#i also have this awful complex that i believe if i just show people enough compassion and patience and understanding they'll change

[baphometsss]

(i was gonna send this in an ask but it got too long lol sorry) @mythalism re: your tags i'm not esp into the idea of the madonna complex re: mythal bc i think, like a lot of freudian ideas, it's insufficient at best and downright harmful at worst

like YES he did put her on a pedestal and yes that's part of the madonna complex, but i think it kind of does solas a disservice when it comes to his intellect bc his thinking is not really black and white enough for that imo. i think he was deluded about her but that was mainly borne from extreme devotion, and that level of devotion can only come from someone who is deeply emotionally unfulfilled

i think it's a lot more likely that he grew to distrust so many people during the war that the only person he really felt he could trust was mythal. mythal used him and kept him on a string so she could use his intellect as a weapon. he was a tool that she believed to be obedient and unconditionally loyal to her. then she went and betrayed him too, which was too much for him to accept, because it meant that he really couldn't trust anyone at all, and that screwed him up majorly and 'broke' him.

unfortunately it's similar to a really common thing that men do w/their emotions irl. i'm not trying to make a 1:1 comparison here because the context is wildly different, but we know that the ancient elves were highly emotional beings so i think it tracks. men have this culture of being emotionally shut off from their friends because vulnerability is seen as a weakness, so they put all their emotional vulnerability into their romantic and family relationships w/women. they see women as the kind of epitome of emotional vulnerability, so they unload on them in this really unhealthy way that leads to more emotional turmoil bc it's just too much. they bottle things up and don't share it with any of their male friends, and so they overwhelm the women in their lives with their emotional needs. when that woman inevitably fails to be able to meet them, she falls off the pedestal and she turns into the awful she-devil for not being there for him. or god forbid she has needs of her own that take precedent or are put on him to fulfil bc that's not allowed for someone with no autonomy. it is partly madonna complex but there's a lot more to it on the guy's part too.

like i said it's not a 1:1 comparison bc we're talking about a war and a genocide and mythal was probably never as 'good' as solas wants to remember her being, but it really makes me think of that. rather than toxic masculinity however it's a matter of repeated betrayals and traumas that fosters his behaviour re: mythal. solas didn't have anyone he could trust with his most intimate thoughts and feelings like he once did with mythal and other spirits long passed, and he's desperately clinging to that relationship bc his ability to trust has been broken so completely and he can't handle the trauma and guilt of the war alone. and ofc unlike mythal and the evanuris, solas holds a LOT of guilt about the titans and the blight. so no matter how much she screwed him over, she always stayed on that pedestal bc the alternative (dealing with it alone) was so much worse. (there's also the fact that mythal understood him as wisdom unlike the others who brought out the worst in him, and that mirror is important for him to retain his nature as wisdom and not pride, the latter of which which his trauma pushes him towards more and more)

essentially he's put all his emotional eggs in one basket regarding mythal. by the time inquisition rolls around, he's also been betrayed by his general and close friend, and he really doesn't trust anyone at all, so he's regressing even further. it makes the romance/friendship all the more special because the inquisitor shows him that it's only by opening yourself up to trust other people (the key being multiple people) again that you can really start to heal and move on instead of wallowing alone forever in your pain and grief.

The whole 'refuge for Mythal' thing is really interesting bc it shows that Solas really saw Mythal as being on his side when it couldn't be more obvious that she enjoyed the power of being queen of the Evanuris. He calls it a 'struggle' in the regret memory, but I don't think she was struggling as much as he thinks. Even Felassan realises how delusional he is about her. It's one of many things Solas is in denial about.

That said, it does seem like he was much more aware of Elgar'nan's evil than she was; I truly believe that Mythal found a kindred spirit in Elgar'nan and thought that she was the right one for him. She tempered him and mitigated the harm he did as much as she could (which doesnt seem to be that much, in all honesty). Whether or not they had romantic feelings for each other is up for debate, but I think it's very possible. There was likely an element of tension at being evenly matched in the way they were that gave their relationship a pathological edge. It was only when Solas told her about the Evanuris using the power of the Blight that she finally decided to take him seriously and challenge her husband and the rest of the Evanuris head-on.

It's also really revealing that the Blight was her final straw. Mythal obviously had no issue with slavery as long as her slaves were treated well. It's very reminiscent of real world attitudes some had towards their slaves ie that as long as you don't abuse them it's okay. They don't understand the fundamentally unethical nature of owning another person. It's why I don't buy the benevolence retcon because slavery is inherently cruel--something that both Solas and an elven Inquisitor can argue with Dorian about.

Yeah, Solas really is an unreliable narrator with Mythal and I really wish we'd had more perspectives other than his. I long to see Mythal in all her cunty glory but alas it will never be

[lesbianjudasiscariot]

i think my problem is that, i, to my core believe people are good and any hate must be a result of ignorance rather than malice. i have been proven wrong my entire life but still i can't imagine a life controlled by antipathy.

[screeching-bunny]

Saw that requests were open, and maybe can you do this one? ⁄(⁄ ⁄ ⁄ω⁄ ⁄ ⁄)⁄

Request- A master manipulator yandere husband that’s been with his wifey (us) since childhood. That’s right, we childhood sweethearts <3 He lovingly molded us into a dependent stepford wifey, cause what’d we do without him? He’s always been there to protect, provide, and care for us since we were young, why stop now into adulthood?

Love to have this as HC format with some dash of dialogue if possible to show some of his personality!

Also I loved your latest CEO yandere, what’s his name? He’s a favorite of mine now. Love the ones that spoil you rotten and can’t live without you!

Yandere! Husband Hcs

Warnings: Obsessive Behavior, Yandere Thoughts, Bad Writing, Stalking, Possessive Behavior, Reader is Referred as ‘You’

A/N: Yandere! Ceo currently doesn’t have a name rn but don’t worry he will soon!!! Thank you so much enjoying him!!!

🌟 Yandere! Husband has been friends with you since you were children. From the moment you got out of the car and started to get your things out of the moving van, he was absolutely hooked. He practically rushed his little legs over and started to enthusiastically introduce himself to you and your family. He was honestly so thrilled to learn that you were the same age as him and going to be attending the same elementary school as him. When you first started attending school Yandere! Husband made sure to hold your hand no matter where you went. Whenever anyone asked he would say that he was only doing this to make you more comfortable (he’s doing this for his own enjoyment). This is a habit that stays even in your adult life. No matter where the two of you are, he is always holding your hand lovingly.

🌟 Yandere! Husband in elementary school used to get so upset whenever someone would try to approach you to play with them. Whenever someone did this he would always try to do petty little things to them such as trip them, tattle tale on every little thing they did, and sometimes get even a little physical. At the time he wasn’t exactly sure why he was feeling these awful emotions but what he was one hundred percent sure on was that he didn’t want anyone to take your attention off of him.

Random elementary student: “You can’t keep doing this! You’re acting like they’re yours! They can play with whoever they want, so stop acting like you own them!”

Yandere! Husband: “...” Coming to the realization that he loves hearing that. The idea of you being solely his causes his heart to beat even faster. “Mine, I like the sound of that.”

🌟 Yandere! Husband made sure to protect you from any bullies that ever tried to harm you. He wanted to be seen as a savior in your eyes and would brutally beat up anyone who tried to harm you. If he wasn’t physically strong enough to beat them then he would do everything in his power to frame them for something and get them expelled from school. He definitely has some sort of savior complex when it comes to you. Yandere! Husband made it a mission to be your first kiss when the two of you were going to graduate elementary and go into middle school. He wanted to be your first in everything and felt this was the first step into making you his. Your first kiss had been with him in his bedroom while you were over to play videogames.

Yandere! Husband: “Come on, this is the first step we gotta take in order to grow. Our first kiss has to be with someone special and you're the specialist person I know!”

