#bc im like on my way to developing a complex about death. or maybe a paranoia. an anxiety??? idfk

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

wanna ask how you feel about the eridan bpd headcanon/theory(?? not sure what to call it!) you're so good at your character analysis and i'd love to see your outlook on it

Since I don't have a degree or any formal training in psychology, I feel deeply uncomfortable diagnosing characters. I've made an autism joke before but only because I'm on the spectrum. He's definitely traumatized and anxious, but I mean those as descriptors of his behavior rather than capital-D Diagnoses. I try to focus on those when I can - the cause and effect of cognition, self-image, and behavior - and those factors may very well match up with DSM criteria, but I try not to touch an actual diagnosis with a ten foot pole unless the author has explicitly stated that X character has Y condition.

[orcelito]

The fun thing is that sudden deaths absolutely do cause trauma. And stacked deaths probably do too.

I've got like 0 trust that people I love are not gonna just drop dead out of nowhere now. Since this has happened twice now where I found out literally as it was fucking happening, no chance to say goodbye.

So like. Woo fuckin hoo.

[wimbledon2008]

so i just finished the captive prince series about a week ago and am rereading it now. just finished the hello lover scene and honestly im still so confused over what's going on in laurent's head lmao like??

was he previously compartmentalizing his resentment so well that real feelings developed, but now he finally has a chance to truly let his anger out, he's locking down the positive feelings?

was he being truthful about manipulating damen the whole time (highly unlikely to me)? or was the cruelty in and of itself a play, either to push damen away despite not actually wanting to, or some other convoluted reason? bc damen really would have done anything he asked, trying to outmaneuver him like that was unnecessary.

my first theory feels the most right to me, and he just needed more time to process and purge his desire for revenge but idk im a taurus and very akielon coded. i love laurent but i do not understand that man lol

okay, disclaimer, i haven't read the books in quite some time so this probably isn't the fullest or deepest analysis. i welcome any additions or corrections from those who are better at meta than me <3

so the hello lover scene is incredibly complex and nuanced, a standard of pacat's writing that makes his works so infinitely re-readable. based on my personal understanding of the scene, there are a few key things that help to explain why laurent behaves the way he does in the tent scene:

1. laurent needs damen and the akielons to win against his uncle, which he very much wants to do. charcy didn't go how he'd originally planned, and he knows damen is pissed about it and probably thinks the worst of laurent right now - that he intentionally abandoned the akielons at charcy for his own purposes. so laurent is being manipulative; he is trying to outmaneuver damen. because what damen says is true: laurent has no allies, no friends, he's ruined his reputation by aligning himself with akielos, etc. we as the readers know that damen cares deeply for laurent and wouldn't just abandon him, and if laurent simply explained what happened and asked damen to help him, damen wouldn't hesitate to stay at his side. but laurent doesn't think damen has any reason to trust him, so laurent can't trust damen either. so instead of being honest, he chooses to be cold-blooded, to assert control over the situation and force damen's hand to ensure that the alliance he worked so hard to establish stays intact. he could've just asked, but this is laurent, and there are other factors at play, such as the fact that

2. laurent is already in love with damen by the tent scene, or at least most of the way there. but laurent can no longer pretend damen is anyone other than the person who killed his brother. damen walks into that tent as prince damianos, in full akielon regalia, covered in blood, with a sword. laurent has been doing some aggressive compartmentalizing, especially in order to have allowed himself to sleep with damen. who killed his brother, which was the inciting incident that made laurent's life a living hell. laurent has not forgiven damen for auguste, and he's having to really confront that hatred and anger for maybe the first time since the first book. and laurent is also punishing himself for caring for and sleeping with damen, his brother's killer. can you even imagine? it's better not to. laurent probably hates himself as much as he hates damianos in that moment. so he shoves all those glimmering, positive feelings down because he wants to hurt damen, and himself too. and none of this is particularly rational because

3. laurent is very upset at the beginning of king's rising. this is an understatement. he's still reeling from nicaise's death, which he blames himself for, he's losing damen, the only person he trusted, he was recently stabbed, and everything is spiraling out of his tightly held control. and when laurent is upset he's cruel. he's not at his best in the tent scene. he's clinging to his own self-preservation, and he's making it up as he goes along because whatever his original plan was got blown to hell, which is clear because he's saying shit that doesn't even make sense. see, e.g., this post about him allegedly enduring damen's "fumbling attentions" to win a battle he didn't even know about at the time. while laurent is being cold and ruthless to secure his position as best he can (see no. 1), he's also acting from a place of emotion instead of strict rationality, which is how he typically operates, and how he prefers to act. he's on the defensive, he's deeply confused and unable to cope with all of his conflicting feelings about damen, and he's lashing out - protecting himself before damen can hurt him first. and then damen literally sticks his thumb in his stab wound. basically: our boy laurent's going through it in a major way.

going back and re-reading your message i realize i've essentially just reiterated everything you initially said but with a lot of extra words. so i guess the long and short of it is: you're right. honestly there are so many ways to interpret the tent scene and everything else laurent says and does, which is what makes him so fascinating! so thanks for giving me the opportunity to dive back into his psyche for a little while <3

[nightmarist]

man, even the positive reviews of dragon age arent really doing it for me.

the biggest things i would want from a DA game seem to be the things they didnt bother with.

ive heard/read:

characters are forgettable, romance is minute and shill, character personalities are shallow

the script jargon is anathemic, overly ironoic in a contemporary marvel-esque way, and story plots/lore are simplified

apparently the game overall feels like (and apparently intended) to be for a broad audience rather than "dragon age fans" which on one hand I can understand, but. shunting lore, character development, and the language of the script when those are the very things people fell in love with dragon age to begin with is a weird and stupid ass move.

you're apparently completely unable to be cruel. on one hand, I roll my eyes at people who want to go out of their way to be bigots to characters a la "im going to kill lucretious in bg3 for being [slur]" or the pain in the ass "lol i always kill astarion bc it makes fans mad" trolling but it does suck you can't be hardened in any capacity it seems.

my first playthroughs in most games are almost always good natured anyway, but in DA1 and 2 i loved having a bloodthirsty Hawke or Warden, too. and its not just about "being mean to characters" theres the roleplay and complexity of choices. one of my favorite instances was making a blue or purple Hawke become red post certain family deaths. which also aided in romancing certain characters (cough, fenris).

sad to say but i might just skip veilguard. maybe ill get it on sale. i heard combat is fun, but dragon age is a roleplaying game known for its lore, complex interwoven storytelling, character development, and choices. happy for combat, sure. but sad to heard so many people dislike the story, characters, romance, and, well. everything the franchise is Known for.

i'll reread reviews later when people get at least a few dozen hours in, but it's not looking good to me.

[shkspr]

hi. on your post where you may or may not have ended on 'moffat is either your angel or your devil' did you have maybe an elaboration on that somewhere that i could possibly hear about. i'm very much a capaldi era stan and i've never tried to defend the matt smith era even though it had delightful moments sometimes so i wonder where that puts me. i'd love to hear your perspective on moffat as a person with your political perspective. -nicole

hi ok sorry i took so long to respond to this but i dont think you know how LOADED this question is for me but i am so happy to elaborate on that for you. first a few grains of salt to flavor your understanding of the whole situation: a. im unfairly biased against moffat bc im a davies stan and a tennant stan; b. i still very much enjoy and appreciate moffat era who for many reasons; and c. i hate moffat on a personal level far more than i could ever hate his work.

the thing is that its all always gonna be a bit mixed up bc i have to say a bunch of seemingly contradictory things in a row. for instance, a few moffat episodes are some of my absolute favorites of the rtd era, AND the show went way downhill when moffat took over, AND the really good episodes he wrote during the rtd era contained the seeds of his destruction.

like i made that post about the empty child/the doctor dances and it holds true for blink and thats about it bc the girl in the fireplace and silence in the library/forest of the dead are good but not nearly on the same level, and despite the fact that i like them at least nominally, they are also great examples of everything i hate about moffat and how he approached dw as a whole.

basically. doctor who is about people. there are many things about moffats tenure as showrunner that i think are a step up from rtd era who! actual gay people, for one! but i think that can likely be attributed mostly to an evolving Society as opposed to something inherent to him and his work, seeing as rtd is literally gay, and the existence of queer characters in moffats work doesnt mean the existence of good queer characters (ill give him bill but thats it!)

i have a few Primary Grievances with moffat and how he ran dw. all of them are things that got better with capaldi, but didnt go away. they are as follows:

moffat projects his own god complex onto the doctor

rtd era who had a doctor with a god complex. you cant ever be the doctor and not have a god complex. the problem with moffats era specifically is that the god complex was constant and unrepentant and was seen as a fundamental personality trait of the doctor rather than a demon he has to fight. he has the Momence where you feel bad for him, the Momence where he shows his humility or whatever and youre reminded that he doesnt want to be the lonely god, but those are just. moments. in a story where the doctor thinks hes the main character. rtd era doctor was aware that he wasnt the main character. he had to be an authority sometimes and he had to be the loner and he had to be sad about it, but he ultimately understood that he was expendable in a narrative sense.

