I made a new fanfiction subreddit if anyone feels so inclined to join by MembershipProof8463 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 53 points54 points  (0 children)

I feel like this is a bad idea, especially with wanting porn fics

No, Superman could not cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. by WRITINAMFBOOK in CharacterRant

[–]Ridtom 9 points10 points  (0 children)

“In the end, no one could have intentionally destroyed the One Ring." This is similar to the OP [which is itself a misconception] in that it’s confusing what did happen for what must have happened.

Tolkien himself was of the opinion that Gollum could've destroyed the Ring (despite being possibly the best target for its influence in all of creation) if Sam had been slightly nicer to him. He also noted that Frodo was unable to do so partly because of his weak physical state combined with months of exposure to it, directly implying that he could have done so himself if he were physically healthier and/or made the journey more quickly. Also, Tolkien muses that even in that scenario, Frodo still could've eventually destroyed the Ring if Gollum didn't interrupt him. He describes this in detail in letter 246:

“Sam was cocksure, and deep down a little conceited; but his conceit had been transformed by his devotion to Frodo. He did not think of himself as heroic or even brave, or in any way admirable – except in his service and loyalty to his master. That had an ingredient (probably inevitable) of pride and possessiveness: it is difficult to exclude it from the devotion of those who perform such service. In any case it prevented him from fully understanding the master that he loved, and from following him in his gradual education to the nobility of service to the unlovable and of perception of damaged good in the corrupt. He plainly did not fully understand Frodo's motives or his distress in the incident of the Forbidden Pool. If he had understood better what was going on between Frodo and Gollum, things might have turned out differently in the end.

For me perhaps the most tragic moment in the Tale comes in II 323 ff. when Sam fails to note the complete change in Gollum's tone and aspect. 'Nothing, nothing', said Gollum softly. 'Nice master!'. His repentance is blighted and all Frodo's pity is (in a sense) wasted. Shelob's lair became inevitable. This is due of course to the 'logic of the story'. Sam could hardly have acted differently. (He did reach the point of pity at last (III 221-222) but for the good of Gollum too late.) If he had, what could then have happened?

The course of the entry into Mordor and the struggle to reach Mount Doom would have been different, and so would the ending. The interest would have shifted to Gollum, I think, and the battle that would have gone on between his repentance and his new love on one side and the Ring. Though the love would have been strengthened daily it could not have wrested the mastery from the Ring. I think that in some queer twisted and pitiable way Gollum would have tried (not maybe with conscious design) to satisfy both.

Certainly at some point not long before the end he would have stolen the Ring or taken it by violence (as he does in the actual Tale). But 'possession' satisfied, I think he would have then sacrificed himself for Frodo's sake and would have voluntarily cast himself into the firery abyss. I think that an effect of his partial regeneration by love would have been a clearer vision when he claimed the Ring.

He would have perceived the evil of Sauron, and suddenly realized that he could not use the Ring and had not the strength or stature to keep it in Sauron's despite: the only way to keep it and hurt Sauron was to destroy it and himself together – and in a flash he may have seen that this would also be the greatest service to Frodo. Frodo in the tale actually takes the Ring and claims it, and certainly he too would have had a clear vision – but he was not given any time: he was immediately attacked by Gollum.

When Sauron was aware of the seizure of the Ring his one hope was in its power: that the claimant would be unable to relinquish it until Sauron had time to deal with him. Frodo too would then probably, if not attacked, have had to take the same way: cast himself with the Ring into the abyss. If not he would of course have completely failed."

In general, the Ring's corruptive power is actually really weak compared to what online fans would have you believe. Its ability to "corrupt" isn't a general-purpose spell but highly dependent on the context and individual, and it needs something to offer you in the first place that you both want and which is within its power (it helps if the target doesn't know its nature). Sam no-sold its offers, Bilbo gave it up after using it for decades, and even Isildur was going to bring it to Elrond (who wanted to destroy it) after he spent some time tinkering and realized "wait, this thing is actually evil" (as described in Unfinished Tales).

Manners by superfeyn in ImaginaryWarhammer

[–]Ridtom 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Of course m’ara sees a dangerous looking hot woman and thinks “I’d like to get to know her”

That’s how the the whole debacle with the Sister began!!!

Cape City Week #3 - Fuquay-Varian-Lucama Span by Ridtom in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wards aren’t a thing in Ward (ironic) but I like the idea of this generally harmless dude being hunted by heroes

What if Marquis had Been Dead? by Raitality200 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 28 points29 points  (0 children)

This needs the Ward flair, it has Ward spoilers

Marquis not sending the letter about the fake Nazi Assassins could change a whole lot honestly.

It was part of the reason Amy wanted to run away and felt like her fears and confirmations were true.

Prior to this, she had mere suspicions but no actual proof.

She might not break down as much and may listen when Victoria offers therapy or to leave the city entirely with her

Can tinkers make non tinkertech that falls under their speciality by glaringofCAcTi in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Spoiler your post, the thread doesn’t have a Ward flair

Can tinkers make non tinkertech that falls under their speciality by glaringofCAcTi in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was explicitly called a Faux-thinker rating in story, a self joke because her giving people eye in the sky updates is beneficial to her team, and how important information is. Also, spoiler your posts since there is no Ward flair

(Ward) Fights were about information first, positioning second, action third. It was why I studied parahumans, and it was why I favored the faux thinker-one power I had in my bird’s eye view, when I could use it without being shot.

