#he also has one of the worst deaths imo but at least it was probably quick

[taylorshope]

Probably gonna get kicked out of the fandom for this lmao but I honestly don't hate Stan. He's entertaining 😭

[child-of-helios]

hello. I've a rather stupid question. I've only read the books once, as a kid, and I don't understand why people hate calpyso x leo. whys it so bad? why does everyone seems to hate it on here?

xxx,

eurydice

First of all, this is my first ever ask, I've made it mother :D Secondly, I'd gladly explain! Though please note that it really has been a good while since I've read the books too, so my memory is kinda foggy :] Warnings for: Slight mentions (but not too much) of rape, pedophilia and mental illness (oh boy this is a tough one)

So, I have made a post abt this before, but it was written in a fit of rage so not my proudest moment (but my most popular post, oops). Anyways, I feel that the hate towards Calypso x Leo is because of a few reasons. 1. It simply didn't get enough development to feel worth it imo. Similar to Jason x Piper, I felt like there wasn't enough there to warrant a canon ship. There is also the fact that personally, I thought that their dynamic was more of a familial or that of siblings, which made me uncomfortable. I would've much rather have them be friends. 2. The uncomfortable age gap. It feels very weird because while yes, Calypso was depicted as a teenager, she is thousands upon thousands of years old. The fact that she fell in love with a literal child is incredibly weird. It was weird enough with Percy, but at least they didn't end up dating. With Leo though, she did end up dating him and the age gap feels very odd. Its even weirder knowing she had a relationship with Odysseus, who by that point was a pretty old dude so she was probably very mature and an adult (though she doesn't act like it). 3. Calypso is kinda a rapist. In the Odyssey myth, she forces Odysseus (a married man) to sleep with her. I'm sorry, but I can't support any relationship involving a rapist unless its rapist x prison cell. It makes me uncomfortable because she could very well take advantage of Leo, a mentally ill teenager with self-esteem issues. 4. Her toxic treatment of Leo. Calypso was very pissed when Leo arrived on her island, rightfully so after what she had gone through, but even then her treatment of his was outright cruel, especially compared to that of Percy and Odysseus. She made him sleep outside, exposing him to the elements after he got flung through the air and ended up on her island, which must've caused some damage. Then after they started dating, I still felt uncomfortable reading about the two, because their dynamic just didn't work, and I don't recall her apologizing to him for her treatment of him. 5. Leo's arc was thrown away. I think the worst of all, is how this impacted Leo's character. He should've had an arc where he learnt to love himself, but because of Calypso he didn't. I think the moral was supposed to be: 'even if you're mentally ill or have problems, you still deserve love!' but it came over more as: 'ignore your issues and get all your love from someone else.' Isn't it more important for kids to learn about self-love? And as an extra: what could've been. I think that Leo shouldn't have gone back for Calypso, that that ship shouldn't have happened. I prefer him going back to Echo and them learning about self-love together as buddies (and maybe evolving into more than that). Echo was stuck in an abusive relationship with the Narcissist, so I think it would a good arc for them both. I also think that if you really wanted a romance, Jason x Leo would've been much better. We know that Rick can write good gay romances, we know that Piper turns out to be a lesbian, so why not make Jason and Leo gay? I think it would add much more to the tragedy of Jason's death, but that's for another post (and this one is getting too long already oops). In conclusion, I think Caleo is bad for many reasons, but especially because it didn't have enough time to develop and the dynamic was simply too creepy for me to get invested in. Sorry for the super long post- Have a lovely day :D

[physalian]

Character Types: Schemers

Saltburn was one of those pure shock value movies, putting spectacle above rewatchability, imo, but that moth monologue was great, and it’s all about how the protagonist is a schemer. Reminds me of Squidward’s accusations to Plankton in The Spongebob Movie and I mean that with 100% sincerity.

Schemers probably need no explanation, but these are characters that sacrifice a couple battles to win the war, these are the quiet ones who come out of nowhere in the last lap. If they’re villains, they’ll probably botch it, if they’re anti-heroes, they’ll probably eek out a victory, but these types usually aren’t full-blown heroes as “scheming” is seen as unheroic, but more on that at the end.

So! I’ve collected a couple of my favorites, because this time I haven’t written one to gush about worth spoiling to hell and back (but I do have one, and he’s campy as hell).

The Villain Schemer

Starscream

Top of the list is, to no one’s surprise if you follow me, Starscream. Specifically the iteration in Transformers Prime as I know that one the best and that show has some of the best character work in the franchise.

Starscream is forever second-best to his Lord and Master, Megatron. He’s second-in-command to the entire Decepticon contingent, a former Energon Seeker (a title which only he cares about and thinks it’s cool as the group went defunct before Cybertron went dark), and is quite like a cockroach. Somehow, he just keeps narrowly escaping death.

Despite everything against him at one point, low on fuel, no friends, no allies, barely a shot in the giant fetch quest to the finish line, he catches a lucky break and manages to fool the Autobots, sneak right past their defenses to steal all the MacGuffins, and then leverages and silver-tongues his way back into the good graces of the Decepticons.

Schemers are usually not physically strong, as to have both a skilled fighter and tactician in one character is OP (and leaves the argument open of why you’d be a schemer by choice if you can Punch Things to solve your problems). He only uses his guns maybe five or six times in the whole show. This version of his design is very sleek and slender. He prefers to use his claws or his wrist-rockets (he transforms into a fighter jet). Back him into a corner and he’ll probably try to either fly away, grovel for mercy, play himself up as weak and defenseless and thus a pathetic and unjust kill, or be completely unaware of how screwed he is and get his ass beat.

He’s got variety.

Starscream’s big thing though is his ego, the fatal flaw of most schemers. He thinks he’s better than everyone else, even when he’s t-cog-less and unable to transform, crawling around in the dirt scrounging for energon once he’s gone rogue. Every chance he gets, he’s either fluffing up his scant accomplishments, trying to undermine Megatron, or trying to prove how loyal he is to Megatron, and the Big M allows this because… it’s entertaining, I think.

Yet, miraculously, this mech always survives. He outlives Megatron at least thrice in this show alone. He always either has a backup plan, has a secret weapon, or is able to just weasel out of capture or execution. He’s an idiot, but he can also be incredibly clever, using Autobot mercy against them a la “you wouldn’t shoot a defenseless prisoner” or “you wouldn’t leave a bot to die even though we all know I deserve it”.

