#Ecosystem Heroes

[fanciedfacts]

Bats are not evil after all

We're wrong about bats🦇. They're not bloodthirsty monsters🧌 who won't convert you into vampires 🧛 They're productive for the ecosystem as power pollinators.

[little-pondhead]

The Curse Of Hope

_

Danny is in another universe. He had a reason, but he doesn’t remember anymore. He can only stare, horrified and disgusted, at the sickest city spirit he’s ever seen. Shivering and swaying with every step, core exposed, and ectoplasm leaking from wounds that are decades old. A ratty blanket was thrown over their shoulders, barely hiding the spirit’s pale grey skin and protruding black bones.

The spirit didn’t even sense him until he reached out to touch its wispy shoulders. The spirit flinched, clutching at the dozens of trinkets hanging from their neck and tucking in on themselves like they were expecting a blow.

“Oh, shit,” He swore, floating back a few feet, hands in the air, to show he meant no harm. “I’m sorry. I promise, I’m not here to steal from you.” The spirit shivered again and rolled a pearl necklace in between their fingers. A nervous habit. “Uh, I like that pocket watch? It’s very nice.”

That got their attention. They peeked at Danny, and he saw that more tattered cloth was covering their eyes, blending in with the stringy hair that reached the ground. Their blanket fluttered weakly, revealing hundreds of thousands of tiny marks etched into their skin. Scars, really. Scars that wrote out curse after curse onto the spirit’s very being. They burned with evil intent, and even reached inside the spirit’s body and wrapped around their core.

Occasionally, blinding specks of color raced across their body, temporarily erasing the writing, but it always returned quickly. He watched, a little detached, as one particular line rewrote itself across their rough forearm, drawing fresh ectoplasm like someone was writing it with a thin knife.

“Are you…alright?” Danny stuttered. A stupid question.

The spirit cocked its head. He couldn’t see their eyes, but he felt their burning gaze as they pondered the question.

“The pain of others becomes mine own.” They rasped. “The lights of the city dim as rotten wealth clogs mine veins. Magicks long forgotten have eaten mine skins, pulled mine cloak, and darkened mine skies. Helios has refused to grace mine doorstep, and the seasons of the Earth have revoked their kindness.”

Danny held his breath. It felt like he was the one with the exposed core, not the spirit.

The spirit shivered once more. “Tell mine soul, little lamb. How could this Forsaken City know peace, when it was long since ripped from mine hands?”

Shit, he needed Frostbite. And maybe Clockwork. Now.

-Or-

Danny meets the spirit of Gotham City. The villains and rogues that have plagued the city for decades are literal curses that are taking quite the toll on Gotham, and honestly, Danny isn’t sure how much longer they can hold out. The heroes seem to be doing some help, and are probably the reason Gotham made it this far, but the poor city needs help from the Realms if they want to get better.

Luckily, Danny can provide that help.

But only if he could get Gotham to leave their city behind. Because recovery is going to take a very long time.

[izvmimi]

your f/o is deep in your guts trying desperately not to nut, but you're so warm and wet and squishing against them just so and you sound so cute and perfect... anyway, what are they thinking of to stay focused?

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

I didn't really wanna talk ahead of the Dungeon Meshi anime but I had this thought bugging me as I was skimming the manga. So, spoilers for what's to come.

I don't think it's any coincidence that Laios' party, out of a cast of infinitely more capable people, makes it to the final floor of the Dungeon. Why? Cause they aren't heroes.

Look at Kabru, he's the poster boy for anime protagonists. He has a tragic backstory, a personal beef with the dungeon, skills trained by a master of the crafts, and a large party who seems genuinely friendly together. He has everything going for him to one day dive to the bottom and gain closure for his story but he just can't. He never will, because the dungeon does not work on his logic. It turns out that there is no plot armor against hearing a siren sing for the first time.

What about Mithrun then? Personally wronged by the Demon, he's the paradigm of vengeance. A tragic hero who will do anything it takes to get to his goal and probably die achieving it. He has a party full of dark history and interesting dynamics, really laden with moral greyness. Not Berserk but a step closer to it than Kabru's story. But he is, unfortunately, also a classic hero archetype, and although his skills are impressive they aren't fit for the ecosystem around him, singleminded vengeance will see you killed by changelings, the cold, or starvation.

Shuro, it's gotta be Shuro right? A man from a distant land but a familiar one to the primary readerbase. He goes back to train, hone his mind, collect a party, and save the love interest from a cruel fate. Perhaps he will learn there is no saving her, and tragically be forced to slay the monster she's become. His journey ends the second Faligon dies, so he has no chance, ever, of becoming the Dungeon Lord. There doesn't need to be any extra traps to deter him, he'll get what he wants at the fourth level and be gone, his desire simply isn't pointed that way.

Laios, on the other hand. None of his party are heroes, they're all here for selfish reasons and have absolutely zero illusions about heroics and greater goods. Laios is here to save Falin, he only wants his sister to be safe. And to eat and document monsters. Marcille is here for forbidden magic and Falin, and her two desires coincide with her resurrection. Chilchuck is here because he got paid up front and can't leave without rumors spreading. Senshi was always here and he just wants to live in peace with nature. None of them have heroic intent, broadly. But it also means they don't have heroic conceit either.

