#but this scene is so tragic to me because he did become the king of southland.. just not in the way he thought he would be

[sauronism]

the face i make when i believe my own lie.

[hauntingblue]

Kaido lore?!

[wordslikesilver]

I swear I’m almost done being mentally ill about Elden Ring I promise but I never see anyone talk about Morgott’s heart wrenching death scene. It’s never overtly pointed out but please imagine the progression of events from his perspective. Lying on his back, staring up at the sky, defeated. He’s one of the ONLY bosses that leaves behind a corpse and it’s heart wrenching okay, it’s OBLITERATING. Because he’s lying there withered and broken, staring up at the golden boughs of the one thing in the world he loved, not the golden order, not the greater will, he loved the Erdtree and dedicated his ENTIRE life to it even though it never loved him back because not even a man as scorned as Morgott could live without love and the love was to keep his heart still beating in his chest when he felt most like a monster. He has spent his entire life keeping this crumbling kingdom together. For his mother, who hid him away so the world wouldn’t hurt him, for his father, the man who taught him how to bear the weight of a crown and stand taller than the ignoble origins you come from. And he was so alone. The only constant in his life being that golden tree that shone down into the sewers. He is the last of all kings. The horns about his brow weighed heavier than his crown.

And then the tree was burning. Lying broken on the ground, unable to truly die, his curse expelled from his body, he could only look up and watch the only thing he loved with all his heart burn down around him. The ashes falling like snow on his face. Can you imagine the heat? The resignation? The misery and the promise that if there’s ever a next time, he’ll do better, and if there isn’t then this shall be his final legacy and he’ll just have to accept that final truth before he dies. The self hatred washing over him and passing into quiet peace as he chooses to pass away together with it. Omens do not get reincarnated by the Erdtree. Loved and blessed by the crucible of life, they are not loved the same as all the rest of us. But that’s okay. For Morgott, that was okay. He would live nobly and die with honour in its service and that would be enough. He’d spend the last moments of his life bathed in the warm ashes of orange and grey, content that even if he never felt loved by anyone at all after being cursed and shunned all his life, he did his duty as best he could and finally repaid the debt he felt towards the tree that showed him the light for so many long, lonely years.

And then, then it makes me so fucking miserable because then a pair of gentle, scarred and terribly rough hands lift him up from the ground and cradle him with all the tenderness in the world. The roar of a lion salutes his passing, honouring him, mourning him. “It’s been a long time, Morgott.” No anger, no disappointment. Simply, sadness, that he could not see you sooner. Godfrey, his father, returned at last to hold him one final time as he passes away, the rune of death now unbound and finding its way to Morgott after all this time. His last memory would be of being held by his father, loved for all that he is in the ashes of all that he dedicated his life to. His body fades, his entire world upheaved one final time, and an easily missed detail in the cutscene is that Morgott’s body becomes a Grace that points towards you, the player, to guide his father to his next step along the path of Lordship. One final time, Godfrey is guided by the unyielding love he feels for one of his children. Fuck it makes me so miserable. How do write something so tragic and not spend more time with it? How do you leave that beauty hidden in the details like it’s not one of the greatest moments of the entire game? It’s so quiet it’s private, almost. Like we’re not supposed to see that side of either of them, being such an outsider. It’s sundering to think about. Annihilating. I love it with all my heart and I hope more people love Morgott too after reading this.

[mai-komagata]

when fandom doesn't resonate

So like, i know a lot of people are Rings of Power fans and don't know anything about book canon. That is fine, we accept all folks, and its awesome to see perspectives of new fans. But like, I loved haladriel in season 1, and I realized in season 2 the majority of the fans saw the ship COMPLETELY differently than I did. Like they were expecting more from the dynamic than we got. And I see them all being disappointed in how it turned out when this is like the best it was ever gonna be and exceeded what I expected. Galadriel isn't getting with a devil who lied and manipulated her. The most they will have is a metaphorical stabbing scene.

Like is this just not understanding who Sauron is, or projecting a different romance trope I'm unaware of onto this ship? Like i love a lot of dark enemy relationship tropes but this was never gonna be enemies to lovers. Because its *Sauron*. Like even if you never read the books he is an evil eye that is the representation of the devil in the movies. Surely that amount of cultural knowledge permeated popular culture?

Sauron ships are about how close you can get to evil without being corrupted. (well, except for angbang, that is the opposite of that) The sexiness is the evil and the violence, the gaslighting, the delusion and the what might be but won't be. It's the promise of getting everything you could ever want and getting absolutely none of it. That is the promise of the Ring and ultimately of Sauron, because that is who he is. To me, Haladriel is attractive because it is a tangible look into what it is to be tempted by the ring. Because the vague "you can conquer middle earth" "you can save your friends" "you can become king" don't mean anything. But I can relate to being mansplained and passed over despite my merit, and have someone be a perfect coworker/mentor/partner that will help you achieve everything you want. Someone that is a shortcut for that respect. Someone who lets you say *i told you so* to everyone. Someone who lets you get revenge and be bad without *being bad*. That is sexy but it's a lie.

But that part is also sexy. The being picked by someone supremely evil and powerful, of being special. And if you are masochistic, the pain and the powerplay is also sexy. The metaphors of fighting and penetration and whatnot, that is interesting. Not to mention the sheer hubris he displays, and self-delusion. But like, I knew Halbrand was Sauron like from the second scene we saw him. It was like "oh yep, that is what is going on". There was never any illusion to me that Galadriel can make him good. Or that he'd want to fix himself for her . He can definitely *see himself* in her or or *see things he wants of her*, and that is a thrill, but he is never gonna want that sweet life he is promising to her. That is so transparently a lie but it is amusing to see him have the absolute NERVE to be that shameless. Dunno, do dark ships need to be "enemies to *lovers*" or have promise of redemption to be attractive? Sometimes it's just dark sexy manipulation and violence. Also, Galadriel is still *good*. She is tempted because temptation is a theme of Tolkien. But the whole point is she resisted the darkness. She isn't gonna overpower Sauron's either, and keep him on a leash. That is literally what Morgoth did. (Sauron would be into that, though, but he'd be a brat about it). Anyway. Is it just because I knew who Sauron was all along? If you want a ship where you get to keep Sauron as a pet, maybe Angbang is for you? Maybe that is why I'm so glad for silvergifting in Season 2, we all seemed to be in the same page as to what is going on. This was gonna be so tragic and kinky we were all here for it. I just seem to keep getting burned by straight ship fandoms having a wildly different vibe than I expect from them.

