#the hero of our story

[lastoneout]

ngl ALL of across the spiderverse was fantastic but that short scene where we got to see a disabled spider-person using a wheelchair and crutches while STILL kicking ass AND making jokes and puns about said mobility aids while doing so singlehandedly cured my depression and added 500 years to my lifespan <3

[redhoodie1723]

esteban ocon being considered really tall when he's shorter than my dad, brothers, and a lot of my male friends is so funny to me

part 2 part 3

[codenamesazanka]

tbh, 'saving' the villains in bnha feels a lot more like exorcism. (but worse.) There's a nearly-inhuman evil that's threatening to destroy everything; it turns out that this evil arose from some great human tragedy that occurred in the past; 'saving' is solely saving the heart, the spirit, the soul - by reminding the villain of things like family, love, friendship, giving them a moment of clarity; then the villain dies for good and leaves the world in peace, because it's too late to address or repair the tragedy, too late to ever make them part of the world again; and the living are left with a bittersweet sense of 'gee, that sure was sad' and 'if only the tragedy didn't occur/things were different', but there's nothing to do except 'I won't forget them'.

And like those are fine - in a story about lingering spirits and exorcism. I'm thinking like Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Dandadan, the new Gegege no Kitaro movie. The dangerous and destructive spirits in those stories often have been terribly wronged by social injustice that they rise from the dead full of rage and seeking indiscriminate vengeance. No duh these spirits have to be stopped, and they are, by the main characters. They're sometimes stopped by a fight, yeah, but also by appeasing the wounded soul by treating them as human again - particularly when these main characters aren't actually exorcists, nor are people who have anything to do with the grudge, just people who stumbled upon this cursed scenario but feel the need to help out of human compassion.

The thing is - when the spirits disappear into air, it's fine because they were dead all along. There's nothing else to do except move on. I don't think it's fine at all for the Villains of HeroAca to kill themselves or die - basically saying there's no place for them in the world anymore (because the heroes aren't willing to create one) so they need to also move on to the next.

It's fine for the heroic characters of exorcism stories just simply say 'I won't forget' and just feel sad about the tragedy they just discovered. Simply being there as witness. They aren't official/legal guardians of society, not like the Pro-Heroes of HeroAcaLand. They have no obligation or duty they signed up for. Meanwhile, pro-Heroes do. they should be addressing societal injustice head-on, looking for the causes of tragedies that create villains and preventing them; should've been doing that all along, or at the very least realize that during the final act (and not afterwards - and barely at that.) failing to do so means they failed in the final battle, and so didn't actually win, and especially not be called "greatest heroes."

"Supernatural Evil is created from much more mundane but just as soul-crushing evil, and it is a profound tragedy, and we gotta deal with this concentrated accumulation of hatred, pain, resentment, usually by righting a wrong/destroying the source of mundane evil/giving the spirit peace." Great! but because bnha is not a ghost exorcism story and the protags are explicitly heroes who are supposed to save people (and also have a degree of control over whether tragedy occurs in the society they preside over), it's not even a good and satisfying ghost exorcism story

[beanghostprincess]

I am sure Horikoshi was born to write shoujo and forced to write shonen

[halfratsalready]

So we got Sara narrating the Enter the Danceverses trailer and Night Swan doing the Dance With the Swan trailer, so… do you guys think we’ll get Jack’s voice for JD25 story mode’s trailer?

[animentality]

I know everyone wants stories with happy endings, and they all hate when the main characters die, and insist well what's the point of the story then, it didn't matter at all! they died!

but.

I don't know. do the stories of those who die at the end not matter at all?

because if that's the case, I have news about the stories told by everyone who has ever lived in this world.

we all die at the end. we are all doomed by the narrative.

but our stories still matter.

[silverwhittlingknife]

"the fault, dear Brutus -" (Julius Caesar)

Quotes from A Critical History of English Literature by David Daiches. Panels from Death in the Family, Under the Red Hood, Lost Days, and Batman and Robin.

