#I made it pretty clear which one

[cheese-ducks]

TWRP ORIGINS SIDE STORY

Remember when I said last chapter that Sung overhead a conversation between Phobos and Meouch?

This is that conversation

Papers and screens were scattered across Phobos's bed. He'd been researching sign language ever since that night at the 'club fair', and he'd gotten pretty good. He had the basics down but he still had a long way to go.

"Practicin' that hand code thing?" 

He was startled to see Commander Meouch there. Usually he was playing the bass, drinking or both simultaneously. Phobos grabbed his notepad, showing him the initial pamphlet he'd been given. 

Yes I am. Who knows, this might help me become a better guitar player.

Meouch leafed through it, examining each picture. 

"Y'know this might help with your overall dexterity but in terms of playing it won't do much. Just stick to practicin'."

He paused, almost physically recoiling from what he'd just said.

"I mean, fuckin do whatever you want. I don't give a shit." 

He rolled his eyes as he tossed the pamphlet back.

Phobos scooted closer and tugged on his sleeve. 

Why do you do that?

"Do what?" He growled.

Say something really smart and then bail from it?

Meouch sighed, he'd hoped he wouldn't notice. Every now and again he would tease Phobos by correcting him on something and immediately follow it up with a general insult. He always made sure to say the insult louder. Messing with his head was all it was supposed to be, he didn't think Phobos actually cared. His eyes darted around the room as Phobos moved closer. Meouch was probably safe, the only people who would hear this couldn't talk. 

"Can you keep a secret?"

Phobos shook his head and snickered quietly. He was quite oblivious when it came to secrets. Meouch glared at him as if to say 'Really?'. 

He was also oblivious when it came to social cues most times. To make up for it he quickly wrote; But for you, of course.

"Ok so, it was a really long time ago but I too was" 

Meouch took a deep breath in, preparing himself.

"A nerd!" He whispered. 

'Too?' Phobos thought. Meouch, taking Phobos's confused expression as a request to explain further, continued his story.

"When I was a cub, I had these huge sunglasses, wore dorky flannels, and I was totally obsessed with jazz music." 

His voice was noticably softer than usual. The growl was nearly gone, he sounded grounded, real. 

"It's great music, it makes you a better player, it's inventive, it stretches boundaries, but it's so damn easy to make fun of. It can be up it's own ass so much further than anything else, y'know?" 

There was also an accent that Phobos couldn't place. Did he always have an accent? It was a nice surprise.

"I'm not even one of those stuck up jazz types or anything! I'm also a huge synthesizer nerd. People can be like oh it's just overly aggressive distorted synthesizers, but my fuckin nerd brain goes that's a sine wave with a sine wave sub and then a square wave..."

Phobos could listen to him for hours. As a relative novice to music as a whole it was enthralling hearing him speak so knowledgeably. It didn't matter how much he actually understood. He wanted to chime in with his own musical knowledge so badly, but anything he could have said, the lion probably already knew. He couldn't interrupt Meouch for anything. Both because he was still entranced by him and he was vaguely terrified. 

"My old crew thought the funkiness came naturally, but once I opened my fuckin mouth about the nerd shit I never heard the end of it. But when those dickheads hit me around I learned to hit em back even harder." 

Phobos knew what he meant. Music was as much a learned skill as anything. He was fascinated by all of it.

"So I toughened up, started keeping the nerdy shit to myself, and I was never made fun of again." He reached for something in one of his vest pockets. "And I still like these things but I never wear them."

He revealed a pair of darkly tinted aviators. Upon seeing them Phobos discreetly scribbled into his notepad. Before he had the chance to look up Meouch ripped out the page.

I bet you'd look great in those glasses

His hearty laugh made Phobos's face scrunch up in anger. More like a mixture of anger and relief.

"Trust me, pal. I would not." 

Phobos couldn't let that blatant invasion of privacy go unpunished. In an instant he snatched the aviators from Meouch's claws and forced them onto his face. 

"The fuck are you doing, Phobos?" He snarled. 

Phobos couldn't help but laugh, a real genuine laugh. Meouch was getting this angry over sunglasses? Pathetic. 

"Oh you think this is funny, do ya?" The lion taunted. "Your laugh is more dorky than I thought it would be, your lordship." 

He pushed Phobos as he walked out of the room.

"And now the reveal." 

After a while Meouch slinked back into the room, wearing a dark blue flannel overshirt and the giant aviator sunglasses. The flannel hung loose on his body, the absence of his bulky vest made Phobos notice just how slim Meouch was. The stark contrast of the top and bottom halves of his attire was almost funny. The top half looked approachable, cool, fun even. That sentiment was only made stronger by Meouch leaning against the doorframe, lifting the aviators and winking at Phobos. Without taking his eyes off of him he wrote a response.

You look amazing

"Oh, stop. I can't go out in public like this." Meouch brushed off the compliment in an instant. Phobos couldn't have been serious, could he?

Well, why not? This is the real you, right? 

He could've sworn he saw the lion's face go flush while reading.

