#seriously I saw this panel and zeroed in on him

[cyber-harpie]

Tw corpse (and babies?? sickly babies??) under the cut

[erinaeris]

Laios Touden and the Responsibility of Power

First off, let me gush just a bit about how fucking STRONK this man is. Olympic weightlifters are dying of sheer envy and lust over this man. He is a FUCKING POWERHOUSE.

My favorite panels ever, and judging by the cropping of the second photo, Tumblr agrees.

AHEM, where was I?

Ah yes. He's not just strong and incredibly hot, my man is literally an invasive species in this dungeon. He knows every single weak spot of every monster Thistle tried to throw at him and when he finds it he just fucking RAMS HIMSELF AT THEM AND TAKES THEM DOWN.

And when he's a dwarf HE LITERALLY BENDS STEEL.

"Beat Namari at arm wrestling"? My boy, she wouldn't let you anywhere near because you'd FUCKING BREAK HER HER HAND ALONG WITH THE TABLE. (It's such a fucking shame we didn't see Senshi at least raising an (perfectly plucked except it just grows that way naturally) eyebrow in the background when he sees this. Alas, he was too distracted by his hair.)

But I mentioned responsibility, didn't I? Strength is power in the dungeon, and we all knows what comes with great power. And Laios is, in fact, very responsible with that power!

(Futther examples under the cut, wee bit spoilers for anime watchers)

This scene lives rent-free in my head forever, because of two things: Thistle suddenly realizing just what the hell he's up against,

And Laios breaking Thistle's arm.

Now, I think Laios didn't mean to actually break his arm here, he's just half-blind and dizzy and knows he has to restrain Thistle or it will all go to shit. So that's what he does. The move you see above is a restraining hold. The point is that the person pinned down can't struggle much because the position of the arm presses the suprascapular nerve, so it hurts a lot, but unless they're held that way for too long they'll be fine.

But Thistle is TINY and elves are generally fine-boned. I think Laios really did just underestimate his strength.

And the moment the dragons aren't an IMMEDIATE THREAT anymore?

Laios heals him. Thistle's a better mage than him by miles, he could have done it himself. But no. Laios does it. He was too rough, too careless with his strength, and he immediately backtracked, fixed what he broke, and continued with more mindfullness.

And these are just the examples that stuck in my mind the most. And it happens often enough that the team isn't even fucking surprised! Laios' strength would 100% scare people who only saw him in a barfight and didn't know anything else about him. Hell, the other adventurers they meet fucking quiver before this guy who just took down a monster they had nightmares about in one blow, up until he opens his mouth and they relax. You put more malevolent software in that sort of hardware and he'd be the next Shadow Governor.

But Laios is Laios. He's a gentle soul at heart (a Great Pyrenese, specifically, the gentlest souls ever unless you're out for their flock) and he is VERY CAREFUL with his strength, ESPECIALLY around his team. Chilchuck, who is literally half his size and underfed to boot, can smack Laios as much as he wants with ZERO fear because Laios is aware he can hurt Chilchuck by literally tripping over him, so he just stays still and lets Chilchuck smack at him. I'd be surprised if he ever managed to leave a bruise. Chilchuck has to aim at Laios' weak spot (back of the knee here) just to get Laios to notice him!

But because I have some experience with marital arts and close combat, I think the fight with Shuro exemplifies my point so fucking well! Laios is HURT here, he's living every autistic person's worst nightmare.

And he HOLDS BACK. His restraint is fucking IMMACULATE.

Shuro is fucking lucky Laios still liked him when he started talking shit, because he would have broken his spine otherwise. Laios doesn't even take the fight seriously! He starts with a fucking SLAP.

Shuro retaliates with an actual punch (that does nothing but piss him off)

Laios wobbles. Shuro HITS THE DIRT.

And this is the part where he realizes just how outside his weight category he is. Shuro definitely has technique on his side, but that means jackshit when you need ten blows to to even bruise your opponent, but one hit from them will leave you drinking through a straw for a week. For a second there, Shuro thought he was in ACTUAL DANGER.

But instead of finishing the job, Laios tries to talk him down, which just sets him off again. Man was at his fucking LIMIT, and it snapped. Self-preservation who?

And the best part is? Shuro is throwing all his strength behind his punches and Laios just takes them, but Laios? He mostly pushed Shuro around!

They're mostly grappling here, precisely because Laios is very conscious his friend is pretty fragile right now.

And when he does have enough?

Shuro is flat on the ground again, and Laios has a black eye and a bloody nose. He sits down and five minutes later he's ready to go! Like yes, Shuro was at a low point here, but he's been mowing through monsters at only a bit slower pace than Laios' party. He's no weakling regardless. And Laios had to HOLD BACK SO HE WOULDN'T HURT HIM. And it's so obvious that Maizuru takes one look at the two of them and leaves them to their toussling.

When I saw her reaction I had to scroll back and take another look, because I was sure she would intervene! But she doesn't! She is aware of Laios' strength, she has to be, and she doesn't lift a finger to help her precious charge. She knows the big dog he's wrestling with knows to watch his strength.

And that's my whole point: my boi is STRONK AF! And he is very aware of his strength, and how he could hurt the people around him is he wasn't careful, so he is ALWAYS CAREFUL. He has deeply internalized the fact that to have strength is to be careful with it, to use it in service of people rather than to hurt them (possibly from his dad). He is going to SUCH a good king! He's not going to like the job but by GOD he will do it really well.

And I will give my right arm to see a fic about the first corrupt lord/governor/courtier who attempts to misuse their authority for their own gain. Kabru's gonna have to talk Laios out of an execution.

[strangerstilinski]

can you pretty please do [intimidation] with eddie

🥺👉👈

[INTIMIDATION] sender, in an effort to frighten the receiver by invading their personal space, sits in their lap to try and inspire discomfort or fear in them.

cw: alcohol consumption, fem!reader, sort of enemies -> lovers (but actually idiots -> lovers), 2.4k

dividers by @strangergraphics

You're blocking the doorway into the Harrington kitchen, shoulder leaned against the wood panelling where you have a good view into the living room. Your unimpressed glare is drawn from the figure currently hogging the sofa when someone bumps into you just as you're bringing the plastic cup in your hand to your lips.

"Jesus, fucking watch it-" The outrage in your tone fades quick when you see who's run into you.

"Sorry." Jonathan grimaces as he watches you wipe a bit of juice and vodka from your chin.

"No, it's fine," You sigh and turn on your heel, following Jonathan into the kitchen as he begins to grab things to make himself a drink, though it appears to be far more lemon-lime soda and grenadine than anything else. "Sorry, I just.. I dunno, sorry." You shrug before gulping down another mouthful of your own admittedly strong drink. You're kind of hoping that once your buzz kicks in you'll feel just a little less like there's a storm cloud floating right above your head.

"What is with you, tonight?" Jonathan asks with an overly cautious smile, "I haven't seen Munson bug you even once, so it's gotta be somethin' else-"

"Nothing," You huff, a little defensive at just the mention of the other boy, "I'm fine."

"Oh yeah, totally," Jonathan chuckles and raises his newly acquired drink in a salute, "You're like a ray of sunshine tonight."

It's annoying as hell, but he's right. You're fuming and Eddie has yet to even speak to you. He's been avoiding you like the plague from the moment you walked through the door, as if Eddie could somehow sense that you were already in a mood, and he didn't feel like getting told off for being the reason that you finally snapped.

Because normally, Eddie would've found at least seven ways he could irritate you by now. He'd have finished the last of the juice he saw you eyeing for your next mixed drink and laughed maniacally when you pouted about it. He'd have pestered you about whether you might want to join in on another campaign, all while making a handful of little comments about just how easy it'll be for him to decimate your character when you do. He'd have watched you shiver while you passed a joint back and forth by the pool, and then draped his stupid jacket around your shoulders just so he could roll his eyes and give you shit about not dressing warmly enough.

Eddie was infuriating — And the worst part was that he knew it. The asshole thrived on pushing buttons and testing people's limits, but tonight evidently he'd been able to tell that you were already toeing dangerously close to yours and had steered clear altogether.

You peer back out into the living room now, narrowed eyes zeroing back in on the figure sprawled across the entire length of the loveseat, socked feet kicked up on the opposite cushion where someone else could be sitting if he weren't such a selfish prick.

"God, what an asshole." You grumble, downing the last of your drink and grabbing the nearest bottle to begin mixing another. "I mean, look at him, seriously. Does he have to take up the whole couch?"

Jonathan's gaze follows the path your own had taken moments before, and he snorts in amusement, "Eddie."

It's not a question, but you answer him as if it had been.

"Yes, Eddie." Another quick glance up into the living room has your eyes locking with the man in question just as his name falls from your lips.

Eddie's eyes go wide, his cheeks dimpling with his sudden grin. He jabs his index finger into his chest, lips moving silently around the words, "Who? Me?"

"Uh-huh.. Why don't you go do something about it?" Jonathan teases.

Eddie's attention is pulled away when Gareth says something from his spot in an armchair. Whatever he says it gets Eddie riled up and he's immediately talking animatedly, hands gesturing wildly as he speaks.

"Maybe I will." You're already moving with purpose, halfway out of the kitchen when you hear your friend shout after you.

"I was joking!"

"Well I'm not!" You call back over your shoulder.

It's darker as you step into the living room, overhead lights off in favor of utilizing the warmer glow from the the lamp tucked away in the corner. You have to step over Eddie's discarded shoes at the foot of the sofa, and the boy very nearly knocks your drink out of your hand when you step in front of him, too distracted by his own tirade to have seen your approach.

But his head snaps up toward you as your thigh brushes his arm. Whatever he's been saying, the words cut off abruptly at the realization of who it is standing beside him.

"Well hey there, princess." He shoots you a toothy grin — You assume it's meant to be charming, but it only irritates you further. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

You ignore Eddie in favor of casting a small smile of apology toward Gareth, "Sorry to interrupt."