Just like that, the two of you were leaning in and that was how Yandere! Husband successfully stole your first kiss.

🌟 Yandere! Husband was still stuck to your side even during puberty. It was during this time that he started getting attention from a lot of people due to his looks. He made sure to always ignore or reject them due to only having eyes for you. Yandere! Husband makes sure that your classes are all with him. Believe it or not but Yandere! Husband is extremely smart and a model student. He will make sure to point out how you are lacking academically therefore you need someone to tutor you (even if you don’t) to both teachers and the principal in order to be in the same classes as you. Yandere! Husband will make small and very subtle passive aggressive remarks about how you aren't that academically intelligent and that you need him by your side. At some point you start to believe this and believe that you need him to tutor you everyday in order to survive school.

Yandere! Husband: “It’s okay if you’re not good at anything. As long as you have me by your side, I’ll take care of you no matter what. Even if we’re old and wrinkly.”

🌟 Yandere! Husband has successfully isolated you from making friends by the time you two are in high school. You basically have no friends but him. This was mainly due to the fact that he would always try to outdo the person you were trying to befriend in order to make them seem boring. Having romantic feelings for anyone other than him was off limits. If you ever did have a crush on someone then Yandere! Husband would absolutely destroy them. He would make sure to spread the nastiest rumor about them and cause them so much shame that they would have to move away from your town in order to avoid further embarrassment. It’s probably around highschool that Yandere! Husband officially asks you out to be his lover. He makes sure to go all out while asking you out in order to make you feel special.

🌟 Yandere! Husband is proposing to you the moment the two of you graduate highschool. Don’t worry about funds, he’s a Nepo baby and will inherit his dad’s company. He definitely wants you to be his housespouse when he’s ready to go to college and work a job. He wants you to depend on him and hates the idea of you being independent without him. In order to make sure this never happens, he manipulates you into thinking that you can’t do anything without him and around. So why don't you sit still and look pretty for him when he gets home.

🌟 Yandere! Husband picks out everything when it’s time to get married. He’s a complete groomzilla and wants everything to be absolutely perfect. When he sees you in your wedding attire for the first time he definitely tears up a bit. You’re just so beautiful. Domestic life with Yandere! Husband is peaceful and calming. Yandere! Husband imagines you all the time while he is at work. When he drives home from work he likes to imagine how you would be waiting for him. Would you be waiting at the door for him or would you be asleep sprawled on the couch. He makes sure to always come home as fast as he can in order to wrap his arms around you. The sight coming home to you and a home cooked meal absolutely melts his heart. This is perfection to him and he’ll make sure to do everything in his power to protect it.

[bossuary]

Neve is painless. Rook is real.

Lucanis likes Neve because she represents what he is desperate to regain. He wants to feel normal, to work and cook and focus on the things he used to enjoy (such as they were) before the Ossuary. He wants capital R Romance, right out of a book.

Most importantly, he wants to get rid of Spite. He wants to pretend that he is the man he was...not this abomination.

Without truly knowing her, Lucanis believes Neve is a pathway to all of that. He's attracted to her, and she to him. Their flirting has an edge, but it's also friendly. She dislikes Spite, and her presence makes Spite disappear.

Neve will tell Lucanis that he's still himself, and that Spite doesn't change that. She will never be the one to reconcile Lucanis with Spite, to get them to accept each other. So, yeah, he gravitates to the charming, flirty, warm person who (through no fault of her own, really) feeds his desire to pretend he's not an abomination.

Even early on, I think he's smart enough to know that accepting Spite is his only option, but he...just... can't. With what tools? Nothing in his life has prepared him to deal with this. Rook does that. When denial tears Lucanis apart, Rook puts him back together with acceptance. Rook accepts the reality of Spite, and deals with it head-on every time.

Neve will remind Lucanis that she's not going anywhere. She'll tell him to open his eyes and look at facts, but she (probably) won't be the one to push him out of his own prison. Lucanis knows this, so Spite knows this, and therefore Spite will not look to Neve for help.

It's important for Lucanis to accept that Spite has changed him. But when it's Rook who says it--for whom Lucanis has developed real feelings, not idealized ones--well, it destroys the fantasy Lucanis clings to so vehemently, the one where he isn't this.

For me, the Lucanis/Rook romance feels the way it does NOT because the writers "preferred" that Lucanis and Neve get together, but because Neve is simply easier for Lucanis to accept. She's easier to talk to, unchallenging. Easy isn't bad! Comfort isn't bad! God knows they both deserve some comfort.

Loving Rook is a profoundly complex choice. There's not a lot of cute ways to work that profundity into sexy banter. It makes sense, then, that Lucanis doesn't have as much dialogue for a romanced Rook as he does with Neve. What he can do is cook, make small gestures. He can, heartbreakingly, tell Rook, over and over, that he doesn't have the words to express how he feels. That's such an awful state, knowing that the person you care about needs to hear words you simply cannot locate. As soon as he does have the words, he shares them.

Rook is real. And real is not easy.

To Lucanis, Rook represents a difficult path to recovery, a path he has to keep choosing to follow, every day. At a time in his life where he is incapable of seeing Spite (and his own PTSD ) as anything but a 'distraction' to shove aside, Rook shows genuine interest in helping Lucanis heal. Rook takes consistent action toward that goal, particularly when it's clear that Lucanis doesn't know how.

Lucanis also has to believe that he's worth the effort, his own and his love's. Neve is great, love her, but I don't see this struggling cynic, this chronic worrier, being very helpful in the self-worth department. No, people in a relationship do not have to perform therapeutic roles. But, partners do have to respect each others' boundaries and needs.

Of course Lucanis goes all-in for Neve, romantically, even while he and Rook are dancing around each other. Accepting how much he loves and cares for Rook means looking at himself the way Rook does. That is so much harder than whatever will happen with Neve.

The fact that Lucanis isn't afraid to pursue Neve, even if Treviso is blighted, tells me that Neve is an indulgence for him. Again, that's not a value judgement. If they treat each other with respect, then the merits of the relationship don't have to fall on whether Lucanis 'heals' as a result. Sometimes not hurting all the time is enough.

BUT. Contrast the ease he feels with Neve with his feelings about Rook:

"When I was afraid to want you..."

That is a powerful admission.

What was he afraid of? The annihilation of neglect, worthlessness, and shame. The awful but knowable pillars of his existence.

Wanting Rook means that Lucanis wants to dismantle everything he knows in pursuit of something he doesn't. To love Rook is to love and accept himself, exactly as he is.

Then...then...Lucanis finds real comfort.

[mythalism]