And on top of all that, he’s just really funny. Whether it’s his exaggerated movements, like how his wings will flap when he’s excited, or the one time he dances pretty provocatively in front of his whole crew chanting “All Hail Starscream” after one of Megatron’s deaths. Or when he’s his own worst enemy, getting himself into sticky situations because he just can’t let anyone else have the last word.

Plankton

Another funny schemer is the aforementioned Plankton, in a show that’s a whole lot less dramatic. Whenever he’s in an episode he’s whipping up yet another convoluted plan to steal the Krabby Patty formula, but while he can be mean and a little cruel with his insults, nobody hates Plankton. He never wins, his failures are funny, and Krabs is kind of a dick. Sometimes, you’re even rooting for him.

Maven Calore

On the complete opposite end of the humor scale, there’s Maven, from the Red Queen series. Yet another wimp both physically and magically, Maven is the second-born to the throne, who, at first, actually seems like he’s not out to steal it from his older brother like Claudius in Hamlet.

But of course….

Maven, like another character on this list, is a master of social engineering. His most famous line in the series is, “The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.”

He fools everyone, even the heroine and his brother, more than once into thinking he’s redeemable and in the third book, he and the heroine spend quite some time together where she’s trying desperately to find any shred of a decent man inside him, while he proves again and again that that man died when he was a kid, abused out of him by the queen, and that he’s not even mad about it, it’s just who he is, and she should really stop trying so hard to fix something that can’t be glued back together.

Maven is one cruel fucker, too, either orchestrating or permitting the deaths of quite a few major characters along with everything he does to the protagonist. He’s a fascinating look into the “I can fix him” trope and what it does to the people who have been convinced that it’s their duty to continue suffering abuse for the sake of family or kinship.

I wish this series was more popular, I only know one other person who read it, and they recommended it to me.

Loki

Gonna stick him here because there's just so many versions of this mythological figure, dating back literal centuries. Marvel's Loki is... a hot mess of inconsistencies. So, in general, Loki is at best, occasionally helpful if it also serves his own interests, but he's usually depicted as an obstacle. Honorary mention because everybody knows who he is.

The Anti-Hero Schemer

Lelouch vi Britannia

I get to gush about Code Geass finally, yay. But first, an honorable mention to Light Yagami (a full villain schemer). Didn’t like Death Note and don’t remember it well enough to properly comment on all of Light’s schemes but he’s not even an anti-hero, he’s a straight-up villain protagonist. People just mistakenly thought that Light and Lelouch were in any way comparable… and they’re not.

Apologies, Death Note fans. I don’t like your man.

Lelouch vi Britannia is the protagonist of Code Geass, a mecha anime probably most famous to anyone who doesn’t know it for the Pizza Hut ad campaign and “why are you buying clothes in the soup store?!”

His whole story is revenge on and the toppling of the Britannian empire and its emperor, his supremely assholeish father, who got his mom (the queen-consort) killed and shipped him and his only full-blooded sister off as political prisoners to Japan.

Lelouch is… a beautiful, smart, dumbass. He’s hyperbolically unfit, winded even by climbing a short staircase (like I said, schemers are usually wimps), but a brilliant military strategist and tactician. But above all else, he’s a master at social engineering.

On top of Code Geass being a mecha anime, it’s also got a whole supernatural lore about “geass” an ‘absolute’ superpower held by a couple different characters of the show, and Lelouch’s is absolute obedience. Whenever he geasses somebody, if it is within their power or knowledge to accomplish or provide, they are compelled absolutely to follow his command. With the massive caveat being that he can only use it on a person once in their lifetime (until shenanigans ensue).

Lelouch’s whole story is about gaining social power over his opponent, starting from basically nothing as he’s moonlighting as a high school student of vaguely noble standing. If anyone figures out that he’s actually a prince, his whole plan goes belly up. Why? His plan is to ignite a rebellion in Japan against Britannia, by creating a masked vigilante, Zero, the Man of Miracles, a man of the people, definitely not a blue-blood prince of the enemy. So ensues two seasons of absolute insanity as Lelouch’s rebellion unfolds and collateral damage collapses around him.

Lelouch is his own worst enemy. His ego and arrogance constantly bite him in the ass and he loses constantly, which, to me, is what made him far more likable than somebody like Light, who always won. He’s not above sacrificing a few for the needs of the many, even when those few are people or relatives of people he cares deeply about. He’s not above using his power of non-consent to get what he needs on anyone, no matter how much he knows they’d hate him if they knew he used it on them. He’s not above lying, manipulating, or tossing people under the bus if it furthers his goals.

But he’s not a villain. While it can be argued, even by Lelouch himself, that Japan and all the members of the rebellion that he helped raise from nothing, were just pieces on his chessboard and meaningless to him, that all he cares about is revenge and not an actual free Japan… he’s lying. Otherwise the show would not have ended the way it did, and it remains recognized as one of the best endings to any anime ever.

Schemer Heroes?

Schemers usually aren’t heroes for one big reason: They’re selfish, and selfishness is unheroic. Even with the best of intentions, like the anti-hero or morally-grey hero, the schemer’s personal goals are always, first and foremost, top priority, and if the group benefits, it’s a happy coincidence.

I’m wracking my brain trying to think of one who would qualify and while there are plenty of schemer protagonists, they’re the antithesis of the hero we’re supposed to root for, and I think it says something about us as a society.

Tyrion Lannister

If he counts, the best one I can think of is Tyrion Lannister (did not read the books, only saw most of the show). He’s yet another wimp** who has to rely on his wits and his smarts to compete and stay ahead in the world once he figures out that his money and his name won’t save him forever. And in the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die.

He does do some shady things here or there, but aside from maybe Samwell, every character in that show has done some morally dubious things.

Honorable mention to Varys, who is absolutely a schemer, but I couldn’t figure out where to put him on this list. And Littlefinger, who’s a schemer villain, but he didn’t stick the landing (thanks D&D). GOT is made up of schemers, really. I just… don’t want to keep giving GRRM free advertising.

**wimp only in that he's not physically abled like the other characters and cannot rely on his skill with a sword, only his words.

—

All in all, schemers take a ton of planning to be written believably, because their wits are their strongest trait. To write a super intelligent character, you really have to have all your ducks in a row so you can show their thought processes and how their plans unfold, instead of only saying “they’re super smart, trust me”.

Even when schemers are cruel, what makes them distinct from annoying assholes is that there’s some part of their character that’s impossible to argue with. They’re right, even if you hate to admit it, about even one tiny thing in the world.