"Nah, no worrie-"

"No, no! You didn't interrupt. We were done." Eddie cuts his friend off, "Gareth was just telling me he was gonna go take a piss, actually."

Gareth splutters for a moment, but when his eyes shift from you to Eddie he's suddenly rising from his chair. You watch Gareth shake his head as he steps around you before he stalks off without a word.

"What was that about?" You can't help but ask in curiosity.

"Beats me. Really had to piss, I guess." Eddie says quickly, sitting up a little straighter against the arm of the couch. He throws an arm out to gesture to Gareth's recently vacated chair, "Did you wanna-"

Rather than taking advantage of the empty seat, you plop yourself across Eddie's thighs unceremoniously, feeling oddly satisfied by the huff of surprise that escapes him when your weight is suddenly in his lap.

The way the warmth of his body seeps into your own is near immediate, even through two layers of denim. Your arm presses into his chest as you lean back into the cushion of the sofa, trying and failing to remain unaffected by his proximity. He smells infuriatingly good this close, clean and masculine with just a lingering hint of the weed he'd smoked earlier in the night. It makes your stomach flutter wildly, makes your head swim for half a second before you're lifting your cup to your mouth in an effort to compose yourself.

Eddie huffs softly and his breath fans out over your exposed shoulder, warm and smelling faintly of cheap beer and menthols. Goosebumps prickle along the length of your arm, hairs standing on end suddenly. You wish you could convince yourself that your body's reaction were one of repulsion, but deep down you know that its something far, far worse than that.

"You.. You're just gonna.. sit.. here?" Eddie asks, voice a little wobbly, unsure.

His knuckles brush your thigh, likely an accident, but one sidelong glare has his hand retreating to the relative safety of the couch cushion in a flash.

"Yep."

You can see outside to the patio from your position, and you focus your attention to the group sitting with their feet in the pool. The sheer amount of effort it takes to keep your eyes trained there, rather than allowing them to drift to where Eddie's hand twitches near your knee-

"Do- Did you want me to move my legs? Do you want-" He shifts underneath you like he's ready to pull his feet from the cushion at the other end, but you remain resolutely in place.

"Nope, I'm good."

You have absolutely no plans of moving any time soon. You'd remain seated right here in Eddie's lap until his bladder was ready to burst, until your weight made his legs fall asleep and tingle from lack of blood flow, until he was ready to grab you by your hips and force you into another seat.

He'd learn his lesson. The inconsiderate couch-hogging asshole.

"O..kay." Eddie says slowly, wiping his palm on the side of his own denim-clad hip, as if his hands might've gotten a little sweaty.

Were you making him warm? Good.

"So.." Eddie pauses. You catch a glimpse of his face scrunching in thought at the corners of your vision before he continues, "Any big plans for the weekend?"

With how close you're sat, Eddie is speaking almost directly into your ear. There's no need for him to raise his voice to be heard, and you find that the low rumble of it is nice, soothing almost. It curls around your ears and sends something warm shooting down your spine.

"Killing boys." You return dryly, eyes straining now in an effort to remain focussed on what's going on in the backyard.

Eddie snorts, body jolting underneath you with his amusement — And his almost-laughter absolutely does not make your chest flush with pride. You couldn't care less whether or not Eddie Munson finds you funny. As if.

"Oh, so nothing out of the ordinary for you then."

Eddie chuckles and the tip of his thumb finds its way to the place where your thigh presses into his. You can't tell if it's accidental or on purpose, but the gentle press of his finger maybe kind of makes your stomach flip pleasantly, so you allow it. Whatever.

You hum in agreement, "Yeah, well. There's almost always some boy who deserves it."

"I don't doubt it," Eddie murmurs with a wide grin, his head tipped sideways over the back of the couch, cheek nearly brushing your shoulder now, "Anyone I know currently at the top of your list, madame assassin?"

"There is this one asshole." You pause to take a sip of your drink, fighting off a grimace at the awful liquor to juice ratio. "He's loud. And irritating. Just loves getting on my last nerve-"

"Long hair?"

The interruption has your eyes rolling, "Yep. Walks around looking like some Van Halen wannabe."

"Oh, he sounds cool."

You can practically hear the smirk in his voice now.

"Well he's not." You return blankly. "He's always trying to get a rise outta me, acting like a total prick-"

"Hold on, hold on-" Eddie cuts you off again, "Now I'm not so sure we're on the same page. Thought I knew who you were talkin' about, but-"

"Oh, you know him." You grumble, sinking farther into the plush cushion on the back of the couch with your drink clutched to your chest. "You know him well, trust me."

Eddie shifts beneath you, angling both himself and you until he's taking up more of your line of sight than the patio doors. His big brown eyes bore into you until you crack and flick your gaze toward him.

"Here's the thing.." Eddie starts, the pad of his thumb stroking the seam on the outside of your knee. "Maybe this guy's just pushing your buttons because he likes when all of your attention is on him-"

The arm he has thrown over the back of the couch by your shoulder moves then, brushing your hair back from your temple only to backtrack and trail the pads of his fingers featherlight over the space between your brows.

"-Maybe.. Shit, I dunno, maybe he likes the way your eyebrows come together when you're angry-"

Your heart is beating so loud you can hear the blood pumping in your ears. The urge to fidget under his attention is strong, but you sit at still as possible in fear of breaking the spell. You have to strain to hear Eddie's next words over the dull whoosh of your heartbeat echoing in your skull.

"Maybe he thinks you look kinda devastatingly beautiful-"

"You-" And, fuck. Did your voice just crack? "You're trying to tell me you think this guy is, what? Being a dick because he likes me? Pulling my pigtails on the playground and shit?"

Eddie's grin is less cocky than you've ever seen it. His lips twitch at one side of his mouth. He almost looks nervous.

You take a deep breath as his fingers skim over your jaw on their way back toward your hair, where he pinches a small lock between two fingers and tugs twice, oh-so gentle.

"What if he was?" Eddie asks softly, "Being a dick because he likes you, I mean."

"I'd tell you he's an idiot." You manage, plastic cup crinkling under the increased pressure of your hand.

Eddie winces, but nods and averts his gaze. His arm falls to the back to the sofa again, close enough for you to feel the warmth of it beside your shoulder.

"But.." You have to swallow down a smile when Eddie's wide eyes snap right back to yours. "Maybe this idiot's attraction isn't totally one-sided. So, maybe he should stop being an asshole and try making a move."

Eddie blinks. Once, then twice. He squares his shoulders and leans in like he might kiss you, but then he backs off again and searches your eyes as if he's terrified he might be reading the entire situation wrong.

"Eddie." You whisper sharply, "The idiot is you, asshole."

"Oh, Jesus Christ, thank god."

And then his fingers are curled gently around the back of your neck. His hand is fully grasping your opposite thigh as he tries to drag you impossibly closer. His plush lips are pressing softly into your own, the taste of beer mixing with vodka and citrus.

It's a quick kiss, chaste. Your mouths only remain glued together for all of three seconds before he's leaning back just enough to watch you blink at him from beneath heavy lashes. You can't imagine how stupidly docile you look; brows pushed up your forehead, chest nearly heaving beneath your shirt, jaw slack, lips parted and waiting for more. It's pathetic how he's managed to turn you into this with just one G-Rated kiss.

The hand on the back of your neck moves to your face, fingertips tracing the smooth line of your brow before trailing back down to cup your cheek.

"Yeah.. Yeah, this is nice too." Eddie murmurs, "You're awful pretty when you're mad, but this.. This right here is somethin' else."

"You're so annoying." It comes out airy, absolutely no bite to your words.

"Oh, that's not changing, sweetheart. Matter of fact, I think it's a part of our spark. Gotta keep the fire burning, right? I'll keep annoying you, you'll keep getting angry-"

"Would you just shut up and kiss me again?"

Eddie grins, already leaning in, "Sure thing."

[sy-on-boy]

Real talk: the fact that Anya expects to read Demetrius’ mind but sees nothing is kind of sad because Demetrius saw his 6yo brother approach and congratulate him, and had zero thoughts in his brain. But that doesn’t mean Demetrius doesn’t care about him. When Damian stutters, Demetrius initiates conversation by talking about Damian’s grades, showing that he indeed pays attention.

Demetrius seems almost resentful by Damian’s insistence to impress Donovan, giving out a snarky, passive aggressive, teen appropriate response: “How would I know? It’s not as if I’m in regular contact with him.” This is like the passive aggressive version of whatever is going on with Melinda. Damian is a relatively innocent 6yo kid seeking his father’s approval, but both his mother and his brother appear to be seriously affected (in a bad way) by Donovan, and they avoid talking about Donovan even as Damian repeatedly mentions him. Demetrius doesn’t understand Damian’s desire for their father’s approval. He also doesn’t understand his father, hinting at some sort of disconnect between them.

What also saddens me a bit is how Demetrius barely acknowledged Damian’s friends talking to him. Like, they’re six year old kids trying to make a good impression. Still, Demetrius didn’t completely ignore them, just gave a meaningless “oh” and decided to stop thinking about people. It’s very much giving “stressed (and depressed) to the point of apathy”. When facing the innocence (ignorance?) and optimism of 6yo kids, Demetrius doesn’t understand. (And maybe he doesn’t understand friendship, which is what Damian has?)

I mentioned before that characters Anya met are probably “good” characters on the side of Forgers or at least are sympathetic to readers. Because if Anya met a “bad” character and read their mind, she would be too OP and the plot could be quickly solved. It’s like how we all thought Melinda was suspicious when she met Yor, but then Anya met Melinda and read her mind to reveal that she cares about Damian (even if it’s in a twisted way). Demetrius is interesting because he subverts what I said above by thinking very little, so Anya cannot really read him. But so far, I think his portrayal is that of a typical middle schooler with middle school angst, and he cares about Damian even if he has zero thoughts on his brain (and doesn’t like the way Damian craves fatherly approval). He is still a child and presumably a victim of his father’s parenting.