The lore drop that bothers me the most with how it's glossed over is that ancient elves were actually spirits and how, without delving more into what spirits actually are, it ends up diminishing them as a people & undercutting their complexity. Even Solas says they reflect the world, a pure embodiment of an emotion, but then what does that say of their society, of their goals and aspirations, hell, even of their war crimes? I'm not trying to argue they're not people, it's just sad that the best exploration of it remains in Awakening with Justice and the only one who argues for their personhood is this game's chosen antagonist. That this is the direction they chose for the people they heavily coded as indigenous makes it all the more egregious that they're relegated to set-dressing (Crossroads, Hall of Valor) or a couple of examples to show some of them are Good (I miss how in Inq, Compassion is said to be a rare spirit and easy to corrupt, Cole is terrified by what he almost became and could become, and in VG u find 2 who are mostly fine, if a bit rattled. Harding even compares them to a mabari puppy??but I digress). Ofc they couldn't humanize the spirits more bc then we'd have to contend with how we're supposed to want them to stay fenced in for all eternity for the safety of the status quo. All the while, their earthly descendants have been invisibilised or killed off-screen, with the exception of a small group u can save and that's used as an opportunity to showcase Solas's growth and how bad the Venatori are. Ancient elves don't exist, city elves are functionally the same as any other npc, and the Dalish have been replaced by the Veil Jumpers, who are totally cool with anyone plundering - I mean, exploring their ruins and seem mostly concerned with isolating dangerous artifacts and shoving them in a museum, hmm... Honestly, I gave up when Irelin said it was easy to forget about the halla. Thank fuck Merrill isn't in this cus she'd be Cyrian. Others have pointed out how nonsensical it is they're all fine with their gods being fake, but also real and evil (yet still invoke the Creators & Mythal and wear vallaslin), so I'll move on to the real horror for me: that none of them knew. There's a banter between Bellara & Emmrich that turned my stomach where he says that elves originally being spirits was a working theory some of them had (oh, to be a fly on the wall during THAT racist debate!), once again placing humans as the natural custodians of elven history and it's all so cruel that it's world-breaking for me. It's awful that elves were abandoned not only by their 'gods', but by what it turns out are their brethren. Am I supposed to believe that for millennia they prayed to their gods, but they only ever spoke to Tevinter magisters? That spirits never shared anything about their common past with the elves? Why did Mythal keep them in the dark? The Dalish have taken great pains to ensure every scrap of history is preserved and shared, despite the genocides, but I guess oral history doesn't count (and they never thought to use spirits? ig they weren't interesting enough to be reflected by spirits either, otherwise they could've found out even more from that) and most of their books and artifacts got stolen/destroyed by humans, too bad the ancient elves never felt any kinship to them, they could've used the lore boost.

1/2

[meanbossart]

Ask Compilation: Gorp, Questionable Child Rearing, Progressive elves and some campaign lore!

As always, I apologize if your ask isn't here/ hasn't been replied to, it is unfortunately impossible for me to answer to every question I get to the extend I would like to. Occasionally I also just don't have a very interesting answer to offer 😅 and I try to avoid spamming people's feeds! But thank you so much to everyone who interacts with my stories, characters, art, and is curious about my thought process and writing! The response is frankly just as overwhelming as it is deeply appreciated, and every word of encouragement or message about how I inspired you to draw or write more of your own stories makes my day.

DU drow and Gortash had what I would describe as a "Toxic Friendship". They got along well enough, had little friend dinner-dates, drank together, superficially shared their woes in ways that benefited no one, and DU drow ultimately had a great deal of respect for Gortash - except you would have never known that by the way he treated him.

DU drow belittled, harassed, and even destroyed Gortash's property on whim alone. Every compliment was back-handed and every display of friendship was somehow sarcastic. Gortash let everything slide right off his back for reasons I like leaving obscured. Here's a particularly intense write-up I did about their relationship a long time ago that still stands. I think it serves really well to illustrate how intense DU drow could still be about his friendships.

PFFTT, I don't know why that would be a female-child only thing, but maybe that's just a colloquialism?

DU drow actually talks pretty similarly to children as he does to adults! He just doesn't set the same expectations on them. Children don't ask stupid questions because the world is still new to them, nor do their respond reasonably to everything, they also don't understand some big words or complex ideas depending on how you present it to them - he understands this and adjusts accordingly. But otherwise his tone would be the same, even with his his own child. He's that guy who's good with kids on the basis of treating them as to-be adults rather than.. Well, just a child.

The Astarion assessment is fair, LOL.

[MORE UNDER THE CUT]

(Surface) elven kind strikes me as fairly gender-indifferent overall! And while I enjoy theorizing about how their culture has shifted over the years from exposure to "urban life", for both better and worse, I like to think this is an aspect that has remained mostly unchanged, even for elves who may have had a really mixed-up upbringing from living in a city as diverse as Baldur's Gate.

I believe Astarion (and by extension Shadowheart and DU drow) are fully aware that they read as their respective genders and that for other races, such as humans, that means something; but for them that is a different custom that doesn't really apply outside of pronouns and reproductive expectations. So, I actually believe that Astarion would be pretty indifferent to life as a woman save for occasionally missing having a dick for the obvious reasons (only to then shift back and lament the opposite, probably).

ALL THE TIME!

But I know that you meant to ask if I will ever draw it.

VERY LIKELY THAT I WILL.

As a side note, thank you for showing interest and excitement for male-on-male sex that isn't just anal, LOL.

CW for the obvious, though nothing too descriptive or awful.

I understand if people disagree as a knee-jerk reaction, but I would say that Astarion's character demonstrates a shocking amount of self-control and emotional regulation. I went into this more in detail in an older post, but basically: the guy always brings himself down from his own outbursts, is exceptionally good at reading the room, is extremely forgiving and pragmatic, and knows when to send the jokes outside and respond to vulnerability in kind. I stand by this as more than a headcanon; it's in his actual writing and dialogue.

All that to say, I don't think Astarion would ever lay a violent hand on his own children. I also don't HC him as having endured corporal punishment as a child, hence not really having that instilled in his mind as a possible example to draw from.

I could see DU drow implementing physical punishments that he doesn't consider to be actually painful, like pulling, pinching, or squeezing a child while you reprehend them; things a parent might do because they think it's harmless. Astarion would probably be the one to say he's not really achieving anything - so it would likely be short-lived.

I DO think they would both be okay with setting up their children to pretty arduous physical labor, though, both as punishment and just in general to toughen them up. You could argue there's a way to do this that is reasonable, but they would prooobably push that line into dubious territory.

Buddy, WHO said low fat, what do you think the meat and taters that he's eating is swimming in!

But back to your question, he can enjoy a sweet treat every once in a while! He just far, far prefers savory. Personally, I think the guy would go crazy for a panettone. Or a big sugar-powdered crepe with some berries.

I kind of flew through the Circus in DU drow's playthrough because I was SO excited to get to Baldur's gate. They were only there long enough for DU drow to make Astarion mildly pissed off during the dryad's weird love quiz.

I also somehow missed Lucretious and never got the Dribbles quest - probably for the best.

Becoming a big ol' squid seems like a deal-breaker for his character in-game - so, same thing applies here. He'd let him down gently but potentially want a friendship for as long as DU drow is still himself.

... Buuuut it would never come to that; DU drow would most likely end his life pretty swiftly if he were to turn into a mindflayer, so Astarion wouldn't have much to worry about 😬

Alas, she pretty much never crosses his mind since he has no recollection of the type of relationship they had prior to DU drow's amnesia.

Or at least she won't as long as nothing weird ever happens that potentially jogs his memory 😇

Hello! I also love the escorts, but due to both DU Drow's and Astarion's respective attitudes towards drow and that kind of activity they didn't really hire his services. I do like to think him and his sister had a lot to gossip about as soon as they turned their backs, though, LOL.

[jaspvids]

The Diagnosis Of David

Disclaimer: I am by no means a mental health professional. This is just a meta-analysis.

What do we think of when we think of David?

His values of kindness. Optimism. Hope. Conviction. Passion. His drive to do his best every single day. The way he always makes an effort to reach out to others.

But also:

Attachment issues. People pleaser. Rose-colored glasses wearer. And at times, though the fandom doesn’t want to acknowledge it — Selfish. Unstable. Rude. Hypocritical. Kind of a dick.

See this video I made;

He’s complex, so let’s try to unpack him, and figure out what he’s got going on under that floof.

On David’s Childhood

David has been through a number of traumatic events in his childhood, most notably:

Witnessing Jasper fall to his near-death.

Finding Jasper, and being almost mauled by bears during the escape.

Clown school was apparently very bad, given the flashback-like reaction he had when it was mentioned. I’m unsure of his age when this occurred, however.

The fight with Jasper at the cave before they parted ways.

Losing Jasper. He says Cameron told him he was picked up by his parents, but I’m not convinced it’s not just his mind trying to erase painful memories.

