#which tbh gaia is

[someabsolutenonsense]

Some horrid scribbles based on my friendship bracelets poll

[spookyoffduty]

i've been going through so much brain rot and silly content lately idek how i've yet to lose all my brain cells, i'm just like my roblox avatar rn frfr

anyways since it's april fools n everything is shitpost it seemed like a good time to post these doodles (super sonic might be the only normal thing here) enjoy!!

closeups vvvv

happy april fools day to all!!

[tvrningout-a]

i should've switched to writing original stuff ages ago bc i could've been overcoming writer's block if i did :' )

[onepiexe]

i havent done anything manual labor in so long

[wingscreation]

hm this is a bit interesting to say the least. I'm not really iffy about time travel in general and parallel universes could be interesting if done right.. just a lot to think about

Link to article

https://www.eurogamer.net/naoki-yoshida-on-dawntrail-criticism-community-feedback-and-the-future-of-final-fantasy-14

[universalmofo]

okay i finished heroes of olympus a couple days ago and here are some of my thoughts :

-nico should’ve been a part of the seven. he was essential to the success of the quest in numerous capacities and one of the big three’s kids. it made NO sense to me that he wasn’t one of the seven. (on that note, i think it did make sense that thalia wasn’t one of the seven. she has been with the hunters for some time and she was presumed a tree for like a long time.)

-grover could’ve very very easily taken coach hedges part in hoo. grover was already out looking for percy, so if he was already looking for percy and if annabeth found out that a “clue” to where percy was, was at the wilderness school grover would’ve jumped at the opportunity to go and try and figure out what was going on at the school by acting as a student again. he would’ve been back at camp by the end of the lost hero and he would have, what, 6 (?) months to go spread a warning to the wilderness about gaia and get things in order before they took off on the argo ii. and he could’ve been trying to communicate with percy via empathy link the ENTIRE time he was doing other stuff.

-it was just lazy of rick to write out grover tbh. and even tyson who came all the way across the country for percy. only for them to have extremely limited amount of time spent together (which makes sense, but this would’ve been HUGE for percy).

-it has been stated over and over and over again that quests should only be taken on by three. this quest was the biggest task they had ever faced, with far too much at stake. therefore, the prophecy of the seven should’ve been a utter tragedy ( one could even say a modern greek tragedy ) where they all accepted that four of them would Not be finishing this quest alive. that they were all willing to give themselves up for the greater good.

which four should’ve lived, i think percy, nico, annabeth and leo. (this pickings are biased and based on the idea that nico should’ve been included in the seven prophecy, if nico is not included then frank or hazel could take his place, but also these choices are based on their importance to the quest and their strength/ability)

- there was no need for there to be so many couples in the group of seven. it caused a huge lack in my opinion of actual friendship development.

there was very little actual friendship development/ vibes even in the lost hero when piper and leo HAVE been friends for MONTHS??? also this continues to be an issue in the rest of the books where piper and jason literally leave leo out or there is a comment along the lines of “he knew to give them their space”.

rick constantly threw in comments about how hazel and piper had become closer, or piper and annabeth had become “best friends” while not actually showing that. same thing with the boys. the only example i can think of where there was some real development was that conversation leo and frank had when they were at the bottom of the ocean.

they never had moments of them all sitting and talking besides about strategy.

- and on THAT note piper and jason never should’ve started dating. it was forced. it just seemed like the thing they should do after hera forced these memories in pipers head. quite frankly, it was a huge missed opportunity for a storyline in which leo and piper had been dating and hera shoved jason in between those memories and leo piper and jason are all SUPER pissed about that, or a storyline about how jason and piper try to figure out if there’s something there the entirety of the lost hero but the reason it just doesn’t feel right to jason becomes more obvious to him as he slowly develops a crush on leo.

there were just a LOT more interesting ways to go about that trio and none of them happened which made that entire dynamic fall flat for me and i think a lot of people.

which makes sense why frank leo and hazel worked SO much better and were believably close and connected. (even if frank and hazel were mainly the audience being told they like one another and not shown)

-percy was slightly off throughout the books. i believe even rick admitted he had a hard time writing percy in these books since he hadn’t for a while.

