#we should have a hero FIGHTING THAT

[the-priestess-of-dawn]

Grima and Final Blows

The other day I mentioned that I had an essay about Grima to write that I'd been putting off, and between that and all the great essays my fellow Grimleal scholars have been putting out recently, I decided to sit down and finally get it done.

So here you go. An analysis of Grima's difficulties with directly killing people.

Okay, so I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time, because one of my favorite things to explore when it comes to Grima is the gap between their villain act, which they actively play up in front of others in both Awakening and FEH, and their true feelings, which are hinted at in Awakening (particularly through the Future Past DLC) and made even clearer in FEH— their own evil actions are repulsive to them, and they wish they could live normally among humans, but they don’t believe they have any choice but to be the monster that “the fell dragon, Grima” is supposed to be. They are committed to this “fell dragon” character, to putting on a show for everyone, and they are so good at it that it’s easy to overlook that they… uh… aren’t very good at killing anyone important. Not directly, anyway.

Sure, Grima is responsible for numerous deaths. But what is their actual kill count? Well, in Awakening’s main game… zero. (Unless you count Chrom, but, as we witness, that was not a voluntary act on their part; Validar took control of their body. You could also make the argument that Grima “claiming the sacrifice” at the Dragon’s Table counts, but the problem with that is, although it’s obvious that Grima accepts the life force of the Grimleal members as a sacrifice, it’s not at all clear whether or not Grima personally kills them. Although it’s possible that they did off screen, it’s also possible that Validar killed them, or that they were ordered to take their own lives; there’s no reason Grima would have had to lay a hand on them.) In the Future Past, it’s… one, maybe one and half (Naga’s spirit, and Tiki, but only in body. More on this later.)

And it’s not as though Fire Emblem shies away from showing villains directly murdering people, Even in Awakening itself, the intro to Chapter 9 shows Aversa killing a Plegian soldier for delivering an unsatisfactory report, so it wouldn’t have been out of place to let Grima stab a few NPCs as a show of brutality. Especially seeing as Grima is the evil dragon final boss. As early as Mystery of the Emblem, we can see Medeus killing his cleric hostages to restore his own health if you fail to rescue them before trying to defeat him, and as recently as Engage, we get a whole cutscene of Sombron eating Hyacinth. Fantasy violence my beloved <3

Anyway, the point is, Grima could have been written to be much more violent and I don’t think anyone would have complained. Instead, though, Grima repeatedly— and consistently across the series— tries to avoid engaging in direct combat.

Let’s start with what Grima does in the main game of Awakening. We know that Risen pursue Lucina into the past, because we see them fall out of the portal with her in Chapter 1. We also know that those Risen, as well as the others that are appearing throughout the land, are not being directly controlled by Grima, because later in Chapter 13, as the Shepherds are leaving Plegia after meeting with Validar, Aversa, and the Hierophant, they are pursued by more skilled Risen, and Frederick notes that “Either they are learning our ways, or someone is commanding them…” So… It seems that sending the Risen—with or without specific orders—to attack while Grima is not themself present is a favored tactic.

But what about when Grima is present? Take a look at the Endgame: Grima chapter. Yes, you eventually get to engage Grima in direct combat. But not immediately. What Grima does first is…

Grima attacks the Shepherds with dark spikes from a distance, reducing everyone’s hp to 1. Now, here’s what happens next: Grima attempts to possess their past self, Robin hears the voices of their friends and breaks free, Naga heals everyone back to full health, and then the fight against Grima begins… Except actually, the Shepherds have to get to Grima first, because they’re at the top of the map and they’re not budging. Naga warns them that “Grima’s servants will beset [them] to no end.” and she’s not kidding. Grimleal reinforcements will spawn infinitely, and they can hit pretty hard. Even with everyone starting at full health, it’s possible to lose units to these Grimleal soldiers if Grima isn’t defeated quickly. Can you imagine what would happen if Naga hadn’t healed the Shepherds first?

Well, I’d guess that they’d probably all die to the Grimleal without Grima having to face them up close. Which was probably what Grima was going for.

This isn’t the only time Grima tries the dark spikes trick, either. Grima attempts this exact same move in the Future Past 3 when they face Lucina, Severa, Laurent, and Gerome.

Grima announces “With the next blow, I will kill you.” and then demands that they hand over the Fire Emblem as well as the gemstone they hold. The threat is very real. But…

Given that at 1hp, a gust of wind could take the kids out, would it not have been easier and faster to kill them and just loot their bodies immediately? And yet Grima lets the kids have an extended discussion about sacrifice, and even suggests that Lucina would indeed buy a little more time by running… Again, I cannot stress enough that Grima should be able to finish them off in one hit at this point.

So the plan was almost certainly to back off and let the Risen do the actual killing, even though that would be a lot less efficient under the circumstances. And when Chrom and the Shepherds arrive, Grima immediately turns their attention to them, saying “If it’s a reunion you seek, my soldiers shall welcome you on my behalf.” Then they once again pick a spot at the back of the map and refuse to move from it, forcing the Shepherds to fight through the Risen in order to engage Grima in combat at all.

And sure, Grima has some excuses. “I was hoping not to have to flex any muscle,” they say right before the dark spikes attack, as if to justify why they didn’t do it sooner. And of course they taunt Lucina over having to choose to whether to run as her friends sacrifice themselves for her or to stay and fight and die with them. “I must say I shall enjoy this either way!” Yes, Grima, we get it, you’ve made it very clear that you’re an arrogant asshole.

