#and even more benevolent heroes. ok!

[gothprentiss]

another chapter in my tale of woe that is just not vibing w any of Online's beloved media franchises but: in these weeks of boring ass busy work i keep checking out these hugely popular dnd podcasts and youtube shows and so on, and putting aside my immense personal incompatibility with the genres (most podcasts, ttrpgs, really any form of game video or board) one thing i am very interested by is how remarkably limited their storytelling is because everyone involved has way too much millennial compunction to ever do anything wicked or beastly as a character choice in a fictional universe. remarkable overloaded fantasy world full of humor and opportunity you've created dude! would be a shame if everyone in it had a heart of gold.

like you can get me to try anything out if you promise me it's funny and if i am nosy enough, because having a giggle is my primary motivator. but i just saw a youtube short where brendan lee mulligan was like, "yeah this whole game was designed as like, they're all villains fighting against each other and it culminates in a battle royale except that they spent the whole episode being super nice to each other and declaring love and bonding so it just couldn't happen" and i was like whoa dude! doesn't this game famously let you make characters whose primary traits are like Evil

[kepler-station]

It's ok if u ignore it's so silly anyways :333

Pure Vanilla who accidentally free'd someone from eons of sleep and is probably older than them, reader is from Shadow Milks time so when they saw Pure Vanilla and his soul jam they had a "Oh, WAIT" moment

౨ৎ.𖥔˚ pure vanilla cookie — first meet with a primordial reader cookie

— 𝜗𝜚 i made up some lore for reader, but you can replace it with your own 🥲👍🏻

— rq by @chesseicake 🥹🫶🏻 thankyouu so much for requesting !! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

໑ৎ ׁ  ׅ♡ tw !! — implied bad ending. slight love at first sight trope.

your point of view !! — i accidentally started writting in reader's pov but there's a pure vanilla pov below, dw hehe 🥹🫶🏻

from the moment he stepped into your sleeping sanctuary he felt something amiss and was wary of every step Pure Vanilla Cookie took.

further and further into the overgrown ruins of your santuary laid your sleeping dough, peaceful expression on your face and a magical force protecting and keeping you there

it was not for no reason that you were imprisoned passively — perhaps you were from the batch baked directly after the five fallen heroes, cookies with power immensely higher than any ordinary cookie but weaker than the fallen heroes. perhaps you were a beast; the only one who stayed benign and thus, the witches tried to preserve your purity.

the magical force, once powerful and protecting you had dwindled since the witches had left and neglected (perhaps forgotten) about you for eons, even more so after the beasts has awoken. naturally they wanted your power and had tainted your once peaceful dreams into nightmares of cookiekind crumbling before you, the beasts offering you to join them as a beast so make the suffering stop.

but you refused.

through the vast repeating nightmare of cookies crumbling unable to reach you for your help, a dream of peace would return every once in a while, a sense that something had changed — a change for good this time.

the beasts' attention dwindled for but a second (their attention was of course, on the thieves of their power), but it was enough for you to fight back, and fight back you did.

a blink once or twice cleared up your vision as a bright light filled the eyes of the cookie donning the familiar gem. fear slithered down your (i think cookies have spines i dont know though) spine. you recognize that gem. where it's from and who it belongs to.

shadow milk cookie. the beast of deceit and lies.

however, something felt different about this version of shadow milk cookie...

blond hair, white clothing with waffle accents and a personality that embodies benevolence and cookie kindness... is this not shadow milk cookie? it can't be — shadow milk cookie wouldn't act this way if it was him.

he wouldn't reach out to you with a voice swirled in worry and weary, his staff clearly distressed in care for a cookie he doesn't even know the name of.

he wouldn't be so eager to heal your cracks from the high fall, or comfort you and help you recover from the nightmares you had to watch while you were asleep.

he wouldn't have told you everything that he saw happen while you were asleep.

he wouldn't have treated you with such kindness and love that no cookie has ever treated you since the primordial ages...

but maybe you're starting to like this cookie. the holder of shadow milk cookie's leftover power.

but are you sure you can trust him? if anyone is to become a villain with deserved rights, it'd definitely be pure vanilla cookie...

pure vanilla cookie's point of view !!

but you'd do whatever it takes to protect him, the cookie that loved you when no one else even remembered you, right?

every step he took sent a shock of weariness in his dough; but he felt a sense that there was something here that would be an integral part of his life in the future. somecookie that felt really important to the future him.

the light of truth urged him to go further and uncover the secret within carameleon cookie told him and the brave group of accompanying cookies beside him. upon the mention of your name as the legend of the sleeping cookie, he asked if carameleon cookie knew where you were as he was curious about you...

atleast that's what he tells himself.

as they step foot in the overgrown ruins flooded with soda water, there they felt a magical force weak but present, urging them to leave with a little pressure. but it was clear that with time and an absence of a source of magic, the force weakened so much so that they could bypass the force easily to access the sleeping sanctuary deep in beast-yeast.

here they were, face to face with the sleeping cookie of beast-yeast. legends (or atleast the legend told by carameleon cookie) tell the story of a cookie who once was powerful, more powerful than any ordinary cookie but weaker than the primordial five. once the primordial five fell into corruption of evil, they sealed the cookie away in an attempt to preserve their purity and goodness and to shield them from the evil and famine surrounding them. to shield the last light of good in a world of darkness and evil.

carameleon cookie continued to tell your story in the form of a legend, a story of long ago largely forgotten and discarded. pure vanilla cookie grew empathetic for you, knowing the feeling of being forgotten and wanting to comfort you somehow. every drop of knowledge that could possibly be true about you peaked his interest even more, the feeling that you two were meant to be... as if it was fate that you two would meet.

as if it was fate that you two stood here astonished with one another. a blinding light revealed your dough to him, your astonished eyes glued to his soul jam while his eyes were glued on you.

but perhaps you were not to be trusted?

it was confirmed that you knew of the beasts and granted them very important and useful information about the beasts, and you still had a hefty amount of raw magic preserved in your dough. pure vanilla doesn't truly know of you stayed good or if the beasts had gotten to you through the nightmares you mentioned having.

but even if you weren't as benevolent as you mentioned being in the past, in the times of the primordial five, he would help and guide you to the right path — the path where he gets to be with you.

and perhaps later down the line, you'd help him beat the beast that would be after him in the future. and a possibility he was more looking forward to is the possibility that you love him too.

don't think he didn't see the way your eyes shined when you laid your eyes on him, or the way you'd blush ever so slightly when he'd compliment you or whatever it was about you.

maybe this time, a good ending was there for him after all... the ending where he got to have you in his arms, in a world of peace and love...

the ending where he got to say "i love you" before the lights turned off.

[heartscrypt]

For the miraculous au

would it not be silly and goofy if when not as superheros and in their like school. normal teenage life. like. yaknow. in canon. jamil has a big (in denial) crush. bc hes ladybug. idk where im going with this

i love your miraculous jamiazu au i think thats the main idea from this ask

using this ask as an excuse to pull out the love square map (i'm actually fucking crazy)

OK SOOOO. so. i was not kidding when i said the love square was different from the show. ive kind of swapped around the dynamics from the original to fit the characters better

everything under a read more so as to not intimidate anyone with how severely ill i am about them

jamil -> azul: in contrast to the mlb canon jamil will NOT have a big ginormous stalker crush on azul. in fact he does not like azul and will often clam up / go quiet around him. will excuse himself from interactions with the other and generally avoid the hell out of him because he thinks the other is so clearly hiding something and he does NOT want to get wrapped up in it

azul -> jamil: think pre-book 4 incident where azul's had an eye on jamil for a very long time. if anything he has the big ginormous stalker crush. but honestly its not full on crush territory (yet) because jamil refuses to talk to him and he hasn't interacted extensively with the other. however does think there is something going on with jamil avoiding him and relentlessly pursues him in response

scarab -> léopard: scarab just instinctively works better with léopard by his side. there's sort of an implicit trust between the both of them that the other is fully capable of whatever they set out to do which is. really nice. and they rely on each other in the heat of battle which is strange because scarab's ego means he often takes a lot of shit on himself under the idea that he's the only one who can do it. but also léopard is just an enigma to him because they'll work so well in battle but out of battle léopard's constant flirting gives scarab a headache... but it's also kind of flattering. in a way. because léopard is constantly Looking for him and shows a lot of interest in who he is as a person which doesn't happen a lot for scarab in his civilian form

léopard -> scarab: léopard is a mercenary which means that he's not partners with scarab. he just happens to "run into" the other "by coincidence" (not coincidence) and you know. he's so benevolent. why not help scarab out with the akuma. he is charmed by how much scarab is NOT like a hero. scarab thinks like a villain and is unafraid to use and manipulate others in order to accomplish his goals. but the end result is perceived as heroic of him. léopard wants him so bad for this it is fucking CRAZY he thinks scarab's capabilities and range are so attractive and will constantly make passes at him whenever they cross paths

jamil -> léopard: from jamil's experiences with léopard as scarab, jamil finds that léopard may actually be tolerable when he's not flirting constantly. jamil's still not keen on letting this guy save him from akumas (because jamil is scarab and by god if léopard ever finds out he saved scarab in civilian form he's going to be so full of himself) but he trusts léopard and is willing to let his snarkier side show, more than he usually does when he's jamil

léopard -> jamil: léopard is ecstatic at the fact that jamil is actually talking to him. yes it might take a whole other secret identity and a leather bodysuit to do so but. you know. a win is a win. uses his position as léopard to pry for more info from jamil, but it's always a push/pull back and forth where jamil seems to tolerate and even occasionally be amused by hus presence but will shut him down once he gets too close. his infatuation with the other in civilian form is fed by these small interactions he has with the other that shows there's more to jamil that meets the eye

azul -> scarab: azul is scarab's biggest supporter. naturally. praises the superhero's diligence and duty to the city loudly and vocally to anybody who will listen, and wants to get scarab involved in his future business ventures. may intentionally put himself in situations where the other will come save him so he can entrap the other into talking with him in civilian form to see if he can get any more clues into scarab's identity. also desperately tries to impress scarab when unable to transform with the skills he learned from being léopard.

