#ppl villainize this man but yet ask him questions like that

[geekishfangirl]

I can’t view Batman/Bruce as a real hero

So I’ve gotten into DC recently, or more specifically I’ve gotten into the Batfam, and the more I learn about Bruce Wayne the harder it is for me to look to him as a hero.

I’ll preface all this by saying I have consumed very little DC content, so if something I say is not actually canon pls let me know.

It started when I learned that this man seemingly has an absolute no kill rule. Not a “I try to avoid killing and only do it when absolutely necessary” rule, but a “I refuse to kill anyone no matter the circumstances” rule. I honestly hate this because it’s not effective in any way. Take the Joker for example, Batman has to fight him over and over again because they simply cannot seem to keep that man in prison and Batman won’t kill him or let anyone else do it. I think this is because he wants to believe that anyone can change, and they can, but just because they CAN doesn’t mean that they WILL. People have to choose to change and the Joker has had like 30 chances to do so, yet he continues to kill innocent people. How many innocents have to die before someone acknowledges that the Joker will never choose to be a better person and finally decide to do what’s necessary to protect everyone? They either need to find a way to keep him in jail or just take him out.

This got worse when I learned about Jason Todd. Here you have a poor boy taken in by Bruce, who idealizes him and views him as a father, and when he gets kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the Joker he dies alone. When he is brought back to life, he’s mad at Bruce, not because Bruce didn’t save him, but Bruce didn’t kill the Joker to avenge him. Because Bruce didn’t love him more than he loved Justice. Hell, even on his grave, “A good soldier”. I’ve seen ppl say that maybe he didn’t say son because he didn’t want to erase their family ties and the kids never took his last name and sure, I get that. But putting a good soldier instead? He didn’t have to do that. Jason wasn’t a soldier, he was a little boy. It seems like Bruce forgets that about the Robins sometimes. (None of this is even getting into my feelings about Bruce taking in multiple children and having them fight crime, literally risking their lives every night but then this rant would be even longer)

And apparently Bruce fucking decks Dick because Dick was asking him why he let him become Robin before he was ready? Bro cannot take any criticism for his actions I swear. I mean, even if he never officially adopts them (I’m very confused on that tbh) he does still view them as his kids. He still helped raise them. After all, they were all underage when he met them and took them in. So to straight up deck your eldest and tell him to get out literally right after your other kid was murdered solely because he questioned you is actually wild.

Then you have the whole batarang incident, which just makes me question his morals more because he’s got the whole “no killing whatsoever” thing going on but then decides, “I won’t kill the man who murdered my son and countless other innocents, but I can and will slit my son’s throat and leave him for dead.” Like, HUH??? Also, didn’t Dick accidentally kill the Joker once and Bruce went out of his way to REVIVE HIM? Honestly feels like Bruce has some weird relationship with the Joker cause he seems to care about him more than anything. LET THAT MONSTER DIE!

I saw someone say that they thought the “no killing” thing wasn’t effective but was accurate to Bruce’s character because his vigilanteism isn’t actually mainly about helping but about punishing himself for what happened to his parents. And if you kill the villains when you need to, you can’t keep punishing yourself through fighting them. Like a self-sabotage thing. I thought that was super interesting but it would also just go along with him not being a truly effective hero, cause he won’t make the hard calls that are sometimes needed.

In conclusion, while I am sure Bruce has done good for people, it’s hard to see him as a truly effective hero (or a good person/father for that matter) when he does stuff like this.

[morningstarofdawnx]

Reasons why I think Crocodile is highkey queer in a trans way

Hello tumblr, your boy is back to cook once again.. I will list off all the reasons I think Crocodile (One Piece) is very queer (trans specifically) and my reasonings for it (Most of these will be based on my own theories btw, some/most of them arent based on canon)

I know its already a very popular headcanon but I wanted to list off WHY its so popular and even kinda implied!

Starting off strong with the main reasoning everyone tells you when you ask them why they hc it, his secret past with Ivankov. One Piece is no stranger to cooking with their villains' backstories/general past stories (the latter being the case for Croc, don't know if we will ever get his actual backstory) and Crocodile... has not been cooked yet. The only thing we know about him is his secret that only Ivankov knows, and based on how Croc acts with this secret it's safe to assume he would not want it out there... but why exactly???? I have a theory on that

Let's say he's trans, just assume it for a sec. Remember how queer people are treated in the OP universe. Although we can give the universe the benefit of the doubt and say the queerphobia isn't that bad to the point where queer people get killed just for being queer, they are very clearly outcasted. In the Impel Down arc we see this a lot, with everyone calling the New Kama soldiers either "a queer" (in the slur way) or a "pervert" (uncalled for tbh). I dont think the main reason Ivankov made the queer paradise was because they were outcasted, but I think that may be one of the reasons for it.

Now, still assuming Croc is trans, lets take a look at why my previous paragraph matters. If we go by the theory that he went to Iva and used their HRT powers to transition, this could be really bad for him if it came out! Like REALLY bad. There is a chance he could lose a large portion of his reputation and his intimidating aura even!! Besides the queerphobia, sexism is very apparent in the OP universe as well. I feel that if word got out that Croc is trans, people would not only be transphobic but also sexist towards him.

I don't think that Croc would get disheartened by all the negative thoughts people have about him, no. That would be very OOC. I think he wouldn't give two shits! But his reputation DOES matter to him, as a man that thrives to be a very strong and remarkable pirate (and also with his dream wanting to be the king of the pirates ofc).

2. Continuing from Impel Down arc, lemme ask you all a question.. did you notice how Crocodile very suddenly got his actual clothes back in the middle of the arc? Well I have an explanation for you. According to a question Oda answered himself, the New Kama prisoners steal clothes and they happened to steal his... for some reason. Why could this be exactly?????

Okay some of you may think I'm reaching (there is a lot of reaching in this essay), but I think that they may have done it as a favor to him knowing that they may meet him someday. JUST THINK ABOUT IT! Iva has history with Croc, they wouldnt ignore Crocs clothing I would think! My main theory is that Iva stole it with the thought of giving it back to Croc themself, maybe with the intention of making Croc join them? Whooo knows...

3. Take a look at this image here.

Now I want you all to think about the villains of OP. I'm not talking about those who are morally grey, like Hancock or Kuma for example. I'm talking about Moria, Doffy, Kaido etc etc. I already mentioned the queerphobia of the universe and how they are outcasted. I think my theory on the villains of one piece not respecting queer ppl as a whole has a chance to be partially correct. Im going to base this entire section on that theory, so feel free to skip if you disagree.

Crocodile as we know, is a horrible dude. Morally Black. No thoughts behind those eyes besides determination, hunger for power and the desperation for victory. I mean look at the dude, he looks damn bored all the time with the only times he shows emotions being when he has fun torturing people! We can safely say that Crocodile is that type of villain.

Now going back to the image, ASSUMING my theory that Crocodile and his past with Iva is based on him being queer, I like to think that he is more "kind" with queer people in general. Him letting a New Kama member do his laces may just be a representation of his power and superiority over the characters, but it could also hint at him specifically asking the New Kama member to do it (which is most likely the case). Why am I mentioning this? Well, as far as I can see, the New Kama member doesn't look scared. Could this be because they trust Croc maybe? Could the New Kama members know about Crocs support through Ivankovs depiction of him (without outing him Id assume)?

Yeah okay... too far of a reach maybe. But HEAR ME OUT ON THIS!!

Going straight from that theory, let me mention the best character in the show...... BONNNNN CLAYYYYYYY!!!!!!

Mr. 2 Themself.. I always thought its really interesting how Bon didnt have a partner while in Baroque Works. For those of you who dont know, the reason for this is because Bon Clay is a very queer individual, and often describes themself as being both genders! Due to this, they specifically went to Crocodile and asked to not have a partner. The partners in Baroque Works are always 1 man and 1 woman, and with Bon being both they didnt want a partner.

CROCODILE LITERALLY HAD NO REASON TO INDULGE IN THIS REQUEST IN ANY WAY??? Why would he, knowing that he will literally LOSE MANPOWER, accept this request at all? There are 2 outcomes to this question. 1, he trusts Bon Clays abilities.. or 2. He respected Bons identity enough to agree to this request. I personally think its the latter because why would he choose less manpower over more?? Even if he trusts Bons abilities, Bon is still vulnerable working alone, and there is no reason for him to not pair them up with anyone besides the identity thing. We constantly see him respect queer characters and even know he has a past with the MAIN QUEER THEMSELF! This is especially weird because he canonically looks down on everyone and thinks everyone is worthless unless theyre useful to him. I don't think any of this is a coincidence........ ONTO THE 3RD REASON!

3. This is Lil CrocTM.

Now, I have asked many people on this and it is confirmed I AM NOT REACHING! THAT KID IS ANDROGYNOUS AF! Yes you could argue he leans more on the masc side, but nevertheless him looking so androgynous as a kid may mean something... WOW! AN ACTUAL CANON REASON AS TO WHY HE MAY BE TRANS! APPLAUSE APPLAUSE

Those are all the main reasons, some honorable mentions;

In this scene, he makes that face the second Iva mentions meeting him as a rookie.. hmm... could this be because he was a WOMAN back then?

Iva specifically says the words "revealing his past" and mentions only one weakness. If that secret was him being trans it would make a lot of sense!

2. Its said that one of the main inspirations of Croc design is Captain Hook, the disney villain. If youre a disney fan youd know that Captain Hook is a very blatant homosexual character. Not trans, I know, but still a queer character! I thought itd be worth mentioning.

Yeah ok thats basically all I have. I know there is a high chance his past secret has something to do with his scar and missing hand (a character we know of that made him like this maybe?) but I still really love the idea of him being queer in some way. Trans Croc DOMINATIONNNNNNN

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Pretty good answers, you can take a break from answering my questions they aren’t going anywhere lol take as long as you need :)

1: some ppl give the superfamily different “abilities” instead of the typical kryptonian power set to separate them, besides Chris does the rest of the family have different powers? For example I can see Jon having super saiyan red/orange hair that can boost his heat vision or can create a mini sun to heal or boost his family’s power.

2: since Chris likes spider-man, does he ever “web swing” across the city using his dark powers? Plus tie up bad guys using the dark powers too? I can see him tying up bad guys by the feet upside down hanging from a lamp post and spinning them around XD

3: any thoughts of making the duo wear matching outfits with the starburst name/logo on the front?

4: does mar’i do the same stuff as Jake like in previous asks? Does slapstick like the three stooges, aims for the crotch on a 10, uses the Nightwing sticks, etc…

5: let’s say Kon/Tim is sleeping on the couch, what would they do as a prank? Draw on their face, fart on their face, put shaving cream on their hand and tickle their nose with something, belly flop on top of them, etc…

6: not a question but a fanfic idea: overusing the Nightwing entity causes Chris to act similar to Spider-Man while wearing the venom suit creating a meaner & maybe evil Chris; Jake and Chris battle it out in the rain with Chris brutally hurting Jake close to death. Right before he delivers the killing blow, Chris has flashbacks of him and Jake doing fun stuff, Chris at the last second takes back control and holds Jake and cries that he is sorry.

1. Well Conner canonically has what’s called Tactile Telekinesis which allows him to hold a whole variety of objects and items with his mind in mid air, Kara can also probably channel a bio electric aura around her for an extra layer protection against energy or even magic attacks even though it can mess around with her heat vision abilities and finally to say Mon El, he had the ability to detect points on either a humanoid body or on select architecture that he can use to either strike or climb up (akin to Karnak from the Inhumans). The sole one whose powers are somewhat either enhanced or a near copy of Clark’s power set is Jon.

2. More likely it’s Jake who uses his grappling hooks akin to swing Spidey style as his ability of flight isn’t as pronounced as his sister’s. Any flight he achieves has to have a running and dropping start to them; basically any short flight he gets being a sort of natural wing suit on him. Now as for Chris webbing up crooks of all sorts via the shadows on their legs, I can probably see that in addition to a sticky note left for the cops to pick up says crooks that reads “Bad Guy(s)” just like how his teacher Dick does it

3. While a certain possibility for very rare occasions like say an actual multiverse Crisus event, they wear enough blue on their individual outfits already and yet those respective splashes of burnt orange and yellow keep them distinct. So, matching outfits is possible but not entirely probable and necessary.

4. A little bit but she has her own tiny touches and takes things that distinguish her from her brother. Mainly shed lean more on sitcom snark and ‘high brow’ comedy akin to what Grandpa Alfred showed her (Probably shows including “Blackadder” and “Are You Being Served?”) as opposed to slapstick. For her combat prowess, less likely to go from hits below the belt but a tad bit more vicious in taking down villains and she primarily uses her starbolts and enhanced strength along with Tamaranean fighting styles her Mother taught her and back

5. Jake’s go to mischief technique in these cases is a trick her sister and him have learn from their Father since the latter was all too fond of doing it during his days at the circus; take a small marker and doodle of silly and funny drawings on any part of the sleeping person that’s sticks out of the blankets. Chris quickly picked up on it ever since he was about 8 and anytime either of them happened to be awake first thing in the morning can their respective Uncle for Jake and Big Brother for Chris are dead asleep, they’ll wake up later to find some ink on them. And it’s not just the faces either….let’s just say if they to wear socks that night, there’s a 50/50 chance that those socks would be off them and sure enough there’s some doodles there as well.