But is arrogance really all there is to it? If we look at what Tiki tells Grima in the good ending of the Future Past, it looks as though Grima’s arrogance has brought their own downfall. “If you had left Mount Prism alone, Grima, you might have stood a chance. Instead, you have brought the Awakening right to your feet.” However, when you think about it… Is Tiki’s continued existence not in itself a result of Grima’s repeated pattern of not really wanting to land a finishing blow? The game states that Grima did in fact kill Tiki… but only in body, not in spirit. This is, according to Tiki, because Robin intervened.

Now, the question I have is… Is it really possible that Robin could have intervened both against Grima’s will and without them having any idea? Honestly, it’s hard to tell exactly how aware Grima is of Robin’s resistance, because they lie about it a lot, e.g. stating that Robin’s spirit perished in sending Chrom back to his own world, even though just moments later, Robin is once again overpowering them. So, keeping in mind that Grima is a liar, was Grima really arrogant to leave Tiki’s body in Ylisstol, and to not make sure that her spirit was fully destroyed? Or was Robin simply able to capitalize on Grima’s propensity towards backing off?

Because surely the only way Grima could be unaware that Robin had acted against them is if Robin hadn’t actually acted against them. I don’t think I believe that Grima really wanted Tiki gone. Naga, sure—longtime nemesis and all. But if Grima had truly cared about seeing Tiki’s existence destroyed… Well, I doubt Robin could have interfered that much.

But maybe it could still be a matter of arrogance. Maybe Grima just didn’t think Tiki’s spirit could do anything with Naga’s spirit gone, and thus didn't care to pay attention to her anymore once she seemed dead enough.

If that’s true, it doesn’t explain why Shadows of Valentia Grima exhibits the exact same habits when fighting Alm and Celica, despite never having been outside of the Thabes Labyrinth at this point in their life. As opposed to the various Terrors throughout the rest of the Labyrinth, which chase Alm (or Celica) down in the overworld to force a fight, Grima is immobile in their room, and will wait patiently there indefinitely until the player chooses to engage. You can even evacuate from the dungeon.

But if you do choose to fight Grima, it proceeds much like the battles against them in Awakening go. The main difference is that they actually will move from their starting position this time, if you position someone in their range. That still requires a fight against (proto-)Risen who are spawning in from the sides to stop your party’s advance.

So… Now it’s starting to look like Grima actively prefers this one particular trick… And it’s a fundamentally defensive maneuver, which makes perfect sense from SoV Grima’s standpoint (they were attacked out of nowhere, after all), but is not really an obvious standout strategy for Awakening Grima, whose taunts and threats suggest an aggression that would be better supported with a more offensive strategy… Consider, too, that Awakening Grima is in fact being even more defensive than their SoV iteration, since they don’t move towards you at all.

With all that in mind, it really, really looks like Grima doesn’t want to fight, especially in Awakening. Not that they don’t intend for the Shepherds to die—on the contrary, they’ve set everything up so that the Shepherds will eventually be overwhelmed—but that they don’t want to land the killing blow.

(And gee, I wonder what might be fueling their reluctance? Being controlled and made to kill your best friend by your own hand wouldn't be totally traumatic or anything, right?)

And then... Funny thing here, I’ve been procrastinating writing this essay for a long time. I originally started thinking about it shortly before the Depths of Despair banner was released in FEH, so imagine my surprise when I saw this characterization hold up in the writing of Fell Exalt Chrom’s Forging Bonds as well… The Grima there says that Chrom was the one to kill the rest of the Shepherds. Now, it’s pretty clear that it was through Grima controlling him, but that’s not the point. The point is that once again, Grima didn't have to do any direct killing.

Look, if it had only ever happened once, I could buy that maybe Grima was just underestimating their opponents, that maybe they thought they could get away without having to put very much work in. But for Grima to operate this way so many times, so consistently, and to their own detriment? No...

Grima doesn’t like direct combat. Grima has trouble even when it’s a fight they asked for.

And when you think about it, that makes their reaction to Robin choosing to land the final blow themself in the sacrifice ending all the more understandable.

“…YOU WOULD… NOT DARE!”

Because Grima would not dare. Grima has always preferred to let someone else land the final blow.

#grima #fire emblem awakening #fe13 #grima studies #honestly realizing that main game grima doesn't kill anyone kind of shook me #future past grima only has naga and tiki... neither of which we get to see on screen so tbh grima might have weaseled out of them too #expiration has 5 range after all. naga could have just taken some dragon breath to the face from afar. we truly have no idea what grima did #to my knowledge the only time we see grima actually try to KILL kill (not dark spikes 1hp em) is... rearmed grima in the forging bonds stor #not her specific forging bonds but the general overarching one for that banner #which i have major problems with for other reasons anyway #and which might be retconned by feh itself bc thrasir said arcane weapons should be avoided at all costs yet... so many rearmed heroes now #so i don't feel too bad ignoring that one #but yeah like... writing this essay made me feel for grima even more #um... you know that one quote that the robin who's part of the day of devotion duo with chrom has... #“Having someone to express your love to is an amazing thing. There IS more to life than constant battle!” #yeah. i think about that quote and i think about grima's defensive fighting style and i. feel things. #to exist always on the defensive... #such an exhausting life they lead

[imminent-danger-came]

hi not exactly an ask i just wanted to talk about how much i absolutely love the hero and the warrior motif and how it relate to sun wukong-macaque-mei-mk because the hero and the warrior are so clearly wukong and macaque respectively but mei and mk bleed onto both the hero and the warrior like the story sets mk up as the hero and mei as the warrior but it also hints that mk is the warrior and mei is the hero. sun wukong and mk are alike and so are mei and macaque but mei and sun wukong are also alike and same with mk and macaque yet despite this mei and mk are so distinctly them at the same time they're not wukong and macaque they're mei and mk, they're themselves but they also parallel and echo wukong and macaque it's just aaaa i love it so much i really do i think about mk wanting to get stronger in the earlier seasons but then not wanting anything to change in the more recent seasons i think about wukong saying he's training to be more powerful for macaque and their wish and then i think about mei saying she'll do anything to protect her friends it makes me feel sick but in a good way??? i can talk about the 4 of them for ages they make me ill

God I know!

