#in that they arent the characters i actually love

[mai-komagata]

so here is my melkor hot take of the day. i dont think melkor is more evil than sauron.

like yes, tolkien said sauron is less evil than melkor bc he is devoted and obedient to him, i.e. catholic theological legalese, since love and obedience are the catholic virtue things that dont originate from evil. cool. ASIDE FROM THAT.

and like, melkor is totally MORE POWERFUL than sauron by like orders of magnitude. sure. melkor is the evil soup that suffuses the world like original sin and the fall do in catholic theology.

but like if in looking at intent and what they do, i dont think you can say that for sauron's relative power, i hesitate to say he is more evil, but he is evil in a more insidious and dangerous way common to our age.

like i see melkor very much representing the evil of the natural world (and to some degree part of the universal plan of eru iluvatar). he is volcanoes. he is the blight of winter. he is disease and pestilence and decay. he is the coming of darkness, the destruction of creation. the entropy of the universe. he desires the spark or life but can only subdivide endlessly like bacteria.

but that is part of the fallen world in theological terms even if it shouldn't be part of a healed world of immortal quasi spiritual (or actually spiritual) beings. it is imperfection if the goal is deathlessness. but it is part of the world.

and to a degree i see valar as having this sort of impersonal force of nature quality about them. not just melkor. they all do. tolkien describes them like heavenly bureaucrats. they arent tied to the world and dont understand the world in a tangible personal way that even the maiar do.

sauron is different and i think there is a reason sauron is the villain in the books in the second and third age and specifically in the main book he published. he is the evil of our modern world.

because most mythologies dont have two dark lords. one representing chaos and destruction and one representing order and coercion and industry.

it represents a fundamental swing in how cultures started to conceptualize evil. we mastered science and thus a lot of the things that were a curse from the gods were being solved. and yet. the world wasn't becoming less evil. we still want to control each other, to subjugate others. we want to tame nature so much it kills her and makes her barren. we covet power because we are afraid of the lack of it.

so yeah. sauron and melkor are both evil. but sauron was subject to melkor (or natural evils) until we subdued and chained him. and then sauron's evils were dominant.

(is this character analysis or fictional theology? idk.)

i love these characters because they are symbolic of how we conceptualize evil in the world, as well as being stand-ins for a certain character archetype. i dont have to write them just as them being evil. but they are great for writing about difficult subjects because of their symbolic nature.

(and maybe like sauron i too love volcanoes and snow and mushrooms and thus am a bit enchanted with the force of nature that is melkor. i used to study a LOT of catholic theology, and now as an outsider looking in im like, maybe i can play with these myths and tropes. at the same time, the ultimate plan of eru iluvatar is meant to be a mystery.)

[dandysworldhcs]

Suffering through school stuff right now... ough.... Could we have some wholesome headcanons? Doesn't need to be about any particular character but It would be so awesome to see at least one Goob / Craft siblings one hehehe

Also just to add a headcanon to the massive pile on this blog, Filipino Poppy, because of a stupid yt short I watched, hehe

we all need some wholesome headcanons in these trying times

-looey makes squeaky toy sounds when excited or frazzled and everyone thinks its adorable. some other toons have started imitating him subconsciously and now when theyre all excited or startled you hear over half of the toons make a squeak sound.its so sillycore

-flutter is very cuddly, physical affection is one of her biggest love languages

-pebble and coal both have service dog training. they can detect abnormal blood pressure, panic attacks, seizures, you name it. dandy, bobette and the handlers are aware of this and know how to recognize the alerts. the rock dogs are very proud of each other and look up to each other a lot :-]

-coal is actually bobette's service dog !! she has fainting spells sometimes and coal helps alert her before they happen so she doesnt fall and injure herself

-scraps and goob have their own secret nonverbal/sign language in the event that one of them has a verbal shutdown [ive talked about this in a previous hc dump i think]. they sometimes use the language when they wanna tell each other a secret, or just for the funny

-adults are welcome to play and interact with the toons as well !! sometimes people who didnt have great childhoods come to gardenview and ask to play with some of the toons and they arent shamed or questioned for it. gardenview is a safe space <:]

-teagan is secretly a huge dork that kicks her feet thinking about her friends.there is so much love in her heart

-connie helps grieving kids by saying stuff like "hey.i talked to your loved one in the spirit realm and they said that theyre very proud of you :-) and they told me to give you a hug on their behalf". parents and adults think that the handlers asked connie to do this but the handlers have no idea that she does this. she does it out of kindness

these are a lot,,sorry if these arent really wholesome and i misunderstood,,

[unhetalia]

my 2ptalia headcanon is that while everyone else's counterpart are just doubles in a 90 degree angle, alfred's counterpart is not his double at all. it's just... a completely different guy. jake (2p america) isn't even matt's (2p canada) brother.