scarab -> azul: scarab, drawing off his experiences as jamil, finds azul's persistence a little daunting and definitely a danger to his secret identity. however it's also odd to see a second side to azul pop out when he's trying to impress scarab. almost cute. if he didn't fail so much at it. gets scarab reconsidering his civilian form's thoughts on azul because azul somehow seems Less fake or. worse at being fake whenever jamil is scarab.

[dzthenerd490]

File: Godzilla

SCP#: ABQ

Code Name: The Incarnation of Oppenheimer's Sin/ The Unsung Hero of Earth: Godzilla/ Gojira: King of Monsters.

Object Class: Apollyon/ Thaumiel

Special Containment Procedures: Not only is containment of SCP-ABQ nearly impossible, it is discouraged. SCP-ABQ has proven essential to the survival of the human race and the preservation of peace between humanity and the Large-Scale Class Anomalies hidden all over the world. Instead, any Group of Interest, Foundation staff, or other anomalies that attacks SCP-ABQ with the intent to kill, is to be met with extreme prejudice. 

Description: SCP-ABQ is a Large-Scale Class Anomaly belonging to Species of Interest: The Titans. SCP-ABQ is about 108 meters tall which is typical height for the Titan species and like most Titans, is reptilian in nature. SCP-ABQ's scales are a very dark gray with large plate-like spikes on its back. Upon first glance these spikes may seem to only serve intimidation purposes, but they are more like biological batteries. SCP-ABQ has the particular power to generate fusion based atomic energy within its body that gets processed through the plates on its back. Once it has generated enough energy SCP-ABQ is able to blast a beam of atomic fire out of its mouth.  

SCP-ABQ doesn't just make nuclear energy but can absorb radiation from the surrounding area to regenerate from any wound. It can even grow stronger when exposed to excess energy. Should SCP-ABQ have access to an abundance of nuclear radiation, it will reach a critical point where its body is constantly releasing fusion energy with a temperature of 500,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot enough to burn everything and melt steel instantaneously. SCP-ABQ will also be able to release thermonuclear shockwaves all around it, vaporizing everything, even other Titans. 

SCP-ABQ in particular is a Titan known as an Alpha, Alpha Titans rule over other titans without question. Testing has shown that each member of the Titan species can release frequencies form their bodies and manipulate these frequencies almost into a language. Alpha Titans have a frequency that shows other Titans they are in charge unless challenged by another Alpha. Naturally this would make SCP-ABQ a hazard for an OK Class Omega Species Uprising Scenario. However, SCP-ABQ; unlike most Titans, has no desire to attack humans unless provoked. Instead, SCP-ABQ stays in the earth's ocean and swims around the world to guard all life on earth. Rather than a rampaging monster, SCP-ABQ acts as a guardian of earth, defending it from hostile Titans as well as other overwhelming anomalous threats. Though the Foundation and other organizations within the ACPA are grateful for this, why SCP-ABQ is so benevolent to humanity is unknown. 

Since SCP-ABQ absorbs radiation, it would be natural to assume it emits a lethal amount to everyone and everything around it. However, what SCP-ABQ emits isn't standard radiation but instead Gaia radiation. Gaia Radiation is an anomalous energy source that heals and increases quality of life for all fauna and flora, almost like a super vitamin. How exactly this works is not well understood as Gaia Radiation is extremely difficult to contain as it quickly absorbs itself into any living matter once exposed. Though what is known is that, anywhere SCP-ABQ has been, will start growing into a lush forest within a single month because of the radiation. It is theorized that Gaia Radiation is what allows Species of Interest: The Titans to be as large and powerful as they are, despite our laws of nature stating they shouldn't even exist. 

SCP-ABQ was discovered in 1954, residing in the deep waters of [data expunged] beach, of Hiroshima. It had been there since 1945, absorbing the nuclear energy that contaminated the city. It was because of SCP-ABQ that the city was able to be rebuilt in two years. The Cover story is that rather than the [data expunged] bomb that Oppenheimer actually created, it was an atom bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The Radiation of Atom bombs decay quickly after the explosion leaving no irradiated material afterwards.

However, that does not deny that it was in fact the fault of the bomb that SCP-ABQ was awakened. It is for reasons like this that the US Governments, like most governments in the world, are viewed with a negative light by the Foundation.

SCP-ABQ's true origin point was SCP-ACS only coming to the surface to feed on the sudden abundance of nuclear radiation during World War 2. Since then, for better or worse SCP-ABQ has influenced the anomalous world. Please See Addendum X-23 for details

***

Addendum X-23

The following is a list major incident involved with SCP-ABQ since it's awakening, as well as the exact years of said incidents. 

1955 - SCP-3700-1 battles SCP-3700-2 but is nearly defeated especially with the growing population of SCP-3456 instances. However, SCP-ABQ intervenes with its atomic breath, destroying all the SCP-3456 instances and greatly injures SCP-3700-2. SCP-3700-1 and SCP-ABQ fight alongside one another against SCP-3700-2 and are overwhelmingly victorious. Afterwards SCP-ABQ leaves, and SCP-3700-1 proceeds to bring good weather to the area. SCP-ABQ's participation was reported several other times in the following years by Naval Task Force Delta-7. It always assists SCP-3700-1 and completely obliterates SCP-3700-2.

1961 - Foundation staff discovered SCP-ABU on the island of [data expunged] causing it to awaken not long after. It forced all Foundation staff off of the island and later cocooned itself. After about a day, SCP-ABU evolved into its second form. This was where SCP-ABQ rose up from the ocean and the two communicated with a surprisingly friendly manner. At the same time Foundation staff reviewed their findings on the island including paintings made by the natives of the island. This not only confirmed the existence of Species of Interest: The Titans but showed SCP-ABQ was known as Gojira, King of Monsters while SCP-ABU was Mothra, Queen of Monsters.

1964 false - SCP-ACJ as well as many other dormant Titans awakened from the earth's crust or surfaced form SCP-ACS. SCP-ABQ and SCP-ABU battled them all while receiving heavy reinforcements from the Foundation, the Global Occult Coalition and other ACPA organizations. After a month of heavy fighting SCP-ACJ was killed as a result and SCP-ABQ was recognized as the Alpha again. Unfortunately, the end result was 78% of the human population being wiped out. Under protocol "No Humanity" the remaining 22% was executed before the activation of SCP-2000. 

1964 True - SCP-ABQ and SCP-ABU were not affected by SCP-2000. Having been recognized as the Alphas SCP-ABQ then ordered all Titans to retreat back into SCP-ACS allowing humanity to thrive in peace.

1971 - Foundation researchers discover the island known as SCP-ACN as well as SCP-ACN-Alpha. SCP-ABQ arrives on the island during the same day of its discovery and fights with SCP-ACN-Alpha due to them both being Alpha Titans. It is unknown why SCP-ABQ did not know about SCP-ACN sooner, but it has been hypothesized that it was the Foundation's fault for SCP-ABQ's discovery. However, their fight is interrupted by the sudden appearance of SCP-ACN-Omega and its army of SCP-ACN-Beta instances. SCP-ABQ and SCP-ACN-Alpha battle and are eventually victorious. Because of their victory an unspoken peace was established between the two as SCP-ABQ left the island.

1974 - Group of Interest: The Imperial Japanese Anomalous Matters Examination Army created a mechanical monstrosity known as SCP-ACX in the likeness of SCP-ABQ. It was unleashed on Japan and was meant to be a symbol of the rebirth of Japan's Imperialism over the world as well as its revenge for WWII. However, SCP-ABQ as well as SCP-ABU fought against the mechanical monstrosity and after about a day it was finally defeated. The result was several coastal Japanese cities being destroyed and the overall situation nearly leading to an MK Class Broken Masquerade Scenario.