Why? Because they spit in the face of lawful good and evil. They know the good guys have lines they won’t cross, and it will get people killed. They know the bad guys (usually society at large) needs to be stopped, and they might be bad, but either society forced their hand, or they’re not as bad as the alternative.

My schemer in ENNS is just a straight-up asshole, but he knows how to manipulate the heroes to get what he wants and his plan works.

They do have to succeed, otherwise they’re just idiots. They need a few wins under their belts to prove their competence as a proper schemer and not just a guy blowing smoke. Wondering if this will be the time they flop on their face, or wondering what line they’ll cross to escape this time, is what makes them so entertaining.

[seriousbrat]

let sirius (and james) be mean

Obviously in SWM both James and Sirius are atrocious towards Snape but I think it's pretty revealing how mean they also are to their best friends, especially Peter:

And while I think James possibly grew out of his mean girl phase to some extent Sirius didn't, at least not fully. To be fair he's usually not outright rude unless he dislikes someone-- mostly, he's dismissive or impatient especially when someone says something he perceives as stupid, as well as being overall insensitive to the feelings of others.

In the prequel they're both fairly insensitive and rude to two terrified Muggles lol, I mean who cares and it's funny but there are examples of Sirius being something of a mean girl later on as an adult. obviously, the famous one:

and yeah you can defend this by saying he was stuck in grimmauld place and frustrated, bla bla bla, I do get it and I still love him and don't think it makes him a terrible person or godfather but objectively this is an incredibly mean thing to say to Harry.

Other somewhat minor instances that nevertheless paint a wide picture:

OotP (I'm leaving out his interactions with Kreacher bc those are self evident)

-------

-------

he's also kind of dismissive towards Harry's feelings at certain points. A good example of this is the stiff "one-armed hug" and gruff goodbye he gives him when they leave for Hogwarts after christmas, or this earlier conversation:

Also, how he talks about Regulus. obviously it's somewhat justified since Sirius believes him to have just been a Death Eater, but he specifically calls Regulus stupid rather than just saying he was a bad person. This is interesting because it can be inferred that Regulus was not stupid at all, given that he figured out the secret of the Horcruxes. imo Sirius was too dismissive of his brother to actually know who he really was.

(and bonus him being snippy with Harry)

GoF

like this is probably true but it's still rude lol, as is this from OotP which has definite mean girl vibes:

next:

so this on its own doesn't seem especially mean but it does come after Sirius has basically dismissed every single thing that Ron has said lol, even raising his hand at one point to shut him up. It's not the worst but imo does indicate his impatience with "stupidity" which we also see in SWM:

and James has this too:

imo this shared feeling of superiority and mutual delight in their own intelligence were big factors in his closeness with james.

ALL THIS TO SAY, Sirius was mean lol ESPECIALLY as a teen. my rude scorpio child. So I think when writing teen Sirius it's an important part of his characterisation (and James's) for him not only to be rude/disdainful to people he hates but also just generally. It's also why it's extra ridiculous that he's portrayed as dumb in fanon seeing as he's very often dismissive and judgmental to those he perceives as being of lesser intelligence.

And this isn't a criticism of Sirius at all, I love him and tbh his mean streak is one of the things that make him so fun to write for me. He's a beloved character and I understand the desire to paint him in a positive light, but he wasn't perfect. As others have said the friendship between the Marauders wasn't something idyllic and aspirational, it's a warning story to Harry. Furthermore, kindness towards Kreacher being something that helps them find the Horcrux is also a lesson for Harry.

Sirius's insensitivity to the feelings of others was what got him killed, his insensitivity and disdain for peter led in part to James and Lily's deaths too. it doesn't make him a terrible person, just a flawed one.

[viperwhispered]

Quick question: how comfortable are you with gore? I have an interesting scenario in my head.

Warning: light description of dead bodies and massacres.

So I was looking into mythology again and took a look at the story of Kali, the hindu goddess of pure unstoppable rage, death, time, and a form of Parvati. And it gave me a little scenario for OB!Jamil.

Let's say that everyone has some form of extreme/dark side. All these dark sides stay in their own dimension of sorts. For mages, it manifests as an overblot. For normal people, it's usually a manifestation of what they are at their worst.

The reader's darker side manifests from their desire to help others. Specifically an intolerance towards evil. While normally they'll accept that some people can't be changed while still promoting non lethal punishments, their darker side is basically kill on sight. If you're a scum of the Earth who commits unjustifiable evil (ex: abusers, pedos, rapists, etc), you're dead.

Cue the scenario: so we got OB!Jamil chilling in his massive palace partying it up with other darksides. It's basically a convention for hedonist (with limits, Jamil still has standards). Suddenly he gets a the news that there's a huge scuffle on his turf and it's getting in the way of party supplies.

Royally pissed off, Jamil marches out to deal with (ie kill) whatever is getting j the way of his party.

Then he sees this: a pile of massacred bodies, all darksides who's he's quarreled with or heard to have been below his standards, with what has to be the most sublime creature he's ever seen dealing a finishing blow to one of the survivors. The person slowly turns their attention to him, all the while oozing bloddlust. Just one look and Jamil understood: this is one of the most dangerous being to walk this world and they could crush him like a bug.

Cue cupid's arrow. Why? Because OB!Jamil is still Jamil and normal Jamil is currently in a very loving relationship with the normal version of the reader. OB!Jamil knows nothing of the person in front of him. Not their name nor their personality. But he does know that he loves them.

Jamil, now throughly enamored, grabs their hand and starts flirting, gleefully inviting them to his palace. The reader, still covered in blood and guts, just goes "huh?"

Reader: I just finished slaughtering your guests and your response is to flirt?

Jamil: well they're barely acquaintances. But I must say that you're radiance greatly outshines their filth! So how about it? Hmm, I promise the finest dishes and entertainment if you come along.

Reader: *starts laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation while slightly blushing"

Jamil: 😍

The pair then proceed to head back to Jamil's place and live happily every after.

This version of the pair also comes with the visual of Jamil and his beloved dancing on the corpses of their enemies.

We sure are headed for a full on au with these, huh?

Now I can't say I'm big on gore (at least when we get graphic about it, like it kinda put me off from watching game of thrones and the fallout show) but ngl I can kinda vibe with the sheer unhingedness of this all.

I'm also thinking of this in relation to the previous ask, with reader's destructive tendencies being particularly directed towards anyone who they feel has wronged Jamil. Those people (or whatever these beings are) not even knowing that crossing reader's path might be in some ways worse than Jamil getting his revenge on them. (Or if we're looking at darkside versions of people who have wronged normal Jamil… well, there's a few of those as well, isn't there?)