when the two universes meet, no one quite understands. the two aren't similar in any way. jake is 6'3 to alfred's 5'11, with dark brown hair and disconcertingly red eyes. he has an eyebrow and a tongue piercing, and he is an asshole of epic proportions. he enters a room and offends everyone there. he doesn't smile so much as smirk or leer or bare his teeth. if alfred was the hero, jake was the villain.

yet jake loves animals, and hasn't eaten meat in a hundred years. he lets little old ladies bully him and reminisce about how much he reminds them of their long dead husbands. he loves turning his face towards the sun and basking in its warmth.

that last part is likely why, when their worlds collide, he can't help but be in awe of the other world's america, who seems like sunshine personified. who smiles easily and lets insults roll off him without any need to cause a fuss. when the nations of both worlds wonder why their americas are so different, alfred only grins and says that he's just one of a kind! before winking at jake with exaggerated flare.

jake is helpless to stop himself from returning america's grin, even as he can feel the shocked stares of his fellow nations.

while everyone else obsesses with returning them to their own world, jake obsesses over alfred. of course, he doesn't expect that world's england - four inches shorter and dressed like a perfect gentleman - to corner him in a dark hallway with a sword to his throat and demand he stay away from his america.

it takes him three hours to shake off the... trepidation... from that encounter - their england isn't nearly as violent OR as invested in his safety. still, that england really has no right trying to warn jake away from alfred, right? he's pretty sure even in this universe, america is no longer under british rule.

(boy, is jake totally wrong about that.)

[onnie-giri]

best bros here to save the world (through volleyball <3)

[aroaceleovaldez]

The himbo, malewife, goofball -fication of percy jackson is such a crime by both the fans and riordan. It has made Mr not like percabeth as a couple because in all posts and in later books annabeth is such a girlboss, while Percy's dumb and can't fight his way out of a paperbag without her. All the posts are about how annabeth will be an architect and percy would love to be a trophy husband.

Even the humor in the books went from Percy's sharp wit and snark to 'my pancakes can't drown because I'm a son of poseidon.'

And now this recommendation letter bullshit.

Honestly now I'd wish percy just separated from annabeth (but they remain best friends.) He stays home with his family, becomes a camp counselor, helps young demigods, holds God's accountable and eventually becomes a social activist. (I also dislike him doing something marine biology related. It's clear he hates academics but he always wants to help people. Him helping demigods and mortals is such a wholesome profession for him.)

I fully agree with the first half of this, though I slightly disagree with part of the latter.

The later-series and fanon mischaracterization of Percy is at least a solid 50% ableism minimum, full stop. He's being warped into a very stereotyped ADHD character and the exact reason why he's being characterized as "dumb" is because of ableism. Percy is a very intelligent character! That's exactly why he's so in sync with Annabeth and they're such a strong duo! It's just generally Annabeth is more book/academically smart.

I disagree with where you say he hates academics - because that's one of the common misconceptions about his character. Percy doesn't hate learning or academic subjects! He's not even bad at them! We know explicitly that when he is in an accommodating environment he is interested in learning and gets significantly better grades! Percy only dislikes school because it is generally an environment that systematically he struggles with. It's literally just he has a learning disability (two, actually)! That's it! When his learning disability is accommodated for he does well! It's almost like that's what accommodations are all about! We know this from the first series! It's discussed pretty in-depth! Percy isn't a dumb character and he doesn't hate learning, he's just been let down by school systems so much that he's inherently distrustful of them. If they actually accommodate him though then he does just fine!

And that's exactly what CHB was all about and why New Rome University was supposed to be such a big thing for him! CHB is a learning environment geared for demigods. NRU is a demigod college. Both inherently imply an environment meant to cater to and accommodate students with ADHD and dyslexia! They are both systematically structured to be able to accommodate him! Heck, CHB and CJ even both address in the wider themes of the series a metaphor about how ADHD and dyslexia are commonly seen as childhood disabilities, and how it can be more difficult to find accommodations into adulthood because of that attitude but those disabilities don't just go away - that's why CHB is a summer camp but they talk about how demigods outside of CHB don't often fare well. The metaphor there is those who are not getting help or accommodations are struggling. Because that's how that works! This is a fully intentional metaphor from the first series! CHB is never framed as being perfect for demigods, because one of the entire central conflicts of the series is Percy and Luke going back and forth about this flawed system meant to help and support them but still letting people fall through the cracks. The "claim your kids by 13" thing is a metaphor about how acknowledging a child's disabilities (and possibly getting a diagnosis) earlier/as early as possible means they will have more time to learn and build up resources and support for themselves to be able to use later in life. One of CHB's major flaws is that it can accommodate demigods to a certain point, but it can only do so much before those demigods have to leave (the metaphor being accommodating school systems when those disabled students do not have any other forms of accommodations in their lives.)