A Joint Task Force of Gamma-5 "Red Herrings” and Poseidon-3 "Otaku Heart" was formed to silence the media and erase the memories of the event. The cover story was that a horrible typhoon hit the coast of Japan resulting in the destruction of the cities. Afterwards SCP-ACX's parts were located and contained within the Foundation. However there has been confirmation that other Groups of Interest managed to get smaller parts such as Marshal, Carter, and Dark LTD.

1989 - SCP-722 woke up and wreaked havoc on the surrounding areas, this aggravated SCP-3000 leading to it surfacing as well, resulting in a fight between the two anomalies. The Fight led to the complete destruction of the island [data expunged] located in the [data expunged] ocean. The coastal city of [data expunged] was unfortunately affected by SCP-722's toxins and the survivors suffered from SCP-3000's hazardous effects leading to [data expunged]. They were later killed off by the Foundation since there was no way to save them.

Before the rampaging could continue Mobile Task Force Apollo-1 "Orion's Belt" tried to bombard both entities, forcing them back into the depths. However, SCP-3000 somehow knew of the MTF Apollo-1 ships, as well as their position of engagement. It retaliated by screaming into the sky, directly towards the MTF Apollo-1 ships. Upon hearing the supersonic screams, most MTF pilots and ship staff died instantly while others suffered heavy brain degradation similar to Stage 5 of Alzheimer's Disease. This resulted in MTF Apollo-1 suffering over [data expunged] in casualties as well as losing a total of [data expunged] ships including the SCPSS "Victory" and the SCPSS "Armageddon". Both of which where GBSWD-53 "Black Hole" ships. 

With nothing to stop them, SCP-3000 eventually overpowered SCP-722, forcing it to serve under SCP-3000. This incident led to the theory that SCP-3000 is quite possibly a member of Species of Interest: the Titans. However due to a lack of DNA samples, as collecting such things from SCP-3000 has proven impossible, this remains a theory and nothing more.

SCP-3000 and SCP-722 started moving fast with its trajectory destination being Site-[data expunged]. Thankfully, SCP-ABQ intercepted SCP-3000 and proved to be immune to its anomalous effects, but not SCP-722's poison. SCP-ABQ was badly injured but managed to nearly kill the two entities with its atomic breath. Once SCP-3000 and SCP-722 were stunned due to massive injuries, SCP-ABQ tried to secure the kill until [Data Expunged by Order of the O5 Council]. Afterwards, SCP-722 was forced back to slumber, SCP-3000 returned to the depths, and SCP-ABQ left them both in peace.

It is unknown why [data expunged] suddenly appeared nor as to why Site-[data expunged] was SCP-3000's destination, though Dr. [data expunged] believes it might be related to SCP-[Data Expunged by Order of the O5 Council].

1990 - SCP-5514's construction is complete, however at the same time SCP-ABQ starts heading to Site-[data expunged] where it is being held. due to obvious hostile intentions of SCP-ABQ, SCP-5514 was about to be deployed into battle. It was expected to be given the order to fight but MTF High Commander Yōsai instead gave the order to have SCP-5514 bow to SCP-ABQ upon arrival.

SCP-5514 met with SCP-ABQ at the coast of [data expunged] afterwards SCP-ABQ started roaring to which SCP-5514 bowed to it as MTF High Commander Yōsai ordered. Like he predicted, SCP-ABQ accepted SCP-5514 as a Titan and returned to the ocean instead of fighting. MTF Gamma-5 worked around the clock to distribute amnestics to everyone who witnessed the incident. Meanwhile Mobile Task Force Dionysus-1 "Fake News" intercepted all newspaper outlets to present the photos of SCP-ABQ and SCP-5514 as leaked special effects from an upcoming movie "Godzilla: King of Monsters vs the Dragon Slayer." TriStar Pictures was asked by the Foundation to create this movie to make the lie more authentic. They successfully created the movie in 1998, it was a massive flop at the box office.

1997 - SCP-169 suddenly becomes active and slowly begins moving at increasing speeds. SCP-ABQ swam to SCP-169 and grabbed onto its stomach area where it started draining its body heat. Doing this slowed down SCP-169 allowing Mobile Task Force Gamma-6 "Deep Feeders" to attach the Large-Scale Anesthetic Injection device into SCP-169's gills without mistake. SCP-169 was successfully put back to sleep and SCP-ABQ swam away.

2000 - The Global Occult Coalition and Eight Wings of Mekhane created their own equivalents to SCP-5514 in preparation for Large Scale Anomalous threats. SCP-ABQ appeared before both of them as well, the Eight Wings of Mekhane had their giant mech bow immediately while the Global Occult Coalition nearly attacked SCP-ABQ. It was only thanks to a quick change in orders from the 108 council that the mech finally bowed. The traitors who gave the order to attack were terminated by the GOC to appease their ACPA allies. Since SCP-ABQ left in peace, it was decided there was no reason to pursue the matter anymore, so the GOC received no further punishment.

Afterwards MTF Gamma-5 and MTF Dionysus-1 did the same procedures as the first incident with SCP-5514. It even led to the Global Occult Coalition to asking Legendary Entertainment to create a movie called "Godzilla & Mothra VS The Living Fortress & The Living Temple". They finally succeeded in 2014, it was also a massive flop at the box office with critics asking, "Where do they come up with these stupid ideas?" and "The Robots look so stupid, there's no way any government in the world would create something so ridiculous". Several GOC representatives were especially annoyed upon hearing that.

2006 - SCP-ABQ was wandering the oceans of [data expunged] until it found a dying SCP-[data expunged] with what was clearly some eggs belonging to the species. SCP-ABQ seemingly roared out and SCP-[data expunged] appeared from the oceans seemingly by using SCP-[data expunged] as transportation. SCP-[data expunged] released a harmonic song that eased the SCP-[data expunged] instance as it died. Afterwards both SCP-[data expunged] and SCP-ABQ carried as many eggs as they could and transported them into SCP-[data expunged]. As of 20[data expunged] the species of SCP-[data expunged] now thrives well within SCP-[data expunged].

2011 false - Instances of SCP-ADH started waking up all over the world. As a response SCP-ABQ, SCP-ABU, SCP-ACN-Alpha, and several other Titans went out to fight the emerging SCP-ADH instances. SCP-5514 as well as the GOC's and EWM's mechas were deployed in the "Infected" areas. Unfortunately, the conflict ended several years later and with 82% of the world's population being wiped out. Under Protocol "Last Chance" the remaining 18% were evacuated from earth. They were mainly distributed to Site-AI on Mars with the rest being sent to other ACPA off earth colonies. Afterwards SCP-2000 was activated.

2011 true - The remaining SCP-ADH instances that did not surface were collected and contained by newly constructed underground Foundation recon bases around the world. Those that couldn't be contained were terminated on sight. Unfortunately, several SCP-ADH instances have been sighted within SCP-ACS and are breeding rapidly. Efforts to purge them and stop the "infection" are ongoing.

Side Note: In their victory SCP-ABQ and SCP-ABU mated, which was very surprising since one is an insectoid and the other is reptilian. However, it was proven possible as SCP-ABU started laying eggs the year afterwards. The eggs are located in [data expunged], the same island where SCP-ABU was found.

2013 - The first instance of SCP-ADC manifested but was killed off by SCP-ABQ almost immediately. Thankfully Foundation forces were able to take the body away and clean the ocean contamination before any civilian media noticed. From that point on every six months either SCP-ABQ or SCP-5514 killed any SCP-ADC instance that appeared.

2021 - A secret base at the island of SCP-ACN owned by Group of Interest: Anderson Robotics developed a new and more powerful instance of SCP-ACX. It quickly goes out of control after being fueled by Gaia Radiation as such SCP-ACN-Alpha fights in but is quickly overpowered. Thankfully SCP-ABQ shows up and saves him once again and the two work together to fight SCP-ACX. However, even then they are close to losing, forcing the Foundation to deploy SCP-5514, finally giving them the advantage needed to secure victory. Once again, they leave one another in peace and respect. 

2023 - The eggs started hatching leading to the birth of SCP-[data expunged] and SCP-[data expunged]. Surprisingly SCP-[data expunged] ended up bonding with [data expunged] who was only 5 years old and was there out of coincidence. This was especially alarming as it related to the mural found in [data expunged], said to be a prophecy.

.

SCP: Horror Movie Files Hub

[sytokun]

RWBY V9 Episode 1 first impressions. Some spoilers. Also RWDE.

The first scene, both shot-wise and sound-wise was super well directed. The first person view into Ruby's headspace was very creative, and also an elegantly concise but unique recap of the last finale. Disregarding the nonsense surrounding the actual events (Yang getting KO'd instantly, no one being able to catch her and all that), it was an excellently directed scene.

Which makes it a pity that the scene right after felt really plodding and tonally dissonant. Having the already painful low framerate and cartoony jokes is already bad, but after a scene like that is... not how you do it.

The Monochrome scene was well-animated and adorable though. Amazing how much chemistry RWBY can get from its characters when it's not actively trying to signpost it to your face.

Speaking of signposting, the Bumbleby hug was good. Blake's tender voice calling Yang's name, and just them hugging on the beach is a really romantic image. and I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.