The framing is also interesting. Damian telling his friends to go on without him while he waits for Demetrius. The panel of Demetrius towering over a stuttering Damian. Demetrius going away, showing a panel of him as a small figure in an otherwise blank background. That panel when Anya thinks Damian’s relatives are weird has her looking at Damian while he’s some distance away from her (and the rest of his friends). The brothers feel disconnected. Damian is both eager and nervous to talk to Demetrius. Demetrius is nonchalant and apathetic, but not impolite or outwardly wholly dismissive.

Given Damian’s wacky family situation, I’m glad he has friends at Eden. Ewen and Emile of course are steadfast and loyal companions, always eager to back up their beloved boss man. Anya can read his mind and she knows about his insecurities (and also his weird family).

Becky is also good as a friend because she doesn’t care about sucking up to Damian, she often calls him out, but she also supports Damian when he deserves it. A sweet scene here is Damian saying he’s a Desmond so he’s expected to get a star, and Becky adding “it’s still a great achievement. Congrats!”. Becky is validating his success and telling Damian it’s okay to be proud and happy for himself. Even though she’s usually judgemental towards Damian, she’s still kind to him because that’s who she is as a character.

In the end, Damian still wants his father’s attention. He had no idea Demetrius wasn’t that close to their father… I would assume Demetrius spent most of his time at Eden and this is Damian’s first year at Eden, so he actually gets to interact with his brother instead of hearing things about him?

So far, Demetrius seems like a very jaded character in contrast to Damian who feels like a beam of sunshine now. He’s the heir so he’s got more troubles. But it’s nice that he’s finally debuted and no longer in mystery. Can’t wait to see what Endo has in store for him :)

[melonteee]

hi. i just understood something about recent op chapter and came straight to you because youre an avid fan and you are surely the one that can rant about it and either . confirm or deny it

anyway 1110 chapter spoilers ahead tab out if you had yet to read

so. i got pointed out that sanjis behaviour in the chapter is strangely out of character . i hadnt caught it on my first read but going back to the manga i have to actually agree with that observation bcz of his choice of words and face

i also noticed that the panel ?? is??? weirdly focused on sanjis expression like REALLY focused (subtle action lines and all) and that the expression in question is genuine anger. like full stop annoyance. like maybe stress is getting to him or something but its not a funny angry face but instead full seriousness and full offense and full 'i mean my every word' way. it just feels . not like sanji all of the sudden

its also feels strange that zoro hadnt reacted to that remark. he kinda just.... notes it down (he twitches which clues us that he heard that) but says nothing further. which is Weird because thats an Insult and from sanji no less so absolute zero on it ???? not right

idk maybe me and my dash is being delusional. i hope its some sort of false alarm but everyone keeps pointing out that sanji feels more like he tries to cosplay himself instead of Being himself and im getting kinda worried ngl,,,,

Interesting you say this because, fun fact! Japanese fans have noticed Sanji's speech has indeed changed lately, and it's a bit lost in translation since it's kind of hard to copy speech patterns from an original language over into English. Either way, Japanese fans have noticed Sanji is starting to speak like...Boa?!

Ie, Sanji is speaking more royally, more obnoxiously, and more arrogantly. Now, Sanji's always been a firecracker with a sharp tongue, but not in the way that he looks down on and demands things from people? During Egghead, he told Shaka to release them from their shoe locks - but a Japanese fan said a better translation of that would probably have been Sanji calling Shaka an 'insolent man', or a 'foolish man', in the same way Boa speaks to people.

There's clearly something going on here, and I thought the same thing! But...people kept saying I was looking too much into it, so I stopped saying anything HAHA! Either way, the second I talked to my Japanese friends and saw tweets from the Japanese side of twitter discussing Sanji's change in speech, I thought...I knew it! There's definitely a difference here! I have no idea what's going to happen, but I cannot wait to see it!

[beevean]

Honest to god saw the argument being made multiple times that obviously Lanolin is right not trusting Silver because he's just some rando to her who's inexperienced as a soldier. And, the fact I can think of THREE events in the games (not even counting '06) wherein he changed a ruined future, it puts a lot of stock in the idea that people only see some out-of-context panels and base their whole perception on that. Because Duo asks in issue 63 about Silver's feats and mentions multiple world-saving ones. Not from the games, obviously, but still a clear indication that civilians can reasonably know about Silver's exploits that literally stopped the world from ending, and thus that he's not some inexperienced little kid with powers he uses irresponsibly for fun. But of course that would mean Silver actually gets complimented (😱) and gets his rightful respect as a powerful hero (😱😱😱😱) and we can't have that! Oh, goodness no, right back to thinking Silver is just some fuck-up wannabe dumbass who's never done a single day of heroing in his life we go. The Archie parallels are off the charts.

Fuck this comic and how it mangles the game cast, seriously. And I hate how everyone just gobbles it up and proclaims that this is totally who Silver is.

Even if we do like the comic and pretend the games didn't happen, Forces included (which should be but whatever), Duo proves that Silver is known for at the very least contributing to saving Angel Island.

This is more than Lanolin ever did. Her first and only operation went sideways very quickly and she had a breakdown over it :) and Sonic's friends had to intervene :)

Again, I'm not asking that Lanolin drops to her knees and begs for an autograph. But she shows zero respect for someone with Silver's qualifications and experience: she speaks to him as if he were nothing more than a clumsy, annoying rookie (and that's not even considering that she's also no one to him, but she talks as if she were his actual superior). Most importantly, she doesn't respect him or Whisper (who also at this point is a veteran with way more qualifications than Lanolin could ever hope) enough to even listen to their concerns, immediately digging her heels, dismissing Silver as a dumbass who can't even control his powers and Whisper as some sort of harassing delusional bitch.

And I still stand by my point that Silver is not the kind of guy who immediately folds over when a rando scolds him. This is the same dude who chased Sonic down to kill him off, he is plenty stubborn.

[katatonicimpression]

Salty comics ask: 2,3,5,7, 11, 21, 38. If you feel like it. Character(s) of your choice.

2. What character death for the sake of drama was the worst?

Everett's is pretty bad. They announce that he's dead, then proceed to do an entire 4 issue arc that has nothing to do with him before even explaining what happened. Then, after the explainer, they barely mention him. And I think actually the fact that (similar to the Hellions), his resurrection on Krakoa hasn't featured any of that angst or drama because it's not the direction they want to go with Emma..

But yeah. Transparently done for the drama, to raise the stakes. And, much like with Thunderbird or Darwin in the First Class film, it's a tired racist trope.

3. Who is your most hated comics writer?

Gezza D.

Although, there's definitely overall worse writers out there. There are some attrocious comics that I've struggled through. But in general, I'm not one for going out of my way to look up who the writers and artists are for everything I look at. If I remember their name, I remember their name.

And I genuinely think it's not good to get too fixated on these figures, especially when you don't like their work. I've been hyper aware of how fucked up even the valid criticism can get, when it's relentless, large scale and directed at a single person.

So, I guess I'm saying that I hope Gerry doesn't have tumblr.

5. Who mischaracterized [x] the worst?

Monet? Cullen Bunn wrote Uncanny X-Men (2016) so fuck that guy I guess.

Bobby? Whoever had the idea to pair him up with Mystique.

7. What “throwaway” character could they have done more with?

Ooh, there's a lot of good answers to this.

I'll put forward Mel from that first Cap storyline with Nightshade. No reason why they couldn't bring that back and make more out of it, even if he's dead.

Mindmeld. Interestingly, the new character of Escapade is also a trans woman with similar conciousness transfering powers. But they're hardly similar outside of that; there's plenty of room. Bring back Mindmeld.

11. What’s the worst art you’ve seen?

I saw your post with the Greg Land examples. Seconded.

A lot of Liefeld options, obviously.

Sometimes it feels pretty mean to harp on art for not being so good. I get the "they're professionals, they got paid for this" argument, but whatever. Hell, sometimes I like it when the art looks kind of shitty because it gives me hope for my own lol.

But I will say that, for me, when it's that more realistic and hyper-smooth style that was big in the 2005-2015 era, that's when I have the least sympathy. There's so much technical competence on display and yet so often, really poor compositions of the panels and just a sub zero taste level. So yeah, Greg Land.

21. Who’s the most overhyped villain excluding the Joker?

Thanos was more entertaining in his early days when he was goofier.

I think it makes sense that the MCU used him as their first Big Bad, but I personally do not care about him or take him seriously as an existential threat in the slightest lol.

And specifically, I think the effort to rebrand him as a serious, universe destroying, massive big serious scary, manly man scary villain, makes him less fun. And because of the movies, they're going to keep him as the biggest of big bads forever now. Boo.

38. What character that was reduced to a love interest deserves so much better?

Honestly the phrase "reduced to a love interest" is not one I associate with good faith arguments (see: MCU Sharon hate), but there's something to it sometimes.

Most of the examples I can think of are temporary (e.g. Monet is a love interest in Weapon X-Force, Rachel is basically just a love interest in Captain Britain - The former was awful and the latter is... fine). It's not always an issue when it's temporary and done well, but is a problem if it's a rut the character gets stuck in when they're only "so-and-so's partner", or if they're really ooc or the writing is insulting etc... It also doesn't count if they were only ever conceived of as a love interest.

Weirdly, the only character I can think of that this has definitely happened to is Layla Miller, who hasn't been a character outside of Jamie's wife and a mother to their kid for like a decade.

I'm sure there are better examples, I'm just drawing a blank.

