#literally children fighting in wars what the hell man

[wafflinglumos]

Just remembered how Harry was seventeen in the battle of Hogwarts and I’m sick to my stomach

[wastemanjohn]

i'm not at all bothered about people disliking john because entirely valid tbh and someone else's opinion changes nothing for me. i just think the militant anti john brigade - that is, those that make up textually unsupported and entirely leftfield reasons to dislike him - are really missing out.

the thing is, we've got an absolute buffet of an interesting and irreparably fucked up character here. we could debate the absolute Horrors of john winchester and his a+ parenting for days on end literally from the two seconds of screentime he had. because he does suck! it's totally fair to say that canon john is selfish, neglectful and at best emotionally abusive. now i'm defo no apologist (see username) - but he's also the furthest thing from a cardboard shitty abusive dad. there is serious context for the things he does and the way he thinks.

john's life was hell man. his own dad, for all he knew, abandoned him. he went to war young and almost certainly came back with ptsd. these things alone don't exactly make life easy but then your wife burns to death on a ceiling and you're left a widower and a single dad to a baby and a pre schooler before you're even thirty? then discover that it couldn't even be a plain old housefire but no - there is actual Evil out there and you and your children are not safe and never will be?

the desire for revenge is understandable. the desire to do stupid and paradoxically dangerous things to protect your children are understandable. right, good or healthy? no. but understandable. and that's what makes a good sympathetic character.

basically i think a lot of negative readings of john exaggerate the badness of his intentions and ignore his humanity. it's also understandable that john is not a beacon of emotional regulation. it's also understandable that he cant always balance being emotionally and physically there for his kids with Fighting The Horrors. pour alcohol misuse onto this dumpster fire and you're not getting a perfect person, or a perfect parent. you're getting a broken human who was focused only on keeping his kids safe, alive, protected, and able to protect themselves. sure, he had tunnel vision about it. he did it very badly. he controlled sam as the youngest and parentified dean as the oldest. he made sam feel misunderstood and smothered. he made dean feel completely responsible for the welfare of his brother and dependent on john's praise and approval as his second in command.

john fucked his kids up IMMEASURABLY. he thought he was doing the right thing.

also - remember young john? remember how he's softly spoken and loves his cars and adores his girlfriend and respects his fucking elders and, to quote mary, "believes in happy endings"? remember the doting dad we see for like a minute in the pilot? is that not meant to show us that, had his life not taken the turn it did - he would likely have been an entirely different person? how is the tragedy of that not also completely DELICIOUS??

so why homophobic john? why john who beat dean senseless regularly? why john who gave no shits and wanted his boys to be miserable? why these embellishments that make him someone else, someone with nothing good inside of him, when what canon gives us is so much better?

come on guys. the tragic messy sad angry selfish HUMAN john we got in the show is an absolute treat. why are we making him an irredeemable, unfeeling and uncomplicated asshole who doesn't give a shit about his boys. ya'll saw him spending a good 50% of his screen time crying about how much he loved them right? and sam and dean KNEW he loved them. they also knew, or in dean's case came to realise, that he was a terrible father in many ways. real life is messy and nuanced. families are messy and nuanced. and imo spn got this so right.

[eccentricallygothic]

| Video Game Brat |

Description: One in which Simon wakes up to find his baby whom he had carried to bed and away from her gaming system waging war on Roblox through her iPad that she has managed to sneak in.

Pairing: Daddy-Dom!Simon Riley | Baby-Sub Female!Reader. 

Warning(s): Ddlg, m!dom, f!sub, fluff, they're in love, bratty reader, size kink, age gap, manhandling, spanking/belting threat but it's empty, soft vibes, caring protective Simon, allusions to dacryphilia towards the end. Minors do not interact. 

Note: Coping piece because Lord knows I am exhausted to fuck and sleep evading like my life depends on it. Feedback is appreciated <3 

.

Tap. Tap. Tap. “Fucking noob” although Simon could sleep through literal war because of his military training, his eyes crinkled as his face scrunched from the light he could feel on his face. It was his baby's scent mingled with her vicious curses that brought him out of his slumber for he realized that under this circumstance he couldn't and won't tolerate the noise because he could tell just what was going on. 

His eyes opened before darting to his girlfriend's side of the bed and sure enough, she was propped up against her mountain of fluffy pillows as she furiously typed away on her iPad. 

Simon sighed as he let his eyes pull shut just for a second before he moved his hand to block out the light exploding out of the screen of the device. 

Baby was too engrossed in her cyber fight to notice his stirring and since she couldn't express her frustration through voice chat due to the almost 7 foot beast laying next to her who just happened to be her strict Daddy -especially when it came to her wellbeing-, she slammed the tips of her fingers down on the screen in an unceasing fashion. 

“Bullying children on your kiddie games instead of sleeping, again?” Though she started a bit because she thought he was asleep, it didn't waver her determination. 

“More like noob cunts who can't design for shit” Simon's eyebrows raised as he let his eyes close again. “And it's not a kiddie game. It's a fight to the death!”

Ever the brat. 

“Language, please” she scoffed before rolling her eyes. “And it's way past your bedtime, young lady” Baby didn't budge, instead hugging Toto the puppy plushy Simon couldn't help but envy sometimes before she continued to hurriedly go about her game. 

The man shook his head before reaching for her iPad. The girl gasped before her eyes widened to the shape of saucers. “NO YOU WOULDN'T–!”

“You know when I brought you to bed it was so you would sleep and not so you could melt your eyes on this thing” he had thrown her over his shoulder a few hours ago after pulling out the power cord of her gaming station. Only to wake up to find that she had somehow managed to sneak in her iPad. She had never been a rival to his strength, yet she passionately struggled against him to keep her gadget. “Let go or you can have the belt on that bratty little butt tomorrow” it was an empty threat and she knew it. Sure, it used to intimidate her at first because Simon was not the most friendly looking man and his scarred up build did not help. But spankings and the like were punishments he did not prefer for her himself for she was too small and adorable for him to rough handle.

Which was the reason why she was spoiled so rotten.

“Like hell I will!” Simon sighed before freeing the device from her vicious little harmless claws with a firm jerk before turning it off and placing it away, his other arm easily holding her smaller body in place that lunged in the direction of the iPad almost instantly when he half turned to put it away on the bedside table. 

“Ughhh, noooooeee!” Simon easily picked her up before bending her into the little spoon position, ‘knocking’ Toto off the bed in the process before placing her back against his strong chest and pulling the blanket over her squirmish form. “Ugh, you're such an old man with your stupid bedtime rules!” He was unfazed and unbothered as he dipped his face in the crook of her neck before closing his eyes in satisfaction. “Leave me meanie I don't like you!” She meant leave me alone but he knew her brain was at times too small to form proper sentences. “I don't like you, I don't like you, I don't like you!” He felt her little feet kick protestingly under the blanket. 

The idea that her rivals or rather haters probably thought she had pussied out pissed her off. 