[mourn-and-watch]

so if solas sees himself in the inquisitor because of how they were made a leader, a prophet and a symbol by people who followed them, just as fen'harel had been made a leader and a saviour for by the freed elven slaves, will he see himself in rook because they're left alone against the threat they can't possibly defeat without singlehandedly making decisions that will impact the world in unknown ways, just as fen'harel had been left alone against evanuris with no other option but to create the veil

[luck-of-the-drawings]

smth smth about 'the thing that the character did that you thought was rly rly funny in the moment is actually linked to a terrible trauma that lies within said character.' or wahtever.

[anetherealpoetess]

the rings of power being about the wolves we knowingly let into our homes because there are wolves inside of us that might need some friends is so !!!!!!!!

[writingdevil]

Tongues and Teeth PT.8 (STP)

The next day,everyone woke up with one mission in mind-Find Hero.

Skeptic and Smitten had been quiet that morning as they extinguished the fire and prepared to set off,but as the day went on,they grew more confident,until they were almost like their outspoken selves again,and Paranoid found them to be leading the search for Hero,which he didn't object to.

"You really think Hero will want to see us?"Broken asked,preening the feathers on his arms for comfort,and Smitten threw the smaller bird a bright smile as he said,"Of course he will!He's our beloved Knight!He's always looked out for us."

But then Skeptic gave them all a more-realistic reply."But we also think something's up with him,so don't be surprised if he's acting weird."

Smitten shot the other a glare for dampening the mood,but Skeptic just shrugged,and looked ahead again.

Paranoid looked over at Oppy from the other end of their group,to find him already looking over at him, and Oppy just gave him a wide and self-assured smile while straightening up,before he subtley shifted the smile to a soft one,which only lasted a second,lifting the mask for a single moment,just for Paranoid.

It shouldn't of calmed him as much as it did.

They kept walking for about a half an hour without any luck,when Contrarian slid up next to him, nudging him lightly as he said,"Hey."

Paranoid looked down at him in confusion."Hey?"

Contrarian smiled,but it looked nervous,and he kept his eyes on the ground as he asked,"So,uh,just wanted to ask-let's say we do find Hero,and it's all 'yay the gang's back together!'and-um-"

"What is it?"

"Well,I was just wondering...what do we do after that?"

Paranoid bit his lip to stop a burst of anxious laughter from escaping,because that was the exact question that he had been avoiding like the plague.

There's nothing Paranoid feared more than the unknown,because it was so easy for something to surprise them,and that was where Paranoid came in-to worry about everything and not trust anybody.It was his job to keep them alert and worried,because nothing made sense in that cabin, and that meant that they were in danger of everything.

Right now,it was just a different predicament with the same worries.How do they stay safe?Who can they trust?What's really going on here?Just because there wasn't an Echo looming over their heads anymore,doesn't mean that there couldn't be another being pulling the strings.

His chant was always in the back of his throat,ready to keep everyone from falling apart and succumbing to the numbness of death.But after they found Hero-would they need to be that scared anymore?

There wasn't a cabin.There wasn't a princess.There wasn't an Echo.

There were still monsters,and there was still the woods with paths to walk,but that didn't answer Contrarian's question,because the truth was-Paranoid didn't know.

He didn't know what to do after they've found Hero, and that terrified him.

It had been easy to ignore at first,when they were busy with finding the others,but now that the flock was almost complete,that dreaded question was rearing its ugly head again,and Paranoid wanted to just run away from it forever.

Contrarian could clearly sense Paranoid's floundering,and just as he was about to speak,Cold came up on Paranoid's other side,silent,but Paranoid's learned to sense his presence.

"Does it matter?"Cold asked,looking over Paranoid's head and down at Contrarian,who was surprised at his words."What?"

"Does it matter what happens afterwards?"Cold asked,"Asking questions like that just seem pointless to me.Agonising over the future takes all the fun out of it if you ask me.Besides,"then Cold looked ahead again and shrugged,"it can't be that awful if we're all still together.We won't find out alone."

Contrarian gazed up at Cold with a blank look on his face,before a bright grin split his face.He giggled as he said,"Yeah,I can get behind that!"

Surprisingly,Paranoid found that he could too.The unknown suddenly seemed less scary when he thought about going into it with his flock as well. Paranoid wasn't used to positivity,but for once,he found that things might not be that bad going forward.