this is how you get lines like “were the thin fat gay married anglican marines, why would we need names as well?” from the same show that gave you the gut punch moment at the end of midnight when they realize that nobody asked the hostess for her name. and on the one hand, thats a small sticking point, but on the other hand, its just one small example of the simple disregard that moffat has for humanity.

incidentally, this is a huge part of why sherlock sucked so bad: moffats main characters are special bc theyre so much bigger and better than all the normal people, and thats his downfall as a showrunner. he thinks that his audience wants fucking sheldon cooper when what they want is people.

like, ok. think of how many fantastic rtd era eps are based in the scenario “what if the doctor wasnt there? what if he was just out of commission for a bit?” and how those eps are the heart of the show!! bc theyre about people being people!! the thing is that all of the rtd era companions would have died for the doctor but he understood and the story understood that it wasnt about him.

this is like. nine sending rose home to save her life and sacrifice his own vs clara literally metaphysically entwining her existence w the doctor. ten also sending rose with her family to save her life vs river being raised from infancy to be obsessed w the doctor and then falling in love w him. martha leaving bc she values herself enough to make that decision vs amy being treated like a piece of meat.

and this is simultaneously a great callback to when i said that moffats episodes during the rtd era sometimes had the same problems as his show running (bc girl in the fireplace reeks of this), and a great segue into the next grievance.

moffat hates women

he hates women so fucking much. g-d, does steven moffat ever hate women. holy shit, he hates women. especially normal human women who prioritize their normal human lives on an equal or higher level than the doctor. moffat hated rose bc she wasnt special by his standards. the empty child/the doctor dances is the nicest he ever treated her, and she really didnt do much in those eps beyond a fuck ton of flirting.

girl in the fireplace is another shining example of this. youve got rose (who once again has another man to keep her busy, bc moffat doesnt think shes good enough for the doctor) sidelined for no reason only to be saved by the doctor at the last second or whatever. and then youve got reinette, who is pretty and powerful and special!

its just. moffat thinks that the doctor is as shallow and selfish as he is. thats why he thinks the doctor would stay in one place with reinette and not with rose. bc moffat is shallow and sees himself in the doctor and doesnt think he should have to settle for someone boring and normal.

not to mention rose met the doctor as an adult and chose to stay with him whereas reinette is. hm. introduced to the doctor as a child and grows up obsessed with him.

does that sound familiar? it should! bc it is also true of amy and river. and all of them are treated as viable romantic pairings. bc the only women who deserve the doctor are the ones whose entire existence revolves around him. which includes clara as well.

genuinely i think that at least on some level, not even necessarily consciously, that bill was a lesbian in part bc capaldi was too old to appeal to mainstream shippers. like twelve/clara is still a thing but not as universally appealing as eleven/clara but i am just spitballing. but i think they weighed the pros and cons of appealing to the woke crowd over the het shippers and found that gay companion was more profitable. anyway the point is to segue into the next point, which is that moffat hates permanent consequences.

moffat hates permanent consequences

steven moffat does not know how to kill a character. honestly it feels like hes doing it on purpose after a certain point, like he knows he has this habit and hes trying to riff on it to meme his own shit, but it doesnt work. it isnt funny and it isnt harmless, its bad writing.

the end of the doctor dances is so poignant and so meaningful and so fucking good bc its just this once! everybody lives, just this once! and then he does p much the same thing in forest of the dead - this one i could forgive, bc i do think that preserving those peoples consciousnesses did something for the doctor as a character, it wasnt completely meaningless. but everything after that kinda was.

rory died so many times its like. get a hobby lol. amy died at least once iirc but it was all a dream or something. clara died and was erased from the doctors memory. river was in prison and also died. bill? died. all of them sugarcoated or undone or ignored by the narrative to the point of having effectively no impact on the story. the point of a major character death is that its supposed to have a point. and you could argue that a piece of art could be making a point with a pointless death, ie. to put perspective on it and remind you that bad shit just happens, but with moffat the underlying message is always “i can do whatever i want, nothing is permanent or has lasting impact ever.”

basically, with moffat, tragedy exists to be undone. and this was a really brilliant, really wonderful thing in the doctor dances specifically bc it was the doctor clearly having seen his fair share of tragedy that couldnt be helped, now looking on his One Win with pride and delight bc he doesnt get wins like this! and then moffat proceeded to give him the same win over and over and over and over. nobody is ever dead. nobody is ever unable to be saved. and if they are, really truly dead and/or gone, then thats okay bc moffat has decided that [insert mitigating factor here]*

*the mitigating factor is usually some sort of computerized database of souls.

i can hear the moffat stans falling over themselves to remind me that amy and rory definitely died, and they did - after a long and happy life together, they died of old age. i dont consider that a character death any more than any other character choosing to permanently leave the tardis.

and its not just character deaths either, its like, everything. the destruction of gallifrey? never mind lol! character development? scrapped! the same episode four times? lets give it a fifth try and hope nobody notices. bc he doesnt know how to not make the doctor either an omnipotent savior or a self-pitying failure.

it is in nature of doctor who, i believe, for the doctor to win most of the time. like, it wouldnt be a very good show if he didnt win most of the time. but it also wouldnt be a very good show if he won all of the time. my point is that moffats doctor wins too often, and when he doesnt win, it feels empty and hollow rather than genuinely humbling, and you know hes not gonna grow from it pretty much at all.

so like. again, i like all of doctor who i enjoy all of it very much. i just think that steven moffat is a bad show runner and a decent writer at times. and it is frustrating. and im not here to convince or convert anyone im just living my truth. thank you for listening.

[spaceyflowers]

stuff about latest lookism chapters (390-398)

ok i finally caught up. originally i was just planning to read along with the webtoon but its kinda behind from the latest updates and i am.. so tired of trying to avoid spoilers 😭😭😭

here are some thoughts i wanna say !

-magami is my poor little meow meow and i love him with all my heart (more thoughts on him here <3)

-doo's character development 💪 his bromance with ryuhei was pretty sweet too <3

-i thought yall were joking when yall said ryuhei's backstory for liking mitsuki was "my dick dont work but when youre around it does [lip bite]" but it was real. holy shit.

-his romance with mitsuki was ok btw. im glad it was somewhat expanded outside of "you make my dick not broken ❤️" but i still dont think he had enough of a reason to like mitsuki so much he'd lay his life down for her. all he liked were little surface level details about her ?? 😭 ("she smiles at even little things you do for her" ok bro..)

-but idk maybe surface level attraction is all he needs to feel ready to do Anything for someone which is... just sad. either way he and mitsuki should not become a couple 💀

-w.... why is cap guy obsessed with strong guys

-i hate tom lee. seriously. i dont want to see anymore of him and his creepy ass "danglers" thing.

-BIG DEAL IS HAPPY AND REUNITED EXCEPT FOR SAMUEL AAGGGRRHGHGG 💔💔💔💔💔💔

-SO HAPPY FOR WARREN AND SALLY <33

-PTJ WHEN WILL CHEONGLIANG ARC COME OUT I WANT TO SEE VIN JIN AND MARY'S BACKSTORIES AND HAVE MC PESITCIDES BE RELEVANT AGAIN. ALSO FINDING OUT WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED WITH THE MURDER VIN JIN APPARENTLY COMMITTED

-i just want more family agendas to sob over ok. cheongliang fam looks like a tragedy story i want to know what happened

-gun is such a freak <3 and i still wonder what the hell went thru his mind when he put on that hideous fit

-i pray for little and big daniel's survivals from their own personal hells

-also praying for zack and whatever the hell he's gonna go thru with that "crazy monk" 😭 ??? i also really hope this is the last act in his inferiority complex character arc thing bc i feel like it's been dragging on for too long 💔

-for zack's part, too; was absolutely wild seeing characters (cho ma and daegong ji) we havent seen since lookism was actually about lookism and not gang wars lmao

-what did eugene mean by hes gonna bring xiaolung back. my mans got his legs broken by jake. whatre yall gonna do, give him some batshit leg surgery to fix him up????? (im pretty sure its implied jake broke his legs beyond repair ?? or like. are u telling me a few months have passed and xiaolung is perfectly healed and ready to fight ?)

-jinyoung is a freak but him crying over that flashback with him and gapryong arm wrestling as they had fun bantering... i guess they did have a genuine bromance? what were gapryong's goals exactly?

-wonder how the mystery (?) with gapryong's death and jake's older bro is gonna all unfold

-lua im is ...... something! (more thoughts on my post about her here)

-i still hate johan's new haircut

-ALSO I HOPE ELI AND HOSTEL/RUNAWAY FAM STAY SAFE...... cool to see manager kim again tho 😭

afterthoughts

-will crystal be relevant anytime soon. what about her two bodies.

-i still miss jay 😭 his dad is way more involved than him???? youd think maybe jay would be more involved, too, then, but nope hes just gonna stay queer bait ig... no hope for ptj but i still wish jay got to do more with the story than be devoted to daniel bc he has an interesting design/vague backstory to be expanded upon and his dad is literally someone the main character daniel is teaming up with to take down the antagonist like ????!

-sobs.... j high gang... i miss the girls and burn knuckles 💔

-i dont know how to feel about daniel's current character arc. i understand his feelings but i honestly dislike seeing characters say "i dont want to depend on people anymore so im gonna get stronger on my own" 😭😭😭 like sure, hun, but dont leave all your friends behind to go ask an insane person like gun for help ?!