6. It’s certainly a tempting enough story arc I can see happening with a minor tweak or two. Mainly, it’s the Flamebird entity being tapped into by Thara Ak Var that tends on being the berserker of the two ancient deities due to its more appropriately firery nature as opposed to the more cold and dark Nightwing. That said, I see Chris losing control of his powers and temperament being a consequence of all of the Nightwing entity’s bearers since mere mortals, even Kryptonians, aren’t immune to the entity’s presence affecting their minds with continuous overuse overtime. So with that, Chris after the battle makes a vow to no longer solely rely on the Nightwing entity for emergencies during superhero fights. The entity itself understands this and even encourages Chris to find other ways to save the day of possible.

Thanks for your patience, friend. It’s appreciated @gothicghost2000

[perelka-l]

Idk what other fandoms you have outside the Naruto fandom sooo how 'bout Madara

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i know those links on my profile don't work in mobile and idk how to fix that???? but ye i have a handy dandy list lol

Anyway, meme time:

favorite thing about them

He's a big emotional dumbass with dumbassery maybe rivalring his hair he is absolutely horrible and look how far that got him. Also, six paths form. And everything. Man, it's hard to choose. He's a well constructed villain and also it's kinda cool how whole series starts with mentioning that name in hushed voices of disbelief and fear. for a reason huh.

least favorite thing about them

"i only ever use a jutsu once" bitch and yet you used susanoo over 2137 times in this series shut the fuck up and stop stroking your dick in front of everyone's faces

favorite line

ya think i will say it's about the second meteorite. it is indeed, the second meteorite line. I mean. It's that line, it's excellent for a reason.

brOTP

That man has no bros. Honestly. He doesn't. I cannot answer this question, I have nothing in my mind, he canonically literally scared everyone away and nobody wanted to associate with him, he isn't bitchless, he is broless.

OTP

Oh man, where do I start. I will just go for those that I have most thots about, okie?

For starters, MadaIzu. Like, ofc we didn't have much of them shown but a) Uchiha is incest anyway and I will stand by it and b) Izuna was shown to be the only one that stood next to Madara. Nobody, literally almost nobody in this series could ever achieve that, no matter how willing one was - and Izuna was, I assume, entirely here for Madara. Maybe even was one of few people that thought about him, maybe even had him wrapped around his little finger and Madara would do a lot for his little bro. Man.

MadaObi. WHERE DO I EVEN START like I feel like I am going crazy when I start thinking about it. They are connected on so many fields, Obito being his descendant, Madara getting his body, stitching it together (man, there was that one fantastic art with old madara and obito.... doing precisely that), literally putting his hands on this boy's heart and sealing it (POETRY), brainwashing into becoming himself and later using Obito for all his worth, giving him life and choosing when to take it away, and Obito starting to resists like jfc my brainworms. I like them both as also shit jiji and bratty mago. THEY ARE JUST SO GOOD FUCKKKKKKKK I AM GNAWING AT MY HOODIE LIKE A RABID ANIMAL AAAAAA

HashiMada. That's all. Although... I like it a bit darker, not in means of whump and such but I can't help but thing that Hashirama unknowingly stumbled on something that swallowed both of them. Hashirama may have best interests in heart, but he isn't a good person, and Madara... Madara has his own issues. More below.

MadaTobi is nice. I always found it hilarious how similar they are and yet so different, and I like to think that's why they are so appealing together. Those two are not alright but maybe that's why they could have a relationship that would be akin to watching a slow hurricane in a distance. Gorgeous but pity everyone in its path. Those lads have mental issues but both are crazy scientists, and both are prickly cats, yanno?

I FORGOT MADAGAI HOW COULD I SFJKHD YALL KNOW WHY PPL SHIP THIS SHIT AND ME TOO OK

nOTP

nothing comes to my mind atm

random headcanon

A dumbass ace. And he is a dumbass. Well, more like mentally ill, not like those two things cancel out, but he really genuinely didn't question a moment when he heard a voice in his head say "do x thing" and he just fucking goes and does it. If you ask me, that guy even without zetsu around has some real fucking issues that are either exploited (hashi i see you you fucking whore) or misunderstood... And his power makes it dangerous because he can achieve all that he wants.

unpopular opinion

fem madara superiority ganggggggggggggggggg aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

song i associate with them

Some are: Not Worth Remembering (Turk Dietrich Remix) by SONOIO, Tomorrow by Lorn, Sweet Shadows by Daughter Darling, NO FEAR by §E▲ ▓F D▓G§, Mavericks by Johnossi, Arzusun by Niyaz*, Candy Shop by Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, Szamar Madar by Venetian Snares, The Elm Guest House by Gefradah, Velvet Divorce by Sneaker Pimps*, Begin Again by Purity Ring, SINKING by Diskette Park, Subterranean and Empires Lost by melodysheep, Voices in the Static by Hybrid*.

Songs marked with * are 6P specific... Yeah.

favorite picture of them

bitch

[ambelle]

Sweet baby Jesus the convo in the replies gave me a headache. If this post wasn’t so old I’d ask them why they are so triggered by the canon fact that Mel isn’t a manipulative seductress bitch. A fact that the voice actress and written script confirmed. Like they were fighting for their life to prove she’s a villain and then continued arguing and flipping out on their blog.

One thing we dont talk about enough in fandom discourse is how some black fans perpetuate anti black stereotypes. They’ll argue points that have been debunked and insist on using their identity as a shield …but in the end the fact remains they are on the same side as the racists. They don’t care what happens in the plot they’ve decided this black person is sinister and that’s that. When people flatten Mel’s character and outright lie about her they never provide the scenes they are referring to. Because that’s requires considering the context of the scenes. There’s no explanation for Mel continuing her “act” when no one is looking but they just keep skating past that. Check out the way male blerds talk about bw. They may as well put on a white hood.

Titans fandom really opened my eyes to how deep internalized self hatred/racism can go. They questioned Dick’s love for Kory from start to finish and the show never gave them a reason too. Yet they still feel threatened by him being into every non bw that he speaks to. THEY view Kory as forgettable. THEY find these other woman more enticing. THEY don’t think she’s someone a man can fall for quickly and remain in love with even when she’s not having sex with him.

And why is that? Two dark skinned bw that ppl say have to use their body to achieve things?

Disturbing and sad.

Looking in the Mel Medarda tag & seeing “Mel represents privilege & Piltover & [doesn’t actually say slut but] while Viktor represents Goodness & Virtue” takes & knowing I’m not going to be physically safe on this site when s2 comes out

[hello-nichya-here]

If Iroh doesn't acknowledge Azula as a victim of abuse, that means he can't relate to her, therefore Iroh either wasn't abused by his family or he was abused in a different way from Azula. Or maybe the truth is he just doesn't want to understand her. I really don't get why he's more sympathetic toward his brother who mutilated his beloved nephew's life. Like, what is he thinking, exactly? Perhaps his reasoning isn't supposed to go side by side with logic, but rather with feelings or sth. Here are my only guesses why Iroh doesn't care about Azula

1) She reminds him of his younger self that he wants to forget (which I don't even think has a point in saying how much is unfair to Azula)

2) She's a "hindrance" to Zuko

Sexism??? Idk. Actually no I don't think Iroh is a sexist based on his interactions with other women we saw so I'm not counting it, but you're welcome to correct me.

Iroh is not dumb enough to not comprehend what kind of situation Azula is in, but he's selfish enough to do zero shit about it. And for the ppl yelling "he was protecting Zuko from her" bitch pls. Azula didn't harass Zuko from the day she was born yet even when she and Zuko were children and their relationship wasn't so fucked up (which Iroh totally could have interfered with after he came back from war and even prior to that) he didn't give a shit. This man never cared about his neice, even before they became enemies. (No, the doll was not him showing her love lmao) Tell me then, if Iroh genuinely wants to guide Zuko on the right path and shield him from misfortune, why has Iroh never tried to pit Zuko against his real abuser, Ozai? Or do you want to tell me that Azula has somehow abused Zuko more than him? Why, throughout Zuko's whole journey, has Iroh never told his nephew that the way he was treated by his father, was wrong? Honestly I wouldn’t bash Iroh sm if he set Zuko against both of them yet here we are. Like really, Iroh? You think if Zuko puts her in her place and murders her, he's not going to lose it and be relieved or vice versa? You think making kids nemeses is going to lead to any good? Wisest character", my ass.

Warning, this is gonna be LOOOOONG and I'm gonna answer to your questions along with this ask I got from @profoundkryptoniteblaze after I pointed out another flaw of Iroh's because there are some points you both brought up that can be combined.

***

"If there was ever any moment in which Iroh could be seen as endangering Zuko, it was that one - hell, Iroh realizing he almost got his "son" killed was probably why he was following him during "The Chase" and tried to reason with him in "Lake Laogai."

Y'know it really gets me thinking if Iroh never learned anything from indoctrinating and sending his own son to death and only realizing the wrong of his actions after having lost him. Iroh let his other son chase after false hope and waste his life, exhausting himself physically and mentally for three years and was never shown trying to pry him away from Ozai or the FN's toxic mentality. Later he helped Zuko chase and almost capture the avatar at the north pole, the latter would've been frozen to death as a result had it not been for Aang's sympathy (honestly not just Iroh and Zuko but the whole world is lucky that he's so patient and compassionate) And then Iroh calls Zuko out for his recklessness in "Lake Laogai". Like what, weren't you the one who-- ah nevermind. I've only scratched the surface about how Iroh failed to guide Zuko and yet neither he, nor Zuko, nor the fandom seem to realize it.

***

To really understand the issues with Iroh, we need to look at the context behind his actions BOTH in universe and in the sense of "He is a fictional character and can be whatever the fuck the writers say he is."

Iroh as a result of issues with the writting

When Bryan and Michael were still toying with ideas to figure out what story they wanted to tell, Iroh was NOT the character we saw in the show. He was originally meant to be a twist villain who was intentionally giving Zuko terrible advice, to make sure he would never capture the Avatar and be able to come home.

That idea was scrapped and replaced with Iroh being a grey character. He was likeable, nice, and even kind, but he was on the wrong side of this conflict. He could be wise, but he could also give Zuko bad advice, the difference being that he didn't mean any harm and genuinely wanted the best for his nephew. He is far from perfect, but there is more than enough evidence that he can redeem himself.

Then, the writers thought of ANOTHER Iroh. One that had already gone through his redemption and is as perfect as a human being can be. This was the Iroh they decided they wanted.

The problem is that they only realized that was what they wanted in book 2, once they had decided that Azula would be both Aang and Zuko's antagonist, meaning the audience had already seen the morally grey Iroh, and thus they couldn't just go back and rewrite the story with that new version of Iroh in mind.

So, they had three options:

1 - Throw their new idea in the garbage can and stick with the one they had already spent over a season developing.

2 - Give Iroh a deep, complicated, time consuming character arc to lead him from point A to point B. This woudly likely force them to have more than jus the three seasons they were planning, and was a bit of a high risk, high reward situation, since it'd be hard to make a grey character naturally become basically perfect, but it could pay off if they did it right.

3 - Retcon the past season, acting like Iroh was ALREADY perfect and thus didn't need that major character development, pretending he had always been working behind the scenes with the White Lotus to end the war and never acknowledging that he spent all of book 1 trying to help Zuko capture Aang.

Bryke chose option three, and when we combine that with the fact, to this day, they don't seem to realize that Azula is an abuse victim and child soldier, makes Iroh's flaws and antagonism towards her a bug instead of a feature, since he is now meant to be perfect instead of a deliberately flawed character, whose opinions should NOT be taken as absolute truth.

Iroh in universe

When it comes to the Fire Nation royals, we need to remember that, on top dealing with the cicle of abuse, they're also fighting two wars - one against the nations they're invading, and other amongst themselves, to see who will be Fire Lord - that made their already fucked up family even worse.

Ozai tried to steal his brother's throne, and to assure her son wouldn't die, Ursa had to help him commit treason by killing the Fire Lord and usurping the throne of the rightful heir (Iroh). And Zuko, even though he loved Iroh, didn't recognize the fact that his father had no right to throne until the series finale. He went so far as once referring to himself as rightful heir to the throne due to being OZAI and Ursa's son - and that was while he was banished and being hunted down by Azula, who is either the Fire Lord's heir or the usurper's heir depending on whose side you're on.

But why would anyone side with Ozai? Simple: the Fire Nation has a noticeable pattern of thinking ANYTHING is fair in the fight for power, which makes sense considering they're imperialists that think the whole world belongs to them just because they said so.