At least for Jamil's canonical overblot, imo the two things at the center of it were wanting power and wanting recognition (aka no longer being the one having to hold back and no longer having to take orders from others). Which, sure would be a reason for plenty of conflict with those other darksides, who probably aren't exactly enthusiastic about submitting to his will or anything like that. Plenty of folks for reader to lovingly mow down 🥰

I do love the concept of the feelings from the real world carrying over to these reflections, even if these reflections may not fully understand what or how it is happening.

Just “I'd crush the whole world for you 😍” “How sweet 🥰” for these two, huh?

Ah yes, dancing together on a field of your slain enemies, what an epitome of romance.

But talking of Kali also makes me think of one of them taking on the role of Shiva. Throwing themselves on the way of the other to stop their wanton destruction. Just, the potential for drama there.

Maybe even regular Jamil doing this with an enraged reader for whatever reason? I mean, he'd definitely have to be desperate to do something that endangers himself so directly, but the uncharacteristicness of it all just makes it even more tasty (and angsty, presuming it would still involve Jamil getting hurt. Tho depending on the particular history they have, he could always play it off that at least they're even now after he hurt reader during his overblot…)

Love it how I'm here like

Me: I'm not an angst writer

Also me: but what if Jamil was in such a desperate situation with someone he loves that he forgets all his usual cleverness / sees no other choice to stop what's happening except getting himself hurt by this person who he normally feels totally safe with

Oof 🥲

[e-tankx]

Question for Anyone who might know how to explain it?

So, a friend of mine has hyperfixated hard on the Danny Phantom fandom, and one of the things she really digs is the weird inhumanity of the concept that the fandom has delved into. This is something I'm not inherently against, but the idea of 'obsessions' where you literally have to do a thing or else it causes actual physical damage to you, kind of IMO leans too hard towards the concept that the Always Wrong(tm) parents have of ghosts being mindless echos of something else, and kind of . . .Depersons them?

"This person died, but because they were just so into X they stuck around, and now their obsession is X." "Alright that sounds cool, now how would they change and grow as people?" "They wouldn't because their obsession is X and will always be X, and can never not be X otherwise it causes them actual physical pain and potentially will kill them." It also kind of ruins the whole 'self sacrificing' angle of Danny potentially giving up his dreams of being able to do anything else *but* guard Amity Park from danger. "Well if he doesn't do it anyway he's going to literally die so there's not really a choice in the matter." Not really self sacrificing when you put it that way. The other things that bug me about it, is that it seems too. . .neat and tidy? Like, we already know *fuck all* about the human brain as it is. Psychology is a shot in the dark and based around general vibes with patterns that seem to be common in humanity. Why would it suddenly become less complicated if you're dealing with emotions that are no longer tied to chemicals in the brain and are instead spread over the entirety of your being? //TANGENT WARNING// If I was the one originally putting down the concept of 'obsessions', it'd be something early ghosts, or ghosts that lack maturity/introspection/self awareness deal with because yes, in order to stick around after death you probably *would* have to have something to latch onto, at least in the moment. Younger ghosts cling to said obsession because they haven't actually self actualized, the whole I think therefore I am. There's also that whole feeling of self preservation because "this is what I held onto and what kept me going even when the rest of me didn't, so if I don't hold onto it with literally *everything* I may just die." that kind of drives them instinctually until they manage to grow beyond that. As the ghosts mature (emotionally anyway) their obsessions would be less and less important. They might still enjoy things about it, it was an obsession for a reason after all, they may even still fulfill it to some extent, but it's less a *must do* and more of an 'I like this, but it is not an all consuming need that without fulfilling I will literally die'. This would also work to explain how and why the Fentons think this is the truth without making them the worst scientists imaginable. Most ghosts that want to cause a fuss/fight/whatever are likely less self actualized/younger and therefore are more likely to cling to said obsession. A ghost mature enough to not cling to said obsession is much less likely to actually make themselves known to living people. Therefore they'd lack actual examples that could throw a wrench into their theories and force them to re-examine their research. //TANGENT OVER// but, it's entirely possible that I'm just. .. misunderstanding, or am an idiot. Hence why I'm shoving this question into a metaphorical bottle and yeeting it into the stormy seas that is the internet.

[riddlerosehearts]

okay. so. overall i loved this latest twst update but there were a couple things i didn't 100% love and i'll talk about one of them in this post: the shroud parents being so nice and loving and helpful seriously threw me off last time they appeared because i thought they always seemed so emotionally distant before. both from how idia talked about them on occasion and how they never once appeared in his very lengthy, two-part overblot flashback, not when he was shutting himself in his room for 2 whole years or when he finished creating ortho--the only adults we ever saw were STYX researchers. so like, i'd always had the impression that they weren't necessarily The Worst Parents Ever but that they were just so busy with their work that they forgot to pay attention to their kids. and when they first appeared in book 7, it felt like they were behaving exactly how a lonely little robot boy who knew that he was "replacing" their dead son would want them to act, and even looked that way too with the daft punk helmets giving them a robotic look. it just seemed too good to be true imo.

after that update came out i had read a theory that said maybe malleus was so powerful that he could put even a robot to sleep, and that that was what we were seeing: ortho dreaming of getting to be a hero and save the day, and getting to have this perfect happy family. i loved that idea. i probably should've realized a twist like that wasn't going to happen when we still hadn't checked back in on ortho after so many months, but i just thought, and still think, that it would be so compelling if ortho wished to be loved and accepted so badly that some part of him deep down had become human enough to dream, or at least for malleus to be able to bring out that part of him. if his parents weren't so loving in reality and maybe didn't even fully accept him as their son, so he dreamt that they would--which is a heartbreaking thought, but i definitely would not have put it past twst to do that. i also just like... think it would be neat if the development ortho has been getting in events and vignettes, which heavily focuses on his growing sense of autonomy and how he's started to have his own desires outside of his intended purpose of just Being Idia's Brother, was given a little more focus in the main story.

anyway though. obviously that theory just got obliterated by canon! so i guess the most logical explanation for the discrepancy in the shroud parents' portrayal might be that they were too emotionally distant and focused on their work before, and remained that way for a long time after ortho's death, but eventually they "woke up" and realized they'd never really been there for their sons. losing one of them changed them for the better and now they really are that helpful and sweet. if their behavior seems too good to be true then it could be because they're trying their hardest to make up for the years they wasted, to be a proper family now. maybe they didn't accept ortho for the longest time out of grief and that's part of why they never appeared in idia's flashback, but they later decided that just because they can never truly regain or replace the son they lost, doesn't mean they can't treasure the one they still have and the one that they've gained. and i guess the shroud parents still fully accepting ortho and loving him as one of their own despite the tragedy that led them to become family, and despite the fact that ortho does not have the shroud family blood flowing through his (nonexistent) veins, would parallel the bond that lilia has with silver and malleus... oh. okay. i think i've kinda just talked myself into feeling better about this, actually.