[diabeticgirl4]

updating with info I have technically learned from the rccc panel last week:

Travis does indeed play a character this campaign! Chetney/Chutney? Apparently a rly old guy w a crazy accent (seriously I watched a small bit of the latest ep and ???? travis why???) He talked about apparently he has(chooses?) to roll a d100 per every long rest to decide if he dies??? from old age or ??? matt was kinda upset w it lmao. like he went w it bc he thought travis was joking but he wasn't :)

ok so liam's pc is orym, taliesin's is ashton. didn't learn a whole lot about orym other than he's apparently the "leader" of the group but unwillingly? that'll be interesting to watch. ashton tho! so apparently he's a barbarian and nobody understands his subclass/rage rules(?). marisha had him break the different types of his rage (???) and I don't think it cleared anything up lol. irt the question of 'if you got to bodyswap who would you pick' most of the group chose ashton just so they could understand him more lmao. also!!! apparently he wasn't originally an earth genasi??? something about waking up and his whole town was decimated leaving him the only survivor?? memory gaps??? I'm so hyped for more of that excellent taliesin trauma :):) also when I got tal's autograph and I mentioned I still haven't gotten to c3 yet he said he hopes I'll like ash ;u;

Sam/FCG is the cleric???? I'm. so intrigued. also there were quite a few cosplays/actual built (!!) FCGs at the con and I heard something about like. FCG's. builder? maintenance guy? something along those lines?? like. is he prominent in the story idk. is it like a taryon+doty thing or ?? is sam technically piloting more than one character?? or just a few offhand mentions here and there idk.

also so christian navarro was the mc at the panel, and I learned not only did he get to play on the show (part of that guest group?) but apparently he played another robot who romanced FCG? this is so fascinating.

there was a Lot of discussion about laura's/marisha's pc romancing and. I still know next to nothing about their pc's outside of the romancing lmao. except!! apparently laura's pc also saw The Bug just like jester did. AND what's even better, she said Vex saw it too. amazing.

the more I heard about fearne I ?? I'm starting to second guess myself on if ashley's first pc died and fearne was the replacement, or if fearne was there since the beginning and I have no idea. I'm p sure I remember hearing about the first pc death. but I have absolutely zero knowledge about that character. no idea. hh.

there was a whole lotta stuff that just went straight over my head but since they uploaded the panel to spotify it'll be fun to revisit once I'm caught up. can't wait!

I was originally gonna do this after finishing campaign 2/ right before starting campaign 3, but then I remembered I'm going to a cr panel this Saturday and I'm bound to get spoiled AF so I want to get my thoughts out before then lol.

Aka- here's what I (maybe?) know about cr3 without actually knowing a single thing about it.

Player characters: FCG/Fresh Cut Grass??? (Sam's), Fearne (Ashley's, at some point?), imogen/laudra(?) (marisha's/laura's, don't ask me whose is whose, I have no idea lol), orym(sp?)/ashton(?) (Taliesin's and liam's- again idk which is which lol). ??????? (Aka does Travis even have a character this campaign?? I swear I haven't heard a single thing about his pc). I'm also p sure I heard about Ashley's pc dying early at one point, I know nothing about that character. Also I think (based off a pinterest comment I saw) either Taliesin's, Liam's or Laura's (??) pc also die possibly in the same episode? Big shrug i don't know anything about that.

(Onto what I know about each character:)

Sam's- a robot??? Literal robot?? (Hey Sam what dnd race is that just curious??) Named FCG which apparently stands for Fresh Cut Grass??? I think that was a secret for a good while. Also side note, I don't know anyone's class in this campaign. They are still playing dnd 5e yeah?? Anyways. Childlike robot. I guess. I think there's been some discourse on whether fcg is Sus or just weird or what, but also from what I've heard sam is just playing him completely genuinely childlike and innocent. idk what to make of this.

Liam's- oh!! This is the backup character he's talked about for ages!! The air ashari (race?? I think he's something small, halfling maybe?) guy who's husband died and he's on a grief mission or something. Is named either Ashton or orym, idk which is which. also iirc liam's character in the Dalen's Closet one-shot was his current pc's stepson? or something? idk fun fact I guess? idk I think he's just a sad boi. liam's fave lmao.

Taliesin's- his pc is the one liams isn't lmao. I think he's orym??? I know next to nothing. I keep seeing a character w like. Gem growth on his shoulders or something?? Or wait I think I remember hearing something about an earth genasi? If so that checks out I guess? Idk I couldn't tell you anything else about him lmao. I get punk vibes off his pc art tho.

Laura's/marisha's- they share a bullet point bc I legit don't know the difference. Laudra and Imogen? At least one of them is v goth and angsty and terrible past a la yasha lol. She's like an undead human the same way costco guy from c2 was? Legit don't know anything about the other. They're a canon couple at some point? Like I think somewhat recently they kissed and everyone went nuts over it? Let's go lesbians?

Ashley's- from my understanding she had a first character that died so then she brought in Fearne. I know absolutely nothing about this first character. In every art I've seen of fearne I would do anything for her, she looks so lovely omg. She's like. what's it called a satyr or something?? she looks at least part fae and like. part goat or something. they're rly going outside the normal dnd races this time huh. also she has very much "looks like a cinnamon roll but could kill you" vibes. I love her already. also I'm p sure she's a spellcaster of some kind, I wanna guess druid. this is purely based off one of ashley's podcast intros where she mentions scrying in a voice that's neither pike's nor yasha's so I'm gonna guess it's fearne lol.

Travis's- ???????? I legit don't know anything about his character. I'm trying to remember names I've seen on ao3 and I'm blanking. He's still in this campaign right???? idk what to tell u. I'm assuming he's playing a guy lol. idk man.

Other things I know??

Apparently they bring in a bunch of guests at some point (like the slayers take mini arc in c1 maybe? Where they split the party and bring guests?) And all I remember hearing about emily axford from naddpod. I'm v excited to see her w the cr crew.

Something about an orgy?? As a main plot point?? I'm mildly concerned.

I have no idea when/where this takes place, at least 20-30 years post-c1 and at least partially in taldorei?? I know they go to Whitestone and talk to Actual Percival de Rolo (and/or one of his kids?) And I'm beyond hyped for that lmao. don't know if any other c1 pc's make an appearance.

Although I guess at some point keyleth returns and/or nearly dies and vax comes to her rescue except he gets turned into a ball? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

idk if this was fandom joking or if it actually happened but I remember hearing talk about all 3 of marisha's characters being in the same room or something. I know about keyleth but beau makes a cameo??

Also something about the moon. Moon(s). Moon drama? Not to trust the moon idk.

I remember seeing a vague post about how caduceus would have fared better w the c3 crew as opposed to the c2 crew. I'm not completely done w c2 yet (just starting ep 120!) so idk what to make of this. from vague vibes and discussions c3 crew is basically chaos incarnate? their morals are hand-wavy at best? they're just Weird? heck if I know.

Yeah I have no idea of anything lol. Also I've kinda heard mixed reviews, but I'm still v intrigued and can't wait to start listening.

[bobateaboo]

saw this post by @feralmoonlight and it gave me a bunch of inspiration!! I'm also posting it here on ao3 if you'd rather look at it there! Enjoy!!

It had taken an embarrassingly long time to realize that your new roommate wasn’t human.

Like, ok, how freakishly tall and thin he was and with the amount he covered up, you’d think it’d be obvious, but when you’d asked he’d explained he had a few genetic conditions and wasn’t exactly comfortable going more in depth about them. And what kind of asshole roommate would push him on that??

It did mean, though, that last night you had strolled into his room to ask if he wanted to do a movie night, to find him hunched up over his own arm, muttering, exposed wires and circuitboards visible through a panel of removed metal, making him twitch in what looked like pain as he sautered a broken wire back together.

You had left before he had seen you.

Which may have been a mistake because now you’re really not sure how to bring it up.

I mean, how do you start that conversation?? “Hey, I saw you broke your arm and not in the normal way”? “Hey I keep finding loose screws in the living room and I think you need them”? “I kind of know how to fix a stalled engine if you need help”???

You sighed, gently bonking your forehead to the countertop. You had finished the dishes an hour ago, but you were still here in the kitchen, having an internal debate as rain battered against the windows.

Do you handle it like you do when you know someone’s gay?? Can you safely “Not to say you’re a robot but I would still care about and love you the same if you were” without giving yourself away??

By that analogy, maybe it was better to let him come out on his own terms probably? But oh no, what if he’s doing something super uncomfortable to hide because he thinks you’ll be mad at him?

You groan, sliding back across the cupboards. You were never made to make adult descisions. At least the thunder was comforting. You’d be lucky if the power didn’t go out.

“Um, Sunshine? I can’t help but notice you’ve been in here for a while, are you feeling ok…?”

You resist the urge to climb into the cabinet under the sink at the sound of Sun’s voice, instead dragging one hand over your face and giving an exhausted thumbs up. “Mhmmmmmmnnnn”

In hindsight, with Sun’s mama bird tendencies, it probably would have been smarter to go for the cabinet. In less time than would be possible in anything other than his long strides, Sun was in front of you, lifting you up by the armpits to set you on your feet, checking your forehead.

“Oh dear! Do you have a headache? Fever? Migraine? Do you need me to make you soup??”

“Sun- Sun, I’m Fine-” you bat at his hands as he tries to check your face over like you’re an injured little kid or something. “Seriously, I-”

The lights flicker.

Underneath his hood and the scarf wrapped around his head, you can see Sun’s eyes shrink to pinpricks. 

All of a sudden he’s gone from filling your sphere of vision to stumbling back as if he’d been burnt, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process.

“Sun? What-”

Thunder crashed.

And the lights went out.

With the dim streetlights filtering through the windows, there logically had to have been enough light to see by, if not just barely. But in that moment your senses were swarmed by the clang of metal on metal as Sun backed into the trash can, the clunking of gears, and most of all the scream that pierced through the air as Sun clutched his face as if it was scalding him, lowering in pitch and dying out as you stepped back, red light filling your vision.

And zeroing in on you.

“Hidey… Hide Away…..”

Layers of fabric you’d never seen Sun without were pulled free, dropping to the floor like discarded toys. You could barely make out the silhouette, but it was too thin. Almost skeletal, if you ignored the blatant space in the torso where ribs would not have covered. You could hear the cricking as whatever was in Sun’s place moved its fingers, almost experimentally. Red irises focused in on you, like a camera lens focusing.