THAT is how Iroh was raised to see things. Sozin, his gradnfather and Fire Lord, decided that he could murder his best friend, kill 1/4 of the world's population, and take over territory that belong to the other nations just because that was what he wanted to do. Azulon followed in his footsteps, and had no problem sending his own son into the battlefield - something Iroh also did, and then paid the price.

Lu Ten's death shook him to his very core - but it did NOT make him change sides. Neither did Ozai stealing his throne, nor him disfiguring and banishing Zuko. He was so passive by that point that Ozai just allowed him to stay in the Fire Nation, and even be a part of war meetings.

In said meetings, no woman was ever present, because the only three female warriors we see are Azula, Mai and Ty Lee (a princess/prodigy and two noble girls who are best friends with said princess). The only other women in see in anything close to a position as part "Fire Nation army" was the female guard that Iroh befriend AND the guard at the boiling rock. We also know that Azula would have been the first female Fire Lord ever, which all but states that, even if Ozai had been the heir and Azula had been his eldest child, the throne would have still been Zuko's, because women don't get to be rulers in the Fire Nation. It is very likely that being married to a ruler and having his heirs is the highest position a woman could have in their society. Royal and important, sure, but always in a supporting role.

This, obviously, affected Iroh too. While he doesn't really seem to think anything of women being warriors (which makes sense considering he spent life attacking other nations, and thus probably fought women sometimes - we saw women fighting in the Southern Water tribe and let's not forget the Kyoshi Warriors), we cannnot forget he did things like take advantage of the fact that June was paralized to show that he CAN be a bit of a dirty old man, and that his idea of a perfect gift for AZULA of all people was a doll.

However, that doll also reveals something important: Iroh DID once view Azula as a child, and as someone he had some sort of obligation to - hence him being "fair" and getting her a gift too since he had gotten one for her brother.

But the main problem when it comes to Iroh and Azula's relationship (or lack there of) is also clearly already there: Iroh has no idea who his niece is as a person, and assumes he can figure that out by just using some concept of what she "should" be like, based on her position in their society.

At that point, she is just a little girl. Little girls like things like pretty clothes, playing with dolls, and talking with their friends. Not something he can relate to, but not something that gives him a reason to hate her. She is also a princess, and thus important, worthy of praise and respect, and to be protected by all - just not as much as she would be is she were a prince.

But as we know, Ozai sees things differently - but that doesn't exactly means he sees Azula for who she is either. She is the second child, like himself, meaning she is not meant to inherit anything, only support her older brother. She is also a prodigy and incredibly smart, which could make one wonder if maybe she wouldn't be a better Fire Lord than the actual heir. Ozai was projecting onto her from the moment she was born, hence him naming her after the Fire Lord - after his abusive father that never gave a damn about him.

And that leads to another thing that makes Iroh not as perfect as the fandom sees him: Ozai's dynamic with his own children mirrors how Azulon raised him and his brother. One was the good for nothing child, the scapegoat, the disgrace of the family. The other was the golden child, the one who was absolutely perfect - because they HAD to be. Let's not forget that Azulon's idea of defending the rights of his favorite son involved making him grief both for his son AND his nephew. He also didn't give a shit about the fact that Ursa, Azula and especially Zuko, the one whose death he was ordering, had nothing to do with this shit. Azulon believed EVERYONE had to pay because ONE person fucked up.

This suggest that, even being the favorite, Iroh likely got screwed over by his father many times, and his continued support of him until his death AND the fact that he NEVER said a single negative word about him suggests Iroh is looking at Ozai's treatment of Zuko and Azula, seeing their own dynamic with Azulon in it, and thinking there's nothing wrong with it. I've said it many times, but he is the classic case of "That's not abuse! My parents did that to me and I turned out fine!" when they're not, in fact, fine.

Either way, due to still being too broken after losing his son, he isn't interested in this proxy-rivalry with his brother. But he did develop a genuine bond with Zuko - the first-born. the "heir", the son his brother looks down on. Which means he is sort of having a "passive" role in this weird dynamic, while Ozai is holding all the cards, and likely believes that Iroh is only "choosing Zuko's side" because he is also a "useless" son who just happened to have the luck of being born first.

For many years, Iroh isn't acting, he is reacting. Ozai wants the throne? Fine, let him have it, it's not like Iroh is in any condition to actually deal with that kind of stress anyways.

Ozai is playing favorites? Not great, but hey, isn't that what ALL fathers/Fire Lords do anyway? Either way is not like he has the authority to tell his brother how to raise his kids. It's too late for him to fight for the throne now.

Zuko needs someone to help him on his doomed mission to capture the Avatar? Fine, Iroh will go with him. He likes the kid.

The Avatar IS alive after all and Zuko is actively hunting him down? Well, those were the Fire Lord's orders, guess they must capture him.

Zuko wants to go capture the Avatar alone, in enemy territory, at the risk of freezing to death if he doesn't find some decent shelter? Well, it is his mission, he calls the shots.

Zuko is upset that his father doesn't love him? Why not tell him that Ozai DOES love him, and that's why he banished him? There's no way this could backfi- WHY WON'T ZUKO LISTEN TO HIM? WHY IS HE BELIEVING AZULA'S OBVIOUS LIE THAT OZAI WANTS HIM HOME?

But then we have the chain of events that make Iroh snap out of it: Zhao tries to kill Zuko, then kills the moon, and, finally, Ozai sends Azula to capture them.

Nearly losing someone he loved again, having his nation do something ungodly dangerous and stupid just to win more power, and then being actively hunted down forces Iroh to wake up and be the Dragon Of The West again.

But he did not heal. He did not change his mentality. He never understood just how horrible of a situation he was put in by his father - and that he is essentially giving into Ozai's game, in which they use Zuko and Azula as a way to hurt each other.

And we have the final piece of this puzzle: Azula is now, officially, his and Zuko's enemy. She is Ozai's heir, is trying to capture them, and her goals are to help the Fire Nation win the war - something Iroh can no longer accept.

He changed sides, but in his mind it is still "Us VS Them", and Azula now happens to be on the side of "Them." She is a soldier of the enemy, and can rival Iroh's chosen heir.

She is in the way, and in a war, people like Iroh are expected to either capture or kill "obstacles" like her. So, he does that, and expects Zuko to do the same, for his own good, because this is war, and if they don't win, they'll be at Ozai's mercy - and we know he doesn't have much of it to offer.

She is also someone who is going against what is "right." She is rebelling against her uncle and true Fire Lord, as well as her older brother and future ruler. They are above her in the Fire Nation's laws and social hierarchy in every way (status, age, gender, etc), and yet she is supporting a traitor who stole the Fire Lord's throne. She needs to be reminded of her place, and she can either accept that or deal with the consequences.

It never occurs to Iroh that it doesn't have to be this way, because this is all he has ever known.

[dreamrecorder]

Genshin Characters as the Major Arcana

Gentle Reminder: I just based this on a surface knowledge I have about the Arcana from my fave game Persona 3^^ As such, I paired the characters to the arcana with the help of my sis bcos there were some characters that I don’t know much about~ And again this is just fanart :))

That was long ksksks Imma add a commentary under if you feel like reading my thoughts hahaha

Soooooo

Fool: Obviously i was gonna pick the twins since they’re the main characters ksks but other than that- it has to be them because they’re special in a way like they can wield different elements. Zero is an empty number but with vast possibilities.

Magician: It was supposed to be Albedo at first- but persona says magician speaks about immaturity and power. And those two words just fit Klee so much in a good way!! Although-- Klee was supposed to be fortune too but i stuck with magician

Priestess: A woman of wisdom- Ganyu. that’s it haha I was supposed to add Ayaka too but she doesn’t have an official art yet :(

Empress: Lmao do i have to explain why i chose Jean and Ningguang

Emperor: No questions asked- Zhongli is an emperor bow. I didn’t have second thought choosing him lmao

Hierophant: So this one here symbolizes education, authority, and something about divinity and understanding the world. I chose Albedo because as an alchemist he took it upon himself to uncover the truth of the world~

Lovers: EHE no explanation needed~

Chariot: We’ve got victory, self-confidence and command!! I dont think i should explain this that much bcos Diluc is pretty straight forward haha My sister said I should Amber here too and I was about to but didn’t put her here Chariot also means war and Amber is not a war person for me

Justice: I chose xinqiu bcos of his display of justice in his story quest :))

Hermit: This means self-honesty and forging your own path- pretty fitting for Mona and Fischl right? As for Beidou, “why is a pirate a hermit?” Yeah that’s what i asked too when my sister said Beidou should be a Hermit. It makes sense tho- Beidou is a pirate and pirates stay on the sea and far from land and land is where civilization is

Fortune: Qiqi is basically the Preserves of Fortune ^^ As for Bennet, why is our unlucky boi in Fortune? Im soft for Bennet okay I just want to give him more luck and fortune on his way T-T Bennet was supposed to be hanged man but no- My sis said hanged man bcos everything Bennet does might result to more injury and eventually death. So--- NO

Strength: Pretty self-explanatory ^^

Hanged Man: Originally was supposed to be Hu Tao but again- no official art sigh So I chose Chongyun (was supposed to be fortune) This arcana means to take the time necessary for self-reflection and this fits our exorcist bcos he really reflected on how exterminate spirits without the use of his positivity- he wanted to stand by the traditional ways of an exorcist bcos ppl doubt his status as exorcist- yes, reflection for self-improvement

Death: Mr-Bane-of-all-Evil obviously (im so sorry xiao) (I was thinking adding qiqi but thats too cruel for my heart)

Temperance: Balance, synthesis, and harmony- all those for our best girl Sucrose

Devil: Childe- because he was mean in the golden house. Yes he seems to be a good guy but his eyes speak otherwise and i kudos mihoyo for that bcos when i was staring at his eyes in his official art- Dude those eye are empty- you cant read whats he thinking and it bring a sense of mistrust and malice in my way--- Even if I already did his story quest with Teucer that malice is still there for me Fun fact: Lumine was supposed to be the Devil bcos canon-villain but meh still a Fool for her

Tower: Pride and arrogance- a symbol for bad omens (im sorry kaeya) I dont know... something about Kaeya’s aura just tells me somthing bad will happen to him considering his origin- be it bcos of his pride or other things, Kaeya sends me red flags sometimes

Star: A hope in the dark. Barbara is self-explanatory and Diona is a personal experience ahaha- my first time fighting a ruin guard gone wrong and diona saved my ass ksks

Moon: Creativity, inspiration, dreams, and fantasy- all of these which Venti personifies as a bard and the Archon of Song

Sun: Xiangling and Amber brings joy to everyone and anyone, making them the sun

Judgment: I had difficulty picking for this arcana- but it all came down to Keqing. Keqing is a very serious person. She basically personifies logic and rationality- Whenever she declares that the time of the adepti are over- I know she speaks this without baseless judgment as she observes the progress of liyue and humanity in general

World: Dainsleif knows everything and anything and i was kinda spooked out by that in his story quest

AAAAAAAND THATS IT- this was one long post but hey i enjoyed this mini project of mine. I lost my sanity cleaning these cards and characters but thanks to my sugar high I managed hahahaha if you have some thoughts, feel free to share them and if you feel like you wanna speak about your perspective which conflicts mine- pls be gentle commenting ahahaha again this just fanart

[soranis-sunshadow]

Hordak can’t catch a break even on his birthday...

Oh fandom, you really like this sort of drama don’t you? 

A few days ago, on Hordak’s birthday, there was this ‘interesting’ post in the tag – since, apparently it’s impossible to get any peace even on that day.

I was  too tired to answer it at the time after being on call the day before so, here’s my delayed answer to all of that:

First off: this post has this bit in it when asked what that person dislikes about SPOP.

 He doesn’t need to get a redemption and he doesn’t get one in the show. 

None of his actions constitute a redemption arc. The man merely acknowledged his personhood and freed himself from his master and God. That’s what his arc was about: the right to have a personal identity. 

He gave himself a name and wanted to be his own person. That’s it. That’s all he wanted.

The man was merely freed from Prime’s influence- an influence he was born into since he’s been specifically manufactured to serve as a disposable mass produced soldier and worshipper of Prime.

 If the argument that Catra was “forced” to commit crimes and thus she is not completely guilty of them since she was under duress – then the argument doubly holds for a person who has been directly programmed and conditioned to do so under the threat of death or mental rape (purification).\

Even while away from Prime, he was still conditioned to obey and brainwashed by Prime’s cult. He literally knew nothing else – he was not meant to. It’s how indoctrination works.  

Prime’s clones aren’t people to Prime, they are tools. Those clones, while cut off from Prime still want to serve and please him: That’s what Wrong Hordak’s purpose in the show is- to show us just that.

Hordak is not considered “OK”  because Entrapta likes him. Hordak is merely shown – by Entrapta that he could live apart from his cult and have worth outside what Prime tells him he has. 

