#heroes deserve to live

[setoangel01]

A more hopeful ending to Final Fantasy 16. One where Clive survived and returned to Jill where they could finally live the remainder of their lives free of the burdens the world placed on their shoulders.

I finished FF16 and both DLC's and while I wish there was a different ending to it, or one that wasn't so open-ended, it left me hopeful. I'd like to believe that Clive (and even Joshua) somehow survived even if Clive did lose the use of his left hand. I'm just sick of heroes needing to die in these stories when heroes deserve to live a full life with love and happiness. So that's what I'm hoping Clive, Jill and Joshua were able to have.

[reasonsforhope]

"For most people, a rat is at best an unwelcome guest, and at worst, the target of immediate extermination. But in a field clinic in Tanzania, rats are colleagues—heroes even.

Far from a trash bin-dwelling NYC street rat, the African giant pouched rat is docile, intelligent, easier to train than some dogs, and for East Africans, the performer of lifesaving tuberculosis diagnoses every day.

400,000 new cases of tuberculosis (TB) were estimated to have been prevented by these rats, whose sense of smell would make a bloodhound take notice. As [TB is] the number-one killer among infectious diseases worldwide, many of those 400,000 can be translated into lives saved.

“Not only are we saving people’s lives, but we’re also changing these perspectives and raising awareness and appreciation for something as lowly as a rat,” said Cindy Fast, a behavioral neuroscientist who coaches the rodents for the nonprofit APOPO.

“Because our rats are our colleagues, and we really do see them as heroes.”

APOPO uses giant pouched rats to sniff out traces of TB in the saliva of patients. In parts of Tanzania, a saliva smear test under a microscope by a human may only be 20-40% effective at detecting TB.

By contrast, a giant pouched rat like Ms. Carolina, a now-retired service rat who worked for APOPO for 7 years, raised the rates of detection on TB samples by 40% in the clinic where she worked.

Pictured: An APOPO employee with one of their trained rats

It would take 4 days for scientists to analyze the number of samples that Carolina could screen in 20 minutes. For that reason, when Carolina retired last November, a party was thrown at the clinic in her honor, and she was given a cake.

TB is sometimes thought of as a thing of the past—a disease for which doctors used to prescribe “dry air,” leading a modern sense of humor to muse at the antiquated, pre-antibiotic medical advice.

But it remains the number-one cause of death globally from a single infectious pathogen, and Tefera Agizew, a physician and APOPO’s head of tuberculosis, told National Geographic that once people see what the nonprofit’s rodents can do to slow the spread, they “fall in love with them.”

3,000 times in her career did Carolina detect one of the six volatile compounds that can be used to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and she got a hero’s send-off to a special compound to live out the rest of her days with her closet friend and sniffer colleague Gilbert, in a shaded enclosure dubbed “Rat Florida.”

“We’ve made special little rat-friendly carrot cakes with little peanuts and things on it that the rat would enjoy,” Fast said. “Then we all stand around and we clap, and we give three cheers, hip hip hooray for the hero, and celebrate together. It’s really a touching moment.”

APOPO has made headlines for its use of these rats in other lifesaving tasks as well: landmine clearance.

One of the world’s great underreported scourges (a lot like TB, coincidentally) is landmine contamination. There are 110 million landmines or unexploded bombs in the ground right now in about 67 countries, covering thousands of square miles in potential danger. Thousands of civilians are killed or injured by these weapons every year.

GNN reported on APOPO’s demining efforts using pouched rats back in 2020. One rat named Magawa alone identified 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance across an area the size of 20 football fields.

If at the start of this story you didn’t like rats, maybe Magawa and Carolina will have changed your mind."

-via Good News Network, March 31, 2025

[demigods-posts]

now is a great time to remind all of us of how noble a hero percy jackson is. because he refused to harm the demigods who fought beside luke. as much as he hated the fighting them, he understood why the were fighting. he recognized the gods failed them too. and to not acknowledge that in the aftermath of the war would be disingenuous to the lives lost on either side. and not only that. but he was the only demigod brave enough to tell gods how it is when they offered him immortality. he told the gods to their face that their faults in leadership and parenthood are what lead to their near demise. that they must swallow their pride and nurture the things they create, or the threat of a revolt will follow them. and his ass used his gods-given wish to make them promise to give their children a fair chance at a better life. no one was doing it like him. happy birthday, man.

[morrithal]

The thing about Wyll is that he Gets It. He knows the story. He knows the kind of man his father is and the kind of man he was supposed to be. He knew what Mizora was when he made the pact. He knew what it meant. And he was just a kid, and his city needed saving, so he did it, and he paid that price, and even knowing all of that he still tried to appeal to his father for understanding and forgiveness.

He sold his soul to do the right thing. And he was cast out. And he knew what character that should have made him.

He knows the story he's in, and every day he chooses who he wants to be instead.

[mydarlinglaszlo]

never gonna stop losing my mind over this scene i fear

[glitter-stained]

Dc writers be like yeah sorry this character was doomed by the narrative there was nothing we could do, like my brother in christ you ARE the narrative

[cookieshapedrat]

She deserves the universe…

[shorthaltsjester]

the mighty nein - critical role

this is a place where i don't feel alone. this is a place where i feel at home.

