#just random babbling

[yandere-sins]

This probably comes a bit out of left field but I think one thing that actually is also a reason why we all like yandere subconsciously is that they do things for themselves (mostly) and more out of selfishness than what we would allow ourselves.

Of course it's bad to intentionally hurt other people and we should never ever go to the extremes of a yandere (though we kind of need that in the trope to balance out the "good qualities" that we are liking about yandere), but since we live in societies that put the wellbeing of everyone above the individual one, I think a lot of people struggle with looking out for themselves, doing things for themselves—be "selfish".

Yandere don't. I'd never want to associate with a yandere in real life, but I think it would be great to be selfish sometimes.

[sandflakedraws]

so i'm readin various stuff on the xray cause this silly film is my current source of joy and

wait

hold up.

what...

WAHT ??? WHAT

XRAY CAST DESCRIPTION????

YEARS???

xrAY dESCRIPTION eXPLaIN!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN FLOYD WAS HELD CAPTIVE FOR YEARS, WHAT SECRET INFO DO U HAVE ACCESS TO???

[gods-perfect-idiots]

something something blood-soaked hands cradling your face something something

anyway here's the post btw

[anghraine]

Hi! Can you explain what really the power of foresight was with Faramir? I read the books earlier this year and I don't really quite understand it. He could predict the future? Like he would see it in his dreams? But how did he found out from Gollum that he was taking frodo and sam to cirith ungol and that he had committed murder before?

No problem, it's one of my favorite topics!

The concise explanation: I think Faramir's foresight/aftersight in terms of visions is a largely separate "power" from his ability to bring his strength of mind and will to bear on other people and animals, and to resist outside influence. The visions seem more a matter of broad sensitivity, something Faramir doesn't appear to have much if any control over. The second power is (in our terms) essentially a form of direct telepathy, limited in some ways but still very powerful, and I think this second ability is what Faramir is using with Gollum.

The really long version:

In my opinion, Faramir (or Denethor, Aragorn, etc) doesn't necessarily read thoughts like a book, particularly not with a mind as resistant as Gollum's. Faramir describes Gollum's mind in particular as dark and closed, it seems unusually so—

"There are locked doors and closed windows in your mind, and dark rooms behind them," said Faramir.

Still, Gollum is unable to entirely block Faramir's abilities. In LOTR, it does not seem that Gollum can fully block powerful mental abilities such as Faramir's, though his toughness and hostility does limit what Faramir can see. (Unfinished Tales, incidentally, suggests iirc that Denethor's combination of "great mental powers" and his right to use the Anor-stone allowed him to telepathically get the better of Saruman through their palantíri, a similar but greater feat.) I imagine that this is roughly similar to, but scaled down from, Galadriel's telepathic inquiries of even someone as reluctant to have her in his mind as Boromir, given that Faramir is able to still see some things in Gollum's mind, if with more difficulty than usual.

(WRT Boromir ... ngl, if I was the human buffer between Denethor and Faramir, I would also not be thrilled about sudden telepathic intrusions from basically anyone, much less someone I had little reason to trust.)

Disclaimer: a few years after LOTR's publication, Tolkien tried to systematize how this vague mystical telepathy stuff really works. One idea he had among many, iirc, was that no unwilling person's mind could be "read" the ways that Gollum's is throughout LOTR. IMO that can't really be reconciled w/ numerous significant interactions in LOTR where resistance to mental intrusion or domination is clearly variable between individuals and affected by personal qualities like strength of will, basic resilience, the effort put into opposition, supernatural powers, etc. And these attempts at resistance are unsuccessful or only partially successful on many occasions in LOTR (the Mouth of Sauron, for one example, is a Númenórean sorcerer in the book who can't really contend with Aragorn on a telepathic level). So I, personally, tend to avoid using the terminology and rationales from that later systematized explanation when discussing LOTR. And in general, I think Tolkien's later attempts to convert the mystical, mysterious wonder of Middle-earth into something more "hard magic" or even scientific was a failed idea on a par with Teleporno. Others differ!