It kind of irks me more because my enjoyment of this ship is actively sabotaged by this show's own refusal to engage with it unless it's a weird combination of too-loud subtext and the fact it relishes in its own plausible deniability. I don't know what to say if there isn't a kiss or proper declaration of love by the end of this.

OK Goodnight doesn't miss, and they didn't for this OP song, Inside, either. I personally was super excited Casey was brought on in full force and her band's involvement was the singular thing that excited me about Volume 9. I have this opening on loop for hours now.

I loved how the Jabberwocky monster thing was animated, but part of me felt the design fell a bit short compared to how creatively it moved. I think if it went through another design pass or two to really bring out its more unsettling qualities it'd land even better.

But it was that thought that stirred up an iffy thought I had as I watched all the colourful characters and setting that was showcased in the opening and trailers. I know the whole point was to show a visual contrast by having everything be bright and whimsical but...

Part of me just kept thinking throughout this episode, and I suspect will keep me thinking throughout this Volume... why couldn't have all the Ever After creatures have been sentient talking Grimm instead?

Like, we don't know the canon explanation for the Ever After yet, but assuming that anything just goes here... I would have been really interested in the idea that this was a parallel world where benevolent Grimm exist and formed their own chaotic but intelligent societies. It could be an interesting exploration into the nature of Grimm, which by extension includes Salem's nature and how the heroes could not only defeat her dark nature, but perhaps understand and reason with it as well.

I just keep looking at the visual direction they decided to go with this world and can't help but think:

"Damn, Grimm mice would be cool, and a lot more visually distinct and marketable/merchandisable to RWBY fans too. Imagine Ruby making friends with a cute little Grimm? Something she's been trained to kill since forever? How weird but interesting would that be?"

"Damn, this glitchy monster thing would be way cooler as a Grimm, wouldn't it? Imagine it writhing like that and talking, but with the trademark glowing eye trails and miasmic black smoke trailing from its limbs."

"Damn, that Wonderland smoking caterpillar dude in the opening would have looked cool as a Grimm, maybe along the vibes of Koh the Face Stealer from Avatar?"

"Damn, the Cheshire cat as a teleporting Grimm feline would be cool. Its design might be a lot less polarising too since a lot of people think it hurts to look at. Some Grimm like Geists are already pretty formless to begin with."

And at the root of all these what-ifs, it just all comes back to the same question that I think sums up a lot of RWBY's problems:

"Damn, this show would be cooler in all these little ways if it just played into the ideas that made it cool to begin with."

[itsclydebitches]

Saw your ask about Curious Cat and it made me think about how some of the new characters we get introduced (Leo, Cordovin, Ace Ops, Curious Cat) or the old characters coming back (Ironwood) are villains.

I know this isn't a huge number and we get introduced with allies as well, but outside of Maria in Vol 6, characters like Pietro, Terra, Saphron and Happy Huntresses (ouside of Robyn) don't that much screentime as the characters who get revealed as villains later on. (Ok, this one isn't a really strong point as characters screentime has to do with their relevence to the plot)

I didn't mind with Leo being a enemy for the main characaters, because it showcased Salem's influance and how through fear she can back you into a corner, until there's nothing left for to do, outside of doing what she wants or dying.

But unlike with Ace Ops, Ironwood & Curious Cat, I don't feel frustration about him being a villain, because by the time we get to Vol 7-9, the main villains are pretty much established and introduced. And with that, I end up wanting to see more of them and how they will impact the plot.

So, why are we shoving characters like Ironwood, Ace Ops & Curious Cat into the villains territory, taking up the screentime, when we already have villains who could use more screentime to get fleshed out or maybe fleshed out a villain who is planned to have a redemption and join the good guys side???

I already got tired from that fight Cordovin had with our main ones and the last thing I needed in the later volumes was yet another interesting, new character be against Team RWBYJNR + Oscar & Qrow.

With the themes of trust and working together and the whole task GoL & GoD left Ozma with, you would assume they would be making allies, while also being careful so that another Leo incident wouldn't happen. But, nope. Nothing like that at all.

And if you think about, Volumes 6-9 follow pretty much the same formula Volume 5 had with it's new characters - character gets introduced and at some point are against our main characters.

I'm not saying it's a bad if it happens in the story, but this trope not only takes away the attention & a chance to get fleshed out from the main villains, but it's been present in this story for so long that it becomes dull and predictable.

If we ever get Volume 10, I might as well assume there will be a new character, who will later on betray the main ones.

Also with Curious Cat, it's kind of weird how Curious Cat is the main villain in this volume, while Neo, a villain since the early days has less than 15 minutes of screentime in Vol 9 and gets lesser punishment than Curious Cat.

Obviously every Volume needs its own selection of antagonists/villains for the heroes to face as they make their way towards Salem. So you're right, the problem is absolutely that RWBY keeps introducing new ones instead of utilizing what they already have, not that we have a large cast of antagonists at all. I know it's been said a million times before, but having the group face off against the Ace Ops and Ironwood while Salem and her henchmen are right there, just waiting around off screen, is really the epitome of this problem.

A sub-issue specific to RWBY is how continually adding in opponents also messes with the supposed importance of the shows allusions. Lionheart is based off a character who realizes he had courage all along. Ironwood is based off a character who realizes he had a heart all along. Curious is based off a character who is often annoying, baffling, and slightly creepy, but ultimately a neutral/benevolent party. Some of the others are a bit more complicated—Robyn becomes an ally even if it was A Choice to start things off with the group against the Robin Hood figure and, frankly, she doesn't do anything for the poor; RWBY at least tried to impart a moral message about friendship with the Ace Ops, similar to an Aesops fable, even if it crashed and burned—but the only allusion I'd say truly works is Cordovin, an antagonist based on a character who, when faced with a difficult situation (how do you feed this many kids?) responds with cruelty and violence ("whip" them and send them to bed without bread).

A story is a series of choices and each choice should have a reason attached, even if—like the early days of RWBY—the reason is just, "It looks awesome." However, more often than not I ask myself, "Why?" of RWBY. Why introduce more villains when you already have a whole collection that needs development? Why take all these good or neutral inspirations and make them Evil™ when so much else rides on playing your allusions straight? Why when you have problems like, "Our main girls aren't getting enough focus" is the response "So we'll toss in Jaune, and Neo, but Neo won't be the biggest threat that's the Jabberwalker, no wait never mind they're already dead, Neo is the threat, except when the Volume's villain is actually the Cat and the group's focus is on the handful of one-episode side-characters instead"?

When talking about the cast bloat I've seen a couple of people say, particularly in regards to Volume 9, that RWBY had to populate this new world, but no. They actually didn't. Not to this extent, anyway. As I've mentioned before, I've been working my way through Demon Slayer, a series that actually knows how to manage its characters. The structure of Protagonist + Two Secondary BFFs + One Hashira is more than enough for each arc, especially when the focus needs to remain on Tanjiro. So the story introduces one or two new characters that serve very specific purposes—usually providing the heroes with information about the latest demon mystery—and they get an equally small number of details that add a spark of personality... but they're left as mostly flat, background characters; providing depth to the new location without detracting from the main cast. The bulk of our time goes towards a) introducing the arc's villain, b) developing the Hashira, and c) developing the trio + Nezuko. At 11-ish episodes (roughly Volume 9's runtime) that's more than enough to juggle. If RWBY were writing it though each arc would have a slew of new characters facing off against the heroes while the main antagonist just kinda hangs around off-screen and the fandom keeps asking, "What happened to those other twenty beloved characters that were just left behind and forgotten?"

I'm not saying anime as a whole doesn't have a problem with character bloat, but at least most of the overwhelmingly large casts I've encountered maintain that structure, deliberately, of moving swiftly through a new collection of characters to show off their unique powers and personalities. RWBY tries to integrate the newcomers too deeply into an already full story, these newcomers frequently fill roles that should be going to established characters, and frankly.... the newcomers aren't very interesting. When I meet New Character #89164 in most anime I can at least look forward to that over-the-top personality and crazy cool ability; their very existence is entertaining. RWBY is like, "Here's a useless talking mouse we're going to kill." :/

[chococolte]

Hi! I'm back (already), I think this one is actually longer than the first one. I hope you enjoy this one too. (Sorry for the lack of grammar, it's just my style of writing for poetry.)

To be graced with their presence

How could they be anything other

Than the lowly adoring followers they are

Their devotion leads them to madness

As the world narrows in on them 

And them alone

What good is a country, a world

Without its Creator, its God?

They have spent years in worship

It wasn't enough 

Of course it wasn't 

They weren't devoting their all 

They were such foolish creatures 

Yet they were so easily forgiven

Their Honored One was too kind

Truly a merciful and benevolent God

To allow such sinners near

Letting them gaze upon them

And even permitting them contact 

Their word would be law

No matter what it could be 

What use are pretty stones and cloth

When their Deity's eyes and smiles are so radiant?

What importance are the lives of civilians

If their Beloved had not deigned them worthy?