[windybreeze12]

DBD Quotes that are my Roman Empire (and my reactions to them)

No version of this where I don't come get you - Charles S1 E7 (SIR???? IM SORRY??? If someone said that to me, i'd faint. Edwin is a strong one) .

Do you think it must be torture? Being the way we are? - Simon S1 E7 (I swear you could audibly hear my heart break when he said that) .

Teethface, what the fuck? - Esther S1 E6 (I love her. She's an awful person and is literally irredeemable but dammit she does her shit with style and sass and i love her) .

He did not feel the same way. But I think we are better friends because of it - Edwin S1 E8 (THEM. JUST THEM. I CANT WITH THEM.) .

You, Charles Rowland, are the best person I know - Edwin S1 E5 (It's like they want me to go throw myself off a cliff their friendship is everything to me) .

And we've got literally forever to figure out what the rest means - Charles S1 E7 (Charles is raising the bar too high i fear. the standards are through the roof) .

When you punish yourself, everywhere becomes hell - Edwin S1 E7 (*starts sobbing in the corner*) .

Imagine thinking there was only one way to do any one thing. How difficult would life be? - Kashi S1 E6 (I swear Kashi walked into this show to spit straight facts and then was never seen again. Icon.) .

We didn’t matter, he and I - Edwin S1 E1 (No because the way I swore to myself that I would protect these boys with my life the minute he said this) .

I will always hit a demon with a cricket bat for you - Charles S1 E6 (Fellas, never settle for anything less than Charles Rowland) .

I wasn't talking about you - Edwin S1 E5 (I'm not even kidding I paused the show, got up and had to take a minute because OOF Monty darling) .

As more than a friend, I’m afraid. Charles, I'm in love with you - Edwin S1 E7 (No joke this is one of the best scenes in a show I have ever watched. The acting, the dialogue, the pacing, the emotion??? UGH!!! Perfection) .

I certainly hope not, that story ends tragically - Edwin S1 E7 (There are already a million and one posts about the implications of Charles referencing Orpheus' story so go check those out but holy hell the way it made my heart twist) .

I could- we could lose Charles - Edwin S1 E3 (This was such a tiny detail but GOD I replayed it ten times before moving on) .

Honestly I just find her so charming - Edwin S1 E2 (I knew from this moment that Edwin and Niko were going to be a pair to watch. And boy was I right) .

That was my third life you bitch—i only get nine; would you fuck off - The Cat King S1 E8 (now THIS is how you creatively use a cat's nine lives in media I love it I freaking love it) .

You sacrificed me to a demon who traded me to another demon who traded me to a thing that is worse than a demon and this is your punishment! An eternity of papercuts! - Edwin S1 E7 (Honey I have an eternity of questions cause what the FUCK is this human trafficking system down in hell??? but also go off king??? 😭)

I'll update this whenever I remember anymore. Tell me more quotes in reblogs/replies i'll add them into this!

[samglyph]

Good morning. Season 4 finale.

Holy smokes gang. What an episode. I absolutely loved it. I think it took a little bit for me to become really invested despite the in medias res thing we had going on, but once that action started I was in it. The visuals this episode were great, I especially liked the description of the mollusk mask on the viziers face. I also was quite pleased about the little reference to hastur being the peacock king that’s fun.

I know a lot of people are sad about the butcher. I am not because as soon as he showed up again I figured he would be one of the casualties of the episode, and narratively I like that it was Kayne who did it as opposed to Larson or an unnamed cultist or alien, especially considering I had a theory that Kayne was connected to the music in his head and the powers he had. I did love the twist of him being on our side though I actually audibly reacted to that. It surprised me but made sense in the perfect way. It also makes perfect sense to not include that scene, but I am excited to see some of the fan work that comes out of that missing piece. I’m AMAZED that Charlie managed to make it out alive, but then again he might be bleeding out on a street in Spain right now. Oh well. No body no death so I’m counting him as still kicking.

Speaking of Charlie, I loved the scene where John was forced to come clean. I liked how it twisted the previous scene of Arthur speaking for John and John finally being heard by someone else and feeling so so happy, to now be forced into a position where that newfound relationship is potentially going to be destroyed because he no longer has the option of privacy. Wild.

Of all the scenes with yellow, predictably Arthur’s confrontation and apology was my favorite. He’d already admitted fault in a previous episode but this I think is where it really hit home. And in other lines, while Yellow remained adamant that he didn’t care, you could tell that he genuinely did want to understand the connection between Arthur and John, and wanted to understand why he couldn’t experience the same thing. Most tragic fragment of a nightmare king. I hope you have fun flaying Larson alive for the next couple thousand years. Also why was Larson so flirty this episode dude he killed your son stop whispering in his ear like that.

And then of course, we get to Kayne. Kayne Kayne Kayne Kayne. Glad we got confirmation that Kayne isn’t/it doesn’t matter if he’s nyarlthotep because while have a fondness for the crawling chaos and Call of Cthulhu mythos, I actually like when things are separate from that. Plus I think it makes him scarier if he can’t quantify his existence. Holding out his bloody hand for Arthur to take and Arthur choosing to go with him willingly obviously paralleling his denial of Larson earlier in the episode. I also liked his takedown of Larson a lot. Fuck that guy.

Anyway @everyone who questioned why I draw Kayne covered in blood in every scene even when he’s not fresh off a carcosan murder spree how does it feel to be wrong.

[mewsmagic]

Alright I did say I’d bring my infodumps and fantheying here to tumblr instead so lemme actually do this for once!!

Spoiler warning for Alrecchino’s animated short!

If you haven’t watched it yet, here’s the link!

Alright first things first! It looks like Clervie and Bulle Fruit girl were Alrecchino’s closest friends/sisters, which’s just so cute 🥺

From the visual storytelling and just how we saw Arle and Clervie together much more often than with Bulle Fruit girl, it also appears like Clervie was much much closer to Arlecchino, which’s so interesting!!

I love how Arlecchino is all about blacks, whites and occasional reds, she was always quiet and doing her own thing, and SHE HAD ACTUAL SHORT HAIR UNTIL RECENTLY ACTUALLY!!!! Gnc nation won!!!!

Anyway ahemmm LOL and Clervie was the opposite. A pink, outgoing girl, full of life and wonder for the world she lives in. Also, she was “girly” and wears dresses, while Arlecchino doesn’t seem fond of them (like me omggg)

Like, they’re literally opposites in everything, yet they were so close and so important to each other. Thinking about what comes next hurts my heart like nothing else just because of this.