In any case, when Gollum "unwillingly" looks at Faramir while being questioned, the creepy light drains from his eyes and he shrinks back while Faramir concludes he's being honest on that specific occasion. Gollum experiences physical pain when he does try to lie to Faramir—

"It is called Cirith Ungol." Gollum hissed sharply and began muttering to himself. "Is not that its name?" said Faramir turning to him. "No!" said Gollum, and then he squealed, as if something had stabbed him.

I don't think this is a deliberate punishment from Faramir—that wouldn't be like him at all—and I don't think it's the Ring, but simply a natural consequence of what Faramir is. Later, Gandalf says of Faramir's father:

"He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men ... It is difficult to deceive him, and dangerous to try."

So, IMO, Faramir's quick realization that Gollum is a murderer doesn't come from any vision of the future or past involving Gollum—that is, it's not a deduction from some event he's seen. Faramir does not literally foresee Gollum's trick at Cirith Ungol. His warning would be more specific in that case, I think. What he sees seems to be less detailed but more direct and, well, mystical. Faramir likely doesn't know who exactly Gollum murdered or why or what any of the circumstances were. Rather, Gollum's murderousness and malice are visible conditions of his soul to Faramir's sight. Faramir doesn't foresee the particulars of Gollum's betrayal—but he can see in Gollum's mind that he is keeping something back. Faramir says of Gollum:

"I do not think you are holden to go to Cirith Ungol, of which he has told you less than he knows. That much I perceived clearly in his mind."

Meanwhile, in a letter written shortly before the publication of LOTR, Tolkien said of Faramir's ancestors:

They became thus in appearance, and even in powers of mind, hardly distinguishable from the Elves

So these abilities aren't that strange in that context. Faramir by chance (or "chance") is, like his father, almost purely an ancient Númenórean type despite living millennia after the destruction of Númenor (that destruction is the main reason "Númenóreanness" is fading throughout the age Faramir lives in). Even less ultra-Númenórean members of Denethor's family are still consistently inheriting characteristics from their distant ancestor Elros, Elrond's brother, while Faramir and Denethor independently strike Sam and Pippin as peculiarly akin to Gandalf, a literal Maia like their ancestress Melian:

“Ah well, sir,” said Sam, “you [Faramir] said my master had an elvish air; and that was good and true. But I can say this: you have an air too, sir, that reminds me of, of—well, Gandalf, of wizards.”

He [Denethor] turned his dark eyes on Gandalf, and now Pippin saw a likeness between the two, and he felt the strain between them, almost as if he saw a line of smouldering fire drawn from eye to eye, that might suddenly burst into flame.

Meanwhile, Faramir's mother's family is believed to be part Elvish, a belief immediately confirmed when Legolas meets Faramir's maternal uncle:

At length they came to the Prince Imrahil, and Legolas looked at him and bowed low; for he saw that here indeed was one who had elven-blood in his veins. "Hail, lord!" he [Legolas] said. "It is long since the people of Nimrodel left the woodlands of Lórien, and yet still one may see that not all sailed from Amroth’s haven west over water."

In addition to that, Faramir's men believe he's under some specific personal blessing or charm as well as the Númenórean/Elvish/Maia throwback qualities. It's also mentioned by different groups of soldiers that Faramir can exercise some power of command over animals as well as people. Beregond describes Faramir getting his horse to run towards five Nazgûl in real time:

"They will make the Gate. No! the horses are running mad. Look! the men are thrown; they are running on foot. No, one is still up, but he rides back to the others. That will be the Captain [Faramir]: he can master both beasts and men."

Then, during the later retreat of Faramir's men across the Pelennor:

At last, less than a mile from the City, a more ordered mass of men came into view, marching not running, still holding together. The watchers held their breath. "Faramir must be there," they said. "He can govern man and beast."

Tolkien said of the ancient Númenóreans:

But nearly all women could ride horses, treating them honourably, and housing them more nobly than any other of their domestic animals. The stables of a great man were often as large and as fair to look upon as his own house. Both men and women rode horses for pleasure … and in ceremony of state both men and women of rank, even queens, would ride, on horseback amid their escorts or retinues … The Númenóreans trained their horses to hear and understand calls (by voice or whistling) from great distances; and also, where there was great love between men or women and their favorite steeds, they could (or so it is said in ancient tales) summon them at need by their thought alone. So it was also with their dogs.