Just like real life cult victims, he needs an outsider to help him see a way out of the cult. The nature of indoctrination and brainwashing makes it impossible for the brainwashed person to know they are brainwashed unless someone points it out.

Now for my favorite thing:

and

oh and

Oh boy… this makes me just so damn uncomfortable.

To offer a bit of context as to why. I have never been on social media before SPOP or in any fandom and as such, I have never encountered the ‘all men are evil’ discourse that seems to infest these places. It’s been quite a bit of culture shock for me. 

What is it that makes anyone think it is ok to judge a person because of an accident of birth? (being born male)

Why does hate for 50% of the human population get such a free pass on these platforms? Misandry is just as terrible as misogyny. You are being biased against another human because of their gender. I don’t care that males are perceived as ‘privileged’ – that doesn’t make it ok to be terrible to them unprovoked. 

How does hating all men help achieve equity?

Do you realize that this sort of discourse is exactly how you radicalize people against the very cause you are championing? You breed hate and adversity for the rest of us who actually want to to have a discussion on the topic. 

I’m a feminist myself (in a country where feminism is hard-work) and let me tell you, making all men hate us does nothing but push away potential allies and make it a lot harder for our voices to be heard.

Feminism is about equality, not women dominating.

Now onto the second post: the one comparing Catra and Hordak with the question of which of them is a better person. 

This whole war orphans that were personally abducted and tortured into serving the horde HC that some ppl have is really starting to get boorish. This has been going on for more than 6 months. 

I have no idea why everyone thinks he went down chimneys and stealing babies left and right while cackling villainously. The man had a busy schedule of brooding in his lab, wallowing at his inability to use insulated cables and having his device blowing up in his face with the occasional Skype call to Shadow Weaver to see what the Horde is doing. 

And yet, to a part of the fandom, this is what he looked like:

( @bat-burrito​ made this one and it’s glorious) 

And if you don’t believe me about the lab recluse thing, you don’t have to, the show pretty much states it for me. 

and 

+

Hordak is a recluse that stayed in his lab and let the running of the Horde and most operations to Shadow Weaver and later Catra. He did not personally abuse anyone and he is not the origin of the cycle of abuse.

Shadow Weaver was a child grooming manipulative woman before she even joined the Horde – she did this to Micah while she was not “evil” or presumably abused by Hordak.

Even if you want to HC that Hordak abused her somehow, he is still not the one who started the cycle: Horde Prime is. 

The whole fandom seems to forget about the eldritch monstrosity that created a whole army of brainwashed slaves to worship and die for him. Prime is the one that sent Hordak to die and gave him the motivation to try to prove himself worthy of life and love. If you want to point fingers, point them at the origin of all of this. This fandom has a strange Prime blindness. He is never talked about when it comes to being the start of all of this.

If Prime didn’t exist, Hordak wouldn’t exist. If Prime hadn’t sent Hordak off to die, then his clone wouldn’t have accidentally ended up on Etheria. None of the things in the show would have happened.

Adora would have died of exposure in a field, the monarchies on Etheria would have continued as they are and the planet would have continued to exist in despondos. 

He is a dictator, yes. So are the princesses. Monarchies are dictatorships where the ruler is born into power. Hordak gained his through military might while Glimmer was born with hers and enforced it with tradition. I don’t really care to play “who’s the better dictator”. The princesses have their power because of the runestones- magical rocks put there by the First Ones to channel the planet’s magic and use it as a weapon. How come no one talks about that?

Do you think a king/queen keeps their crown without effort or subjugation of their subjects? 

Also, Hordak had never interacted with Catra before SW dragged her before him to be judged. He was indifferent to etherians in general and didn’t seem to care which of them were his underlings so long as the operations were running smoothly. He was more focused on his portal and returning home than on anything else. He did not set out to “ruin lives” or quest for power. What he wanted was to return to his deity and become a mindless part of the whole again – that is as opposite to power hungry as you can get.

Catra was directly abused by Shadow Weaver throughout her childhood. That makes Shadow weaver responsible for 100% of that abuse.

Catra was found in a box by Adora and adopted by Shadow Weaver. Hordak didn’t know or care that she existed.

He is responsible for the war, he is responsible for the war casualties and the property damage. He is not responsible for Shadow Weaver being a terrible person and mother figure.

Again with the orphan thing. We have 5 cadets in the show. 

Adora was found in a field. 

Catra was found in a box. Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio are unexplained. The only lizard ppl we see in the show are in the Horde or the Crimson Wastes. The other two could just as well be the children of some of the soldiers. 

I may harp on about what a bitch Shadow Weaver is – the reason I do so is because she is legitimately terrible to the two girls in her care.

I was the unfavorite growing up, I WAS the Catra in my family who could do no right while my sibling was the golden child. I don’t however hate Shadow Weaver. She is a cartoon character in a show and she does the things she was written to do. Hell, she is a very compelling and believable villain. Her motivations are clear and she is consistent. Her voice actress portrayed her splendidly and her character design is superb. I like her but that doesn’t mean that I don’t acknowledge her role in the story. I don’t however make up parts of the story to make her more evil than she was or treat my headcanons about her as absolute fact. 

Again, sigh: Prime is the worst villain in the show. He is quite literally Nyarlathotep and does this to planets: 

 This to people: 

and this to the people he created to serve, worship and love him: 

How is that not worse?

I love Catra and it genuinely annoys me when people erase her agency or try to paint her as one-dimensional victim. Catra was an antagonist for most of the show and she rocked it! She was 400% more efficient at it than cloneboy. Give the queen some damn respect and recognition! Catra had a lot of agency and her actions moved the plot of the show more than those of the protagonists. (they were mostly reactive).

Catra pulled the lever of the portal in a moment of distress after a breakdown, a Shadow-Weaver related breakdown because that’s how trauma works.

Hordak didn’t make her do it, he didn’t send Catra after Adora either. These were Catra’s choices. They came from a place of hurt but they were her choices still.

The portal was a means of transportation, not a weapon. Building it was not Catra’s mission, it was Hordak’s. He built it so he could contact Prime and either summon him here or go home –whichever course of action Prime wanted. Again, Hordak wanted to go back to this:

...

The only person who knew the device was dangerous was Entrapta and she tried to warn Hordak about it. Catra was the one who stopped her, violently so, then sent her to die on Beast Island- the fate Entrapta saved her from a season ago. Catra then tried to have Hordak open the portal before it was ready.

When he wouldn’t – she pulled the lever herself because that is how desperate she had gotten at that point, to show Shadow Weaver how wrong she was. That is how hurt Catra was by her mother figure’s betrayal and abuse.

Don’t take that away from her. Don’t call it curiosity or naivete or whatever. She knew the portal was dangerous but she wanted to prove Shadow Weaver wrong so badly that she didn’t care at that point. She had been pushed that far. 

Catra’s actions led to Angella’s death but she was not directly responsible for it. She didn’t activate the device to kill Angella, it merely happened accidentally. Catra was however glad it happened and wanted to profit from the aftermath of her death.  

Hordak didn’t care or plan to kill Angella personally. There is no in-show moment where any of that is portrayed. Since he doesn’t care about the specifics of running the horde seem to know what they are conquering at the moment, it seems that that was usually a task reserved for his second in command. 

^ - troop movement ordered by Catra

Hordak doesn’t even know what his own army is doing.

Again with the Hordak “drilling into orphan’s minds”… I seriously doubt that any of them had ever seen him out of his lab or that he came up with the propaganda himself.

Manipulation is more Shadow Weaver’s game not his. For all of Hordak’s faults, he is not deceptive or manipulative. If anything, he is woefully incapable of spotting lies. (it might have something to do with him being born in a society where lies were almost impossible because of the hive mind and Prime being able to browse his thoughts at a whim- as such, it wouldn’t be a skill he would have been able to develop).

Hordak canonically despises deception and lies.  I really don’t understand where this image of a manipulative and cunning Hordak comes from. He wouldn’t be able to plot himself out of a paper bag if his life depended on it.

First off.. S4 Catra was his equal, not his subordinate. Don’t take that away from her. She earned it.

He doesn’t look that threatening here... 

And again:  Prime created the system. He made clone slaves and programmed them to serve. His clones have hardware installed for the express reason to facilitate his control over them. He has a religion in place to make sure their thoughts do not stray from his purpose. I am legitimately boggled by this fandom’s tendency to completely forget about his existence.Does anyone really think that these people that are born “prechipped” and programmed to know nothing but Prime’s Light are really knowledgeable about human morality?

That they would know that conquest is bad when that is the express reason for their creation? 

If I were born in that situation, I’m not sure I would have known any better. Hell, if any of the clones even try to disobey Prime, they would get either mindraped (erased) or killed for the effort. They really have no choice, even if they knew that killing in Prime’s name is wrong (they don’t) they really can’t do anything about it. They have no choice but to be what they were made to be. I find it personally abhorrent when these designer slaves are held accountable for what Prime has made them do.

And to the people that say Hordak was free of Horde Prime once he was stranded on Etheria.. That is not how indoctrination works. The fact that I can’t go to church this Sunday because I’m locked in the house and can’t find the keys doesn’t make me an atheist.

Hordak was serving Prime even on Etheria. He keeps mentioning it to both Entrapta and Catra. He started the war because that’s what he thought Prime wanted of him and that’s what he’s been programmed to do. Personal and informed choice really doesn’t factor into his decision at all.

He is not sympathetic because Entrapta likes him. Notice how I haven’t brought up his relationship with her up to this point?

He is sympathetic because he literally had no choice but to do the things he was indoctrinated into doing. He was build and programmed for it, just like all the other clones. They are not able to deviate from that because of the way Prime functions and rules over them.

There is no point in the show where Hordak relishes over his status as a ruler or the “luxury” it affords him. He does not engage in the same behaviors his progenitor manifests.

There is no point in the show where Hordak relishes over his status as a ruler or the “luxury” it affords him. He does not engage in the same behaviors his progenitor manifests. He attempts to emulate Prime in order to project authority in the only way he knows how but since those are some really big shoes to fill, he is woefully inadequate. 

If Hordak had been power hungry, he would have stayed in despondos and ruled his own faction. Being away from Prime is the most powerful and autonomous he’s ever been and yet, he wants to throw all of that away in order to be a powerless, nameless part of the whole. What Hordak wanted was to be enslaved by Prime because that’s what he had been created for.

“vengeful” – and how did Hordak manifest this vengefulness? Who did he take revenge on in the series?  

“apologize” – when and where in his 3 minutes of screentime would he remember everything after 2 mindwipes, realize that the whole worldview he had since inception is wrong, realize that he had been mistaken into doing the horrible things he did and then go to all of the characters and apologize for it?

Would anyone be convinced of that had it happened in 3 minutes? I’d rather they don’t redeem him than do a shit job at it.

Very true. He’s not a better person. He’s just a person in an impossible situation. Both Hordak and Catra were handed a raw deal, I don’t understand why everyone insists on pitting them against one another. They both did bad things and they were both in horrible situations. The specifics don’t really matter since neither of them would have done the things they did had they been more fortunate.

This is the exact reason for which I don’t hold Cara’s actions against her. Catra’s only model of success was Shadow Weaver. She emulated her abusive mother figure because she had no other example and because she wanted to please that woman. It does not excuse the way Catra acted but it explains it.

I really don’t understand why some people want Catra punished. I’d rather she get love and help. That is what she needs. In time, she will want to do better and be better by herself. She doesn’t need to be forced, heavens know, she’s been forced enough as it is.

They are really different. Catra got an abusive, shitty and violent childhood. Hordak got this:

He was literally robbed of a childhood. 

She was taught by Shadow Weaver that weakness gets you killed. Hordak was not allowed to have emotions to begin with, or thoughts of his own, or a name...

Comparing to victims of abuse to see which one of them is more likable is such a strange concept to me.

Catra was robbed in s5 too. I don’t hold that against her. I  blame it on the writers. S5 could have been a lot better. 

[seijorhi]

asks :))

what i have learned today is that y’all wanna get fucked by some monsters...

What does nostos mean? What language is it in? 🤔 also I of course loved it, mind blown as usual queen

it’s ancient greek! it means homecoming, the idea of a triumphant return home for the hero after a long journey. i found it through looking at the root of nostalgia. in this fic of course it’s kind of a grim tongue in cheek play on it. the reader’s coming back to the mountains, but she’s running away after a bad breakup, and the welcome she gets is... shall we say less than ideal haha

Just read nostos-

First of all as a person who reads monster shit- hell ya. Mhm. That’s some good shit right there. That was DELICIOUS horror. It actually had me a bit nervous and afraid to read what was gonna happen next 😳

Secondly- omg I wanna know what happened next (at the end) 👀 know what I mean??? 😼

ANYWAY AS ALWAYS you never disappoint and your writing is fantastic (if/when you write horror yandere stuff again I’ll be there- frothing at the mouth. A+++++ work ILY💖)

you want me to write the monster porn, just say it bby ghfjdkshgfjkd but ty

Omfg that fic was so good!