Another thing I wanna bring up before we move on is: in this part, we learn that Arle’s deal with the black hand is indeed some kind of curse. And that’s probably why she was able to tell Furina’s also cursed, she had experience with one since birth after all

I LOVE THAT THEY HAD THEIR OWN PLUSHIES MADE IN THEIR IMAGE!!!! Arlecchino’s plushie is so cute!!! I wonder if she kept Clervie’s after all these years 🥺

In this part we also learn that their “mother” usually “argues” with her daughters, and for some reason Clervie has quite some injuries. From this, it’s not hard to assume she’s literally beating them up, which’s nasty.

A full grown woman beating up literal kids who cannot defend themselves? As a survivor of parental abuse, I felt this so hard, and I hate that hag so fucking much already.

This part I didn’t get at first, probably bc I didn’t pay attention to the beginning; when I watched it again, I caught it however. Their “mother” not only physically abused them but also made them battle each other to death.

Resulting in Arlecchino being the very one that killed Clervie, and potentially Bulle Fruit girl too.

Naturally, she was full of rage. I would be too, if I were in her shoes.

And that’s why I love her battle against “mother”. I didn’t take many screenshots because it’s a fast moving scene, but “mother”’s dialogue seems to hint that she’s the kind of mother that pretends to be caring and gentle but is actually cruel and ruthless in her actions. Which’s tbh the worst kind of mother probably.

Another detail that caught my eye was that Arlecchino was no match for her without her curse. But as soon as she released and embraced her curse, she not only defeated her “mother”, she blew up the entire building. Which’s epic as hell and I love that for her LOL

I find it interesting that Arlecchino was actually pretty close to becoming a criminal because of killing “mother”. Which’s so tragic when you think that she had already killed Fatui members before (Clervie and Bulle Fruit girl), but they weren’t ranked enough for it to be a big deal, like their deaths didn’t mean anything. But to Arlecchino they did… Aaaaanywayyyy.

For some reason I thought the Arlecchino title succession was much more automatic, like 1. Kill your parent 2. You’re now king. I think it’s because I’ve seen this in other shows before, but here she was taken to Snezhnaya to be judged by the Tsaritsa herself.

Luckily, the Tsaritsa not only pardoned her crimes but also promoted her to Arlecchino. Also I gotta say, her words… “My poor, mad, cursed Knave” hit me so hard. The Tsaritsa does seem to not be that cold and to empathize with her. Based of her tbh.

And at the end, we see a seemingly orphan child. At first I thought this was Freminet, but he has a more yellowish tone of eye color, so maybe this is a random kid?

Anyway, the thing that matters here is that Arlecchino says that she’ll be his strict and unfeeling “father”, which immediately stood out to me against her “mother”’s “kind and caring” approach.

Looks like she decided to be a “strict and unfeeling father” to not become like her own “mother”. This is so real of her tbh. I already knew the previous Knave was nasty, but with this animation it really hit home to me, as a survivor too.

I wanna pull her even more now LOL may all Arlecchino wanters become Arlecchino havers!!!!! I’m so excited!!!!

[whitetulip25]

Despite the show becoming more and more absurd the greens' dynamics remain the most gut-wrenching thing there.

Like, the latest episode? The crumbs are immaculate. People be like "oh, Aemond is an ungrateful misogynist for dismissing Alicent, he hates her" but the thing is that he did that pricesely because he loves her and is dependant on her too much.

There's so much in that one look:

- the pain about her not realizing that his childhood trauma will always remain with him, because that night on Driftmark he lost a part of himself, the person he could have been hadn't he been so wronged, and that no power will ever fill that void and dull his pain;

- the pain of realizing that the only person who fought for him tooth and nail for him when the others turned their backs is the one who harbors an attachment to their enemy (and he doesn't even know how right he is);

- guilt that he couldn't live up to her expectations and now she sees him as a monster;

- not understanding why she blames him for that, because she was willing to resort to violence just to protect and avenge him, which played a crucial part in rendering him into the way he is now;

- the desire to give in to her, because he is sick and tired of this cold-blooded image and the burden he had forced upon himself.

And so, with all these emotions running through his head, he finds the strength to pull her away, the way the maesters pulled the molten steel from Aegon's flesh. It hurts, but he knows that he has to separate, or otherwise all the plans will be ruined, the war will be lost, and they all will be doomed. So it's torturing for him either way when she is near or far away, because they see through each other a little too well, both being utterly dissapointed in what they see. And in tne end he makes the decision and takes off her hand, as if to say "we will definetely talk after the victory, but for now it's necessary this way, forgive me".

Partly that's the reason why he orders Aegon to keep silent, because he could've dealt with everyone blaming and despising him about Rook's Rest except Alicent, he wouldn't be able to explain that he didn't come to the rescue in time of need just because he couldn't put up with his rage about Aegon interrupting his plan, which lead to him being negligent and Aegon ending up burnt and bedridden. (Yes, I think the betrayal was in the fact of not coming on time, which endangered Aegon's life, it would've ended for him tragically even without Vhagar's dracarys). Thus being said the scene really gives off "don't tell mom, I didn't even hit you that hard" vibes.

Another striking thing about that scene is that even though from Aemond's perspective there's pure power play, because he visibly enjoys Aegon's helplessness and the fact of himself being the one in charge, having the power of solely making the decision as to whether help Aegon or leave him dying slowly, Aemond seems to have a desire to do the right thing, such as honour his brother as monarch he is, and let him die of natural cause. Like, he could kill him, If he wished, but for some reason he doesn't do it. I think in a way it comes from Alicent's upbringing style with the whole "duty and sacrifice" thing which has deeply embedded in Aemond's mind. If not for Aegon, than for his own conscience and mother's approval he wants to act right. He clearly resents Aegon but remains loyal to him in his own twisted way, he tortures him by pressing on the wounds with his "you hurt me, I'm giving you back that pain a hundredfold" mentality, and at the same time recognizes him as king by giving him the small council ball, stating "you're king, but not forget who's the real power behind you". Simply put, he respects Aegon's monarchial image and ceremonial role of him being king , but resents him as a brother, which also adds to his internal conflict between the duty and personal desires and their shared dynamics.

Actually, the way they all are interconnected is so delicious. Alicent had no expectations for one of them, and for the other she had too many, just for Rook's Rest being the result of the first one chosing action, while the other, on the contrary, chose inaction. They both didn't meet her expectations, and the root of all their deeds and actions is her in one way or another, which makes their relationship even more tragic.