As far as what we don’t necessarily see in the show, but can infer, David’s father was either not present or not great. He dreamt Cameron was his real father, as seen below.

And we all know Cameron is an awful father figure to begin with.

Yet, that’s better to David, apparently, than whatever he had at home. Which implies it was likely a pretty bad situation.

This can also be backed up by his attachment to the camp — growing up (and even now) it seems to be more of a home to him than his actual home.

That’s a home that hasn’t ever been mentioned, by the way. Contrary to Gwen, we know absolutely nothing about his family. He hasn’t talked about them once, if I recall correctly.

David is often open with emotions, if not wearing his heart on his sleeve. So why would he never mention his family and home?

We know why.

Even as an adult, he has retained this attachment to Cameron (who has in turn, continued to use this attachment to his benefit). He gets very excited about helping Cameron change in “keep the change” — because he needs to believe people who hurt him can get better. Otherwise, it’s too painful to bear.

The Loss Of Jasper

Part of his childhood, but significant enough to warrant its own section.

Jasper and David had a very interesting relationship. We’ve seen in the past that David was pessimistic, foulmouthed, and hot-tempered, directly compared to an optimistic, peppy, popular Jasper.

But then Jasper saw Cameron’s real self, and David received a modicum of praise for what was likely the first time based on his reaction. And so, they basically did somewhat of a switcheroo.

(David takes on many traits of Jasper after this experience, showing that he does admire him at the end of the day. I believe these traits are the foundation of David’s many masks.)

Despite the whole shebang, further episodes show us that they form a strong bond (or maintain one, we don’t know what happened before the first Jasper and David episode.)

What makes this friendship especially crucial in David’s development is that I believe Jasper was the first person to truly stand up for David.

David is, as we have seen, easily manipulated. Jasper picks up on this, and knowing Cameron’s just trying to use his best friend, tries to take Cameron down.

Jasper essentially died trying to protect David.

If Jasper hadn’t died, I don’t think David would have ended up as gullible and dependent as he is. If he had the more rational and realistic Jasper by his side during the rest of his developmental years, I believe things would have ended up much, much differently.

With Jasper’s death, there seems to be nobody else at camp who knows of Cameron’s crimes, or possibly, doesn’t want to speak out about them. Nobody to stand up for him. Nobody to redirect him.

So there’s nobody to stop the unhealthy-attachment-train from picking up speed.

Cameron And David’s Relationship

Cameron is manipulative and abusive towards David. This even becomes physical:

Despite this, David continues to idolize him as is seen in many cases of abuse. He works his ass off maintaining Cameron’s camp. Cameron’s approval makes or breaks him, because this is the man he sees as a father, unfortunately.

In addition, David is unable to let go of the hope that Cameron can change, because he’s convinced himself that deep down Cameron is still “good”, based on his skewed perception of him. And we all know how that ended.

But as Diane from Bojack Horseman once said ��

And that is David’s problem — he wants so much for there to be a “deep down”, that there will be a day where Cameron showers him with praise and throws signed adoption forms at him, etcetera.

He judges Cameron not on who he actually is, but who he wants him to be. And so, the unhealthy attachment remains.

(Which is, of course, incredibly destructive to his mental health.)

Other Things We Know About His Mental Health, From Canon

We know he takes meds.

We know he has (sometimes dissociative) panic attacks.

We know he has been seen to suddenly snap, even to the point of violence.

My Final Conclusion: C-PTSD

(As the trauma has been not just one event, but many over the course of his life, and among other reasons, I believe CPTSD fits better than PTSD.)

David meets much of the criteria, most notably:

Lack of emotional regulation

Dissociation

Flashbacks

Anxiety

Guilt and shame

Distorted perception of abuser

Relationship difficulties

Okay this was long I’m tired good night.

[thefloatingwriter]

Abt victors being complex - that's why my personal unpopular headcanon is that most of them didn't have positive feelings about Katniss or Peeta. Because let's be real for a moment, even if you're the nicest person in the world or the most broken and beaten down by the Capitol and the Games: you would think "why wasn't I enough? Why didnt people care enough about me to riot? Why do I have to go through this hell again? Why did they get to break the rules?" And tbh, KP's naivety as victors, from that perspective, would be absolutely grating, they never really seem to Get It until its too late and everyone else has to pay for their mistakes.

yes!!! this!!!! you get it!!!!!

katniss and peeta never had to go through the normal Victor Experience with the pain of mentoring or victor prostitution or the companionship within the victors. they just don’t Get It, like you said. and that’s not their fault!! the capitol shows these people hanging off capitol citizens arms, oohing and awing at everything in their path every year, fully convincing everyone that the victors are happy. that they want to be here, away from their home and families hanging off of strange men and women’s arms. they depict the perfect victors, who smile and wave and sign autographs. victors like chaff and haymitch get about five seconds of screen time before being pushed aside because they’re not interesting, they’re not the focus, they’re not complying with the image we are depicting. they don’t conform with the images we are showing to our citizens.

i truly believe that there was no way all of the victors liked katniss and peeta. actually, i don’t think many of the victors liked katniss and peeta. as in, there was probably like two that genuinely liked them. and also, from their perspective, these are the reason they’re going back into the arena!! none of the victors wanted to do that!!!

we really need more complex victors representation in this fandom…

[k3n-dyll]

hii i hope you're having a good day! I saw some of your posts about the twitter discourse about sevika and the brothels in arcane...im not looking to argue or anything, just genuinely wanted to understand your perspective on it a little bit better the context of show kind of leads us to believe that zaun is deeply economically impoverished right. wouldn't that mean that most of the people in the brothels are there not through their own volition but because of the economic circumstances that they were handed? i personally think those situations are inherently coercive, regardless of how you spin the agency question. if you don't really have the choice to say safely say no, is that really a choice at all? of course the same logic applies to any kind labour under capitalism i guess, but coercion when it comes to sex is treated with a different degree of gravity (for good reason; we all know what coercive sex is called) irrespective of the presence/absence of some kind of organized trafficking business, the economic deprivation in the undercity kind of muddy the lines, at least in my eyes.

I recently saw a post that pretty much summed up my feelings on the topic which is that I think there are conversations to be had about sex work in media and how it's portrayed specifically regarding coercion and exploitation and how they intersect within those depictions, however, I also personally think that putting the label of 'rapist' on Sevika is an oversimplification of both Sevika's character and the world she exists in as a whole. A lot of the justifications for branding her with this label are extremely anti sex work(er) and uncomfortable to me as someone that has personal irl experience with both sex work and SA. There's a heavy lack of textual context on the sex work industry in both Zaun and Piltover and calling Sevika (or anyone that goes to the brothels in Arcane to buy services, really) a rapist detracts from actual nuanced conversation and critique on the matter.

I also feel that we have enough understanding of Sevika as a character in general (someone that, while morally grey for sure, is never depicted as a person that abuses power for her own personal pleasure) that using the term 'rapist' to describe her feels wholly unsupported by the show (both in implication and in what we're shown explicitly), and again a very harsh and reductionist way of viewing her character that flattens her in a way that discourages healthy debate and discussion on the topic.

I also want to point out that in a world where misogyny and the patriarchy don't play a factor in its inner workings (at least that we're shown), there is a huge possibility that sex work within the Arcane universe differs from our world in a lot of ways, because let's be honest, a lot of the reasons why sex work in the real world is so awful (industry wise) is largely in part because of those systemic issues. You can feel the way you feel about it, obviously, and I'm not completely dismissing concerns/healthy debate on coercion and exploitation - my opinion and thoughts on the matter aren't the end all be all. Still, I'm personally against using such a label to describe such a complex character and the world surrounding her.

[renthony]

Goddammit I have things to say about Arcane again. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have never been this obsessed with a show that pissed me off so much. Fucking hell.

