#i mean you chose to be a fan of a man who doesn't have 5 minutes of screen time in the series what can you expect lol

[redpinkwine]

Just think the mustache is so good he has haters

[frigidwife]

i would like to ask ur opinion on this bc u are one of maybe 5-6 iwtv blogs that i trust and i don't know if i am simply biased but i think u are very thoughtful and fair in ur analysis of iwtv. because even among self-proclaimed louis lovers/understanders, i have seen the idea that louis "could not and would not" save claudia from the fire, or choose her over armand, or that louis was also abusive to claudia if not the Most abusive, or that he "let" lestat/armand destroy her. and i agree that louis failed claudia in some ways (though saying that feels much too vague at this point) and that liking characters doesn't mean apologizing for their flaws and i understand the reflex to spotlight claudia's mistreatment as many fans are so quick to dismiss her importance. but i think people get so caught up in emphasizing claudia's tragedy that they end up falling into victim-blaming rhetoric and ironically de-legitimizing really important aspects of her character and impact. so i wanted to ask though, how do you think louis actually did fail claudia? and should we call claudia's death louis' failure?

ty for valuing my opinion 🥹 i agree w you completely people emphasize claudia's tragedy at total expense of her personality...which sucks bc i love her personality...i think louis actually primarily failed claudia in the exact way that every single parent fails their child. if you've read frankenstein it's about the inherent monstrosity of creation--inherent hubris of creating something whether it's a creature, a work of art (the novel itself!), or a child (shelley's miscarriages and her relationship with her parents haunt the novel). you create something that is a part of you and a mirror of you, you confer your expectations as naturally as breathing, even with the best of intentions, but now the creature/novel/child exists outside of you, outside of your body and your imagination, autonomous, with desires and effects you couldn't have dreamt of, and there is something terrifying and painful in that chasm even in the best of conditions. and this is more broadly true of loving anyone. and in that sense i don't think louis's turning of claudia is really more selfish than having a child ever is. it's not an aberrant or evil desire. so that's one layer.

and then the next layer is the conditions. louis cannot stop seeing claudia as his daughter, even if he calls her sister. she'll always be his daughter. and again this is an almost fundamental condition of being a parent. even if ur parents make an effort--and louis is making an effort--to see you as equals, that foundation is underlying it and can't come undone. the problem is that normally, even if maybe you're always a baby to your mom deep down, you're also functionally an adult in the real world. but claudia is an adult who is constantly belittled and condescended to and treated as a child from all corners. so she goes from louis who can't see her as her own person because he cant stop being her parent to an outside world that can't see her as her own person bc it's structured to deny children's autonomy, and girls' in particular, and especially black girls'. AND THEN the abuse. “you chose lestat over her again and again” i think people take daniel as word of god a lot even when the show has demonstrated that daniel is less than careful talking and thinking about abuse, when it comes to both louis and claudia. Louis chooses to take lestat back, can’t kill him for good, chooses to commit to armand, tells her to put up with the coven’s abuse. those are choices that hurt claudia terribly. but they also exist in the context of abuse. over two decades of debilitating destroying violence and then a new man who tracks him down and dangles his and claudia’s life over him as penalty from the jump. louis is constantly calculating risk based on what they’ve experienced and the same way claudia’s trauma drives her into the waiting arms of a cult, louis’s means he sees enduring as his strongest means of survival . and even from before that from keeping his family afloat under jim crow —performance, self sacrifice at the expense of closeness with grace and paul; using “weakness to rise”. so when louis tells claudia to endure its bc he cannot imagine a way out. which is a failure sure and something claudia can and does resent him deeply for but is entirely and categorically different from what lestat and armand inflict on her . his “choosing armand” is never really about him liking armand particularly it’s him deciding he knows what’s best for both of them—again seeing claudia as his child—to the extent that he won’t even tell her about armand knowing their secret.

this isn’t selfless it’s foolish it’s prideful but the story very clearly is not Louis picking a man over his daughter. (claudia calls out what he wants in a companion in 2.01—“if he can’t call you pretty and take you ballroom dancing” Armand won’t even light his cigarette). i think people have constructed this narrative which funnily enough is the exact same one armand uses to gaslight louis with in 2.05 ("you threw around her name for cover, but you always went back to talking about him" or something like that). Which is really obviously a victim blaming narrative lol like the amount of joke posts that r essentially saying Maybe if louis wasn’t so cock hungry his daughter wouldn’t be dead. Okay?? i think its absolutely fucking insane to call her death louis's particular failure when she was lynched. by armand

and you can tell by episode 6 claudia has realized louis isn’t picking armand over her. her frustration with him is with this martyrdom that she never asked for or wanted, that clearly isn’t “you and me” either. Like you cannot tell me she believes “imagine me without the burden of her” means louis is happy and relieved to see her go Bc she’s not stupid and she’s seen him happy before. If she really thought he meant something like that she wouldn’t behave towards him as she does in the rest of ep 6 and doing the trial. completely ignoring her personality

there is also a hopefully really small subset of people who think pointing out how patriarchy works Is gender essentialism who posit louis as the primary perpetrator of misogynoir in order to justify their fundamental queer human right to call lestat femme . and then expect pats on the back for acknowledging #intersectionality . which is. absurd.

[worstqueerbaittournament]

Submission message: howdy, would like to submit keith and lance from voltron (lmao)

Submission message: BBC Sherlock and Moriarty / BBC Sherlock and John Watson

Additional propaganda: Now Keith and Lance on the other hand was a whole fucking mess that they then shoehorned in an hetero romance to try and "fix it" but by lord it was bad, everything about voltron is so fucking bad

Anyway this is my Klance propaganda : They were actually bait

Klance's queer baiting by the team was the worst!! We had to deal with NETFLIX ALSO GETTING IN ON THE QUEER BAITING!! If you searched up Kkance during the times for season 6-8, the SHOW WOULD POP UP. The directors would make jokes about it being canon, even Lance's VA got in the joke!

Their queer baiting was the worst for anyone who was even looking for an ounce of queer rep in that show. The only queer rep we got was a man who died after not even 5 minutes on screen, and shoehorned in the credit scene of a gay wedding of a character that was neither Keith nor Lance.

I do not know Agatha and Sophie, so I can't argue that klance was bigger bait or not, I just know voltron was mean lmao. the creators said stuff like "lance will be someone's first choice!" (meaning NOT ending up in a relationship with allura bc she very much chose another guy over him) and heavily implying he would be Keith's 1st choice (or a guy in general bc of point number 2). point number 2: they also released official art showing how super cool and diverse the main cast was! race! gender! LGBT - they had shiro (who was......canon gay but that's a whole other can of worms) and lance hold the sign with LGBT on it and then did absolutely nothing with that w lance at all (he hit on allura, so obvi he's not gay, but at least bi or smt) (UNLESS you count the scenes where he's flirty with keith). I just remember going into the last few seasons being like "klance probably won't be happen be honest with yourself there's like no queer kids shows!! but damn like it so could tho!!! because of how much it's been teased both in the show and by showrunners like I can't have no hope with the way the producers talk about it!" lmao I should have had no hope, but i genuinkey believed there was a possibility it could happen. and actually I discovered after the fact that i think one of the writers for the show who was the main advocate for klance (they had a lot of diff writers for eps, which led to lots of character butchering but ANYWAY) left not terribly long into the show I believe bc he didn't like the direction it was moving in and didn't want to be tied to the show anymore. so it's not like fans just made klance up either - it was written into earlier episodes with the hope and plan to continue developing later, and then just nothing ever happened with it besides INTENSE teasing it to keep queer fans around. esp after shiro's relationship was literally only a flashback and then his fiance thing or whatever got blown up before we even got to watch him interact w shiro as we knew him in present time in s7, so I think they kept being like hmmm klance and the stuff about lance being a first choice before s8 to keep ppl around. also esp bc klancers made up such a big portion of the fan base. then they made a horrible szn and ended it w a flashforward to shiro marrying some random background character who maybe had 1 line? I just remember hitting the flashforward and being like uhhhh who is this dude??? but they did that to hit those diversity points wow first gay marriage in a cartoon or smt idk it doesn't count to me really. so anyway voltron in general is queerbait lol but klance is because it started out as a legit possibility and then they said sike! but only maybe sike bc u guys are mad at us burying our guys in s7 so maybe klance could still happen haha okay now we're serious no it's not happening. anyway I think klance is p bad queerbait and a vote for them is a valid vote, not just u liking the ship.

#im sorry but johnlock is a household name in ther queerbait trenches

I don't know much about blaze runner, but this website made me endure Johnlock FOR YEARS, that ship makes me so fucking angry, and it's so much bait, the whole fucking show is just 4 kinds of bait in a trenchcoat trying to pass as something good, and Tumblr(and the rest of the goddamn world) ate it up like a five course meal. So anyway that's why I'm voting Johnlock

[molsno]

god, what happens next is so good. the character writing is just spectacular. it fascinates me just how much depth there is to each character and how that contributes to the story.

milo's dni is the most revealing thing about him, and it's the very first thing we hear from him:

right off the bat, we can see what kind of person the protagonist is. he's a pastel softboi trans man who clings to a childish aesthetic to appear weak and non-threatening. despite being involved in a toxic relationship with another trans guy who attempted to rape and kill an 11 year old girl when he was a teenager and later murdered his girlfriend, which milo helped with by dismembering her corpse, he puts "pedophiles and unhealthy pairing shippers dni" on his carrd. which, ok, maybe he wants to distance himself from people like griffin now - except that's not really true, because he talks to, moves in with, and regularly hangs out with a serial killer fan who idolizes griffin and is even dating the guy while he's in prison. he puts "being against neopronouns" and "anti-otherkin" on the same level as those things. he explicitly denies any responsibility in the murders of haylie and savannah, despite having literally chopped haylie's arm off. all the while, he has "you deserve to heal" in big bold letters, while not applying that belief to anyone but himself.