If only the writers were more interested in the story we could've gotten the most compelling and beautiful dynamic in the entire show, but even these tiny bits are heartbreakingly beautiful, adore their toxic co-dependency.

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

The Owl House Series Finale Thoughts, part 1

So, now that I’ve had time to vent and gather my thoughts I can say that The Owl House series finale, was a letdown. 

There were strong elements: the animation, the voice acting, the music, all incredible. I do deeply appreciate the hard work and talent the crew brought in making this show and how many people have felt represented and seen by the show’s inclusivity and themes. I feel that this show will be beloved and remembered for a long time.

However, I feel like the show made critical errors that actually undermined what it set out to do. Before I get into my thoughts, let me explain how I got into this show:

I happened to stumble upon the show because it looked neat and heard that the show creator also worked on Gravity Falls, another show I enjoyed. The first season was fun; bright, clever, and you could tell it wanted to tell a larger story with deep and meaningful themes. Season 2A was also fun and it had begun to depict a darker, more mature world. I didn’t think too much of the show, it was just fun, a typical kids’ cartoon show with good storytelling and memorable characters. Nothing really grabbed me about the show.

Until Hollow Mind.

Long-term fans will remember people being disappointed by the episode because they became attached to Fanon Philip that had appeared during the hiatus and we got something completely different in canon. How did this seemingly sweet young man turn into Emperor Belos? Turns out, he’s just a dick. A huge, murderous dick with a hero complex. 

I wasn’t there for Fanon Philip but what drew me to Belos was that in HM, his apparent backstory was in the literal background of the episode and it sparked my imagination. I joined the fandom because, like many, I wanted to know what Belos’ deal was. Many talented and creative people came up with long and compelling theories about the Wittebane brothers, speculation that was further fueled by the grimwalker reveal and Caleb appearing in Belos’ memories in King’s Tide. That speculation grew and people wrote whole fan fics and drew art depicting the trials and troubles of the Wittebanes. 

I became invested in the Wittebanes because their story was so tragic: two orphan boys who grew up in a cult, essentially forced to participate in witch hunts in an adapt-or-be-hanged situation, only for the elder to actually see the error of his ways and leave his younger brother behind, making him think he had been bewitched and that it was his duty to save him. 

We got more scraps of information in Thanks to Them, the most important being how the brothers only had each other and became witch-hunters to fit in. In For the Future, Caleb’s apparition appears--whether a ghost or hallucination is unknown---above his specter is a bloody knife, Caleb stares accusingly at the wretched, shambling remains of his younger brother. Philip lashes out angrily accusing him that it was his fault and that he “tried to save his soul.” This is a highly interpretive scene, and many thought it implied Belos’ deeply buried guilt and how he always lies to himself to justify his actions. All the while, deep down knowing the truth.

With all that in mind, what did we learn in Watching and Dreaming? What made this young man who ventured out to what he thought was literal hell to rescue his brother? His only family? Only to kill him in a fit of madness and spend literal centuries trying to recreate the brother of his childhood, to erase his original sin, all the while descending into madness and depravity?

Turns out he’s a dick. A huge, murderous dick with a hero complex.

“You assume Belos’ goal comes from a genuine place,” the Titan tells Luz. And seemingly the audience because fans wanted to see this story, this foundation to all of the horror and trauma. To understand how a man becomes evil. 

Well, according to the show, he’s just like that. Luz attempts to reconcile Belos’ goal of saving humanity with her own and wonders if their morality is really so different. Silly human, the Titan says. Your goals and motives are genuine, he’s just delusional and evil. So you can take comfort in the fact that your enemies’ goals are just self-serving, but yours are the real deal. 

Sorry but this is lazy.

You can’t say people are complicated and then turn around and say actually, no some people are just delusional and power-hungry and we’ll leave it at that. It seems that, in the universe of The Owl House, only good people are complicated; Lilith cursed Eda because she was desperate to get into the Emperor’s Coven but then she spends the rest of the time trying to cure her sister. Amity bullied Willow, but only because her parents forced them to no longer be friends, Hunter was the emperor’s right hand man, but only because he’s an abused teenager. Meanwhile, the villains of the show don’t have their motives given such depth, they just act in selfish and petty ways because they just are. 

I wouldn’t be bothered by Philip’s flat characterization if the show did not waste so much time giving us hints and clues that there’s actually more to him. What a twist! The villain you thought had greater complexity is just a Standard Villain, how genius! Such clever writing!

If he’s going to be simply a metaphor and not a real character then don’t tease us with a story that suggests otherwise. Keep your story clean and concise. Don’t dangle a potentially amazing storyline that aligns perfectly with the protagonist’s only to yank it away.

This is a waste of the audience’s time and squashes what could have been a wonderfully twisted and dynamic villain. But the show wasn’t interested. It's much easier and more comforting to just say bad people are just bad and never explore why. You could never become the villain because you’re good; don’t bother worrying that you and the villain have the same goals because his aren’t genuine!

 Remember kids, people are complicated. Unless you’re a villain. 

[rosie-tyler]

Can't stop thinking about this idea I've had in my mind for a while

What if Terry Silver was a Twist villain?

Disclaimer: I'm not saying it would be better this way or smth (in fact, we wouldn't get many scenes from the first half of the movie which is not cool) but this is such a funny idea for me and I haven't seen any posts abt this so bear with me

The main reason why I find this idea interesting is because we as an audience experience everything from Daniel's POV.

Daniel's first meeting with Silver is also the first scene where we meet him.

We have no reason not to trust this guy. He apologised to Mr. Miyagi and Daniel!

He wants to help Daniel!

Our poor Daniel is getting beaten up again, where's Mr. Miyagi-

Oh wait today we have this guy as a knight in shining armour for Daniel! *holding out for a hero starts playing in the background*

Look at their smiles! They're having fun! Daniel is having fun!

Even if at the beginning of the movie we could have some doubts about Silver "Who is this guy? Why is he here? Kreese had a good friend, really?" after this scene we want to believe Silver is Daniel's cool new friend.

And then Daniel starts training with him and everything obviously goes downhill.

What kind of training is that???

Personal space? Didn't hear of it.

Constant unnecessary touching?

Okay, there's something fundamentally wrong with this guy. What are his motives? He used to be Kreese's friend, is he avenging him? (like Zira avenging Scar in Lion King 2 my first thought idk).