Did the readers mom know about monster kuroo?? Or was she just worried because of the previous murder? And did Kuroo somehow manipulate reader into coming back to the forest or was it just a big coincidence? (👁👄👁 there's no such thing as a coincidence)

Looking forward to your future work <3

ty nonnie!! i didn’t have the right space for it, but after kohsuke was ripped apart and eaten kuroo stayed by the reader’s side until late in the night, only disappearing when he heard the reader’s parents/search party approaching. they found her lying in pools of blood (and scattered half eaten body parts), shaking and unresponsive – they knew no animal could’ve done something like that. so they knew something lurked in those woods, but considering the reader had repressed the memories, her mom couldn’t just come out and say it <33

You are an AMAZING horror writer!!!

The uneasiness I got from the conversations with the mom is just *chefs kiss*

A+++++

ahh thank you!! horror is such a hard genre to write because i’m never sure if the suspense and everything’s gonna hit right haha

I read Nostos before going to sleep last night and at the time I was like “sure hope this doesn’t give me nightmares” and thankfully it didn’t lol. But I think I’m willing to take that chance again because it’s so GOOD and I think I’m just going to have to relive it – @ohno-otome

fhdjgbfhjkdfn i’m glad it didn’t give you nightmares bby!! but i also appreciate that haha, i’m an absolute wimp with scary movies and stuff but i just can’t stop watching them haha

I just wanna say that I was listening to "You're a psychotic villain playlist" on youtube while reading Kuroo's oneshot and I can't explain the emotions I felt, but I'd let Kuroo do things to me asdfghjkl – @itishebihime-samaforyou

ooh nice! sometimes the right playlist makes things doubly as fun haha

OH MY GOD!?!?! Nostos was soooo GOOD?!?!? Like it was so creepy (but in a good way), and scary and suspenseful!! And the ending!?!? Omggg honestly one my fav fics from you!! You did my mans Kuroo justice 🥺💖💕

TYYYYYYY i was genuinely concerned i was gonna scare everybody off haha

Ah! The new fic! Chiefs kiss! Magnificent! Bravo!🧚‍♀️✨🧞‍♀️🦖🦭🌹💫

tysm nonnie!!! <33

i’m pretty sure i’m in the same/similar timezone as you? and i do be staying up late to be one of the first to read your fics (i usually stay up late anyways). so imagine my surprise when i see you post in the afternoon. in conclusion, whether you post to align with your european and american readers’ timezone, my gmt+10 arse will still be one of the first to read your fics. also nostos sjdufigyyjf i have to admit, i recently just found out about monster fucking and nostos scratched the itch😫 i feel bad for kohsuke though

bby i always post at like 2-4 in the morning please get some sleep!! the fics will be there in the morning lmao. i kinda low key forget about my aussie/gmt+10 followers because i think there’s like... 3 of you haha

Honestly if i could give u a dollar everytime i got off to your fics, you'd probably be rich by now

lmao the idea that people find my fics hot enough to get off to still blows my mind lol

your newest kuroo fic was so SO good!! its totally okay if you dont want to answer this so you can keep things ambiguous but is monster kuroo planning on killing the reader after he's...done with them

thank you, bby!! but no, monster kuroo isn’t gonna eat her – he’s had plenty of chances to do that if that’s what he wanted, but he has other plans for the poor reader

RHI, I WANT TO STATE FOR THE RECORD THAT I AM OKAY WITH MORE MONSTER FUCKING IN THE FUTURE. i also want to say im not a monster fucker, but that just feels like a lie at this point. okay, now that that's off my chest, i love it. the mystery, the connections of kuroo to a cat. kuroo's probably gonna go and batter around his prey once they're under his grip like my cat does. hopefully the reader will come out somewhat unscathed, if they are ever allowed to leave 😌 love this, love how different it is, the way kuroo just tries to weasel in. very monster and yandere vibes, very you. have i said i love this yet?? id willingly let him get me drunk on his cock, maybe never leave the peace of the mountains again

‘i want to say that i’m not a monster fucker’ bby the denial will get you nowhere haha. just lean in and embrace it hgfjkdlkfgjnkdl ahh but thank you this is such a sweet ask ILY!!!

Omg omg the monster thing kuroo was in ur latest fic is so familiar to me abdhdmfnjfjf. I remember being told abt a monster with VERY SIMILAR characteristics to it (aka the not being able to go inside a house unless invited and using fire to lure ppl out) AND JFC IT TERRIFIED ME. Esp how when i told ppl around me and they didnt recognize what it was, but it was somehow known to the kid that told me abt it.

(Some ppl thought it was familiar but still didnt know what it was)

Do u know what im talking abt? Hopefully u do

-🥚

GHFJDK so the monster in this is kind of based off the nekomata spirit in japanese folklore - they can appear like people, torment victims by reanimating the corpses of their loved ones, they’ve been blamed for forest fires, so it was just fun to use that as a basis and then go buck wild haha. anyway thanks for the ask bby!

Rest In Peace Kohsuke, you would’ve loved Haikyuu season 5😔✊– @joyvstheworld

poor kohsuke deserved better, i’m just mean to the oc’s i throw into fics haha

Monsterfucking ❤❤❤❤❤❤ a little annoyed you're making me simp for yan Kuroo though (a vibe tho tbh). You're so extremely talented!!!! &

This is probably a stupid question, but how did Kageyama react when he couldn't find y/n? How is life with yan Suga? I imagine probably awful BUT yknow maybe the stockholm syndrome set in fast lmao. Sorry, I'm going on a binge reading your stuff. - @oracleofdin

i will not apologise for making you simp for kuroo he deserves it the man’s a snacc. and as far as your second question, suga’s a very caring, very smothering kinda yandere, so i guess in some ways it’s better than what the reader had with kageyama but... pick your poison haha

That was so good. I’m so shook rn I can’t comprehend anything but how good that was and how good a writer you are

TYSM NONNIE!!! <33

Ok, so, I just read Final Girl and the lil' ticket addition to it and just---

Well, ok I've been playing Dead by Daylight a lot lately? And I'm just picturing Tetsu as the newest killer "The Trickster" and I'm positively RANDY.

Your writing is ALREADY thirst inducing and just as satisfying, but this has SENT ME- If you're not familiar, please...

https://youtu.be/iowkiPobYYQ

Understand my thirst. (I'd also like to clarify, I use a different skin for him that gives him black hair and he looks like Kuroo with an undercut.)

~ @the-casual-hedonist 🌸

i love how feral y’all got for final girl kuroo. like bo and akaashi had his fans, but i put a spiked bat in kuroo’s hands and y’all lost your goddamn minds and i love to see it. fghdjkvhfjdkls thanks for the ask bby

idk why but I love preggo reader as long as I don't pretend it's me 😢✋ I hate babies n pregnancy anywhere else other than horny haikyuu fics

i think that’s a valid thing for a lot of fans. the idea of breeding is sexy, the actual getting pregnant and having a kid thing... not so much. but especially with non-con scenario’s, it’s more about the aspect on control than the actual desire to have kids. but yeah, i feel you

Sorry to bother but uh was just wondering in fracture did Osamu kill his wife or was it actually an “unfortunate event” ? Love your work btw!!

he most certainly did :))

LMFAO RHI i totally get not liking cheating/infidelity fics (towards reader) bc IT HIRTS ME SO BAD I CANNOT HANDLE THOSE.

id be reading fics those fics like: tf you mean my yandere aimt gonna baby me and only want me??🤨🤨🤨⁉️‼️

EXACTLY! listen i get that it’s a fucked up fantasy, but in my fucked up fantasy you damn well better have the decency to be loyal smh

Finders keepers is the most beautiful thing I've read by you: I read it twice like I normally do and here's what I figured out the second time (that's when I analyze it and find the little tidbits of things that are much darker than they appear (: )

To start I LOVE THE DETAILS OF THEM NEVER TEACHING READER ANYTHING- at first I assumed "oh they might see her as a little sister or child or something" but realized thAT WAS THE ISSUE!! they infantilize her and isolate her from everyone but her group. the small details like that are what make the story amazing 😎💅

ahh thank you so much, nonnie!! pls this is making me soft 🥺

I just wanted to stop by and say that I love your writing and I hope you're doing well!!! Drink plenty of water and keep up the amazing work :) but seriously you're one of the best fanfic writers I've seen on tumblr! I read your "Imitation" piece about kuroo and i keep coming back to it, it's so good! I did want to ask if you think it'd be possible for the reader to ever escape with the baby (or at least attempt to). Or if Kenma would "help" at all just to put an end to kuroo's antics lmao

kenma would in no way help the reader, and tbh by that point if kuroo did get her pregnant, she’d be far too emotionally dependant on him to actually even want to leave, but thanks for the ask!

You know who I think would be a perfect Yandere in the JJK world? Choso.

🚨Spoilers Ahead🚨

After being locked in a glass jar for however long he was, and all that happened with his brothers, I feel like he would absolutely never let his darling out of his sight. He would be possessive. Obsessive. And Oh So delusional. Sure he’d be your anything - he truly is a softy - but to what end?🤤

choso would make an excellent yandere, ngl 😌

what au/troupe of your fav character(s) that you have written do you like the most?

(rlly hope this makes sense🙏)

i am always a slut for soulmate au’s :))

[papers4me]

Fascinating concepts in Golden Kamuy Manga ( part 2)

In part 1, I listed 3 concepts that I find intriguing in Golden Kamuy ( GK), I provided short explanation of these concepts but due to issues of space couldn’t provide more examples. The previous 3 concepts were: (1). Broken men of war & death, (2) Fun dynamics & journey companion  does not equal close friendships, & (3) Perspective is where characters are truly at. In total I have 9 concepts but intend to post 3 at a time. So, here we go~

4. What breaks men of war: ( emotional ties)

in my previous post, I’ve mentioned that these men of war are not fazed by death & some are even obsessed with it. goldenkamuyhunting has kindly added that they are affected by the death of those whom they’re emotionally connected to, and provided examples. very true. However, I want to look at this concept from another perspective. As much as the constant brush with death has hardened their hearts & stole chunks of their humanity, all the characters are still human. Their humanity isn’t mostly displayed in how they treat strangers/ enemies, or men on the other side, it is presented on how easily they crumble down once you press the right button: their loved ones. They have strong emotional ties that can break them down, even now after they’ve become so drenched in blood. These ties are mostly connected to ppl who are the reason of their current perspective or their past selves. Sugimoto, the ruthless, breaks down in tears at the memory of toraji, at the idea of failing Yumi, at the thought seeing Asripa become like him: a killer. These emotional ties break him into tears & self loathing frenzy. Sadistic Nikaidou not only mourn his brother, but becomes a shell of a man, delusional, erratic, addicted to drugs & hollow. Tsukishima, Tsurumi’s right hand who kills with no hesitation, becomes all sorts of mess at the thought of Igogusa: anger, tears, loss, despair, explosive rage, self-loath coupled with low self-esteem. Tsurumi himself, the man who fondly remember running thro rain of blood, was so affected by the murder of his wife & daughter to the point of not being able to restrain himself. (many examples) but the point is, I applaud the writer for not going the path of writing these characters as emotionless hard cold blooded war veterans. They have emotions & can break into sobs. You might think they’re unable to form new emotional ties, but some can, sugimoto formed healthy independent ties with shirashi! But the issue is not the new ties. The real issue is these men of war not yet dealing with the old emotional ties from their past. Those ties are eating them from the inside. The pain is still raw!

5. Excellent portrayal of unstable psyche:

Some of these men, due to the past emotional ties, have developed unstable thinking & deep troubling thought process & reasoning coupled with the ugly brutality of war. Other writers will simply write men such as Tsurumi or Ogata as mad guys, crazy & lunatic. But Noda chose a deeper more logical & intriguing approach. Their behavior shows elements of unstable & deeply trouble thinking; little boy Ogata poisoning his mother & Tsurumi’s infatuation of being a soul snatching shinigami. What they have done is unexcused & cannot be corrected. However, they are not mindless lunatics. Both characters are mysterious & rarely allowed to have inner monologue abt their true goal. Both play on different sides & have gone through some personal journey to solidify their nihilistic belief. Both goes even deeper into the depth of seemingly unstable thought process. Ogata, lacking family love, questions the concept of pity, mercy & compassion. Embarks on a journey to prove that he’s not alone in feeling no guilt over human death. That his tragic thinking is not up-normal. Other ppl exist like me. ppl other than weird Usami. Nothing is wrong with me, so father should accept me. So tragic. Yet Ogata even with this unstable thinking is portrayed as smart with analytic thinking, skilled, seemingly not swayed by manipulators & very perceptive! Same goes for Tsurumi, extremely manipulated, cunning, intelligent & sweet talker, but was shown as a loving father as he held his daughter in his hand in most of his Japanese language teaching scenes with wilk in Russia. His family’s death deeply troubled him & changed him into the monster he’s currently is. Obsessed with their bones. Not mourning them yet. His position as the story’s villain adds to this but in a very balanced way. There are more examples, such as Usami & a number of the tattooed convicts. But the point is the writer treats the characters as human, who are capable of unstable obsession & thinking, yet can display normal behavior & excellent logical thinking as well.