[volfoss]

how about ranking bucciarati's team?

regret to inform you that ur gonna get a very long answer bc i have passionate feelings about them all! also trish is in this bc she is part of the team and no one will tell me otherwise and will also include some rambling bc it is me and i have so many feelings towards these characters and none of them r cohesive

under the cut just in case (post writing yes it was long)

Giorno Giovanna:

way way more complex than ppl normally give him credit for (i will not go into feelings on how a majority of the fandom treats him unless ppl want me to then i will in fact make a very long ranty post and will not be stopped)

mildly op (esp at the beginning with how hes kind of able to just use his stand really well w no problems altho i think thats true of most of the jojos that we have seen animated?)

i am emotionally attached to him and want to give him a big hug

hes just a kinda goofy kid and is maybe a bit not good with figuring out hey this is a semi dangerous situation maybe i shouldnt be taunting him (leaky eye luca for example)

has the actual best theme

i love how he works off the rest of the team so well (even w members who do not like him)

is in my top 3 jojos i love this kid sm i would adopt him if he was real

7/10

Bruno Bucciarati:

the fucking way his character develops from licky man to best dad material is my favorite thing

his outfit is so so so good i would die to wear it

in general this man is one of my fave jojos characters and i get a lot of comfort from him

hes just really neat and has a good taste in music

he did his fucking best and i will always love him for that

imo the way that his death was drawn out was genuinely one of the most heartbreaking deaths in the entire series and fucks me up each time i think of it

i feel like he really is the one to hold the team together in a way that everyone feels cared for and saved

def has a savior complex tho for sure

dilf but im ace

also manga superiority bc he either makes the stupidest faces or looks very nice (anime has a lot of weird animation in regards to his face) and also because its lingerie there instead of a tattoo that changes thickness and placement every second

10/10

Leone Abbacchio:

guilty pleasure liking man

i am obsessed with his vibes and wish to become him

i cannot physically express just how much i love him but hes one of my faves of all time (not obvious by my theme at all wdym)

i miss his manga palette but also the colored manga isnt my beloved but also black lipstick abba

hot take maybe but anime abba looks better than manga minus the lipstick debacle

hes so so tall and i will steal his height in a nice way

his past man his past it fucks me up

his death fucks me up normally but when i was rewatching recently, i saw he gave this tiny lil smile after helping the kids get their ball and i could not take it anymore

him and brunos relationship (canonically and out of canon too) is one of my favorites in the series

also fandom hot take as i guess i am doing those for everyone- but ppl either have him as cosntantly trying to murder giorno or being like good son and v out of character, and it is really weird? not sayign that ill do better when i write them but also like im convinced some ppl havent seen the show or smth

i will steal both him and bruno and marry them both <3

this man is beloved i love him to death

10/10

Pannacotta Fugo:

i cannot spell his first name to save my life

also fandom take- ppl make him constantly only angry boy all the time and it really irks me. ik araki did not give him 2 much to work w in terms of canon personality but its frustrating

the light novel purple haze feedback is so so so good and adds sm to his character and i really like it for that!

fugo is one of those that imo deserves a lot and didnt get that

genuinely the vibes between how he treats narancia is v interesting to me, like its clear he cares about nara but nara not doing great w math really frustrates him

i love their interactions and how he is genuinely a kind person at times

the manga colors r superior here, my strawberry boy <3

i just really love and appreciate him a lot and wish that ppl gave him more love

i keep getting assigned him on kin quizzes

very smart good boy

ALSO ok fugo did not do any wrong by leaving

unsure if thats a hot take but i genuinely dont blame the character one bit for leaving and again purple haze feedback really delves into that and why he did it

if ur a fugo fan go read it

his past is really upsetting esp in the anime i will cry over it

his stand is adorable and i wanna hug it

his vibes r fun and i wanna gift him strawberry dangly earrings

8/10

Narancia Ghirga:

this boy i am also adopting (i am adopting most of them sorry)

i really hate how ppl act as if hes stupid bc bad math skills do not equal stupid like did ppl not see the fight w formaggio??

the way he just fucking dove into the water after the boat and how brunos face went all soft and happy it will never not make me cry

he is constnatnly making me wanna cry if i think too much about him for 2 seconds i love him sm

how can anyone not adore him when he set an entire street on fire yk

hes just happy despite his past and it makes me sad i love nara sm

torture dance is one of my favorite memes from the show

ALSO ok the way he died so suddenly absolutely broke me bc the remaining team members r really just seeing everyone die in front of them so quickly

his goofy and laid back moments r my fave

i love just how loyal and caring he is to his friends

his stand is really cool and again the fight w formaggio was so fun to watch

8/10

Guido Mista:

probably my least favorite member of the team for a semi good reason:

the jokes towards trish are really really uncomfy and how fugo doesnt wanna be involved but he is pushing him to do something that makes him uncomfortable did not make me like him a lot

hes goofy but not goofy enough for me to be ok with the repeated jokes about that esp in the body swap episode (ik it was supposed to be funny but it just felt off)

his vibes r good but i wish we got to see his hair

the fandom interpretation is normally pretty good of him overall?

despite not loving him a lot, i really enjoying writing for him (one day might open up headcanon requests or smth but unsure)

hes someone id wanna watch movies w but his taste in movies and mine r very different

love how he and his stand get along

honestly has very very good comedic potential

i really like how he and giorno interact as the series goes on (in a platonic way i need to clarify that i love their friendship)

again him in purple haze feedback was really interesting

probably a 5/10?

Trish Una:

beloved and deserved better

her first outfit in the manga > outfit in the anime

actually in general i believe in manga trish superiority like her hair in the manga looks so cool

her stand her stand her stand i love sm

if u dont include trish in the group i am murdering u <3

HER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!! IS SO GOOD!!!!!!

fandom gripe is how people either pretend she does not exist or has the trish first introduction thing where shes using her defense mechanisms and acting a bit spoiled

OK but her in purple haze feedback!!! mild spoilers but how bruno was taking care of her post the ending of vento aureo makes me so happy each time i think of it

very mad that she canonically didnt really get an ending and yet again PHF my beloved actually gave her that

how spice girl starts out as a stand thats helping her thru a very stressful situation is so cool and i love it

DAD BRUNO DAD BRUNO DAD BRUNO *frothes at the mouth*

but more seriously how she leans on bruno and begins 2 trust him and nearly point blank is referring to him as a father figure always fucks me up

esp because of the resulting fight afterwards

and the very ending of the arc that ends w bruno being like bye gonna go in the clouds and look ethereal now, oh man it makes me so sad

bc giorno is the only one that knew what happened and people that were closer to bruno due to knowing him longer didnt

i wanna see how trish coped w that personally

despite being introduced not at the beginning i think her arc and character in general were as well paced as it could be!

9/10

finally done! sorry that took so long but oh man i have so many feelings towards these guys its not even funny

[tartagliaxx]

I finally finished Inazuma Archon quest and I have so many things in my mind.

Spoiler maybe (????????)

1. I wanna slap Ei so so so so so so bad. Like, uhg, damn.

2. I think I'm in love with Yae Miko, be my mommy ma'am 🥺

3. It bruns me to the core that Childe is one of the fatui, after seeing all the things they've done and how they don't really care about human life... I feel like, uhg, out of love with him? I still like him but then my brain says "He's not too different from Scara, he tried to drown Liyue, what if he would have succeeded?" I'm having a crisis here. Childe the househusband and Childe the heartless fatui, I hope in this new event we can learn more about him but still... I feel salty.

4. I cried like a baby, Teppei, I'll miss you so much.

5. Archons are selfish, I don't trust them no matter how attractive and daddy like cofcofzhonglicofcof they can be.

Okay, I finished! In general a good story, however, the ending was kinda rushed? Hehehehe Thank you for reading, I just wanted to share this with you 💕

🤷🏻‍♀️ Anon

so uh… well… hm… i have a lot of things to say abt the inazuma archon quest and aha… majority of them are… not good </3 i wont bore u w it tho bc istg i could write a full 180 pages just ranting abt whatever the hell that was. i did share my thoughts utc abt the points u made tho

ei is… well i dont really know what to say abt her. i like her design and her playstyle but how she was written? eh… i’m not the fondest unfortunately. i cant say that she’s not endearing sometimes tho.