right from the start, it's obvious that milo is not a good person. but he's also humanized throughout the story. sure, some of his softboi persona is a means of victimizing himself to avoid taking responsibility for what he did - and you could make the case that he was a victim in some ways. on the other hand, he also never got to grow up because he spent 5 years in a psychiatric institute. is it any surprise that he clings to the same aesthetic, interests, and hobbies he had when he was 15? he never got to stop being a kid, and how is he supposed to now? he didn't graduate high school, he can't get a job, and nobody wants to be friends with him because of what he did. it raises uncomfortable questions - namely, what happens next? milo served his time for the crime he committed as a minor. he was already punished, but now he has to live the entire rest of his life. what is he supposed to do?

that, I think is the most interesting part of this story. almost every character in this story makes it hard for you to like them, but they also have very human reasons for doing the terrible things that they do. I'll talk about some of my favorites under the read more, but be aware that there will be spoilers:

claire is one of the most interesting characters to me, just because of how unlikable she is.

when we first see claire in victim impact statement, she tries to ignore haylie, griffin, and milo as much as possible. she doesn't even seem to like her sister. she treats haylie as a nuisance for coming into the room that they share as sisters. she doesn't want to go to the open mic night to listen to haylie play her ukulele. when she finds haylie bawling her eyes out in the bathroom at anime central, she just looks away, as if to say "you chose to date your shitty boyfriend". when she hears haylie and griffin fighting upstairs, she just pretends not to hear it. when haylie is curled up in terror later, claire puts on headphones and turns her back to her. her headphones become a way of drowning out haylie's screams when griffin is around, and because of that, she doesn't hear haylie screaming for her life, and ends up finding her corpse in the kitchen.

that's why I don't find it surprising at all that she becomes an outspoken transphobe who wants to take her anger out on the trans people who murdered her sister. she goes to media events and publicly degenders milo and griffin. she calls aaron's friends trannies. I think it's easy to misconstrue her as a terf, but she literally doesn't even pay lip service to feminism. how could she? she knew that her sister was being abused by her boyfriend, and she did nothing. let me remind you that she lives in a house where "smash the patriarchy" is embroidered on the wall. she doesn't care about any of that. she just wants a scapegoat. she wants to make the law impose harsher punishments on minors who commit violent crimes because she doesn't know what else to do with her life. she very clearly hates herself, becoming an alcoholic to cope with her guilt. she pretends to care about haylie and fight for this law because it's the only way she can convince herself she's a good person, even though she can see that doing what she's doing is turning everyone against her.

and then that brings us to audrey. it's difficult to like her, too, because she's dating claire despite all of the horrible things she's doing. but at the same time, I can see where she's coming from. her mother died of cancer and she and all of her other black siblings were adopted by conservative christian white parents. she's still christian to this day, and makes a point of separating herself from "criminals" by insisting that she has nothing to do with them because she goes to church and takes care of her family. she doesn't want to disavow the law that claire worked so hard to pass because at the end of the day, it won't affect her personally, even though she is aware that the justice system disproportionately punishes black people. she very clearly has a lot of internalized racism, and I think that's best exemplified in the way she draws herself. despite having pretty dark skin in real life, she draws herself as light skinned as claire, her white girlfriend:

like, it's hard to like audrey, but you can clearly see why she's made all of the decisions she has! she idolizes claire because it's her first lesbian relationship. the way she sees it, claire can do no wrong. audrey does actually seem to be aware that her girlfriend is doing terrible things, but she essentially just plugs her ears and tries to ignore it. that's why she doesn't go to claire's campaign events. she ignores all of her girlfriend's flaws because claire is essentially her savior. because she has claire, she doesn't have to go back to her family, to her abusive alcoholic white father. she doesn't have to actually take care of her younger siblings, which is a responsibility she's foisted off unto mark. that's why she ignores that claire is just as much of an emotional drain as her father. she's highly depressed, she's an alcoholic, she trashes their bedroom (leaving audrey to clean up after her mess), she puts up an emotional wall and dismisses audrey's attempts to comfort her, and dismisses audrey's own problems as being less traumatizing and less important. by all accounts, claire is a terrible girlfriend and a terrible person, but because audrey idolizes her as her savior, she stays by her side. I'm really looking forward to seeing how she reacts to claire's disappearance in future chapters.

and then of course, there's vikki. she's been doing something incredibly disrespectful for years by making true crime videos where she talks about the victims and killers like it's all a joke. she makes a video about whether ethical necrophilia is possible, and makes a callous, bitter joke that the concept of "respect for the dead" is antiquated, because nobody respects her as a trans woman of color even though she's still alive. for this comment, people have harassed her online endlessly, enough that she had to make a video called "STOP TELLING PEOPLE I FUCK CORPSES". that doesn't stop her from making a video about the murder of haylie, complete with an interview from milo. she'll throw him under the bus if it means getting the attention off herself for a bit.

and yet, I think out of everyone, I feel the most compassion for vikki. yes, she used milo for content and called him a "sad little blonde girl", but I can understand where she's coming from! like, again, she's a trans woman of color in the true crime community. she knows the archetype milo is trying so hard to be in order to avoid taking responsibility for what he did. like, I've personally seen trans women of color who are victimized by white trans men who pull the same exact shtick as milo over and over, so I completely understand her frustration. that said, she also realized she went too far and tried to apologize, only to find out she was blocked and that milo basically wrote a callout post against her. I think it says a lot that vikki was one of the only people to actually try to talk to milo, even if the way she went about it was wrong.

vikki does things that are disrespectful, but to be honest, it's not that surprising! she grew up in a 90% white town in the middle of nowhere, got assaulted by multiple white boys for being a faggot, got sent to alternative school, worked for a funeral home as a teenager, and transitioned. not only is she desensitized to death, she's angry that people revere the dead more than her.

it's astounding, really! what happens next is so well written because it makes makes you feel conflicted about each of its characters. what are we supposed to do with these people who do awful things? a lot of the intrigue in this comic comes from seeing how each of the characters handles this question as they deal with the other characters who have done terrible things, while they themselves are deeply flawed as well. I think the writing really forces you to contend with the idea that these are all still people, and that their humanity needs to be recognized even if they do terrible things. it makes you ask, what happens next?

[justapastetic-humanbeing]

Their reactions to seeing them shipped (Bungo Stray Dog addition)

Ft: Soukoku, Shin Soukoku (afternotes: there was a mistake in the age calculations due to stupidity so just uhh ignore), FyoLai, FyoZai, RanPoe, SigZai Tw: A bit of swearing and mentions of sex but otherwise, none

Soukoku

"The slug??? The slug????" Dazai caught his head with his hand, shamefully covering the upper part of his head. He looks to Chuuyas direction, clearly disgausted. "Out of all the options available, y'all chose him??"

"Don't yap around like you're any better." The ginger scoffs. "I should be the one cursing the lord for being portrayed as even remotely interested in your ass."

"What do people even see in us? Clearly I deserve someone who can at least hold their liquor within at least the first 5 minutes." he fans the air.

"Don't give me that shit. A 7 year partnership with somebody isn't gonna turn into gay love, and that's not even considering the fact that I've repeatedly mentioned how badly I want to strangle this bandage fuck-"

"Actually" Dazai inturrupts with a finger raised. "It does occasionally end in gay sex. Just sayin'"

Chuuyas brows flutter. "PICK A SIDE WOULDYA??"

"I'm JUST stating out the truth"

"You mother-"

----------------------------------------

FyoLai

"Did I just hear that correctly??" the clown gasps dramatically, holding onto the shoulder of the man beside him with a gigantic smile. "People think we have a romantic relationship, Dos!!! How adorbs is that??"

Dostoevsky seems to not pay his deepest attention to the matter. "Oh. That so. How fantastic"

Gogol turns to the side with a finger by his chin. "I wonder what they say about us?? And all the fake stories they write of our relationship! How exciting, how exciting! This has just made my day, no, my month!!" he giggles.

Dostoevsky looks up. "Oh, good for you."

----------------------------------------

FyoZai

"Ohhhhhhhhh god. Nevermind what I said about Chuuya" Dazai shook his head in dismay. "Do I look like I'm remotely interested in a showerless-rat??"

"How foolish." the 'showerless-rat' in question replies. "I suppose I've heard worse in my life. But to come to such conclusion is utterly ridiculous and mindless."

Dazai is still shaking his head, unable to keep eye contact with Dostoevsky. "Couldn't these people pick a more tasteful person? I mean I wouldn't mind if I were to be paired at Kunikida at least."

(Dostoevsky has left the chat)

----------------------------------------

RanPoe

"It's... flattering?..." the novelist mutters. "It's weird but... I don't mind it I guess?" The uncertainty in his voice was clear.

He looks to Ranpo, who doesn't seem to be paying attention. "Ranpo? Are you gonna say anything or..."

"Huh? Oh" He looks up to the man. "I like it."

"Y-you do?"

"Well yeah. You're always providing me with the most free snacks out of all the people in the Agency. Hey by the way" He cocks his head. "Why don't you show me that novel you were talking about? It has something to do with powdered donuts right?"

"Well... I didn't write it but... since that person gave it to me... you can read it... I haven't read it yet so..."

----------------------------------------

SigZai

"Romantic...? With....Dazai?"

"Well isn't that an upgrade." Dazai tosses his head.

"Pardon?"

"Well, when I say a tasteful person, I suppose Sigma would certainly fit the bill."

"Uhm, no, no, no????" The manager denies. "I do not... wish to be a part of this?? Who is the one that makes this statement??"

"It's not a someone. It's the internet, a community of a kind, something that I reccomend you to stay away from"

"I am aware of what the internet is" Sigma says. "I just don't get it?? What romance is there between us? Had I just not noticed?"

"Oh believe me, you don't need that in order to have people create a ship for us"

Sigma raises an eyebrow. "A ship? They built a ship for us?" he questions, thinking of the boat kind of ship. "Why does that have anything to do with all this??"

"Oh Sigma."

[halfetirosie]

🔥😅♨️ #SquadGoals ♨️😅🔥

(Exercise 10 - 13 React-os!)

1) OH SHIT, THE PROPHECY IS TRUE!!!

✨ THEY'RE GONNA LET QUINCY GRILL!!!!!! ✨

His Dad Energy™ will be off-the-charts!!!