And then they were closer.

You yelped, tumbling back. The thing bending at odd angles to crouch around you, encompassing you, one hand on the ground above your head, the other held closer to his chest with metallic claws clinting in the dim light.

“It’s past your bedtime…”

The free hand was starting to reach for you. You were panicking. This thing was Sun, or at least it was in Sun’s place. What would get through to Sun??

“Myheadhurts!!!”

The thing paused.

A metallic crik crik crik filled the air as it flexed its fingers, otherwise frozen in place, head spinning around like a dinner plate.

“M-my head hurts. I don’t feel well.” you spoke more slowly this time, a shake plaguing your voice. “I-I need to get rest.”

And suddenly you were up, much higher off the ground than you’d prefer to be, held in the arms of Not-Sun as it whisked to your room, swiftly tucking you in so tight you could barely move.

It chuckled as it left your room, scuttling backwards like some sort of demented spider.

“Nighty Night….”

….

…You weren’t going to get any sleep tonight.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant

Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.

Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬､¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.

OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD

you named your car??

you named it Hercules??

I love you so much??

please marry me you giant fucking dork???

lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks

who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do

like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment

“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might

OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES

[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it

and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you

omg they didn’t know it was All Might??

okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting “wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???

(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)

OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES

PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE

omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded

so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now

OH MY GOD

LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON’T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)

and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this

who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it

man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!

I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading

ANYWAY, SO

HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!

omggggggg

ouch

update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in

wait what

feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku

oh lol did he realize she could fly??

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest

so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku

so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help

oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks

OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS

seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man

damn this is getting intense now

(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)

well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun

anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong

(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)

OH SNAP???

AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER

(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:

1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.

2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.

3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).

4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.

5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.

6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.

anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).

basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.

anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)

anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys

En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime

OH DAMN DEKU

at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit

what in the fuck

?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape

update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun

hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy

anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them

OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU

LOL SHE’S MAD NOW

JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH

DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY

but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned

LOL YOU MANIAC

I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg

well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??

(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)

anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while

anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. I don't think LO fans get this but the having to resort to tearing everything else down to prop it up is actually a worse indictment on its quality than not. If LO is truly this great of a piece of work, it should be able to stand on its own, not having harassment/smear campaigns against even remotely similar (or not) pieces of work to make it look "better" in comparison. What happened to H/P Ficlets is probably the most nasty example of LO fans being cruel in the name of making LO look "better"

2. I want to know what Kool-Aid LO fans are on because I've seen so many of them say the art is actually BETTER than it was in the beginning. Like girl what, go check your eyes 💀

3. I saw Overly Sarcastic Production's explanation of the Persephone myth. It started out really good, covering the 'possible' ancient background on the myth, and reiterating how the Homeric Hymn to Demeter is the best version we have in terms of detail. They also don't try and demonize Demeter or try to make the myth seem like some kind of romance epic.

Then the end of the video comes along and ruins the entire thing - they basically encourage people to read Lore Olympus and continue the false narrative that Persephone and Hades are the 'most functional relationship' in mythology.

It's just so frustrating to see even a popular myth youtube channel is falling for the Tumblr false interpretation of the myth that ruined Lore Olympus while completely missing the point of the story. It was always meant to be about the relationship between mother and daughter - not a damn romance. 

4. ive seen so many lo fans condemn zeus (in comic) for being more flamboyant/not being hyper masculine as hades and im like 1) ok so hades is boring while zeus is fun, got it but also 2) considering zeus' myth canon bisexuality and lo's obsession with being very heterosexual that just seems ... wrong. like i dont think they mean to be biphobia/harmful while saying stuff like this but the fact they do zero relfection on it is a big issue.

5. tbh i was willing to give the benefit of a doubt about hades and minthe but then we find out HADES is the one who blurred the lines and chased after HER and started the relationship and made her to have an apartment and stuff all under HIS control so its like?? he went after her, he's the one who wasnt being professional and went after his employe, he controls all her finances and the literal roof over her head, but we're supposed to be on HIS side and see her as ungrateful/evil??? girl what!!

6. im sorry i just cant take the "sexy" panels hades seriously because 1) its always very clearly traced, 2) it just doesnt look right given how bad the anatomy is, but also 3) its just weirdly ooc?? like rachel cant decide if hes this serious brooding king who you dont mess with or an empty headed, horny teenager. im not saying he cant have duality to him but its hard to be like "isnt he cute?" when he owns slaves, neglects children, & takes advantage of vulnerable young women into relationships

7. im begging rachel to pick up an anatomy book or something on her break WHY is hades' head so tiny now??? how did she go from semi ok anatomy to whatever this is?? and you cant go "thats her style!" because it legit doesnt even look good or cohesive or even like what we know she once could do, it just looks like a mess. i dont get how you draw non-stop for years and actually get WORSE at it.

8. i just get sad because i follow a lot of webtoon creators who feel dejected and neglected by WT meanwhile they just throw up more and more promotion for LO and shove it everyones' faces (when it very much does NOT need the help) while these other creators feel so left behind many that many of them don't even want to make another comic again. i cant imagine that feels good that they have to work twice as hard if not more to even get noticed meanwhile rachel just gets everything handed to her.

9.i do not get why rachel went with the "gods dont care/hate mortals" take in LO. even just a skim of any myth will show you the gods, for all their faults, did care about mortals and wanted the best for them. like if they hated them so much, why even let them exist? why care persephone killed so many of them? why provide them with food, water, etc? also most of the male gods have children with mortal women, why would they do that if they hate them? it's such a bad take to go with.

-----FP Spoilers/Mention-----

10. Eris' head looking like an apple is not a smart design it's a mistake. I still can get over how they massacred my baby ;__;

[mamamittens]

One last victim tonight, but I will gladly roast more later if anyone has a volunteer ;)

Also, yes, I do happen to have him on my shit list, how could you tell? 😇

Now, I don't know what Oda has against legs, but to save myself the time, just assume you can one shot every last man, woman, and child with a kick to their knees.

Teach strikes me as a man who is so full of himself but obviously full of shit at the same time. Probably why he has checkerboard teeth. From getting his ass beat on several occasions, which much also be why he doesn't appear to have one.

Sorry guys, but to have an ass, you need as least a decent hip/waist ratio, otherwise your cake looks fake as shit. Which is impossible to have while also being able to securely store not just three pistols in your waistband but a bottle! A damn bottle and three pistols, what the hell, do you have any sense? Did Whitebeard not teach you gun safety?!? Is that not something pirates learn on the seas? A complete dumbass but I bet if you suggested that he might be in danger of shooting his dick off, he'd scramble to take them out and probable shoot himself in his goofy ass clown shoes.

For someone clearly in love with the finer things in life, he has zero fashion sense. I don't know why he thought that shirt would do him any favors unbuttoned, too long sleeves rolled up but not far enough, with a jacket over his shoulders, but he's been lied to. And those pants? His damn pants are too afraid to commit to camo, so this poor bastard stuck looking like he's wearing a zen doodle of drunk dicks. And the yellow belt? Why? Like, straight up why?

I'm betting those necklaces are actually fashion belts and the only way he could fit jewelry around his ridiculous neck. Why is it so much bigger than his shoulders and arm would suggest it should be? Probably all that looking at shit that don't belong to him 😒

I don't know why, but the pearl bracelets screams Claire's to me. Where did he get them?!? Fit his weirdly small hands but their size tells me they're meant to be chunky but it's literally the only jewelry he wears that is chunky?!? His rings are normal! Also, the fact that he wears that many rings just makes him look pretentious. One ring not good enough for you? Overall, his jewelry makes me think of those pretend tea parties with fake jewelry, all he's missing is a bedazzled plastic crown and a tea cup.

I saw a panel of him once with like, three chicks hanging off of him. Now, I don't throw shade on that in and of itself, weirder shit happens, but I imagine the look on their face when they realize he's actually broke as hell was priceless. That's right. I don't think this man has any bitches. If his dress doesn't chase you off, I imagine the smell is a close second. Right there with personality.

He looks like someone who practices 'bath days' but absolutely should not be practicing bath days. And is entirely too confident in spite of his horrendous state of affairs. Whoever knocks him down a peg or three deserves an award, cause he's definitely a smug ass most of the time. Probably neggs you the entire time your talking or gives you backhanded complements that leave you wishing he had just insulted you to start with. Less time hearing him talk.

Okay, fine, a little less salt and in all honesty? Talking to him probably feels like being gaslit in real time. Like, he's hitting all the right notes. He has good jokes sometimes and laughs obnoxiously. But the whole time you can't help but think something is wrong with this man. Maybe he enjoys the feeling of wet socks. Maybe he has grand plans but literally has no real plan to accomplish them outside of hoping it falls into his lap (seriously, how did he want that damn fruit for so long and not know he could get his shit rocked--that it was the only logia that didn't make him invulnerable?!?). But regardless, you definitely get the feeling when you talk to him that he has a motive and its best to either put yourself out of the path or get ready to knock more of his teeth out.

There's only room for one queen for his king, and that's his reflection. And you can almost tell cause he probably does that disturbing thing psychos do when they're socializing where their entire expression falls the minute you look away. Cause it's an act. And not a well thought out one either.

Cause above all else, he's kind of stupid and impulsive. It's all over his choice in clothes, weapon storage, and *gestures to his everything*. I'm not convinced there's more than three braincells clacking around in there like a windows screen saver. When they hit the corner he has a good idea but then the other two click together and he tries to take a shortcut, shooting his own dick off like that shoddy holster technique threatens to every time he moves.

What a disaster of a man...