-did we ever find out why leo and piper were totally fine out in the world even tho they were 15??? i don’t remember this being explained??

-i distinctly remember jason getting some memories back and remembering frank and hazel as his friends AND hazel or frank discussing jason as a friend in son but then in house of hades or maybe mark of athena or blood of olympus (i can’t remember), hazel thinks to herself that she was still not sure what to think of jason? like she couldn’t tell what was going on underneath the surface? as if they hadn’t been friends or ever met before the quest?

-nico and percy are friends at the end of the day. percy is on some level protective over nico and nico is connected to percy / cares about him even if he doesn’t have a crush on him. they have a very interesting dynamic but at the end of the day, if percy went missing for MONTHS, nico would’ve been looking for him. and he most definitely would’ve not just pretended to entirely not know him when he came to camp jupiter??? especially when percy asked if he knew nico. that was SO weird to me. i was expecting them to have a conversation, even if nico gave him very brief and vague info.

on that train of thought, percy WOULD NEVER doubt the idea of rescuing nico??? his fatal flaw is LOYALTY. no matter how pissed he was at nico he would never question if they should even save nico. even if NOT for nico, it was kinda established that percy felt like an older brother to hazel (even tho this dynamic was never again touched on or seen), which again, he is loyal to those he cares about so he would be willing to do it, if not for nico, then for sure for hazel.

-percy never says i love you or i love you back to annabeth until blood of olympus. which is CRAZY and sooo not percy in my opinion.

-why the hell were mark of athena and house of hades the hardest parts of the entire quest ??? fighting gaia should’ve taken up the the majority or better yet, the ENTIRETY of boo, similarly to the last olympian.

i think this came down to a poorly paced series. rick could’ve broken his formula in tlh and son and moved the stories along faster. have the annabeth reunion in son or make the books longer.

- leo and nico would’ve been an interesting dynamic and quite frankly, they could’ve been a very cute couple. both feel like they are always on the outskirts / like they don’t fit in, both have complicated and sad familial issues, both of their mothers died because of the gods in some regard, both have never had a stable home, both speak other languages, both don’t have any other family then their godly parents, both have constantly been running their whole lives and haven’t been able to make real connections and friends.

the fact that i could even come up with this many makes me even more mad cause my lord. what a missed opportunity.

-leo was the heart of the entire quest. he literally CARRIED for five books straight and he was paid DUST.

i hated his ending.

you’re telling me that he literally has spent a year, fighting alongside his friends, building a ship for them to be able to carry out this quest, living with them, caring about them, and then “sacrificing” himself and all that mattered to him was A GIRL??? his FIRST priority was calypso??? not even letting his friends know that he was ALIVE??

on that subject, why wouldn’t he tell them his entire plan? if he was gonna tell hazel and frank that he was going to die anyways?

-percy losing his heroes blessing or whatever it’s called?? 😐 it seems like rick just needed a reason to get rid of this? it honestly just made no sense.

- and last but very not least ( i can’t believe i almost forgot ) WHAT WAS RICK THINKING NOT HAVING PERCY OR ANNABETH’s POV’s in BOO????

i gotta be real y’all i did not know i had so many opinions/ issues with the books until i started doing this.

anyways, mark of athena and house of hades are by far the best books of this series and also the most gripping and well written. please remind me if i miss remembered something and am wrong.

[somewhereincairparavel]

People don't talk enough about the fact that the moment annabeth truly started respect Jason was the aftermath of the incident in ithaca. After Jason came face to face with his mom's ghost trying to lure him into gaia's trap.

This was not only a pivotal Jason moment but a huge stepping stone in annabeths character development.

She was able to compare Jason's situation to Luke's, and realised how truly noble Jason was, since he could've easily ended up like Luke considering the familial issues they both had, but didn't. Annabeth always worried in MOA that jason would turn his back on the team, but He didn't give in to the remnant of his mother's temptation of evil, even after all that he's been through. Which caused her to understand that jason is very trustworthy and is like the last person to betray anyone.

A part of me wonders that annabeths real reason to mistrust jason is only partly because he is Roman, and mostly because he bore some sort of resemblance to Luke, which was quite painful for her since she trusted luke only for him to backstab her. This may be a stretch, but it's a Lil theory I had.

