#fatal flaw really do be flawing

[nomsfaultau]

Halloween interactive event (p.5)

The evening soon turns to night. The sound of the clock ticking can be heard, although there doesn't seem to be any clocks in the room. Odd.

When Wilbur writes "everything", a plate of his favourite food layed out in the shape of the word everything appears.

Wilbur and Phil find that the crowd is mostly inhuman, outwardly so. There are plenty creatures with wings and claws and horns and extra limbs. Even those who do look human-like give off a very inhuman feeling. Not all of them seem to know of the proper etiquette either, the crowd is a bit wild.

The Blade successfully escapes into the garden, blissfully unaware of the others gathering near the main platform for a speech from the Count himself.

~

A tall human-like man in a blood-red suit and a masquerade mask of the same colour steps out onto the "stage". He clinks his wine glass with a small, decorative fork and the ballroom goes silent, all attention now on him.

The Count Showfall clears his throat and begins to speak.

"Dear guests, if you allow me a minute of your time, I would like to say two things. The first one is, as the clock hands are approaching midnight, the portals back to your respective homes will be available soon. The second is, thank you all sincerely for your time and your trust. Thank you for coming here. In the previous times this ball was held, we have never had so many wise, powerful people in one place at the same time. I hope that you have enjoyed this masquerade dearly. And I am certain that you will remember it for the rest of your time. That is all."

The Count stays on the platform, looking over each and every guest, but the others seem to barely pay him any mind.

You will find the continuation of this story amidst chaos and destruction.

(Discord)

Philza: “Thank you for your trust” what the m̶̗̟̀͘ư̴̫̌f̷̳͎͘f̷̧̹͛͘i̸̥̜͋n̸̡͗̐ is that supposed to mean…

Wilbur: Specifically powerful people? *Wilbur glances around the room uneasily. His foot begins to bounce, itching to run.* His sycophancy is a massive red flag. Too ominous for my liking, and I’ve already eaten ‘everything’ I wanted. Let’s bounce. 

Philza: Mmm. Want to wager those portals actually do lead home?

Wilbur: *He snorts.* I don’t reckon I’d win. 

Philza: ̷͙̐̑M̴͍̹͎̈ǘ̵̝͚̙̊f̴̬̝̈́̍̔̓f̶̝̽i̸͔̠̠͂̏͜ň̵̹̣̰̭̅̊. Where did The Bl- Wilbur go. 

Tubbo: (as a swarm of bees) Huh? He’s chilling in the garden. 

Philza: Fetch him. We should escape before the problems start. *He crosses the ballroom floor, smiling and nodding cordially, but walking with an intent that brushes past any that tries to stymie his mission. Philza reaches where Tommy and Tubbo are. Tommy has pulled away from where he was chatting with a group, arms wrapped tight around himself.*

Tommy: *Tommy jumps as Philza puts a hand on his shoulder, jerking away.* DON’T– m̶̗̟̀͘ư̴̫̌f̷̳͎͘f̷̧̹͛͘i̸̥̜͋n̸̡͗̐ing hell Phil, don’t do that. Didn’t you hear the announcement? Everyone here is super powerful, if I touch someone- *He shakes his head. His hands wring, crimson bleeding through his spiderman costume.* Should’ve told me. Someone could’ve been really hurt. 

Philza: (That…might be the point) *He drapes a wing around Tommy’s shoulders, and the boy leans into the comfort.* How has the party gone for you? Before the announcement?

Tommy: *A little too cheerfully at first, but it becomes more genuine.* Going great! The food’s amazing, and I get to talk to so many people! You lot are fine, but man being in a crowd…missed it, y’know? Just another bloke in the crowd, unremarkable, safe. I feel almost normal again. I’m glad we came. 

Philza: *The line of tension between his shoulder blades eases.* Alright. We can stay a little longer if you want. 

Wilbur: Dad! *it hisses, pulling him over.*

Philza: We haven’t been in danger yet. Hasty action could escalate the situation. 

Wilbur: You’re just saying that because you don’t want to break the news its sus as hell!

Philza: And is it wrong to want to shelter his happiness?

Wilbur: If it means you refuse to shelter his life, yes. 

Philza: I’ll protect all of you when the time comes. But it hasn’t yet. It might never. I’m willing to be patient, for his sake.