How could they have lived before

Before they were gifted with their presence 

Before they had realized what a boon it was

They had not known 

But they do now

And they will do anything to keep it

No matter the cost

Every casual touch 

Every fleeting word 

Drags them ever deeper

In reverent worship

Fanatical and obsessed

Haunted by desire 

Those once hailed as gods

As heroes and villains 

Became nothing more 

Than groveling beggars

Under their Exalted One

CNIUEHIUBDIBGI OH MY GOD XHUIBEIIFG IM FROTHING IM FOAMING AT THE MOUTH OH MXNUIBDIBDIBF

the last part??!?! ITS SO GOOD??!? would u be ok with me using it as like, a quote somewhere on my navigation?? id credit u ofc but i just think it fits so well and i just AABXUBUDBBDGNXIJX

[hopeless-eccentric]

re: Éowyn, I think the OTHER problem is that patriarchy is inconsistent in Tolkien’s universe.

Númenor seems to have developed it as an institutional force independently (LaCE’s whole section about Noldorin gender roles indicates that even if the author is a bit sexist the elves don’t seem to be, even down to an absence of a requirement that marriage be heterosexual*, and Haleth and Andreth respond to some gendered pressures but they don’t seem to be systemic) but challenges it through the legalization of absolute primogeniture. Despite this, Gondor and Rohan have their own versions of patriarchal norms, in contrast to Harad and potentially to Umbar. The Shire is written as a land of benevolent sexism, and yet Merry never questions Éowyn’s capacity to murder things with a sword when he realizes he’s been riding with a woman. So we’re left with this nebulous thing that obviously exists and impacts the life of one of the most significant female characters in the text, but that also clearly exists in a way that’s different from our own modern conceptions of patriarchy as all-encompassing and global even as the author isn’t thinking too hard. I wonder if a more feminist LotR written with, say, input from Joy Davidman, would have featured the non-Gondorian Aragorn calling out the patriarchy, but that’s simply because Tolkien tends to do those sorts of things in response to criticism (see Gimli).

* LaCE-compliant elvish marriage being queer-friendly is sort of my personal soapbox, I apologize

ok, so ill admit we're starting to edge out of my area of (if you can call it that) expertise since ive done the most research on the real-world mythological/literary connections within the Men (celts and anglo-saxons specifically, lord above ive read so many eye-splitting middle english poems in the last few months), but i would love to hear more about the stuff with gimli, which i havent heard about before!

also for the sake of transparency im about 2/3 of the way through the silmarillion until my local library's hold comes in so im a bit new here

so something ive done a lot of reading/writing on myself is that patriarchy in rohan/gondor is very closely tied to war and "warrior culture," i.e. this concept that glory via violence should be celebrated above all else and the association of this idea with masculinity. this is more prevalent in rohan than gondor, but tolkien writes that that the presence of a budding warrior culture in gondor is some sort of "fall" from a more peaceful (and implicitly wiser) culture of the past, which very well could be a reference to a more Elvish, numenorean culture (if im reading your ask correctly in assuming that numenor's culture isnt quite as patriarchal as we see in later ages)

so the thing that gets complicated is that these ideals of peace, wisdom, the arts, intellectualism, etc over war are strongly gendered. in The Feminine Principle in Tolkien, Menalie Rawls (who also saved my ass on that paper god bless her) suggests that a lot of the aforementioned traits associated with this "better" (i.e. aligning more with tolkien's internal moral compass for the book) numenorean-refugee culture are strongly in the feminine category, while the warrior culture stuff sits in the masculine category

so that leads to a bit of a weird point. i think a lot of patriarchy as we see it in lotr is related to this idea of the descendants of numenor falling away from their roots and becoming more hypermasculine (the thesis of Rawls's paper is essentially that tolkien's heroes are either expected to have an internal balance of gendered traits or an external one where they balance their gender expression with strong opposing forces to become their most heroic self, i.e. legolas and gimli, eowyn and faramir, varda and manwe, beren and luthien, etc) as opposed to their more balanced, and therefore, in the eyes of the book, "better" past. essentially, like the warrior-worship, patriarchy seems to be an adverse effect that centuries of war can have on a culture

the weird part of it is that i dont know if the whole fall from a golden age thing was supposed to include patriarchy as a symptom of societal decline or just had it coincidentally because tolkien personally associated femininity with peace. it feels like a bit of a chicken or the egg situation honestly

but, like most of tolkien scholarship, this all completely falls to pieces when you try to apply it to the hobbits. i would hazard a guess that the hobbits do a lot of weird shit that doesnt click with the rest of the world (i.e. golf, wristwatches, a mailman) because they're supposed to be the closest thing tolkien has to a normal english human reader in his worlds, so they probably dont have any views/cultural norms outside what someone in the rural england of his childhood would have. best i've got is a reason, but not an explanation

in certain pockets of the world, i think the culture of patriarchy is pretty well justified. however, i agree that there are some major inconsistencies. the hobbits, as per usual, break any theory you try to apply universally across the text. the crowning of aragorn, which is meant to represent gondor's rebuilding to its former glory, has very little to do with how women are treated (which does make me lean more towards the "patriarchy just came along with tolkien liking peace and not warrior culture while also gendering those two concepts" theory now that i think of it). if anything, femininity is treated better after aragorn's crowning (i.e. focus on healing, very gender-balanced king, rewarding small heroes, marrying an Elf, rewarding faramir, tree blooming again, so much celtic symbolism stuff i dont have time to get into but they were considered effeminate as well, etc). but that's how the concept of femininity is treated which is. yknow. different than actual living breathing women

so point is, 1) there's some insight onto why gender concepts look different among different cultures, especially with Men 2) hobbits confuse me

[chocomd]

ATLA rewatch thoughts, Book 3 (ep 3)

This wasn’t my favorite episode when I first watched it, but it’s definitely grown on me since then. 

3) The Painted Lady

The tension between the Gaang being on a tight timetable versus Katara’s desire to help the people of Jang Hui village is what drives the story in this episode. Katara says, “These people need our help,” but Sokka tells her that defeating the Fire Lord is what will help them the most. Sokka positions himself as being realistic, implying that Katara is being too idealistic. 

But Katara can’t turn her back on people who need her help, particularly when the cause of their suffering is a factory that was built nearby without any regard for the town’s needs or safety. And we know that Katara can’t tolerate injustice of any kind - which is why we love her!

I LOVE the lore of the Painted Lady (a benevolent water spirit in the FN???), and I wish we knew more about her...I’ve been itching to write a fic with the Painted Lady, but I just need the right inspiration...

Ok, the Kataang in this episode is just chef’s kiss and makes it even more worth watching!! Aang pursuing the “Painted Lady” not knowing it’s Katara in disguise, “You’re really pretty for a spirit” 🥺, Aang calling Katara a secret hero and then helping her destroy the factory??? Nothing like going on a date to commit some ecoterrorism 😂

Sokka is very much the realist in this episode, and in some ways he’s right - leaving the village and going on their way would have been the simplest and least complicated thing to do. But Katara sees a situation where the people don’t have the means to help themselves (they can’t get rid of the factory on their own), and she sees an opportunity to make a real difference. Destroying the factory resulted in the FN soldiers blaming and almost destroying the village, but Katara recognizes that she has a responsibility to protect the villagers from the consequences of her actions. She’s in too deep at this point, and she is determined to see it through to the end.

The villagers are understandably upset that Katara had been tricking them as well, and on top of that, she had been impersonating their guardian spirit for her own ends (even if it was to help the village). But in the end, everyone reaches an understanding and all’s well that ends well.

[lehdenlaulu]

Going to be vibrating with excitement for the next few weeks until BG3 comes out, but in the meantime -- if it's ok to ask -- what are your plans are for your first playthrough? Character details? Any backstory thoughts? Plans and goals for the playthrough?

Of course it's okay! 😄

Okay, some things might change a little once I see all the background options etc. at full launch, but for now, my first playthrough is going to be the following:

Name: Valisa Falconswoop Race: Wood Half-elf Alignment: Neutral Good (I know they're not implemented in the game but that's how I'll play her) Class: Ranger (Beastmaster + Sanctified Stalker) Animal companion/familiar: Raven (unless I can have a falcon, which is unfortunately unlikely, or a big feline) Origin: Artisan from The High Forest (if possible)

My backstory for her is that she's a child of two half-elves themselves, a druid mother and ranger father who has largely retired from his wild-wandering due to injury and become a woodworker, teaching her his craft as well. She grew up in a small village on the western outskirts of the Forest (possibly Noanar's Hold, I have to look into that), but has traveled the northern Sword Coast in particular a reasonable amount in her 60-ish years, sometimes settling down for a time in smaller settlements to work as local ranger and artisan. She does not mind larger cities, but as a ranger partially raised by the local druid circle, she does not feel entirely at home in them, especially for extended periods. (I'm also thinking she's probably at least worked with the Harpers if being one isn't a background option.)