You're smart, strong, absolutely infuriating. Who wouldn't want to see that?

Meouch chuckled and tossed the notepad back. 

"You know I've never met anyone like you, Phobos."

Me either. 

But about you

[a2zillustration]

(It's ok Yurgir will respawn in Avernus)

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[factsilike]

Really tired of constantly seeing posts declaring that everyone in MXTX novels is complicated and 'morally grey' and that's what makes her works wonderfully written, and that everyone else who doesn't see that is stupid, or is 'demonising' characters and bashing them for rightfully criticising their shitty, very much unjustified actions.

And ironically it seems so simplistic to just declare that, because yes her stories are wonderfully written and complex, but not for that reason. You're clearly not reading her works and only spouting what you think her stories say. There are many morally grey characters in morally complex stories out there, but MDZS IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

NONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS (i.e protagonists and their male leads except for LBH maybe) ARE MORALLY GREY OR MORALLY COMPLEX.

THEY ARE ALL MORALLY RIGHTEOUS.

Just take a closer look at their actions compared to the actions of literally everyone else around them, it's not that hard to see.

Not to mention that MXTX herself literally says that WWX and LWJ are both morally ideal and that ahe hopes her readers can be like them, but people seem to have no respect for the word of authors in the name of their self projection onto the characters being contradicted nowadays 😒

(also saw someone dismissively say that HC may think that the world revolves around XL or whatever, but others don't and they're right??

First of all, did you even read the novel? HC made his judgement based on how others treated him versus how XL did when he was a CHILD. And how XL continues to treat others to this day. He is well within his rights to think the world of XL, especially since XL suffered more than every other person and still doesn't succumb to evil, despite having every right to do so, miles more than others. He all but regards XL as his moral compass, because he's proof that truly good people do exist in this world, and not ONE other person in the novel is shown to be as good as him.)

One of the reasons why I really don't like the Xianle Trio is this; neither FX nor MQ seem to regard XL as his own person with his own agency, who is capable of making his own decisions initially as HC does, and only near the end of the novel do they let up a bit when their asses had to be saved by XL multiple times. (especially considering what fools they made of themselves in that spiderweb cave lmao)

Both of them try to enforce XL ALL THE TIME ("Your Highness don't do this or don't do that or don't say this or don't go there or don't talk to him"), as if XL has not survived perfectly well on his own without them FOR 800 YEARS.

The difference between them and HC is clearly spelled out when FC asks HC about why he is not stopping XL, and HC replies that while he may not agree with some of XL's decisions, he would never force him to do what he thinks is correct, something both MQ and FX are CONSTANTLY shown to try to do.

Like please. Xianle Trio who? More like suffering XL and his pair of nuisances who think themselves to be his babysitters. And most of the time he's the one babysitting them.

Another thing that irks me is that their frequent arguments are often played off for laughs, but XL is truly a saint, because if my friends were constantly bickering over petty things all throughout our dangerous journey and giving me nothing but headaches, especially in survival situations, I'd given them the boot a long time ago.

[sacchiri]

Hellsing 2002 calendar illustration.

Ein wunderliche und erschröckliche Hystori von einem großen Wüttrich genant Dracole wayda Der do so ganz unkristenliche marrter hat angelegt die mensche, als mit spissen als auch die leut zu Tod geslyffen

A wondrous and frightening story about a great berserk called Dracula the voivode who inflicted such unchristian tortures such as with stakes and also dragged people to death

[shorthaltsjester]

maybe this is just because it feels like a metaphor for how tlovm uses vex in general (and i could write an essay about it and have and will again) but something that i both understand tlovm choosing to do and deeply hate as a choice they made is vex no longer being the one to break thordak’s crystal even though vax was still the one to kill him. especially since the show was very explicit about thordak being responsible for killing the twins’ mother and also set it up as a sort of avenging of percy, it felt tonally weird to literally just have vex hanging out in the background for both the crystal breaking and him being killed. it’s fine (deeply upset voice) i understand that adjustments to pike’s vestige made this make sense for the plot but. glad to have vex continue to be a witness in tlovm moments that in the campaign her agency in were delicious character moments. it’s fine.

[ducktracy]

reminder that if you're not watching Crayon Shin-chan then you are living a hollow and empty life. this is not edited. this ripped straight from the movie (Movie 8: Jungle That Invites the Storm, highly recommend for fellow Masaaki Yuasa lovers)

if you need further convincing: these monkeys run an animation sweatshop

[gingermintpepper]

I've seen so many interesting and fun greek myth ships over the years both divine and mortal supported by text and just for fun, and yet I fear tonight, I will be throwing my hat into the ring as a propagator of niche greek myth ships because like, no seriously how is Aristaeus/Dionysus not already thing.