This is the lmk writers with all of us I think:

If we had a Mei hero and MK warrior moment in s5 I don't think I could ask for much else.

#nice quality overview of iris quartet #I spent up my hero and warrior motif meta writing on the last ask but know that I feel you. I am also ill #if we get Samadhi fire part 3 next season(s?). We will have it ALL #And also the SWK V MK fight because. *gestures at that lining up with learning about SWK V Macaque and how Macaque died* #''I feel sick but in a good way???'' should be put on my gravestone probably #Like Mei's ''If you aren't giving everything you have to protect the people you care about you are nothing!'' #''I just wanted to protect the people I care about. I lost sight of my original intention.'' #Like yes! I am crying harder! #I am feeling sick but in a good way! #asks #lmk #lego monkie kid #iris quartet #hero mei warrior mk

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

just got to the stupid zaharas chapter and went through dimi and claude's conversation and my god

they really did not use a single quarter of a brain cell when putting that conversation into ag

"your issue is with the church, not with faerghus?" eh wot hootie tootie claude never had a problem with faerghus and hasn't been acting like it. makes it sound like they've been fighting each other (i.e. this is meant to fit gw but and they just copy/pasted the whole conversation bc it just makes no sense).

"we have nothing to gain by fighting you." yeah, you... haven't been and never said you were planning to.

"we could've been friends." and whhhhyyyy can't you? there is an entire zero bad blood between y'all and lorenz has already pretty much said this whole second half of the war thing has been proof of the friendship between the kingdom and alliance soooo...?

"had i joined with you" uh um but you literally did this has been ongoing for half the war now

additional funnies are claude just being so butthurt that dimitri is like this might endanger your life and claude is like aw shucks my life has been endangered since i was born i'm basically an endangered species!

also, dimitri saying it brings guilt to do the things claude would do bc he's been there. lel. claude had no guilt in gw tho (for killing rhea and all that shit).

but fr tho, it just seems like gw claude and dimi got warped into zaharas and the ag ones are just passed out in the normal world having the same yeehaw ass fever dream LIKE

this entire conversation legitimately makes worse than zero sense. i can only imagine how confused people were who played ag first and got this conversation bc it like, legitimately has no place in this route. this is like a fever dream on steroids that were laced with drugs.

i was lucky i was playing ag while simultaneously watching the other routes on youtube or i would have also been absolutely bonkers confused.

#DCB Three Hopes Run #FR THO LIKE. THAT ENTIRE CONV IS LIKE. WHAT JUST HAPPENED??? #WHERE DID THIS ALL EVEN COME FROM??? MATTHIAS IS ALIVE YOU KNOW #CLAUDE GOT TO SEE FAERGHUS' LEGENDARY HOSPITALITY (he fucked the king) #at this point like. im just laughing bc. did they even NOTICE the context they copy/pasted into this route??? #even if ag claude post war still wanted to fight rhea and yadda yadda hoo haa #half the conv still makes absolutely no sense at all and doesn't even follow the route #ag is aaaaallllmmmmoooost perfect but then like. the oversights are so bad lmfao #i still look at this and am like. how. no like literally HOW. how did they look at this and not be like #hmmm this makes... so much of no sense to this route that we should prob make a new conv for it #WAIT I GET IT NOW THIS IS WHY RODRIGUE DIES #HE SAW THE FUTURE AND WAS LIKE OHHHH HELL NAH #RODRIGUE SAW THE ZAHARAS CHAPTER AND IT KILLED HIM. BUT! IT WAS A DOUBLE KILL! RODRIGUE DEFEATED THE ZAHARAS CHAPTER! #HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF SO AG WOULDN'T HAVE THE BIGGEST MOMENT OF WTF IN FODLAN GAME HISTORY EVEN INCLUDING HEROES #RODRIGUE SAVED US ALL. HE COULDN'T BEAR TO LET US WITNESS IT #THAT'S WHY IF HE SURVIVES WE GET THE CHAPTER!!! BC HE DIDN'T REALIZE IT WOULD HAPPEN SO HE DIDN'T KILL IT! #AND SINCE HE DIDN'T KILL IT IT DIDN'T KILL HIM BACK. IT'S LIKE THE BARRIER THINGY IN RD'S FINAL CHAPTER #THAT PROTECTS ASHERA. IT DOES HALF THE DAMAGE TO YOU THAT YOU DO TO IT #SO IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL IT CAN ACTUALLY KILL YOU. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO RODRIGUE #BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT HE KNEW HE'D DIE BUT HE HAD TO DO IT TO EM #HE HAD TO DO IT TO SPARE EVERYONE THE WONKIEST FEVER DREAM KNOWN TO MAN AND DRAGONKIND

[stupid-sloot-headcanons]

Okay so apparently now in bhna because the city is now realizing the government can't support the level of crime so civilians are getting gear to defend themselves without heroes to do it for them. And like maybe if I was Japanese I would be scared but as an American, getting weapons to defend yourself when the government fails to work is literally the second amendment like there heroes in show quitting over this and man this means Japanese heroes don't know what the heck bhna america must be like

Tbh the average American would have probably gotten their own weapons and gear illegally and just went "it's about goddamn time yall realized you were useless" but I realize I am not the average American. I AM Texan though so the point still stands lol

Like in a more realistic BNHA-America, Vigilantes would be way more liked than Pro Heroes because of the strong distrust we already have of cops and the government, and little cultural precedent to respect them and quietly protest. We're loud, we blow shit up, and guerilla warfare and vigilantism is hard coded into our Bill of Rights AND DNA.