So yeah, I'll probably be playing her as practical, observant, and generally kind and benevolent. She comes from a druid stock and rangers are very much not fans of goblins in general (it's even a class-specific dialogue choice to call them pests) so I'm absolutely siding with the druids, ousting Kagha's bitch ass by exposing her short-sighted plans, helping the tieflings etc. And while the Halsin romance route would probably make more sense for her than a Waterdhavian ex-archmage with a... colorful past, I'm thinking I'm sticking to Gale -- depending on how much they've potentially changed him. If he's still the generally good dude with some big secrets (though I can't imagine the Archmage of Waterdeep losing his powers for any reason remaining a secret instead of a massive source of gossip for long, but we'll see), I can work with that and hopefully encourage him on the path of redemption. It has all the potential for some juicy drama for sure.

My temperamental storm sorcerer playthrough will inevitably be quite a bit more chaotic at least, so I'm thinking with Valisa I'm trying to be honorable, avoid using the mindflayer parasite as much as I can, leaning towards mercy and kindness even if it sometimes bites me in the ass (though it's more like a 'fool me once shame on me, but the next time you're getting an arrow in the eye'), that kind of thing. The boring hero archetype, if you will. 😆

And obviously I'm going to talk to every single animal I see.

Did that satisfy your curiosity? 😂

[theherosreturn]

(Too bad they were so close to the heroes’ base this time. meaning they had to face basically all of their defenses, including warmachina, monsters, automated defenses, and everyone themselves. Even Vayu, who didn’t come out much due to his destructive potential as a Shara Ishvalda, was ok with smashing the steel forces directly in his stone armor. Of course, G.A.M.M.A. did reveal himself to C during this…by helping out in the Diamond Weapon. Despite the otherworldly warmachina the benevolent A.I. used…she was quick to realize who was in it. Of course, this chaos was something Maki, Kaito, Gonta, Tenko, Kirumi, Himiko, and Angie weren’t used to this chaos (the former three didn’t notice it due to the stress of battle in Newtopia), so they were quite shocked at what was happening…and then the latter four realized they were with some of their classmates again)

Tenko: Holy s***! You guys are still alive!! I have never thought I'd feel so relieved to see a familiar male...

Serial designation C, after recognizing G.A.M.M.A within the Diamond Weapon: Nice to see you again old man. *She had said it in a way that was similar to a nickname you'd give to a very close friend* We have a lot of catching up to do soon!

*She soon had summoned, to Jackrow's surprise, her very own Soul Blade that was more of a rapier than his usual broadsword and began waiting for the perfect opportunities to strike at the enemy*

*The Geckoid had been given an upgraded version of its invisibility cloak that allowed its steps to be perfectly silent and it slowly began creeping its way to where Uzi was to grab her*

[stayinzencity]

heroine's manual S1 E2

GENRE: Romcom, Drama | love triangles, childhood friends, high school au | INSPIRED BY: Heroine Shikkaku (shoujo manga) | LENGTH: ~1.2K | RATING: Teen | WARNINGS: mentions of food, eating | PAIRINGS: Minho x MC (Reader), Minho x OC (Heather) | TAGLIST: @linoscence @elizabeth11moreno (ask to be added)

♡ previous episode

♡ return to main

TWO. We've known each other since childhood, so I understand him better than everyone else.

You don't know her name. You guess it doesn't really matter. She won't be around for long, will she? She's just a side character, so it's ok. Let her have a chance. It won't last long anyway.

She's a nice girl. You can see that. But that's never been enough before, so why does it seem like something's different now?

You lay your head down on the table, picking at a loose thread on your sweater sleeve. The seats on either side of you are taken by Seungmin and Jisung, the latter nudging you.

“Are you alright? You’re awfully pouty today,” Jisung asks. “What’s wrong?”

You sigh. “Nothing.”

“It’s the girl from yesterday, isn’t it? I heard she asked Minho out. Is that what’s got you bothered?” Seungmin doesn’t wait for you to respond, deciding he’s right himself. “Strange. You don’t usually let the green monster out.”

“Green monster? I’m not jealous,” you insist making an X with your hands. “No way. Why do I have to be jealous? She’s nobody.”

But then you spot Minho and her coming to lunch together, his smile and interest in her seeming more genuine than he usually shows to his girlfriends. If she’s just another fling, why is he acting like that?

You understand him better than anyone else, don't you? There can't be anyone more suited for him than you, right?

Then why is she the one beside him? How have you been replaced? Wasn't that your place?

Have you become the second female lead? Have you been pushed to the side, so that girl can shine?

Were you wrong all this time?

“She confessed, fair and square. Meanwhile, you’re here moping when you didn’t even try. You never had a chance, because all you do is stand at the side and watch from afar as he goes through relationships,” Seungmin points out when you reveal your worries to him.

“See, I told you to confess.” Jisung huffs, sharing half of his cake slice with you and swatting Seungmin when he tries to snatch some. “What’s her name anyway? Hyunjin would know, right? I think they were lab partners. And I think he used to have a crush on her too. Anyway, now it’s too late, unless you steal him away from her. ”

If that’s what it takes to get Minho, then that’s what you’ll do. “You’re a genius, Jisung.” You jump out of your seat, shoving the last pieces of food into your mouth.

“Uh sure?” Jisung looks at you with confusion as you hurry away.

Meanwhile, Seungmin facepalms. “You just gave her a bad idea. Fantastic.”

Heather. That’s her name. Or well, it’s not her actual name but the one you’ve assigned her. She’s the titular character of that Conan Grey song that you’ve been playing on repeat the entire week as you lay sprawled on your bed, staring at the ceiling and contemplating the latest twist in your story. Except you’re prettier and better than her in every way, of course.

You are less of a giver of advice than a receiver. Nevertheless, you walk up to Heather. “Heather! I hope you’re well,” you beam at her. You can play the role of the benevolent best friend of the hero. Minho will fall for you if he sees how kind, accepting and mature you are being, right?

“I’m not-”

“I heard you’re dating Minho. Congratulations!” With a concerned voice you continue, “I want to warn you not to get attached to him. He’s a wonderful boyfriend, but his relationships never last long.”

“Ok. Why are you telling me this? I'm already aware of what Minho's like. Watching him from afar and secretly crushing on him for so long- I know it’s a miracle that I even have a chance now, and I’m going to make the most out of it. I have no intention of giving up so easily.”

You stare at her, taken aback. How can she be so bold trying to replace your role? You’re the heroine, not her.

You want to be selfish- without the label of 'selfish' stuck to you. You’re the heroine of this story, not the villain. Trying to get between the hero and his girlfriend doesn’t put you in the wrong, right? You’re fighting for your love, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s admirable even.

“I was going through my closet yesterday when I found these.” You bring out photo albums from your bag. “Minho’s really cute as a kid, isn’t he?” Your classmates hover around your desk, eager to take a look.

Childhood photos. That’s your first weapon.

You turn to Heather with an album. “Here, you should see the pictures too.” When Heather sees how long your deep bond with Minho has lasted, she’ll realize she has no chance and back off.

Except she doesn’t look disheartened. She just smiles pleasantly. “Wow, you two are adorable. It’s so nice that you’ve been friends since you were kids.”

“Right? She's so lucky- the girl that the hero eventually falls for. White horse, kind knight, sweet tender dreams,” Jisung sings dreamily. He’s totally doing this for you, and you adore him for it. “I wish I had a handsome prince as my childhood best friend.”

Hyunjin kicks his chair from behind, scowling. “I’ve known you since you were a toddler, loser.”

“I said handsome- yeah, ok- you’re a prince- let go-” Jisung struggles to get out of the headlock Hyunjin has him in, while Seungmin and you laugh in the background. These losers are your friends, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“What’s the commotion?” It’s Minho. He narrows his eyes at Hyunjin, deciding that he’s the root of all evil. “20 minutes, 180 degrees. Are you messing with Jisung again?”

“No!” “Yes!”

Chaos erupts in the next few seconds, Hyunjin clambering to get to the other side of the classroom, while Minho follows his movements with a menacing gaze.

You catch Heather watching with a thoughtful look in her eyes. It makes you wonder if she’s just a lonely girl who wants to be loved.

Not that you care about her. She’s your rival. You can’t care if she doesn’t have any friends. It’s none of your business.

“We’re going to the café this evening,” You tell Heather. “Do you want to join us?”

It’s not out of pity that you’re asking her to come along with you and your friends. She’ll see how close your friend group is and it’ll intimidate her. Yep, that’s why. Ulterior motives only, no kind feelings here. Yeah.

Jisung meets your eyes and seems to get the message as he chimes in, "Yeah, you should come along! The more the merrier, after all."

Heather hesitates, glancing between you and Minho. Hyunjin appears at her side, wiping sweat away and sends her a smile with an encouraging nod. "Alright," she says. "If it's not a bother-"

"It's really not," Seungmin cuts in. "We're just hanging out, nothing special. Besides, if anyone's a bother, it's these guys." He accepts Minho's playful punch with a laugh, and sticks his tongue out at a scowling Hyunjin.

Even Heather can't help but smile.

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♡ please leave a comment, reblog with tags or send an ask to let me know what you think!!

