Mortal Kombat and the Realms by chance through her grandmother's stories.

Her grandmother was one of the Earthrealm champions decades ago by Liu Kang. At that time, Marta wanted to know more, so she asked her grandmother to tell her the story in all the details.

She ended up being interested in everything she heard and tried to open a portal herself. The first response failed as expected, but she finally managed to do it after many attempts.

But as soon as she tried to set foot in a door, Geras came out of it. Saying that what she was doing might lead to consequences and harm, they ended up having a long discussion about the matter.

Marta's grandmother took action in this matter and calmed down her granddaughter and introduced her to Geras.

The three of them entered the gate, straight to the Fire Temple where Liu Kang was waiting for them. Grandma introduced Marta to Liu Kang as well and told her who they were.

Overnight, Marta found herself a student at Wu Shi Academy, learning combat and magic. And of course she did. Marta became one of the best magic and healing users, and close to Liu Kang and Geras.

With her personality being a mixture of calm, fun, caring and motherly, there are times when she is like a mother to the rest of Earthrealm's protectors and defenders.

Marta stopped aging in her thirties.

===============================

relations:-

Love relationship: - Geras ( No one knows except Liu Kang and Idris, who is Marta's pupil)

Friendships: Liu Kang, Earthrealm Defenders, Sindel, Jerrod (formarly), Ermac (Jerrod), Madam Bo, Lin Kuai's grandmaster and his wife (formerly)

Family: Her grandmother, her pupil Idris (as her adoptive son)

Don't take kindly to: Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, General Shao, Reiko, Nitara

She doesn't hate them, just can't stand them most of her time, tho that Reiko reminde her of Idris when he was a young boy, so she tolerate him sometimes.

==============================

Favorite food: Rice cooked with meat and vegetables.

Favorite drink: Fruit cocktail with honey.

Favorite colors: Bright colors but comfortable to look at (African/Swahili color palette).

Hobbies: traveling, exploring, dancing, reading, gardening, trying on different types of clothes from different places.

==============================

This is Marta's pupil, Idris. (Picrew art)‌

Idris is Marta's favorite intelligent student, and frankly her only one... He is a young man with a lively and quiet personality.

He is of African-European descent, born and raised in a foreign country, and was subjected to forced abandonment by his parents due to circumstances that he did not know about until this moment. He grew up in foster homes and the streets.

He met Marta by pure coincidence while he was quarreling with some older boys, and she helped him in secret with a little magic. Of course, Idris was not an idiot. He became suspicious of her and followed her and began talking over her head, insisting that he find out what she had done.

Idris, a young abandoned boy, soon became Marta's student and later her adopted son.

He is a skilled fighter. He can fight using magic, but he prefers using his hands and daggers more.

He has a calm, sarcastic and uninterested personality at times. He can be painfully honest and rude, but he does not mean bad.

============================

Love relationship: none

Friendships: earthrelm defenders (he's not the social type but in good terms with the others)

Family:Marta

Don't take kindly to: Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, General Shao, Reiko, Nitara, Havik

==========================

Favorite food: Honey berry pie

Favorite drink: Red tea with mint

Favorite colors:green, purple, aquamarine, orange and dark colors

Hobbies:Collecting daggers, nap times

=============================

#mk ocs #mortal kombat #mk 1

3 notes · View notes

grimmwulf-a · 1 year

Text

healing magic, necromancy, and grimwalkers

healing magic as a fantasy staple has always been considered a ‘good’ magic, all the way down to staples like final fantasy writing it in as ‘white magic’ [versus the offensive/attacking based ‘black magic’]. healing magic is additionally often paired with a ‘holy’ or angelic kind of aesthetic, healers oftentimes being presented as soft, fragile, or dainty feminine characters. because of this, it wasn't usually examined further and still has a lot of missed potential imo.

foreward out of the way, all this to say healing magic scares the piss out of me as someone with a strong interest in medicine! there’s been posts made before that talk about just how horrifying the prospect of things like torn limbs, broken teeth, broken bones, etc would be if they were magically healed up in a matter of seconds. the interest of just how it’d feel coupled with the idea that, depending on the skill of the healer, nerves could also be numbed to not recognize that half your organs fell out and you’re running off sheer adrenaline and magic puppet strings. naturally, this train of thought leads to ‘well how far into extremes can this go?’