“You don't have to like me, just go to sleep” he simply answered in a concluding manner, smiling in satisfaction at the way she kept muttering begrudgingly yet did not dare raise her voice since he had used his Daddy voice this time around. Simon snorted before dozing off with his baby in his arms, fully aware that she would keep pouting through the darkness of the room until she dozed off. 

Her claiming she didn't like him when he wouldn't let her have her way was nothing new. It had surprised him at first but then he understood that it was just her bratty way of expressing her disapproval. He was unbothered, because he knew he would wake up to breakfast with a note, ‘I don't like you because I love you INFINITY times Daddy ♡’ or something along the lines. That was, if she woke up before him. Or it would be with a drink, or a snack or lunch perhaps dinner. She was not good at ignoring him for too long though in times of brattiness she pettily tried to pretend that she was. 

One way or another, she would tell him that tomorrow. 

Either while being held in his arms or while crying on his cock.

But she would. 

That was the only way.

For now, she was resting and he dozed off feeling at ease now that he knew he had safeguarded his baby's wellbeing. 

And that mattered more than anything. 

.

[stinalotte]

Happy 19th Birthday, Stargate Atlantis!

On July 16th, 2004, the pilot aired. Here's a handy little primer for anyone who doesn't know what the heckity heck this show is about. Everything is totally accurate, 100% true and very, very serious.

So.

This is the lost city of the Ancients, Atlantis, in the Pegasus galaxy, about 3 million light years from Earth. (The Ancients can go fuck themselves. Long story.) Atlantis is a city/spaceship approximately the size of Manhattan. She's semi-sentient, but not really, except actually yes, maybe, sometimes, totally. The whole city can go underwater or into hyperspace. Loves her humans. Home. Declaration of independence imminent.

The Atlantis expedition consists of civilians and military from at least 34 countries (in later seasons, the original expedition was just over a dozen). In no particular order:

Dr. Elizabeth Weir. The first leader of the expedition. The only adult. Sometimes. Okay, not very often. Is not above a little war crime for the good of the galaxy—or at least, for the good of Atlantis. Left a boyfriend and a dog on Earth, but we all miss the dog more than the boyfriend. Eats UN representatives for breakfast. Is terribly awkward on dates and really good at solitaire. Loves her chaos children. Which are:

Lt. Colonel Suicide Mission John Sheppard. Walked through the Gate and Atlantis said, "dibs". Thinks people who don't want to fly are crazy. Not good with emotional stuff. (He's getting better.) Loves his found space family and would die for them, often literally. Stop that. Also loves Ferris wheels, things that go fast, and Rodney McKay. And no, we don't know how he gets his hair to go like that.

Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay. Four degrees, two of which are PhDs, none of which are in social skills. Smartest man in two galaxies. Used to be an asshole, but got himself some friends who loved him such a stupid amount that he had no choice but to change. Still a work in progress. We love to see it. Blew up three quarters five sixths of a solar system. (It was uninhabited.) (Mostly.) Deathly allergic to citrus. Loves fully charged ZPMs, arguing with Dr. Zelenka, MREs, and John Sheppard.

Lieutenant Aiden Ford. Went ass first through the Gate with a grin and a whoop on his very first trip. One of the youngest members of the expedition. Is not allowed to name anything, ever. Mild case of hero worship when it comes to his commanding officer, which is totally understandable. A cautionary tale of how addiction messes up not only you, but the people around you.

Ronon Dex. Used to be hunted by the Wraith, lost his people in a terrible war, and is now a member of Sheppard's team where he gets to shoot things and beat up bad guys. Doesn't talk much, but when he does, he has something to say. Good friend. Excellent hugs, but have Carson check you out for any cracked ribs after. Is one bottle of Athosian wine away from staging an intervention regarding the Sheppard/McKay situation.

Teyla Emmagan. In possession of the team's one brain cell. Leader of the Athosian people. Will rock a baby to sleep and then go outside where a Wraith is dangling from the highest tower of the city and stomp on his hands until he falls 800 feet. Can either beat you up in the gym or force you to meditate on your problem, your choice. Has the aforementioned bottle of wine ready and loaded.

Dr. Radek Zelenka. Keeps the science team sane because Rodney sure as hell doesn't. Loves pigeons, cursing in Czech, and overseeing the thriving black market underground economy that has developed in the city. (Thanks @shaddyr for that lovely headcanon). Zachránil všechny naše zadky víc než jednou.

Chuck the Technician. Aggressively Canadian. Doesn't have a last name, doesn't need one. Is ALWAYS in the control room, seriously man, when do you sleep? Reads trashy sci fi novels on night shifts and organized a betting pool in 5 different currencies when Ronon was fighting Teal'c. Needs to share his eyelash routine because we're jealous.

Dr. Carson Beckett. The most Scottish Scot to ever Scot. Brilliant medical doctor who is not above the occasional unethical unorthodox treatment method. Sweet cinnamon roll of a man. Beloved by all. Loves his mom and wee baby turtles. Someone should take him fishing soon. 🥹

Colonel Samantha Carter. Member of SG-1. Legend. Awesome. Boss. Absolute BAMF. Punched a Goa'uld system lord in the face once. We all have a crush on her.

Dr. Jennifer Keller. Is very doctor-y, for better and for worse. Was all of us when she freaked out being on an alien planet for the first time, like a normal person would. Should totally have gone on a date with Captain Vega in that one deleted scene. [WE COULD HAVE HAD IT AAAAALL]

Jeannie Miller. Rodney's sister. Gave up a career in science to be a mom. Solved Rodney's math problem in her spare time, with finger paints. Loves her brother even when he's being an idiot. Fanfic canon says: her house is always open for him and certain Air Force Colonels to crash in. Don't you dare get a hotel room. Yes, the guest room has Only One Bed, Mer, what's your point?

Major Evan Lorne. If you are a moron and get yourself captured and imprisoned off world, he will swing by real quick with a couple Marines and bust you out. Co-parents Atlantis with Dr. Weir. Is actually a really talented painter. Needs a raise, a holiday, and a drink.

Colonel Steven Caldwell. Grumpy. Has to deal with Elizabeth's chaos children on a regular basis. Will make the enemy ship go away with a big boom and save your sorry ass in space. AGAIN.

Richard Woolsey. Used to be a New York City lawyer, one of the most ruthless creatures in the universe. His wife got the Yorkie in the divorce. Broke his heart. Is actually pretty cool if you let him do his thing (like get you out of an intergalactic war crimes trial by bribing the judges).

I know some characters and all the villains are missing, but this post is already longer than a trip on the Daedalus, so there you have it.

Stargate Atlantis. A show about wormholes, life-sucking aliens, ancient civilisations, space battles—and family, friendship, allowing yourself to love and be loved, and what it means to be home.

Happy birthday, fam.

[starlightshadowsworld]

I didn't think Gotham Wars could get worse... And I was wrong.

So wrong.

Say what you will about WFA but at least that Bruce never kidnapped Jason.

And fundamentally changed his biology so that everytime Jason feels "heightened adrenaline."