99% of the Pros in BNHA are kinda bitchmade from where I'm sitting. And where I'm sitting is on top of a trailer with a bulletproof vest, a few guns I got off the street with ease, and my grandma's custom "Custer Had it Coming" t shirt while I shoot anyone I don't know that takes a single step onto my property. It's chaotic and violent, but it gets shit done when you realize the cops aren't even legally obligated to help you 🤷‍♀️

#'nuuuu we should be protecting them why are we letting civiluans arm themselves' #BITCH theyve been societally conditioned to be helpless and rely on Big Onii-san for help. now that the illusion is gone #and its proven you guys cant do effective peacekeeping when shit hits the streets #the streets are gonna have to protect themselves #you go off and fight some mutants protesting in a violent manner and not singing kumbaya or smth idk #go get ganked by All for One while he infodumps about his favorite comic books #or help support Deku as he talk-no-jutsus on Steven Universe levels #.bnha #sloot bitches about things #i couldnt date or be friends with most Pro Heroes irl

[orcelito]

Been finishing up act 2 of bg3. It's a good thing I find the battle systems so fun bc Hoo Boy there sure do be battles

#speculation nation #im going the epic hero direction this run. mostly bc i care about saving innocents' lives as much as possible #which means Killing Necromancers...... ugh. #cloudkill my beloathed. me n my homies hate cloudkill (used against us at least) #i got my vampire kicked into a fucking CHASM i had to reload a save 😭😭😭 #he's been phenomenally unuseful in these fights bc theres so many people and so few places to hide #usually hes one of my biggest damage dealers. and sometimes he can get a good shot in #but a lot of turns hes just firing one dinky lil arrow and then hiding in the corner #...... i keep forgetting about the fancy arrows. i have so many of those. i should try to remember them when i get to the Big battle. #which. hmmm. we r gonna hope it's not Too difficult a battle. ive been able to get thru every battle so far in this game #turns out im Pretty Damn Good at this game. to the point where i'll brute force it and still end up fine. #the literal only battle i had to leave and go back for was the big spider queen thing in the bottom of the well. she was scary. #im level 9 now tho and full of so much guts n grit. and loot. holy fucking shit the loot. #im looting every body (including fallen allies. sorry guys ur gold's goin to a good cause.) #i have karlach with a like 460 carrying capacity but she STILL keeps getting encumbered. from all the armor. #im making fucking Thousands off this tower capture im gonna have so much fucking money #once i leave here and can actually. sell them all 😂 #anyways i have been having fun! had to stop for the night bc it's late. but i will be killing thorny ass tomorrow. mark my words.

[musical-chick-13]

*puts my head in my hands* The reason that so many of us say, "I don't trust people who say that all men are evil no exceptions you should never interact with any of them for any reason" ISN'T because we are coddling abusive men, it's because we a) don't want to get into bioessentialism territory, and b) are WELL aware of your history of using this rhetoric to blame women who are abused by men because "Well men are horrible, what did she expect, she brought this on herself."

#tw: abuse mention #'feminism focuses too much on men!! we forget about the women!!!' I mean. in some cases yeah probably but that is NOT what is #happening here when I express my distrust of this phenomenon. #like...no I don't think we should have to clarify every discussion of misogyny with 'not all men' and I am WELL aware that when most women #go 'ugh men' they are complaining about the patriarchal system in place and do not LITERALLY mean Every Single Man #and at the SAME TIME: saying that men are inherently [x] & that 'can't be helped' and women are inherently [x] & can do no wrong #is. bad. you get why saying that men are inherently violent and [insert bad quality here] doesn't ACTUALLY fight misogyny right #you get why telling people 'this is NOT based on a systemic issue or cultural factors that can change over time and is just an Unfortunate #Part of being born as [assigned gender] that no one can help' doesn't. bode well for your cause right. RIGHT. #'welp ALL men are like this it's just The Way Things Are!' congratulations you've horseshoed back around to the very argument #people use to absolve abusive men of violence against women. look at you. real feminist hero there. #ugh let's hope THIS post doesn't get picked up by the t---fs #actually I'm going to make this non-rebloggable #lmao watch me get labelled as 'not caring about women' on The Women Blog #watch me get called a straight person when the primary thing I do is talk about how attracted to women I am a;sdkfja;lsfjksdfl

[musclesandhammering]

Ok I get that the Chaos/Order thing is a big theme this season, but I stg if they try to make Loki embody order while sylvie embodies chaos… I’m breaking up with marvel for real this time 😒.