Laios' party will eat anything. They'll run from battle, take shortcuts. They treat monsters not as grand challenges to overcome but something to fight for their lives with. With their teeth if need be. There is no honor here there is only living. Honor gets you strangled by treasure bugs. Revenge will see you abandon your party to giant spiders for the mere shot at your target. Duty sees you skipping meals because your goal is so important. It is striking how different the dungeon is between Laios and the others. They all treat the dungeon as their personal hell to be striven against and conquered, only Laios sees it as an extension of the living world and understands his place in it. And I think that is so fucking cool, it's so multifaceted. Like, their exact skill set is perfect for getting through the dungeon because of how they all treat it. But also because the dungeon wants them there, because they have very personal, strong desires. Desires that shape their skills, and desires shaped by their skills in a kind of Ouroboros.

And it's an interesting question of how much of both factors into their progress in the story.

[grimstrawberry]

he uses paper plates

[kirk]

GUILTY 'TIL PROVEN INNOCENT

[nashvillethotchicken]

Yall ever think about the fact that miles spider sense didn't go off while he was in the wrong universe because seeing his uncle made him so comfortable he didn't recognize any danger?

[monsoon-of-art]

[vriska]

literally no one look at me tho i'm not over toga being reflected in ochako's eyes for the new cover...... or the fact the new op has bits of the togachako fight, i'm not ready but also i am so ready to suffer i need to hear ochako call toga the cutest girl in the world

[baura-bear]

Thinking about the other day while I was caving and this one asshole kept scampering about like gollem.

[sommerregenjuniluft]

there’s a drunk old prick on my train and guess who’s saving the day again? IT’S A GROUP OF LESBIANS

[batsplat]

By that time Marcos Hirsch, Jorge's physical trainer, had also become an important figure in the young racer's life and they built up a particularly strong professional and personal relationship. Together, Dani and Marcos formed Jorge's strongest pillars of support during the worst of the conflict, but there had been happier times in the gym for both Lorenzos with Marcos. In fact, one of Jorge's more amusing anecdotes comes from those days: 'My dad used to say that Rossi was a clown. He said he was a great rider but that he always had the best bike and that was why he won. So when Rossi moved to Yamaha he said, "Pah! He's not even going to finish in the top six. There are too many factory Hondas and the Yamaha is nowhere near as good." Marcos and I said that Rossi would win races. Not only that, but that he would finish in the top three in the championship. So we made a bet. My dad had just come back from Thailand and he'd bought this ridiculous Thai hat, with little balls dangling from it on strings. We said that if Valentino finished in the top three at the end of the season, he'd have to wear the hat for a whole week. Of course, Valentino won the title and my dad turned up at the gym wearing the hat. He looked so stupid that we felt sorry for him and after a couple of days we told him he could take it off.'

Riveras Tobia's Jorge Lorenzo: My Story So Far

[edwetan-morsceam]

gotta get that yummy tummy thermometer juice.

[pyrriax]

i need to be normal. i cannot be normal. im not actually writing im just worldbuilding because i cannot get enough of little details that will never be relevant. im supposed to be writing down who has what and actually important details.

(however, perk: i can work on my phone now so i don't have to worry about the god-awful experience of emailing myself documents in the morning so i can actually use what i write elsewhere)

[yuri-puppies]

#THIS IS SO GOOD WTFFFFFF…. CHEWING IN IT #love the detail that Fionil & Doni are the main characters of the og game btw #like. of course. they parallel the final bosses of course they are #also the way this would recontextualize Kabru being so good at killing humans #he knows the meta he knows the best builds he knows how to optimize for the end game #but he gets there and keeps wiping to lvl 5 mush #and that serving as a metaphor for the reality of living being about eating and existing rather than a single heroic triumph #pre-isekai Kabru maybe being someone who is kinda depressed and isolated from the world. dealing with trauma of his own probably #and then gets brought to a world where he feels like he can Make A Difference but he still isn’t living in it. he’s still detached #he’s still isolated#also sorry to be a rin girlie 5ever but I’m fascinated by the role she would play in this AU #does she know???? I’m guessing not but maybe she suspects #oh to be the only person in the world to think of Kabru as a real person. to care for him as a real person #when he (even more than canon) doesn’t seem himself as one #the world is a little bit fictional to him and he holds her at arm’s length but she’s real to herself and he’s real to her and #he can’t even hear her shouting that #maybe doesn’t want to hear. bc if she’s real then the people who died in Utaya were real too #ughhhhh it’s so good I want to write a whole au story about this so badly #AND THE DEMON WATCHING… KNOWING…. #I’m gonna eat this whole post

(via @ambrosiagourmet)

kabru gets isekai’d

[joncronshawauthor]

Ravenglass Revelations: Behind the Scenes of My Magic System

Today, I want to pull back the curtain and give you an exclusive peek into the heart of the Ravenglass Universe – its magic system. As the architect of this world, I’ve always believed that a well-crafted magic system is the lifeblood of any great fantasy realm. So, let’s explore the forces that shape this universe. The Cornerstone: Ravenglass At the core of our magical world lies ravenglass,…