yes. i worship one (1) yae miko 🧎‍♀️

lol. well… as his self-proclaimed first wife, i feel like i need to defend him but literally, with what?? i made an in-depth analysis over this b4 and idk if you read it but it was in an ask and i discussed my take on househusband childe and canon childe. the way i see it, scaramouche and childe are different. they’re both evil, yes, but their ambition, reasoning and way of things make them different kinds of evil people. in my eyes, childe seems like the person who would avoid unnecessary innocent deaths but wouldn’t hesitate to cut them down for his own goal. on the other hand, i dont think scaramouche would even bother w his dubious morals. now dont get me wrong, death is death and im not justifying his murders. i’m just saying that to a degree, childe does care abt human life. after all, he values his family. i find it hard to believe that whenever he does kill, he doesnt, for a split second, see his family’s faces. it’s just that he values his own ambition over life and its not any better but i think it’s a vital point of his character. one thing i like abt childe is that he’s not pretentious and the game also does a good job of portraying him as a harbinger. childe has never tried to pretend as if he’s a misunderstood villain. no, he admits that he’s a bad person who has done bad things and the game doesnt make it anymore or less than it’s supposed to be. yes, this guy is bad. there’s no justifying that. he was introduced from the get-go as someone we should be wary of and we were. ngl tho, i dont think him succeeding in liyue would affect anything. first, his plan was never going to succeed bc zhongli was ready to fix things if the qixing proved to be incompetent and second, because childe already has red on his ledger even b4 the game started. he’s canonically ‘evil’ and ‘immoral’ in that sense. tldr, liking childe means a.) liking the complexities of his canon character and psychology, b.) liking the fans’ portrayal of childe and c.) a little of both. i think you fit in the b category in which case i feel like you should avoid letting the canon bleed into your views bc it’ll be quite stressful? difficult? to think abt. i really do think it’s easier to think of those as two different people bc the way househusband childe could become canon is very different from the househusband childe you probably have in mind.

sigh… teppei you would be missed… i hope you had more development and roles.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm ok so i have a lot to say abt this but i’ll get to the gist. ‘selfish’ would be a good term but i also feel like it’s lacking. rather than being ‘selfish’ i think they’re more ‘human.’ they’re no different to the mortals save for their ageless and powerful nature. every day, we receive stimulus that make us react differently, possibly immorally which i can assure you, none of these archons believe they were immoral. ei, for example, believed an unchanging inazuma would be the best way to safeguard her people from the pain of loss. zhongli also thought that him leaving liyue to the hands of the people is a gift and so is venti’s lack of overseeing presence in mondstadt. we cant say they’re wrong bc their principles are also fundamentally different from ours. similarly, i can’t say for sure that if i were in their shoes (which is to say i am a god who experienced years of war, faced millions of loss and did smth that was against my morals), i’ll be any less ‘selfish.’ the only reason i could react negatively rn at ei’s actions is bc i know what it means to be mortal and to waste away but in her eyes, she probably cant comprehend the human dislike for stagnancy. how could she when she’s been stagnantly herself all these thousands of years? the truth of this matters remains to be that these archons thought they were right (just like human decision in their day to day drama) and the choices they made are flawed similar to how humans would make choices that cant be agreeable for everyone. but yes. don’t trust anyone for that matter

the entire thing was rushed. wish it took a different turn but eh- i hope this was a good reply lol. i got carried away and ended up rambling abt my cluttered view of some things. hope you dont mind <33

[cartoonyappreciation]

Okay so I’ve seen all the aus of Izuku with a ghost quirk... but let’s combine it with a villaindeku! Au and hopefully some dadzawa and a bit of dad might.

Trigger warning for mental disorders and near death experiences, abandonment, depression, manipulation... umm i think that’s it but lmk if I should add more bc the last thing I’d wanna do is trigger someone.

————————————-

Izuku develops his quirk shortly after his father leaves, when he and his mother get caught up in a villain attack.

Let’s say it was at their apartment complex and the building is collapsing and izuku get hit in the head bc I’m lazy and have very little creativity.

Causes a near death experience and when he wakes up, he can see ghosts.

When he tries to tell people, they write it off as trauma and eventually schizophrenia.

Of course, none of the “treatments” work bc it’s actually a quirk and ghosts are real.

As he gets older, he begins to accept his quirk more, but he also decides to hide it and pretend to be quirkless instead. Whether this is the result of some #goodparentmidoriyainko or #badparentmidoriyainko is up to y’all, depends on how much you wanna punish izuku (izuku my child, I am so sorry)

He starts hanging out on “the streets” more, doing little things to help restless spirits move on. He, of course, experiences lots of quirkless discrimination bc I’m an asshole. And plot.

Like in some of the other ghostquirk aus, his quirk makes him more susceptible to being attacked by ghosts, both physically and mentally in the forms of possession and hauntings. Ya know, like if a ghost or demon is haunting someone, they can affect their moods, thoughts, stuff like that.

It also, however, allows him to make ghosts around him more powerful, increasing their powers. He discovers this, of course, one night when he is attacked in an ally while trying to help out some poor sap of a spirit. He, being scared, activates whatever that park of his quirk is and the ghost helps him scare off/incapacitate/escape the villain.

This definitely leads to some child vigilanteism.... and if he saves shota aizawa’s life a few times to get on his radar... its not bc im soft for dadzawa. Its setting up further plot.

And then... during AFO and All Mights first fight..... AFO actually dies.

AFO, being a centuries-old asshole, would definitely not just cross-over. Of course, even tho I would love for the other ghosts to devour his soul, that doesn’t happen. I dunno if they just weren’t around or couldn’t interact, maybe he’s a powerful spirit for some reason, maybe he’s actually a demon, I haven’t decided.

He finds out through the grapevine about this kid and decided to do what he does best, be a manipulative, grooming asshole.

So he finds Izuku, already with low self esteem and upset with the system, and yes Izuku still wants to be a hero, he wants to fix the system. If supportivemidoriyainko exists in this universe, maybe she has helped him reach the conclusion that he could be an underground hero, or at least specialize in information gathering for heros. Even tho I love bamfizuki and waytoosmartforhisowngoodizuku, my brain won’t accept that a like 8-10year old would come to that realization without help.

Anyway, AFO starts haunting izuku, little whispers and shit, trying to convince him that the only way society can be fixed is to be broken, and basically just spewing hate and anger like the slippery fucking eel he is to this already tired and jaded child.

AFO, having stuck around him for a few years, is able to tighten his hold, bordering on possession.. and this is where stuff gets even more shitty for our dear protagonist

Either other ghost villains catch wind of what is happening, or AFO eventually convices izuku to go kill some villains, but he eventually ends up surrounded by all these evil ass spirits, affecting him and shit. He loses control and joins up with the league(maybe?) at afos insistence.

In my idea of ghosts, there would probably be a lot more ghosts of villains and vigilantes than heros, so even tho some ghost heros want to help izuku, by the time they know what’s going on, he’s already surrounded by a wholeass army lf ghostvillains so they can’t get close enough to reach him.

Shit happens, maybe following along with events from cannon. At one point there is a confrontation that I completely imagine happening to Halsey’s “Control” (i can picture the scene, even if I cant fucking draw) where izuku’s there, facing off against the heros and hero students and when he activates his quirk, hundreds... okay maybe I’m making this too op, too dramatic.... like 50 ghost villains appear, with AFO right there with his hand on deku’s shoulder. Maybe an adapted version of usj. In that case, ghostvillains, or at least afo wouldnt be revealed until toshinori arrived. Eraserhead, of course, recognizes him and is trying to understand wtf happened to him until detective tsu-whatever truth detector and all might explain who afo was.

This isn’t detective slander i just am genuinely too lazy to look up how to spell.

Thing is tho.... the OFA ghosts are there too, surrounding all might or whoever he makes his successor. They don’t appear to everyone else bc of course izuku wouldn’t power them, but they are trying to figure out wtaf is going on. They’ve been so connected to the host of ofa that they hadn’t really noticed the other shit going down in the ghost realm, but they sure as hell do now. They fight off against some of the villains, but in the end, can’t make it to him at this encounter.

Then we have another encounter, this one def follows “achilles come down” by Gang of Youths. Throughout whatever battle this is, you get various ofa holders, plus toshinori, aizawa, and some of the other neutral or good ghosts he’s helped and knew in the past to remember himself, gain back control from afo and some of the other villains.

Bc this is as far as my brain has gone, I imagine the hero’s get through to him, he uses his built up power to forcibly remove afo’s influence... i dunno if this happens by him like... forcing him to cross, outright destroying him, or just by taking his power and making him a weak spirit for the others to finally devour or something. The rest of the afo spirits can finally rest and izuku can start becoming a hero again.

[holdinghandswithastatue]

my thoughts on the lorien legacies reborn series [spoilers]

i think it sucked

sorry

i loved most of the characters to bits and they all deserved better (in terms of characterisation, plot)

nigel. oh my god nigel i love him so much

ran takeda deserved SO MUCH BETTER im still mad

the way they hinted at a whole bunch of romances but only made the one i dont give a shit about canon

i really really hate white girl taylor cook

yes, having a white american girl as the main character IS diversity :))))))

isabela is cool as shit and i wish i was her

i love their fleshed out backstories but i wish i couldve heard more

THERE WAS LITERALLY NO DEVELOPMENT IN MOST OF THEM (personally i think the series was cut short bc they all had so much more room to grow)

(it gave off percy jackson movies energy)

it hurts me how the writing hinted that nigel would get his heroic moment but he literally never did 

and then nigel was left with what? his only best friend dead, his parents corrupt assholes and him still not having healed from his trauma- still the underdog

ALSO: NIGEL WAS THE ONLY CANONICALLY GAY CHARACTER (except for maybe daunphen but still that doesnt really count bc its only implied) but they just like. didnt give him a love interest. 