[justallihere]

AHHHH I was right about Xaden giving Vi his jacket 🥹 that’s her jacket now, get with the program Xaden

speechless. I loved everything about this chapter 😭 I screamed when they threatened to cut her hair. Aetos didnt suffer enough imo and neither did his cronies. I at least wanted them to be screaming and have a glimpse of Andarna throwing them around or at least step on them a few times 🤷🏾‍♀️

Violet’s panic attack made me sob so hard 😭 why did Pierce stop and leave when that happened? I’m glad he did but that’s probably the closest they came to possibly getting something of value

Xaden has touch AND nickname privileges again 😭 he said “Vi” as much as he could because he’s not losing it again. I’m sure he’s glad his family loves and respects Violet and just reaffirms everything he himself feels for her. I can definitely see Liam teasing Xaden in the future with “just remember, your wife loved me first 🤭”. Obvs during happier times when they’ve healed from this ordeal.

One of my biggest gripes in IF was how blasé the torture fallout was. Like?? Wdym she was tortured for 5 days and could’ve died and it meant nothing??

Loved your spin on Lilith🥹💕💕💕 I agree she died way too soon. She so dynamic and layered and had so much potential. She deserved to become a better mother before she died and I’ll forever be mad about that.

Will Lilith be the one to bring half the quadrant when she finally gets to Tyrrendor 👀 what if she brings seasoned riders loyal to her and riders stationed at outposts and any professor (looking at you Emeterrio and Kaori) willing to join the fight? I think her arrival will be better received that way since she’s bringing reinforcements. AHHHH so exciteddd.

Can’t wait to see where the story goes, either way I’m sure it’ll be amazing!!!

All of Xaden’s things are about to become Violet’s. Try to get her to wear her own clothes now I dare you.

lol I get it, but Aetos’ death was something that was between him and Dain, and Violet was so tired and scared and in pain by the end of it that she didn’t even really care anymore, she just wanted them dead and to never see them again. I promise Andarna and Tairn had plenty of fun.

I’d argue that the panic attack was the exact opposite of value. Yes Violet was losing her mind but she was so scared in that moment she wouldn’t have been able to give them anything coherent. Pierce wanted her to stew in that panic for a while.

You could not DRAG Xaden out of Violet’s sight rn. Neither one of them would allow it. But yes, he is so glad to have her back, and he’s happy that she had Liam when she needed him. I do like to think that Liam takes great pride in getting an “I love you” from Violet considering how not warm and fuzzy she is. That’s his bestie! His sister!

I love Lilith, she’s the worst and also the best and I’ll never be over her death I’m so upset

Thank you so much!! 🩷🩷

[boyfridged]

hello lovely, robin lives is out. any thoughts or comments? :) absolutely love your meta and writing especially ones about robin jason <33 there's so much heart you put into it, it is lovely. cheering you on.

thank you for this lovely message, i'm glad that how dear i hold his character does come across in my meta! and: i'm sorry, i said one business day, and yet i'm here four days later... however, i also reread in this time, to give a more detailed review, and here are my thoughts so far:

as i already complained: the ableist tirade about "fried circuits in the brain" and cruelty being "chemical," about the "morass of psychosis and sin" at the beginning of it all almost made me close it... it took so much space in this single issue, and was so unnecessary and grim, very out of place compared with the joker image from the 80s, which the story is supposed to relate to after all.

speaking of: the bits that were very clearly referring to aditf & the following issues i liked best (maybe besides dematteis trying to deal with the whole iranian diplomat plotline... there's nothing to salvage there so it was just pitiful). clark's cameo was a very clear throwback. but my favourite was the panel with sheila... that might be my particular weakness to sheila though.

the general framework of a shrink (sigh) brought to "deal" with jason makes me think of gotham knights #45 (derogatory.) also. hello ao3 called they say they want their classic outsider pov trope back-- i need to make it clear: i love outsider povs. but here-- this is just not it.

i have concerns about bruce's portrayal as a father too, and that's where she enters anyway. again, i love to see bruce failing; i love seeing his flaws; and post-crisis bruce is not the most competent parent, we know it... but... "moping" says batman about a child that witnessed (or at least was in presence of, since he was probably unconscious by then) his mother's demise? that is a bit... much you'd think? especially that jason doesn't do anything too offensive in that moment at all?

this is actually something that @iliadicjasontodd said but i have to agree: it is really funny how dick comes in and has one conversation with jason about a completely unrelated topic and acts like this fixed everything. it's not the worst we've seen of dick & jay but it does feel very much like dematteis was just checking a box "dick grayson" on the characters to include/references list and left it at that. and to be fair, the whole issue feels like that, but i do get that it's just the first one and he needs to set it all up...

now! to the reference that is actually interesting to me... the page on the right is imo a very clear reference to batman #414 (on the left). if you've seen this post of mine you know that later, in the same arc, there's a parallel scene in which jason does *exactly the same*, with the dialogue being a 1:1 too. which makes me curious: is the analogous scene here a set-up for jason to mirror bruce's violent actions again? if it is, we'd get the point that it is bruce who dooms jason by projecting on him brought home... and it does vaguely seem that they could do in that direction, no? while i am a fan on this reading, i'm just not sure how i feel about it in an instance of jay lives scenario, where that would be a perfect moment for the a divergence from what happens in his death and post-mortem.

the question at the end... about "why batman brought a child to batman at all" is a question that was already answered with much sensibility. but i won't lie, batman as a title certainly needs a refresher on this one --- so as long as we arrive at the same reply that *is* implied in aditf and many of older batman stories, we are fine. the answer in the 80s was that bruce can cmopartmentalise his identities, but he cannot compartmentalise his family and familiar love. but if instead we get what contemporary canon has been delighting in for decades now: the notion that it's the children who need it themselves, that it's the only way, that they would always end up in the same place otherwise, if not worse off-- i will be severely disappointed.

so far, i think the biggest weakness and what makes the whole thing underwritten is that we don't get to see jason directly after waking up from the coma...? why is bruce having these conversations with him now? why does jason still go out as robin and does so alone...? i'm not saying none of it is plausible, because it could be written as such, but we just don't get any of it. i def wish we get more insight into jay's mind next issue.

all in all, i do not want to condemn it preemptively-- all my concerns from before definitely hold. i just hope i will be proved wrong, though the whole framing of "i should have seen it coming" portending another huge tragedy... not a fan of it.