’Annabeth took a shaky breath. ‘No other right choice, maybe, but ... a friend of mine, Luke. His mom . . . similar problem He didn’t handle it as well.’

I feel like, based on her tone when she talked about luke to Jason here, this is also the moment she truly realised that she shouldn't have put luke in a pedestal like that, even after the evil stuff he did. She realised that Luke could've changed, but he chose not to, and chose revenge instead, to me, this is the moment she FINALLY came to that painful conclusion about Luke, many many books later. Bc even in lost hero, annabeth seemed very wistful while talking about Luke to Jason (I mean, jason even sensed nostalgic attraction from her tone, so there's that).

I also feel like that's the moment annabeth was freed of her doubt of Jason's intentions. We know that she was very mistrustful of him during MOA and I feel like she always had that lingering doubts up until this moment tbh. But based on what she witnessed, she realised that Jason was truly a good person with a good heart with genuine morals. A hero through and through. Which is what made her admit to Apollo that "Jason was truly one of the best of us" a VERY high praise coming from a child of Athena, who's fatal flaw is hubris.

[horizontwinflames]

Since Aloy has a load of titles and nicknames in canon, what titles and nicknames do you think Beta will have in canon and Twin Flames?

When it comes to canon, I think Beta might be called a lot as "Aloy's sister" by people outside the Gaia gang, which I think it can be a good trigger/reason for her to want to grow, thus leading to her character development.

But as for actual nicknames... "little red" or "small flame-hair" are some that come to my mind (in reference to her short hair). I can see Kotallo calling her "cadet" and for whatever the reason Erend nicknaming her "sprocket." I also imagine Alva calling her "sweetie" but that's my liking for their ship talking tbh LOL.

Now, as for Twin Flames, the sisters will always have matching nicknames. Petra calls them "big fire" (Aloy) and "lil fire" (Beta), for example. Their nicknames from the Nora people: "twin flames" (referencing both), "flame demon" (Aloy), and "flame ghost" (Beta) also spread out later in the story.

The Eclipse ends up calling Aloy "blood moon" and Beta "hell's sun." Sylens calls them "Young Sobecks" (when referencing both or in singular when talking to one of them).

As for some comedic relief, Hephaestus calls Aloy "noisy headache" and Beta "migraine" lmao

If I come up with more nicknames, you'll see in the story xD

[bamber344]

ok so i finished nona, and am officially caught up with the locked tomb series, and here are some thoughts off the top of my head. Most of them are questions lol

obviously spoilers

gideon nav is my favourite protagonist in the universe and i am deeply in love with her

i don't understand why nona was white on the cover of nona, i thought it was pretty established that harrow had brown skin and it was even explicitly stated in nona that she had brown skin. weird.

I have absolutely no idea what that ending was for nona, i could barely understand it, all i know is that harrow was properly there somehow???? and ianthe called alecto a slut, which was funny

kiriona gaia makes me incredibly sad cuz that's my bbg gideon but also not at the same time :((((

the dream sequences in nona were confusing but also enlightening. It was cool hearing about how the resurrection happened, but i'm still not really clear on who the pov character was or even who tf alecto is

so alecto was like,,, sick??? and then she died??? but her soul was super op for some reason, which is how john was able to start doing all that soul stuff and become god??? and then he adam and eve'd her and i get it after that bit but huhhhh????

my lack of comprehension for nona is frustrating because i understood harrow perfectly from the get-go and realised what was happening pretty early on, despite how much of a clusterfuck that book was. even the stuff i didn't know i figured out by the end, but now after finishing nona i still have so many questions arrarargkhar

i'm still not even clear on who nona was, like??? Obv it's harrow's body, but i thought it was like, a fragment of gideon's soul controlling her, but was it alecto the whole time? i'll need to reread this one tbh. I miss the simplicity of the murder mystery in GTN. Those were simpler times.

tamsyn pls, alecto the ninth 2024

anyway, i think that's about it. what a fucking series. I haven't been this enthralled in a book series since like, ever. I got them all for christmas and i'm already done with them less than two weeks later. absolutely nuts. gideon and harrow need to return to their bodies normally, fully formed, with all their soul bits in the right places, and just fucking kiss already.