nic was literally right there- that homoerotic moment really hit me and i just read it over and over

ran’s death was really well done but also COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE

if isabela had just told einar to stfu and shoot lucas it wouldve all been over and ran and five would still be alive 

speaking of which, ran and five were a super cute couple/friendship i cant tell but i like their dynamic a lot

five saying that he “actually likes” ran is essentially a confession of love in his terms

caleb. i liked him. but he was so boring and straight. i think his development wouldve been great if they just DID SOMETHING WITH HIM

also idk whether to ship isabela with caleb or daunphen but personally i like to think of daunphen as trixic which is unrelated

caleb literally. had potential. troubled home life. not as bad as the others but he never really stopped being an uptight little bitch

if he had, i think he wouldve been great

I LOVED EINAR’S GROUP’S DYNAMIC

do they have a name? i feel like they do but i cant remember

like... what a mix of characters, i love how they work together

personally i think theyre just the gay friend group

on the topic of einar,

i KNOW i shouldnt love him the way i do but if you didnt want me to love him you SHOULDNT HAVE GIVEN HIM REDEEMING QUALITIES

(same with five)

literally einar’s final monologue hurt me so much even though he nearly did drown nigel in gen 1 but still

“will you- will you finally listen?” yea kill me now 

i really hated how they brought the villain in in the final book. the fuck. who even gives a shit about lucas. no one remembers him

also it feels slightly political to make the main villain a radical christian who wants to convert the earth garde by killing them

listen i could talk about einar all day

i think he and isabela were a great friendship... of sorts

i mean did einar ever really let anyone close enough to him to make friends

but hes just so... S O F T

no hes not 

but he is to me 

ew

kopano really deserved a better gf than taylor

god 

also i wanted to see more of miki

again i will reiterate i think nic and nigel wouldve made a great couple

i keep forgetting theyre all just teenagers and thats kinda painful

einar was just a kid bro 

SO MUCH NUANCE TO HIS CHARACTER THAT WAS NOT EXPLORED

so much potential

hmm am i forgetting anyone?

lets talk about john smith

that man has a hero complex and its really annoying and part of me is really glad he wasnt the one to save the day this time but also i didnt want ran to die so

i think it wouldve been fitting if einar just ended it all since he kinda started the whole fiasco

fuck bea barnaby and her homophobic (and also mass-murdering) ass

the john and marina thing shouldve been forgotten completely no one ships them pls 

they had their one true loves just let them be without an s/o thanks

ella deserved to have more screen (? its a book) time bc she was my favourite character in the original series

OH MY GOD I HAVENT TALKED ABOUT NINE YET

hes the loml

also the part where lucas (in the body of john) rips off his cybernetic arm really hurt me

i kinda wish taylor died instead of ran

kill off the heroic white girl instead: the fifth wave style

john is such a stupid selfish bastard honestly but having a hero complex a valid flaw but still. i cannot deal with his bullshit all the time

writing one line on john and nine reuniting was cruel when you know most of the fandom ships them

also i like einar’s softening up near the end, and treating the group like they were his actual friends 

i wish we couldve seen more of them

i love myself a found family ragtag group situation

even though 2 of them died 

and the other has an inhibitor in his head, gets shocked every 3 minutes and took the fall for everyone

AS HE SHOULD THOUGH, MOST OF IT IS HIS FAULT

but hes just a kid

my thoughts are so scattered

omg stop i think i relate to einar... no..... not the literal mass murderer “terrorist” psychopath

he’s uptight and always needing to be in control

but he feels the pressure of having to be perfect to everyone else, and thus falls apart on the inside

gosh i wish i didnt love einar the way i do

final thoughts (but i’ll probably add even more): ran :’( nigel :( taylor >:( caleb :| einar :’( isabela >:) daunphen :D john :|

i hope no one reads this

[simpingforthisonedeer]

who are your top ten black clover characters and ships? talk about them! -tat!

Tat? I just woke up and I don’t know who you are so please forgive me tat if I already know you but if I actually don’t, then nice to meetcha! Thank you for this interesting ask! I didn’t know people were interested in my thoughts or what I had to say sakjdhksj

I don’t have too many ships because Black Clover is mainly action so it is focused on that. I don’t ship any of the underage characters because they are all children who are busy saving the world and the adult characters such as the Captains(except Yami and Charlotte) and the Wizard King are all too busy with work and saving their kingdom and the world. They have no time for romance as of now. But, BC is going to be as long or even longer than One Piece according to Tabata so there is hope for everyone ;)

I’ve ordered this list from the bottom to the top so I hope you don’t mind 👹

10. William Vangeance

Look, if I was in the BC universe, what he did would be unforgivable to me. Instead of not enabling his most dearest friend to commit genocide, he leaves it up to him and the person he respects the most to fight to the death so he wouldn’t have to decide. Like who in their right minds would stand aside if their closest friend wanted to commit genocide for something that happened 500 years ago?

I was initially really upset with William but after a while, I started liking his character. Usually when people are like “I like this so-and-so character because they are flawed,” I would be like please🙄 but William is the first character I have ever truly liked for being flawed. Like this man loved Patri so much that he was willing to let people die. Not that it’s a good thing but you get what I mean. But at the same time, just as much he loved, he knew it was wrong so it was an impossible choice for him and I absolutely love that about him. But keep in mind, if he was an actual person I knew, my opinion would be waaaaaay different.

9. Zara Ideale

This man is badass as all hell like cmon. First commoner to become a magic knight??? That’s freaking amazing😎😎😎 and the way he kept a smile on his face despite everyone underestimating him and beating him down? Very respectable😎 The way he was an amazing, single father and a role model to Zora? That’s hot 😎 And the way he inspired my man Julius? Freaking iconic😎

8. Mereoleona Vermillion

She is simply a hot woman with a rough side, an OP character and an amazing leader. What more can I say 🙈🙈🙈

7. Finral Roulacase

I love his character because he is trying so hard to get better for Finnese’s sake. I mean he isn’t doing too good of a job but he is first gaining confidence in himself and I could clearly see a realistic difference in him. I personally don’t ship him with Finesse unless I see them bond more tbh but this is going to be a looooong story so there may be space for development there.

6. Grey x Gauche

Look, I don’t like Gauche because of his sister complex. It’s played off as a joke way too many times and I find it icky but the teased ship between him and Grey seems realistic and nice to me. Like he could help Grey build up her confidence and Grey could teach him what it is to love another person. Ships that build each other up make me go uwu asjkdhakjsd

5. Klaus Lunettes

I absolutely adore Klaus because this man is the prime example of hope for the next generation. He is a noble who was initially derisive of Asta and Yuno because they were peasants but now he actually loves and respects them. This is how the next generation should be. Nobles shouldn’t only learn to tolerate commoners and peasants but actually respect and even love them as well.

I especially like for his Klaus’s love and concern for Asta and find it incredibly wholesome and endearing. He is an amazing friend and actually voices his concerns if any of them are about to do something stupid unlike someone askjdaks

4. Charlotte Roselei

Charlotte is a badass woman and with the way she is written, just because she is in love, didn’t mean that she was any less than her position as Magic Knight Captain. What I mean is that she wasn’t reduced to a woman in love with Yami and actually has her moments where she gets to shine and im not going to spoil anything but she’s doing amazing in the manga and I’m cheering for her 😎

3. Fuegoleon Vermillion

Ok, I know I don’t talk about him as much but I really love his character because he inspires other people like Asta and Noelle and is a great magic knight captain. His character and the way he holds himself also reminds me of Erwin from AoT asdhakdkfsjk. Him and his fire magic and salamander are badass as hell and he also makes for an amazing leader. I genuinely like seeing him being all authoritative and it’s a nice contrast from Julius’ passive attitude. If Julius wasn’t Wizard King, it would be him.

2. Yami Sukehiro

Who in their right minds don’t like Yami Sukehiro? Like he is such a freaking dad to the rest of the squad and he has such amazing fight scenes and his spell, “Dimension Slash?” Freaking amazing like when he got trapped in the Dream World, I knew he was going to use that spell and it was so freaking cool. Not only that, he pushes everyone around him to be better and to surpass their limits. I like his constant presence and he makes for some really funny moments with his dry humor XD

1. Julius Novachrono

IM LITERALLY JULIUS NOVACHRONO BRAINROT AHGDKJSHDJKSFJKSH ITS IN MY NAME I SIMP FOR THIS MAN AND THIS MAN ONLY SO FREAKING MUCH AHSKAJSNJKA 

Ok, so besides the fact that this man is HOT AS FUCK He’s also very sweet and when he nerds about magic it’s the most adorable thing in the world. In the beginning, I thought he may be a villain because he was too good to be true. But that was up until when he obliterated the Midnight Sun at their hideout I just went🥵🥵🥵 look I thought he was a passive character BUT GAH DAYUM the way he looked at patri like boi whatchu doin🤨 he was so bored during that fight like LAWD HAVE MERCY

I’m so sorry anon but you should’ve expected this from my hoe ass

I also love OP characters and I also happened to like time a lot. Like I am a massive Doctor Who fan and I’m a whole physics nerd and I’ve always been fascinated by Time, Gravity and Space among other things so of course I love Julius🥰🥰

I like how there are small details for his time spells like the fact that his Chronostasis spell only brings time to a near stop because completely stopping time would stop the movement of particles and instantly freeze and kill the person. AJSDJLKASJD I’ll stop nerding now(never👹)

Oh god, when I get to True Time Magic in my fic😩 light, time and gravity in the backdrop of magic got me shaking