And that's why Camp Jupiter was framed as being so revolutionary for Percy because it had an environment acknowledging that this is not just a childhood disability, adults with ADHD/dyslexia exist too and still need and deserve accommodations, AND is a place where those accommodations are available. That's why Camp Jupiter and NRU are treated as such special and important things to Percy, because it's essentially Percy being shown this type of thing can and does exist and it is available to him. It is an option he never thought was possible. Percy never thought he'd be able to go to college because he would not be able to go through school without accommodations, but NRU proves otherwise.

The part that's absolutely stupid is Rick then proceeded to retcon NRU so that apparently it's not a full college and Percy still has to take classes at normal mortal college which DEFEATS THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF NRU EXISTING. Rick has fully retconned that demigods struggle past the ages of 16-18 when they're on their own (see above elaborated metaphors) and in doing so we have fully killed all symbolism in literally all of that. It's so stupid. And by having the plot of the CoTG trilogy entirely be that Percy is not actually allowed access to NRU in the first place because he is a son of Poseidon and has to do extra to even be accepted is stupid!

All that to say, I agree the marine biology feels like a huge cop-out and a disservice to his character by reducing him to just a son of Poseidon. The literal only reason why it's the default option people take for him is because oh, fish thing, fish guy. But I feel like everyone ignores the really obvious answer for what Percy would want to do which is - writing. Both his parents are writers/authors and he clearly admires that about them. Percy likes telling stories! He canonically is already a published author in-universe! That's what the books ARE in-universe! The first series fully exists in their universe and Percy is the author! This is explicit canonical information! Percy canonically has help physically writing it down (accommodations) but he is still the credited author! Percy is a writer! Already! Canonically! Why are we making him a marine biologist he already has a profession that ties into his character significantly more. Like you said, Percy likes helping people. That's what the books in-universe are supposed to be for! It's point blank at the beginning of the series! Book one! The thing everybody quotes all the time! The books exist because it is Percy trying to give advice to other demigods who don't know what's going on yet! It's Percy's writing down his experiences to help new demigods understand and contextualize their experiences so they can understand themselves better and figure out what's going on - WHICH IN ITSELF IS ALSO A METAPHOR ABOUT ADHD/DYSLEXIA! Because the core of the series has and always will be built around ADHD/dyslexia! Percy as a protagonist EXPLICITLY was created so that ADHD/dyslexic kids could see themselves as a hero!

Sorry that all was a very tangential rant but my point being: Absolutely. Percy in newer stuff in the franchise and in fanon is horrifically mischaracterized in ways that are functionally either fully ableist (shoutout TSATS for just outright claiming Percy is intentionally lazy and skips school out of disinterest, which is like the number one ableist attitude towards kids with learning disabilities) or a complete erasure of Percy's disabilities. Also I think he should be a writing major not a marine biologist.

[sonknuxadow]

see i do think there have been actual instances of fandom people just deciding two characters are siblings with no real basis and acting like its canon and forcing that interpretation on others and getting mad at people who disagree . but a lot of the characters i see people list as examples of this happening with are just actually stated to or heavily implied to see eachother as siblings by the source material and at that point i think you just dont see adopted siblings as real siblings idk what else to tell you

[justablah56]

Dani rwd love of my life <333

and ofc thank you to @rats-on-ice , @sofia-not-sophie , @kathbunny , @billiamdoor , and @alkatart for their dani designs , they were a lot of fun !

[reachhforthestars]

Sonic 3 spoilers!!! Talking about the mid credits scene/what people have been saying about it under the cut

feeling like the only one who doesnt want reverse sonamy for the movies </3

or more accurately, fine sonic can have an obvious crush on her but i dont want ‘reverse sonamy’ to mean ‘amy doesnt have a crush on sonic.’ she can be lowkey about it or whatever (like sonic is sometimes in the games/other media) but to me part of Who She Is is that shes this super cool, super strong, intelligent fighter but shes also still a young girl who has crushes and believes in fate and is guided by her compassion, not by her strength or her mission or her love of adventure.