[hazelcephalopod]

For anyone confused why the BH are mad at Ashton and feel betrayed it’s because he lied to all of them and almost died -actually did die twice. And because the group does love them, and had to watch them die and suffer for a whole minute*.

Also Laudna has a lot of trauma, from all the bullying, to the being invited to a nice dinner and being brutally murdered, all the abuse from the evil necromancer in her head -probably more the after 2. Having to deal with whatever horrors the past 30 year have brought her. The past few months being just a lot. Healing and recovery are not often linear, and regression happens -especially after being thrust into an intense situation in the place of one of your greatest traumas and the return of your worst abuser.

On short everyone’s really in their emotions because things weren’t properly communicated and then there was unexpected grave danger.

*Meta imo this is compounded watching a player make effectively death saved for ten rounds like I try not too read into things too much but imo it played at least a small role in nailing down the feeling of “why did you do that?! Wtf?! You’re ours! You can’t lie and then die! FFS!!!”

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Mia Winters

Gets called the villain of the whole series for the way Mother Miranda talked to Ethan while shapeshifting and pretending to be her. Ethan doesn’t find her behaviour strange so people take this as Mia being abusive, but it’s just to throw you off the plot twist and Mia is also a very traumatised woman who recently had a baby so even if she is acting weird it’s probably not something Ethan would be all that surprised by, did work with a very shady organisation that made bioweapons like Eveline and that’s a bad thing but she’s also not a villain of either game, Ethan gets himself into danger just to save her even after three years of her going missing and being presumed to be dead

Mia Winters does bad shit in Resident Evil 7, or at least before the story. She was involved with a bioterrorist organisation and worked as a caretaker for a bioweapon with the mind and appearance of a 10 year old girl, and in doing so she both fed into said bioweapon’s obsession with family which later results in the infection, mutation and death of an innocent family, as well as the obvious ethical concerns of shipping a bioweapon anywhere alongside the added factor that this bioweapon was a child being kept in labs and experimented on. However, Mia did not, as I’ve seen people say, create Eveline, and for her entire time in the actual timeline of Resident Evil 7 and 8 she spends trying to fix her mistakes to protect her family. In Resident Evil 8, Mia is impersonated by the main antagonist and said antagonist acts strangely while pretending to be her, and people take this to mean that Mia is actually an abusive wife and mother when the game does not at all support this. She keeps information from her husband in both games for both of their sakes, but she is treated as irredeemable when other characters keep much more important information from her husband that directly results in him getting into immense danger with a cult of mutants and cannibals. Mia did an awful thing being involved with transporting a bioweapon, but she is also always mainly concerned with the safety of her family and will gladly put her life on the line in Resident Evil 7 so that her husband can survive, and her only appearances in Resident Evil 8 are her worrying about the safety of her daughter and husband. When she does other questionable things, it is always for the safety of her family. Mia is not completely innocent and she’s not the main antagonist of Resident Evil 7 and 8, she’s a character with actual complexity that people tend to overlook most of the time

Chara Dreemur

There's a lot of bias against Chara for appearing at the end of the Genocide Route, but there's so much more to them than "I want to murder everyone". They're a kid!! They made mistakes and they felt bad for them, and now they're stuck following the player and watching their every move... The fandom misrepresents them very badly imo

Somehow people forgive Asriel for everything he's done as a soulless being after his death, but when it comes to Chara, it's like they're the devil incarnate.

Chara is a character commonly seen as guilty for the genocide run or harmless disregarding them only appearing at the end and posioning Asgore

Poor kid called themselves a demon ONE TIME and then got misrepresented so badly as immoral killer with no sympathy

People constantly blame them for the worst ending of the game, even though the entire point of the game is that the player has a the opportunity to choose senseless violence and that it is the player's fault for killing the characters. They are a troubled child, and while they do some bad things, like taking the player's violent example at the end, most of what the fandom pins on them is in the hands of the player.

[cabin12kid]

Major ToA spoilers //

Okay but like rules established for a reason are one thing but Jason's death really is a hard pill to swallow. Hazel just walked out of the underworld and Pluto said "I pretend I do not see." And yeah there were reasons she could do that but still.

Leo cheated, plain and simple. He did the math and the illegal math mathed. But still.

And then there's Frank. I'm not complaining. I'm not saying we needed another Major Character Death so soon. but like ??????????? Lmao rip Jason I guess

Like it just doesn't seem right to me that Jason stays dead. And the worst thing is, now that he definitely is dead, even if Pluto/Hades let him off, I don't think Jason would take it. Because yeah you could cite his issue with rules or whatever however you want to put it. But Jason follows and upholds rules he understands and agrees are necessary. And I think it'd take a lot of convincing to get him to go against the coming back to life rule. (Aside from rebirth or whatever but that's not what I'm talking about.)

But also like?? I'm sorry I'm still floored by the fact that Juno/Hera was siding with Apollo. About Jason, a bastard son of Jupiter. AND with all the support Jason likely now has from all the underappreciated gods?? Sure most of them probably hear the hero who fought to build them temples and shit kicked the bucket and went "🙄 typical." But there has to be some that go "?? Wtf??" Right??? I'm not saying the gods go to war but there is DEFINITELY an INSANE amount of tension even just among the Olympians over this imo.

And not to mention obviously Nico and Hazel would try to think of something. At least think, I am not entirely convinced they'd just go "lol fuck it" and Nico just brings Jason out of the underworld somehow. But still.

[ddejavvu]

ohh i have SUCH a controversial jennifer jareau opinion. and this is probably gonna be more like an essay. i wish i could say i was sorry.

everyone always says theyre anti jj slander, which is fine ofc, but just weird bc i NEVER see anyone slandering her. in my 3 years in the fandom, ive seen it happen maybe 5 times total, which sucks because she deserves so. much. more. hate.