© 2022, stayinzencity

[redphlox]

Hey redphlox, hope you're good? Want to ask you: is it kind of worrying that no hero(not even deku) in bnha wants systemic change even though the manga is almost over? I want the villains to be saved(at least live well) but if even deku who's been through discrimination/met hero assassins doesn't want things really changed ('helping hand' not great plan) is the implications of change enough for an ending or is that disappointing? Or is everything ok as long as villains/hero kids are good? ☺️

Hello there! Thanks for the question. I'm recovering from the semester, I hope you're relaxing too :)

Hmm. To understand why Horikoshi is approaching the story the way he is, we first have to understand what message Horikoshi wants to convey. Ultimately, Bnha is a story about redefining what heroism is to a society where heroism is a celebritized profession akin to acting in Hollywood movies etc. The hero ranking system is a marker of this, as is the fact that heroes sponsor products on commercials, have merch, etc. All Might's first appearance consisted of him condemning what heroism has become.

As the story goes on, Horikoshi emphasizes this message by repeating the phrase "my body moved without thinking." Real heroes spring into action to save naturally, meaning that true heroism comes from the heart. It's not something you are taught. True heroism requires selflessness, benevolence, and pure intentions. Deku, Bakugo, and young Keigo were examples of this. In fact, Endeavor freezing everytime one of his children are in danger is also a sign he's not a true hero. He didn't go into the profession because he's altruistic. He only wanted to be the strongest.

Anyway, this message of "heroes save unconditionally" explains why many pro heroes quit after the praise and admiration from the citizens turned into doubt. They were not in the profession for the right reasons because people need saving and protection no matter what they're saying, doing, etc.

Midoriya states at the beginning that this is a story of how he became a great hero. In order to surpass All Might, Midoriya has to go above and beyond. He has to do what no heroes have done, which most likely means understanding and saving villains. The story is clear that society makes it own villains by ostracizing people who are different and setting for complacency. Midoriya's challenge seems to be to act in the opposite manner of the citizens and pro heroes.

Reaching the villains doesn't mean changing their minds and dismissing their pain or convincing them that things aren't that bad. Saving them means saving them from their pain. It means understanding that their feelings and their actions came from a place of hurt that society caused. It means making them believe in heroes again, but not the type of heroes that let them down. This next part is purely my speculation but once the villains feel validated, they'll start to believe in REAL altruistic heroes, which will then make them help take down afo.

But anyway, this story isn't about taking down a system. If this were about taking down the system then the focus would be more on the LOV. It would have started sith Shigaraki. Midoriya and the other students wouldn't be becoming disillusioned with the current system, nor would they be attempting to be compassionate toward villains. Usually taking down a system involved resistance from the oppressor, and it looks like the up and coming heroes (the ua kids) will be the change hero society needs.

I know a lot of people think the villains are the protagonists because of MVA arc, and I used to think the same until after the Vigilante Deku arc. I think the purpose of the MVA arc wasn't to establish the LOV as the eventual victors, but to sympathize them to the readers. Shigaraki and the group were just scary, abhorrent, and violent killers who only wanted to cause chaos. During MVA we discover they are strategic and want to change society so they can find a place to belong.

So yes, in my opinion everything should be okay as long as the hero kids understand their villain counterpart. I imagine the hero kids will go on to be the change the system once they become pros. Uraraka has already planted the seed in the civilains' minds that heroes are people too, so I'm sure the idea that villains are people too will follow.

That's what I think, anyway, following themes of the story. It would have been interesting for the LOV to be the main characters and have them take down society. But this story is about children being the future, and Midoriya, Shouto, and Uraraka will be the change hero society needs. They'll be the greatest heroes because they will have saved the unlikliest of people: the villains themselves.

[luckycheesefoodie321]

TUA 3x07 REACTION (SPOILERS)

TUA was on my dash and I remembered I haven’t posted my live reacts. So here they are! Many moons late.

oh so Dot and Herb ARE a thing

Huh emergency briefcase

Dang Lila had her Whiplash moment

SIR REGINALD HARGREEVES LISTENING TO NELLY

Jfc Reggie you asshat what is wrong with you (funny how we always end up here)

Wait something so charming about Lila saying to Grace “lovely to meet you” which suggests her and Diego have talked about her and how important she is and the fact the Brelly’s all called her mom

Luther not knowing where to sit

SO SHE DID KILL HIM. Damn Allison tf.

HAHAHAHA BEN SCOOCHING ONTO THE COUCH NEXT TO FIVE. MAKING A BET ON WHO WOULD WIN BETEEN ALLISON AND VIKTOR

Ben shushing Five

Damn Allison coming through without even needing the I heard a rumour

Weirdly kinda been waiting for this confrontation bc tbh Viktor does need to be held accountable for some of his actions. Some of them justifiable tho

Ok yeah nah Allison took it too far there and deserved the smack. But shit this was intense

Interesting tho. Same movement as when Viktor sliced open Allison’s neck but he didn’t use his powers

“Sweet you guys fight just like us” “nah man. We don’t fight like this” JUST THE INHERENT UNDERSTANDING SOMETHING IS WRONG. BC THEYVE BEEN DISTANT AND BITTER BUT NOT HATEFUL

Mmm not your room Vik?? That’s old Bens

BEN DOES ART?!? WHO IS JENNIFER?!?!?

Klaus laying into Reggie for just how messed up he was/is is everything I needed

“Do you trust me?” “…Yeah *nods vigorously* I trust you” *looks away eyes wide* (°▽°)

Oh god Klaus is gonna be even more messed up after this. Little Girl on a Bicycle is gonna be pissed

WHERE ARE ALL THESE CARS COMING FROM ON THIS OTHERWISE EMPTY COUNTRY ROAD AND WHY ARE THEY ALL JUST DRIVING BY LIKE ITS NOTHING

Dang Klaus really did have the greatest potential. Original Timeline!Reggie was correct. Literally dancing in the face of death

Why the weapons cabinet Grace????

Is Viktor just lying in Ben’s bed? Not his brother Ben but Sparrow Ben???

I really think Lila and her abilities is such a clever addition

OH GOD GRACE A FLAME THROWER

“The day of vengeance was in my heart and the year of my redemption hath come”

Holy moly the spirits

Damn Five good job. I mean he merc’d his mom but quick thinking.

Hmm now. Good speech Reggie. Will this thinking and helping Klaus develop his powers ultimately be more helpful or harmful bc supportive Reggie is sus.

HAHAHA ONLY CHAMPAGNE. They really celebrating this easy huh. Is Christopher gonna die??

Lila and Five is a fun dynamic

HAHAHAHA THE CONTRAST TO THEM CELEBRATING AND SEEING THE CITY STILL MESSED UP

HE REALLY PROPOSED THAT WAS SO CUTE BUT ABRUPT

Wow so Luther and Diego seem to have created the most positive relationships so far

“It means you’re dangerous Viktor Hargreeves. The decisions you make impact the entire world. So no matter how benevolent they may seem, you don’t get to make them alone” what a powerful fucking line. Props to Aiden.

A discussion about the inevitable moral grey zone that heroes have to face and how no matter how sympathetic a person is or justifiable their reasons may be, they have to be held accountable for the power they hold. Fucking fantastic. My favourite scene so far. Aiden goddamn killed it. Five acknowledging Viktor’s intentions and wanting to be there for his brother but knowing that what he did by acting alone was dangerous no dismissive of the danger. And also not having enough faith in his family that they could resolve the situation.

“No more going rogue. If you ever need anything, I’m always here for you. But lie to us again, Viktor, I’ll kill you myself”

Do I think Allison should’ve killed Harlan? No? Should she have said those things about leaving Viktor in the basement? No. Allison is also making many dangerous mistakes. But it’s like, Viktor doesn’t need to be coddled anymore or treated as if he can do no wrong just bc he got wronged in the past. The fact Viktor was waiting in Ben’s room for someone to come after him and acknowledge his feelings and let him once again be in the right was presenting a dangerous mindset.

And I think Five was the perfect person (unharried as he is by an impending doomsday) to say all this to him

Aw man poor Fei and Christopher. I figured trapping the kugel in Christopher would have consequences

Five going back for Sparrow!Ben!!

[bamboozy]

Lmao, no, not in this series. Lestat is very much written as a hero or anti-hero post-iwtv, depending on your interpretation. Louis is a classic byronic hero.

This is an entire series about vampires, almost all the characters are vampires. Some of them are framed as heroic and others as villainous. A character being flawed or even doing bad things doesn't make them a villain. It's about who the narrative wants us to root for and sympathize with. Louis and Lestat are heroes of the story. Akasha, for example, is most definitely a villain. Some people consider Armand a villain, I consider him an antagonist and a foil for Lestat but that's, again, personal interpretation.

Marius is a weird one, though, because the books frame him as a pretty ok dude. Like an older, wiser vampire that loves all these younger vampires so much. I always feel like the audience is supposed to like and admire him. This DILF vampire, so benevolent and wise.

But a lot of the things he does are honestly repugnant, and the narrative never questions it. He's never framed as the problem, when he really should be. It's like Anne Rice thought Marius was one thing, but what we, as the audience, actually SEE is something else entirely.