( btw: I’m not putting any character with the same scale as the other, or saying they’re equal or identical. They are NOT.  I’m simply looking at a ting aspect from their behavior in light of the concept they share) 

6. No heroes:

I duno abt you. But I don’t sense that this is a story of a bunch of alliances saving the day against the big baddie. I could be wrong tho. But this story has sth that is lacking from most stories, which is: each side have winning points as much as loosing points. Meaning each side has arguments that can lead to their logical success as much as arguments that sheds some light on the holes in their plans. Even the argument that says minority groups should have their own land with their own culture, while very just in concept, the application is quite complicated. A group of ppl with no strong army sitting on a land of rich resources won’t be left alone by other nations. It never happened in the real world, & while GK is fiction, it is safe to say that Noda is aware of this as he made Tsurimi himself point this out in ch,271. Even if the minority groups get their land, they can’t preserve their own culture if they continue their old ways without adapting into new generations & without reaching out to the outside world. Once again Trsumi pointed this out while talking abt japan itself. I duno how Noda plans to solve this. But This is not even exclusive to the Auni/Japan/Russia situation. Again, the story itself is way bigger than that. Each character is not even the hero of their own story. Asirpa’s trauma of finding herself shouldering the burden of an entire culture while struggling to have a normal selfish goal like any normal girl. Sugimoto becoming her body guard while she solves an issue that he himself isn’t that much interested in! he just wanted her to be happy. More importantly he wants her to NOT be like him. Living thro Asripa while he should be trying to figure out his own path, rather than looking for salvation thro the innocent angelic Asipra or becoming a human skinning tool to get the money for Ume’s eyes treatment when she herself never asked him to! Tsukushima, desperately trying to believe that there’s at least some bigger picture good for following Trsurmi, that all the years of blood stinky hands can mean sth, somehow, in the future, so may examples. But I love the concept of grey characters so dearly, no heroes, no angels.

Disclaimer:

I know my explanation for each argument & each concept & the examples I provide can be misunderstood. But I assure you that each time I provide an example, I’m looking at a tiny aspect of a deeply complex & intriguing character that cannot be summarized into one or two concepts & is bigger than to be compared to other characters as well. Each concept is shared by a number of characters but with different approach, level & reasoning behind it. If I want to discuss a certain character in depth, I’ll do that in a post dedicated for them  alone.

Lastly, This is just a fraction of my personal opinion abt the story & characters. I’m not claiming this is how they are truly written or this how Noda intended it or even that you should share my thoughts. I just think this manga is so darn good & rich with fascinating characters!

[pctaldrunk]

@yuanre​ asked   :   001: TGCF  -   send me a fandom/ship/character (accepting)

I split this into 3 cause it’s way too long to answer in one : ‘ ) 

001 | send me a fandom and i will tell you my:

favorite character:     It’s gotta be Xie LIan. Whole other post HERE about why, really, but it’s gotta be Xie Lian.

least favorite character:     You know, good question. This is one of those books where I like...don’t have clear dislikes? Like I don’t dislike a singular character in this whole thing completely (not even Bai Wuxiang, who, In his Calamity Form, I honestly view as more of a symbol than a character at times). Honestly I think all of them are...kind of fine tbh. But if I really had to, I guess...I’m not particularly fond of Rong Guang? I understand the narratives but I also like...am kind of shrug about him in general? Also man’s super noisy (and not even in the Qi Rong way) so like...ehhhhh.

5 favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Hualian (obviously), fengqing, xianle trio ot3 (and every leg of the ot3), pei xiu / banyue (idk what the ship name is or if ppl actually ship this but like...that good childhood friends vibe...I’m a ho sorry...), obligatory “I think Yushi Huang/Xuanji Would Be Neat”

character i find most attractive:     Look...look...if I was Hua Cheng and Xie Lian in his whole 太子悦神 get up flew into the air and caught me as I was falling to certain death...I would also be in love with him in 0.3 seconds and stay in love with him for the next 800 years...so there you go, that’s your answer.

character i would marry: ...Yin Yu. Idk, steady job, generally unwavering morals, not intimidating to talk to, we’d both look like Side Character A standing next to everyone else, I get a fluffy adoptive child quan yizhen by extension - sounds like a good life ok.

character i would be best friends with:     Can I be besties w/ Yushi Huang’s ox idk I just think that’d be neat fjsdlaflskdajf

a random thought:     I literally send a prayer to Ling Wen before I take a test now...call me superstitious but like, the first time I did that I aced my inorganic final...so it’s just Become a Thing That I Do. Also man, I wonder what the real earth master was like. Huuuuh.

an unpopular opinion:     I don’t know if I have an unpopular opinion about T.GCF. Uh, well, I guess I could reveal that I’m a Heartless Bitch and the Black Water Arc Angst....didn’t do much to me emotionally oops. Like I wasn’t spoiled or anything really, so the twist was like, A Good Plot Twist, but other than that I like...was like “rip” and not much else hhhh. Mostly I was shook by how much of a madlad He Xuan is lmao  Like my man literally pOPPED SHI WUDU’S HEAD OFF LIKE HE’S A LEGO MAN. I also? Don’t? Really? Ship? B.eefleaf? But in a like, “I don’t really care” way and not a “this is my notp” way so it’s okay don’t come at me with pitchforks or nothing -

my canon otp:     Hualian takes the cake sorry. There’s just. I don’t think I’ve seen a more wholesome ship in my entire life. They hit me in all the right places and I cry and conjure up brainrot about them...daily. Every night I go to bed with hualian brainrot and wake up with hualian brainrot.

my non-canon otp:     A good question? I’m still, like, sticking my feelers out into this fandom re: ships that Aren’t Canon or at least very popularly adjacent to canon. I wouldn’t say I feel super strongly about any of them yet, they’re just, all floating about somewhere.

most badass character:     Probably I have to give this one to Hua Cheng. He threw down against 33 gods and w o n and also jjokes around while he duels Junwu, come on - it doesn’t really get More Badass Than That : ‘ D

most epic villain:    Bai Wuxiang, Xie LIan’s (and my) sleep paralysis demon, lmao

pairing i am not a fan of:     Quanyin? Is that the ship name? Sorry, as mentioned...somewhere else, I’m Incapable of seeing Quan Yizhen as anything other than a Fluffy Child. They can be bros shhh. Also some people out there in the great wide world ship Lang Qianqiu w/ Qi Rong, which is just......extremely counter-intuitive to me, but like, you do you I guess???

character i feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):     I don’t think this is a character so much as it is a plot arc but while I’m on the Lang Qianqiu kick: they absolutely under-used him, like he was there for 1/4 of an arc and then he was gone lmao. Same w/ the sub-arc w/ Jian Lan and Cuo Cuo’s accusing a guy who killed them (cause like...it’s not Mu Qing, obviously hhh). Like, I could not discern why these things were in the book except for...plot device, and neither was really...resolved? I also do wish we’d gotten a lot more of Hua Cheng’s backstory pre-Xie Lian + pre-soldier + post dissipating as Wu Ming. in text. I understand that it wasn’t like...like, there wasn’t necessarily a good place to put it, but I would’ve liked an extra or two.

favourite friendship:     Xianle Trio Xianle Trio XIanle Trio repeat important things x 3.

character i most identify with:     I don’t want to say Xie Lian but I too have that “the can’s already broken so why not throw it on the ground it’s not like I can break it more” attitude about myself. So. Uh.

character i wish i could be:     Not to be unoriginal but like...Yushi Huang. That woman has massive 大道无为 energy and is like....at peace with what she does and knows where she’s going and is uninfluenced by the world and obsession and like...I just want to be at that stage of my personal cultivation already hhhh.

[nxrthmizu]

| the detective and the blue-eyed fox | ch.4

»»——⍟——««

title | denial will be your downfall 

prompt | detective and criminal AU (Oh my god how did I go from that prompt to this) 

pairing | Damian Wayne x Marinette Dupain-Cheng 

words | 1.9k 

author’s note | I enjoyed writing this so much! :3 ppl out there on ao3 being like ‘omg I can’t wait to see what happens’ and I’m here like ‘yeah I can’t wait to see what happens too I haven’t figured it out yet’ 

 »»——⍟——««

| beginning | previous part | ao3 | 

»»——⍟——««

What, exactly, had Marinette been expecting, you ask? 

Anything except Damian Wayne somehow uncovering her alter-ego (Both of them, might she add) and acquiring the miraculous of the black cat under two days. She had to admit, she knew he was something- That's why she recruited his help in her desperate search for Chat Noir's former miraculous- But in under two days? That was just appalling. 

And if you had told Damian Wayne three months ago that he would, three months later, be sitting in his apartment across his coworker, who had been moonlighting as Gotham’s newest vigilante, Lan, and also happened to be Paris’s former superhero who fought villains induced by butterflies (Of all things), accompanied by two practically-god creatures that were the size of flying mice, he would’ve called the mental hospital. Not to mention that they were discussing the murder of her former partner slash newly appointed CEO of Agreste Enterprises. Throw in the fact that the murderer happened to be a musician who probably had a crush on her civilian identity and wanted to use magic jewellery to bring back his crush’s parents, and the whole thing just sounded like a fifth-grader’s vivid imagination. 

He had considered admitting himself into the mental hospital, but at that point he was way too invested in the ‘case’. 

“Luka?” Denial was a clear ring in her voice, disbelief a close second in volume. 

For weeks, the one thing she wanted to know was the name of her partner’s killer, and now that she knew it, she wanted to give it back. Luka, sweet, kind-hearted, generous Luka- A murderer? 

Plagg nodded grimly in confirmation. 

“I don’t believe this.” Marinette shook her head defiantly, refusing to believe the truth that the god of destruction laid out for her. “He would never...” 

“We literally have an eye witness.” Deadpanned Damian, straight-forward as ever. The bluenette sucked in a breath, lowering her head to avoid her coworker spotting the tears that pricked her eyelids like ice needles. Everything hurt- She had lost her parents in a final battle to win Paris its’ normality back, then she lost her partner, and now she was faced with the truth that the one man she thought she could trust- Was a killer. 

The detective’s eyes softened. “I know it’s hard to take in, and I know I shouldn’t ask you for this- Especially after everything you’ve sacrificed- But Couffaine probably isn’t the same person you knew anymore. You need to stop seeing him as your friend, and hard as it is- You need to start looking at him as the man who killed your partner- And wants to kill you. If you keep going like this, denial will be your downfall.” 

A droplet of blood formed on the bluenette’s lip as she bit down hard to hold in her pain, her agony, her tears. How much longer did she have to suffer? How much longer did she have to be brave? How much longer did she have to endure what the world threw at her? 

“... You know, you can cry if you want. I can’t say I understand, but being in your position now must be pretty hard. You’ll only hurt yourself if you keep everything inside.” 

Damian had seen victims. Too many. He knew and saw first-hand the overwhelming emotions that could surge over one, the unstoppable tsunami of feelings that could wipe out the legs you thought were strong enough to hold you, the wave that could destroy everything and leave you with a broken wasteland as it receded. 

He knew the harm of pent-up emotions. Pent-up emotions were like a jar filled with explosive gas, waiting for the slightest spark to trigger an explosion. And when it did explode, you would find shards of glass digging in to your skin, digging into the skins of the ones around you. He knew the harm of pent-up emotions, because he had felt it first-hand. Because as cold, as uncaring and blunt his exterior could be, Damian Wayne was a human, and he knew what it was like to hurt. 

“You don’t have to hold it in just because you want to hold an image of a strong person in front of me.” He continued. “No matter what happens from here on out, you’re already very strong to me. Emotionally and physically. You were thrust into the role of a superhero with no guidance, made to deal with all the pressure with no one to confide to due to the risks it made to the ones around you. You fought without pause ever since you were a teen, only to lose so much when everything was over. You tried to start again, only to be faced with more pain. The fact that you’re still standing, that you’re still doing something to fight back- That’s amazing in itself.” 

A dry, choked-out sob of a laugh startled him. “Of all people. I never expected that you to be the one that would understand.”

“Hmm.” Damian shrugged, leaning back into his chair with an air of looking unbothered. “I have a rather high standard for what I consider to be strong- Emotionally, anyway, and you just so happen to have been through enough to pass that standard.” 

She cracked a small smile at his feeble attempt to shrink back into his ‘I’m-cold-and-I-don’t-care’ shell. “Back to business- Since you’ve found the ring and the person behind this...” Luka’s name stung the tip of her tongue, and it was too soon and too painful to say- But much to her gratefulness, Damian didn’t bring up her avoidance of his name. “I better contribute by telling you I think I know where he’ll be.”

The green-eyed detective perked up instantly, moving from his relaxed position to one that was leaning forward, eyes wide in curiosity. 