Likely the same Númenórean abilities were used for evil by Queen Berúthiel against her cats. In an interview with Daphne Castell, Tolkien said:

She [Berúthiel] was one of these people who loathe cats, but cats will jump on them and follow them about—you know how sometimes they pursue people who hate them? I have a friend like that. I’m afraid she took to torturing them for amusement, but she kept some and used them—trained them to go on evil errands by night, to spy on her enemies or terrify them.

The more formal version of the Berúthiel lore recurs in Unfinished Tales:

She had nine black cats and one white, her slaves, with whom she conversed, or read their memories, setting them to discover all the dark secrets of Gondor, so that she knew those things "that men wish most to keep hidden," setting the white cat to spy upon the black, and tormenting them.

Faramir, by contrast, has a strong aversion to harming/killing animals for any reason other than genuine need, but apparently quite similar basic abilities. He typically uses these abilities to try to compassionately understand other people or gather necessary information, rather than for domination or provoking fear. Even so, Faramir does seem to use his mental powers pretty much all the time with no attempt to conceal what he's doing—he says some pretty outlandish things to Frodo and Sam as if they're very ordinary, but it doesn't seem that most people he knows can do all these things. This stuff is ordinary to him because it flows out of his fundamental being, not because it's common.

It's not clear how much fine control he has, interestingly. This is more headcanon perhaps, but I don't feel like it's completely under his control, even while it's much more controlled than things like Faramir's vision of Boromir's funeral boat, his frequent, repeated dreams of Númenor's destruction, the Ring riddle dream he received multiple times, or even his suspiciously specific "guess" of what passed between Galadriel and Boromir in Lothlórien. Yet his more everyday mental powers do seem to involve some measure of deliberate effort in a lot of the instances we see, given the differing degrees of difficulty and strain we see with the powers he and Denethor exhibit more frequently and consistently.

This is is also interesting wrt Éowyn, because Tolkien describes Faramir's perception of her as "clear sight" (which I suspect is just Tolkien's preferred parlance for "clairvoyance"). Faramir perceives a lot more of what's going on with Éowyn than I think he had materially observable evidence for—but does not see everything that's going on with her by any means. He seems to understand basically everything about her feelings for Aragorn, more than Éowyn herself does, but does not know if she loves him [Faramir].

I'm guessing that it's more difficult to "see" this way when it's directly personal (one of the tragedies of his and Denethor's relationship is that their shared mental powers do not enable either to realize how much they love each other). But it also doesn't seem like he's trying to overcome Éowyn's mental resistance the way he was with Gollum, and possibly Frodo and Sam—he does handle it a bit differently when it's not a matter of critical military urgency. With Éowyn, he sees what his abilities make clear to him, is interested enough to seek out Merry (and also perceive more than Merry says, because Faramir has never been a normal person one day in his life) but doesn't seem to really push either of them.

So I tend to imagine that with someone like Faramir, Denethor, Aragorn etc, we're usually seeing a relatively passive, natural form of low-grade telepathy that simply derives from their fundamental nature and personalities (as we see in Faramir with Éowyn, possibly Faramir with Aragorn). That can be kicked up to more powerful, forceful telepathy via active exertion of the will (as described by Gandalf wrt Denethor's ability to "bend[] his will thither" to see what passes in others' minds, and seen with Faramir vs Gollum, Aragorn vs the Mouth of Sauron, more subtly Faramir vs Denethor). At a high point of strain this can be done very aggressively or defensively (Denethor vs Gandalf, Denethor vs Saruman, Denethor vs Sauron seriously is there a Maia that man won't fight, Faramir vs the Black Breath given his completely unique symptoms that Aragorn attributes to his "staunch will", possibly Aragorn vs the Black Breath in a healing capacity...).

Anyway, I hope these massive walls of text are helpful or interesting! Thanks for the ask :)

[nocandnc]

I headcanon No. 10 teasing Soshiro for his closeness with Konomi and giving him either good or bad dating advice.