[altocat]

Ngl, it gonna be tragic as hell if Vincent was Sephiroth's dad, a father who has to kill his own son for the sake of Gaia, but it also adds a lot more depth to his character so I am not going to complain. I am fine with anyone being Sephiroth's dad, be it Hojo or Vincent, Sephiroth gonna be traumatized either way lmao.

Hojo being Sephiroth's dad is purely messed up, to be able to perform all of THAT on your son is crazy, Square Enix has never revealed to us Hojo's motivation which led to his inhumane decisions (Prob since he is a one-sided villain, a shame really) but we can all agree that Hojo being Sephiroth's dad is just emphasizing the fact that Sephiroth IS Shinra's victim, purely messed up.

But Vincent, on the other hand, Vincent being Sephiroth's dad is just... sad, a tragedy honestly. Vincent has never been my favorite tbh, I don't hate him it's just that his character is kinda plain. Being Sephiroth's dad makes his miserable life even more tragic, he knows that Sephiroth must be stopped, Sephiroth is insane, more innocent people will be killed if they don't put an end to that monster,... But he can't change the fact that Sephiroth is also his and Lucrecia's son, and he kills him. Without a doubt, that is his biggest sin and it gonna eat him alive till his last breath, and Vincent is pretty likely to live a very long life, thanks to Hojo.

Sorry for these long ass lines lol, I just want to have somewhere to ramble my thoughts.

Ditto on ALL of this.

Even if it turns out that Vincent isn't the father, I'm satisfied either way. It's tragic any which way you look at it. And regardless of whether or not their related, Vincent's relationship to Sephiroth is still very sad given the trauma Hojo put both of them through!

[in7ernt-ju1ce]

PJO Heroes DemiGods Vs Villains Demigods AU but different-

Percy and Annabeth are a ‘famous’ duo, but they are still focusing on trying to find their niche and balance. Percy never wanted to be a hero so he is struggling to adapt to his position. While Annabeth only wants to make her mother proud of her, but she is still struggling.

Luke is still a Villain, but instead it more like he is working in a Villian company type thing. Like: Kronos is the CEO while Luke is under him but trying to rise to overthrow him.

Jason is a hero ‘that gone bad’. Octavian managed to find out that Thaila is related to Jason and saw her talking to Luke, which was actually her trying to either bring him back to her side or refusing to work with Luke, and ran with the story. So Jason kind of joins Luke’s side because he thinks his sister is there and Luke doesn’t say otherwise.

Leo is a Villain- BECAUSE!! Gaia doesn’t give him a choice and forces him to be her project/minion, he doesn’t want to be and is always trying to get out of doing jobs for her. But he gets into some shady places with gangs and in a lot of trouble and has to work under Luke as Kronos got him out of this ‘trouble’.

Piper is a Villain, mainly because of her father. She wanted his attention, as well as promised safety, so she works under Kronos/Gaia.

Nico and Hazel are Heroes, although Nico is still really angry because of his sister dying from being a Hero before him.

Will is a Villain! HEAR ME OUT- It was a bad decision, but in a moment of weakness and promised safety for his family and lover, he joined Luke and Kronos. He refuses to do any jobs other then healing the innocent that were injured or being the ‘Villain’ DayBringer around his friends and family to keep them safe from actual harm.

Frank is a Hero, I honestly don’t believe he could ever bring himself to harm anyone unless they hurt Hazel or threaten his family and friends.

Reyna is a Hero, who was destroyed when Jason turned ‘evil’.

The lost hero follows Jason, Leo and Piper trying to remember their past and correct their mistakes.

The son of Neptune follows Percy, Hazel and Frank trying to find the missing ‘Villains’ before they cause havoc while Percy tries to get his memories back.

Mark of Athen is Annabeth trying to prove herself as a hero and fighting personally against Luke to defeat him and turn him into a hero.

House of Hades is Annbeth and Percy in Tartarus while Leo, Jason and Piper are left trying to help them out and prove they have changed into Heroes.

Idk what I’m writing tbh- But yeah-

[silvers-starrway]

for the ask GAMEEEEE 💥🌻🤩🤔

HI MELODY!!!!