He’s very charming and has good morals which is a big point in his favor but he’s also such a dad?? He takes Yami and William and basically raises them in their crucial years(teenage is pretty crucial right? I think so🤔) I don’t have daddy issues but GAH DAYUM HE FINE

I know he’s a kid and all that now but knowing Tabata, it’s because if he actually died, things would all go to shit real fast and I believe he would age up in some way or maybe actually grow up gradually and not die again(fingers crossed TvT) and actually contribute to the plot more😩 give me the grown up Julius, Tabata 👹👹👹

I mean if Tabata made the right decisions with his story, he would show Julius become less and less of a centrist in the name of character development and let him lose👀👀

[galacticlamps]

that episode was such fun! the sontarans were great, I honestly don’t know if they’ve ever been so captivating to watch before. my other spoiler-free thought is Damn i can’t wait to see some crazy-skilled cosplayers recreate those villains’ costumes, i know we had pics of them before now but still, the whole time watching them i was just thinking about how fantastic they looked

yaz not freaking out too much and yet having to ask ‘promise?’ while she was disappearing broke my heart. which was good because the next bit of her literally having written wwtdd on her hand was well intentioned but pretty stupid. i get it had to be something specific and physical for the full creepiness of mr swarm knowing about it to hit home (versus it being some kind of inference anyone could’ve guessed about yaz trying to emulate her more generally) but still, it struck me as so dumb i’d actually like an explanation for it at some point - why’d she have that on her hand today? she can’t always walk around like that, can she? but other than that everything with yaz this ep was great so can’t complain.

dan is so dumb i love it. no i dont mean the tempura line either. i mean him telling his parents it’s okay he’ll go deal with the sontarans bc he has experience with aliens now. dude you might’ve known aliens existed a day ahead of everyone else but that’s because you got kidnapped and locked in a cage and keep getting teleported places. i don’t think you exactly had much in the way of useful experience by the time you made that claim, but you’ve got a bit more by the end of the episode, at least. and you seem to be becoming a proper companion now, you made the choice to go when you could’ve stayed home this time, anyway.

i also liked dan’s parents! i know a lot of their lines were kinda eyerollish parents-being-parents type things to say but i also believed his mother about the sontarans coming to liverpool first, and i like the idea of the place itself being important to this plotline for some reason, im interested to see where all that goes

god help the tardis tho my girl does not deserve this. im still not sure if dan’s slated to stick around post-flux but i wonder what it would do to a companion’s understanding of the whole doctor/tardis/time travel situation for their first impression to be the tardis being this uniquely fucked up.

i think the ep itself struck a good balance between stand alone and part of the arc, which i was happy about - i really enjoyed everything that happened in the historical storyline, so i wouldnt mind if any of it comes up again later but it’s also nice to feel like you’ve absorbed a full story start to finish by the end of an episode, and i do feel that way tonight so that’s good. the trailer for the next ep was super short, and without much identifiable except a menagerie of characters/villains it’s hard to say if it’ll be similar to this week’s in that regard or go back to focusing on developing flux-centric stuff - maybe there’s a pattern of alternating episodes spending more time on self contained plots vs the big picture? or maybe there is a way all those seemingly unrelated things could be sewn up in one smaller story, afterall we are on the planet Time, and presumably in a different universe/dimension/something at least equally weird. I guess there are some simpler contexts that could account for everything in the trailer though - like god complex or even the death zone - but then again, if we are in an altered reality, i suppose even something like the environments in celestial toymaker/mind robber/deadly assassin is also on the table. maybe that’s why thirteen’s coat’s reversed, maybe it’s to indicate the difference between the real dr and an avatar of her.

i think the thing that surprised me most in this one was the muttonchop man yaz first ran into at the temple. he also showed up early on in the first ep but that one was so busy it didn’t feel strange, whereas here he definitely feels like the most unrelated thing to show up in the episode. and being at the beginning of both without ever reappearing, i feel like he’s meant to be seeded in and forgotten about, so hopefully that goes somewhere interesting. obviously thirteen’s vision of that nightmare house at the start was very weird too, but in the context it seemed less strange - it was way too big to resemble wherever diane got sucked into right? idk i feel like it’s a future thing not a past thing but who knows. unless its being in black and white was supposed to have ruth/pre hartnell vibes but im probably over analyzing now

also honorable mention to the triangles at the temple, who were kind enough to call themselves triangles. i do love a service bot with a bit of personality

[gild-and-fire]

Okay so I gotta ask - I can see you’re watching QotS and I’ve always been curious about it. Would you recommend??

I was so excited to receive your ask, Lauren! Thank you so much for sending it (and humoring me)--especially since I could talk about QOTS all day, but try to restrain myself bc I don’t want to be annoying lol. But unfortunately I have allowed myself to be unhinged and thus wrote a 700 word answer :) If you don’t feel like reading the whole thing lol I will refer you to @riosnecktattoo​’s ask which helped me to decide to watch QOTS. But here’s my spoiler-free, long post for why I love Queen of the South!

General

WOC as lead: I am obsessed with complex, badass, relatable women as leads, and i literally go FERAL when woc are leads. QOTS has two woc as leads and both are incredible actresses playing layered characters (Teresa and Camila).

For Camila, she leaves her husband and daughter to follow her ambitions and grow her business (not a spoiler). I think it’s very interesting how the show builds tension between Camila and her daughter due to this choice, and I enjoy that the show doesn’t answer but explores the “can women have it all” aspect and how she’s underestimated in the cartel business bc she's a woman and has to work harder to get where she is. 

For Teresa, I love her fortitude and moral compass, and like Beth, she’s definitely a badass. She is luckily a little bit more sensible/experienced than Beth when it comes to crime lol and actually has long standing success as the Queen of the South (duh, Audrey).

Worldbuilding: If the premise (mexican drug cartels) is interesting to you, then you’ll enjoy how they’ve built the gritty underworld of cartels and all the ruthless players from Texas to Columbia. Also, QOTS includes fantastic moments with magical realism which is such a neat genre overall and it really adds to the richness of the story. One of my favorite parts

Jeresa

It’s the parallels, it’s the trust, it’s the friendship and the way they sacrifice for the other person and save each other over and over again. 

Tropes: I especially love how James is framed as a “bad guy” (assassin in a cartel lol) and Teresa is the “good guy” (victim of cartel violence and thus against it,) but that over the course of the 3 seasons, they grow in different ways because of the other person. I think a lot about the fact that in their line of work it really does pay to be selfish/look out for yourself, and that both of them are very logical and realistic people. And yet! They both actively choose to protect and make sacrifices for the other person. makes me cry every time :,)

James is hot: James is fucking hot in that white henley and Lauren, I swear to god if this other gifset of James in his signature aviators doesn’t convince you, then I might throw this blog away

GG/BRIO

I want to contextualize this show by comparing it to good girls 

Consistency & Parallels: GG does this really well, but QOTS does it even better because there are plots and people from literally the first episode that come full circle and make a difference many episodes/seasons later. It’s clear that the writers really care about and have thought deeply about the development of their characters and plots. True for GG, but a little less so (looking @ you cancer lie and buddy the dog)

Violence: Okay you know how Rio just brings out the gun once in a while as foreplay? And like we have “seen” only one death in the entire series so far? In QOTS, it is impossible to watch a scene without two guns and a corpse lying around somewhere. If we’re lucky, maybe we won’t see a decapitated head being kicked around like a soccer ball more than once. I think if you can stomach the first two episodes, you’re fine.

OTP: brio’s UST is off the charts and im not sure i will EVER find a show that can match it, but jeresa is just so real. Ofc the cartel stuff can feel a little contrived sometimes, but their friendship and relationship is so healthy (given their circumstances), and it really is true love. For gg, I'm in the camp that they don’t actually love each other.  Side note: James is a main character with his own plots that intertwine with Teresa’s, which means we see him more than Rio’s 2min of him per episode. I know. It is truly a gift.

tl;dr QOTS is so good that I am incapable of acting like a normal human being and would like to scream about my love for this show. And if you decide not to watch this show, at least look at some gifsets of James. 

[theshinsun]

1. as far as im concerned Kagami never left at the end of last game, that was an extended dream sequence... 2. i also totally agree with you that Kagami is prolly vers, if anything, and it was also MY PET PEEVE when people pinholed him into being a forever bottom at the peak of knb hype. 3. you keep teasing your long list of ships for Aomine PLEASE do him for the character thing lol. So far all your opinions are sending me into a realm of GOOD VALID VIBES

Omg thank you!! (I agree end of Last Game is not canon… or if it is he came right back the next year or smth I refuse to accept he just left forever. And I’m really glad to see the problem of Uke™ Kagami seems to be in decline these days… fewer people are writing for knb in general, but those that are seem to have an idea what a real gay relationship is or at least make him a fucking person and not a walking stereotype, and that’s encouraging to see). 

Also thanks so much for sending Aomine! …Strap in for this character essay tho I’ve been known to never shut up about this boy once you get me started.

How I feel about this character

I honestly… can’t even explain it anymore or even try to justify it but Aomine has had a bigger impact on me than, I think, any other character I’ve seen to date. I don’t even know what it is, I do relate to him (and project on him *cough*) but like, there are other characters out there that I have more in common with, and I like his whole arc and aesthetic but it’s nothing revolutionary, so… your guess is as good as mine. 