a good post that i really like that goes into a bit more detail is linked here :]

i’m not going to try and figure out the potential in-depth ethics behind how extreme healing magic can legally be taken in the boiling isles - all things considered under belos’ reign, i’d imagine there were very few limits that were ever actually imposed, if only in the sense they’d be kept under wraps and protected within the emperor’s coven. besides, the best of the best are above the law when they’re useful! accidentally break a few too many bones interrogating some wild witches? easy in-house fix.

with that in mind, the existence of the abomination magic adds some extra angles to this that interest me. this is working off the assumption abominations aren’t sentient and are only running off the whims of whatever magic initially charged their form and the magic user’s intents. because of this, it’d be easy to say that necromancy as a basic magic would fall under abomination magic’s domain, if only in the mechanic sense, not the sense that abominations [the ones we see at least] are made by specific recipes. i’m much more inclined to say that abomination magic is far closer to potion making than healing.

since necromancy doesn’t fit the function AND form of abomination magic, it wouldn’t fall under it. the only place left for it to go is under healing.

historically, i think necromancy would be frowned upon. in a world where mortal beings have this degree of free-floating power, death is a much more common place occurrence. because of this, it’d be generally more respected - people with healing magic would try their best to save you, but if you’re dead and there’s no life left to heal, that crosses into a boundary that’s outside of any respectable action. you have to properly mourn the dead, not strive for a return to how things were before.

of course in any world like the boiling isles, there are bound to be healers who do not hold that same form of respect, be it from just having the ability to Do It and acting on that skill regardless of consequence, or some altered form of respect imposed upon the dead outside of the norm. necromancy is not a solid science nor is it something done in a collective, yet knowledge of the subject is impossible to kill if it has a will to stick around. be it from obsession of a missed loved one, corpses were dragged from their graves and forced to return to life, soulless bodies puppeteered or given simple commands upon revival. they did not have many higher functions with only a rare few becoming genuine threats.

because of these rare acts, the legend of grimwalkers springs up; stories of the dead walking once again. they would be obscured creatures that wore the faces of your loved ones yet could not speak their same tongue - the details would prove to change from case to case and over time would morph into a basic but wild fantasy you’d tell your kids at night to make sure they stayed safe in bed. as time went on and society grew a bit more close knit and advanced, what would initially be called grimwalkers would instead be labeled necromancy and punished accordingly.

in the modern day, grimwalkers are considered legend [or extinct] because cases of revivals are so few and far in between - and after belos’ rise to power, they’re completely hidden from the general public if they do occur. speaking of belos-

the first few golden guards [at least before he’d get access to better tools] were. poorly made to say the least. being human and not used to channeling the degrees of magic necessary for proper necromancy, he’d have to mix and match things just to get a living specimen. results were varied. he never really fully figured it out, honestly - once the golden guards were ‘good enough’, he stopped caring. ‘grimwalkers’ as a title were placed upon them both out of lack of respect for the boiling isles’ own history and out of a refusal to view them as anything other than mindless tools.

which, uh. they weren’t mindless! due to the nature of mixing and matching various non-human and non-witch parts, these grimwalkers were more than vague duplicates of the ortet used. appearances were never perfect. voices were wrong. thought patterns were unpredictable. these grimwalkers had more than a single soul each - they had bits and pieces of many souls that were drawn and stitched together into a poor amalgamation of what belos imagined a human soul might be. this issue only compounded as more were created, some having parts that were replaced from the previous guards whenever one was needed quickly.

in essence, [faux] grimwalkers are a product of necromancy and one of the core components of healing - they’re brand new life formed in the shape of the old.