2) PFFFT!!! 😂

You're getting too predictable, Dante!

Nah but, it will never stop being adorable how well Eiden knows his bois.

Plus, Eiden worked Dante-Teasing™ into his explanation so seamlessly, he doesn't even give him time to react before moving on! Outstanding move! 👌

3) Blade's Robo Abilities validating all the fanfic writers once again--

Kinda interesting that Yakumo gets nervous on boats. Maybe it's just because he's never been on one before? Or because it's so different from his natural environment, he instinctually dislikes it? 🤔

4) The return of Peepaw Kuya that canonically hates water!!! 🤣🤣🤣

He's gonna do his Ghost Bullshit of popping up behind him any second now, just watch-

Yup, that's our boi! 😂 Looks like Kuya's getting too predictable, too!

Kuya's like the fuckin Lord Voldemort of this universe. Don't say his cursed name!!!

5) That's kinda funny--- they accidentally re-created the Pokemon Starter Trio (except instead of Yaku for fire/red it's Dante)!

BRUH.

If I ever had to compete against their team--even if I were physically on-par with them--I would be hella intimidated. 2 of the 3 of them are insanely competitive by nature, and all three of them are workaholics that treat everything seriously. 😨

Not to mention, knowing my luck, I'd get stuck on a team with one slacker and one...shall I say....under-skilled person. Just, based on my history with college group projects... 😭😭😭

6) I am suddenly reminded of the crazy Australians/Floridians that wrestle crocodiles...on purpose...

(⊙ - ⊙)

...I better see fanart of this scene, or else I'll be disappointed!

I can't even blame Eiden for his awe at this weird-ass/random/kinda-funny situation, cuz I'm right there with him!

Also, Impromptu Fish-Wrestling is cool and all, but when do we get to see Quincy grill???

7) 🚨 I CALL BULLSHIT!!! 🚨

Pleaseeee. ( - _ - )

You expect me to believe that Garu and Yakumo, with their yokai-senses, would actually get caught off-guard by a random animal or something? Or that Kuya would honestly believe that??? Him, the one constantly hyping up yokai and their superiority????

...Yeah, that too. Kuya ain't that nice.

He's 100% the smartass lazy kid in the group project that shoves all the real work onto the other members, while pretending that the task they chose is actually difficult/time consuming when it actually can be completed in 5 minutes.

8) Always a fan of 🐾 Cat Dad Dante 🐾 moments! ♡♡♡

I'm also a huge fan of Sooley's thematic accessories!!!

I fuckin called it, dude!!! I knew Dante was jealous of Topper getting to have stylish outfits!!!! (And on that note---who made Sooley's lil' bandana? Eiden, I assume? 🤔)

9) Leave it to Dante & Co. to militarize cooking! 🤣🤣🤣

(ㆁ△ㆁ)

I mean, look at this shit! How are they so insanely coordinated?? Did they practice the choreography?????

10) (◔_◔)

Dante, babes, this situation isn't serious enough to justify one of your classic cheesy one-liners...

(Has anyone else ever commented on that? How Dante says a ton of cringey shit (affectionate) that sounds like it came straight out of an anime?)

--That won't distract me from his impressive skills, tho. I mean, I already knew he had some cooking knowledge from Frozen Echoes (in that side-stroy where he goes ice fishing and then cooks the fish with Karu, Blade, and Eiden).

But this isn't just the rudimentary "cook a thing over a fire until it's not raw anymore" sort of situation---this is an actual understanding of how to cook something and why you should use certain methods for the best results.

My mans is fun to tease, but honestly, he deserves more credit!

Go off, king! I'm proud of you!!! ♡♡♡♡♡

11) ---*snort*---

I'm sure this is still a compliment to Dante, but Eiden just can't resist goofing on him, huh? (≧∇≦)

🔥 End of report! 🔥

[fierrochase-falafel]

5 underrated TGCF moments in my humble opinion (and bonus)- expect spoilers!

When Xie Lian saved Mu Qing in book 5 at the volcano: We do NOT talk about book 5 enough, as I will mention further in this list, but when we do, we rightfully talk about Mu Qing's f-f-friends confession (which I would love to talk about more, but that's for another time), but we never seem to talk about the bit before where it's revealed Mu Qing took a cursed shackle for Xie Lian but nobody believes him or really plans on saving him except Xie Lian, despite the huge risk to himself. When Xie Lian makes it clear he would save Mu Qing anyways and Hua Cheng also has a great line to Feng Xin about how dianxia gets to make his own decisions no matter what, even if Hua Cheng himself is uncomfortable with them- something that contrasts him perfectly with White No-Face that gets overshadowed a lot. This scene and the scene leading up to it (the tunnel chase and Xie Lian being too nice to that empty-shelled mutant is just brilliant) all in all feels so underrated. Like I love the f-f-friends confession, don't get me wrong, I could talk about that anyday, but please gods can someone talk about the saving Mu Qing scene.

The virgin-detecting sword in book 3: The fact that Jun Wu even HAD a virgin-detecting sword is one of the funniest things about book 3, but the whole scene where Shi Qingxuan digs Xie Lian into a hole like "I bet he's never kissed anyone!" is just beautiful. The fact everyone assumes he's a virgin before Jun Wu even mentions that his cultivation path requires abstinence never fails to amuse me- me too, Xie Lian, me too. The virgin-detecting sword being his saviour in that moment surely must've been something. It's so funny but I've seen 1 piece of fanart of it on twitter and I think this is incredibly memorable. Since book 3 is so long, a lot of brilliant moments go less spoken about by the fan community, I feel, such as...

Xie Lian tricking Hua Cheng into revealing himself in book 3: One of my favourite scenes in the entirety of TGCF is where Xie Lian tricks Hua Cheng (disguised as Lang Ying) to reveal himself. We've already got the deadpan back-and-forth of "Who's the strongest?", "The one in red", "Who's the richest?", "The one in red", "Who's the dumbest?", "The one in green", with no beats skipped. Then he says "it's a must" to inviting Hua Cheng over, Quan Yizhen takes a bite of a yam through the window (as one does) and then he gets him to try and write an establishment plaque for Puqi Shrine and it's so funny- Xie Lian can be so funny, he's just playing around waiting to see how Hua Cheng will respond and is having the time of his LIFE. B*tch in the best way possible, this man. It's perfect. And then we get, "Only having met you did I rediscover that it's such a simple thing to be happy" which is so simple and lovely and just-- this scene is perfect, okay? We do not talk about this scene enough at ALL.

The scene where Yin Yu 'dies' in book 5: Back to me going off about how much love book 5 deserves, what with that moment between beefleaf and that massive gege statue. However, I'm choosing moments I think are the most underrated, and I just HAVE to mention Yin Yu. This man is underrated in life, in godhood and in banishment alike. The way he chose not to harm Quan Yizhen anyways- "Just because I hate him doesn't mean I have to hurt him!" This moment really links him to Xie Lian, especially just after book 4, as once again White No-Face tries to manipulate someone into weaponising their resentment the way he did, and once again he is denied the satisfaction of thinking what he did was justifiable because Yin Yu chose not to spend his life motivated solely by pain and hatred. One can argue that in book 4, after the bamboo hat incident, Xie Lian may not necessarily have had his faith in humanity at large restored but rather his faith in the power of choice. The choice to care, the choice to help, the choice not to hurt others just because you can- as opposed to the choice that was stolen from him in the 100 swords scene, and the 'choice' people claimed not to have when they stabbed him. The choice Xie Lian made when he chose not to massacre Yong'an despite his pain is like the choice Yin Yu makes when he chooses not to steal Quan Yizhen's power despite his pain. It's so satisfying to see Yin Yu stand up for his own actions when he's been cast aside by everyone, and no matter how much resentment you harbour you can still choose what to do about it.

The pagoda collapsing in book 2: This scene was the tipping point in book 2 where Xie Lian himself realised he didn't believe in his own potential anymore, and it is soul-crushing. The way he spends 3 days trying to hold up the celestial pagoda in pure desperation and anguish, and then being surrounded on all sides constantly until the pagoda collapses with people begging him to save them and him realising he can do nothing...if book 4 is the full-on descent to rock-bottom, book 2 is the anxiety-packed precursor without which book 4 would not hit as hard as it did, and sometimes it feels like it's overshadowed by book 4 completely. Book 4 may hit harder, but the end of book 2 is gut-punching as it is. You can FEEL Xie Lian being overwhelmed and trying so hard to pretend everything is fine when his life and nation are collapsing in front of him, piece by piece. Hands shoving him, some even strangling him until he keels over in the most helpless moment of his god-pleasing life as everyone calls him a fraud and begs for his help, when he has none to give or recieve. And after all that, chasing White No-Face only to break his leg, being the nail in the coffin of Xie Lian's unshakeable will that facilitated his rise and fall. It's haunting, it's poetic, it's the epitome of tragedy. Bonus!!! : Is it just me, or does nobody seem to talk about the book 5 fight scene? There's so much fanart of Hua Cheng fading into butterflies, which is honestly more compelling for me because of the Wuming reveal and their dynamic; however, Xie Lian finally out-manoevering and stabbing Jun Wu after being flooded with spiritual power by his bf, and then Guoshi calmly addressing Jun Wu asking him if he's exhausted...I think needs more attention too. It's the ultimate fight scene! Xie Lian gets a fighting win over Jun Wu that somehow feels numbing because at the end of the day, Xie Lian's triumph over him was never in revenge or in physical combat. Almost the opposite actually, it was in his choosing not to let his anger and resentment of White No-Face control him. Xie Lian winning is well-earned but ultimately the focus is what a sad, angry, tired man Jun Wu is. I think MXTX writes this wonderfully and really gets that message across...much as I'd like to see more discourse on the fight scene, I can see why there isn't because of how bleak it is and just generally-- unfulfilling compared to Xie Lian's character development. It's the climax wherein the main character had his personal climax 800 years ago, and I love it for how antithetic it feels compared to Xie Lian's other power moves and his overall development. This is just my view, of course, I would really love to see more opinions on this!

[rggtattoos]

i'm sure you're very busy so no worries if this doesn't get an answer, but do you have any headcanons or ideas for a tattoo our dearest Nishida could have?