Whatever it is, I’ve been obsessed with this guy for over half a decade, and lately even as the KNB fandom falls into decline, my feelings are not they’re just getting stronger. His development over the course of the series is one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever seen, (that one bit at the end of the Touou/Seirin game with “I want to practice” and his later conversation with Kuroko hit me in the fucking chest every time), and I love how even though he’s portrayed as cold, uncaring and rude, it’s still understood (at least by anyone with some nuance) that that’s not what he’s supposed to be like, and underneath the distant, kind of dickish front, he’s hurting a lot. I’ve talked about the degree to which he cares about people before too, but I still have to give a mention to the ferocious level of protectiveness this guy has for his friends. I could go on about him for ages, tbh, and maybe someday I will write a for-real structured essay to try to get it out there, but the bottom line is I love this character, I have for a long time, and likely will continue to do so long into the future.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Okay here we go… I ship this guy extremely liberally, even with people he’s never interacted with (hell you could mention any random character and I could probably see my way clear to shipping them with him somehow, I’ll still try to explain my logic if I can). Prepare yourself.

Kagami (of course, AoKaga is the OTP and definitely the one I’ve devoted the most time to, they’re just the best together I’ll never get tired of seeing them figure their shit out over and over)

Kuroko (I may be AoKaga on main, but I’m still such a sucker for the tragic romance between these two, and sometimes it just hits me over the head like a sledgehammer how much I love their relationship. I’ve also got a lot of feelings for AoKagaKuro, they’re such a perfect trio and I need to invest more of my time in the OT3)

Kise (I was a bit late to the game on AoKise, but I definitely see it now. I love their dynamic and how imperfect their relationship would probably be, the complexity of it. sign me up)

Momoi (I don’t see a lot of AoMomo love anymore, but I’ve still got a soft spot for it, childhood friends are my weakness okay)

Midorima (they’re so different but that’s what makes it interesting, and I love the idea of neither of them knowing how to show/tell the other their feelings and being awkward stubborn shits together)

Murasakibara (they almost never interact but I just think they’d have such a soft cuddly relationship and be really chill together… lazy Sunday mornings sleeping in and hanging all over each other that kinda thing)

Akashi (kinda same as Akashi/Kagami, I think the difference between polished upper-class Akashi and scrappy city boy Aomine would be hella interesting… though I’ve also got some angst ideas for them as a couple, after how things went down at Teiko… abandonment and whatnot)

Imayoshi (I got pulled into this ship HARD by Lysapadin’s A Firm Hand series and now it’s no longer a guilty pleasure ship and is actually something I’ll talk about in the open, just… the power dynamic fuck me up)

Sakurai (I fuckin love the idea of an anxious Sakurai crushing hard on Aomine and not knowing how to tell him but when he finally plucks up the courage and prepares himself for imminent death Aomine’s actually pretty chill about it… plus they’d be adorable together tbh)

Wakamastu (you know it’s gotta be enemies to lovers. not just bc I’m intrigued by the love/hate relationship itself but if you look past the attitude issues these two would actually probably have a lot in common. also I’m really interested in how their dynamic might change with Wakamatsu being captain and all)

Susa (idk but there’s one throwaway line in season 3 where Imayoshi says about Aomine “actually maybe he likes you” and that’s enough for me. bring me the rarest rarepair my body is ready)

Kasamatsu (it wasn’t supposed to be SERIOUS but they got me. That moment in the Touou/Kaijo game where Aomine helps him up and “you’ve really done it now, senpai” is legit, plus these two would be such a good-looking couple, honestly.)

Mibuchi (give me the pretty boys. I have no excuse for this except maybe their interactions in my own damn fic again)

Nebuya (sometimes shipping can be as simple as hey I want them to bang right. also they’re both humongous dorks under their respective rough exteriors and I love them)

Moriyama (they bond over liking girls at first and then they’re simultaneously like wait a minute… more Touou/Kaijo ships pls)

Nijimura (I have this idea of them reuniting late into/after high school and Aomine still calls him captain out of habit and Nijimura’s like relieved and impressed to see how he’s developed since the mess at Teiko)

Himuro (they Never interact but they’d be so Petty and Snarky sign me up)

Haizaki (twisted, but I’m interested it’d be so unhealthy and awful bring it)

Hanamiya (even more twisted tbh but there is that moment where Aomine confronts him… and I’m here for hate sex just as much as your typical romance)

Inoue (who, you ask? I know he’s such a side character and no one remembers him, but he’s a big reason for Aomine’s downfall at Teiko and they seemed to be buddies before that, I’d be interested in some kind of reconciliation between them, or a romance, ya know whatever works)

And then we get into crossover territory… MOST of these are not my fault they’re just things I’ve seen and adopted for myself

Kuroo Tetsurou (someone made a moodboard for them, and now I can’t stop thinking about them in a relationship, like damn… it’d be such a beautiful mess I wanna see more of it)

Oikawa Tooru (I’ve seen art, and also the light. These two damaged angsty prodigies, one sharp as a whip the other dumb as bricks, but both of them sassy and nerdy as hell. I could see myself getting addicted to this ship if I took the time to write it out, and I just might)

Yamazaki Sousuke (can’t lie, they look good together. I’ve seen more than one art piece of them interacting and I have a Mighty Need.)

Matsuoka Rin (angry lonely talented boys finding solace in each other’s company? you know that’s my shit. also shark teeth and cop AUs hells yeah.) 

Tanaka Ryuunosuke (I don’t know where the fuck this idea came from but I thought of Tanaka trying to pick a fight with “shitty boi” Aomine while in Tokyo and then losing his shit and here we are)

Terushima Yuuji (this one is purely physical… they pretty, I have no other reason, but also this absolute fuckboy, these two would be such a train wreck and I’m here for it tbh)

Yachi Hitoka (okay picture this Giant Terrifying basketball player trying to be less giant and terrifying to tiny shy Yachi and tell me you don’t just want to see that happen. I get Legosi/Haru vibes.)

I’ll spare you the rest of the ideas I’ve tossed around, because past this point it becomes pure crack (if it hasn’t already) but you get the idea. Throw a character my way and I can probably talk myself into it that’s the power this guy has over me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My non-romantic OTP for this character

K considering the List… it shouldn’t be surprising that I also consider this person a romantic candidate, but you know when it comes to non-romantic OTP it’s gotta be Momoi. Platonic or romantic, the way she’s stuck with him all those years and his obvious protectiveness and love for her and how (even though he claims to like big tits) he never even once starts to objectify her in any way, it’s so important to me. Momoi is Aomine’s redeeming factor when he’s at his worst, and she goes to bat for him even while he’s actively trying to shake her off and still tries to protect and help him when he refuses to accept it, even when it means they fight. (Also Kuroko saying “Aomine’s probably looking for you” after their argument puts to mind Aomine running through the rain calling Momoi’s name and that is just… pure). These two have the kind of unshakable long-standing friendship that’ll probably last them the rest of their lives, and no matter what context or form it takes, I can’t get enough of it. 

My unpopular opinion about this character

I’ve harped on enough about the fandom’s portrayal of Aomine as a one-note asshole who doesn’t care before, so let’s see if I can change gears a little bit here. 

I honestly don’t agree with… the persistent idea people seem to have of Aomine being a narcissist or obsessed with himself? Like yeah, he’s self-absorbed and egotistical, no question, this is not to say he hasn’t got those flaws and others besides… but that’s not the same as being like, physically attracted to yourself. Part of me suspects it was a “the only one who can fuck me is me” joke taken too far, so that now the idea of Aomine being in love with himself is just ingrained into the fanon culture, but if you look at the show itself, personally I don’t see it. If anything, I would think he’d have some self-loathing issues to work through (and that’s part of the reason he gave for skipping practice, he doesn’t want to be the way he is, and specifically says he doesn’t want to increase the difference between him and everyone else). But hey, that’s just my opinion. I’ll get off my soapbox now.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I mean he says he and Kagami are postponing their match, after their brief one-on-one when he gives him the shoes, and then we never get to see it… Tbh just more street ball with this guy would be great, since it’s what his whole style is based around. Even if he’s just playing by himself… or hell, maybe since he thinks no one at the high school level can beat him, we could get a scene of him trying to go up against adults. Maybe he still beats them and his despair worsens after that, but then it’d have more meaning, and at least we’ll have seen that he’s tried and is not just giving up before he’s seen all of what he could be up against in the future. Plus, picturing Aomine going five-on-one like Haizaki did against grown-ups and still slaughtering them is something I’d pay money to see. 

[coolitquentin]

im so mad they killed billy off w/o actually making him work for any redemption w/ max or the kids or himself. its such a cheap way to try and make us see him as the good guy now.