Longish critical post under the cut.

Husband and I are re-watching Arcane from the beginning, specifically so we can do some critical analysis and frame-by-framing. This watch, I'm really fixated on the way Vi is reintroduced after being in prison, because it does not make any goddamn sense.

If Stillwater is primarily full of Zaunites working for Silco, and Vi is constantly fighting with them, but she's also constantly being tortured by the enforcers...who the fuck is watching her back? How is she alive? Yes, she has a solitary cell, but we see her let out into the common areas. If she has that many enemies in Stillwater, how has she survived this long? The answer seems to be "plot armor," and that's...not a good answer.

If she has literally zero allies in prison, and she is hated by both the inmates and the guards, she'd be dead. Even if we're supposed to assume Marcus gave the order to the other enforcers to keep her alive, we know for a fact that the enforcers are still abusing her, so they clearly don't actually give a shit, nor do they stop the other inmates from fighting with her.

Like, I don't care how much of a badass she is, she has to sleep sometimes. She has to eat sometimes. She has to take a piss sometimes. She is clearly in fighting-fit shape, she is clearly healthy enough to immediately start parkouring all over Zaun after release, so who's letting her have access to workout equipment? You don't get or stay that jacked just by punching a wall. How's she getting enough calories? You don't get the good food if everyone in the prison hates you. For all that she makes a joke to Caitlyn about prison food tasting awful, she is clearly not malnourished.

And who the fuck did her tattoos????? They're extensive and fairly high-quality. If someone else did them, who was she on good enough terms with? If she did it herself, who liked her enough to smuggle, sell, or share supplies with her?

It really wouldn't bug me as much if it weren't for the fact that the narrative seems to want me to see her as a forgotten loner who has nobody in her corner until Caitlyn. Fundamentally, that cannot be true, or Vi would have been murdered and dumped in the water long before Cait showed up.

Also, if Silco has that many people in Stillwater, how does he not have his fingers in the prison smuggling operation that clearly exists? I don't buy it. If he owns Marcus' ass that hard, and he's already involved in smuggling, he'd have spies and smugglers in Stillwater, too. I do not believe that Silco has the power and the confidence to casually threaten Marcus by showing up in the man's personal home, but not enough power and confidence to get spies into a prison that's already full of his own allies/underlings.

There are definitely possible answers to some of these questions, and I certainly have my own headcanons, but it really doesn't feel like the writers' room spent a lot of time thinking about the actual social issues and politics that they invoked for aesthetic.

Usually this is where I'd say, "I wonder what the S&P notes looked like, and I wonder how many episodes they got screwed out of, because so much of this could have been fixed with a little more runtime." Sadly, based on the shit that keeps coming out of Christian Linke's mouth, I don't think we can blame the corporate office for this one. If Christian Linke is telling the truth and the show got all the episodes they wanted, my ever-present "TV writers keep getting screwed, so I have to analyze the finished product with the knowledge that the creators likely got fucked over" goodwill completely vanishes.

The problem really seems to be that the show was written by centrists with a fundamentally flawed understanding of class struggle, drug use, the drug trade, and the prison-industrial complex. It's not surprising, but it does disappoint me.

And while I'm thinking about it, why is Shimmer somehow both drinkable and injectable in seemingly the same form???? Drugs can absolutely come in different forms, but we see people drink the exact same type of shimmer that other people inject. You don't drink injectable drugs. Fuck's sake, this is Skooma levels of "the writers just threw every scary-sounding drug in a blender to make Scary Super Drugs without knowing anything about how real-world drugs work."

Also, if the Firelights' big thing is that they hate Silco Because Of Drugs, I really wanna know how the hell Ekko found that many straight-edge anarchists willing to build a secret compound together. Are they against all drugs, or just shimmer? Where's their line?

[archivedblog16]

This might be a long one so heads up.

So one of things about the last episode of HB that I wish they would do better with is Milly and blitz relationship is showing the down fall or toxicity of that relationship.  mainly, how does relationship affects Millie split and shit before husband? 

Remember, the Pilot when Millie said “moxie That’s are boss” oh, some of the head cannons that maybe Millie knows how sad and lonely blitz is and feel sorry for him, so she kind of allowed him to be part of their lives. Without thinking twice how much this is also, affecting Moxie. I would love it if Moxie and Millie’s First fight would be about Blitz and how he continue to stalk and harass them well millie just laugh it off and just said “oh it just Blitz being Blitz.” Moxie have enough and tells Millie to stop enabling Blitz.

Now I want Both the M&M to be in the right but also in the wrong.

Millie; She wants everyone to get along with each other because she view IMP as a family much like her own family. She want them to stay together and get along, so she always play peacemaker, but doing that allow people to walk all over her husband, well, she does nothing, and just stand in the background supporting him, but not standing up for him.

Moxie; he does need to stop being overly sensitive all the time . Let’s his boss do what he wants sometimes but that doesn’t mean he have every right to sent boundaries and stand up to himself whenever he needs to.

 I want Moxie and Millie discussion about Blitz behavior or at least give us some hints about then talk about blitz behavior, watch season one leading to the event of Ozzie and the aftermath. Where Moxie right fully so finally snaps and yells at Blitz. Now as we all know Blitz is dealing with own problems after the event of Ozzie. So now not the best time for Moxie to get mad at Blitz.

This is how the argument, Will go

Mox; “I can’t believe you stocks use Again. During me and Millie Anniversary sir.”

B; oh, please you should be thanking me for saving your puny sorry ass that I even came. It wasn’t me coming. You would have been getting tomatoes and dildos all over you by now but you’re awful singing. 

Mil; he does have a good point Mox he did help us.

Mox; Stop, Standing up for him why do you always choose his side?

Mil; i’m not on his side and I’m on both of you guys side and I think you are being a bit too harsh on him moxie He’s is are bo-

Mox; do not end it with he’s are boss. He also your best friend And ask your friend you should send boundaries towards him.

Mil; Well he doesn’t have a lot of family or friends, Moxie also kind of funny how he always pop out of nowhere if you think about it. Like the time went when you were in the shower and he pop out of nowhere we with the camera saying wow it’s must be your birthday moxie. Haha.

B; Yeah, Moxie in a my fault that you have a different sense of humor over your wife great Taste And and that you your taste is as small dumb and puny ass, you dick and brain.

Moxie finally have enough storms out of the room had to The door where Luna is on the front of the desk doing nothing be eating a whole bag of chips and watching something on her phone , Give Moxie , another fat joke about how fat he is. Moxie then heads straight to Luna grab the chips and rip it in front of her telling her she needs to lay of the chip and watch her hips for now on. He then went to back to the door and yelled “F@ck you all the quit.”

This will lead to an all night fight with the M&M the company now having a bit of a crisis since Moxee was the only one who knows how to do paperwork and taxes. Leading to Luna to most of the work and because Luna is a spoiled brat, she will get mad at blitz to making her to do paperwork and causing Moxxie to quit even though she was no better to.  this will also leave to Blitz superior complex to go even higher, thinking he did nothing wrong, and Moxie is just being a baby about it. as for Millie, it will lead to her now doing double the work of being a assassin. Which will take a turn for her And blitz Relationship. 

 This will be an actual way to show Blitz that his actions does have affect on others Instead Of the show just telling us. Oh, Blitz your heart everyone to love you. anyway that all I needed to say thank you and good bye.

I wish Vivziepop and the writers went in more depth with Blitz and Millie’s dynamic like they do with Blitz and Moxxie. All we know is that Millie is used too and sometimes enables Blitz’s shenanigans. The only conclusion I think of why she doesn’t mind Blitz being a weirdo probably because it reminds of her family and how it’s a big household, so there’s no opportunity for anyone to get alone time or space.