He will be immobilised by fear.

So much fear infact that Jason mistakes it for fear gas.

And his justification for giving Jason a "failsafe."

Is that it's to heal him.

"I love you but you're a murderer. You're a bull in a China shop. After round and round with you, trying to figure out how to help make you a better man, how to heal you."

Talks about how he's set him up with a new identity, a new life.

Going on about how "this isn't a punishment Jason. I love you." And it being a gift.

All the while Jason is on the ground.

He can't move and he looks like he's in pain.

While Babs and Dick are trying to look for him.

... Hey DC...

WHAT THE FUCK.

What the actual fuck?!

Leave Jason Todd alone challenge, fucking hell.

Like I knew Bruce has lost his marbles but... WHAT THE FUCK?!

The idea of him permanently changing Jason's biology so his own body attacks him.

Jason who is so fucking traumatised, that theoretically anything could cause him to become immbolised.

Calling it a "failsafe" and justifying it that it's for Jason's own good.

No.

No it fucking isn't.

Also the balls of this man for saying that Jason should be in prison for all the people he's killed.

Like Bruce hasn't probably killed just as many.

I don't care if he's not intentionally doing it, few people are gonna survive the beating he gives them.

Or be able to make it to a hospital.

Also yeah murder is bad but you say it like Jason hasn't only been going after people who have killed just as if not more than him.

Also Bruce you know what else is illegal?

Kidnapping.

Beating up your children.

Being a vigilante.

Taking justice into your own hands.

All the shit you are currently doing.

And how can you talk of healing, you have never healed from any of your trauma.

You're literally conducting this whole shit in your parent's old house.

Fuck you!

You are a massive fucking hypocrite with the ego of someone who thinks they are untouchable.

Who thinks he is right about everything and can do whatever he wants.

Fuck everyone else.

So I guess I gotta give the writers credit because Bruce is actually acting like a billionaire.

I'm just so disgusted by all of this.

Like if I didn't already despise you in this run, I do now.

And I'm pretty sure he's gonna go fight Dick now for daring to get in his way and get Jason.

Good luck to whoever writes the next run and has to retcon all of this.

... Please retcon this...

Gonna take comfort in the image of WFA Bruce is screaming bloody murder, and than hugging his terrified Jaylad.

And promising him everything's gonna be okay.

[beigetiger]

Guys I’m SO normal about the Dead Men, trust me bro

We have Ghastly, the kind one, always being taken advantage of and having to give up so much just to deal with Skulduggery in the war. He tried his best to prevent Valkyrie from being a child soldier, failed, and then decided to do his best in raising her.

We have Dexter, who has lost EVERYTHING over and over and over and has been manipulated and lied to by almost everyone he knows without ever having taken advantage of his friends himself. He has had so many people he loved die before his very eyes and he had his throat torn out and then stitched back together and somehow he hasn’t just killed himself to get it over with. In fact, he’s literally the only Dead Man who’s never actually died.

And of course there’s Saracen, the only Dead Man without a violence-based discipline and who was so ashamed of his power that he hid it for literal hundreds of years and only revealed it to save his relationship with Dexter. He’s considered small and weak but he managed to survive the entire war by fighting his way out the old fashioned way and there’s a very good chance the reason he ended up in the war camps was partially caused by him killing all his siblings.

And there’s Anton, who’s considered big and scary because he’s tall, goth, and quiet but is actually a really sweet guy and one of the better Dead Men. Gist wielders usually die pretty young but this man is like 500 and still somehow going. Unlike many of the other Dead Men, he’s actually REASONABLE in what they should do. People can’t tell when he’s joking because he has a flat voice. He was sad after the war and so decided to make a teleporting hotel. He’s awesome.

And there was Erskine, who legitimately cared about and was loyal to his friends for so long before eventually joining up with the Children of the Spider and slowly working against his friends until he murdered two of them and the other four literally disowned him and swore vengeance.

And in terms of dead members, Hopeless grew up in a damn assassin cult and switched personalities depending on who was with, with his one recurring theme being that he liked animals and didn’t want unnecessary harm to come to them. And of course, Larrikin, who we know almost nothing about but DO know that he was a jokester who tried to get Anton to lighten up, even in extremely tense circumstances.

And finally, we have the most disastrous duo in Ireland. Skulduggery went insane after death and tried so damn hard to curb his violent tendencies and outbursts, but ultimately failed and became a monster who hurt and killed his friends. He’s ruthless and he’d kill anyone he deemed necessary to succeed in the mission. He’s slowly learned to become less dependent on vengeance over time. He’d burn the world down for Valkyrie. He also raised a child soldier and openly admits that the two of them do not have a healthy relationship, and yet they choose to remain inseparable anyways.

And Valkyrie. The youngest of the Dead Men. A child soldier. She joined a full-scale war on a suicide squad literal days after turning eighteen. She’s been through a drug addiction and she’s buff as hell. The people she fights with usually either die or end up befriending her. She inches just a little bit closer to godhood every day, but she still can’t save the people she loves when it matters most. She wasn’t supposed to live past eighteen. Her personality disorder became the universe. She is so, SO doomed and she knows it, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

They’re such a godawful found family, man. A bunch of people who adopted each other because no one else wanted them. This isn’t a particularly deep analysis about any of them, I’m just expressing how much I love what was done with them.

[ethereal-feline]

Fuck it. Mob Psycho 100 mood. Lets add MHA because I'm still in disbelief/denial(?) of it being over in a week. And I specifically mean add Tokoyami and Hawks for this title:

"Fraud Mentors and their Ridiculously Strong Students"

Maybe a reality warping Quirk, maybe some esper/psychic in the MP100 world who knows, these idiots meet. I got 3 appointments to get to over the nect few days so we'll just spit ball some dynamics, ok? Ok. Going with...pre-Meta War and like Post S1 MP100.

Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama and Fumikage Tokoyami are the most wholesome duo/trio. Mob will look up to Tokoyami (not literally because apparently they're the same height at 5'2"), and once Dark Shadow comes out? 100% Adoration. Mob doesn't really get Tokoyami's way of speaking but they make it work. Tokoyami takes it upon himself to be a role model and Mob is dutifully listening. Until something happens, and Tokoyami has to deal with it the best way he can. Fun! Mob canonically cannot math. I headcanon that Tokoyami cannot math. They can not math together.

Hawks and Reigen. "LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE-" "TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE YOU SONUVA-" So much sass. So much bullshitting. Hawks sees right through Reigen and will throw some occultish buzzword he heard from Tokoyami just to see what bullshit Reigen says in an attempt to act like he knows wtf it is. Reigen will pull an Uno Reverse somehow and figure out Hawks isn't all that he appears. If he finds out about Hawks' Super Spy mission, he's cutting that shit out as soon as he can. Am I saying Reigen can beat the LOV through bullshit, luck, and charisma? Maybe. He'll definitely try. As much as he's a conman he's also a good man. Practically adopting psychic children like Batman. Reigen would have words with Batman. Reigen will have words with the Commission.

