Meta post
One of the things I like the most about this quest is that when you cut away all the pretensions and ostentation it still provides the reader with the very same formula of memes, slice of life segments and a generous helping of trolling /shitposting that make the online experience of reading a story so special.
It is the kind of fic that often makes a spectacle of being dismayed and snobish about the competition and takes such pride in placarding the high quality content. But there are always hints of incredulity and suspicion regarding the sincerity of the action. Like a possible willful disprepancy between intention and execution.
This story is a bit like a restaurant that makes fun of your mothers sausage rolls, turns around and then, instead of serving you a rack of lamb or a perfect beef wellington presents you with a plate of "assemblage de saucisson en croûte". All the while managing to keep such a straight face you simple can't decide if they are sincere or merely fucking with you. And that is absolutely hilarious.
Let us take our quest masters for example. At first glance they are your typical young liberals with your few mandatory dashes of regurgitated sjwisms and few tiny pinches of EUPHORIA glimpsing through a fairly polite and even mannered persona.
They are the guys who take offence even indirect rape jokes and who have publicly bemoaned the results of the American elections.
Then they turn around and give us a gift like Rock Lee. The guy who likes to make people unconfortable using a aggressivly advertised faux (?) homosexuality and sexualized language. The guy who is dropping homo entendre after homo entendre and cares for nothing but his own enjoyment at his targets expense and discomfort.
They gave us a guy who would tell a thirteen year old child to climb unto his tower of manliness so that they may engage in wild and sweatbreaking endeavour until the flame of his youth bursts forth and warms Hazou's insides with the viscous contentment of accomplishment.
They gave us a guy who, despite said minor repeatedly voicing and showing his distress and disgust with his antics simply ignores the wishes of his targets and despite his negative reaction to and explicit plea to cut it out continues regardless, or even (a)roused by the protests. The fact his target is, in our case, a child barely entering puberty makes the contrast stand even more out. Finally, the notion that Rock Lee's behaviour could actually be unintentional, merely natural for him, and that this described behaviour, is just the way some (possibly) gay people express themselves, seals the deal on the characters hilarity. He has become mfds very own Ped(r)o Barboza.
The worst, most damaging gay stereotypes played straight for laughs fits perfectly in the above mentioned scenario. What do they really believe? What is the narrative behing the narrative? Are their occasional comments lapses of jugdement or drama bait or a accentuation due to juxtaposition? (In this case: We condemn rape jokes... look at our funny rapey character) I like that after all this time and reading almost 500k words of content I still haven't quite figured out how they tick. I don't plan on doing it either.
TLDR:
To our quest overlords: I can't figure out if you are awesome by design and intention or by happenstance but dont change and continue the way you are! You keep this thing, fresh despite and engaging despite the crippling lack of agency a narrative about being tiny lights in a very big and cold world often necessitates.
Keep on rockin and thank you!