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change? Sonic would be trans /j. I guess if there was one thing I would change it's Silver's whole deal, like don't get me wrong I love that he's from the future and it works well with his character but like... I wish there was some kind of explanation. I'd personally change it to maybe the time stones having something to do with it or Gaia/some other powerful force designated him as the timeline's guardian (extra juicy if he's not aware of that/it's against his will). I just feel like there is a lot of lost potential with Silver which I hope IDW will address a lil more since last we saw was him and Blaze just chilling out.

🌻 How often do you read your own fics? Not that often tbh. I think I reread my team dark fic like... last month? but that's really it. I'm a one and done kind of person. Once it's posted I don't wanna see that again!! Unless I'm specifically looking for something to make sure details stay the same between chapters.

🤩 What led to your interest in the fandom? Tbh I think I was always interested in Sonic since I was a kid but ya know, Sonic was kinda cringe and I was trying very hard to not be a cringe kid. So once I got super into Prime I thought to myself... hey fuck it! Cringe is dead! I'm gonna go draw Sonic fanart even if it's bad!!! And holy shit did that open up a whole new world of possibilities. This is the first fandom I've become active in and it's been really nice so far!!

🤔 Would you ever want to write something canon if you got the opportunity? Oh man... I don't know if I could to be honest. I would love to write something for cannon tbh, like a lil miniseries following the Chaotix or some other side characters or put some characters together that don't get a lot of interaction. So I guess the answer to this is yes haha. It's a pretty intense pipe dream honestly but I would love to work a little with Sonic Team whether it was a game or a comic.

Ask game is here!

[ourladyofmaplemurder]

Cheryl & The Blues

A lovely friend of mine pointed something out to me this morning. Namely, the "why" of the blue dress in Season 1, which had led me to the meaning of blue for Cheryl.

I had asked for his insights previously, as he is a costume designer who is far more visually inclined than I, but it wasn't until now that I got a response. (He has always been a RiverHater, but it seems he is coming around. Our flock grows. Praise Mother Gaia.) In any case, he pointed out that this dress is an attempt from Cheryl to embody Cinderella.

Here is a quick paraphrase of what he said:

She is is desperately trying to NOT be Cheryl during this dinner. At one point she even says "It's supposed to be Cinderella who ran away from the ball." Thus, the blue dress is here to help her emulate the "trad wife heterosexual Cinderella." By the end of the scene, she goes full Cheryl and snaps on Archie because her charade doesn't work and everyone still thinks she's a chaotic lesbian.

Lots to unpack here, no?

As we know, Cheryl IS red. So, seeing her in blue (and this is blue, despite the fact that it looks sort of green. A nod to envy, perhaps?) is very strange. Blue is Betty's color, and though Betty is NOT the ultimate trad wife heterosexual, she is coded that way. In fact, much of her internal character conflict is about her having to grapple with being "The Girl Next Door".

So, this dress is Cheryl's attempt to be "The Girl Next Door". It seems so simple now that I think about it, but still.

I think it's interesting that Cheryl invokes Cinderella specifically, rather than Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. Snow White would certainly make sense. She's tortured by an evil mother figure and pale as snow, both things that Cheryl could relate to. There's even poison in that story and we all know how much Penelope loves poison. Sleeping Beauty wouldn't really make sense until after Cheryl's Sweet Water River incident, but still. I think it's kind of interesting how many fairytale princesses we could link to Cheryl.

She chooses Cinderella though. Why? Well, Cinderella is also tormented by an evil mother figure, but her most significant moment is being transformed. Cinderella is lifted from the ashes of her wretched life to go to the ball with the help of her fairy godmother in the hopes of winning the heart of the prince. The prince is clearly Archie and there is no Fairy Godmother. Maybe that's why it doesn't work.

In any case, Cheryl is a lot, even for herself, so it makes sense that she would try to suppress her true colors, so to speak, from time to time to satisfy a particular goal. She is aware that she is too much, at least to some degree at any given moment of the series, so yeah. She whips out the blue when she's trying to tone herself down.