#he is the GOD of CHAOS #HIM. he was there FIRST. He should get the payoff. NOT HER. #she’s already gotten to wear the iconic AoA horns when he didn’t get to #and she got to wear actual asgardian armour when he didn’t get to #and she gets to have cooler magic and fighting scenes than him #I sweeear if they give her the Chaos monicker and turn Loki into some boring ass cookie cutter neutral good archetype #that will literally ruin the character for me #because chaos is Loki’s WHOLE THING #like if you listen to any Twitter geek any YouTube reactor any irl marvel fan #every single one of them will tell you the reason they love him and the reason he has staying powers #is because you never know which side he’s on #and I feel like the writers just… don’t really get that #we don’t want him to be a hero. we don’t want him to be Order. #we want him to heal from his trauma and be a chaotic neutral with a little less pent up rage is what we want #and tbh I still think he deserves one last turn as a villain #it can fit with his character growth #it doesn’t have to be as selfish as it once was. #I can totally see in like Kang Dynasty or Secret Wars or smth.. it ends up being like #a choice between his new friends at the TVA and like a bunch of lives or smth #and he’s a villain again because he chooses his newfound family over what’s right #or smth like that idk. I just wanna see villain loki one more time #antisylki #anti sylvie #loki meta #tag meta #loki series

[twpsyn-who]

I saw a few people mentioning the possibility of Eddie choosing to distract the bats knowing that he wouldn't make it and while I'm not saying that's true (I haven't watched the show, remember? I don't know what's going on most of the time) it does kinda make sense thinking of his character. Eddie knew that just because Vecna got defeated it didn't mean people would stop accusing him of murder. And even if they found a good cover story for him, some people will still think it was him. It would never be the same. The guy took the easy way out and painted himself as a hero in the eyes of the people he cared about. A win-win situation, right?

With that information in mind, I want you guys to remember the little moment between Dustin and Eddie- more specifically when Eddie said "I didn't run this time, right?". Following the show, yeah he didn't. He has run back then when Chrissy got cursed and then when Patrick also got cursed, but he didn't this time. BUT, if we assume that Eddie knew he wouldn't make it... we assume that it was Eddie's plan all along to die in the Upside Down...

He actually did run this time. He run away from what was going to follow. That no longer was an ask for validation of his development, it was Eddie trying to lie to Dustin and himself. He was trying to convince himself he didn't run this time. That he actually was courageous and protected Dustin from the demonbats.

But deep down he knew he has run, just like always. Because that's what he's good at, running away from problems. He died knowing that Dustin's words were a lie- that he really was no hero, only a coward.

He died for nothing. He died because he was afraid.

#Moving on is recognizing that Eddie's death was lowkey insignificant yet he made it impactful #anyway I just found the concept very sad and as such very beautiful #lowkey love this more than the canon #just thinking about Eddie saying 'look at us we are no hero' and actually being right because he was not #yes he might have actually made a difference but it wasn't because he actually wanted that. it was because that was what it took for him to #die #actually I think that's when Eddie got the idea. while Steve told them to not be cute or smth like that I can't remember the whole quote #like he didn't straight up said I'm gonna die but the idea came to him #like if he could maybe find a way to be a hero... and maybe maybe die in the process... without putting Dustin in any danger... #anyway what I'm saying is in the context of Eddie actually wishing to die during that whole bait operation #I'm not saying that's what happened but is an angle that I'm really enjoying so far #my angsty heart is all for sigly suicidal Eddie with no reason to live even though he had people like Dustin and uncle Wayne to fight for #stranger things #stranger things eddie #stranger things eddie munson #eddie munson #should I tag this as a theory??? #idk man #tw suicidal thoughts #just to be sure #as that's the whole subject of this post man #incorrect quotes #in like actually incorrect cuz I'm not sure what I said is right and I'm on my way to work rn and too lazy to look it up and make sure is #right #but I watched enough Steddie edits on TikTok to be 85% confident they are ok

[musicalchaos07]

Thinking about how every "romantic" action Nancy performs for Steve in s4 can be viewed as maternal and what that's trying to say about St*ncy

#like she bandages him up and pulled cobwebs out of his hair #saves his dumb ass and then says his dreams are nice #idk maybe I'm overthinking but I think they're trying to say something #like maybe she's the mother in the winnebago scenario because that's what Steve envisions a mother should be #Which is still very fucking gross because Nancy has agency #Also I think it's interesting that everything from Steve's end is stereotypical male action hero bullshit #like he's saving her from the earthquakes and vecna #I don't know I just feel like st*ncy is giving stereotypical 80s media romance and we know they're going to subvert it #I think another interesting point is contrasting the physical side of st*ncy with the casual intimacy of Jancy in s3 ? #like Jancy in the hospital fight are working as a team who also happen to be in love and you can tell it's not forced? #How much of that is Natarlie is hard to say #But if like if you put the steve is cradling Nancy side by side with the are you ok hospital scene you could tell the differences #to further that point there's a general lack of talking in the st*ncy relationship which is extremely telling #Like Jancy communicates they make plans together and when they're not communicating they have *shared looks* #meanwhile Steve is shooting down Nancy's ideas left and right and Nancy barely fucking gets a voice #and it's so interesting that the most we see Nancy talk about the St*ncy of it all is yelling at Robin who accused her of being unhappy #And then immediately saying that she's unhappy because Jonathan isn't there and she doesn't know what's wrong with him #Like respectfully in a way that matters i.e. emotionally Steve isn't on Nancy's radar at all #get in losers it's shitty on st*ncy hours #stranger things #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #anti stancy #Jancy #I am tagging them because they're in the tags

[gwarden123]

Bomb! Them! How many times and ways do I have to say it? Don’t shoot at them. Don’t lead them into your base. Don’t talk to them. Just bomb them! Lay mines along their path! Bring the rocks down on their heads! Gas them with grenades until they can’t breathe! Then take their armour, take their ship (I just remembered. They don’t have a ship. How were they supposed to get back?) and kill their people when they invite you inside.