“he feels bad and now hes gonna die for them” isnt giving time for max to Rightfully be angry and decide if she wants to forgive him or not. i get her being sad, apparently theyve been together for much longer than id assumed and she was young enough to actually see him as family, but he was still shit to her and deserved to work past that at length. not have the first actual words from him to her all season just be “im sorry” and thats it.

hes one of my favorite characters, theres a bunch i love about how complex he is and dacre really gives more to him in his manerisms than maybe whats on paper, but im tired of this trend of characters not working through their bs bc monsters got in the way of their character development. a redemption arc isnt one huge good action to erase all the bad, its acknowledging bs behavior and working towards bettermant. and its not everyone forgiving you for your actions bc really theyre all guilty now that youre dead (or “dead” if some theories are to be believed). his past actions werent pointed except his anger issues and like damn i knew i was gonna be disappointed w/ what they did w/ him this season but i was hoping to be surprised.

i think hes dead for real. bc at this point im used to the duffer brothers pushing in deaths only for shock factor, but id hope not bc i really just want a genuine redemption where max gets to be angry and upset at years of abuse. also im just tired of abuse victims who turn out violent but “good underneath” not given the chance to work through their trauma and break the cycle

lmao there’s just a lot of layers into why im salty but i did enjoy this season, i promise

[charlyoddsox27]

its 6am, i havent slept, im bored, so im posting a list of the mercs in order of whom i like the most and reasons why, because thats something i should do i guess?

here goes

(spoilers for the comics down below but either way i think im the only person on earth who has never read them before now)

~~~

~~1. Medic~~

reasons for being my favourite:

• fucking. look. at. him. 👌

• 'mad german doctor' is one of my favourite tropes and he is a pretty bang-on satirical depiction of it

• cute-ass german accent

• he has pet pidgeons hE LOVES HIS PIDGEON PALS THEY KEEP HIM COMPANY

• healers are the most respectable class imo and since Medic pretty much started it he's automatically the best, thats how it works right?

• he sold some random persons soul to satan in exchange for a ***ballpoint pen*** and can i just say, fucking mood??? (he is literally the "i'd sell you to satan for one cornchip" meme)

• "yes, Archimedes...I couldn't agree more." *shudders* b oi .. .

• so many more reasons to love this gross old doctor so little room in Tumblrs posts.

~~2. Spy~~

reasons for being my second favourite:

• cranky, done with everyones shit, just wants to be left alone, fucking mood

• he's a spy i mean c'mon. look at the swanky-ass suit, look at the class radiating from this asshole.

• he may be a dick but he has a soft side he's just too jaded to show it most of the time (see: Scouts death in the comics?? real tears. honestly wish they'd panned that out more.)

• masks are hot tbFH--

• he enjoys a nice glass of whisky by the fireplace and so do i (fun fact: france is the biggest importer of scottish whisky in the world so its a nice touch)

• shapeshifting is fucking cool are you serious like he can just. do that. what a legend

• "i have a cyanide pill in one of my molars, if i break it then spit some in your mouth before i die, we can avoid being tortured." *'heavy' bursts in to save them* "PFFTHBTHF--"

• "SEDUCE ME."

• arrogant frenchman is one of my other favourite tropes and this is the most arrogant frenchman ive ever seen

• he's the only fully sane Merc, maybe apart from Engie.

• people love to hate him bc he's an asshole but...come on. after working with all those other weirdos for years, you'd be pretty jaded too.

• as a gross shipper, he's the easiest and the most fun (imo) to ship with Medic (rip me)

~~3. Pyro~~

reasons for being my third favourite:

• would have tied with Soldier if it werent for that one picture of them in the comics holding a puppy over their head with the most adoring expression on their mask??? good Pyro. goodest Pyro.

• doesn't do much in the comics but makes up for it in pure charm. look at that soulless face and tell me you dont love it.

• ambiguous gender ambiguous gender amBIGUOUS GENDER AMBIGUOUS GENDER. she/he/they? trans? nb? whatever you headcanon, it'll never be confirmed so its literally up to your own imagination. fucking ace, Valve 👌👌👌

• likes to burn things. god damnit. they like to burn things, guys. but they enjoy it so much, you just cant hate them, you can only feel a sympathetic joy that this precious lunatic is having fun in their own little world.

• canonically mentally ill (schizoprenia? it could be hallucinogenic drugs but i like to think its schizophrenia.)

• pretty sure they burned a pair of pedophiles in the comics. at least i think thats what those panels were insinuating. "lets open an orphanage and have an endless supply of kids to--" sounds pretty red-flaggy to me tbh. plus they were the villains so, eh?

• bludgeoned a bear to death until its skull was pulp because it insulted their special interest. you go, Pyro.

• for a few bits in the comics they have a really cute family dynamic going on with other Mercs, Soldier for example."Miss Pauling, Pyros on my side of the car." "Miss Pauling, Pyro cut off my hand." fuckin' cuties.

• when they start putting on like 50 shirts to keep warm in the Russian mountains. chubby.

• a gas mask that can function as both badass, and completely adorable.

• just. everything about them. how could you not love them. they're not in the wrong, you are. stay away from my misunderstood child and let them burn things god damnit.

~~4. Soldier~~

look I'm sorry, I love Soldier and he was gonna be tied with Pyro but that fucking puppy drawing sold me.

• absolute gold every second he speaks. he could sneeze and i'll laugh.

• such a dumbass you cant get annoyed at him for it. like. just agree with him and move on. no point reasoning with a boulder. "haha! silly Miss Pauling, thinking theres different types of blood." Medic: "haha yes! indeed, silly."

• HUTTAH *NECK SNAP*

• i'm not American and even i can see how blatantly his character mocks stereotypical Patriotic Americans™. but its so dumb and laughable, its adorable.

• EVERYTHING ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ZHANNA IS A BLESSING. EVERYTHING.

• the first "meet the Mercs" video i ever saw was "meet the Soldier" so he holds a special place in my heart

• (preaches about experiencing the horrors of war; has never actually been to war. shh dont tell anyone though--) *neck gets snapped*

~~5. Demoman~~

• I'm Scottish. even though his accent is absolute garbage (no offense to the VA), any representation is very nice.

• Black AND Scottish?? i mean has a character like that even existed before TF2??? amazing example of representation right there. there are barely even any black people in Scotland, how did this happen. I love it. more of this, please.

• he's a drunk guy who blows shit up for shits and giggles and god I wish I could too, sounds like a miracle stress-reliever.

• his sassy black scottish mother. combining the stereotypical black mother with the stereotypical scottish mother is literally the best thing that ever happened.

• the bit in the comic where Medic explains that Demo can't remember what happened to his eye bc he scooped out part of his brain, and the look on Demo's face. just. the look.

• again, he's scottish, he's stereotypical, and he's awesome.

~~6. Sniper~~

• underrated

• piss jars. piss jars everywhere.

• "no dad, im not a crazed murdering lunatic, I'm an assassin. ...well one's a job and the other's mental sickness!!"

• "meet the Sniper" has kickass music

• ruffled gross old man who isn't actually old, he's just seen some SHIT

• actually given development in the comics + some really good scenes with Spy.

• so suave...so...handsome. handsome ruffled bushman. me like.

• he dies first in the comics but gets brought back and gets a cool-ass scar. and then he's just walking around naked everywhere for the rest of the comic. Medic, where the fuck did you put his clothes.

• isn't actually Australian. thats like one of the biggest twists in the comic. "no wonder i was never inhumanly strong and my chest hair didn't grow into the shape of Australia!!" Classic.

• says "bugger" a lot and i love that word

• he needs a hug, let me hug him. and give him a bath.

~~7. Heavy~~

I'm gonna be crucified for putting the big lad so low but i promise i dont dislike any of the Mercs. he'd be higher up but...ive never really liked big huge tank-men tbh :/

• loveable as fuck

• will murder you if you bully his puny little Medic

• i looove Russian accents omfg

• he like big gun. i can respect that.

• when Medic was killed and he went APESHIT on Classic!Heavy and I lost my fuckin' mind over that shit

• he probably has a soft spot for small cute animals. i love imagining him being swarmed by Medics flock of doves and petting them like "good bird...so many good bird..."

• actually smarter than people give him credit for???

• i really really wish his character was a lil more fleshed out but. that's just me. i love him but he doesn't have the same appeal to me as Medic or Spy.

• his entire relationship with Medic...ugh. yes. best friends and/or boyfriends. all good to me 👌

• he named his gun Sasha and that's adorable

~~8. Engineer~~

• gOD, FUCK, I REALLY WISH HE DID MORE IN THE COMICS. i barely know anything about his character. i like him a lot but...god, he...he doesn't...do.....anything.......

• he built a cool robot arm for himself and AI turrets and teleporter machines and guns that fire magic healing powers and immortality machines, in the 1960s. what. some kind of wizard fuckery is this.

• smoothest voice in the west

• "y'all"

~~9. Scout~~

oh god i really am gonna be crucified. i dont hate him i just. like him the least.

• shitboy

• reminds me of a shitty ex but also kinda relateable in a way

• some genuinely funny bits in the shorts.

• gross horny hetero teen boy with a god complex and serious daddy issues. also, he can't read. the "sex bom" tattoo on his chest will be an eternal testament to that. nice job, Spy. you raised him good.

~~~

hoo boy there we go theres all the boys, all the beautiful boys (and Scout) in order of how much i love them. if i made any errors in my info about the canon, feel free to send me death threats 💙 (no seriously tell me though, being a newbie is embarrassing)

so uh. yeah. that took two hours to write. its now 8am. im still bored lol. bye i guess.