But then he soon realised that positivity was a load of bullshit.

Skeptic and Smitten stopped at a particularly thick wall of bushes.Skeptic turned around and gave Stubborn a look,cocking his head towards the green wall."You're up,big guy."

Paranoid only managed to catch a flash of Stubborn and his manic smile,before he rushed forward,ripping the bushes to shreds with overjoyed laughter.

Skeptic only stopped him when Stubborn began to stomp on the torn leaves,and he had to physically pull him away from the mess.

Skeptic turned back around-and froze-and Paranoid could swear that Smitten was shaking with a look of horror in his eyes.

"What's the hold up?"Cheated asked,as they were blocking the sight in front of them.A nagging fear whispered in the back of Paranoid's mind,as neither Skeptic nor Smitten answered them.

Cheated sighed in annoyance,then pushed himself to the front,until he was shoving the two birds away as he angrily said,"What the hell is wrong with you-"

Until they all saw it.

There was a hill.A tall hill where the sun shone down invitingly on the soft looking grass,practically begging for them to stop and rest.But at the top of that hill-was a cabin.

A cabin.

A cabin.

No.

No no no no no no no!

"Why is there a cabin?"Contrarian asked,pure fear in his voice,despite the frozen smile on his face. Skeptic stammered,for once offering no logical explanation or helpful questions to the conversation.

Paranoid clutched the feathers on his chest, shoulders rising up in tension as he couldn't stop staring at that fucking cabin.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

Paranoid believed that they were waiting for someone to narrate their next steps.

But then there was a flash of movement from farther away,a blur of black that had Paranoid momentarily come out of his petrified state.

"Hero?"he whispered,and then he saw Hunted's wings twitch as he turned to look at Paranoid,and nodded once.

It was him.

"Hero!"Paranoid yelled,pushing past everyone and effectively shaking them out of whatever blind terror that had come over them.As soon as he passed Skeptic,any and all fear was being mixed with determination to reach their leader,and suddenly there was no cabin,no path,no woods-only Hero.

He ran out onto the field,yelling,"Hero!"and saw the way Hero froze,then looked over at him,only for Paranoid to feel a wave of grief hit him,and tears welled up in his eyes.

God-he looked so much like the Long Quiet that it hurt.

Paranoid pushed past the grief,instead waving his arms out and going,"Hero!We're all here,Hero!"He motioned back towards the others,who had started to excitedly run up to him,all smiling and calling Hero over.

But then Paranoid studied Hero's face,and all he saw was despair.

Their eyes locked,and then Hero sprinted for the cabin.

"What's he doing?"Oppy yelled,but Paranoid couldn't figure it out.All he knew was that he had to reach the cabin first.

So he ran."Heart,lungs,liver,nerves.Heart,lungs, liver,nerves."He said his chant with a biting tone,as if it was a curse instead of a life-saving mantra.

Behind him,he heard flapping and the others screaming Hero's name,pleading for Hero to stop, but he didn't even turn to look back at them.

They had gotten halfway up the hill,with Hero a little ahead of them,when Hunted suddenly screamed,"More danger to the right!"

Paranoid stopped in his tracks,just as a monster burst from the trees,its body a cylindrical shape with arms for legs,but it seemed much better at moving than the first monster they encountered. But the worst thing about this monster,in Paranoid's opinion,were the eyes that covered its entire body.

Immediately,there was that horrible itching sensation of needing to scratch and claw at every inch of his body that those eyes were looking at.He didn't want that creature looking at him.He didn't want people watching him!

He whimpered,running a hand down his face aggressively,when he heard a roar cry be let out, and he made himself to look,as the monster came barrelling towards their group,and Stubborn and Cheated ran to meet it,a fire in their eyes,ready to fight and protect.

Everything erupted into chaos immediately.Skeptic and Cold were quick to shoot into the sky and join the battle,while Broken clutched Hunted's hand, who didn't look like he was going to leave the smaller bird's side anytime soon.Contrarian was in the sky as well,but with a mischievous grin on his face that had Smitten holding him back from the fight,and likely stopping him from making it worse.