#star wars #the mandalorian #writing. problems. #what happens to your heroes is always going to be what you as a writer decide #but you still have to hide those seams and joints so your audience isn't thinking about that when they watch your story #part of writing a fight scene is creating tension #you create tension by having your *audience* be aware of all the ways things could go wrong for your heroes #and then you as a writer come up with a suitably clever way for your heroes to navigate those troubles #the problem with having your villain *talking* instead of *killing* is that you're creating a too easy loophole for your characters #if your villain isn't taking things seriously why should *we* take them seriously? #why should we take your *characters* seriously since their plight is such a flimsy one? #there are better ways to construct the whole scenario that serve your characters better #why not make Moff Gideon foolish because he wants to humiliate the guy in the tin can who humiliated him? #then he could act rashly because he wants to punish Din. put the other mandos in genuine peril but give them a tiny crack #something through which they can nab victory if they're cunning enough #don't put your hero in the convenient briefing room from which he'll escape if you can take his helmet off and murder him!

[jankwritten]

the story doesn't start with the beginning or the end, the story starts with the moments that spark it. the story starts with that idea you had that made you want to sit down and write, the story starts with the moment the characters have that branches out and out, blooms into so many different choices and paths and conversations. it's okay if you don't know how to begin or how to end or even if you don't know what the story wants. just write the moments. follow them and see where they lead.

#this post brought to you by: my fucking writing process #i always try to force myself to write the beginning like i 'should' but then i get BORED and i wanna write the FUN STUFF #so write the fucking fun stuff!!!! #write the moments!!!!! #write when the two protag's eyes catch across the room #write the moment when the main character massively fucks up his entire project and ruins months of work! #write the moment where the hero and the villain run up against one another and in the ensuing fight we learn that they loved one another #like write the shit that makes the story INTERESTING!!! #i PROMISE it will lead you to the plot it will lead you to all the points you need SO Much better #you don't have to start where the story starts. you can start wherever the FUCK you want and then decide later what to do #i always start writing where the conlflict begins #and then if backstory is needed or if there's something that should come first i can make it come first #i can start with nico meeting the weird pale blonde boy and taking him into the woods and then i can go back and add the context #write the moments god dammit #ALSO ALSO ALSO if this advice isn't for you then fuck it!!! this is my advice that i took and it works for me and if it doesn't work for u #then that's totally chill and cool and sexy! now you know one more thing that doesn't work and you're closer to finding the thing that does #it's 3 am so i don't know how coherent this will seem in the morning but By The Gods does it feel so important rn #maybe this is more just a note for myself. write the fucking moments grey.

[fursasaida]

This article is from 2022, but it came up in the context of Palestine:

Here are some striking passages, relevant to all colonial aftermaths but certainly also to the forms we see Zionist reaction taking at the moment:

Over the decade I lived in South Africa, I became fascinated by this white minority [i.e. the whole white population post-apartheid as a minority in the country], particularly its members who considered themselves progressive. They reminded me of my liberal peers in America, who had an apparently self-assured enthusiasm about the coming of a so-called majority-minority nation. As with white South Africans who had celebrated the end of apartheid, their enthusiasm often belied, just beneath the surface, a striking degree of fear, bewilderment, disillusionment, and dread.

[...]

Yet these progressives’ response to the end of apartheid was ambivalent. Contemplating South Africa after apartheid, an Economist correspondent observed that “the lives of many whites exude sadness.” The phenomenon perplexed him. In so many ways, white life remained more or less untouched, or had even improved. Despite apartheid’s horrors—and the regime’s violence against those who worked to dismantle it—the ANC encouraged an attitude of forgiveness. It left statues of Afrikaner heroes standing and helped institute the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which granted amnesty to some perpetrators of apartheid-era political crimes.

But as time wore on, even wealthy white South Africans began to radiate a degree of fear and frustration that did not match any simple economic analysis of their situation. A startling number of formerly anti-apartheid white people began to voice bitter criticisms of post-apartheid society. An Afrikaner poet who did prison time under apartheid for aiding the Black-liberation cause wrote an essay denouncing the new Black-led country as “a sewer of betrayed expectations and thievery, fear and unbridled greed.”

What accounted for this disillusionment? Many white South Africans told me that Black forgiveness felt like a slap on the face. By not acting toward you as you acted toward us, we’re showing you up, white South Africans seemed to hear. You’ll owe us a debt of gratitude forever.

The article goes on to discuss:

"Mau Mau anxiety," or the fear among whites of violent repercussions, and how this shows up in reported vs confirmed crime stats - possibly to the point of false memories of home invasion

A sense of irrelevance and alienation among this white population, leading to another anxiety: "do we still belong here?"

The sublimation of this anxiety into self-identification as a marginalized minority group, featuring such incredible statements as "I wanted to fight for Afrikaners, but I came to think of myself as a ‘liberal internationalist,’ not a white racist...I found such inspiration from the struggles of the Catalonians and the Basques. Even Tibet" and "[Martin Luther] King [Jr.] also fought for a people without much political representation … That’s why I consider him one of my most important forebears and heroes,” from a self-declared liberal environmentalist who also thinks Afrikaaners should take back government control because they are "naturally good" at governance

Some discussion of the dynamics underlying these reactions, particularly the fact that "admitting past sins seem[ed] to become harder even as they receded into history," and US parallels

And finally, in closing:

The Afrikaner journalist Rian Malan, who opposed apartheid, has written that, by most measures, its aftermath went better than almost any white person could have imagined. But, as with most white progressives, his experience of post-1994 South Africa has been complicated. [...]