I adore his character so much... Stressed straightman, YET surprisingly competent. I like to think there's a little more to him than that, considering that he works for Majima of all people... The lack of attention on him leaves so much room for the imagination!

I’m also a big fan of Nishida! I think that Nishida must be much stronger than we are ever directly shown, otherwise he would have not have risen to lieutenant with a patriarch like Majima. I think he’s just surrounded by absolute monsters and is very aware of where he stands in comparison to all of these unkillable forces like Majima and Kiryu.

For Nishida I wanted something that reflects his link to Majima, since Nishida is Majima’s right-hand man. I went with the Inugami, a dog spirit that I think may have had some influence on Majima’s backstory as The Mad Dog. Inugami are yokai that are created by sorcerers to act as servants. They are created by tying up a dog just out of reach of food, or burying it up to its neck, then starving it near to death. When the dog has been driven mad by hunger, its head is severed and buried under a crossroads where the constant noise will further enrage the spirit of the dog. Despite the cruelty of this process, inugami are exceedingly loyal to their masters, and can be handed down as an heirloom, faithfully serving its family for generations. However, it is possible for a master to be so abusive that the inugami turns on them, killing the sorcerer who controls them. There are some similarities between Majima's treatment by Shimano, and Majima's subsequent treatment of his own men, Nishida included. However, while Majima eventually snaps and turns on Shimano, Nishida shows no signs of being pushed to a breaking point. Majima may be harsh, even cruel, to his men, but he has no desire to break them the way Shimano does. Nishida even shows genuine concern for Majima's well-being in RGGO's side stories for him, as well as promising Saejima that he will look after Majima in 5.

Dogs in general represent loyalty, but may also be associated with criminals. Nishida is a low-level yakuza compared to the legends the story usually focuses on, but he's competent and loyal to the Majima family and its patriarch.  

I also think that the image of the inugami could be stylized like a namakubi tattoo, a traditional image in Japanese tattoos of a bloody severed head. This head is often that of a samurai, representing the beheading of a samurai after they have committed seppuku. This represents the samurai ideals of honor. Nishida’s loyalty to the Majima family is absolute, despite his anxious, fearful personality. His side stories in RGGO show that he takes his oath very seriously, and is dedicated to pursuing strength by studying the legends of the Tojo.

For a flower I chose the blue aster, or ezogiku, because in Japanese flower language they mean "I trust you, but I am worried" which I thought was funny and fits the loyal but anxiety-ridden Nishida to a T.

[crashdevlin]

Losses and Gains 5- Messages

Author’s Note: This is the fifth chapter of Losses and Gains, the second part of To Have it All. This is Something More...from Jensen's side!

Summary: Songs can convey messages...and sometimes they convey the exact one Jensen wants conveyed.

Pairing:  Jensen x Reader, background Reader x Tom Hiddleston

Word count: 3191

Story Warnings: open marriage, mentions of depression and heartbreak, bad things, alcohol as a crutch, anger, fighting, mentions of divorce

~~~

Drunk on set is not a good look for anybody, but sobbing on set isn't a good look either, and I knew I had to numb the pain in my heart to get through a workday. Having seen Y/n with Tom on the Late Show and in several red carpet interviews where he didn't let his hand stray from her lower back, it proved that Y/n and Tom were going to last. They were stuck on each other, and I lost her.

I got bitter with Danneel again pretty quickly. As soon as she mentioned my drinking, I stopped holding it back.

"So, what, you're gonna take away my liquor like you took away Y/n? I'm not allowed to have anything I want?"

Dee scoffed loudly. "I didn't take Y/n away from you! She chose to leave you to find happ-"

"She left because you were a bitch, and you made her feel cheap and used when I made her feel appreciated and loved, and now she's with a guy that holds her hand and touches her possessively on red carpets, and you drove her there because you got jealous of her when it wasn't-"

"You fell in love, and she was ruining everything! I was within my rights to put her in her place and-"

"I never should have let you meet! You ruined everything. I ruined everything. She did nothing, but you ran her off, and that's not okay!"

"No, she was a complete angel who did nothing but steal you from your wife."

"She didn't steal me! You gave me away! You encouraged me to be with-"

"I gave you what you wanted! And, ya know what, I'll give you what you want now, too," she said before hanging up on me. I was too hammered to be worried about what that might mean.

Gino messaged me a couple of days later. What did you do? Why is D talking to a lawyer?

Shit.

There was no positive thinking my way out of this. Danneel was going to divorce me. Y/n was happy with Tom. I had fucked myself out of everything good in my life. So I doubled down on my drinking.

Jared must've gotten worried when I stopped answering the phone. I mean, it died, I didn't charge it, so there was no way to answer his calls or texts. I was busy with my scotch anyway. He came by the condo, used the spare key I gave him before Y/n even moved in, and picked me up off the floor in my bathroom. How I ended up there is a mystery for Glenlivet and me.

"Jesus, Ackles. What have you done to yourself?"

"Doesn'even madder, man. Nuffin madders."

Jared sighed, a sad understanding in his eyes as he set me on the edge of the tub and kneeled in front of me. "What happened?"

"Danneel’s done. Y/n's done. I'm done. Nothin' madders."

"What, the show doesn't matter? The fans don’t matter? I don't matter?"

"I didn't say-" I started to argue as his phone beeped with a message. He grabbed me a glass of water and handed it to me.

"You've fucked everything up, but that doesn't mean you get to fuck my stuff up. You're gonna sober the hell up and get dressed, and we're gonna go to work, Jensen, because when you're down this low, you have to find something to fight for. It's not Dee or Y/n, so let it be me. Let it be your kids. Let it be your goddamn dog if you need. But you're gonna find something…" His words trailed off as he pulled out his phone. "...to fight for. Gimme a second. Drink that," he said, pointing at the water as he dialed a number and walked a few feet away.

I strained to hear him, curious about what could steal his attention from me at that moment. "You okay?” he asked quietly. “What’s wrong? What’s the problem?”

“Whossat?” I asked, cringing a bit at how slurred the words were.

“Doesn’t matter, dude. Drink your water.” Jared snapped, looking over his shoulder at me as I tried to stand. He turned his attention back to the phone, and his tone softened a little. “You better not hang up on me. I have time and energy enough for both of you. Tell me what’s wrong.”

He doesn't talk to a lot of people like that. Firm, supportive, brotherly. I knew it was her. I needed another drink, and water wasn't going to do the trick. “Okay. I understand that. Where are you right now?” he asked. I imagined she responded that she was in London or somewhere far away with Tom. Far away from me, from Jared, from anyone...and she seemed to be having trouble too. But not me-trouble...her-trouble, brain-trouble. I used to be the one who'd help her.

“Did you talk to him?” Jared asked as I picked up the bottle from where it rolled under the sink. He pulled the phone away from his ear when he noticed me. “Damn it, Jensen, put down the scotch.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Padalecki. I’m fine.” It was a lie, but who cares?

“We have to be on set in three hours, and you need to sober the fuck up.” That was the truth, though. Unfortunately. Jared turned his attention back to her, and I set the bottle on the bathroom vanity. “Sorry about that. Have you talked to him?” He nodded as I ran warm water and splashed my face. “Okay. How have you been sleeping?”

He listened to her answer, nodding. “You're not drinking, are you?” Jared cleared his throat, seeming purposely to avoid looking at me. “Not anything? When’s the last time you hit the gym? You know that can help a lot.”

He nodded as I took a drink of my water. I contemplated a sandwich or a bagel as he adjusted the phone. "Look, I know that hotel has an on-site gym. Get some sweats on and go jump on an elliptical.”

By the way he smiled, I knew that she’d agreed. He was good at making people take care of themselves. I looked down at the water in my hand and took a drink.

“You know that you can call me anytime you need me.” She said something that made him look over at me. “Yeah. Hey, are you going to be making it to Toronto?”

I scoffed and stood. “She’s not gonna be there when we’re there, Padalecki. You’re not gonna get to see her. Nobody gets time with her except Loki.”

Jared gave me a look between tired and sad and kept looking at me as I leaned against the sink and took another drink of water. “Is there any possibility that I can convince you to stick around and have lunch with me on Sunday?” I was eager to know what she’d say, so I leaned a bit toward him. I couldn’t hear the words, but I knew she responded that she’d have to ask Tom. “Well, come on…he doesn’t own you, Y/n. If you want to see me on a Sunday, you should be able just to do that.” Jared sounded just as irritated with that answer as I was. He sighed and adjusted his beanie. “Okay. Feel better. Text me when you know if you can make it to lunch. Bye.”

I cleared my throat and left the bathroom, heading for the kitchen to get myself something to soak up the whiskey. “Trouble in paradise?” I asked, pulling open the fridge as Jared followed me.

“It’s none of your business. You need to focus on your own trouble.”

“Right. Which trouble is that gonna be?” I grabbed a takeout container from the diner I ordered from three days before and tossed it in the microwave without looking at the food. “The fact that Danneel is gonna divorce me? The fact that I can’t go a day without crying lately? The fact that I’m ruining your life too, just by being attached to you? Which trouble should I focus on?”

“Danneel is gonna divorce you because you couldn’t get your head out of your ass.”

I shrugged. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

His eyebrows went up. “It doesn’t matter? It doesn’t matter that your wife is going to divorce you?”

I shook my head. “Nah. I’m too tired for this shit.”

“You’re too tired? To fight for your marriage?”

“I’m too tired to fight for any-fucking-thing.” The microwave beeped as it reached 0, and I pulled out the pancake breakfast. “I’m just physically and emotionally exhausted, Jared.”

He scoffed and scratched his eyebrow. “This is the stupidest shit you’ve ever said, man. You need to fix this.”

I nodded and flipped open the takeout container. “Yeah. Would’ve been easier before all this shit.”

“Yeah, probably, but you gotta think of your kids and your future. Y/n isn’t part of that anymore. Dee…well, she might not be either, but you gotta make things easier. Do me a favor, Ackles…if you have to drink, do it on the off days…and less hard liquor. You might be Dean Winchester, but you don’t have his plot armor liver, right?”

I scoffed and nodded. “Yeah, okay. Beer, it is.”

“Thank you,” he said, and then he hugged me. Jared’s got magic hugs…and I almost felt better for a few minutes.

Just for a few.