(spoilers for *that* jeid plotline, as well as some other things)

in season 7, spencer tells her that she has mean girl vibes and she replies "i was a nice girl, especially to guys like you" which ALWAYS pissed me off because she literally just confirmed what he said? and everyone acts like it was a funny joke. she said that shit with her whole chest and meant it, and it wouldnt be *that* big of a deal if it was the only time. but shes consistently mean to him throughout the show, ignoring him, walking away, etc. spencer isnt even the only one shes like this to. and she just has a sense of superiority, idk how to describe it. just by the way she talks and interacts with those around her, you can tell. (while we're on that note, she also ignores her privileged a LOT. maybe not all the time, but theres been multiple times where she acts like she went through hell to get where she is. other than her sister passing, she had it completely easy. in terms of resources, opportunities, etc., she was basically born with a golden spoon in her mouth.)

in s14 when she confesses to spencer that shes always been in love with him, it just makes my blood boil. obviously he had been over her a long time (imo), but that was something she should've kept to herself bc it just brought alllll those feelings back to the surface. not to mention that hes the godfather of her children, and shes married, and will probably (definitely) doesnt know how she feels. thats literally emotional cheating on her part, even though reid didnt reciprocate it, it was still wrong of her to be that close to him without will knowing how she really felt.

there are other things i dont like abt her too, but those are the main things and im trying to keep this as short as possible. but i literally cant stand her, shes by far my least favorite character, and everyone acts like shes an angel sent from heaven, when really shes just a privileged bitch.

i like JJ a lot (i want her to be my mom </3) but i do agree with several of your points - she's definitely not the worst character, each and every character has a list of flaws that we could make, so this by no means makes her the worst, but it does make me angry <3

i just rewatched that 'mean girl' episode!! she doesn't even hesitate before saying 'guys like you', which, you're totally right, means he was right, and she was definitely a mean girl in high school. or even if she didn't say any of it out loud, she was still silently judging 'guys like him' and in high school you can always tells who's silently judging you. they're teenagers. they're not silent about it. the nasty looks they give you?? oh man. but i do think that the blame for ignoring spencer needs to be placed on all of the team members, because they do it all the time too, it's not just her. she has some pretty bad moments with him, but it's definitely something they all do and she shouldn't take the full blame

lmao don't talk about jeid. the writers actually deserve the death penalty for that, god it was so nasty and weird. i know that it was something she confessed in the heat of the moment, like she wasn't sure she was gonna make it out alive and didn't wanna die without saying it but ??? WHY WOULD YOU PUT IT ON HIM TO DIE THREE SECONDS AFTER FINDING OUT ??? like great it's off your chest but now he's gonna spend the (very short) rest of his life thinking about it?? AND THEN THEY DIDN'T EVEN DIE LMFAO SO HE WAS JUST STUCK WITH THAT !! and yeah!! will!! what about will!! or her kids!! it was so... writers i'm watching you...

one scene of hers that really pissed me off was in reid's kidnapping two-parter in s2 (the hankel incident) where she was almost attacked by those rabid (?) dogs and she shot them and she's obviously shaken up and she tries finding reid and realizes what happened and she feels so much guilt for splitting up with him - which was not her fault, she didn't know and should not be held responsible for what happened to him - that she started trying to make other people mad at her?? she cornered derek who was grieving and stressed at the loss of his best friend and they're both sleep deprived and she says something like 'admit it, you hate me, you think it's my fault' AND I???? GIRL. he is being so nice to you?? he was literally like oh honey if you need time off i know you're really shaken up and we can take care of this and and and AND SHE WAS LIKE oH yeah suRe just admit it i'm the worSt everybody hATEs mE- I WAS... this is not about you. go get therapy for the dog attack that you just almost suffered?? do not stand around a crime scene and pester the victim's best friend and delay the investigation because you're feeling guilty. go talk to someone about it. take a few days off. again, i totally get that she was shaken up and hopped up on adrenaline, but everyone told her to go get some rest and she was like no i think i will make myself the problem instead <3

all of that being said i still love her </3 i was not kidding when i say that i wish she was my mom holy shit i would have loved to grow up as her kid but she definitely has her flaws just like the rest of the BAU, and logical, critical breakdowns of a characters flaws aren't slandering, they're analysis, so i think everybody needs to stop shitting on people who criticize or analyze their faves lmao

send me your unpopular fandom opinions

[spicylavender]

ok you know what, I want to be mean today. Time to list my negative Echo opinions from least to most controversial, I think that'll be funny

Echo project games track record with female character writing blows, and they mostly don't have the same excuse other fvns have of being mostly porn for gay guys, but that has gotten progressively better with each successive game (mostly)

Echo never handled Jenna's actually bad traits well and that's why fan reaction to her ends up so muddled. Her getting in universe pushback for her reaction to the Leo and micha situation and Flynn's read on her in the prologue are nothing compared to actually awful things she gets away with like the pranks involving Chase's arachnophobia

Brian is the least interesting antagonistic force in the first game, and his bump to main antagonist in arches didn't change this at all (though this is entirely a preference thing, torture porn isn't my preferred brand of horror)

the modern TSR au polycule does not seem built to last at all, and I would see a big split in the future for them if they weren't an indulgent fictional parody we get for dated millennial jokes. Still love em to death but it's carried hard by my own delusions.

Arches is, aside from its epilogue, the weakest of the echo trilogy and that's going to end up being entirely because of how early it was released imo. It would have gone extremely hard as the big finale to the series but instead we've still got two years of TSR updates lol

Cliff starts the story engaging with Samuel in the most exploitative way of all the main love interests, to the point where I think he's more comparable to James than he is the other route options, and I don't even think that's a far fetche'd read seeing as how his route is the one that literally contains the only illustrated James encounter (as of the last build I've read). Him being immediately indulged in his sexual tourism would be a bad outcome in any story other than a romance game

Will is a bad dad, bar none. Being closeted doesn't absolve him of the responsibility he took on and him finding happiness after leaving with a hunky puma guy is nice but he deserves any reckoning coming his way in his own route. Nothing major here, just hoping that God takes all of Andy and Hattie's pain, triples it, and gives it too my favorite fruity detective

Flarl is a boring ship and it's the rare occasion where I feel bad for Carl. After Flynn bounces off of Leo, chase, his delusions of a potentially grown Sydney and any random guy he could have met at The Smoke Room, carl ends up feeling like a lay of last resort

Related to point 7, Carls the worst member of the main friend group. Relatable stoner artist with depression yeah yeah whatever, I just have nothing to latch onto with the nepo baby. Even when Jenna is maybe hummed up? In his route and written as the bitchy harpy stereotype I mostly still agree with her.