(I'm probably making too much of this, but there's something about Cheryl Blossom and fairytales that just clicks in my mind. It reminds me of Blanche DuBois from Streetcar saying, "I don't want realism, I want magic!" I feel like Cheryl would agree with that. )

Also! Another time that Cheryl wears blue? Toni's bachelorette party in Season 6. This is another time that you could argue she is trying to suppress herself in the interest of being a supportive ex. (Also fascinating that Heather is wearing red! A testament to her love for Cheryl, I think. This IS right before they have their big kiss.)

She also wears blue when she comes up with the idea to kill Percival for Toni's wedding present. It's a sort of "show of support", but we all know she does not support this union and desperately wants Toni back so....

This is also likely why the Sister of Quiet Mercy uniforms are blue. They are symbols of repression for Cheryl specifically. (And Betty too, tbh. I think this 'suppression' narrative probably works for Betty too, but I would need to actually go through and check that. So, for now, let's just focus on Cher Cher.)

Now, Cheryl wears blue pretty often in season 7, but that makes sense considering the fact that she has to suppress herself quite a bit due to the nature of the times. But like, look at this:

These are all moments where Cheryl is actively suppressing her true feelings, in this case, the gay ones. However, what's different about these instances, and these costumes, is that the truth is always poking through. The suppression in the 50's is different. She's not trying to suppress herself FROM herself. Not in the long run. The red accents remind us who she truly is and that she is still Cheryl Blossom underneath that trad wife, heterosexual nonsense she's putting on.

All this to say: When Cheryl is wearing blue she is actively suppressing herself! It's consistent!

ADDENDUM:

Where does this analysis place her River Vixen uniform?

As you can see, it is predominantly blue. However, I do not think that it fits into the "suppression narrative" in the same way as her other blue outfits. The River Vixen uniform is blue, but it's also a symbol of the Town and of Cheryl's sense of belonging within her community. Though I do think the red versions of her Vixen attire that she wears in season 5 are symbolic of her truly owning her place in the town as the Coach of the Vixens and also the Blossom Heir, I don't think she's actively suppressing herself as a River Vixen.

Tune in next time for White and, one day, Green. (Also wondering about Pink.......)

Ciao!

[eorzeanflowers]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 tags

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Tagged by: @miqojak Ty for the tag!!! Sorry it took a hot minute.

Tagging: Uhhhhh, @terminuspride, @fair-fae, @alannah-corvaine, @voidsentprinces, @healerstail, @ahollowgrave, @alicelufenia, @starrysnowdrop, @briar-ffxiv, @driftward

Now to the list! In no real particular order cause I really just drift from thing to thing.

Penny Polendina (RWBY)

I love my quirky little robot girl. She's the absolute best, a brilliant fighter and very emotionally intelligent. She is such a cheerful ideal, someone who tries to see the best in people. She knows when they've gone too far and isn't afraid to stand up for what she wants! Which is the whole core of her little arc. Being a weapon given a soul and all. It is a beautiful story of a little girl who cares so much and wishes to be able to just... be that cheerful little girl without the weight of the world. Its just so sweet.

Honorable mentions: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Oscar, Neo

2. Kafka (Star Rail)

In all honesty she's the reason I'm even playing Star Rail. She is such a mysterious character, with a voice to die for. Yes, Hoyoverse characters tend to be rather shallow (that's a gacha game for ya), but Kafka just hits everything I love in a character. Her character short when she was fully released is... *chef's kiss* just amazing. I will admit, every time she does her ult in game I join her in saying "Boom." ^_^;

Honorable Mentions: March 7th, Stelle (Trailblazer F), Seele, Bronya, Jingliu

3. Lyse (FFXIV)

Shocker, the leading lady of Stormblood is still my favorite? Honestly, all three of the ladies from Stormblood are the trifecta of favorites. (Lyse, Fordola and Yotsuyu) The various storylines that cause them to interact is such a delight. I wasn't too bothered by the whole "Yda was my sister" thing, cause well, Yda was barely in the game post ARR... And like, it was always Yda and Papalymo. Never just one or the other. So when Lyse got the chance to shine and actually take center stage, I was smitten. She's tough, gentle, sassy, collected, brilliant, a bit silly, and more. Such a well written character. I'm still upset she left the scions tbh. Could've added a little hair color diversity by a little bit. :P