~~~

<<Are you singing for Toronto?

I stared down at my phone for a while. It was a perfectly normal question that Steve Norton asked before every convention. Am I singing for the Saturday Night Special? Used to fill me with apprehension, then with giddiness, now though…sadness. I used to get up and listen to Y/n. I used to sing with her. We used to have the time of our lives backstage and then head to my damn hotel to make love. What was I supposed to do?

But Y/n was going to be there. She always was. She loves singing…and I could at least listen to her and get lost in some memories of the better times…and maybe I could get a message across in the meantime. Maybe I could use Saturday Night Special to get her to understand how much pain I was really feeling…in a gentle way. In a way that wouldn’t hurt her. In a way that said I was hurting, but I was gonna be okay. Maybe.

>>Yeah. I’ll sing one.

I kept tabs on her through Twitter and stuff for Friday. She seemed good. She seemed happy. She always seemed happy. I had to wonder how much of that was bullshit, though, because she had just been on the phone to Jared less than two weeks ago. She was just having troubles bad enough to call on the moose. But she did the karaoke, and she took pictures in the green room, and she smiled and laughed with the fans at her panel. She seemed put together.

I wasn’t even close, but I put some concealer on under my eyes and gel in my hair. I put on a leather jacket, and I went to SNS. I made a point to stay by the door so I could see her when she arrived, but Jason pulled me away to talk about something completely insignificant that completely distracted me, and I barely noticed when she walked in. Rob walked up to confirm what I was singing, and I acted like I had hardly thought about it.

“I dunno. I’m not really feelin’ upbeat music. Want somethin’ powerful, painful. So, no ‘Whipping Post’ or anything Eagles or whatnot. I’m thinking…Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘Hurt’.”

Rob nodded. “Sure. We can pull the acoustic out. I think that’ll sound awesome. You, uh, you doin’ okay, though?”

I smiled as bright as I could. “I’m great, Rob. It’s gonna be an amazing show.”

Rob smiled back and turned to look at Y/n, and I couldn’t ignore her anymore. She was standing just ten feet away, and she had to have been listening to us. “Y/n, are you gonna do ‘Gunpowder and Lead’?” he asked.

“No. I-I told Stephen a week ago that I was doing ‘Dead Flowers,” she squeaked. She was stumbling over her words and singing a depressing song. She was all out of sorts. For some reason, seeing it up close made me feel a bit better. She wasn’t happy…and that meant I didn’t have to work to maintain her happiness. I didn’t have to let her be happy with Tom because she wasn’t fucking happy.

I looked away, angry with myself for even thinking that shit. It’d be petty to rub it in her face. It’d be shitty.

“Oh, yeah! Sorry. I forgot. It’s on the setlist and everything. Shit.”

“It’s cool. There’s a reason there’s a setlist,” Y/n said with an awkward smile. Rob just nodded and walked away, leaving Y/n and me just standing there. “Well, this is gonna be a depressing set. Swain should cover it with ‘Mama’s Jam’ or something.” Her trying to break the tension made me wanna have a big ol’ glass of Jack, so I walked away toward the plastic folding table they set up a makeshift wet bar on. I had just gotten there and was about to pick up a Solo cup when I heard, “Don’t drink.” I could almost feel her forcing herself to say the words; the way she spoke was so apprehensive and sad. I set my hands flat on the table, forcing myself to stay turned in the opposite direction, facing away from her where I couldn’t see her face, and she couldn’t see mine. “It’s not helping you.”

“That’s not any of your fucking business now, is it?” I spat out in a kneejerk reaction. But it gave me a chance to remember that I’d told Jared I would lay off the whiskey. I grabbed a beer from the cooler next to the table and walked away to let the others distract me.

The night went by pretty easily, but then Y/n got up on stage. ‘Dead Flowers’. “I feel like the flowers in this vase…They’re sittin’ in a vase, but now they’re dead. Dead flowers.” Shit. I felt that in my soul. The worst part was that I could tell that she felt it in her soul, too. She wasn’t happy. She missed me. She felt like dead flowers, so why wasn’t she coming back?!

Was it too complicated now? Was she still scared that Dee was leaving because fuck, that was already pretty much a done deal? Was she afraid of the backlash if she left him? Was he just…better even if he made her sad?

Her voice started wavering in the second verse, but that’s when the band came in hard, so they covered her for the audience…but not for me. Not for Kim or Bri. Everyone could tell that she had wrapped herself up in her emotions, and it was hitting her. As soon as she got down from the stage, Kim and Briana ran over to be with her. They took no time holding her and whispering to her. It made things a little better for me because I couldn’t comfort her, not that I was in a comforting mindset in the first place, but they could. She still had other members of the Family that would lift her, even when Jared wasn’t around. That was good…and it meant that there would be support for her when I got up there and sent my message.

Looking out at the audience as Rob grabbed his acoustic and stepped to the side, I saw a sea of people who just adored everything about me. Of course, none of them knew the mess I was underneath the mask, under the smile and the makeup and the leather jacket. Fuck, some of them would have adored me more if they knew I was falling apart. They would have loved the emotional honesty of the thing…and maybe that’s why so many of them went star-eyed when I started in on those painful lyrics. “I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that’s real.”

I put every ounce of my emotion into those words. Every drop of misery and heartache into “And you could have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down. I will make you hurt.” because I wanted her to feel it. I wanted her to know. I wasn’t drinking to put some guilt trip on her. I wasn’t drinking to help me. I was drinking because I had to…because it was the only way.