I would really love it if No. 10 became an OkoHoshi shipper going forward. To paraphrase our dear Vice Captain,

it'd be hella funny

and there are just so many different routes you can take with it. So much room for comedy. Or other things depending on what aspect of the human-kaiju connection we focus on- the OkoHoshiNo10 potential is limitless!!

No. 10 probably wouldn't have a normal understanding of human attraction though, at least not at first. The only comparative desires he has to draw on are

To fight strong opponents (physical exertion and engaging with another body)

To eat said opponents (sating one's appetite)

This would inevitably lead to some misinterpretations on his part regarding any intimate feelings he picks up from Soshiro while the two are synced.

No. 10: You want to eat that tiny woman, Hoshina? Won't make much of a meal if you ask me. Hoshina: What? No?? What the hell are you- No. 10: Don't deny it! You clearly hunger for her. Hoshina: !!?! No, I- look, even if I did, it wouldn't be that kind of hunger- No. 10: What other kind is there!? Hoshina: ...We are not having this conversation. No. 10: Fine, fine... I'll just ask 'Okonogi-chan' about it next time she visi- Hoshina: NO.

But he does anyways, and Okonogi needs a drink afterwards.

[frankiebirds]

morgan and elle's friendship is so severely underrated and i wish we'd gotten more of them. they go on vacation together! there are also some lines in the first episode that, at least to me, imply that they knew eachother before. morgan is introduced talking to/quizzing trainees, so that seems like the most likely way, but. i don't know. i love them and i would have been curious to see how it would have been elaborated upon had lola glaudini stayed on.

(side note: i love morgan's pose and face in the second screencap. he's so silly)

[enixamyram]

One of my favourite things about the prequel is that we see a side of the Capitol before the Games became what they were. Katniss herself never hated her prep team despite their role in the games because she came to see they were like mindless children and (whether or not I agree with her thoughts) I always liked the acknowledgement that we are often products of our enviroment.

And Songbirds and Snakes helps prove that even more. Because there was a time, when the games weren't the big popular event that they eventually became, when even members of the Capitol were openly appalled by them:

Highbottom was horrified his ridiculously school assignment had become a real thing. Students at the academy showed genuine dislike for the games and turned away with true saddness when some of the tributes died. Not just because they lost the game but because their life was lost. It wasn't whispered for fear of treason accusations but a subject they spoke about openly with one another.

But as the games grew and became a bigger part of their culture, the Capitol was forced to treat the tributes and Districts as lesser beings that it didn't matter when they were murdered for entertainment. As such, the children learned all about this at a young age. And it grew and grew until the Capitol citizens were so brainwashed by their own leaders, they genuinely didn't see a problem with it. It wasn't even about remembering the war in the end, but rather having a bit of fun without caring at who's expense! Yes, a few people retained their horror at the games and some even went on to become rebels but for the most part, they daren't speak their doubts out loud because then they would at best be outcasts and at worst be enemies sent to trial.

I just really like the commentary about how the way we grow can affect our thoughts, beliefs and even our morality. I've always found it quite a fascinating discussion and love seeing it addressed properly.

[weepinglavenders]

Sailor Song by Gigi Perez is so Newtmas coded🫶😔

[y-rhywbeth2]

Ah yes, other weird symptoms of being the child of murder. Funky murder auras. Also freaking out every diviner who tries to scry you, it's hilarious. All seers who gaze into the nature/future of Bhaalspawn immediately go "Oh, FUCK NO. BYE." This dude is the only one who's calm about all the violence and bloodshed promised in your aura:

Hermit: "Eh? EH?! Wow, you're really hard to look at." Charname: "Your insults are misplaced. I only wished to speak, and you could have simply said no. I will leave you." Hermit: "Wait... I'm sorry, but you have miscontrued my meaning. A bit blunt I am at times, but I shall speak plain if you wish. I meant that your aura is hard to look at. It is exceptionally volatile. You are at odds with yourself in a most literal fashion. I've not seen another such as you, though I get the feeling that your type does not live exceptionally long. I would predict a violent end for you, but I can see nothing of your future. It would seem that your coin is on an edge*."