#hunter [ hc ]#belos [ hc ]#// all this to say belos has killed so many kids. ill have to go more in depth abt some of them later #but heyo heres the basic groundwork of what this blog's functioning off of! i hope it makes sense bc i am deranged

11 notes · View notes

writingonesdreams · 2 years

Note

hello for storyteller saturday :D the dynamics in your Tears of Iron are so compelling and i love your dragon lore!! I'm curious to know more about 'The Art' that Hal revives and also the mind vs soulfire magic... is it innate, or can you learn and develop the skill? Are people naturally better at one or the other? And how do the dragons interact with it?? Can they use magic too, or do they rely mostly on being cool dragons? Or anything similar you'd like to talk about!

The magic system

There are four types of magic: mind, soulfire, elemental and wild. The types are named after the medium or focus of each magic.

Mind deals with human minds.

Elemental with the elements of fire, water, air, earth, blood, light, shadow, lightning and various other combinations.

Soulfire magic deals with the magic generated by the mage's body, named after its appearance of colour fire around the mage, considered their soul given form. It's the only physical magic, requiring movement to manifest. Usually learned with martial arts or sport.

Wild magic is the nature magic that can develop various levels of it's own will, reach and sentience.

There are different approaches to how you can access each magic. The most usual are scientific and artistic one. For example, you can read minds for scientific purposes by studying people (through humanities like sociology or anthropology), or you can focus on designing dreams and illusions for pleasure. You can control element of earth through studying geology and biology or you can resonate with earth through artistic approach like singing.

The Art (name is subject to change)

The Art is an ancient kind of magic designed by the first Dragonslayers to be on par with dragons. Dragonknights who later fought to create peaceful relationships with them after understanding their competitive but generous culture, developed it further.

It's basically sensing the environment through energies around you and connecting with the place you are at. Then the innate wild magic of the place mirrors you and your feelings and allows you to increase your own magic to incredible amounts. Access to this magic requires high skill level of any magic and a year long training. The condition is absolute inner harmony (in feelings, thinking and actions). This magic allows the user to sense magic and other powerful users in it, and multiply their own magic to be able to stand against dragons, since they channel more energy than their body can create. This is also dangerous, because losing focus or inner balance even for a second means losing control, with disastrous consequences for such big masses of magic. It isn't rare for users to end up with debilitating or lasting injuries.

This magic is secret, knowledge dying with the Dragonknights who officially died out 100 years ago. Only one Dragonknight of the old era survived, Hal, who is now very picky about who he shares the skill with. Zephyr, Skye and Leander are the first ones he chose and they are currently deciding how they will be assessing if the new candidates are worthy of learning it.

The Art therefore requires high magic skill level and inner harmony before the training even begins, and then the training itself demands lots of self-reflection, inner peace and self-control.

There is also a hidden darker side to this magic, when the inner peace isn't acquired and that serves as a shortcut to any magic type. Since learning one magic type usually takes around 15-20 years, having a short cut to another one is a big advantage. But there is a price, something you have to give to get such miraculous thing...

Can you learn the skill? + Are people naturally better at one or another?

Any of the three types - soulfire, mind, elemental - can be learned (wild magic is part of nature and can't be controlled). People are free to choose any of it. Learning it takes about 15-20 years, so starts in early childhood and ends with a university degree or athletic exams (soulfire magic depends on body and movement, so they are usually athletes or martial arts practitioners).

People are usually better at the approach and the type of magic that correspond with their natural interests and skillset. If you are good at dancing or music, environmental type with artistic approach might be ideal for you. If you like studying, you might be better of with elemental type with scientific approach, which is usually reserved for natural sciences. If you prefer discussions, looking for patterns and connecting things together about people, mind magic with scientific type is ideal for subjects in humanities.

Dragons and magic

Dragons can use the elemental magic on instinct and are masterful telepaths with proficiency in mind magic. They can also sometimes subconsciously make wild magic listen to them as well. They use it mostly for fun, preferring physical methods for fighting.

Thank you for the question <3, this was very helpful to write all down.^_^ Feel free to ask me more and let me know if it makes sense.

#writeblr #wip: tears of iron #magic system #my wip #my writing #sts #ask

50 notes · View notes

kitcat992 · 2 years

Note

First off, I know I've mentioned this before but it cannot be taken for granted. Thanks for being one of the nicer Tumblr users. :)

So I wanted to ask you, from a medical/fantastical standpoint, just how indestructible exactly is Peter Parker?