[liesmultixxx]

“Why did you leave me?”

can you hear me crying?

the way annabeth thought percy had abandoned her like everyone else

… girl he fell into tartarus for you, he would never leave you

NEVER

rick was evil for that

[isolophilian]

you can already see seeds Annabeth's fatal flaw in the second episode. the expressions of agreement like "yep" when Percy says "I know you're better at this than me." the way she leaves him on the cliff knowing Clarisse would be after him. the way she shoves him into the lake, knowing there's a chance she could be wrong about this guy. she knows how incredibly smart she is and is confident in it, however, she's also confident to a fault. it'll be a big source of problems for both herself and those around her. i know it's not a lot but it's there, and I'm here for it

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

The tragedy of Kokichi to me is that he really Didn't have to do all that. There's endless discourse about ch4 and if what Kokichi did was justified. And a lot of people argue that Kokichi had to sacrifice Miu and Gonta, mainly for his life, and partly for his plan. But the reality is he didn't have to do that- but not in an immediate sense. His cold attitude and lack of belief in others pushed him into a corner where his long-game Plan to End The Killing Game was his best course of action. So in the end, no, he didn't need to do all that, but it's not as easy as stopping at ch4. The cause of his actions runs much deeper than the surface level motivations of that case.

[chamerionwrites]

Intellectually I understand where people are coming from, but personally I do THE biggest double take every time someone boils down conservative Christian ideology (and/or secularized cultural reflections thereof) to a kind of dour puritanism that proclaims happiness is sin/suffering is a moral good/everyone should be miserable all the time. Like I get it! I do. But also, institutionally, I have never met a group of more passionate worshippers and vicious defenders of their own comfort than evangelical Christians. There is a reason the common thread between my various weird triggers more or less boils down to "toxic positivity." There is a REASON my exvangelical tag is #walking away from omelas.

[j-l-kepler]

I would - I would kill him for you.

another fan art piece for SAD SACK, created by the outstanding @meanbossart and @barbatusart because I CAN'T HELP MYSELF OKAY

I made this one before the Stone Pratt piece - Malik's chapter of SAD SACK contains easily my favorite scene to revisit. The conversation between Malik and Jules was the scene I realized the story was absolutely going to deliver on every promise it was quietly making through its framing and dialogue. I have a somewhat personal (though indirect) connection to the scene that inspired this piece, too, so I do admit I'm quite biased~

mayhaps i will make pieces for the remaining three.... ohoho...

[over-dvse]

Crystal Mccrae or DS Ink... Please.. 🥺

have only drawn her(?) ((correct me if pronouns are wrong)) like once. Uhhh Yay

[notmontauk]

i was rewatching the last few episodes of the pjo tv show and the way percy’s loyalty is being depicted kinda makes me think that rick riordan heard those few people who say that loyalty isn’t actually a serious/dangerous character flaw (when talking either about pjo or about other media) and just said BET

[boyfridged]

the brilliance of jay's progression in countdown is that it gives you a promise of positive character development, and then it breaks it. and it does so intentionally, in the most diverting way, to emphasize jason's inability to escape the cycle.

or, another post breaking down the series, where i repeat myself a lot but also make a clearer argument.

there are three notable events that happen at the beginning: the subtle showcase of jay's internal conflict considering his approach toward killing (the very first encounter with duela and the monitor), jay reaching out to donna in crisis ("i guess I just wanted to be around someone else who might know how it feels…"), and finally – his helmet shattering. these scenes tell you: jason's direction as a character is changing, and it seems, for the better. he's about to abandon his trauma-based (no matter how ironic, it does remain tied to his trauma) identity, he is connecting with people, and he seems to be on a brink of understanding that his moral standing does not provide easy answers or solutions either.

and for the most part of the series, we see that narrative unfolding (even if a bit non-linear, still innocently convincing way). it is, in many ways, supported by bringing up features of his characterisation from the 80s. jason remains, of course, still unpleasant in ways typical for this era of writing, and is conflicted and disagreeable, which makes sense for his utrh/post-utrh personality. however, there are also details that bring us back to his original robin run and his cameos on ntt – we see him being responsible (e.g. #43 – suggesting to bring in other superheroes in crisis, even though he clearly is not keen on the idea of working with them), determined (#16: “isn’t that your super-power, stupid boy? too stupid to ever give up?” “maybe it is”), sensitive (half of the whole storyline, really), caring for gotham (gotham by gaslight) and people-oriented (as early as #51).