Paranoid made the mistake of glancing at the monster again,and he felt his whole body shudder as the sight of all those eyes,and he felt like his body needed to run away and stay completely still at the same time.He didn't know what to do.He didn't know what would keep him from losing his mind.

Thankfully,someone made the choice for him.

"Come on,Jitters!Let's go!"

Paranoid yelped in surprise as Oppy grabbed him and hauled him into the sky,flying straight for the cabin-the same place that Hero was aiming for.

He wanted to turn back around and see his flock, but one sound of that hideous monster attacking kept his head fixed straight ahead.

He felt Oppy squeeze his arms once,then lowered his head to whisper in his ear,"Bring him back to us, Jitters."before letting go.

He grunted as his knees hit the ground,but he just gritted his teeth and made himself keep moving, bolting over to the cabin,which Hero was also making a beeline for.

This close,Paranoid could hear Hero's frantic panting,and see the utter desperation in his eyes. He wouldn't look at Paranoid.

They both ran,closer and closer to the door,until they both shot their arms out.

Hero's fingers curled around the handle-

-but Paranoid gripped Hero's wrist tighter,almost tearing skin with his claws,forbidding him from turning the handle.

They both crashed to their knees in front of the door,practically slamming into the wood,and all there was,was the sound of their panting,and the fight behind them.

He felt Hero wriggle in his grip.

"Do not fucking move!"he snarled,twisting his head to glare at Hero,who was leaning his forhead against the door,a defeated look in his eyes.

They sat like that for a few seconds,catching their breath,until the anger slowly left Paranoid's body, and all that was left was concern.

"Hero,"he whispered,"what's wrong?What are you doing?"

Hero closed his eyes,his face scrunching up in confliction.Then,he said,"I need to get in there."

"No,we can't-"

"I need to see Him again."

Paranoid froze,and when Hero opened his eyes, there were tears threatening to spill.

"What do you mean?"Paranoid softly asked,and it suddenly felt like it was just them in the world now, like how it had been when they faced the Nightmare together.

Hero tried to breathe,but it came out as more of a gasp as he said,"I just need to go into the cabin and find Him again.Then everything will be alright."

"How do you know that?How do you know that everything will be okay?"

Hero's silence gave him his answer.

He felt Hero try to break free,but Paranoid kept an iron hold on his wrist,and he scooted closer and leaned his head down to say,"Hero,we can't risk whatever it is you're trying to do.It's not worth it."

He saw Hero's eyes flash with pain at his words,and he just stared at the door almost longingly for a minute or two,and Paranoid could tell that Hero's mind was somewhere far away,probably somewhere with a path of death and repetition and change.

Hero kept staring at the cabin door,until there were tears falling down his face,and he started to quietly sob,his body trembling in grief.

Paranoid just stared at him as Hero whispered,"I didn't know."

Paranoid opened his mouth to reply,but once he started,Hero didn't stop.

"I-I didn't know.I didn't know He would leave us.I thought-I thought that we'd get to go with Him."

He paused as another sob escaped from him, squeezing his eyes shut as his grip on the handle tightened before going slack,then tightening again.

The tears ran down his cheeks and dripped onto his feathers,letting them sparkle in the light.

"S-So I thought that if I found a cabin,then maybe-maybe I could see Him again.Maybe everything could go back to the way it was before,and we'd be in His head again."

Paranoid's heart broke at the fleeting hope in his voice,until it was drowned out by his crying,and he closed his eyes to press his forehead against the door.

"I just want to see Him again,"he wept,before surrendering to his grief then and there.

Paranoid was at a loss for words.

It broke his heart to watch their kind leader fall apart like this.

Hero was trying to bring the Long Quiet back to them?Even going so far as to bring back the whole cycle?He knew that Hero had been there in His final moments in the cabin-did he believe that he would get to go with them?

How did he feel when he woke up in a completely new body,and not as a voice anymore?Did he feel devastated?Abandoned?Did he think that the Long Quiet no longer cared about him?

After all,what good was a hero without someone to protect?

His thoughts were broken by the sound of the fight behind them,and all of their flock keeping the monster at bay.Every single one of them had taken to their newfound freedom differently.But no matter if they were devastated or ecstatic at the situation-they all found their way back to each other.