Reigen and Tokoyami. Good lord, is this a peek into Mob's emo phase? Did Reigen have an emo phase? He's gonna be feeding Dark Shadow any chance he gets if only to avoid getting eaten himself. Tokoyami MIGHT see through his act, depends on the circumstances. Might be a situation similar to S2 MP100. Reigen doesn't feel happy about a kid running around fighting crooks even in a super society. Kids should be kids. Reigen will pull a Mumen Rider. He may not have powers, he may not be strong, but he's the adult dammit! He'll kick a villain's ass! SELF DEFENSE RUSH!

Hawks and Mob. "Oh so he's like a less edgy more shy Tokoyami." Depending on how this crossover happens the progress to Mob's explosion will be going up steadily the more he hangs out with Hawks. Not because Hawks is actively stressing him out but because its a stressful situation and Hawks is trying his best but this kid doesn't emote and where the hell is his kid??? Soon as Mob mentions having trouble with his powers it is impromptu Quirk Counseling Time at Hawks' Agency. It doesn't really go well because its Hawks. Man probably teaches the same way Reigen does through motivational speeches when he isn't putting floaties just before shoving his poor student in the deep end of the pool.

All four of these chucklefucks together? You got a conman, an industry plant, an edgelord with a sentient shadow monster, and a psychic middle schooler. None of them can math. What could possibly go wrong?

*cue a building or two being destroyed in the inevitable 100% Explosion or even ???%*

[insufferableprotagonistpoll]

Propaganda why Batman is insufferable:

Always has to be right. Does the most janked up stuff and doesn't care who it hurts. Imposes his will on others to the point of willing to bodily harm them if they do not comply (and yes, this does include his children)

I’ll also support Batman as a candidate because of the slapping Robin meme, which is annoying, and because he is just way too much. Too much all the time.

Has to always be right, regardless of situation. Because somehow the billionaire has knowledge of how middle class people think.

Propaganda why Tony Stark is insufferable:

She’s a hypocrite who is ready to restrict the freedom of others when they make one mistake, but when he makes a mistake he figures he’s able to handle himself

Super long, sorry lol

Thinking about how in Homecoming when Peter accidentally caused that boat to get split in half because the Vulture’s gun exploded and Tony was acting like as if Peter was completely in the wrong for going there just because he did it without his permission. He was acting like as if Peter was out of line and “disobeyed him”, trying to act like his father. And then I remember how in CACW he’s the one who scouted Peter in the first place just because he saw he might be useful against a personal squabble between him and Captain America despite knowing that he was a kid and he’s just now acknowledging how dangerous it is because Peter “acted on his own”

Completely hijacking Peter’s superhero story and trying to control his every move (Training wheels protocol and baby monitor thing he put in the suit), acting like Peter should’ve known that Tony would send someone in despite the fact that he’d been ignoring him for 2 months since Civil War and not keeping him updated on anything!!

How the hell is peter supposed to know Tony is going to listen to him when he treats him like a kid instead of a superhero when it’s convenient for him? And when Tony loses his temper after Peter says he’s 15 not 14 like “the adult is talking” bitch he could literally flatten you without your suit!!!

I guess in a way he is acting like a father but like the absentee kind. He’s more like a sperm donor father trying to act like he has any rights over Peter’s life smh.

It’s not that reprimanding Peter for the situation is bad, but the way he makes it seem as if Peter is irredeemable as if Tony wasn't a literal weapons dealer lmfao. He could’ve said what was the truth about it without completely invalidating him saying shit like “no thanks to you” after Peter asked if everyone is okay when it’s literally thanks to Peter finding a lead on those guys in the first place that they were even noticed and it’s not like the FBI being there could’ve in no way caused a similar situation.

And then near the end of the movie when he’s getting crushed by the building rubble screaming and crying for someone to help him where the fuck is Tony?? That scene just proved that he never needed Tony’s suit in the first place to be Spider-Man since he had to use 100% his own strength to lift it off of him. I know he would’ve found the motivation even if Tony hadn’t been involved in the first place to give him the suit, take it away from him and have the words “if you’re nothing without the suit you shouldn’t have it“ echo in his head. Why did Tony even take the suit away? Like as if he expects Peter to stop being spoderman without it??? Holy fuck. This is why you don’t make it out of endgame /j /srs.

When Tony took this suit away from Peter he was like “God I sound like my dad“ shouldn’t that be a red flag to him? Wasn’t he literally just saying that he wished his dad was better than he was?? Lmfao

Tony is so annoying. When they first meet he straight up bullies Peter into fighting for his personal bullshit, insults and objectifies Aunt May in front of him, spits into his trashcan and is in general being pushy af. He blackmails Peter when he doesn’t wanna come to Germany with him AND HE DOESNT EVEN EXPLAIN WHY HE WANTS HIM TO COME. Uncomfortable vibes lol.

Tony being the one to tell peter “if Captain America wanted to hurt you he would’ve” when Peter was trying to state his case, yet HE’S also the one who put Peter in harms way when he didn’t even want to go with him???

Telling Peter that he should stick to being a “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” (stealing his thing once again) when that’s what Peter _was_ doing before Tony took him out of his zone and filled his head with grander things to be apart of….bitch? Die. Ohh waaaait (jkjk) but yeah

There’s the usual “he’s a war criminal who only felt bad about it when he realized his weapons were killing white Americans as well as Arab people” reason, and also he’s just super annoying. You had to be there for the original Avengers shitty dialogue a la “we have a Hulk” that had Tumblr in a vicious chokehold. Also he was supposed to FINALLY go away after destroying all his suits in Iron Man 3 but he just… didn’t! Which is bullshit.

Portrayed as a hero because? He chose to no longer mass produce war weapons and bombs after suffering the consequences. Huge hypocrite. Doesn't care about anyone but himself. Will backstab people if they believe in human rights when it's inconvenient to him. Seen as a hero while he's the personification of privileged people saying they're not privileged

>Makes weapons

>Billionaire

>Made multiple AI Surveillance Robots

>Gaslight a child into fighting a super soldier in a foreign country for him

>His fans are annoying

[xelitzenith]

I find the warframe reddit comment section a swamp but their are rare gems.

Like this.

(Couldn't take a screenshot cuz the comment was to long and I was lazy)

Link to the comment

https://www.reddit.com/r/Warframe/s/1wW1qm5ts8

"I’m pretty annoyed that the Tenno are roped off into this category of “forever children”. That completely disregards the character growth that happens through the story. Learning from, and then surpassing your mentors; growing free from the blind following of your motherly figure, and working from your own autonomy. There’s a reason the Lotus hasn’t really been a focus in a lot of the recent quests. The Tenno are coming into their own. Heck they’ve even been through child birth at this point. What at this point makes them not adults other than the body they’re stuck in? At VERY least they’re late-teens at this point.

This is what always annoyed me with the introduction of the Drifter. He is treated like adult Main Character, but in reality he is a completely different person. He did not go through the same trials of being a child soldier in a universe at war, nor suffer the emotional torture of Ballas. He grew up fighting for his life in duviri, sure. But that’s its own story, which would have shaped him in its own way.