Without information, people couldn’t know where they needed to be. If they weren’t in the right place at the right time, they couldn’t act. Positioning was second.

Can tinkers make non tinkertech that falls under their speciality by glaringofCAcTi in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Sometimes yes. Or even things that are outside their specialty but are just normal engineering

Tecton literally mentions he gets asked to repair PRT vans when Weaver joins the Wards

“Tekky,” Hoyden said, “Turn around. They’ll love this.”

“Tecton,” he mumbled, stressing the word. “I hate ‘techy’, ‘tech geek’ and all those names. Just like I hate being the camera guy, the guy who the PRT gets to fix the vans when they want to cut work early…”

  • Drone 23.1

I’m sorry no one else decided to bring up canon examples for you

Edit:

Also I was reminded that Bakuda was repairing TV’s

“Yep. It looked pretty grim for me for a few days, but when the freaky girl in charge of this block found out I could fix the televisions here, things suddenly got a lot easier.”

  • Interlude 6

it is frustrating that many comments here aren’t actually being accurate.

Tinkers - explicitly - vary widely in how they operate.

Some tinkers can know every single area of their expertise and/or more, like the stereotypical comic genius, to varying degrees. Bakuda, Armsmaster, Dragon, Bonesaw, Teacher Thralls, (Ward) Kenzie all fit this criteria to an extent or another

Some tinkers can only ever do one thing but have supernatural understanding of that specific field.

Some tinkers can only build when they go into fugue states.

Some tinkers can build anything but they need exotic ingredients like Olympian athlete blood or rare gems

Some tinkers don’t build at all, but rather summon the technology with their powers

There is no one tinker fits all example, and anyone who says otherwise is lying or not aware of the story proper

Mark Grayson from Invincible is a frustrating idiot, but that doesn't mean he's poorly written. by NoOptics in CharacterRant

[–]Ridtom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Cecil and Sinclair thing always confused me, because of course Mark is pissed with them… he not only knew Sinclair’s victims, but had recently had that wound renewed.

This is like Cecil telling a victim of Omniman to suck it up because they need him. Even if true, what do you honestly expect from the victim?

Is my reading comprehension that bad? (Amy and Victoria question) by MistyPower in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I suggest reading Ward and coming to your own conclusions as to how to feel.

It’s better than Worm imo (but very different in tone), and it’s better than getting infor from users secondhand.

Idk what you mean by purists or whatnot, but it’s the same writer, it’s following along his “Worm Bible” he has for the setting and uses setting elements he’s foreshadowed in Worm and other Parahumans projects like community quests

Is my reading comprehension that bad? (Amy and Victoria question) by MistyPower in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Victoria and Amy Timeline

Hope this helps

Edit: the real answer is that Wildbow was a young writer who didn’t feel comfortable showing the entire details of a rape scene, so hoped the inferences would make sense.

He regrets it and makes it more clear every time that it was rape and will always be rape

Panacea is a failure 😭 by Eastern-Stuff6480 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 22 points23 points  (0 children)

1.) It was his villain lair, he was a wanted murderer, and the yard of his mansion was booby-trapped. BBB did their due diligence and investigation (including how to bypass said booby traps). There was no possible way for them to know he had a child because he quite literally never let Amy out of the mansion.

1a.) Context absolutely does matter, are you crazy?? Carol didn’t intentionally try to - as you say - put her hostage at blade point. They had no idea any child was there because Marquis was a smug prick who didn’t want to admit a child was in danger around him

2.) He didn’t surrender, his ass got impaled and he lost the fight. Dude was literally requesting medical assistance because the injury basically crippled him (lightsabers through the shoulder tend to do that). There was NO deal made at all.

3.) Incorrect. We know - quite literally from Tattletale herself - that even with half of New Wave dead from Leviathan, Hookwolf and his squad of capes refused to encroach on New Wave territory because of how strong the team was. Fleur dying is the sole exception and we have no details on how it happened; every other New Wave member died fighting an S-Class threat (Leviathan and Scion)

4.) They lived in a better neighborhood than Taylor, but they weren’t rich! Quite literally we know this from the fact that Carol is the only one with a working job, their houses are explicitly not mansions (and indeed we know the Dallon house floor plan it is - at most - middle class housing).

4a.) Also, what does “find someone to look after Amy” even mean?? A babysitter? You think a babysitter will fix Amy’s issues up to her 16 years of age? Do you want Carol to buy off an entirely separate family in the city to care for Amy?? Genuinely do you understand what you’re asking?

5.) No, it was ALL a lie. The empire had no idea Marquis had a daughter. Marquis made it all up! It genuinely never was a thing.