“I don’t where he is now, per say, but I know where he’ll be.” She continued with a smile. “Have you ever wanted to visit the City of Love?” 

»»——⍟——««

What was formerly the City of Love was now a mourning city, shrouded in rain clouds and misery. The murder of Adrien Agreste tightened like a noose, gradually strangling and suffocating the city below. Rain pattered onto Paris’s black cobblestone roads, the streets empty with the exception of one or two pedestrians, walking as quickly as they could to avoid being alone with the deafening silence of post-war Paris. 

The silence was accented by the steady splash of rainwater as a lone figure walked slowly down the street, a black hood shielding his face. Turquoise eyes gleamed as the man approached the house of the woman expecting him, raising his hand to press the doorbell once. 

“Luka.” 

Chloe Bourgeois stood in the doorway of her apartment, eyeing the drenched man with a purse of her lips. “You are not stepping into my apartment like that. If you get a single splotch of mud on my carpet...” She glowered at him, unsatisfied until he grumbled, removing his cloak and muddy boots. 

The deceased mayor’s daughter scrunched her nose in disgust, handing the man a towel to dry off with. 

“Wipe your feet on the towel until they’re clean. Don’t step all over my house with those dirty feet of yours.” Chloe scoffed, leaving him in the entrance of her apartment while she strolled back inside, her golden silk robe fluttering behind her movements. 

“Any progress?” Luka asked gruffly, looking as uncomfortable as he could be, seated on the pearl-white couch inside the blonde’s luxurious apartment. The mayor had left his daughter quite the fortune. 

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Chloe rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her tea. “Luka, my answer will be the same as the one I gave you yesterday.” 

The man resisted the urge to slam his hands on the glass coffee table in frustration. “You’ve been searching for Ladybug for weeks. What is taking you so long?” 

“Excuse me.” Chloe cleared her throat, looking rather offended. “If I’m not mistaken, you had three months ever since Ladybug left, and you didn’t find anything, either. I don’t think you’re in the position to criticise my progress.” 

He shot a glare in her direction, displeased with her jab at his failed attempts to locate the holder of the Ladybug miraculous. “Find her,” He hissed, standing up abruptly. The blonde wasn’t fazed at all, taking another sip out of her tea with a bored expression. “Find her if you want to bring your father and butler back.” 

The heavy footfalls belonging to the impatient man made Chloe scoff, the loud slam of her front door causing an angry ‘Hey! Watch it!’ from the blonde. She sighed softly, reminiscing of the days when things weren’t so complicated and everything was alright. Across her living room sat two framed pictures, sitting next to each other serenely. 

The first was a photo of herself, Mayor Bourgeois, and the butler, Jean, the three of them standing in front of Le Grand Paris, in all of its’ golden glory. The second was a photo of 5-year-old Chloe, smiling toothily with her arm slung around another blonde- Adrien Agreste, with his soft green eyes and his shy smile. 

“I won’t let you be forgotten.” She whispered to no one in particular, still staring at the two framed pictures. “That’s a promise.” 

»»——⍟——««

Meanwhile, in the dreary corridor leading to Paris’s highest-security-prison, was a displeased woman, glaring daggers at the guards who were denying her entry. 

“You morons.” She hissed, her French slanting off with a clear American accent that resounded even clearly in her anger. “For the last time, I’ve told you, I work for the FBI, and I need to talk to him.” 

“Ma’am, we’ve received no sort of alert that an agent was coming to visit.” The guard defended, baring her from highest-security-cell in the whole building. There had been at least five other gates before the one she was at, and at everyone of them she had been throughly questioned and checked for anything that could result in an outbreak of disaster. 

A dry laugh echoed off the grey cement walls of the holding. “Well, then you go ahead and tell my superiors that I’ve come here for nothing and that they have to pay for a second flight.” The woman smiled when sparks of fear alighted inside the two guards’ eyes- She had come so far, and she wasn’t going to let two measly guards stop her when she was just one wall away from her target. 

“I... Alright miss. You should know the rules, don’t get too close to him.” One of the guards said reluctantly, sharing hesitating looks with his partner, but they opened the heavy metal door for her nonetheless. The woman, dressed in a black blazer, a white blouse, and a dark-coloured pencil skirt, nodded her appreciation, heels clicking as she stepped into the holding. 

A two-inch thick glass separated her and the grey-haired man, who looked up in surprise, eyes flashing in recognition of his visitor. 

“Mr. Agreste.” She addressed politely, dark red hair tied up in a formal bun. 

The man that was formerly Hawkmoth glanced at her up and down, and then at the closed metal door. “I have to say, I’m impressed you managed to get in here.” A low laugh rumbled from his throat, cracking out of the speaker by the side of the glass wall that allowed the man to communicate. 

She smiled at his compliment. 

“It’s been a while, Lila Rossi.” 

»»——⍟——««

taglist. @demonicbusiness @animegirlweeb @roselynfey @2confused-2doanything @insane-fangirl-of-everything @promiswords @galaxylightmoon @fusser90 @ira-sairain @liquid-luck-00 @glastwime859 

gen. daminette taglist. @maskedpainter @animegirlweeb @missmadwoman

*rubs hands together* I have soo many plot twists for this baby planned *cackles evilly* everything’s coming together... Also the story has strayed so far away from the original plot but eh whatever 

»»——⍟——««

| next part | ao3 | 

»»——⍟——««

[midnightsgift]

Ep 10 Review

Less so an insightful take on the episode with hindsight but more my first reactions to the scenes as they play out, and perhaps a summary of my thoughts at the end with predictions

>I understand why Ga-on didn’t murder the guy but a part of me wished he did/an opportunity to commit a ‘serious crime’ occurs a gain and he follows through with it.  We often see characters like him (Kim Ga-on) where they have a strict moral code pushed to the breaking point, but never truly taking that ‘irreversible step’ whatever that may be for the given shows. They often retain their own moral compass and only really bend in what they believe in, and in this case be shaped by the perspective Kang Yo-han is showing. Quite literally may I add as he holds him still; stopping him running into the fire; directing him to observe the man dancing amongst the burning paper or even the greed of humanity through the risk of negotiation/loss of money. Characters like Ga-on have their world’s image destroyed and him traveling by himself to murder the man portrayed that broken boy he’d be very well. It was unexpected and I LOVED the writing for that and it is already above other shows with similar storylines because of that but i wish he’s given another chance to do something he can never take back in the name of ‘justice’. I want to watch how he lives with himself after, how he’d rationalise his actions and the aftermath. I’d prefer for him to feel guilty but not regret i feel as that would be a clear indication he’s grown into a different man 

> Yo-han really got me wanting to get my cards out, and some dominos so i can made a trail to push over,

> I love how Yo-han made ‘who would i play with?’ a passing comment but looked so offended and smug idk how he did it when Ga-on doubled down on it.

>Listen I'm not saying Yo-han is a superstitious man but I am imagining every time he’s plotting he makes a tower and if he gets an ace once it topples he knows he's on to a good one

>lmao the assistant getting shifty when the minister complained bout ppl doing anything for money

>Idk if it they intentionally did it like this but it seemed like Ga-on approached Judge Oh with the video like he hadn’t yet suggested the idea to Chief Kang. If it was like that it’s like their trying to fix the gap they had created, and i think depending on who's idea it was it alludes to two different things, Yo-han’s: he noticed how Sun-ah is probably trying to approach Judge Oh especially after how she was agreeing to her ideas in the meeting of her photoshoot. So now he’s trying to rectify the damage he caused by favouring Judge Kim because ‘only two are need for a majority’ Ga-on’s: he’s trying to maintain a friendly relations ship between Chief Kang and Judge Oh as he’s trying to fix most of Yo-han’s relationships.

The two are such contrasting reasons and its probably me misunderstanding anyway but I love it.

>Ngl and maybe TMI i love that she insinuated she’s murdered ppl by saying she reeks of blood, but as someone who gets periods i would just assume she means i actually smell.

>Argh i love Elijah and how she just shits on them for having such a flawed understanding of ‘hacking’. Elijah Supremacy👑

>He knows how to make an entrance, also sidenote: i live for this soundtrack

>Ah he fucked up, now she’s gonna seek the professor out and start asking questions

>That so sad cuz its true he is poor in what matters

>Someone mentioned it before that Yo-han talks to Sun-ah like she's a child at kindergarten and i can’t unhear it

>Sun-ah seems to be more embarrassed by being a maid than I thought, it seems to be less of a reaction of someone who pissed at the elite but someone who hates her past and wants to blend in.

>Someone also stated that the ppl who have been on trial are representative of the seven deadly sins and with the show already having such heavy Christian symbolism it seemed like a valid observation. So would his be ‘Pride’ i feel like that closely ties with patriots. That or wrath due to the reparation of ‘justified anger’ 

>Damn he stole his grandmother’s funeral money

>I can’t wait to finally see her as a proper villain 

[sunshine304]

On to eps 25 + 26, my friends! It’s heating up!

Yang Jin was concerned because he saw Yu Wenzhi’s troups – but he definitely, absolutely was NOT concerned for Li Yan, no no! XD They keep on going together, but only... for 5 min or so? Until Li Yan tells him to go help A-Fei in town, since she can make the rest of the way herself (that worked so well before...). It’s cute how Yang Jin doesn’t want to go, but she makes puppy eyes at him and so he leaves.

I guess in the long run that isn’t such a bad decision to send him to A-Fei’s aid. 

Poor Li Yan of course meets an outpost that’s already infiltrated by Disha. At least the man helps her instead of selling her out. And then it turns out that Li Sheng didn’t even include a message, just sending her away from where the attack will happen. Oh Li Sheng... He could have thought about how the outpost might be in Disha’s pockets, though, since it wouldn’t be the first time. Anyway, Li Yan steals a horse and goes to find help.

So much stuff is happening at the same time! Yang Jin asks after the Intinerary Gang who surely will help him (good idea), while Chuchu listens in on the Elders talking about how Li Sheng is very likely dead. She is devastated. T_T

Yu Wenzhi starts distrusting Kou Dan, because she now mentions a rumoured hidden path to the 48 Strongholds. She’s all like, “What, it’s just a rumour.“ and even I side-eye her for that. He wants to set a trap for A-Fei and leaves.

Meanwhile, Xie Yun has already strongly hinted to A-Fei that it would be an advantage if they could get YWZ to distrust at least Kou Dan. A-Fei uses YWZ’s ruse for just that, basically telling Gu Tianxian that this was an assassination attempt lead by Mingfeng Sect. 

OMG the kiss by proxy!! I flailed!! Give me moooore! ♥

XY is off to distract GTX while A-Fei looks for YWZ's new hiding spot. But before that she stares into space, thrown by XY's proxy kiss. I swoon along with her. XD

Li Yan meets Li Jinrong, who was on her way back anyway since she missed her husband yet again. The army seems to have some problems, though General Wen is… perhaps downplaying? Anyway, LJR now knows that 48 Strongholds is under attack and hurries home.

Shen Tianshu has waited out the fire, it seems, and is now in front of the main gate to the 48 Strongholds. Also, YWZ’s private army has arrived. All in all, this huge combined army consists of about 30 people; 6 of them leave to find the secret path. I can’t get over the fact that the mean villains only have so few people! You really didn’t have a budget, huh? XD I mean srsly, there are definitely more people hiding at the 48 SH! XD

Look at his smug face! He always squints smugly at everyone, he’s so weird! XD

Love how XY is leading Disha around. Also happy that Wang Yibo could do lots of wirework in that scene, since he likes to do that stuff. XD Meanwhile, YWZ feels super threatened. Rightly so, asshole.

Aww the Elders Zhao and Zhang at the 48 SH want to go fighting! I actually enjoy that this show has many older characters as well.

Aaaand A-Fei has found YWZ! And she fights! And then there’s Yang Jin and the IG to the rescue! I love how they’re all fighting, while YWZ just stands there and watches with Kou Dan protecting him. Kinda. I cheered for the IG just fighting with big sticks and whatever else was at hand against that trained (? I assume) private army with swords – and they win by brute force. XD

A-Fei is all confused and Yang Jin explains, “I met Li Yan on the road and she started crying. She’s so annoying, I can’t say no to her!” He is so whipped. XD

YWZ really is a totally useless fighter. A-Fei reaches him and overpowers him easily. What kind of position does that guy have in the government? Doesn’t seem to be an army position… Since they won they want to get Disha to stop the attack on the 48 SH.

Meanwhile I fucking knew it that Ma Jili would betray them! Did he actually kill that one Elder? Or did they really encounter Disha and the Elder got killed there? Hm.

Anyway, look at Chuchu grabbing a sword! That was cool, you go queen! Though she didn’t get to use it, I’m sure there will be another chance for her to fuck some shit up!

A-Fei is so devastated that Uncle Ma betrayed her. I feel you, A-Fei. And then Uncle Ma feels guilty (or… was also misled by Kou Dan?) and fights KD, which doesn’t end good for him. 