He just couldn’t forgive Black people for forgiving him. Paradoxically, being left undisturbed served as an ever-present reminder of his guilt, of how wrongly he had treated his maid and other Black people under apartheid. “The Bible was right about a thing or two,” he wrote. “It is infinitely worse to receive than to give, especially if … the gift is mercy.”

#south africa #apartheid #colonialism #palestine

[absolutely-esme]

Amity Park is different

Amity Park has a local superhero.

He's great. He works hard to protect his town. That said, Amity's local hero is a teenager. The people he relies on to help and support him are teenagers. The town's superhero defense is a handful of kids figuring things out on their own.

They do good, but sometimes the people of Amity have to be prepared to lend a hand or hold their own for a bit. That's just how life is under these conditions. Communities come together and support each other. It's fine. People adapt. Life goes on. They're really doing quite well.

A class from Amity Park visits a museum in Gotham on a field trip. They get caught in an unfortunately timed Scarecrow attack.

Scarecrow should have known better than to activate the fight or flight responses of a group of Amity Parkers.

The gas canister drops and discharges. The field trip group explodes into action.

A pair of Football players quickly overturns a table and use it as a shield as they charge the goons with the most firepower. Cheerleaders toss each other into the air for aerial attacks. Nerds turn objects from a nearby Janitor closet into a surprisingly effective trebuchet with astounding speed. One girl utilizes impressive martial arts skills.

A boy with Black hair and blue eyes flits about the battlefield pilfering and disassembling weapons with a shocking degree of efficiency as a Goth girl follows him around and bludgeon anyone who attempts to make a grab for him with a stand that had been holding up a rope barrier, and a boy in a beret lays down cover fire by launching pencils out of a makeshift bow formed from a binder and rubber bands with a startling degree of accuracy.

The teacher flits around pulling kids out of the path of attacks they hadn't seen, stowing any injured behind cover, and giving foes solid thwack on the noggin when the opportunity arises. He actually ends up knocking out Scarecrow himself.

The statement "We're not trapped in here with you. You're trapped in here with us," is repeated several times by different people.

When the Bats or police arrive, they have to carefully pull the feildtrip group off of the unfortunate rogues.

It takes a while to get the antidotes administered, but they do eventually manage. The class remains in defensive formation the whole time.

When the kids finally calm down enough to give statements, they mostly just say that Scarecrow gets what he gets for deliberately activating Amity Parkers' fight or flight responses. After the antidotes take effect, the class seems unfazed and goes about their business as soon as the authorities allow.

Some other visitors to the museum upload videos of the event online with titles like "the one class that was prepared for a field trip to Gotham" and "What kind of place is Amity Park, and why haven't I heard of it before?"

It doesn't take long for people to edit the videos to set the fight to music. Popular song choices include Ballroom Blitz, Bring 'em Out by Hawk Nelson, and the "we like to party" song from the six flags commercial.

Now the Bats are investigating Amity Park (and why they haven't heard of it before).

#dpxdc #dcxdp #Amity Parkers are OP #Amity Parkers are like that #Casper High has gone Feral #The goons are gonna have nightmares about a town where all kids are like Robin

[gorillawithautism]

i don't really know how to even articulate how painful it is to look at photos like these

(settlers celebrating purim in occupied west bank with police and soldiers. several of them dressed as a man who killed 29 palestinians three decades ago. they idolize this figure as a hero of their genocidal movement)

for anyone unaware, purim is a jewish holiday commemorating a time when we escaped imminent genocide by fighting back against our oppressors. violent resistance was involved. violent resistance was successful. purim is a holiday that celebrates freedom, resistance, and liberation.

tradition around purim often involves dressing up in costume. when i was little, the girls all wanted to be esther. the boys would be mordechai. purim is fun. fond memories of babies in little animal onesies. of making and eating hamentaschen. of booing hamans name and laughing together.

when i see these genocidal zionists dressing up and drinking and having fun like this it reminds me of the ways i've celebrated purim in the past. and it makes me so extremely angry. what right do you have to celebrate jewish resistance and liberation? what right do you have to parade your weapons around and walk on stolen palestinian land and celebrate?

zionists fancy themselves esther but they are no less than haman himself. groggers should be used to curse their names.

while gazan hospitals are being bombed and raided they celebrate with my customs and my holidays. and it makes me so angry

#swingset

[satoshy12]

Amity Parker Don't understand other Hero cities.

And started a massive pilgrimage to Amity Park.

It all started when a few people from Amity Park went on a field trip to other hero cities and got very confused pretty fast. - What do you mean people die here so often in hero fights? - What do you mean by buildings getting destroyed and not fixed? (blob Ghost do that all the time, they seem to love it!) Are your hero not doing their job!!!?

At first, the people of Gotham, Metropolis, Coast City, Bludhaven, or Dakoto City were pissed, but after the people of Amity Park just said they should stay a few weeks in their city, they would notice it. After one week in the new city,  most people moved out of their city to Amity Park. While this city had once a week has a world-ending threat, that threat seems to just have fun with the child hero in a fight. And those people helped them. The Victims of Scarecrow actually got help from the Master of Fear Fright Knight, who fixed their minds.