I would make the argument that the Tenno are more adult than the drifter. The Tenno have had to make hard choices, and deal with real world consequences. They’ve had to moderate themselves and account for the actions and feelings of others. Lotus, Ballas, Teshin, The Queens, the Orokin, etc. Meanwhile the drifter let his emotions form a literal fantasy realm to save himself from reality. He secluded himself within is psyche and endlessly fights with his own internal struggles. Yes he breaks out from the paradox during the new war, but even that experience is short lived and only a drop in the bucket compared to the vast amount of character growth we’ve personally experienced with the Tenno.

The idea that drifter is morally “available” for romance while the Tenno aren’t is a disservice to the characters, and the story. It’s a surface level excuse so they can add a romance system without bringing up the deep moral questions. It’s easy to say “the grown up can romance, the kids can’t”. But it’s a lot more complex when you realize those “kids” are who we’ve grown up alongside for 10 years, whose salt we’ve seen. But the “adult” is a man-child barely out of the womb.

This post will probably get downvoted to hell, and probably get comments about being a peado. I’m not advocating for that at all. But I am asking the question, when are immortal characters considered adults? DE seems to think the Tenno aren’t there yet; fair enough. But when will that be? We have seen them mature over the quests. They can’t be written off as children forever if you want your character’s growth to mean anything."

[thirteen-jades]

Finally got around to playing Armored Core 6 (thanks @self-loving-vampire!) and I’m loving it so far. The movement is a hell of a lot of fun, which is a good sign as movement is usually the first thing I start complaining about in a game (this is mostly a me thing, I just like being fast and zippy and it’s very easy for games to start feeling sluggish if they have fairly normal movement). The weapons feel nice, I’m getting a feel for how it plays, and I quite like the aesthetics. Mechs are cool!

I had some vague knowledge of the game before playing but even so I wasn’t really prepared for just how blunt and on the nose it is about the fact that you’re the bad guy here. In one of the early missions, you come upon a pack of trash mobs and a radio line plays of some guy talking to his comrades. He says something to the effect of "there's just one of them, we can do this!" in the wavering voice of a man who has never fired a gun before trying to find any amount of confidence before he puts his life on the line for his home. And then you unceremoniously blow him and all his friends straight to hell and move on. It doesn’t even tell you which enemy was talking, he’s just another faceless mook for you to brush aside on your way to destroying the objective.

Every now and then one of them will ask why you're doing this, and there's literally no answer to give them even if you could. The game doesn't even pretend that you're fighting a ~just war~ or something, they're just like "yeah, these guys are the Rubicon Liberation Front. They're getting in the way of our corporation exploiting their world, go destroy them" and then you do. And it's not even very difficult. They've got terrible equipment and no training whatsoever and just don't stand a chance. But you keep getting to hear their comms, and those comms keep painting an ever clearer picture that you’re not a soldier fighting a war so much as a grown adult beating a bunch of children to death. Nobody tries to justify what you're doing in any way whatsoever, your handler in the intro makes a comment like "y’know, if we make this job work then we'll strike it rich and you can buy your life back" and that's it. Regardless of what “buy your life back” is referring to here, it’s plain that you’re in this purely for selfish motives.

And that’s to the extent that 621 is even deciding to do this at all. So far it’s also done a great job of dehumanizing the main character completely, and you never really make any decisions beyond which of two missions to do first and how to build your AC. People keep referring to them as their handler’s dog, nobody expects them to have anything to say or any opinion whatsoever, and that’s great because as a matter of fact they don’t have any opinion about any of this. They’re just here to blow up whatever they’re told to.

The most memorable instance of this so far, and what really made it clear that this isn’t just the game not wanting to voice the MC or something, was one of the early mission briefings. You’re tagging along with some ACs from one of the corps, and the guy in charge of their in-house fighters at the end of the briefing says something to the effect of “now sound off!”, followed by a beat of dead silence. Then he says “eh, good enough” and ends the call. This makes it clear this isn’t just a pre-recorded message; it’s someone talking to 621, expecting a response, and not getting anything. It’s a little detail that I laughed about in the moment, but I really like how telling it is about your character as a person.

[backatitagainatichirakus]

Honestly Kakashi did his best with what he had lmao.

For starters, he DID teach team 7 useful jutsu, he taught them chakra control, every single genjutsu Sakura knew before she went to Tsunade was taught by Kakashi. Who do you think taught Naruto how to hide underground, a jutsu that was crucial when fighting Neji, Jiraiya? PLEASE. No need to mention Sasuke's Chidori.

He also taught them the fundamentals of teamwork, to never leave someone behind. That they were not expendable, and that they needed to rely on people. (What a fucking hypocrite. But isn't hypocrisy an important part of parenting/mentoring/big brothering or whatever the hell Minato was trying to do when he got saddled with Kakashi ?)

He never wanted to be a teacher, it was imposed onto him, he had zero experience, and he'd never had to try too hard to understand anything, so he definitely would not know what to do if someone didn't get things the first time.

He did what he could while he could. The damn Plot was working against him.

He was a traumatized, depressed 26 year old man who probably never believed would live past 17, but there he was! In charge of the two most traumatized orphans in the entirety of Traumatized Orphans Village, and a girl who was NOT taking this shit seriously.

Ah, but they had time. There was no war brewing, no need to torture these kids to forge them into dead-eyed deadly weapons. They could go at their own pace! Also apparently the academy curriculum had changed to MAXIMIZE the child mortality rate! Why teach them tree walking when, truly, flower arrangement was a far more important skill? That's a girls only class though! Let the boys run around meanwhile they don't need to learn flower stuff. Ah, the blond one can't pronounce Chakra? fuck that kid srsly, his vibes are TOO rancid... demonic even (WHO SAID THAT?!)

And then? Their first C-rank mission? Turned into an A rank and left him out of commission for a week! But it was okay, it was fine, he could handle it. If he didn't die when he tried to kill himself in his ANBU days then it was unlikely he would now! Though he had to depend on three newly minted genin to protect themselves and their lying bastard of a client haha, but he was being so chill about it Kakashi was such a chill man haha. When was the last time someone he cared about died? Years! He was definetly not cursed or anything.

And then at the end of that week he had to fight the assassin of Assassin Village that had put him out of commission on the first place, and he also had to push through at least two of his triggers and afterwards explain the literal embodiment of two other triggers how Shinobi actually work! It's not about saving princesses, boy! It's about dying :).

They go back, and he decides that the kids handled themselves well enough, and the chunnin exams are being hosted by Orphans Village this year! What a great opportunity for the children to learn about Shinobi life in a controlled environment! Even back during Ninja War III they went through the chunnin exams and nobody even died. They're gonna be just fine!

Unfortunately, turns out The Banished Local Crazy Scientist of Traumatized Orphans Village had his eyes on one of his students (the one that he unwittingly projects on) and now! Triggering Orphan #2 is cursed!