[doodlesnchaos]

Webs & Knives (Pt.1)

Background: In which Anne meets Sasha a bit more in depth

———————————————

This was an awful idea. The little voice in the back of her head was nagging exactly that at her. Yet there was the piece of her wondering if the prior attacker wasn’t fully attacking. Nothing harmful towards them, rather they seemed so curious almost. Which only increased the guilt gnawing away in her abdomen since she nearly knocked them out.

The slight upside was it gave an oppinity to tease out Marcy enthusiastic update of a thermal vision. Which aided in finding the spot she was at now. Not as though it looked like much, rundown bakery from the general appearance of it. Cautious nonetheless, Anne looked for any sights of another entrance, soon spotting an open window panel higher up.

Slipping in inside, it was unsurprisingly illuminated. Anne glanced around, the appearance of the place resembling similar to that of an apartment. Obvious differences here and there, including a worn looking punching bag, guitar propped against the wall, and just above it a dart board with a few throwing knives embedded in the bullseye marking. That spike her anxiety just a little.

“You took longer than I thought, for a monet I almost thought you’d be a no show.” a voice cut through the quiet, causing Anne to jump, attention rearing towards the location.

Seated at a makeshift looking table, pizza-sock feet propped up as the chair was tilted back just enough. A white styrofoam takeout container in front, gaze lingering on the others features, now being able to see them fully. Blonde hair messily pulled into a ponytail, right eye covered by a wet towel. All the gear she had since prior was stripped away to merely a shirt with some sort of design and a pair of lounge pants.

“I don’t usually come to see people who tried to severely maim me.” Anne retorted pointed, keeping her distance still.

A mixture of shock and offense crossed over the others expression. “I did not try to maim you! Just merely removing an obstacle. Besides, I didn't harm you at all.”

That—that was a fairish point.

“I’m Sasha by the way. Contrary to some people’s popular belief, I’m not some guy that's a criminal mastermind–I’m not. Least not currently.” the blonde–no Sasha stated causally, picking at whatever she was eating. Chicken of sorts?

“Good to note.” Anne stated slowly, unable to tell where this conversation was going. She stilled as she watched Sasha’s gaze looked her over, surveying. Scraping of chair legs as they hit the floor as she got up, ditching the towel, revealing the good sized bruising of a black eye forming.

“So, Anne, are you one of his experiments too?” a curious statement that merely left her bewildered. Experiment?

“How do you know my name. I never told you.” A sharp-tongued defense, suspicious growing further obvious.

“I know a bit about you Anne. Anne Boonchuy–you look better without the mask by the way. Cute girlfriend, Marcy Wu, interned at some point over at Levithan.” Sasha ticked off, counting off with her fingers, “I mean you make it really easy. Seriously. Definitely needs improvement. Moving on from that, were you rejected by him at some point? Or an accident? Or test?”

Anne took a small step back as Sasha took one forward, “One, that’s a bit creepy. Two, I seriously have zero idea what you’re talking about dude.”

A furrowed brow in confusion almost, “Your powers? Obviously strong to have given me this.” half-hearted joke accompanied with a gesture at the bruise.

This was turning highly bizarre, and Anne was just starting to think she should’ve listened to the voice in the back of her head. Loss of words, and not completely trusting her own tongue, instead a slow head shake.

The tinged of guilt reformed as she watched for the briefest moment shoulder shagged and a defeated expression. As quick as she saw it, it vanished.

“You leave your left side vulnerable by the way. You should work on that otherwise you’re going to lose an arm or something.” Sasha gave the off-hand comment, turning away and retreating back towards whatever she was eating instead.

For as strange as all of this being, she wasn’t being exactly distrustful. A bit odd, but seemed alright.

“Noted.”

“Also, that one from earlier, you should watch your back, definitely a gang and not a lot of fun. Zero out of ten, wouldn’t recommend. Same time, really really annoying, they would deserved getting snuffed out.” Another slight ramble feature fork gestures.

And just like that, Anne was puzzled once again.

[sweetescapeartist]

MY DBS MANGA CHAPTER 70 REVIEW

We learn in the last chapter that the Cerealian Dragon's name is Toronbo when Granolah speaks Namekian. Toronbo grants Granolah's wish but can't make Granolah stronger than the gods.

Here's the confusion I have... Goku is a mortal beyond GoDs so making Granolah the strongest mortal is making him stronger than gods. If you wanna say Beerus has been training and is now stronger than Goku, there's still a problem. It was said that Goku and Vegeta were stronger than some GoDs right before the ToP (but that might be anime only, so maybe it doesn't apply here). So Granolah is stronger than GoDs no matter what. If the gods that Toronbo is speaking of are the Angels, then that means Granolah is Ultra Instinct level of power since Goku is the lowest in Angel tier. But whatever. Bottom line is Granolah is temporarily stronger than Goku who may or may not be stronger than Beerus.

Granolah gets his wish granted and the cost is shortening his life... cool. Not much to say except let's see how its executed.

(I recently read that in DBXV2, during the Infinite History Saga, Videl is enchanted with Towa's Dark Magic spell by Dabura shaving off her life but granting her greater power. So granting power at the cost of lifespan has been done in DB before. Not in canon but in the games.)

Also, Granolah's life being shortened to 3 yrs got me thinking... Currently it's almost AGE 781 in the DBS manga timeline. Goku leaves to train Uub in AGE 784. We got 3 yrs left. The original manga shows Bulma said she hadn't seen Goku in 5 yrs. How I see DBS is that it is an alternate timeline that just happens to have a similar outcome to the EoZ.

So... why is Vegeta learing from Beerus again if Beerus isn't that strong now? Is Vegeta being like Krillin and continuing his learning from a master weaker than him, but gaining wisdom & knowledge? I-is Vegeta becoming Krillin 2.0?! (More like dollar-store Krillin)

I do think beerus got stronger tho. He seems very confident that Vegeta can get stronger from learning from him. Beerus probably saw Goku get UI then decide to train aftet the ToP

Anyways, Beerus is teaching us about hakai/destruction energy. Its erasing something from existence, not just destroying it (we already knew that). But, Vegeta quickly figures out how to do it anyways. By destroying a tiny pebble...

A tangent again but I personally think Piccolo is capable of easily learning Hakai energy. Think about it. Piccolo can create clothing out of nothing, why could he not do the reverse?

Goku is uninterested in what Beerus & Vegeta are doing. I dont know about you, but it sounds like Goku thinks that he's above Beerus in strength. Beerus & Vegeta aren't considered a challenge to him in any way. Goku sees UI as more important & better than anything Beerus has to teach, and Goku is right. Plus Goku learned Hakai on his own while Vegeta needs Beerus to teach him. It's a waste of Goku's time to learn it again.

(God Comics is funny. I imagine Toribot writes them)

Goku says "Let's see which one of us can be the strongest in the universe!" Really, Goku...? At present time, Goku is the strongest mortal in the universe already. He should know that. Then Vegeta for some reason thinks he will become the strongest in the universe. The last time manga Vegeta was the strongest mortal in the universe was... never. He's always behind Goku or whatever new opponent arises. This scene is meant to be comedic that they're arguing over who will be the greatest but it's not funny to me. And yet Vegeta fans still hold on for hope.

But why is Goku concerned about being the strongest between him & Vegeta? Goku is far above Vegeta. They're not rivals at this point. Also, Goku was the strongest in the universe until just a few moments ago. Goku should be saying "I knew bein' the strongest wouldn't last for too long. Roshi did tell me there will always be somebody stronger out there. Hehe! This is gettin' me excited! I can't wait to meet 'em!" (This would alsp parallel Monaito giving Granolah the same advice Goku already knows.)

Also, I guess Broly isn't that strong after all. Bye Broly, you served your purpose. And to think that Goku had said that he thinks Broly is stronger than Beerus...

Oh yeah. So Vegeta destroys a pebble. Impressive? Goku kinda gives a compliment or he is practically saying "Good job Vegeta! You're doing great following in my footsteps!" Seriously, this would be so much better and cooler if this seperate paths of training began right after the Universe 6 vs Universe 7 tournament. That would be the perfect spot to have them train under Beerus & Whis. [Vegeta using Hakai against Merged Zamasu, Goku able to fight Merged Zamasu temporarily because he is getting better at letting his body move on its own, Toppo & Vegeta using Hakai against each other as Goku & Jiren use power above GoDs. That would work so much better.]

Then Vegeta says he's gonna destroy bigger things soon... is that supposed to be more impressive? Its not. But this it to build up Vegeta even though there is nothing amazing about anything he is doing at the moment. Maybe later tho.

So Cerealians can't grow beards. Also I guess Granolah's race don't age? His hair grew when his lifespan was shortened but he has no wrinkles. It seems that they age more gracefully than Saiyans. If he has some wrinkles he would have looked cooler imo. Or those lines under the eyes at the very least. If the wish shortened his life & made his hair grow, it should have also showed that he aged. (Here's an edit I made of "Grampa Granolah." You're welcome)

And remember Vegeta destroying a pebble? Granolah can suddenly destroy big rocks! Cool right?! No? Its not cool? Showing Granolah destroy a much larger object right afterwards kinda belittles Vegeta's accomplishment.

Oatmil is surprised by a boulder exploding. This means one of 2 things. Oatmil is stupid & never saw an Granolah explode a boulder. Or it's implying that the boulder exploding is some technique Oatmil doesn't know of. Idk how he can tell its any different from just blowing up a rock with ki. I think it's supposed to be destruction energy. If it is then, ok. If getting his wish was so easy, then why can't he suddenly learn destruction as well?

Yay! Monaito! (This really should be a Namekian focused arc)

Granolah reminds me of Zamasu with his attitude a bit. Monaito tells him somebody stronger will definetly appear. Granolah has become like Vegeta and is over confident, so he is destined to get humbled. And think about this. Goku can probably train a bit and surpass Granolah within a week.

Granolah can now sense ki. Meaning he can have the destruction technique or UI, because why not?

Monaito blames himself for Granolah's actions. Its not your fault Monaito! You did nothing wrong! Dont be so hard on yourself.