[sirpeppersto]

also i just bought my own wedding veil and it's supposed to be here in 2 weeks :D I'm still doing the stuff with the red beads which is why i ordered my veil despite the wedding being almost a year from now, but i decided im going with my initial thought and im doing black for the dress and veil. i realized with a white dress and red beads made to look like blood splatters, I might look like a used tampon 💀 plus i drew a version of the dress in black months ago and it looks very stunning

plus i already have my reception dress(i KNOW my actual dress will be heavy as fuck with all the beads and i wont be able to bust a move) and it's one of my favorite dresses i own :) i just need to figure out what im doing with the shoes

[vaguely-concerned]

first of all rye 'hello fellow kids' ingellvar there is nothing in this world or any other I wouldn't do for you. second of all, considering where this story ends... I'm going to die. this conversation -- and how much he genuinely believes what he's saying at this point -- held up against the fact that in a couple of months max he's going to get her killed (well. that's how he feels anyway) and then go against everything she believed in and stood for as a person in the end and have to live forever with knowing that's how he honoured her sacrifice. (and live with how easy it is to live with, the way he doesn't regret what he did at all. she'll haunt him from time to time, that's fine, he's a watcher he's loved many a ghost before and will again. but that won't.) 'no one is beyond help? oh lace I'm so so sorry, wherever you are now please forgive me for who I am, but after what he pulled and by the time I'm done with him on my watcher's oath he will be beyond help. I'll hold every hand in this world that reaches back but his'. and she'll still be gone.

'or none of this matters'. im so fucking sad I feel sick *through tears* this is great I love fiction I love this game (embarrassingly genuine as is my wont)

[year-of-whump-tropes]

Deciding Monthly Themes Round 3 (Final)

Recovery, Captivity, Intimate Whumper, and Hero/Villain whump placed highest on round 2, which means they automatically pass round 3 and are already part of the final list of monthly themes which will be used in this event! This poll will determine the rest of the list.

Ones that don't make it into the final themes are likely to make it into the alt prompts, but as week-long themes instead of month-long.

So many good options...whichever get eliminated, I'll be sorry to see them go.

[name-doggo]

One thing I really wish the FF Community would Stop doing is Removing All Nuance from the Parents in Those Stories in order to Make Them Abusive Supervillains who Never Loved their Kid.

Like... In the Four Years I've been here, and for how Small the Community really is, you'd be surprised how many Times I've seen it-

[away-ward]

Hey KO, pd said the reason damon named fane.. fane was to honor rika's father since he respected him after realizing her father still wanted to raise him despite his origin. he wasnt named to honor rika but to honor her father.

That's great actually, and it makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

[deus-ex-mona]

such is the tale of a ✨chronically online hypocrite✨

[moe-broey]

"Wait but doesn't Moe fall outside of your narrow scope of familial interactions, or --" Moe has something worse going on. Hope this helps! 🫡

[cluescorner]

Some people: Kaeya’s bio father is an abusive monster who abandoned his son in order to achieve his own selfish goals. He is an evil man who deserves everything awful that might happen to him. 

Other people: Kaeya’s bio father did the right thing and leaving Kaeya in Mondstadt was the only way to give him a halfway-decent life. He is a better father than he is given credit for and should not be as hated as he is. 

Me: Kaeya’s bio father is integral to the general ‘war is hell and bad choices can reverberate across time’ thing that Genshin seems to be going for. He made unethical choices, but mostly because the ONLY OPTIONS HE HAD WERE UNETHICAL. If our understanding of the Alberich’s role in Khaenri’ah is accurate, General Alberich (my name for him until stated otherwise) was suddenly in charge of a hopeless and dead kingdom which begged to be saved. Assuming that there was a reason Kaeya specifically was chosen for this mission, General Alberich was forced into a position where he needed to choose between the lives/future of every Khaenri’an vs the life and future of his young son. Abandoning either is an awful thing to do and a horrible decision, but the bad decisions of Celestia and Rhinedottir have led to a scenario where General Alberich can only make bad decisions. In the end, he chose to prioritize his people and made his young son into a spy. We do not know the process for this, but knowing how much Hoyoverse loves to torment people (especially Khaenri’ans) we can assume that this process was horrific for Kaeya and could definitely be considered abuse. General Alberich is effectively making his son into a child soldier for a war that the majority of people never wanted or asked for, and one Kaeya was likely far too young to understand. At least, until he was forced to grow up far too quickly in order to fulfill his duty. General Alberich likely loathed everything about what was happening and even in his last moments with his son he asks for forgiveness. He knows that what he is doing is wrong, but to turn back now is to both abandon his subjects and make everything that happened to Kaeya in order to turn him into a child spy be for nothing. So yeah, General Alberich is a terrible person who made horrible choices. But war and the bad actions of others have created a situation where he has nothing BUT horrible choices and where being a terrible person is the only thing he can be. And that’s without considering how the curse/abyssal corruption could impact the scenario. 

[immortalsins]

time to accept that I'm upset about the fact "its OK if you just want to be friends" is empty words. that's not going to happen!! & i can never go back to the society we met in because it'll just be awkward! without us EVER dating (unless we were and I wasn't aware of it). so sick of not understanding this stuff i wish it was simple and clear