[insane-fanfic-author-4life]

Blofis-Jackson-Grace AU Where Percy introduces the traumatized, anxiety ridden, orphan, Roman Demigod Jason Grace to Paul and Sally, and they immediately sign mental adoption papers.

With a side of big brother Jason to baby Estelle. Jason gets all mushy and depressed, and heartbroken around her because how could his mom live him alone when he was that small and breakable

[anubislover]

The Real Rocky Port Incident

Absolutely stunning art commissioned from @namaeekaki that brought to life my personal headcanon about the Rocky Port Incident that Law became known for.

It's not the bullshit Oda decided. It's Law finally getting bloody vengeance on someone who truly wronged him: the survivors of the Flevance Royal Family whom the World Government had spirited away before the genocide. Law tracked them down to where they had been living on a small island as reclusive nobility: Rocky Port. He and the Heart Pirates incited a riot in the town as a distraction, which the Navy (led by Koby) had to quell, leaving the royal family alone and defenseless, just as Law planned. This allowed him to take his time, torturing them and relishing their screams, even allowing his hands to get bloody on behalf of his family, neighbors, and the innocence he lost due to their and the World Government's selfishness. He killed the king, prince, and princess, leaving their bodies for the Marines to find later with the intent of sending the World Government a message:

You can't hide your dirty little secrets forever. Especially not from me.

[farshootergotme]

I've read too many batfamily fics. I need to read a fic that is about Dick spending time with everyone EXCEPT the batfam.

[numbuh424]

death note the good place AU where Light is welcomed for all the "good" his work as Kira did for the world. he's eating it up, until they go outside and Light sees L sadly eating some frozen yogurt. Light's immediately like, "yeah, this definitely isn't the good place."

[23fallencomets]

[Not F1 Related but i need to show you guys my favorite kdrama character i would lay my life down for him we will return to our regularly scheduled program after i post this(i don’t think he’s every played a decently happy character 😭)]

this kid committed crimes in the name of love friendship

he beat up like eight guys because they put his best friend in a coma (the guy who delivered the final blow was actually their friend and it’s a genuine trip i stopped watching after ep 4 because i read the webtoon and knew how it ended and this guy couldn’t even hurt their friend which is devastating oh beomseok i can never form a proper opinion on you😭) and then his life gets okay because he makes new friends but then it all goes to shit and he’s just so tragic ☹️

YEON SIEUN IM GONNA GET YOU OUT OF THERE BABY

LOOK AT HIM HOW COUKD THEY HURT HIM 😭😭

(he’s highkey insane don’t let the puppy eyes fool you, he stabbed people with pens and broke someone’s ankle with a dumbbell therefore ruining their career in martial arts all while being top of his class)

this is what they took from me ☹️☹️

“maybe we were married in another life”

ahn suho im in your fucking walls oh my god

the friendship i mourn everytime i remember them 😞

LOOK AT THEM OH MY GOD IM IN GENUINE ANGUISH BRING THEM BACK TO ME 😭😭😭

[anyway if you made it this far, i have these fics written about them if you’re curious about how i wrote them]

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Abso-fucking-lutely vibing with World's Finest: Teen Titans' addition of Karen as one of the founding members.

Because good fucking god, before this the team was two demigods, two billionaire teens and a Normal Kid™ in neon yellow BUT NOW?! Now it's two demigods, two billionaire teens and TWO Normal Kids™ in neon yellow!

No but seriously though Wally is the only one who has to like... mow the lawn and watch his neighbor's cat when they go away for the long weekend. He's the only one who knows how to mail a letter at the post office and how much pencils cost at a book fair. He's got superpowers and terrible parents and yet somehow he is the MOST NORMAL ONE THERE.

Which speaks volumes about the rest of them tbh.

But now!!! Karen and Wally get to be nerds ✨together✨ and they get free tickets to watch the trainwrecks that the other Teen Titans call life

Seriously though I think these two are aggressively trying to be friends with each other while also roleplaying their 'cool guy' hero personas, which is extremely funny to me. These two are absolute nerds with no friends in school and they are DESPERATE for a friend and they've just met but they've both decided "Yeah that one. That one is friend shaped"

Wally: you move too slow

Karen: learn how to fly dumbass

Anyway I love them

[champion-prism]

"never meet your idols" but izuku's idol is exactly what he dreamed of and more. all might is perfect- perfectly kind, perfectly caring, strong, upstanding, the pinnacle of heroism. "never meet your idols" but izuku's idol has been caring for him since the day they met, since the day all might offered his quirk to izuku. "never meet your idols" but izuku's idol gives him love, care, affection, advice, and everything he could ever want from someone he adores like he adores all might.

[ikuneko]

My 4th read for Black History Month this year had me sobbing at 5am when I finished it. Ellie Engle Saves Herself! by Leah Johnson

I knew when I read the dedication that this book was going to make me cry, but I didn't realize what a gut punch the Author's Note was going to be at the end.

This book was a spectacularly beautiful story about the importance of stepping out of the shadows and making yourself known, even if it can be uncomfortable. A highly recommended read for all ages.