Whis being a creep and peeping on people lol.

Granolah's hair growing was pointless because he cuts it off soon after. Nothing changed visually. This kinda reminds me of how Moro lost his arm. Goku gave him a senzu, Moro grew it back, & then Moro broke his arm when attacking Goku. Then Moro tore his arm off & reattached his old one. There was no need for Moro to grow his arm back then tear it off. Similarly, there is no need for Granolah to have grown long hair then cut it off.

Maki still brings a smile to my face. She & Gas stand out the most out of the Heeters. Maki's personality is kinda like Zangya combined with a teasing Bulma. Gas reminds me of a Krillin/Piccolo fusion with dreadlocks. I also ship Maki x Gas cause they're short and look cute together. (please don't be siblings so I can draw them together🤞)

Granolah fights Oil & Maki. I'm not impressed. They seem like they could be defeated by Chaoitzu (he's stronger than Raditz and probably Nappa now too). Granolah's movements could be seen as UI. If it is or isn't UI, it doesn't matter. Showing off that kind of power is like Goku using Ultra Instinct during a rematch with Nam or King Chappa. Its not effective storytelling. There had to be a better way of showing Granolah's new strength than making him fight opponents that give him zero challenge.

The art is good as usual and the panel flow is nice. Toyotaro is improving at creating the illusion of motion. The environment being used in the fight was smart and a good visual. Toyo still uses a ton of panels almost every page tho. But he's still a better artist than I am.

Granolah appears to have used Hakai again. Not the explosive variant but the sand variant (yes I think there are 2 ways of using Hakai).

The "Sand Variant" that Beerus & Goku (& maybe Granolah) have used.

The "Explosive Variant" Beerus & Vegeta (& maybe Granolah) have used.

Maki thinks the "Hakai" is magic so that's interesting. I would say I'd like for the next enemy to be a magic user but, we know how Moro turned out... 😓

Maki has "ki claws" & I like the idea but it would be better if she had used it against an enemy she can defeat. It doesn't make her look useful in this fight. Gas seems confident when he is about to fight Granolah, but Elec stops him. Gas would've gotten beaten but it make ya wonder what Gas can do.

Granolah appears to be a person that is easily manipulated and persuaded. He even gave information they weren't even asking for. He'll probably be easily convinced and manipulated by Freeza/the Hedters or quickly have a truce with Goku.

The Heeters plan to go to Planet Cereal to get the Dragon Balls. As I suspected, the Cerealian Dragon Balls were created so that it would be easy for wishes to be granted. Gathering 2 Dragon Balls on a nearby planet instead of gathering 7 on New Namek or Earth. Plus these new Dragon Balls ensures no interaction between Earthlings & Granolah/the Heeters. A perfect way to write Gohan & company out of the story... *sigh* 😔😒

We learn Cerealians live for 2 centuries. How's that compare to other races in Universe 7? Freeza & King Cold apparently can live more than 200 yrs, But that may be because they are mutants. Namekians can live for like 500 yrs & its possible for them to reincarnate themselves too. So in a way, Namekians can live forever. Saiyans stay youthful & live to be in their 80's, but rapidly age when they reach their 60's or 70's. Average Earthlings appear live to be in their 80's or 90's but some are over 100 yrs old (Dr. Briefs, Panchy, & Ox King are in their 90's in GT) and others can increase their lifespan through elixers or the Paradise Herb. Just some thoughts of mine.

Maki says "If he ices Freeza..." Ha, an ice pun. Elec wants to defeat Freeza so he can control his army. Its revealed they wanna kill Granolah & that they worked with Freeza to destroy his planet & race. Well... that more than likely means they're gonna die by Granolah's hand or Freeza's. This info is also an attempt to make the reader more sympathetic for Granolah. Granolah is too bland (pun intended) so I don't feel any more sympathy than I already had for him. Elec plans to make Goku & Vegeta fight Granolah since Granolah hates Saiyans. Smart but we all kinda expected it. Not bad writing tho.

The final panel talks about fate bringing the 3 (Goku, Vegeta, & Granolah) together. Sounds like a repeat of the Broly movie.

We've had 4 chapters in this arc & not 1 panel of Freeza... If Freeza doesnt appear & do something in the next chapter then I will be disappointed in the writing. Showing Freeza here and there would give tension and build up until we get the encounter with him. We also have no idea who Oatmil is. Is he an A.I. or a person? Not that big of a deal yet, but I would like to find out soon. Either show Freeza or tell us more about Oatmil next chapter pleaae

This chapter was like oatmeal (the food not the character) without butter, brown sugar, milk, & honey or raisins. Not bad, but not very good either. 

So here's my thoughts on the things that could or could not happen in this arc.

Goku vs Granolah. I don't care for the fight because the power is at a point that it doesnt make sense for enemies to get to without cheating somehow. The fight will look cool but I have no interest in it.

Vegeta vs Granolah will have Vegeta being stomped as always and Vegeta fans will make excuses & complain how it's not fair. A lot of Vegeta fans often make fun of Yamcha & Krillin for getting beat up even though those 2 bravely fight opponents leagues stronger than they are. Vegeta has gotten stomped by opponents more times than Krillin & Yamcha combined but the fans gotta deflect somehow. I don't care to hear or see the complaining again.

The interaction and dialogue between Granolah & Vegeta is going to be more interesting than their fight. But I worry because Toyo isn't the best at writing dialogue.

I have no reason to care about power growth, certain interactions, or Goku & Vegeta's training.

What I am curious about/want to see?

Monaito's well being. I want him to reunite with other Namekians. But I think he's been set up to die.

Lore about the dragon gods & Namekian lore we probably wont get.

I want Piccolo, Krillin, Gohan, & others will be involved. Piccolo because of the Namekian & wosh granting dragon lore. Gohan because his interaction with Granolah eould be interesting since Gohan is half Saiyan & views himself as an Earthling. Krillin & other Earthlings because they can bring tensions where characters like Goku & Vegeta can't. Those 2 are too strong for there to be any real tension. However Earthlings aren't all powerful so them using wits to survive is more exciting. But I doubt any of their involvement.

How long a Cerealian year is? Is it shorter than a Namekian year? How much time will pass for the Cerealian Dragon Balls to be active? How much stronger than Granolah will Goku get? Hopefully the answers aren't lazy...

Will Beerus finally fight somebody? There are 6 mortals that are near or above his power (Goku, Granolah, Vegeta, Broly, Freeza, Gohan).

Who's the villian of the next arc & what explanation is going to be given for them having power on the level of Angels? Angel tier fights don't sound interesting to me anymore. After those kinds of battles, Goku will have no challengers left.

Will Goku disappear to train or something so the story can TRY to match up with the EoZ?

Will Goten, Trunks, & Marron hit their growth spurts within 3 yrs?

Will we get spin-off manga about other characters? PLEASE!? 🙏

Also DBS moved too quickly when it comes to power. Now we're at the point that Goku & Vegeta need to stop being involved in fights for there to be any actual threat or tension. The Buu saga took place in AGE  774. After training for 4 years of peace, Goku thought SS3 & fusion was his limits as a Saiyan and he was right. Well, kinda... Goku was introduced to god ki near the end of AGE 778. Then in AGE 781, Goku masters Ultra Instinct... He mastered an Angel technique in 2 year or 2.5 yrs. That was waaaay too fast. As a result the storytelling & writing are suffering from this rushed progress. Now we're gonna have an Angel tier opponent? According to the pattern of DBS, Goku's gonna end up surpassing the Angels within 2 or 3 yrs after learning god ki. Thats not impressive for Goku, that's terrible writing. And no, Goku getting this strong so fast is not a benefit to Saiyans either. It just shows us that without god ki, Saiyans ain't all that powerful unless they're the legendary Saiyan like Broly. Saiyans didn't even have a concept of training until Goku was trained by Earthlings. Gohan, Freeza, 17, & I'm pretty sure Piccolo as well have all surpassed SS3 without the help of god ki. God ki makes Saiyans look like they have limits. With god ki, the writing is broken....

I got off topic again... Anyways that's the end of my review.

[arakiincel]

welcome back to the latest jujutsu kaisen rant by yours truly. (is this #2? #3? idk at this point) major manga spoilers up until the most recent chapter (149 as of now) so beware if you aren't caught up and would like to avoid spoilers.

ok so one of the biggest problems i have with how gege writes some characters (mostly the women but honestly some of the guys too) is that they make their characters so interesting and have so much potential to build on them and develop them, but they just... don’t.

i understand that jujutsu kaisen is still a shonen manga and that the plot is probably going to be prioritized over developing the characters. it’s just the way things are most of the time. and while that shouldn‘t be the case and character development should be just as important to the author as the plot, i’ve come to be used to it.

but when i started reading jjk, i was so excited because for once, we got to see some interesting female characters in shonen who had unique motivations and were flawed, human characters.

i immediately fell in love with how nobara wasn’t afraid to admit that she became a jujutsu sorcerer for the money so she could leave her small town, but still had underlying motivations like trying to find her childhood friend. she felt so complex and i was so excited to learn more about her and see her in action. but she was seriously injured and presumed dead (we still haven't gotten concrete confirmation of her death yet, so i'm still holding out hope) before her arc could be completed or even made progress on. if gege really makes the decision to kill her off and cut off her arc prematurely, i'll be really fucking angry, but honestly not surprised.

now lets talk about the twins. maki in my opinion is one of the most developed female character in the manga, but she's still constantly sidelined and her male counterparts are prioritized over her. i honestly really like her character. she harbors a contempt for her family and a lot of the things she does are fueled by spite. her entire life she was constantly demeaned because she didn't have a cursed technique and couldn't see curses without glasses. yet she's insanely powerful and wants to become the zenin clan leader to prove them all wrong. i have pretty high hopes for maki's character, but i'm still cautious because well, she's a female character in a shonen manga. then there's the case of mai. she was honestly a pretty unlikeable character at first and we never really saw much of her, and yet before her character could be built on at all, she sacrificed herself to save maki. while this chapter did make me cry, i do think that if she was actually given depth and more of a personality and more motivations, the sacrifice would've hit harder.

then there's the fact that we’ve seen so little of yuki, who’s a fucking special grade sorcerer. all of the other special grades have been developed a lot except her and it really angers me.

and like i said before, it isnt just the women. honestly when i started the series, inumaki was such an interesting character to me. his technique, the consequences of using it for him, everything about him was so cool to me. and then to see him sidelined again and again with basically no development of depth to him? i read volume zero hoping that we‘d learn more about him, and we got like one panel. i was super surprised by this because he's a male character and he had so much potential, but he's honestly treated as unfairly as the female characters.

anyways here’s another pointles jjk rant because i’m starting to get really annoyed with gege lately

[pluckyredhead]

What's the top 10 worst things about HiC

Oh god, it took me FOREVER to narrow this down. There are so many bad things about it!!!