He's mentally ill and Daniel had the misfortune to become his obsession! (we know from the previous movies that everyone wants a piece of our little guy).

And then we get to that scene™ and experience almost the same shock and betrayal as Daniel does.

Silver's connected to Barnes! Kreese is alive!

He has never been a friend, even here!

Basically this is just me rambling about these two and why I find them a little tragic and this way we could feel Daniel's betrayal.

Daniel wanted Silver to be his friend! He considered him his friend, he trusted him! Just like we did!

All of them - Johnny, Chozen, Mike - hurt him but he was never betrayed by them as he never considered them his friends, he always saw them as rivals, always knew he should be beware of them.

Unlike Silver. That's why I believe Daniel refused to give him a second chance (apart from other awful things he did, obviously, I'm not forgetting these) when Silver, this time genuinely (quoting Mr. Griffith himself), wanted to be his friend. (Oh, the turntables!).

He betrayed him, hurt him in a way others didn't. Even if he forgave him, it would be *much* more difficult for him to learn to trust him, and even more so to consider him his friend as Silver wanted.

Silver called Daniel "a hothead" when he's basically the same, acting actually betrayed (look at him!) as if he didn't see it coming, as if he didn't realise that simple "sorry" wouldn't be enough.

But then again, he knew that if he couldn't become his friend, he could always be Daniel's personal nightmare, the one that Daniel will never forget.

[misty--nights]

And finally, episode 8. This rewatch has been fun. It really forced me to pay attention to the details and I’ve found so many interesting thing I’d missed before. I think by now it’s more than safe to say that this has become one of my absolute favorite shows, and I can’t wait for my brain to insist I should watch it yet again.

Edwin's reaction feels so fair to me. I also did a double take the first time I saw Crystal swallow the memories. Love that Charles is trying to be supportive and stuff, but I agree with Edwin on this one. Those things are so big, how is your first instinct to swallow then whole?

Charles' face when Crystal is explaining her name is kind of similar to the one he has in episode 3 and 5 when Niko is doing something amusing. It's a mixture of endeared and a little baffled that I find so charming

Can Esther understand Monty in crow form or is she just pretending to have conversations with him like how you do with pets? Honestly, I'm not sure which one would be better. Both options have a lot of potential

Someone please give Crystal a hug. Or two. The way her voice breaks when she's talking to her parents, how her eyes get dimmer and dimmer the more she realizes that they suck and didn't miss her, how she sounds when she tells the boys about it, ugh. It breaks my heart

Back to another intro detail, but doesn't the surface of the mirror the skelletons go through kind of look like the mirror Charles sees himself in in episode 7. Like the frame is different, but the surface with the grid lines reminds me of the one in hell

I love the rooftop scene so much. Edwin and Niko have such a precious friendship and I wish we had even more of them interacting. Now I know I've seen people mention how Edwin is so comfortable with Niko's touch and how ge lets her cuddle up to him in that scene. But also, up until this point we haven't seen him truly iniciate touch with others (besides Charles) but he bumps Niko's shoulder when he's joking about Monty and offers her his hand to take. I just think that's neat

Crystal looks tiny next to Niko when they're talking to Jenny

"The whole thing was such a mystery" and "no rest for the wicked". The tone the officer uses for these lines? Chilling. I'm telling you, there's something weird about the people in town at times and the Port Townsend police are walking a line btween purposefully useless and downright sinister

There's something to be said about Crystal offering to wipe Jenny's memories, if she wants. We've followed her the whole season trying to get her own memories back, so it's huge that she's willing to take someone else's if that could help. Because she cares about Jenny, in that same, quiet way that Jenny cares about her and Niko. Also the way she emphasizes that she can take the memories only if Jenny wants that is actually so important to me

For some reason I always assume the girls are going to hold hands in that scene where they're looking for the Cat King and Crystal gives Niko her cleaver back. Even though this is the third time I watch it, I always expect it, and I'm always a little disappointed when all Crystal does is change what hand is holding her own cleaver

Not to question old dark magic or anything, but I am so curious as to how Esther's snake works. Did she already have the snake? Did she find it and make a pact with it? How does it transform little girls into youth for Esther? Also, the Cat King calls it Esther's snake, but then later on Esther says "I never thought I'd be eating kids to stay young and beautiful" so I don't know. Many questions about this

Tragic Mick makes a point of saying the bear figure is a gift and is on him, but the girls very much leave the store without paying for the salt so... Two gifts?

Niko keeps insisting she's not brave, but she was ready to charge into Esther's house after hearing Edwin's scream

Litty and Kingham's coats in the igloo have a dandelion decoration on the chest

[tessarionbestgirl]

Aemond and Alicent are getting a lot of hate from TG now, mostly Aegon stans. I agree that the show did Aegon dirty, but same goes for Aemond and Alicent. Bad writing affects them, too. However, some people tend to twist the narrative to show Aegon as the only victim. What's your opinion on this? Does Aemond owe an unyielding loyalty to Aegon? Should Alicent support Aegon more?

I am glad someone ask me this because I have so many thoughts on this subject. So first about Aegon's characterization compared to the book, in the book Aegon goes from a hedonistic character to competent leader and someone that cares about his family to fast. What the show is trying to do in my opinion, is slow his progression, we may get see book Aegon, later, even spoilers going around suggest we may get Criston Cole Kingmaker speech to him after Rook Rest. What is always a important thing because is supposed to be a inverse parallel in arcs compared to Rhaenyra, she starts as the Realm's Delight and then become Maegor with tits.

The rape scene I think was necessary? No, do I think is ooc? Absolutely not. We had a 12 year old girl sucking his dick in the book. The children's fighting ring may have been to much and unnecessary, but is not as like the show as well didn't made Rhaenyra way more stupid compared to her book version by having white babies and trying to pass them as bastards from a black guy.

The show is always going to choose a change for a more dramatic effect, so Aemond betraying Aegon is way more interesting than he just being a loyal dog to him. And it have been set up for this. We have Aegon bullying his ass when they are child, even though for Aegon this was nothing serious, because Aegon lacks knowledge of boundaries, he is the guy that bullies his younger brother, the guy that he masturbates naked from his own bedroom window, he is the guy who rapes a girl because he was too drunk and then tries to brush off, to her mom the same way he tried to brush off the fact he bullied his brother, "it was nothing serious". So of course makes sense a drunk adult Aegon humiliate Aemond in such intimacy moment while none of this friends laugh.