*There's a thing in Faerûn; the holy symbol of the goddess of luck is a coin, and it's said Tymora flips it whenever a person is born. The way it lands decides whether you will be lucky or unlucky in life. A coin that lands on its edge - such as Charname - is a soul that is unaffected by the whims of gods and Fate.

[chongoblog]

Babbling book is quickly becoming one of my favorite cards. It's just so positive and generous. Practically costs nothing at all at one mana you drop him on the board and that chill ass motherfucker gives you a spell to use later in the game. And you also get this adorable little 1/1 can ping things but usually is too harmless to be removed.

But more than the BB is just so positive. It comes on the board like "do you want to cast a spell?" and I'm like "yeah BB i do want to cast a spell let's do this shit" and when he attacks he's like "SPELLS ARE FUN" and I'm like "yeah they are SO FUN." He doesn't say some bullshit macho shit like "I will destroy you" he's just like "nah spells are fun." And it looks so happy. I mean this is an inanimate object literally brought to life by magic. It understands it's life is a temporary magical gift and the dude is just fucking loving it. I mean look at his face he's just so happy.

I am literally never sad when babbling book is on board. IDK if he's gonna make it into the metagame or not but for now he (or she) a pretty chill card

Shoutouts for including the link in one of my favorite copypastas

[between-two-fandoms]

HC Tommy Kinard is secretly fluent in French. Buck is secretly fluent in the sect of conversational Spanish he learned in Peru. They don't understand a WORD of what the other is saying, it's just insanely hot being flirted with in a foreign language. Plot twist when they get into fights they both shout in their designated language until they kiss each other because they love each other too damn much to stay mad.

[lottiies]

so sorry to anyone who is on my blog for leon fics 😖 i won’t be writing for him until my interest comes back and like for me that usually takes several months when i lose interest in a character

i still have a lot of wips of him on my docs so idk hopefully one day i’ll be able to pick them back up

[sunnys-aesthetic]

Cotl lore rambles below!

Cutting it straight to the point,

This entire post will have spoilers regarding cult of the lamb and the newest dlc The Pilgrim Pack!

you have been warned!

Mind you this probably won't be choesive at all its straight up just notes and theories of mine that ran through my head as i read the comic!!

HHOOKAY. SO THERES A LOT I WANTED TO RAMBLE ON ABOUT BU T LETS START AT THE BEGINNING.

in the bg we can see a huge plume of White smoke. This means a fire was obviously involved, and from the size of it, this HAD to be a ship with multiple other people, because you cant sail a ship that big with just one person. It also made me think about the most recent trailer with the sea freezing over! Was whatever caused *that* the cause of this too? or are they two separate situations?

though it definitely brings the question of why jalala, the unknown people on the boat, and her brother, to have come from such a long way, to a cult infested island?(that apparently outsiders don't know had cults IN it)

2. There being cults is apparently, not normal. (Who woulda thought) but jokes aside, despite the game giving us the norm of there being a cult for every little thing, It was to a point where jalala didn't even know WHO the old faith/Bishops were. And it makes me wonder just how disconnected this island is from other possible ones??

Even Rinor herself probably doesn't know WHY there's cults just that there IS, like its a normal way of life that she's used to, and that's honestly reasonable considering she's mortal and wouldn't know the intricate history about the bishops upbringing or why there's literal gods roaming around that place. Mind you, this comic takes place before you kill leshy!

-

Now, lets rewind time wwwway back, and im talking probably before even the bishops were born, new, or still mortals, its still unconfirmed and up to interpretation! But anywho,

THIS scene, started making the gears in my head turn. What the FUCK is going on in this game and its history and lore, and i mean this in the bEST WAY POSSIBLE. This is a sneak peek into Chemach's history before she lost her mind and became what you would call a 'false god' (just obviously not to her face.) This i was NOT expecting because we haven't seen anything this big depicted until *now*. Who oR WHAT is this.