AND THEN. The village gets attacked! The president/major dies! Kakashi gets sent into a torture coma in which he gets the Pincushion Jesus treatment for what literally feels like months! Hosted by the utmost expert on genjutsu torture to ever come out of their beloved Orphans Village!

Then he wakes up, turns out he wasn't tortured non stop for three months! It was just a dream, silly. And! since the Village is short staffed he immediately gets sent on mission after mission! Sorry Kakashi, we don't believe in convalescence periods when the only thing injured was your mind. And then, when he comes back from his many missions, their new, alcoholic, mayor/president tells him Orphan #2 defected. But don't worry! she sent Orphan #1 after him accompanied by a group of meddling kids and a dog!

So, Kakashi goes after them. Finds and picks up an unconscious Orphan #1, Orphan #2 is long gone. He goes back to the village, thankfully some meddling sand kids helped the meddling leaf kids. Then, Orphan #1 announces he's going out of the village on a road trip with The World's Worst Godfather to train! He's so lucky he can turn into a hot lady so that old man will train him if he just let's him look a little.

Then unserious girl turns serious, ditches him for their newly crowned (hatted?) president/mayor/president who despite being an alcoholic with a crippling gambling addiction is leagues better than their old president/mayor, who had a crippling addiction to Danzo's pussy and a penchant for letting pre-teens lead assassin squads just because they were such a delight to have in class!

Kakashi did his fucking best and, like ALWAYS, it was not enough.

At least he got to rekindle his old flame with Maito Gai.

[visenyaism]

ASOIAF terrible fathers bracket round 3: Jaehaerys Targaryen vs. Rhaegar Targaryen

jaehaerys: what is there to say that hasn’t been said. i’ve left everything on the field when it comes to hating jaehaerys i cannot claim to be unbiased in this venture. here is my manifesto: if i had an hour i couldn’t cover it. evil nasty old man who was so misogynistic his actions directly caused the death of 4 of his 7 daughters and then banished a fifth one for having premarital sex after holding her down and making her watch him cut her boyfriend into little pieces with a sword. addicted to betrothing his teenage daughters to nasty old men for literally no gain whatsoever. there is a reason why the only 2 of his 13 children who lived to adulthood were the disinherited ones his aura is terrible. see you in hell

rhaegar: wow hes jaehaerys’ EIGHTH great-grandson and they didn’t really get that much better at this huh. so he had a bunch of dreams about the world ending. and those dreams to him to leave his wife and two infant children in the custody of his homicidal maniac sadomasochistic father and also sixteen year old hostage jaime lannister to go fight a war he started when he ran off with and knocked up a 16 year-old. Also he imprisoned said 16 year old in a tower without a doctor leading to her death and also mild to moderate endangerment of the baby he started the whole war to conceive. The prophecy said it would be okay guys don’t worry.

he was like a star (always already gone even though he is right next to you) a beautiful and poetic trait for a protagonist but maybe not what you want in a dad.

[fnaftalexreader]

I'm assuming you meant my baby boi Satan, which is going to be VERY interesting... @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

Uriel Ventris getting tortured by Satan (headcanons)

Angel, demon, or God Satan would definitely have their own ways of torturing him-

Before the Fall

Hoooooooo boooooooi

Satan as an angel was very... dense. And very VERY childish.

Time in Hell

While the torture would be unintentional, he still would look like a grown man acting like a little kid.

Look at this man, he's HUGE-

He doesn't look like it, but he's a toddler. A 15-foot toddler. And he would torture him in the same way a normal toddler would.

"Can I touch your armor?! Can I have your weapon?! Do you have any battle stories?! DO YOU WANNA FIGHT ME?!" *literally vibrating with excitement*

He is basically a more violent "do you have games on your phone" kid, and will. Not. Shut. Up.

A bolter to the face won't even intimidate him, because he's never seen a gun before. He's like... 7. And VERY sheltered.

He'll latch onto Uriel's tiny leg (in comparison to him, it's tiny), and just ask millions of questions, till he sees the next poor space marine to harasss.

He has no social boundaries, as angels don't have boundaries with each other. So, the moment Uriel gets fed up with Satan's behavior, it will result in this poor angel crying. He's a sensitive guy, despite his love for all things war.

He's also very much danger prone, and I could see Satan getting Uriel in trouble a LOT by accidentally making him abandon his troops.

"Look at this weird puppy! Can I keep him?!"

"...you heretical magnet of an angel, that's a flesh hound- put it down, it's dangerous!"

He's also surprisingly quiet when he wants to be, and will give the poor man a heart attack every now and again-

Thankfully, he struggles with reading. Why is this a good thing? Uriel could lie to Satan, saying if he reads the codex front to back, he too can become a space marine (or at least an honorary one, if he doesn't want to crush the poor guys hopes and dreams with false promises.)

This might work for a few days, but after a while it will get too frustrating, and he might try to rip up the poor thing out of frustration.

But before he can, Belphegor, Lucifer, Andras, Metatron, Gabriel, or someone else that likes to read will start reading the codex like a bedtime story for him.

Till their father tries to burn it, seeing it as "evil" since its knowledge outside of his own. He doesn't like his kids learning anything.

But this is pretty much how baby Satan would torture him. He'd push Uriel's flexibility to its limits with his childish nature, huge stature, and inability to understand ANY social cues, human or space marine.

After Ascension

Ah shit, here we go again.

He doesn't really change much in personality, but he is partially blind, occasionally hears voices challenging him or calling him weak, and at this point, he makes daemons of khorne seem more patient.

VERY irritable, and constantly scared, he's more like a frightened animal than a malicious demon.

But he still looks like demonic scum... if you squint, he looks like a bloodthirster. So he's chaos enough.

Satan wouldn't really attack him unprompted, let alone actually torture him.

But if he hurt other demons first? Mercy is not Satan's first thought-

"You fired at a LAMBTTEN?! I WILL RIP OUT YOUR ENTRAILS AND STRANGLE YOU WITH THEM!"

He's very overprotective of the denizens of gehenna, and-

Huh...

Now that I think about it, and what I've researched...

Satan is just demon Uriel.

They're both warriors, they both think outside the box, they're protective of the innocent...

Satan is just Uriel with anger issues, crippling cptsd, and anxiety.

I could see Satan torturing him over a misunderstanding, like Uriel attacking demonic children, thinking they're chaos scum.

Or him attacking Satan, thinking he's hurting civilians, when he's trying to protect them too. Leading to another fight that doesn't go in Uriel's favor.

At this point in his life, Satan is not strong. Not by a long shot. But he is CRAZY. He's willing to do everything and anything to protect the innocent, even it means hurting himself or others in the process.

Though he'd eventually find out what a good person Uriel is for the most part, and feel REALLY guilty for hurting him. He can respect a warrior protecting their own, he just forgets that not all who hurt children are villains.

He'd let his siblings heal him up, while he himself lays on the ground with guts between his fangs, whimpering like a bad dog who got caught ripping up the couch.