Of course Aemond who has desire for power and reflects this in the same way that Daemon desires to be king, and he truly believe he is more suited to be king, thing he said himself to Cole last season, so of course he would take a opportunity that presents it self with Aegon rush into a battle.

And this also adds to Aemond's arc as king slayer because killing Luke may have been a mistake, but burning his own brother was not. Tg being mad that their expectations of those characters didn't match up, doesn't equal bad writing in my view. But also, this coming from me, I don't like Fire and Blood because is a objectively a bad book and is full of inconsistencies, one of then is the battle Rook Rest, in each the show done better.

So does Aemond owe an unyielding loyalty to Aegon? This is hard question to answer because, I don't consume media like that. For me Aemond own nothing to Aegon, betraying him is not morality right, but is not ooc for those reasons I said previously. Like we have favorite characters on this show but we must have in mind those are very gray characters that can be very terrible people and this is a tragic story. The worse possible outcome of things will happen, for dramatic effect or to add to tragic story even if they have good intentions at first.

Now about Alicent, look I think people when analyzing that scene with her on the room forget all the events that happened to Alicent at this point. Alicent in previous council meetings have asking him to proceed with precaution, he ignore her and is rude to her, showing no respect for her, or for anyone on that table, then when Otto comes with idea for pr move he accepts, but Alicent end part of it, something she didn't want and have to watch her own daughter have a breakdown. Then all her effort goes to the trash because Aegon kill every rat catchers and banishes Otto the only person that not only have Aegon best interest but as well it gives Alicent voice in the council.

Tell me now how she wouldn't be pissed at him for him acting so reckless and not listing anyone while banishing away her father? And maybe in other circumstance she would speak to him in a different way. We saw how in the first small council scene she blames the Lannister for the kid behavior because she knows her own son.

But, here we are seeing a drunk mother that is in a middle of life crises very angry at her son.

So the words she would soft spoken to him in other circumstance she says more flatly , with no filter. But none of them are untrue, when she compared him to his father, people don't realize she is not saying Viserys was a good king, and Aegon is trash. She saying that Viserys used to listen to people around him when comes to the best interest of the realm. What Aegon does not.

When she says him to do nothing, people forget she also said he should learn first with all of them in the table. She is basically saying "be more humble and before giving your opinion or do something stupid, learn from others" but Aegon doesn't listen that, what he listens because of his own insecurities and trauma is " my mom find me useless and I have to prove myself because I'm not a fraud."

And you can not blame Alicent for Aegon internalized logic. Is sad he feels this way. But I am already spoken on how they showed Aegon have the same education than Aemond, but he didn't take that seriously, all this in S1 with that training scene, and this lead him to be the terrible leader that he is now and his own insecurities.

Should Alicent support Aegon more? Maybe she should be a more loving mother, but we can't forget her motherhood is a direct response of who she is as person and she is a very flawed individual as anyone and she can have bad days as anyone.

[alicentflorent]

I just found out Viserys is only 10 years older than Alicent in the books, they married when she was 19 and he was 29.

Which begs the question: why did they make Alicent a child bride who was forced to marry a man old enough to be her father in the show?

I knew alicent was 18 but didn't realise V was that young, I thought he was mid-late 30s. That age gap isn't too bad by asoiaf standards. He married Aemma when she was 11-13, put her through all of those pregnancies and he was an adult when they married I believe (EDIT: he was 16 when he married Aemma so not yet an adult but still notably older than Aemma) and it was also him that married Helaena to Aegon when they were also just teens so he is still pretty gross.

As for the creative choices on the show, aside from recycling general abuse/grooming/SA storylines that GoT and GRRM himself used, I always thought they merged book Alicent's tragic backstory with the previous king Jaehaerys with her relationship with Viserys

"When her father was named Hand of the King by King Jaehaerys I Targaryen in 101 AC, thirteen year-old Alicent accompanied him to court together with her brothers and mother. In 103 AC, Alicent became the constant companion of King Jaehaerys, whose health was failing.[N 1] She fetched his meals, helped him wash and dress, and read to him. In the end, King Jaehaerys sometimes mistook her for his daughter, Saera Targaryen. Jaehaerys eventually died the same year, while Alicent was reading to him"

This outline makes me think they've definitely merged Alicent/Jaehaerys with Alicent/Viserys. The show definitely adapted this from the book: She was forced to become the companion and carer to the king by her father, She tends to personal care needs of both kings like bathing them, She gets mistaken for the kings daughter near the end in both instances, She's still a victim of grooming via her father who for sure would have married her off to J if he wasn't so old and unwell. Viserys in the show is essentially taking on the role sickly older man with a teenage companion. Book Alicent may be a victim and went through trauma in her teenage years but thankfully was not subjected to marriage, pregnancy and SA at 15. As for her relationship with book Viserys I think by that point she wanted to be queen? she wouldn't have had the power to turn down a proposal from the king or go against her father in any case but she also had goals of her own and I imagine after taking care of a sickly old man for years, probably dealing with rumours that she was perhaps his mistress then she probably thought marrying the new younger king and having some power in her own right, even if it is through marriage and having sons that would inherit the throne then she was okay with that. Girlie put in the work so I can hardly blame her for wanting her son on the throne, and wanting to benefit herself.

Final thoughts: I feel like teen alicent on the show is probably similar to how she was as a teen in the books so it wasn't purely a show invention. Alicent in both stories was groomed, used by her father, made to be the "companion" to the king, was probably pretty isolated because of this companionship. The difference is Alicent grew up and even if her goals were influenced by her fathers manipulation. She HAD goals, wants and desires. Alicent was the one who was scheming behind the scenes, who was head of the green council and willing to be ruthless if she had to be. I'm glad the show added a few more layers to her character and didn't have her be a two dimensional evil stepmother but they went too far in the other direction and in an attempt to make her more likeable she ends up overshadowed by the men in her life who take her power. throughout the show regularly mocked, abused, SA'd and worried about her children safety because Viserys won't protect them. Although this is clearly one reason why she resents rhaenyra and her life, they never used it to fuel alicents own wants and desires and what she's willing to do and who she's willing to step on to get it. Alicent is the queen but rarely do we see her pull rank (she should've with Larys) and she often goes back on her `power moves or doesn't follow through (like actively plotting to get Aegon on the throne) and even apologises for her "behaviour" (the aemond incident) which is not just inconsistent but makes her come across as more hypocritical that she is meant to be. The show took away the little power she had by not allowing her to fully embrace what she wanted for herself and her children.