I waved at the fans, gave a slight bow to them to show my thanks, and then I slowly descended the stage area. Y/n was frantically wiping at her eyes. Her cheeks were wet, and she had obviously been bawling by the puffiness and redness in the whites of her eyes. She got the message. She felt it. Good.

~~~

“So, you got the chance to see her tonight, right?” Jared barely greeted me on the phone call before he jumped into the hard stuff. “Are you okay?”

“She’s not okay. Jared, she’s not happy.”

I could hear him sigh. “She said she’s-”

“She’s lying!” I insisted.

“How do you know?”

“Because I know her!” I rubbed my eye and licked my lips, feeling guilty about snapping at him. “I know her, and she isn’t okay. She’s singing about dead flowers and crying…and she called you a few days ago so I know you know she’s not-”

“She was having a bad day. She’s allowed.”

I rolled my eyes. “No, she wasn’t having a bad day. She’s having a bad life, but she knows she made her choice. She’s not happy. She’s not-”

“What do you expect to do about it? Like you said, she made her choice. Did she give any indication that she regretted making that choice?”

I shook my head and sat on the edge of my hotel bed. “No. But…come on, Jared. You know this doesn’t sit right. You know she’s not happy.”

“I know that she’s had a few low moments, but that doesn’t mean she’s not happy. I have low moments, too.”

“It’s not the same.”

“How exactly is it different?”

“I…I don’t know, but it’s different. This isn’t…Jared, just…when you see her tomorrow, fix it. Make her tell you what’s actually wrong.”

“I’m not going to make her do anything. But I’ll figure out if she’s okay and do what I can to help her. That’s the best I can promise.”

“Guess that’ll have to do.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Right.” I hung up and flopped backward on the bed. I stared at the ceiling for a few moments before I let my eyes close.

[tkblythofficial]

Hi! Anon of the rant.

About this https://www.tumblr.com/zeglythofficial/742759379451953152/some-tea-z-the-discourse-on-her-man-has?source=share

I never thought RZ was that kind of person!

But appearances can be deceiving. Based on everything I've seen, I truly feel sorry for her and her future. And I hope from the bottom of my heart that she stays far away from TB as possible.

If you want to boost your boyfriend's doomed career, do it using JR's merits, but he doesn't, right?

She could have been a big star on her own, but she chose the stupidest path, partnering with someone who clearly doesn't have the capacity to even pursue a solo career without the support of her girlfriend.

It's sad to see so much promising future being thrown away. Because she actually had a chance of reaching maximum level.

Among all of them, the only one (apparently) with the right choices is TB, congratulations to him.

I'm not a zeglyth shipper, I liked their dynamic and thought it was genuine. But I was wrong.

I really hope she stops this LG and Sejanus thing. For someone who claims to be a fan of the story and the character, doing something like this is terrible.

But, she is not against using someone she called a friend until recently, story characters are the least of it.

I don’t think she is really that tbh!

1. That post was poorly written…almost on purpose.

2. We must remember that we can see zeglyth with our own eyes as well regardless of what that anon says. The BTS clips, the interviews, red carpets etc wasn’t all a lie. It’s very clear to me that Zeglyth are genuine friends. The way they touch tells me that. The way he defended her told me that. Keep in mind that R has been singing T praises way before the movie was released.

3. I do think they were telling the truth about R liking the online attention she gets from T and Zeglyth though. That’s not a lie but to say she’s only using him for that? No, I don’t believe that. She’s caught off guard by their popularity. It probably sucks that her bf isn’t well loved but her friend is. The most liked post on her IG is T’s bday post. I think it hurts her a lot to see her bf will never get that kind of attention so she’s showing him down our throats.

4. R and J will never be a power couple. It’s laughable to think about. If R and her team truly think that, they are way out of touch with her fanbase. We don’t care about J. We don’t like him. We never will. It’s a tough pill to swallow for R but she has way more chemistry with T. She knows that too which is why she’s fighting hard to promote J and Sejanus.

5. R will regret trying to boost J’s career when they break up. It will be a nasty thing to witness. I hope she braces herself for that because and I’m not saying this to be mean but it will be deserved imo. No woman should help a man’s career. He’s a man, let him do it himself.

6. This is a bad look on R. She needs to cater to her neutral fans! She has fans that don’t care about T, J, Zeglyth, THG, they follow her for her projects and her career, nor relationship drama. Did she forget that?

Overall, R/J are not a power couple, T will be successful and J’s career launch won’t go anywhere. Wasn’t TBOSAS suppose to help launch J’s career? It didn’t and Ryan Murphy is a hit or miss right now. Won’t be surprised if J’s career continues to flop.

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Thoughts on Izzy/Prince Ricky pre episodes 4/5.

When I first saw the trailer, I got it. We got a dumb blonde on screen with Con O'Neill, and yeah. That is, in fact, enough.

Pair it with the actual show, where Ricky is a mirror to Stede from S1? Oh yeah. Pair off an idiot trying and a competent man in leather, and Tumblr will ship it. Hell, I can't blame them.

Overall, tldr outside of theorizing. It's a fine ship! I do think Rickey will get killed off, but hey. If fans want to write spin-off stories where Rickey realizes he's queer, runs away from the Navy, and falls in love with Izzy(not necessarily in that order) I WILL READ IT. SEND IT TO ME.

I read the fucking Aubrey-Maturin book series(aka 'Masters and Commanders') for the HINTS of tension between two men.

NOW- Speculation time.

I *THEORIZE* Ricky is a high-ranking official spying on Stede and his crew in s2ep 1.

History:

[At this time(1700s ish), younger sons further down the line of a large inheritance were often sent to the Military. Their family hoped that maybe their 'spare' kids could give their name legacy in the military; gaining them social status and money. If the older kids die, then your younger ones can still come back...but you can just forget they exist for a bit.

Their parents pay for their rank, so rich young men with no ship experience would be in charge of sections or even the entirety of a crew (of men who were so poor they chose THIS over death).]

This matches what we've seen of his personality so far. Not very good with people with a misguided understanding of what Piercy is, thanks to novels and propaganda.

This explains the scenes we see in the trailer with Prince Rickey in military garb. So why did he get himself caught in s2ep1? Simple. He's an idiot who paid his way in.

Maybe it's all a game, sure, maybe he's playing 5d chess. Maybe he didn't mean to get caught, but the 'Ricky' drink? Purposefully slowing down their escape, making his target lose trust in him? No. It screams dumbass.

SO-here's what I think.

Ricky was put in charge since the Navy thought Stede WAS dead. But, for official 'escaping the Act Of Grace' reasons, they still needed to investigate. Enter: Guy they don't know what to do with, whose family/(or hell, maybe HE ALONE) has paid quite a bit of money to play 'hero'. Ricky gets a lead at the Republic and BAM he finds his man. He doesn't have long so he tries to make Stede trust and maybe even follow him(?). (This is the most flimsy part of the theory, but fuck it). So he tells Stede about a bit of a rumor he heard. Knowing they both knew what exactly that chest meant. Then, he gets caught and loses a nose.

He's not great at his job.

(I also theorize that Izzy is ex-navy and left to become a pirate due to a rich twat abusing power. This could explain why Izzy REALLY hated Stede's shows of wealth in S1. Which could make these two a really funny ship that actually discusses class, power, and the effects of wealth.)

[I had a whole list of links for historical piracy sources if anyone needs me to find 'evidence' I will try! It wasn't the ONLY way people became heads of ship, but it was fairly common to pay your way to the position in the Navy vs. Merit in piracy!]

[loonatic-moon]

Back again! You have a great point. 0 is what really revived the series in the west and Akiyama hasn’t really been prominent since before that. At least he was in 6! But yeah… not the most prominent… at least the Akikiryu food there was good.

I always thought Akiyama’s appearance fit in pretty well in 5 myself. Sure he didn’t really have a dream of his own to pursue (an interesting aspect to his character!), but in a way, his whole shtick is helping make dreams come true. To help those who need it most… but yeah I can also sorta see what people mean. 5 has to contain some of my all time favorite Akiyama moments though so I’m no doubt extremely biased.

And oh! You started with 5? Wild! Now that makes me super curious as to how you felt when you went back and played through 4 since I feel like there are slightly different vibes between the two. Not so much uncle/dad energy for one.

I can definitely see what you’re saying about Yagami! I’ve even seen some people say that Yagami’s fighting style (Crane really) fits what Akiyama wants to do. It makes a lot of sense.

True. I am happy to see Akiyama in whatever, even if he plays a minor role. He fits in pretty well as a supporting character so if that’s all RGG can/will do with him then… so be it. And yeah! Hana! Bring my girl back RGG! And hey, if Akiyama’s next role is in a turn based game, Hana would also work really well in that system! We know she can kick ass!

And omg if you write more Akikiryu, you’ll be my hero. I mean. You already are for feeding us fans with some great food, but more content of the moneylender with another man’s face on his necklace, a man he is definitely not yearning for, from you is a welcome treat!

Oh god, Y4 was a very different experience for so MANY reasons, lmao. I vastly prefer Y5 Akiyama to Y4 Akiyama to be honest, but there's something to be said about Y4's protrayal.

I went and played through Akiyama's Y4 bit right after I finished 5 because I had to know what this guy's deal was (and because I had already made the insane choice to jump in the deep end with the franchise). I definitely didn't love the whole Yasuko plot and being a dead ringer for his ex-gf, nor the shit that had also carried over into Y5 like having female clients work at a hostess club as a test. Questionable creative decisions at best. But like most other characters in the RGG universe, the narrative also doesn't make any bones about the fact that Akiyama is a flawed human in an industry that's often adjacent to the criminal underworld, despite his more noble philosophies. That's much of why I find this series so enjoyable, after all.

But anyway, after having played Y4 and the rest of the series by now, I personally still think Akiyama has one of the best opening/introduction scenes for any character in the franchise. I think his conversation with the baby yakuza is wonderfully done just from a narrative standpoint. And damn, all that shit he said to Kiryu in New Serena when they first met? Kinda confirmed my strong suspicions from Y5 that this guy has a Thing for Kiryu. Like most people, to be fair, but his Thing is with a capital-T. It was enough to prompt me to write Dragon and the Sky, haha.

Anyway, I didn't mean to go off on a rambly quasi-analysis, but I've thought a lot about the reasons his character fascinates me and has had staying power with fans-- not the least of which is he's like Kiryu in that he was once someone who was at the top of his game, who then took the fall for someone else and lost everything. I always found that to be an interesting template that RGG chose for him...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, as always!

[horizon-verizon]

Rhaenyra deserves to be usurped in the show because of her stupidity. She shows no political cleverness and easily allows the Greens to increase their influence and control at court, which is why she is so easily usurped. When her father is on the brink of death she returns to Dragonstone instead of staying with Daemon in King’s Landing to make sure her allies are in place to help her ascend the throne peacefully.

I’m not against Rhae Rhae because she’s a woman, I’m against her because she’s just stupid and reckless. I’d be equally as against her if she was a man. Aegon II isn’t a better ruler in any way, but his council certainly is, and if he behaves like Robert Baratheon who was always drunk, his council would just rule the realm for him. So I believe that Aegon’s council would rule the realm way better than Rhaenyra would.

*EDIT (5/31/24): Rhaenyra suffers from really bad sexist writing on GRRM's, not just the maesters', part and it undermines his own point.* And no, she doesn't need to be necessarily "moral" like Dany to be a deserving ruler.