Literally I’m not even going to address all the little talking heads therapy sessions and how thoroughly riddled with continuity errors and godawful characterization they are, because there’s so much else wrong with the book. Just trust that they’re a mess, even if King is trying to be Intellectual (TM) by putting them in a nine-panel grid. WE GET IT. YOU’VE READ WATCHMEN.

I’m also not putting “they killed Roy” on the list because it’s comics, characters die. The fact that this book was a slaughterhouse is a problem (see below, #2), but the fact that one of those deaths happened to be one of my favorite characters is a bummer but not necessarily evidence that the book is bad. (The book is so bad.)

But okay, so the rest of it, from least-worst to worst-worst:

10. That Poison Ivy cover: Clay Mann draws beautiful people but for some reason he decided that the cover to #7 should be a dead Poison Ivy on her stomach, cleavage pressed against the floor, her spine arched EVEN THOUGH SHE IS DEAD in order to lift her ass in the air so that the reader can see both T and A at once. This was leaked and then ultimately pulled before it hit stands and Tom King tweeted that he'd never liked it, but it’s very telling to me that either literally no one noticed how gross this cover fetishizing a dead woman was before the internet protested, or DC actively planned to use a sexy dead woman to sell comics. In their book that was supposed to be about trauma and mental health and recovery.

10b. Babs, a theoretical protagonist of this book, sexily peeling her pants down to show her bullet scars, which shouldn’t even look like that due to all the surgery she’s had: We get it, you’re only interested in women’s trauma if it’s sexy. She doesn’t even get to talk on this page.

10c. The full splash page of Lois in her underwear, saying “What do you want me to do?” like she’s inviting the reader to bone her in the middle of this story about death and trauma: Stop!!! Just stop!!!

9. The laziness of everything having to do with Booster: Okay yeah, I’m gonna be fannishly self-involved about another one of my faves here, but Booster is legitimately one of the main characters of the series, along with the Trinity, Harley, Babs, and Wally. And yet the “trauma” that places him at Sanctuary was part of a hastily shoehorned-in Batman arc directly before HiC that writes him deeply out of character (he carelessly changes the timeline when despite the fact that he’s spent 15 years protecting the timeline, including the Superman arc he starred in literally directly prior to the Batman one), instead of anything endemic to the character (because spoiler, Tom King doesn’t actually know anything about the character). The series then entirely fails to address it, hanging Booster’s emotional arc instead on his friendship with Ted...a friendship that explicitly does not exist in the Rebirth timeline. The Ted/Booster friendship/marriage is literally my favorite relationship in the entirety of the DCU, but you don’t get to rest a protagonist’s entire arc on a relationship that was retconned out of existence seven years prior and then retconned away again. Do the work. Don’t copy Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis’s papers from 31 years ago.

8. Interpretive hand jiving through the pain: You know how some people have to leave the room when characters do something very embarrassing on television? I’ve never been like that, just Jesus Christ I had to read this page between my fingers. Y i k e s :

7. Harley beating the Trinity in a fight: Come on. Harley couldn’t take a single one of them on her own, let alone all three. Don’t warp the characters to make your MC look more badass and keep the plot moving. (King also wrote Catwoman beating THREE SPEEDSTERS in his Batman run, which again: no. Absolutely not. Stop it.)

6. That Watchman reference: See above re: being so embarrassed for someone you have to read through your fingers. If you haven’t read Watchmen, the line “I did it 35 minutes ago” is extremely famous and absolutely a mic drop moment. It’s not a mic drop moment here. The characters are completely different and talking about completely different things. The only thing Heroes in Crisis has in common with Watchmen (besides copying the use of the nine-panel grid, like I said before) is that it’s about how heroes are fucked up, I guess? Which is hardly a bold statement in 2018; it’s actively cliche now, in fact. The only purpose referencing Watchmen serves here is to let the reader know that Tom King has read Watchmen, which is both pretentious because it is Art and ridiculous because it’s one of the bestselling comics of all time and millions of people have read it.

5. The abysmal “journalistic ethics” on display: There are so many characters literally and figuratively assassinated in this book that it’s easy to miss that Lois is one of them. But here’s a tip: when someone’s medical information is leaked to you, it is not in fact your obligation to share that with the world, no matter who they are. That is not information meant for public consumption, which we might assume Lois knows, since she doesn’t usually share the private business of her husband or her son or their cousin or any of their friends that she is also friends with. But suddenly she’s forgotten that because it’s on a zip drive? Not only does that show horrifying journalistic ethics from both Lois and Clark, who seems to think she had no other choice, it’s also ableist as hell - what, if someone has mental health problems or experienced trauma on the job they’re automatically a danger to the public? And despite the attempt to make this feel like a big twist, there’s actually zero point to it, because a) we never see civilians reacting to this information and b) there are literally zero consequences to publishing it in this or any subsequent comic. It’s never even mentioned again. If a tree publishes all of a superhero’s medical information and deep dark secrets in a forest and no one reacts to it in any way, shape, or form, does it make a sound?

4. The actual premise: I do sort of believe that Bruce would think “go to the middle of nowhere surrounded by robots wearing creepy robes and masks and tell your secrets to cameras which are then wiped and interact with no one” = therapy, although if that’s the case I don’t know why he keeps bothering to put people in Arkham, which at least allows them to talk to other humans. But under no circumstances do I think either Clark or Diana would go along with this horrible, horrible idea, that offers no genuine help to anyone. Not only does the fact that it’s implausible undercut literally everything that happens within the framework of Sanctuary’s existence, it’s just one of many examples of how almost everyone acts completely out of character all the time in order to keep the plot chugging along.

3. Bruce’s terrible detective skills: The World’s Greatest Detective spends like six issues seriously thinking that either Booster Gold or Harley Quinn is the killer. Booster or Harley! Booster has neither the temperament nor the ability to kill on that level and Harley would never hurt Ivy, plus neither of them are a match for Wally (who is believed to be dead at this point), and Bruce should know that. Again, weak characterization all around, but it’s especially egregious given that King wrote Batman for A HUNDRED ISSUES.

2. Wally’s character assassination: This is a three-parter:

2a. Logistical: It makes no fucking sense. Wally got his own corpse to the crime scene by traveling five days into the future and killing his future self. Everyone sees the corpse. Then Booster, Ted, Harley, and Babs talk him out of killing himself. But...he already did that and everyone saw the corpse, so now we have a paradox that’s never addressed.

2b. Moral: The comics have tried desperately to walk Wally’s actions back in the past two years, emphasizing that he didn’t mean to kill TWELVE PEOPLE, including one of his best friends. It was an accident! But he still framed Booster and Harley for literally no reason except to create a whodunnit, set them on each other which could have easily ended fatally for Booster, and then sent everyone’s private information to the media (which again, the comic frames as somehow noble and necessary, but which is actually deeply unethical). So you made this beloved 60-year-old hero into a villain...why, exactly? Just so it would be surprising? Cool, great work, Captain Edgelord.

2c. Metatextual: This comic spins out of Rebirth Special #1. The New 52 erased Wally from continuity and then brought him back as the younger, biracial Wally (and this isn’t the place to get into fandom’s response to that and DC’s response to fandom’s response so let’s just say they are both YIKES MCGIKES and leave it at that). Rebirth Special #1 brought him back, and the return of the “real” (white) Wally (again: yikes) heralded a new universe that was lighter and happier and contained way more fan favorites. It was literally branded as a gift to fans, embodied in Wally West.

In Heroes in Crisis, Wally is crushed by the weight of everyone being so happy he’s there and loving him so much while he’s struggling with grief and depression, and that’s why he snaps. It’s the metatextual equivalent of having Wally look at the reader and say “You’re happy I’m back and comics can be lighter now? Well, FUCK YOU, YOU RUINED EVERYTHING.” It essentially blames the reader for having Wally go evil, because the reader loves Wally too much.

King, what the fuck?

1. The overall message: Heroes in Crisis was sold as a thoughtful exploration of mental health and trauma, instead of just another bloodbath. Instead, it killed a dozen characters in its first issue and dicked around for another seven with an uninspired whodunnit before throwing a beloved hero in the garbage. But in the meantime, it manages to say:

Trauma is unavoidable.

But therapy doesn’t help.

Trying it does more harm than good.

If you’re struggling, you are a danger to others and don’t deserve privacy.

Good luck with that.

Therapy literally saved my life. This comic enrages me. This comic is harmful. Superhero comics as a whole have a lot to answer for when it comes to discussions of mental illness, but at least some random issue of Batman where Bruce thoughtlessly throws another “looney” into Arkham isn’t billed as a sympathetic take on PTSD. Our culture already discourages asking for help, and we don’t need a pretentious funnybook miniseries helping with that.

(If you made it all the way to the end of this post and you are struggling with trauma, depression, PTSD, whatever...please do look into therapy. I promise you it’s nothing like this comic.)

In conclusion, Heroes in Crisis is bad and it should feel bad.

THE END.