Based solely on Tom's Spiderman, he's been slammed repeatedly through concrete walls and floors, crushed by a building, had his body almost torn apart by 2 huge ferries, hit by a bullet train, shot and I don't remember what else. He usually just limps away, grabbing his side, has some cuts and swelling and he passed out for a while in Homecoming and Far from home.

Do you think his healing factor works instantaneously? Maybe his bones are way denser and harder to break? Maybe this beautiful kid is magic?

I really liked the realism you provided in your Identity series and how it both helped and screwed Peter over. Hoping that his healing factor will help pull him back from the dead in your next chapter.

Awwww, I don't even try to be nice so that's very sweet to hear!

I love this question because it lets me play with reality AND fiction at the same time.

But the answer is always gunna be this: The character is as indestructible as the writer makes them to be.

Superman? Nothing but kryptonite can hurt him! But wait, no, a new writer comes along and decides "the sun's gunna give him cancer cause I said so." Captain America? Can survive nuclear bombs and living in ice for 70 years! But wait, no, a couple bullets from an AR17 kills him because the writer of Civil War said so. It truly all just depends on who is writing that character and what they decide to do.

That being said, I always felt the MCU went a tadddddd bit too far with Peter's powers, specifically with the whole "hit by a bullet train" scene. They sorta pushed Superman level invincibility there -- just my opinion, though.

Peter Parker, in every iteration we see him, always has *growing* powers. They strengthen and mature as he strengthens and matures. So young Peter Parker -- the one we see in Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Homecoming, hasn't honed in on his full capabilities yet. Believe it or not, Peter Parker actually becomes as strong as Captain America himself. But it comes with time.

His healing factor hasn't ever been like Wolverines, where he heals immediately. Actually, Wolverine didn't exist until 1974, arriving to Marvel comics long after Spidey. So for a while it was Cap and Spidey who held the title of "fast healers." While he doesn't heal immediately, he does heal quickly -- how quickly is never the same due to continuity issues. One issue it's overnight, the next its days, some its weeks....some he flat out dies (see: Ultimate Spider-Man and even Spider-Man: Disassembled)

The dude has survived A LOT. 3rd degree burns all over his body, his head smashed into the ground thanks to Dick!Thanos, his eye was plucked out and eaten in front of him, he was severely electrocuted, our boi was even flat out crucified at one point. He hasn't lived an easy life.

Problem is that comics don't really focus on the aftermath of the big climax to their action-packed story. No one has really explored the consequences that come with the aforementioned, and so we really don't have a good grasp on Peter's healing factor. We just know he heals faster than the average human, but not immediately like Logan.

So that's where I play with reality and fiction. I like to take "super powers" and mix them into the normal functions of a typical human being. If I'm tired -- exhausted, sleep deprived, worked to the bone and all around worn down, it's gunna take me a *lot* longer to recover from any inflicted wound or illness. That's why rest is so, so, SO important when you're sick or hurt. Rest is literally what helps us heal.

It's also why we tend to kick you out of the hospital ASAP. It's not that we don't want you there, it's because if you get sick with *anything else* while you're in the hospital -- already compromised to have that happen -- you're gunna receive a hard hit of whatever you get sick with. Because your body is already weak. Normal you might bounce right back from the flu, but injured you is gunna be bitch slapped with the mighty Iron Fist.

So the same can apply to a superhero. If Peter's wounded in battle, he might bounce back after a couple days, depending on the extent of injury (and how quickly he treats it -- alcohol wipes and May's sewing kit in the bathtub that hasn't been cleaned in weeks isn't the way to go, Peter!) If Peter's wounded while kidnapped, sleep deprived, starved and already weakened, it may take a lot longer.

But again...it all depends on the writer.

That being said, we DO know he can die. We've seen it happen. Our boi just endures a lot before he finally reaches that point.

#peter parker whump #peter parker #spider-man #spider-man discourse

10 notes · View notes