(SEMI UNRELATED BUT IT TRULY MAKES ME THINK IF THE MYSTIC SELLER IS OF THIS SIZE, BUT DEPICTS HIMSELF AS 'SMALLER' BEHIND THE DOOR.) <insane little headcanon/theory that struck me upon reading.

all of that aside, we get a little preview of what chemach looked like!! She very much picked off of the dying gods to a point of no return and i'm so interested if they will say more on her story. I didnt know this beforehand but apparently the three were made and born for bestowing godly power and never to use it, seeing chemach give in to whatever mindset was eating at her was so :(

Kudaii:

Chemach:

Clauneck:

But I LOVE that we got a preview into the world She, and her two brothers kudaii and Clauneck were born into.

-

also last thing i just want to mention is how much i love this guys design i did not fucking know he was this big. hello. what. hello. h-

anyways thanks for coming to my ted talk

[honourablejester]

Randomly, I just want to talk about one of my favourite characters of all time, and a character that had a huge influence on me as a kid. And that character is Slanter from The Wishsong of Shannara, the third book in the original Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks.

Wishsong is easily my favourite of the Shannara books, and it was probably the fantasy book I read most often as a kid, over and over again, until the paperback book just wore out. The copy I have today is still held together with sellotape. You know when you have that one book, as a kid? Regardless of its actual quality, although I do actually think Wishsong holds up, but even if it didn’t, it wouldn’t matter? This book is your childhood. One of your formative influences? Wishsong was so much that for me.

And within Wishsong, Slanter was the formative favourite character for me. He’s had … a lot of influence. So, just for a minute, I want to talk about him.

Slanter is a gnome tracker who starts the book working (not entirely willingly) for the villains, the horrifying creatures known as Mord Wraiths. Gnomes in Shannara are sort of like goblins in classic D&D, they’re a brutish, insular people usually found on the wrong side of heroic conflicts. And Slanter does start the book by capturing Jair, one of our two heroes, for the villains. But he almost immediately distinguishes himself by treating Jair well as a captive, because it’s quickly clear that Slanter is literally just doing this as a job, and because the Mord Wraiths scare the absolute shit out of him. Sensibly enough. Slanter, as a person, is a pragmatic, efficient, well-travelled person who’s worked with and for a lot of people of all kinds in his career, and he quickly takes a shine to Jair, does his best to look out for him, despite knowingly taking him to be the captive of horrifying creatures of dark magic. A dissonance that Jair does his best to hammer at, because he realises quickly that Slanter does have a conscience, and Slanter doesn’t actually want to be doing this, but Slanter is too petrified of the Wraiths to defy them easily.

In vain. Slanter, at least at the start of the book, is far too pragmatic and survival-oriented to risk his life to free some stranger, even if he is both fond of the kid and fascinated by his magic. Slanter will not make the decision on his own to defy his own people and their horrifying masters in order to free Jair. But. The second someone else steps in and gives him an excuse …

The party of gnome hunters that Slanter brought Jair to are moving north to meet with a Mord Wraith, when they stumble across a man all in black drinking at a pool. They’re towing Jair along on a rope, it’s fairly obvious what’s happening here. Jair hopes for rescue, but the man seems to move on without challenging them. Jair, in despair, is moving towards the pool in hopes of a drink, when Slanter stops him. Slanter guides him back and moves in front of him with a knife, knowing what’s about to happen.

Which is that, in about two seconds, the strange man slaughters the rest of the gnome party.

This is Garet Jax, the weapons master, the most badass character in the book short of Allanon himself, and quite a lot of people’s favourite character. Slanter recognised him. So Slanter knew that this gnome hunting party was about to stop existing very shortly.

One of the last two survivors, about to run, sees Jair and tries to swing at him as he flees. And Slanter gets in the way, knife first. He betrays his people to defend Jair.