The point of her story was to highlight how no matter how good or evil or morally ambiguous a person you are, if you are female, you are subject to losing a power men are just granted. Or usurped. And this is inherently wrong. Rhaenyra chose to go to war rather than give up. This is valuable. Visenya was not thinking "for the realm" or for the benefit of smallfolk or outside of her family, yet she as so many fans bc she was not passive or restricted by "madness". She has less sexist writing.*

A)

Show!Viserys’s ailment is far worse than it was in the book, so Rhaenyra seeing his death imminent is not canonical. Writers’ fault, no matter what GRRM says. 

This alone would require a total rewrite of how things went down as to how the Greens usurped Rhaenyra both in the show and the book. Because unless Viserys were to explicitly tell Canon!Rhaenyra to go back to Dragonstone, I do not think that Book!Rhaenyra would look at Show!Viserys' condition and not stay at the Keep.

That the writers didn’t think of this, intentionally refused to follow through, means that they either wanted to write this show for mere bucks and were too lazy/uncreative to rewrite and follow their own rewritings OR they sincerely think Book!Rhaenyra is inherently unfit for the throne.

B)

You: “Rhaenyra deserves to be usurped in the show because of her stupidity. She shows no political cleverness and easily allows the Greens to increase their influence and control at court, which is why she is so easily usurped.”

What I am about to say is true for BOTH show and book Rhaenyra, bc the the story, her story, is the same:

I don't deny that Rhaenyra's last choices at KL were unstrategic OR self-contradictory (Rosby and Stokeworth [self contradictory in principle, strategic for the practical...in the moment], the Velaryon bastards-turned-lords, & Nettles). That after Nettles, she shouldn't have ruled.

I also think that those decisions are reflections of the already existing Targ-Andal patriarchal, blood-purist paradigm, that Rhaenyra is the example of a character who was FIRST felled down by the people around her (and harassed since childhood--10) and THEN by her own actions that were responding to those harassment and external doubt in her because she is a woman first invested with and then choosing to press for power and a position taken from her.

While it is definitely true that Rhaenyra seems to have always had some Targ-Andal elitism that built some of her confidence in her claim's validity, the personal history, plus the long societal censure, plus her kids dying would have some sort of effect on her. And it did, namely her doubling down and attempting to maintain control at all costs and most "conveniently"--or in the quickest gratification--which means conceding about Rosby and Stokeworth and attacking Nettles to reclaim Daemon (not just sexual partner, but her military and political support who if he had children with another would create competition for her and her kids).

I have a post where I talk about how Book!Alicent was majorly stupid HERE and how Show!Alicent is horribly written AND was never a true friend of Rhaenyra/a nonthinking "person" HERE & HERE. just because I never ever hear how people think ALicent messed up (and she did) espe making her anger lead her there. In fact, many actors did, and they are somehow "better" than Rhaenyra to some people bc they do not characterize Rhaenyra's feelings and responses as either consequential.

And then there is jeynearrynofthevale's post about how HotD failed or what they could have done to make the show better HERE, where they say:

Spend way more time on court politics and the buildup of the dance. Show why the two sides are falling the way they do and establish the core issues at play. Spend some more time establishing the characters before time jumps. Maybe give Rhaenyra motivation for ruling in terms of what she wants to do. Have her and Alicent navigate around each other in court.

Partly, I think that the kind of frustration people feel towards horror movie characters for not doing this and that has been copied just a little bit towards Rhaenyra and not enough on the writing of this show. 

Canon!Alicent and Rhaenyra were 9 years apart and Alicent turned on Rhaenyra ever since she birthed Aegon II, so we know she has plotted against rhaenyra since then. And argued with Rhaenyra, openly since she was at least in her early teens.

Why did the writers choose to remove Alicent’s evil stepmother characterization and replace it with a pseudo-best friends relationship? Because they (Migeuls Sapochnik and Sara Hess I think) thought it was too discriminatory towards Alicent...meanwhile this experience of an older woman victimizing her stepchildren or just other children for the sake of her own power or her own children’s safety/prosperity is a very real and common event. And women can just want to benefit from the patriarchal system and freely victimize or fight other women for power within that system. 

It is actually feminist to tell such a story, to let people see that cycle of patriarchal abuse and selfishness, how it enlists women to attack each other or attack vulnerable people. To remove that from Alicent and to make Rhaenyra this conciliatory person willing to give up the throne “for the realm” as Viserys told her is to make the general phenomenon of women wanting power into an inherently evil thing. 

Canon!Rhaenyra didn’t want power and decided that everyone was now her bitches, anon, she wanted it because she was selected for it, and she feels up to the task so it is within her dignity, and Viserys explicitly named her as his heir. She never doubted her own rights visibly. And she "grew up" and stood up for herself in her black/red dress moment, you know, that moment that the writers gave to Alicent.

In the same canon moment, she was also silently saying to Alicent that she wasn't putting up with her domestic bullshit. So even Show!Rhaenyra is lacking and a reflection of sexist writing.

Here are a few posts as to why this show is sexist despite it claiming it is feminist:

Male Gaze, Female Vicitmization, and Visual Eroticism in HotD (a reblog of my post written by xenonwitch)

The essentialist argument of "Women-pacisift-and-weak vs Men” (written by rhaenyragendereuphoria)

Evil Women and Patriarchy (by ainomica)

Evil Stepmothers ARE Compelling (by minetteskvareninova )

C)

Rhaenyra is Princess/Lady of Dragonstone. She inherits a lord’s authority over it at the age of sixteen in the book, as is royal custom. Dragonstone:

is her family’s original Targ seat of power in Westeros (Aegon I and the Targs pre-Conquest)

the one place where her authority goes uncontested, so it is here where she can bunker her children and has already accumulated resources against the Greens

Basically, this requires more of a Doylist reading of HotD and a look at how the writers chose to write this season and how Rhaenyra/Alicent grew up while at court after both marry.

And in canon, Rhaenyra dragged Maester Gerardys with her to Dragonstone to heal Viserys when Mellos wasn't helping at all, but Alicent wanted her to leave afterward, saying Rhaenyra was an interloper:

but Alicent was the one to try to send Rhaenyra away, saying she "meddled" into affairs that she mean to mean were not Rhaenyra's problem... despite Viserys being her father...:

This, again, indicates that Alicent has been working to isolate and exclude Rhaenyra for years before and after Daemon came back in 111 A.C.

Alicent used to try to welcome Rhaenyra as a daughter, or at least be well-meaning sometime before her son was born:

Rhaenyra was born 97 A.C. Aegon was born 107 A.C. Rhaenyra was 9-10 years old when he was born, which means Alicent started to resent and plot against her at that time:

Alicent very clearly was building a faction and garnering support against Rhaenyra, and couple that with what happened to Otto, plus how hateful they became of each other, what Alicent thought she and her son were owed...I think it's very safe to say that she put Rhaenyra down a lot in the Red Keep with innuendoes, implicit insults, remarks, etc. also remarks meant to make her look bad or sluttish, like this one:

Why this change? Or really, the suppression of the heat between them, the lack of backfire against Alicent?

D)

You: “Aegon II isn’t a better ruler in any way, but his council certainly is, and if he behaves like Robert Baratheon who was always drunk, his council would just rule the realm for him.”

You obviously never read the book. From the beginning, Aegon wanted and took control. while Criston lied to him that Rhaenyra would kill him otherwise, Aegon--I as I argue--likely always felt at least entitled to the throne and jealous of Rhaenyra's state if only because he feels entitled to a lot of things as a prince (his gluttonous and assaultive behavior). Only Alicent and his sister-wife being able to hold him back so he could be persuaded into not killing Rhaenyra. Twice. (Posts HERE, HERE, QUOTE #1, QUOTE #2, and what he would have done to Rhaenyra’s son, Aegon the Younger).

Aegon II and Robert Baratheon are still two different people, with different circumstances. Aegon II was born a prince and rode a dragon, inheriting the magical ability to ride dragons. He has his pride and because Alicent directly taught him to consider his own sister lesser, he was very eager to become king no matter what Septon Eustace has to say about it.

He argued with Otto directly for not bringing about things the way he wanted to. Robert never argued or felt powerful/able enough to argue against Tywin. 

But he never allowed others to rule for him until he shattered and burned his body while fighting Rhaenys. and even after he does what he does at Dragonstone...I already alluded to it above in the parentheses where I give links to posts and quotes.

*EDIT* And then what happens AFTER Otto and Alicent dies?

E)

You: “I’m not against Rhae Rhae because she’s a woman, I’m against her because she’s just stupid and reckless. I’d be equally as against her if she was a man. [...] So I believe that Aegon’s council would rule the realm way better than Rhaenyra would.”

And yet, you think that Otto Hightower, the man who pushed Rhaenyra into the heir position by convincing Viserys to do so just so he can prevent Daemon being named heir -- thus he and Viserys started this whole debacle (if we were to argue about who was politically stupid here and set up this civil war) -- is a good candidate for ruling of any kind?

The same Show!man who forced his own daughter to marry a rotting, much older man just so he can seat her/Viserys’ sons by her on the throne for his own selfish benefit?

The same man who enabled Vaemond to go against Corlys’ wishes for Lucerys to get the Driftmark seat? 

We can go back to how people expressed how the lords of Westeros and their kids looked at Rhaenyra askance because they were anxious that bastards in their own families would have an easier time contending with them....but:

Rhaenyra’s sons ARE "legitimate" and the lords have nothing to fear (written by theblackqveen)  

bastardry is NOT natural, it is entirely contingent on human decision (original post written by me and the reblog by the-king-andthe-lionheart)

doesn’t Otto’s going against Corlys express wishes and plotting with Vaemond count as him endangering Corlys’ house’s succession and stability? The same argument that greens argue for how the lords/their sons will look at Jacaerys becoming king? Otto actively does this. Where’s the consistency, the truth-telling in this argument? 

All this shows misogyny on your part, anon. Sorry about it.

[asterinstar]

OKAY GUYS I HAVE DECIDED TO MAKE THE OTHER MCS INTO BIRDS 😁 NOW PREPARE FOR A LONG THREAD OF BIRD RAMBLES AND HCS I HAVE FOR EACH OF THEM

MC1 - Chickadee

I have decided to make MC1 a chickadee or more specifically a long tailed tit because it is so small just like MC1. Now you might think that the chickadee is too cute for MC1 but that's where you're WRONG. Fun fact chickadees are known to be a FUCKING MENACES. IF THEY'RE THREATENED, YOU KNOW THEY GON ATTACK.

So with MC1 no matter where the little fella goes whether he's flying or walking, trouble is his #1 fan

In one moment, he'll be boiling water but then a few seconds, the kitchen's on fire. Another moment, he'll be just sitting in a tree then a few seconds later he's pooping on someone like a pigeon. Yeah he is a fucking menace.

Surprisingly he's a pretty cheerful and friendly guy for someone who causes mayhem every 5 secs. He gets along with everyone (sorta) and will get into trouble with you because he likes you :)

He, MC2, and MC5 are a trio of violent and unhinged birdies who would peck anyone's asses

He and my duck mc are definitely evil besties like they're either getting their asses put into trouble or causing mischief and giggling like the little stoopy birds they are

So in conclusion he's a fucking gremlin who can't stop getting into trouble and needs a leash on him

MC 2 - Lovebird

Ah yes the girlboss. So for her I have decided to make her a love bird specifically a black masked love bird. Man I really LOVE how she and the bird look so similar UGH 😫 IT'S SUCH A PERFECT MATCH FOR MY GIRLIE.

She is the definition of a girlboss as she is acts however she wants whenever she wants and there is NO exception to that

And because she's a girlboss she is definitely a great leader as she is confident, assertive, reliable, and fights for what she believes while looking so cool doing it