the issue that particularly signals that jason is an inherently good person and externalizes his internal conflicts regarding classic heroic vigilantism vs his cynical approach is #30, where we meet batman of earth-15 –  alt jason, whom our jason attempts to punch in the face.

and on topic of batman – jason is always gravitating towards batman. in gotham by gaslight jay looks delighted to see (the foreign) bruce and suggests checking with the local bat. then, earth-51 arc arrives.

earth-51 arc (#16 - #13) is a culmination of a promise of catharsis for jason. we have already seen him as batman, as a confirmation that a different life for him is possible. and here he has a chance to come to terms with his past and overcome it. he meets a version of bruce who has done exactly what he wanted him to do in utrh: killed the joker and the rest of the rogue gallery. what is most important – he is disappointed with this version of his father. we realise that jason, deep down, has an intimate and intuitive understanding of what batman stands for; and that he shares most of his values. this is a truth that you can't ignore especially since jay is the one to inspire this hollow, cynical version of batman to go out and fight in a seemingly lost battle.

and then batman dies. right in front of him.

this is a central moment of the narrative, for many reasons, most strikingly:

the symmetry:, a premise known from the lost days, becomes literal. this "the father had lost a son, and now the son had lost the father" is a cruel parallel to a death in the family and bruce's grief. jason's death created a gap between them that jay has been desperately trying to close, with no avail – because in bruce's mind, jason remains dead. now that jason is grieving bruce, the connection closes on both sides, and there's no way for either of them to reconcile the mourning with the reality of the other being truly alive. in this sense, the arc solidifies that jason can never come home.

no good deed goes unpunished. as i have mentioned before, so far jason is established as someone good at heart, but confused; and the reader intuitively assumes that his better, honest side will win. yet, the moment jason gives in to hope, it victimises and retraumatizes him. this event, again, brings to mind his own death, when he tried his best to save sheila and ended up paying the highest price for it. so, narrative-wise, jason is always punished for his kindness.

perhaps because of the nonchalant act that jason pulls off, many readers seem to miss that everything that happens after that arc is an upshot that follows logically from it.

jason's immediate determination to leave – and later a short period of indecision that ends up with his dramatic exit, pushing his team away, makes perfect sense when you consider what intense trauma he has just gone through. admittedly, i'm not a fan of the notion that he would give up at all (i think he's always ready to give up on himself, but not on the world), but then on the other hand, if there's anything that would cause it, narrative-wise, witnessing batman dying does sound like a good incentive for that. (it also has to be pointed out that jason seems to be confident that the rest of the team can go into the final battle without him anyway; it's not like he would go back to his earth not even knowing if said earth will exist tomorrow).

it's crucial to notice that following that crisis of faith (faith in fighting for the world) is followed by him raising up for the challenge again, but now... worse and even more confused. in the final confrontation with donna, jason antagonizes the superhero community, and when we see him at the end of the series (#1) his monologue indicates that he believes the capes to be naive. (significantly, he also focuses on bruce and offends the memory of 51 earth-bruce by calling him crazy; an action that can be seen as suppression of his own guilt and invoking, once again, a cruel symmetry considering bruce's engagement in victim-blaming after jason's death). this, once again, is consistent with the "no good deed" reading – jason diminishes superhero values because he has been continuously punished for living by them. (and unlike other superheroes, he doesn't have a support system nor skills in compartmentalization that would help him deal with this trauma) every leap of hope re-traumatised him. hence, it seems to be no surprise that jason decides to abandon the mask, and in the closing scene we see him without it. the promise of the shattered helmet is pushed to an extreme – jason does not get a new alt identity. he denounces the idea of superheroism completely.

and yet, what is ultimately subversive about the ending, is that jay is not truly a civilian and he does not abandon vigilante ways. he does the same thing. we see him without a mask, but he is clearly working a case. he might have rejected the symbolic dimension of the vigilante work, but he still carries the same delusional hope for bettering the world and protecting people that the superhero community does. only now, he is even more isolated and doesn't have any identity to go by (as he is still legally dead).

as such, the ending opens a new question regarding jason's understanding of himself and vigilantism, or rather the lack thereof. is it possible that vigilantism is really at the core of jay's trauma? and why, potentially, is it something that is so destructive for him as a character specifically? (and i have some answers for that, but i'm not going to get into it here, as it's already a very long post)

so, tldr; the genius of countdown is that it establishes jay as sensitive, determined, and fundamentally good (this is what the purpose of seeing him as batman is!), and then it brutally reminds the reader that jason’s tragedy is that on this specific earth, in this specific timeline, his love doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. the story goes on as it did; one way or another, jay is trapped in the cycle of his care ironically creating rifts between him and the others, and bringing him to his own downfall.