Honorable mentions: Aymeric, Hilda, Erenville, Zero, Y'shtola, Thancred, Ryne, Gaia, Minfillia

4. Gideon Nav (The Locked Tomb)

Ok, seriously, this series grabbed me by the throat and would not let me go. Gideon is such a lovely first viewpoint (and I adore all the viewpoint characters). She takes no shit, talks a lotta shit, and can fight a whole heck more shit. The way she interacts with Harrow at first, then the other Necromancers and their Cavaliers is such a delight. Sure you hate Harrowhark so much Gideon, why are you obeying her command to not speak a single word to literally anyone else, hmmmmmmmmmmm?????? Also the gay panic that Gideon seems to have on the regular is just. Great. I don't want to speak too much more on Gideon, cause this series is just great and you should read it.

Honorable mentions: Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Nona, Camilla Hect, Ianthe Tridentarius, Coronabeth Tridentarius.

5. Raiden Ei (Genshin Impact)

Last time it was Eula, now it is Raiden Ei. It is always a toss up between them, if I'm being honest. Ei is just... such a sad puppy? XD Its the best way to describe her. So trapped in her own past and trying to do what would best preserve her sister's memory... She's just SAD guys. Yeah, she may not be the best governing force for her nation, and she indirectly killed a lotta people with her retreating away and leaving a puppet behind, but we the Traveler showed up and fixed things! Also she gets two amazing boss fights, I honestly wish I could do the story one again but I ain't working through Mondstat and Liyue again. >.>;

Honorable mentions: Eula, Alhaithem, Deya, Kamisato Ayaka, Zhongli, Nahida, Navia, the Wanderer, Wriothsley

6. Karlach (Baldur's Gate 3)

KARLACH IS THE BEST AND SHE IS SO SWEET AND LOVELY AND SHOULD NOT HAVE TO GO BACK TO HELL OR DIE OR [redacted]. She is such a lovely goofball that even shows platonic love if you don't romance her and I really think that is great! Her arc tying into Gortash was delightful, bringing her much more into the story instead of just a bystander like a couple of them. (Like out of all the origin companions Astarion barely has any connection to any of the major players in the story, he's pretty self contained tbh.) Her sweetness, the way she says she's gonna eat dirt if you leave her camp, and her cheerful demeanor are just.... Amazing. I'm really running out of words for Karlach cause she is my favorite. I'm gonna have to start BG3 up again and actually play my romance run of her soon.

Honorable mentions: Shadowheart, Wyll, Astarion, Lae'zel, Dammon, Orin, Jaheira, Minthara, Isobel, Aylin

7. The Doctor (Doctor Who)

Ok, a bit of a cop out since, you know, they are the star of the show. BUT COME ON. The Doctor in their various iterations have been so enjoyable. My personal favorite is Tennet's 10, but Capaldi's 12 is a strong second. Its just a good show to binge at times. There are a lottta good episodes, a few really bad ones, but overall its a good time. The scene at the end of the special where they rescue Gallifrey is still one of my favorite scenes in the whole franchise. And hell, the Archeologist is based (loosely) on them, so how can I not include them?

Honorable mentions: DONNA NOBLE, Rose Tyler, Clara Oswald, Bill Potts, Me, Strax

8. Xion (Kingdom Hearts)

Have I mentioned I love tragic characters? Xion is literally the definition of tragedy, with all the problems with her just existing lol. Her presence in 358/2 Days really made the game for me. Roxas was kinda bland and having someone that was similar in age (like Sora, Riku and Kairi were) to interact with made it all that much better. AND SHE GETS THE HAPPY ENDING. Eventually. Boy is it a long road, but that's Kingdom Hearts for ya.