Classice, I am glad you mentioned Moxxie, Millie, Blitz’s argument because I imagined something similar to that. Moxxie would call out Blitz, Millie, and Loona’s behaviors and treatment over previous episodes and the double standards then officially quit but it’s not like a joking “I quit” then comes back immediately.

It’s more somewhat permanent but there would be consequences on both sides. Moxxie realize that he can’t do everything himself, tries to run his own business is way harder, and gets stressed because he doesn’t have the charisma that Blitz has. Blitz, Millie, and Loona (mainly Loona and Blitz) slowly realize that they need Moxxie because he unironically makes things interesting and they all suck with paper work and end up being behind or just avoiding it. Meanwhile, Millie tries to appeases to both sides but fails and Loona, Moxxie, and Blitz gets upset at her.

Despite the team being separated, they both get the same client and are forced to fight each other to get to the main target. This would demonstrate that Moxxie has improved his fighting skills and can be cold-hearted to his teammates, fighting dirty and not taking any chances to go soft. Millie doesn’t want to hurt Moxxie and purposely go into the way of Moxxie, Blitz, and Loona’s fighting.

Loona and Blitz still fighting Moxxie but noticed Moxxie’s improvement, etc. They all sooner or later make up and apologize to Moxxie because of Millie (apparently she’s the heart of the team, Vivziepop’s words not mine 😂). All these characters promise to be better and stick to it. Because of this instance they grow stronger and more open.

Regardless, I hope they do this and it has so much potential but at the same time it’s too kind of too late. Should’ve been at least a 3 part season 1 finale or early season 2 conflict. It gives the show stakes and forces the audience to care of what happens to the future of IMP along with addressing every character’s flaws especially Blitz’s. Anyway, I loved reading this and the dialogue you created: it fits the characters perfectly and truly shows how much potential the IMP squad has but was wasted it on telling us instead of showing.

[cosmicjoke]

would you consider levi an optimist?

That's a really interesting question, and kind of a complex one, too, I think.

I think Levi tends to straddle the line between optimism and cynicism, but ultimately falls into being an optimist. Not because he's delusional or naive, but really, precisely, because he isn't.

On the one hand, Levi has had a hard life. A really, really hard life, in which he's experienced incredible loss, suffering and grief. And as a result, I think he's in many ways been conditioned to expect the worst. His monologue to the 104th about always being prepared and the fastest to act in dire situations is largely a result of what I would say is PTSD, having grown up in an extremely hostile environment and in horrific circumstances, constantly surrounded by predators and cruelty and the worst humanity has to offer. Surrounded by pointless suffering and death. His own life growing up was largely nothing but that. That's what the world was to him, what the world showed him it was. He never knew anything else, really, until he met Furlan and Isabel.

And yet, it's through the bond we see Levi form with Furlan and Isabel that we're shown something essential about his character, which is that, despite being exposed to nothing but suffering, cruelty and ugliness his entire life, he still somehow managed to have an open enough heart to befriend and care about these two other people. Not because they had anything material to offer, or because he could use them to get ahead in some way, like would have been taught to him by the likes of Kenny and the rest of the criminal element Underground, but simply because he has a good heart and, despite everything in his life trying to impress upon him otherwise, Levi still believed in life having value and meaning, in life being important, and in people being worth it. Despite the world and his circumstances growing up trying to snuff out all love in his heart, Levi refused to allow it. He simply couldn't.

And that's where I think the inherently optimistic, even idealist aspect of Levi's nature comes in. Levi's refusal to dismiss life as meaningless or give into the ugliness around him speaks to something innately positive in his character. He has the strength and the hope to keep believing people are worth while, that their lives are worth while, despite seeing and experiencing in the most brutal and intimate ways just how horrible people can be, and how unfair the world is. He never let the cheapness with which life was treated and discarded around him influence him into thinking the same. He never let that turn him cold or bitter or unfeeling toward other people's suffering. In spite of it all, in spite of being shown over and over and over that life was without value, he refused to accept it. He rebelled against that notion wholeheartedly, even when he felt it was a losing battle. He couldn't and wouldn't accept that something he regarded as precious should ever be treated as anything less, even as that was all he was ever taught.

So, while I think Levi's been traumatized by how awful his life has been, and that it's caused him to expect bad things to happen all the time, even to the point of not really being able to fully believe in the idealistic goals of the Survey Corps, i.e. a utopian society or world, as I've talked about so much, there's also an undying hope in Levi's refusal to give up on people, and in his stubborn attempts to fight against the cruelty of meaningless death. Levi just cares too much about other people, and believes too powerfully in life's inherent value, to ever be a true cynic. He loves people, and I think that's why Levi, against all odds, always ends up with these little families of his. Furlan and Isabel, Erwin and Hange, and finally Gabi and Falco and Onyankopon. That light and positivity in Levi, that open heart, draws people to him. They can sense how much he cares, and how much compassion he has in his heart for others.

So, while Levi has a healthy and realistic understanding of the world around him and just how brutal it can be, while he suffers under no illusion or naivety about the nature of people and the world and the darkness present in those things, he also refuses to accept that that's all it can be, and he constantly fights against that tide of brutality and cruelty through his own kindness and compassion.

And I think that's really what would define an optimist, in the end. Someone who knows how horrible the world can be, and how horrible people can be, and yet still does all he can to oppose that horror. That's Levi all the way.

[nova-streyart]

The Thing about Belos Nobody Mentions

There's an aspect of Belos I haven't seen anyone talk about yet: him potentially being on the schizophrenia spectrum, or schizospec for short, and everything that means. Before you say anything, I am a schizoaffective person. This is my interpretation. This is based off my own experiences with this disorder, and my own research.

Analysis and rant under the cut:

=ANALYSIS=

So this all started when I learned that one of the color design pieces had Caleb and the grimwalkers labelled "Golden Guard Illusion". Artists credited in the image itself.

It's weird to me that they're labeled as illusions and not hallucinations, because the latter is what the ghosts actually are. Illusions are images your brain distorts based off something that's there, while hallucinations are images your brain creates from nothing. The fact that these ghosts are actually hallucinations of Belos and not real ghosts doesn't say a whole lot about Belos on its own, because anyone can hallucinate if they experience intense enough negative emotions. But you'll see why I think there's something more to this.

Following this lead, I rewatched the scene where Papa Titan talks to Luz in the In-Between realm in the series finale. After Luz asks him whether her motivation to save her friends and family makes her just as bad as Belos, she tells her:

"Well, you assume Belos' goal comes from a genuine place. But that man doesn't care about anything but his need to be the hero in his own delusion."

Let me give you a short lesson about delusions in the context of schizospec disorders: Delusions are firmly held beliefs that the person experiencing can't be convinced aren't true. This can be extremely serious and life-threatening, such as as believing all your food's been poisoned. But it can also be harmless; it really depends on the delusion. The type of delusion referenced here would be a delusion of grandeur, which is a real thing in schizospec disorders. Such delusions can be serious, like believing you're the second coming of god, or more harmless, like believing you're better than others.

Taking both the hallucinations and the delusion into mind, it's very possible that Belos has some kind of schizospec disorder.

=RANT=

Let's talk about that scene where Belos goes to the grimwalker cave. Notice how the hallucinations are played for laughs? That's problematic. Hallucinations are not something you can just tell to "shut up" and they'll go away. Hallucinations are not things you can interact with. There's already other media with this problem, such as A Beautiful Mind, but the fact that it's in a show that's supposed to be celebrating neurodivergence is hypocritical.

Let's briefly go back to that Papa Titan quote. See how he used the word "delusion" to describe Belos' motivation?Yeah, that's really problematic in the schizospec community. As mentioned before, delusions can be life threatening, so tossing that word around like it's nothing is really frustrating and insulting. The show should have used a word like "fantasy" to get its point across more effectively if it was implying that Belos has a hero complex.