I could see them coming to an agreement in secret, like with the demon engine. Though it would be more mutually beneficial. Demons help protect the empire from chaos, and they get food for the Lambttens in return.

This would DEFINITELY get him checked for heresy again, but thankfully working with demons from gehenna doesn't corrupt your mind. You only get weird, if you already are weird. You won't have urges to fuck your mom, or murder puppies any time soon. The demons of gehenna don't want you to do that either-

But Uriel might get a little too close to being executed for heresy as again, Satan is blind. Out of all the demons, he's one of the few that would get caught a LOT due to his disability. He can "see" mainly through hearing, so the marching of an army sounds like he's already surrounded, unless he's more focused.

They might have to give him and his chapter refuge at that point, and that would slowly lead things to end up kinda like how the angelic interaction would go.

"...so can I have your bolter? I won't do anything with it, I just want to feel it-"

Uriel will not know a day without this demon fanboying over the emperor's children, if he dares to answer any of the demon's questions-

At this point in Satan's life, he has finally matured.

He's basically like Khorne, if Khorne had a zen garden.

He is a god of wrath, but also patience. A god of war and peace. A god of violence and mercy.

His domain reflects this weird balance between blood and serenity. Part of his temple is dedicated to training in all forms of combat. While another part is dedicated to meditation. There are decorative infinity pools full of blood, with an enchantment to keep the blood from rotting and stinking up the place. The air has a mix of iron, smoke, and incense filling it with their unique and oddly pleasant smell. Satan's own room has bubbling rivers of blood, zen gardens, actual gardens, and a small training area where he keeps his favorite weapons in a display near his meditation spot.

All in all, he's fucking weird.

At this point, he's a god, but he's able to take a healthier version of his demonic form. With black fur and white wool.

He's a lot more patient, as already stated, and THAT would be what tortures Uriel...

...and possibly getting accused of heresy, AGAIN-

Satan would take Uriel in, given the chance, to give him tests and challenges in an attempt to think even more outside the Codex Astartes, and whatever boxes he has in his mind in general.

He wouldn't be any real danger. Buuuuut, it would be like waking up in a saw trap, unaware that it's a normal escape room.

Satan, at this point, would torture him purely on accident. Sure, he'd wish to scare him and give him pressure, but he doesn’t want to drive the poor man mad-

If the puzzles get to be too much, Satan would give him a break, which could get mistaken for a trick of chaos.

Satan wouldn't want him to convert away from the emperor, he's just made it his life goal to help any and all warriors to be their best, most honorable selves.

I could see him and the emperor having a fight in the warp. Not a full on battle, more so an argument over Satan kidnapping warriors to train and send back out with better strategy skills-

At this point, getting tortured by Satan would just be bizarre...

But if you want headcanons on ACTUAL intentional torture, it's the same as when he was a demon. Hurt the innocent, and you get mauled.

He wouldn't care for the "kill all xenos on sight" rule, even if humanity has a good reason for it. A child is a child and must be sheltered from war, even if they are your enemies' blood.

Thankfully, Uriel's sense of honor might save him here, as the only time I've read about him threaten the innocent was when he was threatening to kamikaze a planet so the tau would back off.

But if he hurts a Lambtten, out of reflex from fighting daemon scum-

He is in for a WORLD of hurt-

Because, unlike Khorne, Satan is extremely patient at this point... sure, he could have his followers maul him as a sacrifice. But he could also make a small slit in his skin, and have him bleed to death, one milligram of blood at a time...

Is it inefficient? Yes. Will it probably take months or years for it to kill him? Probably. But Satan can wait for Uriel to beg for death, either to end his boredom or to get his agonizingly slow execution over with.

It will also give him time to think about his actions and apologize.

But surprisingly, dying from a tiny cut in your foot or hand would be Satan showing mercy in a backwards way.

If Uriel REALLY pissed him off at this age? Dude would just eat him.

Just depends on whether or not the Lambtten is just wounded or dead. If the Lambtten dies to Uriel's hand, he's getting eaten. If they're just hurt, he gets the ridiculously slow execution and plenty of time to apologize to the god and possibly the child he hurt.

I had to go to the wiki a few times and watch a whole video on him, so this might not be perfect. But I did my best with what I got :3

[dead-end-stuff]

I just saw the new mha episode, and its official now that endeavor is the biggest piece of shit in anime history.

First, this man (bitch) raised the hopes of dabi surpassing allmight and becoming a great hero, but as soon as dabi showed signs of him not being able to use his fire quirk. Endeavor immediately tosses him to the side and tells him to forget about everything he has ever told dabi. This crushes dabi of course, how can you just fill your own son's head with dreams and train him so much, and then you toss him away like he is nothing. Dabi's revenge is justified, and there is nothing in this world that can change my mind.

Second, endeavor traumatized rei so much that she developed a fear of even looking him. And whats worse is that he literally abused rei in front of their CHILDREN. Shoto tried to protect his mom at such a young age, it just shows how toxic and sad the Todoroki house was. And it was all because of endeavor. I smiled and felt an intense sense of pride when rei arrived at the hospital endeavor was in after the war and looked at him in the eyes and told him off for all the bullshit he caused to their family. This women is a girl boss 100%.

And finally, after all these years of getting away with abuse, after finally getting the number one hero title, and after he literally traumatized his entire family and made their lives hell, and getting AWAY with it. Does the consequences of his actions catch up to him. And oh boy, was it a treat. After finding out that dabi was his son all along in the battle, endeavor is shocked to the pint where he just stands there in the middle of the battle field as dabi is about to attack him. Even though it sucked like a bitch that he didn't die in the war, what made up for it is that during the battle dabi released a tape live in all of Japan about the living conditions in the Todoroki household. He calls out all the abuse that endeavor did to his own family and the hell that he put them through. If endeavor wasn't going to be canceled for being the shittest and useless number one hero, he was definitely going to get canceled now for being the most ABUSIVE shittest and useless number one hero. When he gets transferred into the hospital, he is crying like a little bitch because he is finally getting the karma that he deserves. And he has the audacity to say, "I cAn'T fIgHt mY own SoN." What about shoto? Hm? You weak ass bitch.

In conclusion, endeavor is the biggest bitch in mha and he doesn't deserve a redemption arc. And Endeavor stans can kiss my ass. Goodnight.