Cameron and Devon does not seem like a relationship that would have lasted long without the crucible of echo trauma bonding them. Dev denying cam's mental illness in the prologue is also beyond the pale and I don't see how people moved on from that so quickly

people are extremely selective in which characters actions they excuse with the hum and possession and who they condemn immediately despite signs of reduced autonomy. Characters thoughts and actions not allowed to be their own is a major theme in the first game that I think echo handles pretty interestingly but more often then not the fandom just uses it as a cudgel in dumb character wars

The quality of writing and routes in echo ended up being very dependent on a single key factor I don't necessarily want to name because even I think it might be a little mean to say but you can probably guess it if you know even just a tiny bit of the developmental history of the game. I think this factor also applies to all of the games and the quality of their writing ends up dependent on the presence or lack thereof this particular factor.

This should be finished off with me admitting that this is just me giving cinema sins and I love all these games, just kinda wanted to write out a master post of thoughts I've had over the last year and a half. Also wouldn't hurt if this generated any sort of funny arguments in my mentions lol, i also do just enjoy being petty and arguing with people🤷

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

what's your thoughts on jgy?

anon || random ask

I'm going to assume this ask for me, the mun, and not Huaisang, since I believe we're all pretty aware of what he thinks of JGY xD

What do I think about JGY? That's a complex, but also not complex, question. First of all, I do like the character, he is definitely well made and I love how he has done a lot of good stuff. The reason behind why he did the good things, I'm going to leave up to each person to decide. I personally think that some was due to genuine care and some was to further his position. However, this does not excuse the bad things he did. I'm not going to list those since I assume that you, the reader and/or anon, already knows this as well, but I especially dislike the innocent people he sent to their death (which includes the prostitutes involved in his father's death).

I know what some of you might say now, that Huaisang too killed innocents, but I personally disagree about that. MXY was probably an innocent, but Huaisang did not force his hand. How much he influenced him is unknown, but in the end, he didn't force his hand. Was it wrong of him to influence him? Probably, all depending on to what level he did so. And then there's Yi City, which I don't think Huaisang can be viewed as guilty for, that was XY.

Though, I do also think that pretty much as bad as killing innocents is killing "family" and that was what JGY did by playing Turmoil for NMJ. Should NMJ have kicked him down the stairs? No. But by then he wasn't really himself anymore either and tbh I wanted to slap JGY then too with the shit that came out of his mouth. Hurting in disguise of helping like that, like JGY did with NMJ, that is one of the worst things you can do imo. I'm very much about loyalty and that act was very disloyal, even if he also, in a way, were filial by doing so. Which is also something I find important, but I do draw my line for loyalty (to friends and family) when it comes to hurting others for personal or familial gain.

Do I understand JGY's reasoning and motivation behind his actions? Yes, I think so. The way he had been treated by many was wrong, very much so, but that still doesn't excuse murder.

Oh and while I'm at it, he said he never planned or had hurt LXC, I disagree. Why? Because he used a Lan technique to kill NMJ. He used something LXC had taught him, twisted it by changing a part (also found with the Lans) to kill their sworn brother. He used a gift to do an action he knew LXC would be against and I see that as hurting someone too (just like NHS made LXC stab JGY, even if that didn't technically kill him, at least not in the novels, I've heard it's different in CQL).

Did all of this made JGY deserve to get killed? No, but I'm also against death penalties and murder of any kind. I do think he deserved to be locked away for the rest of his life. Though, what I wish the most is that he didn't have to have gone to such lengths. That JGY had told his sworn brothers about what JGS wanted him to do, even if that would've caused a war.

[lylaseb]

My mom just finished watching episode 18 of season 3 earlier and I’m very satisfied with the result and with our discussion. When I asked her if she would revive erwin or armin she didn’t even hesitate and said Erwin. Thank the heavens. Because if she had said armin, I would’ve had to question myself and then subsequently my life again. I already went through so much of that the first time I watched the series and while I’m not completely averse to second guessing myself I’m also not really looking forward to doing it all over again because it is so exhausting.

I’ve already made several posts about this before but I honestly cannot relate to people who swear by Levi’s decision. Can I understand it, yes, most definitely, but I have never felt and will never feel the same way. There was that one time when hange said something like Erwin only ever made one mistake in his life and that was making her the next commander, my immediate thought was the one mistake erwin made was entrusting Levi with the injection. No doubt erwin isn’t perfect and as a human being he’s made many mistakes in his life for sure, but I’m specifically referring to what hange said. If I had to think of just one major thing that he did wrong, it wouldn’t be making hange commander or anything else. The injection was his biggest mistake. And by the way hange is a great commander, and I’d take her over armin any time any place. Heck I’d take jean as commander over armin any time any place.

This has become redundant but the first time I watched the series I kept myself hopeful. I wanted to be proven wrong so badly. Maybe armin was the right choice after all, maybe there was no right choice, maybe it would become the right choice eventually, maybe maybe maybe. I held onto that hope all the way to the end. Unfortunately I now know for certain that I’m never going to get over Erwin’s death. I’m not going to go so far as to say armin becoming the next commander after hange didn’t hold any weight, but said weight was really next to nothing. Virtually nonexistent. Completely negligible. If anyone Jean should’ve been the next in line and this is the hill I will die on.

Do I hate armin? Just for the record, no. Absolutely not. I’ve said this time and time again but he was my favorite character during the first half of season 1 and I still liked him even after finishing the series. Do I find him becoming the next commander completely unacceptable? Also no. He probably would’ve never been as effective of a commander as erwin, or hange, or pyxis, or even jean, but he definitely would’ve done his best and I believe eventually he would’ve done a decent job. My problem is really more with the process and not as much the result. How did we get to him being handed the seat? Largely through Erwin’s and hange’s deaths. Frankly their deaths were so senseless I don’t think I’ll ever recover. And the whole erwin/armin parallel drawn from time to time? Imo that was the worst thing about this. Armin is not erwin, and vice versa. Stop this stupid propaganda. Did I not feel sorry for armin? Of course I did. It wasn’t his fault his friends were being stupid, nor was it his fault that Levi made the wrong decision. It was a crappy situation to say the least and he didn’t deserve to go through any of that. When he nearly threw up after hearing about what had happened, I felt sorry for him. When floch was going on and on and on right in front of him about how erwin should’ve been saved instead, I felt sorry for him. When he was going through his breakdowns dealing with mikasa and the rumbling, I felt sorry for him. Armin had to go through so much crap because of plot armor and he deserved better. But this still doesn’t change the fact that erwin was the right choice.