But just because she's a bad bitch doesn't mean she a mean bitch! She just knows how to act for herself. As her friend the little birdie will definitely give you makeovers like in those moments in disney princess movies where the animals help the princess dress up!

She and MC3 are definitely the wlw and mlm solidarity 😌

She and my duck mc definitely have sleepovers where they do girl sleepover stuff like give each makeovers, gossip, and do rituals lol

In conclusion, she's a cool bitch and I'd prolly say she's similar to Wendy Testaburger from south Park

MC3 - Penguin

Welp I'm turning the himbo into a penguin. I thought of the penguin more specifically the emperor penguin because he's big and so is the penguin.

So amongst all of the mcs this penguino has dated the most people. Like he'll be flirting with every hot guy he sees every 5 secs and you know how THAT goes. Bro's like the horny option in the dialogues.

But the guy has some standards so that's pretty much why you don't see him dating certain guys especially those who see the exile in him

This penguino definitely radiates big brother vibes and he is one. You'll definitely see him acting all brotherly towards younger characters like Agyo and Zhurong and especially towards the mcs

MC4 always has to watch MC3's ass and stop him from flirting to every hot guy he sees. MC4: GO TO HORNY JAIL! *bonk!* MC3: Ow!

MC3 tells his love stories to my duck mc and she is honestly traumatized because of it. MC3: So let me tell you the time I woke up in bed with two guy- DuckMC: I DEMAND THAT YOU SPEAK NO FURTHER

But she admires the penguin and the two have a pretty good sibling relationship :)

So he's a big flirtatious waddling penguin and if you're close to him platonically he's your big bro

MC4 - Falcon

For the skinny man himself I've decided to make him a falcon specifically a prairie falcon. Ngl he was so hard for me to find a perfect bird match because originally I was gonna make a mallard duck but I thought no that ain't right so I chose the falcon.

This Falcon loves to observe everything like you'll see him at 4 am in the morning just watching through the window just everything that surrounds him fascinates him ✨

And out of all the mcs he's the most chillest and doesn't get into trouble as the others do. He's also one of the mature ones, making the sense out of everyone.

He's also a nerd he's like smart and is quite knowledgeable about his interests which is anime and manga so he definitely gets along with the akihabara group and MC5 who's also a fellow nerd

Him and MC5 get along pretty well as MC5 can tolerate him and the two share an interest in anime and manga.

He and my duck mc definitely get along and he would grab her with his talons and give the duckling a little flight.

MC5 - Owl

Last but not least I'm gonna make MC5 an owl more specifically a eurasian eagle-owl. I decided to choose this bird because I thought it looks grumpy like how I thought MC5 looked grumpy so I put the two together.

Our owl buddy here is tired of everything. He's tired of everyone's bs and is always on the verge of going apeshit. Now that doesn't mean he's mean he's just salty towards those who are assholes or just generally annoying.

Now while he is mature but there will be times where he does stupid shit because he's just over it like in rugrats when Stu Pickles is making chocolate pudding at 4 in the morning. MC4: MC5 what are you doing? MC5: Making chocolate pudding. MC4: It's four o'clock in the morning, why on earth are you making chocolate pudding? MC5: …Because I've lost control of my life.

As owls are depicted as nerds, this one is no exception towards it. You'll definitely see this owl hanging upside down while reading a manga that he just started. And there are moments where he is binge watching all the episodes of his favorite anime in one night.

He and MC1 are the typical siblings as they both hate and annoy each other as well as loving each other in the end. MC1 pulling pranks on him and MC5 getting his vengeance on him. Then the two sleeping together in their bird cage.

My duck mc is one of the few people he likes and can tolerate. He definitely worries a lot for her and gets annoyed when she gets into trouble. The owl always rambles about his interests to her and she always listen cause she's a good duckling :)

So to end it there he's a nerdy tired owl 🦉

OKAY THIS TOOK FOREVER TO FINISH WTF 😭

[sonicasura]

Persona 5: Ramón's Comeback

I wasn't going to leave this post alone especially since I began playing Persona 5 Royal. Do know keeping up with multiple social links puts a dent in your wallet to make maxing them out easier. I'll delve into that later though as it's time expand on this concept.

Ramón appears in the world of Persona 5 after CLH Season 1 events come to a close and halfway through Kamoshida's Palace. For how he ends up there... You can say his heart cried out and something answer the call.

The Castle of Lust Palace definitely isn't a place Ramón wanted to wake up in. You can predict his reaction to what seems to be teenagers being constantly tortured or the obviously inappropriate decor. Thus the Phantom Thieves next infiltration turns into a run-in with a furious Ramón using real tommy guns on Shadows.

(For any oblivious Rayman fans, the action in Persona 5 takes place within the Metaverse. A realm of cognition where someone sees or thinks can become very real. Like realistic fake weapons being able to function similar to the real deal. Palaces are a dimension created when someone's heart becomes heavily distorted and their behavior turns very dangerous in the real world.)

Believing they could help each other, Ren/Joker convinces the Thingamajig to come with them. An arrangement that leads Ramón to join the Phantom Thieves. Since he doesn't have a Persona, the Limbless uses various gadgets to aim for Shadow weakpoints. Ramón's codename will be Enigma as that what he is. Now he has three reasons in why he joined the Phantom Thieves.

The first one is to keep the group from getting into a mess they can't get. Every member of the Phantom Thieves are children who are still trying to find their path in life. He also the only(non-Persona) adult that can help them out in both worlds without drawing a crowd.

The second is to find a way back to Eden. Even though this world's better than the dystopian nightmare he calls home, there are things Ramón has to do. He can't risk losing the only chance to fix Eden's corrupt society especially since his imposter is still on the loose.

The true reason however is redemption. Even if Ramón wasn't directly involved, his obliviousness to Eden's true nature had hurt so many innocent people. He CHOSE to look ignore the red flags and share their propaganda until Bullfrog showed him the ugly truth. If protecting these kids and changing the hearts of the corrupt is something he needs to do then Ramón accepts.

That doesn't mean the Thieves nor their Personas are gonna leave him alone. It isn't hard to see how broken Ramón is. Just like them, he is someone who also became an outcast to society and bears a tale just as tragic.

Thus Ramón gets dragged into so many shenanigans. Whether it be heavily dressed up to walk in public or passed around houses so he always has a roof under his head. Ramón does help which member he's staying with in some way. The Limbless is usually a tutor since Ann and Ryuji aren't the only ones who need help when it comes to their grades.

Sojiro does let him stay after he finds out about the group's identity although it took sometime to get used to Ramón's peculiar appearance. Can't forget a good chunk of older Ren/Joker's Confidants that get dragged in once he maxes them out. Ramón and Iwai would be a terror together though.

Also considering he's an adult, the man always gets dragged in more mature conversations with the team's Persona. Ramón absolutely butts heads with Carmen on multiple occasions and ain't afraid to call her a broad. She thinks its hilarious though thus teases the hell out of him.

Do not leave Ramón alone with Captain Kidd as those two probably have a drinking contest. The Limbless needs to work on handling his liquor healthily if his bad days are proof. And sailors love their booze.

Ramón is a sad drunk kind of guy to me. Thus Arseńe listens to his liquor fueled sorrows and tends to bring tea or water so the hangover isn't harsh. Any info about Ramón's life is heavily filtered since 'cow sushi' is a bit much for their minds.

Zorro makes sure the Limbless doesn't get in over his head. Ramón tends to be quite hotheaded and the Persona knows what trouble can come with unstable emotions. Someone had to keep Morgana out of trouble when it was just them.

The more he helps the group, Ramón will slowly grow alongside them. Forming bonds he never thought would happen and come to terms with his inner demons. It is only when Ramón learns to accept himself completely shall his own Persona emerge.

When it comes to the Arcana, he represents the Aeon Tarot. Fitting since the negative side to this is ignoring the truth and accept corruption like he done as Eden's newcaster. The more Ren/Joker strengthens his bond with the Thingamajig, he'll gain abilities which revolve around combat items alongside counter based techniques.

Ramón's Persona shall be the Almighty Element Augustus, specifically James Augustus Hickey the father of Indian Journalism. My personal take on what his entry could be.

'A pioneer of Indian journalism, James Augustus Hickey launched the Bengal Gazette from Calcutta in 1780. Augustus' writings commented on the inefficiency of the British administration in India. His newspapers served as watchdogs against those in power thus influencing contemporary thought and awoke civic consciousness among the people.'

Things are definitely gonna ramp up since Ramón will gain the abilities that his videogame persona acquired with every Palace he conquers. Our group of high schoolers are about to have a powerful and quite protective parental figure. Also if he could, you know Ramón definitely adopt certain thieves when those moments arrive.

That's all for now! Until next time folks, I'll see you in the crossroads between Leblanc and Eden.

[fareehaandspaniards]

Hold up, you like Valtr x Henriett too???? I should have guessed because you are one of the last surviving 5 people that aren't restrained by age gaps in shipping but still I thought it was TOO obscure hghjhjk

That's my SECRET side xD I may talk about Damian mostly, since I have a thing for white-haired (blonde) grandpas who are rather evil sexy lords or pure angels. BUT(T). I enjoy really many ships and characters that I never mentioned because I never have enough energy to talk about ALL of them... (in 95% of times I need a lot of energy just to talk so yeah I want to tell a lot but often forget or don't have energy for that)

I am secretly big enjoyer of Valtr, Henryk, Yamamura, Tomb Prospector Olek (lol), Arianna equally with Adella, big FAN of Yurie, Eileen and Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, Ludwig... and etc!

So YES Valtr x Henriett ship looks hot (as you said age gap doesn't scare me. It makes ship even hotter than it was. I don't understand people who scream when two characters who are in love aren't the same age. And by "scream" I mean publicly shaming anyone who ships couples like that! Hope after this I won't receive a message from anon like "SO you can ship 10 y.o. girl yeah???? If age gap in a relationship is cool then you ship kids right????!" because it's pure absurd and hysteria. Age gap is always perceived by fandom-society like something AWFUL, DISGUSTING and mostly by people who enjoy even more weird kinks)

(And you might ship 18 y.o. character with a 2000000010010903 y.o. eternal being and everything is fine for a fandom while eternal being looks sexy BUT WHEN IT COMES TO GRANDDILFS, PEOPLE ARE BEING BITC-)

(sorry it's not a vent post :'D Completely changed the topic)

I can't say I know much about Henriett except for her being beatiful and her connection with Amelia, Ludwig and Laurence. Also she has something against League. And this shit when two fantoms can't be summoned simultaneously makes me go HURRRRR because you know the two have something between them???

She gives me vibes of hmmm... Irene Adler who is now Sherlock Holmes? I remember Crow drew Henriett for you mentioning Shelock Holmes and now this is stuck in my head. Stoic, beautiful young lady who is interested in justice for all. From a good family, maybe even noble, but who chose a path of a Hunter with her huge weapon. I headcanon Valtr to be her former "mentor" until she found out that League is built on his insanity and he can't even see evil bugs himself. Disappointing :с Her vibe is like:

Also I thought that Gehrman/Maria also has a vibe of a teacher/student, but with gehrmaria it's more about romantical guiding the one you love with both mutual respect and tenderness. While these two have... Have some problems with that. I headcanon Valtr as a person who was REALLY interested in Henriett, but could show it through mumbling and telling her his own vision of the world and wanting from her to join him in everything, while she has own plans and ambitions, for example aeeeehhh destroy the wicked ones from the Church? haha so funny, unless...

Anyway good ship.

Little ambitious lady who is ready to kick some asses and tall sad unstable man, who has issues