.

[beevean]

What did you think of Olrox from Nocturne?

Personally, I couldn't care much about him. They put so much focus on him that he's more of a main character than the actual protagonists of Nocturne. Not to mention, his romantic subplot with Mizrak came out of nowhere and it's only there for "diversity", but I considered it to be a waste of time that should've been spent on anything else.

On top of that, it seems like the writers are desperately pushing to make him likeable for someone who killed Richter's mom and caused his trauma in the opening episode. If the writers decide to pull an Abby (from The Last of Us) on N!Olrox and give him a redemption arc or make Richter forgive him enough to not kill him in the next season, I'm gonna riot.

I would say they split Isaac into two characters: Olrox got the alleged moral complexity, and Annette got the favoritism :P

Anyway, in a show that has regressed to the level of "vampires are 100% evil bastards with no souls", quite a far cry from the original show's insistence that vampires are actually a noble superior race with a culture and all, Olrox feels like he wants to recapture that sort of "depth", being evil but still principled enough to fall in love and go against Sun Thundercat. In practice, I stopped taking him seriously the moment he let little Richter live, because my good man, wouldn't a more appropriate revenge against Julia be killing the brat and forcing the mother to live through the pain? C'mon game Isaac understood this! Leaving the child alive and allowing him to grow up with a grudge is so fucking stupid, it was mentioned in the Evil Overlord List written in 1990 😭 "All younger siblings, spouses, children, students, and old army buddies of an enemy I have just killed will be hunted down to prevent them from attacking me at some future point in a quest for vengeance."

I'm also betting that the moment they reveal more of Olrox, or force him to take a stand, he'll lose most of his charm. In S1, his allure comes from him being a wild card, other than him being hot: the moment he becomes yet another one of Richter's allies, he'll have very little for himself other than his sexiness. Kind of like a male Lenore, now that I think about it, although her hotness was enough that she still has fans and Olrox has yet to rape be a BDSM king to Mizrak :P

Speaking of which! I actually don't mind the relationship between the two. One, we finally moved past from the cliché of lesbians solely defined by their relationship cutely holding hands like Striga and Morana. The original show was a coward that played it safe, and it had the chance of giving Alucard a boyfriend if he was meant to be bi for reasons other than making his rape scene more palatable, but no, he got yet another sassy girlfriend. By contrast, the chemistry between Olrox and Mizrak is positively smoldering, and they do have the relationship issues you'd expect from two who jumped into bed before even learning each other's names lmao. At this point, if every character is allowed more love and care than Richer, I'd rather spend time with these two disasters than Maria, Annette or Alucard.

Of course, that doesn't make them great, and it's because Olrox tries too hard to be hot and tragic, and the most memorable thing about Mizrak is that he looks like Agent Stone from the Sonic movies hjdfkshdk - oh, and alright it is very funny that a man of the cloth apparently stops being religious the moment a piece of vampire ass sways in front of him.

"it seems like the writers are desperately pushing to make him likeable for someone who killed Richter's mom" the original show wanted you to cry for a vampire lord planning to slaughter all humankind and vampirekind in a long agonizing death because 😭wife died😭, a jihadist who killed people for being rude to him and then defiled his corpses to make himself an army because he was ✨philosophical✨, and an abusive rapist willingly engaging in slavery and aiding continental conquest who got a bit 🥺sad🥺 that her friends were pushing her to the side. Olrox is just keeping the tradition of being an unfairly sympathetic antagonist contrasting a much more shallow one, Carmilla/Sun Thundercat - and while his sin is nothing compared to those other three, the idea that we should blame Julia for killing his vampire bf is just tiring, because 1) in this setting vampires are nothing more than greedy monsters, I don't feel sympathy for one we don't even see in flashbacks; 2) it reminds me too much of Alucard being a cunt to Trevor because the Belmonts kept vampire child skulls in the hold, which was a way to tell us that the Belmonts were "morally grey"; 3) will you stop shitting on the whole Belmont clan for fuck's sake?

Anyway, Olrox is far from being the worst part of the show, but I have no faith in how they're going to develop his character while still keeping up the intrigue.

[sansa286]

Thoughts On the Baela x Corlys Conversation in S2E5

This scene has been a polarizing one for the fandom and has spawned many takes, so I'm going to address them and mention what I like about the scene/what makes sense to me and what I thought could be improved.

Takes I Disagree With

"Baela rejecting Driftmark is the writers trying to absolve Corlys of any misogyny that was present in F&B."

No it doesn't. Corlys is still the same man who pimped out Laena and scoffed at either of his granddaughters being named the heir to Driftmark up until Rhaenys died. This is even the reason that Bethany Antonia gave as to why Baela rejects Driftmark - Corlys ignored her and Rhaena for most of their lives and did not consider them viable heirs, she does not want to become the heir to Driftmark out of pity. The scene is also meant to parallel Viserys naming Rhaenyra the heir to the iron throne only after he lost Aemma and their son. These men were willfully misogynistic and ignored the women in their families, and only come crawling to them once they're desperate. Corlys misogyny is well intact rather Baela accepted this offer or not.

"Baela rejecting Driftmark makes no sense, she's nothing more than a Rhaenyra cheerleader."

It does when you remember that she thinks she will be the queen of Westeros one day, something that only became a reality when Rhaenyra offered she and Jace be married. Of course she wants Rhaenyra to take the throne. And another reason that I will elaborate on later. Baela is not merely Rhaenyra's lacky, she clearly disregards her orders back in S1E3 when she chases down Criston Cole.

"Baela Tells Corlys to 'Get Over' His Wife's Death"

No she doesn't. She tells him to stop acting as if Rhaenys was a possession that Rhaenyra snatched away from him. As someone who's been through a lot of grief as of late, I know all too well how people jump to playing the blame game and pointing fingers when someone dies tragically. It is very human, but it's not healthy or the correct way to process someone's death. Especially in this case, Rhaenys volunteered to go to Rook's Rest, knowing that it would be dangerous. No one on Team Black knew that Sunfyre or Vhagar were going to be there, as far as they knew, Vhagar was still patrolling King's Landing. And the Greens themselves didn't even know Aegon was going to ride on Sunfyre. As far as anyone on Team Black knew, Rhaenyra included, Rhaenys would fly to Rook's Rest, burn up Cole and his army, and then be back for supper.