shes such a good character because while she is physically strong and possibly slightly magic, those are equally as important as her love and compassion and care for the world and people around her. preserving amys girlhood is important to me like loving sonic isnt her single defining character trait bc she ‘has to have a crush on a guy’ but it is a main character trait because thats just who she is. a loving person who sees the good in the world and wants to protect it and loves sonic because she sees him as the embodiment of that

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

Do you think if the trolls all came back, like everything in the main comic did happen and they were alive again. Do you think Feferi would actually forgive Eridan? Or want to even be his friend after everything? I don't personally like the erisol and fefertasprite interaction…felt rushed…..so I just wanted to know your opinion if things were different! :)

Yeah, I think they would be! Feferi is one of the trolls who takes dying the least badly (relentless optimism) and Eridan does genuinely feel bad, which means a lot when it's Eridan. I think she really is genuine when she says she wants them to be friends and also that she's really not the type of person to hold a grudge, and like... death is SUPER cheap in Homestuck, it's really not the horrific, irredeemable, irreperable damage that it is IRL - and if you're talking about (Feferi) and (Eridan), then they're both dead (and irrelevent) now, so the score is kind of even.

In general, the fandom - I mean, people in general, really - tend to have difficulty divorcing themselves from other people. We tend to assume that the people and characters they like will hold similar opinions to themselves. This is how people who like Karkat and don't like Eridan can mentally gloss over or even block out their clear, close friendship, or how people who dislike Cronus can end up overlooking that Meenah actually takes his opinion seriously and unironically defends his wizard thing. Feferi really isn't mad at Eridan or upset about dying the way we probably would be, because she's friends with the horrorterrors, relentlessly cheerful, comfortable with death in general, and death is also just not really that big of a deal in this setting. "I'm really sorry about that, that was shitty of me" is honestly probably all the apology she needs, especially if they came back to life anyway.

[keiksy-cake]

Hetalia Poll Results Pt 1: Character Whose House You'd Like To Visit

Finished this one super quickly! Thanks again to the donator who requested! 🥰

As promised, here are the other results for now that I may or may not get to:

Character Who You'd Want To Be Your Boss: Germany (Hima's recc: Germany)

Character Who Would Make The Best Friend: Japan (Hima's recc: Italy)

Character Who You'd Like To Eat With: Italy (Hima's recc: France)

(These next few ones are just by Hima I think)

Whose House You Should Visit: Singapore

Who Would Be A Great Host: India

...Be A Popular Youtuber: America

...Be A Popular Comedian: Spain

...Be The Heaviest Drinker: Russia

...Have Light Feet: Wy

It's also my birthday today so I would appreciate any thanks in the form of happy bday messages ❤️

all collezione pages

[Please note, I’m actually an amateur in Japanese and have to use various resources and translation machines to help me. If you notice a possible mistake or want clarification, please bring it up to me *politely* and not aggressively or hostile.]

[andro-dino]

root rpg,,,,, save me root rpg

SIKE this is more alabaster husband posting because I love them and cant stop thinking about them <3

peggy's beef with celgene makes me giggle. man is SO incredibly stressed and tired and peggy just fuels the fire by getting on his ass about it it's very silly

these guys are 50/almost 50 (in my head at least) can u believe that

a funny thought i had that i wanted to draw but decided would be too much work and i couldn't do how i wanted to (spoilers for root rpg ep 3)

Since celgene's office is also his bedroom I think the idea of like, ep 3 after everything is said and done and cel brings everyone up to his office, Sonny is in bed still but woke up after cel got up and so when he comes back to the room, Son's just like "What was all the commotion about Cel-" and he's just met with the sight of celgene leading the vagabonds in, a very beat up Mr. Y and Phil, and the dead body of Mr. Smiles being dragged into the room while Dolly lays out a tarp and Cel and Sonny just kinda look at each other very silently for a hot minute before they're like

"I don't even- go back to bed doll"

"Yeah im goin back to bed"

[sha-brytols]

i think my favorite rivalry route is merrills for how like. assertive she is with hawke. like she doesn't just sit there and take the condescending "i know more than you" bit she actually stands up for herself and you actually get to see more of WHY she's so adamant about fixing the eluvian because when you're trying to talk her out of it she'll actually open up more about why she wants to like i can't stress enough i fucking adore rivalry paths

[lunarharp]

fwee top 5 things i had fun with this year :-)

[skunkes]

doodles from last year but i am thinking about vee...

[daystud]

hoyoverse: im going to make this pink tsundere lady the most shipbait character ever and your sapphic ass will eat it up

me: yessir 🫡

[cloud-ya]

having that one friend that you dump all your thoughts about the lore of a series on despite them not even being a fan of said series