At least when Lestat and Armand do bad things, the narrative acknowledges it to some extent or another. Marius' fuckery is never really called out. Or at least it never felt that way to me.

So, yes, I want the show to frame his narrative differently. They framed Claudia's differently. I find her much, much more likeable and sympathetic in the show than in the book. If they can re-frame her story, they can do the same with Marius.

I want the gross pedo vampire called out. Sue me.

People out here arguing that Lestat is worse than Armand or Armand is worse than Lestat.

No, shut up, listen.

They're both trash. Let them be messy.

You know who's ACTUALLY the worst?

Marius.

I really hope the show frames him as a villain. The kind of villain who doesn't realize he's a villain because he's so full of himself he honestly thinks he's wise and noble and tragic.

But actually, who started this cycle of abuse? By grooming, turning, and then abandoning Armand to a cult for centuries? By telling Lestat to withhold information from his fledglings?

Marius, the Roman colonizer. The slave owner. The pederast.

There is so much to be mined there. Especially with the themes of race the show is exploring and with Armand being Muslim. It adds layers to Marius' playing favorites with Lestat, like choosing to seek him out and save him after ignoring Armand's plight for literal centuries.

I've seen some people speculate that since Armand is older in the show, that his trauma with Marius will be softened or abandoned somehow. But I think there's still plenty of room for Armand to have been groomed and used as a sex slave in his youth. And judging by Armand's reaction to the rent boy comment, i assume they are going to run with it somehow.

Assad looks young enough to pass for early to mid-20s, which means Armand still could have spent his teen years with Marius before being turned. There's still room for all that abandonment trauma.

But anyway that's really all I want. For the show to call Marius and his bullshit the fuck out. Repeatedly. And for it to be framed as the villainy it is.

[musclesandhammering]

Loki (2021) Positivity from an Anti

Ok so all of my mutuals know I’m extremely anti-Loki (2021), anti-sylki, and anti-sylvie. But at a certain point, even we antis get tired of all the negativity. So! Here’s some Loki series commentary in the opposite direction! This is a list of all the things about the show that I loved :)

Also adding a disclaimer that all of this is just my opinion and some of my fellow antis (or even people who liked the show) might disagree, and that’s fine! I’ve been planning this post for awhile. I always say in my other posts that I don’t entirely hate the show and I wanted to be a little more specific about what I think are its good aspects. Feel free to leave your thoughts!

• Mobius is a gem (Owen Wilson owns my whole heart) and his relationship with Loki is so so great. He’s not one-dimensional at all, he has conflicted loyalty and is morally complex, and he has the tragic backstory- which makes him a perfect choice for eventually becoming Loki’s first genuine friend.

• The casting was really really great. Lots of women and people of color. Most of the female actresses (as well as the males) are over 30, which isn’t very common and is fantastic!

• Superb acting all around. I can’t think of a single scene where the actors under or oversold it.

• Beautiful set design, incredible cgi, and gorgeous cinematography overall. It looked more like a movie than a tv show, which is really good.

• Kang being the big bad was a huge plus for me. Johnathan Majors was perfect in the role, his vibes were immaculate, and I was honestly pretty worried that the man behind the curtain would end up being another Loki variant, which imo would’ve been boring and predictable and counter-productive, so it was a big relief when that didn’t happen.

• I like that it sets up a bunch of future marvel movies, rather than being contained to its own little world. It gives it more importance and (hopefully) will encourage writers to not just toss Loki’s character aside in future projects.

• All the Loki variants were delightful. All of them except Sylvie. Kid Loki has my heart. Boastful Loki is a fashion icon. Alligator Loki is a savage. President Loki is the superior variant. Classic Loki became my fav character in less than half an episode.

• It showed some more variety in Loki’s magic. A lot of his powers we’ve seen before, but it feels like they were portrayed a bit more blatantly in the show. The energy blasts, the telekinesis, the teleportation… Outstanding.

• It also implied that Loki has the potential to be waaaay more powerful than he knows he is right now, which? Yes.

• Some of the quotes- and the themes behind them- are just profound as hell. Such as:

“I think we’re stronger than we realise.”

“It’s never too late to change.”

“You can be whoever you wanna be, even someone good.”

“We’re Lokis. We survive. It’s what we do.”

“Loki, God of Outcasts.”

“The universe wants to break free, that’s why it manifests chaos.”

• Technically Loki was Marvel’s first canon lgbt (bi) character, which is a win. His genderfluidity is also technically canon, even if it wasn’t really acknowledged on-screen.

• There were a lot of throwback references to Thor 1, Avengers, and Thor The Dark World. Which I loved.

• Sylvie’s so pretty. Her hair and makeup and costume were all perfect.

• Big fan of Loki finally getting Laevateinn.

• Sufficiently slutty imagery, courtesy of a female director (Loki in a collar, kneeling to Sif, President Loki looking down into the bunker, the hair flips)

• The music was Excellent Wonderful and Superb.

• I love that Loki being a good singer is now canon.

• I love that Asgardians having their own language is now canon (even if it’s basically just Icelandic).

• I also love that they disproved all of those “Loki was a shy nerdy wallflower pre-canon” theories in Episode 3. The drinking/eating/singing scene was fun, if a bit wacky.

• There’s a million different reasons why Loki does what he does, especially in regards to the New York attack (I’m literally writing a huge meta on them), but somehow I never considered that Loki being desperate for control was one of them. It makes a lot of sense, and I always love getting new insights into his motivations.

• I love that Loki finally outright acknowledged that he doesn’t enjoy hurting people. We Been Knew™️ but it’s still nice to hear it out loud from his own mouth.

• The TVA outfit wasn’t as hideous as some people make it out to be. It could’ve been A Look, even. You know, if he’d just accessorised a little better. And kept the jacket on. And not gotten sweaty. And not gotten dirty. And maybe had at least one other costume change… But it had potential, though!!

• Even though I despise the Obvious One, I did actually like some of the other romance crumbs they tossed us (sifki, Loki x the flight attendant).

• The whole DB Cooper thing was iconic idc idc.

• Loki’s hyper sort of overly excited puppy attitude in episode 2 was actually pretty refreshing and funny (for awhile). And now I can headcanon him as adhd, yeehaw.

• “We’re all villains here.” That quote was iconic, my favourite one in the show. And the entire theme that it summarised was really great as well. When you think about it, every single main character in this series has been the villain at one point or another. I mean, I know all marvel characters do bad things etc, but none of the Heroes are ever narratively categorised as Bad. This show did just that with all of them, though. . Loki was framed as the psychopath that attacked New York. Sylvie was framed as the murderous fugitive. The TVA/Ravonna/Mobius were framed as the murderous fascists. Kang was framed as the crazy totalitarian. It’s made clear that all the Loki variants were the villains of their stories.

However, every single main character in the series is also framed as the Hero at a certain point. Loki is framed as the main protagonist who throws a wrench in the TVA’s dastardly plans. Sylvie is framed as the persevering freedom fighter who wants to take down the fascists. The TVA/Mobius/Ravonna are framed as the ones who maintain order for the greater good. Kang is framed as the weird but ultimately benevolent wise man who’s just trying to prevent something worse from happening. The Loki variants are framed as generous allies who befriend the main character and help him on his journey.

Everyone in this equation is openly acknowledged by the narrative to be morally corrupt, but not entirely morally bankrupt. There are no Straightforward Hero Figures (like the Avengers) in this entire scenario at all, and that makes for a super interesting dynamic that marvel has never done before. So yes: “We’re all villains here.” But also: “No one bad is ever truly bad, and no one good is ever truly good.” I loved that.

• Even if it wasn’t really enough imo, I still treasure the crumbs we got of Loki being competent and capable (him putting the collar on B-15, him figuring out Sylvie’s hiding place, him teaching himself to enchant on the fly while fighting a giant cloud beast of eldritch proportions).

• I love that B-15 was the one who stepped in and saved the day in Episode 4, when we all thought it was gonna be Mobius. What a queen.

• Marvel usually has a bit of a problem with creating compelling and memorable side characters. But aside from Sylvie, I genuinely got attached to every single character in this show. Like Casey, C-20? I was seriously emotionally invested in them and they were only in like 2 episodes. Wtf.

• Introducing the TVA storyline in the Loki series specifically was a really good move. I’m not saying they executed it well, just that it had a ton of potential. A lot of people have wondered why marvel even thought to put those two (the TVA and Loki) together, when they had literally nothing to do with each other, nothing in common, and essentially no connection at all. But when you think about it, it’s a really interesting twist on both of those stories. Forcing the embodiment of destructive chaos and the pillar of rigid order to interact could make for some seriously entertaining and compelling television. And as far as meshing these two completely unrelated entities together goes, I thought they did it pretty well- at least just the bare bones of the story (loki being arrested by the TVA and being one of their most common variants).

So that’s it! If you guys (fellow antis) wanna add stuff you liked, feel free. If anyone wants to discuss (or debate) my list, feel free to do that too!