Number 1 rule in Amity Park - Don't feed the tiny cryptid Fenton after 10 p.m.; the last time we had winter in the summer was because of that. - Yes, they are fangs, and they are real. Don't try to let yourself be bitten. When he slept, the last one almost lost their hand. + The other Hero in their cities didn't take long to notice it, that they have significantly fewer people living in their cities. Like most of their cities, they lost 30–50% of their civilians! And no one seems to want to tell them where they are, as more civilians are leaving!

#dp #dc #dc comics #dp x dc #dc x dp #danny fenton #dp + dc #dcau #danny phantom #batman #Amity Park #outside pov #amity park is weird #amity park is safest place on earth #justce league #Gotham #metropolis #Coast City #bludhaven #Dakota City #Blob Ghost #- What do you mean people die here so often in hero fights? #- What do you mean by buildings getting destroyed and not fixed? (blob Ghost do that all the time they seem to love fixing stuff) #- Don't feed the tiny cryptid Fenton after 10 p.m.; the last time we had winter in the summer was because of that. #Heroes around the world #Where are our civilians all gone?? #Fright knight #Scarecrow Victims

[syn0vial]

Astarion Voicelines: Healing/Helping/Buffing (Now updated for Patch 1.3)

A compilation of Astarion's voicelines when he's healing a character with a spell, using the "help" action to free them from an immobilized position, or casting a buffing spell.

Voice lines added between patches 1.1 and 1.3 have been marked with bold text.

Healing (Negative Approval)

Of course you need help.

Waste of a spell.

There's always something.

A poor investment.

Don't bleed on me.

If I must.

Just don't bleed on me.

I should let it fester.

Do I have to touch them?

You're bleeding. Again.

Oh for Gods' sake.

I won't always save you.

Healing (Neutral Approval)

Stop bleeding - it's distracting.

We'll fix what we can.

Try not to die.

You're leaking.

Let's not die yet.

You owe me.

That's enough wasted blood.

There's life in you yet.

Let's fix what we can.

Healing. How novel.

Stop bleeding!

Fine, I'll save you.

Healing (Positive Approval)

A helping hand.

No more wasted blood.

We need you strong.

Let's play doctor.

We'll patch you up.

Let's not die yet.

You're wasting blood.

We need you strong.

It's not your time.

Let's fix that.

You're not dying.

Healing (Romantic Interest)

Let's fix you up.

Let's not waste any blood.

Let's lay on hands.

Let's play doctor.

No, no - that won't do.

The kiss of life.

Stay strong, darling.

You're not going down.

A little pick-me-up.

Healing touch.

Shhh, it's all right.

Helping (Negative Approval)

Of course you're stuck.

Of course they're trapped.

Let's get you loose.

Help the idiot.

Worse than useless.

Some don't deserve saving.

I should just leave you.

Oh no, is someone stuck?

You're a danger to yourself.

How have you survived this long?

I could just leave them...

I'll help. This time.

Can't they wriggle free?

So helpless...

Damned fool.

Give me patience.

Give me strength.

Oh no, they're stuck.

Helping (Neutral Approval)

Why am I not surprised?

Someone needs help.

What have you done now?

Yes yes, I'll save you.

Not that I'll get any thanks...

Must I?

Yes, fine.

Fine.

All right, I'm coming.

Yes, I'll free you.

Let's go already.

Your hero is here.

Do I have to do everything?

Yes, yes, I'm coming.

All right, I'm coming!

Fine, I'll free you.

Let's get you loose.

Oh for goodness' sake.

Because I've nothing better to do.

Get back in the fight.

I swear...

Helping (Positive Approval)

Ha! Oh I shouldn't laugh.

Help is here.

Relax, I've got you.

Come on, let's move.

I'll free you.

Your hero is coming.

All right, all right.

Let's get you up.

I'll get you loose.

Come on, move.

Easy, I'm here.

Hold on, I'm coming.

Helping (Romantic Interest)

A sticky situation.

Let's get you free.

I'm coming.

Really, darling?

Don't worry, I'm here.

Let's get you moving.

You look good helpless.

Maybe they like being restrained?

Don't worry, I'm here.

Let's get you moving.

You'll be free soon.

Oh I shouldn't laugh.

In a spot of bother, hmm?

Buffing (Negative Approval)

Try not to waste it.

Let's waste a spell - why not?

Do I have to do everything?

Useless.

Of course you need help.

Just try not to die.

What a waste.

Yes, fine.

Fine.

If I must.

Do I have to?

Buffing (Neutral Approval)

How did you last so long without me?

Do not waste this.

Don't worry, I'm here.

Someone needs help, I see.

Yes, all right.

A little help.

All right, here.

Don't waste this.

You clearly need some help.

Let's try to survive, hmm?

Stay strong!

Do not let me down.

Try not to die.

I swear, if you just die...

Fine, here!

Just try to survive, will you?

Buffing (Positive Approval)

Lucky I'm here.

Where would you be without me?

Here you go.

This should help.

Better safe than stiff.

A little boost.

A friend in need.

Someone needs a little help.

Just a moment.

Buffing (Romantic Interest)

I've got you.

Let's keep you safe.

Let's keep you cute.

Help is here.

Don't worry, I'm here.

For you, darling.

Just in case

Let's be safe.

Here, darling.

This should help.

No need to thank me.

#people seemed to enjoy the last voiceline compilation so here's another! #astarion #astarion voicelines #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 voicelines