Now. Maybe he did that to differentiate himself to Jax, knowing he couldn’t take the man in a fight. Slanter is a pragmatic son of a bitch. His own survival comes first. Or he does his level best, throughout the whole book, to act like it does. But right from the moment we meet him, he’s been fond of Jair. He’s treated him well, within the limits of his job, and has done his best to make sure the kid isn’t mistreated. And he …

A theme of this book, of Jair’s half of this book, is that Slanter always comes back. Slanter always looks out for Jair. Jair acquires an entire party later on, a group of people to help him on the quest he’ll shortly be assigned by a powerful mystical being, and for all that, the one person who stays with him the whole way, all the way to the end, is Slanter. Even into the heart of what is, for a gnome, enemy territory. Not always happily, not always gracefully, but Slanter …

Slanter is, in the end, Jair’s truest companion, all the way to the end.

I just. I love him so much. He made such an impact on me. He’s sneaky, he’s pragmatic, he’s the voice of callous survivalism across the book, but he always comes back. He protects Jair at every step, at every turn. He defies his people, and goes among enemies, and risks his life, and abandons his life, his old life, to help and protect Jair. He travels with people who view him with suspicion and derision because Jair asked it of him. When Jair falters, almost every time, it’s Slanter who gives him the kick up the arse (or the literal punch in the face) that gets him going again. Jair would, quite simply, not have survived this book without him.

(Or, to be fair, without the rest of his party either. The six of them, Jair and Slanter and Garet Jax, the elf prince Edain Elessedil, the dwarf Elb Foraker, and the borderman Helt, were such a fantastic party, and the dwindling party as they fight to get Jair to Heaven’s Well is absolutely heart-wrenching and gutted me as a kid (Helt, particularly, Helt broke my heart). And Jax, whatever else you say about him, went out like a fucking boss. There is a reason he’s a lot of people’s favourite).

So many people talk about characters like Garet Jax, like Rone Leah, like Brin Ohmsford, like Kimber Boh. And they are awesome. But it was always Slanter for me. He has the best arc. He’s sly and he’s pragmatic and he’s focused on his own survival, but he has a conscience, and he has care, and as it turns out he will risk everything for pretty much zero reward on the strength of that conscience and that care, he just needed the smallest nudge to do so. Jair was that nudge. And it carried them all the way to Heaven’s Well. Past siege armies. Past Krakens. Past Mord Wraiths. Past demons.

Every time I reread this book, I read Brin’s half for Allanon, and I read Jair’s half for Slanter.

The original Shannara trilogy is, in a lot of ways, very paint-by-numbers fantasy. It’s very D&D fantasy. There are large chunks of Wishsong, particularly Jair’s half of Wishsong, that genuinely read like someone’s campaign. But, for all that. It’s still my favourite. It was the fantasy novel of my childhood. And for all it’s pretty standard, so many moments do still make my heart sing. Slanter stepping in front of Jair that first time by the pool. Allanon at the Hadeshorn. Allanon vs the Jachyra. Garet Jax vs the … That might be spoilers. Helt’s last stand. Whisper’s last stand.

I honestly can’t tell if it’s a good book or not, it’s too intrinsic to my childhood to judge. But I love it, with all my heart.

And within it, the character that I love the most … is Slanter. Is the grumpy, pragmatic, doing-his-best-to-be-selfish gnome tracker that in the end proved to be one of the most loyal and courageous people in this book. Without ever losing a smidge of the pragmatism along the way.

If anyone ever wondered why I tend to like sneaky, pragmatic survivalists with varyingly-well-hidden streaks of loyalty? This is the character you can blame. Heh.

Maybe do give this book a shot, if you haven’t? Again, I cannot speak to its quality. But I love it.

[n0picturespls]

I saw this a couple months back and well. I think it's a good time to show this.

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Teensy tiny complaint on the latest chapter

Hoshina being wanted by the two most noteworthy captains of the defence force kind of undermines his backstory for me… oooo no one believes in him cuz he can’t use guns ooooo he should quit the defence force oooooo but also he’s super powerful and the strongest wants to recruit him like 🤷‍♀️ a real have your cake and eat it too moment imo.

I’d rather Narumi fully overlooked him only to be pissed off when this supposedly low level guy kicks his ass in all the close combat scores, but I guess they needed to draw attention to the special eye powers - yeah yeah I get it….. though in that case why isn’t Narumi screening all the new recruits for their potential, huh!?

It’s FINE. But I’m far more interested in seeing Kafka and MINA give me MINA—