We, the audience, know that Rhaenys turned back twice and knowingly fought to her death, but Corlys doesn't. So I'm not saying that Corlys' reaction here doesn't make sense, because it does, however Baela telling him to not be so quick to blame Rhaenyra isn't some harsh or cruel advice, and I'm sick of Greenies acting as if it is or that Rhaenyra is solely responsible for Rhaenys' death and that Corlys should be secretly plotting to assassinate her or get some sort of retribution. Newsflash: he's not Daemon.

You could even infer that everyone knows that Rhaenys chose to go out this way; Meleys is canonically the fastest dragon, so she could've escaped if she wanted to, as we see in the previous episode.

"Baela and Corlys do not speak to each other like a granddaughter and grandfather would."

Baela and Corlys hardly know each other. Baela spent the first ten years of her life in Pentos, and the last several on Driftmark while Corlys was away at sea. They are relative strangers to each other and these last few weeks have been the most time they've ever spent with each other, and most of that time has been addressing the war. Corlys has routinely only shown interest in whoever the heir to Driftmark is, which was Luke up until now. So no, Baela and Corlys interacting like that makes sense.

Now onto the main issue I have with scene...

Baela's Reasoning In the Show

The one we get, in the show, is lame. "I am blood and fire, Driftmark must pass to salt and sea." I get that the writers are trying to make her seem quippy, but this also unintentionally confirms that Rhaena's biggest concern is 100% right - she is disregarded by her family. If Corlys were to give Driftmark to a granddaughter, why not Rhaena? She was set to marry Luke and inherit it anyway until his death, even Rhaenys recommended it! I can buy that Corlys would offer it up to Baela, as he clearly sees her as more valuable due to her dragon, but the fact that Baela doesn't mention her sister? When they're supposed to be interpreted as having, at least, a somewhat close relationship, and she knows that Rhaena feels as if she is not respected by their family? Either the writers are trying to hint that Baela secretly feels the same as everyone else in regards to Rhaena or they gave her that weird pseudo-poetic line to feed the TikTok editors. Hell, that could've been the reason she gave Corlys - "I will be queen one day, so let my sister inherit what she was already due for" or something like that.

Overall the scene was fine. I'm still quite irritated at the lack of Rhaena being considered, but maybe that's the point and they intend on elaborating on that later. Who knows? We still have three more episodes left, but until then, this is my take on the scene.

[punkeropercyjackson]

The entitlement Batfanon stans have towards Jason is legit the thing that angers me the most about his treatment.Girl,you do not get to speak on him when you know literally nothing about him except that you judged the book by it's cover like an elementary schooler who watches South Park-All you've ever done is ruin his character in the writing aspect and ruined him for other DC fans who used to like him or even couldn't get to give him a chance because you got to them first

If the only Jason content you'll consume is smut or woobification or bamfification,then guess what:That's not Jason.He's so unhorny he might be full-on asexual,hates being coddled because he's a grown ass man so he wants to be treated like it and does not give two shits about other characters powers.I discovered Jason's existense through Under The Red Hood playing on tv in 2019 and liked him enough from the bits i caught to watch it completely by pirating website.It completely unironically and wholeheartedly made me fall in love with him which lead to me discovered selfshipping properly and after a bit of settling into the fandom,i got to reading his comics as i needed more of him

Five years later,i've read every single issue he's ever appeared in and watched and played almost all his adaptions.I didn't intend to but with DC becoming my special interest and comfort franchise,i just did it all subcounciously and naturally i also branched out,although i focus on the Superfam as i selfship with them as strongly as i do him but familialy.And let me tell,it's awful and shocking to watch the below zero care y'all have for Jason.NO inclusion of his extremely good and refreshing personality and tragic yet touching pre-reboot history and mostly on-point designs and absolutely iconic relathionships in favor of turning him into the most boring,basic,unathentic,OFFENSIVE white cishet abled conventionally attractive man ever.Talia means nothing to you,neither does Duke,neither does Stephanie,neither do Catherine and Willis and Nocturna,neither do Rose and Artemis and Dana aka the three WOMEN OF COLOR Jason has been in love with and rejected white girls for and the only reason Damian and Dick get to mean something to him is that you can pretend they're white and even worse in Damian's case,GROWN so you can be a fucking pedophile as if Jason didn't kill a teacher for csa'ing one of his student's and is vocally anti-sa multiple times

Y'know what else he's expressed multiple times,nonstop actually?Being unhappy having Roy and Kory as his teammates as he finds them insuffarable,as he fuckin' should because he deserved an ACTUAL run,not Red Hood and The Caricatures by local bigot supreme Scott Lobdell.Jason openly shows distate at having to put up with the EXACT stereotypes y'all built Batfanon on yet you act like you're doing for his sake and that's just loser behavior.Loser behavior is also lying about him liking Tim and not Batcest,i mean neither of them could ever stand eachother's asses pre-N52 and we're lied to about their dynamic in it too seeing as we're never shown the so called closeness between them.What y'all want for Tim and Jason is what we HAVE for DUKE and Jason.I've seen more hate for Talia for That Lost Days scene that Morrison said was ooc to write than i have critisism for alarmingly high amount of Slade/Jason shipping aka white male privilege the DC ship.Stephanie is his bimbo sidekick or has some weirdass d.dlg shit with him depending on what kind of stan we're dealing with,you ADD ON the the classist propaganda in Los Todd's writing by making them abusive monsters when even canon didn't go that far,you don't even know Nocturna exists but make Jason Dent or whatever it's called aus and you without a hint of irony trash on Jayrose Jaytemis and Jaydana because ewww het!!! in the same breath you gush about how Jason is an afrolatino king to you

Y'all are sick for all this!!Like actually and the temper tantrums you throw when you're told by Jason fans who're rightfully upset at how badly you treat him are only convincing us further you don't deserve him.He deserves better than og Rhato and having his misfit traits taken away and not be truly potrayed as an afrolatino man when he'd make a perfect one.He deserves to be Jason Todd.He's not Jaybird or Stray or Wonder Boy or an orientalist excuse of an Al-Ghul/son of Lady Shiva or whatever corny ass mantles M.aribats and DPDC's popularized for him.He's Jason Todd,2nd Robin,Red Hood,Jaylad,Little Wing,Duke Thomas' Robin,Talia Al-Ghul's son,Stephanie Brown's boyloser older brother figure,Willis and Catherine Todd's son too and Rose Wilson's and Artemis Grace's and Dana Harlowe's boyfriend.I know him better than anyone else and i can walk the walk but y'all can't do anything but talk bullshit because you trippin' poser style