Continuing this train of thought, it gets worse when you consider how Papa Titan- and in essence the narrative- is essentially ridiculing Belos for experiencing a very intense delusion. Delusions are not something a schizospec person can control. I've already seen the fandom mocking Belos for this quality. It was one of those awful memes with the caption "schizophrenia," and had audio of markiplier doing a bit where he was bantering with an "inner voice". Such memes are awful because they're not real experiences schizospec people go through. They're assumptions about our experiences non-schizospec people make about us.

That would be the worst of it, but no, it gets far worse when you consider a few things:

Belos is the main antagonist. That would be annoying enough, considering the plethora of mentally ill villains in media, but nope. The narrative also treats him as this purely evil being who is incapable of any good whatsoever. Which, OK. It's possible for a schizospec person to be a monster. But the fact that the only schizospec representation we have is either of us as helpless victims, or as irredeemable monsters, is infuriating.

Belos is clearly meant to be a foil to Luz. Which, congrats to the show for having a neurodivergent lead, but let me tell you about some of the hardships schizospec people face: In real life, schizospec people are cast out of mental health advocacy groups. Schizospec people are treated as subhuman by doctors and psychiatrists. Schizospec people are demonized and vilified by society. Schizospec people are denied jobs and housing. With all this in mind the fact the narrative chooses to glorify a character with the "right," the "acceptable," kind of neurodivergence while berating a character with the "scary," the "monstrous," kind of neurodivergence is absolutely disgusting.

=CONCLUSION=

I feel like it has to be said that I am not condoning Belos' actions, or trying to woobify him. Belos, as a person, was terrible. No amount of mental illness tacked onto him will excuse any of his actions.

I'm also not trying to imply that schizospec characters can't be evil. I'm just saying that it's extremely tiresome that the only representation we get is either us as victims or as villains.

To conclude all of this, please, do your research before adding something like this into your story.

[namorthesubmariner]

My mutual, Doombot, has written a great analysis of Namor & why many writers & Marvel fail to grasp an understanding of his character. This is so well written & really sums up what Namor fans have been talking about on the CBR board for years. I think people who don't "get" Namor should read this.

Full text under the cut

Doombot: What's interesting, or disheartening really, is that, for people who don't know Namor that well, all these mini-series' and supporting roles in recent years must be how so many people see Namor, and it's just not him. He's in this awful limbo where he needs an ongoing series for readers to understand him again, but he also (in Marvel's eyes) needs to be popular enough to be given an ongoing. It's like employers asking for 10yrs experience for entry level positions, it's backwards. Plus every modern showing of Namor in all these other books have him as a huge assh*le or an outright villain (or both)

Modern writers simply don't seem to understand Namor, and their OOC portrayals of him present Namor to modern readers as someone he isn't.

Even if Namor felt he had been wrong, if he felt he'd been unjust or needed to atone for some action or judgement he made, he would never in a million years submit to human "justice". (which in Marvel almost always means American) The same justice that has never been afforded to his own people, even when humans (usually Americans) decimate, poison or outright murder them in hundreds, if not thousands. You never see Captain America or IronMan coming to Namor's aid, to help get justice for the scores of innocent Atlanteans that are blown up, murdered or displaced by human activity. In fact, Captain America and IronMan will be the first to confront and threaten Namor if he dares to even think about getting any kind of justice for his people. Yet time and time again, Namor will answer the call to help save humanity from looming threats and disasters. He does this KNOWING it is never offered in return, that the same people he fights for and beside will never come to the aid of him and his people. Yet all the heroes will instantly clutch their pearls and label Namor as unstable or a villain if he gets frustrated or angry enough to seek his own justice. This alone tells you a lot about who Namor is and who the heroes (who claim they're his friends) are.

Namor willingly does this is for a few reasons. First, he simply believes these are the right things to do. Secondly, because he has a deep need or longing to be accepted by the people of his father. Just as he has a deep need to be accepted by the people of his mother, the Atlanteans. Namor, for all his blustering and power, is extremely lonely. He's never been accepted by either, humans or Atlanteans, from his childhood to now. Yet he's always strived to do right by both, in a naive hope they will eventually love him, that he will finally belong somewhere. That's the tragedy of the character, it's the entire fucking point. These are complex social and psychological issues, yet extremely simple at the same time. He's alone. He's angry and hurt, distrusted and disliked, yet always tries to do what is right, and he's usually repaid with scorn. His prickly, pompous or cold demeanor is a facade, it's covering the fact he's a deeply lonesome man who desires a connection to his people(s) and also the fact he was raised as a Royal and everything that means. Being distant, exceptional, superior, a living symbol.

Part of the reason people don't present Namor correctly, as we've discussed here before, is that he's not a superhero. Not in the sense most think about it. Captain America, Superman, Spider-Man, the classic superhero who is out to do right, to fight for "Truth, Justice and the American Way" isn't at all what Namor represents. Not only is Namor not a hero for America, he's not even a hero for humanity. From his very inception he was a champion of "the other", the outsider, the non-American, non-human. He's a main character in American comics who is NOT fighting for America or American values. He's the opposite of Superman. Superman is an alien who does everything in his power to become the best version of a human, of an Amercian, that he can be. Namor is not human, not American, and doesn't want to be. In fact, he's more often than not at odds with humanity. Humans are a real danger to him and his mother's people. This is quite remarkable for a superhero in 1930-whatever. Marry this concept to a character who is also raised as a Royal, as above the everyman, destined not to fight for American justice and democracy, but to be a king and rule a kingdom. All of this adds to the difficulty many readers and writers have with Namor, especially in modern comics. These things aren't made clean enough, instead Namor is seen as a huge a-hole, who's just arrogant and is always on the edge of being a dangerous lunatic villain. The quirks of Namor's personality are left bare, on the surface, but he's hollow. Modern readers don't get to see and understand WHY Namor behaves they way he does.

Namor doesn't need to be deconstructed. How or why would a deconstruction be interesting or valid for a character you barely understand to begin with? What Namor needs in a new and strong foundation so he and his world can be rediscovered and examined/explored for new and modern audiences.

[jadeyarts]

Ngl, I think Chloe was done dirty in the show

She should've had her own fairy godparent then share with Timmy. Plus she was introduced when the show was dying and was used as an attempt to revive it.

I want a Chloe redemption, give her what she deserves.

agree! like, her introduction was awful and actually truly failed to introduce her character sincerely or accurately it was so baffling. i watched season 10 twice, first in reverse order then in proper order and it was actually absolutely wild how absolutely nothing in her introduction episode was really that indicative of her character??? it doesn't truly capture any of chloe's quirks and complexities, or even really why she would need godparents, and barely anything in the episode actually carries into any episode beyond that besides, like, the turners being rich for the rest of the season? which is not a decision i liked, and it really only served as a half-hearted reason for the carmichaels to hate the turners inexplicably, but they really didn't need to be rich for that. the turners being rich could have been interesting if they actually brought back remy, though, since the turners literally bought the country club that remy's parents owned. whatever.

i mean, i think i understand what they were trying to do - setting timmy up as being jealous and frustrated with her and then forcing him to have to try being cordial, to force them to have to work in tandem, makes sense as a narrative and stakes. and revealing that she isn't actually as perfect as he initially believes her to be also narratively makes sense! but sadly the execution of these ideas is very disjointed and shallow. not to mention the way they tried to explicitly spell out its themes was extremely forced. it's kind of a retread of both imaginary gary (the episode) and the boy who would be queen in those aspects, but lacking cohesion. it feels like maybe a first draft that wasn't revised nearly enough, or something. maybe it was! maybe they hadn't truly figured out what they really wanted to do and by the time they did it was too late. i dunno, but whatever it was, the end result is the same: a lot of people barely make an effort to understand chloe as a character and instead parrot whatever reviewers said about her intro a decade ago. and i get it, i'm not innocent of that either, i did the same thing years ago. but then i decided i wanted to come to my own conclusions. and i ended up loving chloe's character, she would have been a great addition to the series if she just came in at a better time. she was a great foil for timmy! and their chemistry as friends was actually great!