Honorable Mentions: Kairi, Namine, Riku, Sora, Aqua, Terra, Master Xehanort, Isa, Lea

8. Lucina (Fire Emblem)

I really wanna pick someone else in all honesty, but Fire Emblem has a worse problem than Hoyoverse games in their bit characters. :/ Lucina is a strong character that really delighted me when I played Awakening. She's such a surprise that it really helps make that Fire Emblem my favorite. She's got a good supporting cast too, with Robin and her dad Chrom, but Awakening was really her game. Chrom was kinda there just to be her dad lol

Honorable mentions: Robin, Chrom, Ike, Mist, Soren, Sumia, Erika, Marisa, Lyon, Elincia

9. Trevor Belmont (Castlevania)

Full disclosure, I have not played his game, in fact the only two castlevania's I have played both feature non Belmont's as the lead players (Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclasia). But the way Trevor is in the show, OH BOY. He is rough, he is blunt, he is smart, he is SOOOO dumb, he is loyal, he is a fighter, he never gives up, HE IS JUST GREAT. He's also one of my biggest Bi panics when he shows how much of a badass he is in episode, I think, 4 or 5 or later? Its been a hot minute since I watched that series. When he first uses the flail weapon that I forget the name of.

Honorable mentions: Shanoa, Jonathan Morris, Charlotte Aulin, Sypha Belnades, Alucard, Dracula

10. Aigis (Persona)

Aigis is a super cutie and I love her interactions with the female protagonist. I really wish P3 wasn't such a long game and Aigis actually showed up a little earlier. She's just a doll! I do need to try and find a copy (or emulate) FES to play the storyline with her as the lead singer. Its just so rough to get thru P3 I just lose motivation. T.T I've made it to the vacation part with the female lead, like, three times and no further cause my motivation tanks. WHICH IS WEIRD CAUSE THAT'S WHEN YOU MEET AIGIS. Its just too long for me I guess. XD

Honorable mentions: Teddie, Female lead P3, Male lead P4, Yukari Takeba, Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, Fuuka Yamagishi, Shinji Aragaki, Junpei Iori, Chidori Yoshino, Elizabeth, Theodore

Not gonna lie, kinda struggled to find a full 10 franchises to pull a character from. My mind just goes blank when asked my favorite character from X place. Names escape me and everything. XD But as you can see, I love robot girls, strong girls, mysterious girls, tragic girls, a fail man, and traveling weirdo.

[mesaprotector]

so i read the first five books in isaac asimov's foundation series

i think they were pretty great. the fifth one a bit less but still very fun

the first one is just some really good classic science fiction based around the idea of psychohistory. the second book is almost certainly the best one, both in me having the most fun reading it and in "literary merit", whatever that means. the way that asimov subverts - twice! - the tropes set up in the first book is just really great. and also ebling mis is very lovable. YOU UNPRINTABLE FOOL. what a way to swear. i tell people restriction is necessary for innovation and asimov found a way for ebling mis to swear his ass off in the 1950s and still get it published.

the third book also has excellent ideas but it's definitely the most dated, if only because arkady "definitely" does not speak like a teenager born in the past 60 years; book #4, foundation's edge, is extremely different from the original trilogy (given it was written 30-40 years later, not surprising), but its characters are good, gaia is a very interesting idea, and golan trevize is a good protagonist.

i think the fifth book is a bit less for me mainly because of how it assumes you've read the "i, robot" series, which i haven't; golan also wears out his welcome a bit given that no character in this series has spanned more than one book before; and i almost always dislike sex scenes in literature, which are absent from the first four novels. the ending also feels a bit, well, forced - it feels like asimov wasn't totally happy with trevize's decision in "foundation's edge", tried to come up with a good justification for it, and couldn't so he tied it to his other series.

i know there's a recent tv adaptation but tbh a huge part of the charm of the original trilogy is just how "classic sci fi" it is, and i cannot imagine anything made today would come close to measuring up. the dune movie was objectively very good and still failed to match the book's quality, so i'm sure it's even less true here.

[skuntank]

@ marley interacting with gaia from earlier,

ive been also wondering how roxie would do if she went with marley to sinnoh

honestly? probably complain a lot about how cold and dreary it often is ("this is the most depressing place ive ever been, the fuck. actually, this makes perfect sense now that i know where you come from" while gesturing at marley)

roxie is instructed to be on her best behavior while visiting marleys best friend, under penalty of death (to me, marley is someone who often makes dramatic threats in passing just because she thinks its funny, and roxie soon learns which threats she actually needs to pay attention to)

tbh i cant see grungy city kid roxie doing too well in a small, laid back sinnoh town ("theres literally nothing to do in this shit hole. no fucking wonder everyone here smokes so much weed, its better than being conscious of the fact you have to live here")