[rexcaliburechoes]

i'm having so many feelings about alm + berkut // literally no one asked

i'm having to many feelings about alm and berkut. they are my sons, baby boy baby, sweet children of mine. i want to wrap them up in blankets and give them hot chocolate and a place to scream their troubles and be heard.

thoughts under the cut because this got long.

one of the things that stick out to me the most about alm is how responsibility is thrust upon the poor kid. he knows he's getting into a war, he knows what a war with rigel will bring. he knows how the people suffer, and how something must be done, and the only way to do that is by a war. in order for any change to happen, sometimes force is the only path. he needs to throw off the yoke of the old gods and let the people live by their own hands, he needs to stop the suffering, and if it is war that will do that, then so be it.

alm has responsibility thrust upon him, when all he's really stated before is how he wants to help the people, and that's practically it. he doesn't necessarily want to wage war. i've read a really good fic outlining to celica (through lukas) how, "if there were another peaceful solution, alm's sword would be first on the pile", and i genuinely think this is true. the boy has been only taught the practical skills (combat, strategy, weather and terrain, etc) and not the finer points of leading. he acknowledges how much he has to learn when he prepares to right back against rigel, sure, and he does learn to lead, but as the quote in hamilton goes, "dying is easy, young man, but leading is harder."

when clive comes to him and just makes him leader, he practically says "hey wait are you sure this is a good idea??" and even later, everyone assumes he's gonna be king at the end of the war

and it hurts, because if you think about it, he's never been taught how to handle the court, how to handle nobility, any of this high aristocracy bullshit. and celica's right. he has no idea how the hell any of this works. he says he's not a farmboy, but he is. he's a country bumpkin from the southern most tip of zofia, hailing from a truly backwater village.

and sure, he has celica to rely on, and clive to rely on, and mycen to rely on. he's forgiven celica already since their fight, and loves her. but she's right. and clive just thrust the title of "leader of the deliverance" and later "king of valentia" onto him. and mycen, mycen isn't truly his grandfather, and all the man does is chide alm for every single decision he makes since leaving the village.

and it's not fair!! it's wholly unfair and sad and painful to think of how alm must step up to the mantle that was pushed upon him. mycen was right. "once you march on Rigel, you place yourself in the hands of destiny. You won’t be able to stop the events that unfold. No one will wish you well. Many will even try to stop you; unexpected tragedy is sure to follow. That is the price of what you are about to undertake." and he's right, and alm said he was ready for it, but even so!!

"and what of my peace?!" he screams to the uncaring world. "what of my personhood?!"

and the world keeps turning on its axis, cold and unchanging as the rigel winter.

"this is not the time for mourning or self-pity, boy." the world tells him. "you cannot be a person, for you are the leader, and leaders must make sacrifices."

and this theme, this arc of alm's fits incredibly well with berkut's. it fits so well and i'm so incredibly sad.

because berkut... berkut was a gentle child. according to the valentia accordion, he was so timid that even riding a horse could make him cry. berkut, being the nephew to the emperor, being in line to the throne only because his father's brother is the emperor, who has no children... he has never was supposed to become emperor in the first place, either. his worldview is deeply shaped by rigel's culture, by how "a prince of rigel cannot possibly be weak". i've discussed this before, about how berkut is an unfortunate product of his upbringing.

but it hurts. it hurts how, no matter what he does, he can't ever be recognised for his accomplishments, that he fails so horribly to a farmboy- a zofian country bumpkin, a weak soldier compared to him- that the only person he has to look up to (much like alm, as mycen keeps ripping him apart, and clive only wants him to lead and also tells him off throughout the story, and celica, who's an entire ocean mass away) finds him a disgrace and leaves him out to dry, because he's simply not good enough, not even when he's been forced to walk this path.

"uncle!!" he screams to the retreating figure of the red-clad emperor. "please tell me i am good enough for you!! please tell me my own pain wasn't for nothing!"

and the silence is deafening, just like crackle of flames that drown out even the cries of the one thing he truly cared for most.

[kyriolex]

Lord it cannot be understated how much I absolutely CANNOT STAND Shikamaru!

He's the fucking Hokage and yet instead of trying to help protect the village himself, he sent out children (including Himawari, a 12-13 year old GENIN) to fight Ten-Tails level threats all while he sits on his ass hiding in the Hokage's office.

Like Okay even he if didn't know about the Shinjus at the time, there is still the fact that as soon as Jura and Hidari arrived in the village, everyone thought one of the enemies was SASUKE

Everyone INCLUDING Shikamaru know precisely damn well just how powerful Sasuke is.

Sasuke by himself is literally an S-Class Ninja and any mission against him is automatically an S-Rank mission

Yet this pineapple head moron thought it would be a good idea to let new Team 10 and Himawari go confront him?

Say what you will about Naruto and Tsunade. They weren't perfect but GODDAMN they never let Genin go on missions that they knew damn well was beyond their ranks/capacity

AND neither Naruto or Tsunade would just SIT BY IDLY while there are S-Rank Threats in the village. They got out there and actually joined the fight!

Even HIRUZEN, as shitty as he was, literally joined the fight when Orochimaru invaded the village

Maybe I could give him a bit more leeway for sending New Shika-Ino-Cho out there since they are the same age/rank as their parents were in Shippuden

But HIMAWARI? That's like the equivalent of sending Genin Konohamaru to the 4th Shinobi War

WTF is Shikamaru even doing? Get this man out of the Hokage seat

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, not because I like Shikamaru, but because work today put me in a mood. I'm going to argue that in a rare change of pace for Boruto-era Shikamaru, he is behaving somewhat competently right now.

Because here's the thing: while these events have unfolded for us over the course of several months, from Shikamaru's perspective, it's been 5 minutes at most.

In a short summary of Shikamaru's actions so far:

Jura and Hidari approach the village and immediately set off the sensory unit's telepathic alarms.

Shikamaru hears the name "Sasuke" and immediately gives orders to evacuate civilians.

Every known ninja in the village converges on the Ten Tails. It's unclear if Shikamaru gave orders, if this is protocol, or if Sasuke's chakra just acts as a psychic magnet urging everyone nearby to fight him.

Jura attacks Team 10, and they fight him off. The Sensory Unit doesn't manage to page Shikadai in to his dad until a pause in the fight.

Shikamaru orders all hands to support Team 10. He also tells Boruto and Kawaki to stop fighting and go save their sister.

So basically, Shikamaru's been getting a feed of updates and immediately responding with escalating orders to his troops. He literally hasn't had time to leave his seat yet.

Although let's be honest: Shikamaru has been doing a desk job for two decades. His shadow jutsu can't restrain people who are exponentially more powerful than him. If he tried to fight Sasuke, even a tree-based knockoff of Sasuke, he would be turned into juice on the pavement.

That said, with the benefit of a reader's perspective, I would say Shikamaru has still made two significant tactical errors.

The first was not trying to set up communication with the Ten Tails to ask what the hell they want. Even if passing on telepathic messages through your subordinates is awkward, he could at least stall for time until Boruto gets there. (Although it's possible Shikamaru will try this next chapter.).

The second mistake was leaving Mr. Goatee here on payroll. He's the guy who was on guard duty when Kawaki and Boruto snuck out of the house. If he'd been alert enough to catch two teenagers sneaking out past curfew, he could have prevented the whole Momoshiki SNAFU and the chain of events that led up to this point.

WHY IS THIS MAN GROUPED WITH KONOHAMARU AND THE OTHER COMPETENT JONIN IN THE FIRST RESPONDER SQUAD??? Shikamaru needs to pick his people better. I am more frustrated about Mr. Goatee's presence than nearly anything else in this chapter.