Paranoid had been terrified at the start,but the one thing he knew was that he had to find his flock, because he knew that he felt safer-no,happier, walking this path with them by his side.

"Hero,"he whispered,gazing at the other's empty look,but he still slightly moved his head towards him to say that he was listening.

"He is gone...but we're still here."

Paranoid tilted his head up and blinked back tears, his breath coming out shaky before he continued, "He made the decision to leave the cabin with the Shifting Mound.He made that choice of His own true,free will-and you want to take that away from Him?I know you miss Him-we all miss Him so much.But He's free now,and He can finally make His own choices without dying over and over again."

He felt the salt of his tears in his mouth,and he was aware that Hero was weeping again."All we can do is be happy for Him,that He can finally live the life He wants to live,and I know that He would want the same for you,for all of us."

Hero lifted his head properly,and despite the tears, Paranoid could see some light returning to his eyes. Paranoid smiled as he said,"We're not just voices anymore.We can make our own choices now-just like Him."

Hero let go of the handle.

He sat up straight,cheeks still damp,and he finally looked behind him."You all-"he began,voice rough and raw from crying,"-you all came for me?" Paranoid nodded,then took his hand."Of course we came for you.You're our Hero,and you're part of the flock."

Tears once again shone in his eyes,but Paranoid could tell that they were happy tears this time.Hero gave him a small smile and said,"I missed you all too."

Paranoid squeezed his hand in reassurance,and Hero's smile grew bigger.Everything was going to be okay-

"WATCH OUT!"

Paranoid had no time to act,as the monster came rushing towards them,upper half of its body swinging wildly for them.There was no time to move,no time to escape.Its shadow was already drenching them in darkness.

All he could do was let Hero pull him to his chest, angling his body so that he would take the brunt of the blow.

But neither of them ended up getting hurt.

"PARANOID!"

He turned,just in time to see Oppy dive in front of them,instantly getting thrown and slamming into a huge boulder in the distance.

He didn't get up.

[crvngefrvll]

Fanfictions taught me to never think that I am "not good" or "not pretty" enough for someone ever again.

I MEAN I legit have seen the most questionable creatures, cranks, animagus, werewolves, etc and their human partner will still be like "you're the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my life" AKAJAJAJJAJAJAJ

I have seen every human feature and imperfections possible; Freckles, moles, acne, scars, cuts, bruises, callouses, pockmarks, limps, blood, wounds, flesh, bones, black veins,and bites with their skin slightly tingling as their love interest plants kisses all over their bodies

"But I (have/am) a disease/mental illness/disability/traumatic past/suicidal thoughts/self harm scars/ the chosen one/on the run/..."

"I love you."

So, that will be it, friends. Learn fron your favorite fanfictions, tropes, ships and fictional characters. DO NOT let anyone think that you're "not pretty enough" and "not good enough" for someone. You are lovable. You WILL find the right person. <3

-April.

[thisisntreaver]

Thinking once more about the chain of events of fable and how if William had been able to destroy his mask Jack wouldn't have attacked Oakvale and the hero of oakvale and Theresa could have had normal lives. Theresa never would have butted in Lucien could have had a chance to grieve healthily and he wouldn't have killed Rose and Sparrow wouldn't have spent their entire early life on a quest for vengeance that wouldn't sooth the hurt. The darkness would never have entered Albion and Logan and the HOBW would never be pit against each other. And if none of that had happened Gabriel would have just been able to live his life.

Which is a really long winded way to say this is all Jack fault

[pigeons-with-jello]

Id kill to see arthurs reaction to the fandom. I know people talk about kayne being an insane fangirl, but how will he feel when he sees the mass, the sea of people just like his tormentor. We vote on how everything will go wrong then cheer and liveblog while kicking our feet then draw it then write it then relisten to it until our headphones die then we listen to it on our phone speaker. Debatably, we are worse than kayne because of the shear number of us, because we view kayne how kayne views arthur, as well because yes hes a god, but hed look really cute holding hands with arthur. Am i making any sense? Is this anything?

[seantaeanewgenie]

I've been seeing this meme recently and I felt Bolo and Chef Girl Emma from my Shantae fic were a perfect fit.

They're two halves of a whole idiot.