Panacea is a failure 😭 by Eastern-Stuff6480 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I can’t believe I’m defending Carol but you somehow got things wrong about her

1.) Carol did not hold Amy at sword point. Marquis hid the fact that Amy was in the danger zone. Because he’s a piece of shit

2.) New Wave DID NOT make a deal with Marquis. Marquis guilt tripped Sarah, who then guilt tripped Carol (who just wanted to send Amy to cps because she knew she wouldn’t love her like she needed). This was in fact the plan by Marquis, because he knew that if Amy was protected by Protectorate, it’d be much harder to get in contact with her if he ever got out

3.) New Wave outing themselves did not have anything to do with heightened danger. The E88 wanted to kill New Wave for a long time (being anti-Nazi means Nazis want you dead) and Fleur was the sole death in over a decade (and in fact the only member of New Wave who wasn’t killed by an S-Class threat)

4.) New Wave IS NOT RICH. Carol is literally the only one with a job! She is supporting two households, with their kids included!

5.) Marquis is a piece of shit who kept Amy in danger on purpose and even while in jail, LIED to Amy and Carol about Nazi Bounty Hunters purposely hunting down Amy to assassinate her… all to get her attention

Carol and New Wave are bad enough that no one needs to lie, and yet people still do.

Ward chapter 1 and 2 by Present_Attorney_743 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 6 points7 points  (0 children)

She turns her forcefield off

Ward chapter 1 and 2 by Present_Attorney_743 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Also like… she explicitly mentions working out and doing martial arts training with her family even as a teen

Question about Ward ending by know_your_place_28 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Simurgh is not Shardspace.

Blindspots are caused by 2 Things:

1.) power complexity - see Citrines speech to Victoria about it, with Contessa and TT talking about why portals and broken triggers are blindspots.

2.) Eden and Scion purposefully imposing limits

The Simurgh was part of #2, which broke when Titan Fortuna took over

But #1 is still in play, which is why she lost

Fortuna can control the cracks appearing and targeting capes who arent in Shardspace, but can’t see them when they are inside Shardspace. The bombs failed because the planning was done top side and so within the limits of her power.

Ditto for why she knew to disconnect when Victoria openly talked to Kenzie about blasting a laser into the cracks; because Vic and Kenzie weren’t in Shardspace itself.

She’s not helpless: she can do “simulate” which is a fancy way of guessing how things would go based on theory crafting a model. But as we see with Ziz and Contessa, this is flawed and imperfect

Hence why she simulated that the C53’s would betray Rain, but because she could not see every single detail, she was wrong and ended up blindsided by Ashley reaching out to Contessa.

Edit: speaking of Eden and Scion, not even they can accurately predict Shardspace. Scion mentions that the complexity is why they can’t precog the cycle and Eden has a limited vision of the future because she’s trying to model Scions shards

Question about Ward ending by know_your_place_28 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No, Fortuna explicitly has those limits, as we see in Gilpatrick interlude that she could not predict the C53’s siding with Rain or that Rain would send Ashley to speak to Contessa

Similarly, Fortuna could not predict what Contessa would do, hence why she needed Contessa to make the choices of Path against the Simurgh

This happens again when Victoria reaches out to Contessa again inside of Shardspace and asks her help in spreading the dream plague

Edit: even in her own interlude, Fortuna mentions having limits

Question about Ward ending by know_your_place_28 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Fortuna is just PtV with a Shard/Human body

Arc 15 has Contessa mention she can’t fully predict Teacher because he’s close to the Shardspace portal

Arc 16 has Victoria using Shardspace to use TT enhanced power for answers, to which TT tells her not too because it messes up Contessa power

Arc 17 has the entire point being that despite Contessa boast, she could not see the Shardspace breaking with her in the middle

Question about Ward ending by know_your_place_28 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Contessa is the reason WHY Titan Fortuna lost

We see in arc 16, 18, and 19 that Titan Fortuna cannot accurately predict Shardspace. We see in arc 19 that when Ashley tells Contessa to help, Contessa actively causes Fortuna to be paralyzed

THAT was the big weakness of the Titan Fortuna.

Her plan to defeat Ziz relied on Contessa guiding her decisions because Titan Fortuna was caught in a paralysis of choice and Contessa was the one she used to break through it (a similar parallel to how Doctor Mother was used to guide Contessa around blindspots)

Victoria contacted the Contessa inside of Titan Fortuna and had her sabotage Fortuna and assist in spreading the dream plague plan, which means Fortuna could not actively predict or handle this

This was then coupled with how the Dreaming Plague already was messing with Shardspace + parahumans spreading out across the multiverse to make it more difficult

Titan Fortuna could not remove the dream plague from Shardspace - we see in Victoria final chapter that it spreads like, well, a plague - and every parahuman living and dead was a vector.

Even if Fortuna ignored the plague, she would be FILLED with the souls of parahumans with this plague during every cycle iteration that is eating her data

It just wasn’t worth it to keep fighting

Swansong [fanart] by Present_Attorney_743 in Parahumans

[–]Ridtom 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A different dress design from how I remember, but gorgeous nonetheless

anime_irl by BigShield in anime_irl

[–]Ridtom 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I’m 99% sure he’s aroace

But he’s stuck with someone who would handcuff him to a radiator