and... to that second point... i guess i think you're objectively right, a lot of viewers would likely have an easier time accepting chloe if she had been introduced with her OWN fairies, separate from cosmo and wanda, while just coincidentally becoming friends with timmy... or even being the protagonist of a sequel would have been less controversial... but i also kind of disagree. the fact they were forced to share cosmo and wanda was actually one of the more interesting aspects of the season to me, even if the actual reasoning behind it was dog water. but i really liked the dynamic that formed as a result. this sort of allegorical stepsibling, blended family dynamic. i like the way that cosmo and wanda specifically both represented different attributes and values they needed in their lives! i like what this specific set-up added, even if i find the execution of most of its episode ideas to be um. well. season 10. i honestly think a better way to introduce chloe and incorporate these dynamics i found so interesting would have probably been to make them actual, literal stepsiblings and not just allegorical fairy god-stepsiblings. not sure who would have been into that besides me, though.

sighs loudly. maybe someday ill rewrite season 10 or something. i have a lot of story ideas for chloe.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hello. I've been binge reading your meta post an I loves all of it. I have one question, though I don't know if you had the same question or not. If you had I'm sorry feel free to ignore this but if you hadn't, this is my question. Many people said Adrien as sentimonster is a good plot and the other said it's also good metaphor for abuse children. But what do you think about the senti plot? Is it necessary? And what do you think the writer is trying to achieve with the plot if Adrien doesn't even allowed to know about what he is?

Thank you! I'm glad that you've been enjoying my rambles! I don't think I've touched on those aspects of the sentiplot, so here goes!

Is it Necessary/What's The Goal?

I don't think that the sentiplot is even remotely necessary. My two cents is that it reads like something that was added relatively last-minute in order to add some cheap drama to draw the plot out because they didn't have enough content to organically fill seven seasons. Part of the reason that I'm comfortable saying that is because we've seen the writers do this type of move many times before. I don't wanna get too into the weeds on this, but a good example is the love triangles with Luka and Kagami.

Luka and Kagami are never treated as real alternate love interests. They're just road blocks on the love square highway that allow for seasons three to end on a cliff hanger. The fact that season four opens on two episodes meant to reassure the audience that Lukanette and Adrigami are doomed to fail is proof of this. No one is actually supposed to ship those ships. There's no Team Luka vs Team Adrien. It's just cheap drama.

The other reason that I feel comfortable calling the sentiplot cheap shoehorned drama is because the sentiplot has no teeth. A big reason why I refused to believe that it was going to be a thing was because it's an extremely serious plot that has no place in a Y-7 show. The wielder of raw destruction can have his free will overwritten at any time! The show has made jewelry theft a common teenage past time! This is bad!

And yet, once it's introduced, it goes nowhere. Gabe gives the most lackluster commands humanly possible and Nathalie undoes every one of them before they have a chance to meaningfully impact the plot. The biggest fallout of the sentiplot was that the Adrienette kiss got delayed a bit. How terrifying.

If the sentiplot had the weight it deserved, then it would have destroyed Adrientte in a big, dramatic fashion. Gabriel would have commanded Adrien to date Kagami and Tomoe would have done the same for Kagami re Adrien. But that's too serious, so we don't even get Gabe telling Adrien to break up with Marinette. He just tells Adrien to not see her and Marinette never has any clue that something went wrong there because Nathalie undoes the command two minutes later.

The Sentiplot's and Emilie

You may have read the previous section and thought, "But wait, doesn't the sentiplot give an explanation for why Emilie used the peacock? Didn't we need that?"

No, we didn't. Felix's little play and Gabe's memory of the night they used the peacock both heavily imply that no one knew that the peacock would kill you. It's why Felix exists! His father did not willingly give his life to have a kid and neither did Emilie. It was an unknown side effect.

Imo, it would have actually been better if Emilie hadn't used the peacock for such obviously selfish reasons. I mean, is anyone really saying, "Oh no, the rich lady used forbidden magic (and possibly killed some people?) to get a designer baby, then faced unexpected consequences! How awful for her! She didn't deserve that!"

Wouldn't it have been a far more interesting and complex story if Emilie used the peacock because she wanted to help someone else? If she was an unambiguously good person who suffered for doing the right thing or even just a morally gray thing? Wouldn't that make Gabriel's quest feel more righteous and less like a temper tantrum by a rich, entitled white guy who used his wealth in a morally dubious manner and paid for it?

The Sentiplot as an Abuse Metephor

I don't think that the writers meant for the sentiplot to be an abuse metaphor. In fact, I sincerely hope they didn't because it's a terrible one! Or, at least, a depressing one.

Abuse - especially childhood abuse - is something that sticks with us. A lot of victims will be forever scared by what they went through. But just because they bare scares doesn't mean that they're trapped by their abuse and can never break free. This is true even if the abuse caused mental health issues like PTSD or CPTSD, conditions that can never be cured because you know what they can be? Controlled and mitigated to the point where the victim is no longer ruled by their condition.

There's also the fact that abuse victims - especially child abuse victims - can and often do reach a point where their abusers no longer have any power over them. I have personally seen a child abuse victim go thought the process of realizing that their parent is just another adult now. All the power that the parent once held is gone. The child doesn't depend on them for food and shelter anymore. If the abuse starts up again, then the child can just get up and walk away.

That's not true for a sentimonster. Sentimonsters don't grow up and get more agency/power. At any point, their abuser can get ahold of their amok and override their free will, taking away the sentimonster's freedom even if the sentimonster is on another continent! There is no means of true escape.

No abuse victim will ever be that powerless. Abuse victims can escape abuse and they do have true free will. Sentimonsters will always be sentimonsters.

Is the Sentiplot Good?

No. It's too serious for a kids show. In fact, now that it's canon, here's my two cents: all of the sentikids are massive liabilities to the team who need to give up their miraculouses immediately because they can never be truly trusted. Felix has shown us time and time again how easy it is to steal an amok and replace it with a fake, so we must always assume that the sentikids are compromised because to assume otherwise is to invite the miraculouses to fall into the wrong hands. It's just not worth the risk to trust a senti.

Along the same lines, the love square should never be canon unless Marinette gives up Guardianship because Adrien is a liability to the safety of the miraculouses even if he didn't wield on himself. The only way to get around this issue is to use the wish to make the sentikids human, but Gabe failed to even do that one kindness for his son, so here we are. Season six will either drive this point home by having Lila use the amoks to mess with Adrien or it will drop the sentiplot forever, proving just how cheap and poorly thought out it was.

Other issues I think I've already addressed in other posts, but that are still a problem that make the plot bad:

a sentimonster's creator defines the sentimonster's worth, thus there being no issue with Felix making sentimonsters and then killing them or the heroes destroying them, but it would somehow be wrong if we did the same thing to any of the sentikids

any command you give a sentimonster can be overwritten and sentimonsters can't resist even if they know they're being controlled, so there's truly no hope to free them

giving your leading lady anxiety issues and a boyfriend whose free will is constantly in jeopardy is cruel and unusual punishment

an insane number of lore issues like why is it impossible to destroy other sentimonsters, but Adrien can be destroyed in akuma fights? Cataclysms are pure destruction! It makes no sense that akumas can do what a cataclysm can't. And is Adrien able to die a natural death? What happens to his amok when he does? Will his children be able to be controlled by his amok too since they're part of him?

the lore around Gabe & Emilie finding the miraculous makes no sense and should not be possible. That's another rant, though.