That fight between A-Fei and KD was really cool. Loved how they used the end credits song! I’m a sucker for that song! A-Fei gets her revenge and doesn’t even watch KD die.

Seriously, those poor kids will all be so traumatised. Yeah in CQL they all went to war at 19 or so, but they at least all had fighting experience in a real life situation against monsters, fierce corpses and whatnot. The kids from 48 SH grew up sheltered with this kind of fighting just a theoretical exercise. 

OH nooo Xie Yun uses the super power needle! O_O He sees that 48 SH will likely lose (how, against only 20 Disha ppl, IDK…) and decides on that, because he can’t lose A-Fei.

Look at his conflicted face!!!

He also throws some exposition in there, that Chuchu’s necklace is the main key for the HTYS which he is looking for. Okay. Whatever, now pls fuck Shen Tianshu up, my man.

He does. He also tells A-Fei that he wants to enjoy himself here. (Meaning he doesn’t have long afterwards anyway and wants to go out with a bang I guess. T_T) STS is shocked because it seems that Xie Yun has some SERIOUS FIGHTING SKILLZ.

This is getting really long... XD

Xie Yun fights and it's pretty cool! A-Fei also keeps fighting, but she gets weaker, and also seems overwhlemed by the situation. I can’t blame her.

And then Li Jinrong signals her arrival and Shen Tianshu kinda panics while A-Fei decides that this is a good moment to faint. She does a lot of fainting in this show.

Have this gif for the drama of it all. XD

Yay, Chuchu has found Li Sheng! She had to wade through some corpses for that at the river bank, but she is a badass and doesn’t care. MVP Chuchu! ♥

Excuuuse me!? STS punches (!!) Li Jinrong's horse. Seriously, asshole?! WTF?! LJR fucks him up anyway, destroys his metal hand (he later has a new one so I guess he just... has a lot of these things lying around?). Disha + YWZ’s troups finally retreat, and Chuchu immediately tells them where Li Sheng is. He is now safe, yay!

Okay this shot of LJR is really cool.

There LJR goes again with her tough mother routine. XD A-Fei is awake and happy to see her; she also aks after Xie Yun, and her mother is like, “Do you know who he is?” and A-Fei conveniently does not mention that she knows he's royalty and just tells her the important stuff like, “He does poetry and songs to make a living.” LJR just dismisses her with, “We'll talk about him later.” Oh oh.

Cute scene with A-Fei and Li Sheng, who tease each other good-naturedly. Li Sheng now can admit that A-Fei is better than him at martial arts, but he doesn't want to give up – perhaps he'll manage to be better than her one day anyway? ;D I like his growth so far.

Xie Yun comes over to flirt and invite himself into A-Fei's bedroom. XD But this time A-Fei flirts back! It's the, “I know I'm good looking, but you have to pay money to stare at me,” and A-Fei answers, “You can stare at me too and we'll call it even,” scene. XY is surprised and delighted. XD

That whole conversation between these two. ♥ T_T A-Fei knows XY so well by know that she sees through his act of putting on a happy face whenever he's worried. She wants to ask so many questions but doesn't because she thinks he won't answer them honestly anyway. T_T And she sincerely asks him if he's alright. T_T He's obviously thrown by all of this, and he talks around some things and yep, he isn't really honest. And then she asks too many questions anyway and he uses her accupoints to knock her out. My God, just talk to her!!

And there's the other ship that's shyly circling each other! Chuchu and Li Sheng have an awkward conversation, because now that it's not live or death they don't know how to act. XD He wants to look for Chuchu's brother and they perhaps could live at the 48 SH? *puppyeyes* I mean seriously, where is that kid?!

Shen Tianshu is pissed, Yu Wenzhi is too. He's going on about how Xie Yun (=Xiao Chuan) should be dead, damnit, since he was poisoned 10 years ago with that super rare and deadly Bone Piercing Blue poison (we remember, the one that 9th Madam Duan also suffered from until Li Zheng helped her). We get STS exposition that a master must've helped XY so that he survived (and the master should've died of it), but now that XY used the power needle his meridians are no longer blocked and the poison is free to circulate again = He only has a few months to live. OH NO! T_T They don't know if he's also looking for the HYTS but want to keep looking anyway; Disha masters are sent out after the two men yet again bitch at each other. XD

Sometimes it's nice to actually get some exposition here...

There's a funeral scene at 48 SH with cool music and all of them swearing their oath again to do their best with a clear conscience before Heaven, Earth, and themselves. That “clear conscience” idiom is really popular I think?

A talk between Xie Yun and Li Jinrong. She thanks him and seems sincere enough, but she also seems wary/distrustful of him (well, he fetched her ill husband to go to war again, sooo...). He yet again circumvents actually answering her questions about his former master (although I assume she at least has a hunch who he is), and he tells her she should perhaps be nicer to her daughter and compliment her from time to time. Well, I guess he's dying anyway and hasn't anything to lose. XD

She comments on his pale complexion, is he perhaps ill? Wow the passive-aggressiveness in this scene from LJR. XD Then she hands him a sigil to pass the guards and basically throws him out. Charming. Good start into that in-laws situation. XD

OMG Li Sheng sends pastries to Chuchu! ♥ And Li Yan is all excited, like, “Yes please fetch your little brother, I always wanted a little brother, that would be awesome!” XD

Xie Yun and A-Fei have a romantic stroll under the not-moonlight. ♥ They are holding hands, be still my heart! ♥  While they are hand holding we also get a MV of their best moments so far.

She tells him she's working on a gift for him, and she wants to help him look for the HYTS since it seems to be a shitty thing and she doesn't want it to fall into Disha's hands. Xie Yun would like to stay at 48 SH and of course doesn't tell A-Fei about his talk wit LRJ nor that he's, you know, dying. It's obvious that he will leave without her because he doesn't want to drag her into this (the trope of “I know what's best for you without giving you a real chance to make a decision yourself” ugh) and also because he's fucking dying. OMG. T_T

We end with A-Fei knocking on his door the next morning (where he very obviously isn't anymore) to give him her gift. Before she can actually see that he isn't there Chuchu intercepts her, so A-Fei tries to give her back the necklace. Chuchu is all like, “Nooo you keep it, it's far saver with you!” so there's that. This will surely be important later. The two girls leave for town to fetch medicine, while Xie Yun sits near the river and sadly plays his flute. T_T

[dolphin-enthusiast]

For a hc request, how about some jojo villains having to deal with anti-maskers/Karens 😈 y'all know those ppl are crazy

For once the villain gang does smth right-

- Dio straight up kicks them out of his mansion, no questions asked. My man literally puts up a big fat sign onto he entrance door that reads “WEAR A FUCKING MASK” and if people choose to ignore it then that’s entirely their own problem. One might also think that Dio goes out without a mask just because he’s immortal, but that couldn’t be more far away from the truth. Sure he may not be able to die, but that doesn’t mean that the vampire lord wants to put his (and other people’s surprisingly) health at risk because he also needs his voice to be sharp and his body in its best condition at all times in order to keep on carrying his evil plans.

- Kars literally doesn’t care at first because he thinks that the infamous virus cannot reach him, but he quickly changes his ways and becomes an educated, cultured king once the rest of the pillarmen slap a mask on his face whenever he goes out. Since then he will absolutely n o t tolerate any Karens, the man keeping his distance at all times and keeping them from entering his house. Although he wouldn’t outrightly throw fists with them (unlike Dio), Kars will still scoff and gossip behind their backs because really, you have to be fucking stupid in order to think that the pandemic is fake. Even the ultimate lifeform doesn’t believe it.

- Kira is a Karen in general (you could say he has a Karen pass because he’s the manager already) but he still ain’t denying the gravity of the current situation which is reassuring, to say the least. He religiously wears a mask and literally sprays people with sanitizer (his beloved girlfriends included) and will absolutely kick anyone who doesn’t have a mask on out of his goddamn store. He does it with class too. My man doesn’t even throw fists, he merely gives them a full on Wikipedia like lecture before just as calmly yeeting them out of the store and telling them to read the sign at the entrance. 11/10 goes like “I am the manager” whilst deadpanning once he hears yet another mask free Karen screeching.

- Diavolo doesn’t believe in the pandemic either until he sees Ghiaccio wearing masks at all times and obsessively cleaning anything and anyone around him. After the rest of his subordinates kept pressuring him enough, the mafia boss eventually started imposing social distancing rules and instructed everyone to wear masks at all times, especially while walking around the headquarters. He chooses to ignore Karens completely because he ain’t got time to deal with absolute idiots, but if they ever dare step onto his lawn without a mask on and preach about how everything is made up he can and will put Cioccolata to sanitize their asses then shoo them away.

[convenientalias]

Every Cdrama I’ve Ever Watched Rated by Villains

Bc I want to rate shows by arbitrary standards today. It’s been a while.

(Here “every cdrama I’ve ever watched” will only include dramas I’ve currently finished.)

Ancient Detective--I can barely remember who the villains were. You’d expect a wuxia show with a lot of campy characters to have really memorable villains but somehow it just didn’t, maybe bc we were supposed to be kept guessing who the villains were for most of it. Anyways the best characters were all good to neutral. 1.5/10 for villainy, only granting the .5 bc teeeechnically there’s that last minute twist which makes a really good character teeeeechnically a villain. (...like, is he though? does that really count? idk.)

The Disguiser--How does a show encompass both Wang Tian Feng and Wang Man Chun and still have room for minor villains like Nantian or Section Chief Liang? idk. Anyways this show is v good with villains, 10/10 for ruthless spies.

The Flame’s Daughter--Villains both campy and conflicted. Everyone has some sort of tragic backstory, some more relatable than others. Good characters go bad! Bad characters go good! Some characters kind of wobble back and forth because of difficult circumstances! Some characters are bad the whole time but they have relatives who care about them or who they want to protect so you still feel bad when bad things happen to them! 10/10 for variety and for complex relationships and for vibrant color scheme (you gain points with me when your villains don’t just wear black and gray).

Granting You a Dreamlike Life--Most of the villainous characters in this show, such as Xu Rui An and all the Japanese villains, were pretty standard and boring. Duan Tianci could have been a great possessive awful not-love-interest but he just doesn’t have the chance to do much, and we’re expected to act like Duan Tianying’s dad isn’t a villain when he’s clearly acting like one. But on the other hand, there’s Xu Xingcheng, who is an excellent awful ex. His corruption arc was basically the highlight of the second half of the show. So, 5/10?

Handsome Siblings--The two MCs are antagonists to each other but I’m not counting either one as a villain bc hey at least they mean well, and they do get over it. Anyways, even aside from that, the sheer range this show has in campy villainy is beautiful. Ppl who just want to find hidden martial arts manuals. Ppl who live for revenge. Ppl who love gambling and will force other ppl to gamble at swordpoint. Ppl who keep underground palaces full of enslaved pretty boys. Random bandits. Ppl who have been given the title “villain” and have just embraced it as their identity. Actually reputable ppl who are secretly scum and have committed mass murder. And of course all of them will laugh evilly and gloat about having defeated you or rave at you for your audacity. Beautiful, exquisite, 10/10, the villains on this show are in fact the point. If you don’t like campy villains then don’t watch this show.

Joy of Life--If you asked me to name the villains of this show I probably could come up with a couple, but mostly everyone’s morally gray, which I suppose is interesting in its own way. But not going to get it a high villainy rating on this scale. 5/10 with an extra point added for Xiao En (is he even a villain tho??).

Love Is More Than a Word--The villains in this show are boring, which is a bit sad when you’re technically a mystery show. 1/10.

Nirvana in Fire--Some ppl like Xie Yu but for me he’s the most boring role I’ve seen Liu Yi Jun play. Xia Jiang’s kind of just despicable. The Empress and Noble Consort Yue are eh. The Emperor feels human and relatable (in a “I understand why you do what you do even though I don’t agree” kind of way) and yet you still hate him so that’s pretty fun. Banruo and Prince Yu could be the main antagonists of a show and if they were the main antagonists of this show, well, the show probably wouldn’t be as good but it would rate higher on villainy bc I love them. Tragic Hua backstory, and also just Prince Yu being affable and kind of stressed all the time--you want to rub his back and say “there there” and then he goes off and kills people and you’re like NO WHY. 8/10.

Sword Dynasty--A better Liu Yi Jun role. This show was overall pretty bad but the scheming villainous royal couple were the best part of it and are the only reason I managed to finish it tbh. Did Ye Zheng ever really love Xuan Wu? Does Xuan Wu really love Ye Zheng? Is there any world where they could be a happy couple and trust and be loyal to each other when they have the ghost of their murdered former friend between them? There’s no answer to these questions, but these two raised the most adorable son and ruled a flourishing country together for years. They’re bloodthirsty, power-hungry backstabbers but I ended up wanting good things for them :( of course things don’t end well. 7/10, tho I ended up super invested in this relationship it’s barely explored in the first half of the show.