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Magneto had a really great character arc in the 80s which just got completely chucked in the bin because the new editor taking over the title thought that he should always be a one-note maniacal villain, and I'm disappointed to see X-Men '97 doing the same because the ex-showrunner wanted to recreate his favourite issue.

[randomnameless]

Reading something about "why won't the CoS open the borders will Almyra?"

Disregarding the fact that the only CoS controlled territory is Garreg Mach and the Locket is located in the Alliance, why won't the Alliance open the border and welcome Almyrans with open arms?

Well, it's basically showcased (tfw show not tell) in a certain paralogue in FE16.

To start, this is one of the few "defend" maps in the entire game, iirc we have this one, the "protect GM" version of chapter 12, Shamir's paralogue and, iirc, Chapter 14 when Randolph tries to earn "merit".

Basically, the objective of this map is to protect the locket from Almyran forces who are raiding them for some reason.

Hilda starts with :

"Most of our allies have fallen."

So confirmation that Almyran forces aren't only coming with mock weapons to play bowling with their Fodlan neighbours, or are asking politely if they can pass, House Goneril's allies were killed.

"He's not here?! Oh... I'm sorry. You must have been absolutely terrified."

She tries to reassure her random (a Goneril soldier) that she will help, so they don't need to be afraid/to panic anymore.

"That's you, Professor. Please help us save our allies and protect Fódlan's Locket."

The first thing she says is to please "save" her allies/her randoms, and then to protect the locket. Emphasis again on "saving" lives, because Almyrans are raiding not only houses to bring souvenirs, but take lives too.

"Support! We're saved!" "Ah, things are looking up. Let's keep going, and save the others!"

Yep.

If a loldier dies :

"Oh no! They got one...but we can still rescue the others!"

Hilda still wants to "rescue" the others. She worries about the lives of her soldiers who are defending the Locket, but not only the locket!

If they all die, a soldier says this "We must defend here, or else... Our house... The Alliance...".

And if the line is breached, an Almyran soldier will say this :

"Yeah! We took Fódlan's Locket! With this, we'll be able to invade, no problem!"

:(

So bar this chapter blowing a hole the size of a 7 floors building in Claude's character across both games, we see here that, well, Almyra uses weapons and isn't afraid to kill Goneril soldiers who want to protect their homes and houses to "invade".

So who is behind Fodlan's general apathy towards Almyrans, the CoS like Claude says in both games (even if he seems to reconsider after discovering water is wet in VW), or Almyrans themselves???

Or, in other terms, who are we supposed to believe, Claude who tells us the CoS is the reason why Fodlan people don't like people coming from Almyra, or the game, showing us Almyrans are trouncing Fodlan people to happily invade ?

[vixrry]

HEY!

I MADE A COLLAB! WITH @1ka0oo !!!

[napalm-death]

Watched two movies last night (the substance, hostel) and like… both fucking sucked The substance (to me) felt very hamfisted and I feel like we’ve seen this movie multiple times before (the idea of youthfulness, etc) and also the fact that it was 2 and a half hours long (😭) Hostel was bad just generally. I haven’t seen it up until now bc I didn’t gaf and knowing Eli Roth directed it means that there’d be like 1 billion gay jokes. I think it’s okay that they were tortured in Slovakia actually

[necromycologist]

gotta say i love the sheer bitchiness of everybody in lockwood n co. im SERIOUS.

[navy-heart]

God why is my mother such a terrible human being

[sapphire-heart-tippy]

Me: I'm not gonna get super attached to Kars because he's a pretty popular character and canonically has a husband, this is just casual haha

Me now: ..................... I'm uh...... painfully attached to Kars and imagine very intimate and passionate moments with this man but I'm staying strong, I'm being so brave about this 😏👉👉 ..... Oh dear Neptune help me-