#sorry my ted talk is a ted rant

[dyed-red]

okay very short mini rant time but -

not having emotions isn’t a thing. or at the very very least, it’s not a thing for soulless!sam. the writers hand-waved “soulless doesn’t feel” but that makes no sense and they’re wrong and it falls apart if we so much as poke it with a twig, let alone a proper stick.

emotions are information that act as input into decision-making. the very limited cases of human beings lacking the ability to feel fear or any other particular emotion, or lacking emotional input into their decisions? yeah, it’s not good. either wander into danger they can’t handle because there is no input into the decision-making process that says No, Don’t Do That, or at the extreme end, they can’t make decisions because they have no insight into what they might prefer or want or desire, or even not prefer or not want or not desire, so each minor choice is paralyzing because the part of the brain dedicated to do the choosing doesn’t exist.

if soulless really didn’t have emotions, he wouldn’t be doing much at all.

you can say “he’s making choices based on physiological stimulus” and that desire (like a desire for sex, or a desire to get a hunt completed and kill the monster) isn’t a feeling, but i promise you that it is, and that we can’t fully or truly disentangle physiology from emotion either.

in fact soulless!sam seems to have no issue whatsoever experiencing positive emotions like desire, enjoyment, contentment, satisfaction, pride, etc. He seems capable of vexation and irritation too. We don’t really see him angry in the same way sam would be, but he does sort of go into a violent rage and beat someone with his bare fists in a flashback, right? i promise that without emotion, exerting that kind of energy on a task just... wouldn’t happen. because you’re incapable of caring about the outcome of the task, no matter how ‘rational’ or ‘logical’ that outcome may seem (because what’s rational and logical depend on what we care about and what goals we have selected, which again, occurs in the context of having emotions to guide us toward what those desired end states might look like).

soulless!sam seems, as far as i can tell, to lack two things: 1) the ability to experience bonds with others, and 2) the ability to intuit or experience conscious insight into his own emotions.

on the first, his lack of connection to dean despite understanding he prefers to have him around, his willingness to kill bobby, his complete and utter lack of care for lisa and ben despite knowing on some level that he should care about them, or would if he were his usual self, even if only as an extension of who and what dean cares about. soulless just... doesn’t experience that deeply human need for social connection nor the automatic way it manifests nor any bonding toward others. some failure of oxytocin going on there (the soul is stored in the oxytocin receptor site?).

on the second, sam doesn’t know what he’s feeling when he hasn’t got a soul. he equates that with not really feeling anything, or at least that what we’re told as shorthand pretty quickly, because what he actually says when asked what he’s feeling is “i don’t know”. because - he doesn’t. but that doesn’t mean he’s not actually feeling anything, it means he has no conscious insight into it.

his feelings are just feelings to him, just information. they are understood in terms of how they impact his end state aims (i want to finish this hunt, i want to have sex with this hippie chick, i don’t want to put up with this fairy lady, i don’t want to suffer by having my soul put back in) but are not understood in and of themselves (i don’t know if i feel angry or sad or happy in response to setbacks or steps forward toward these desired ends. at most i know i experience a sense of satisfaction when my aims are accomplished, but this is understood mostly through checking that aim off the list and being able to direct my attention and resources toward new goals. i don’t know why i do this, i just do).

the lack of bonding means he doesn’t feel interpersonal guilt or remorse for hurt and harm he has caused, nor a sense of loss or grief based on his connections (or lack thereof) with others, nor an anticipatory sense of guilt, remorse, grief, or regret at pursuing interpersonal harm, so long as the harm is deemed as needed or even just helpful in furthering one of his desired end goals. this increases our perception that he doesn’t have feelings at all, when what he’s really missing are mostly a subset of social emotions, and that’s not even unique to soulless people! (and look, i don’t want to go down the rabbit hole of how fucked up i think it is that the writers, intentionally or not (but i suspect intentionally) more or less equated sam’s soullessness with some clinical features of psychopathy.)

anyway that’s more or less my rant. the concept of soullessness and how it manifests bothers the shit out of me, the explanations for it in-universe are misleading (though understandable in-universe even if i’d expect cas to provide a clearer explanation tbh), soulless!sam feels a lot, and i still haven’t managed to do a proper/full s6 rewatch as a result of my vexation.

[damian-lil-babybat]

DAMIAN WAYNE IS A GREEK TRAGEDY

When I say Damian al Ghul Wayne has almost all the ingredients of a classical Greek Tragedy, it is not an empty claim.

1. Tragic Hero: The hero facing his destiny with dignity. His virtuous character forms a bond with the audience, while his tragic flaw results in the audience’s fear for him, and his terrible punishment reveals a sense of pity.

Damian is the hero of his own story. In his mind, he was given a destiny, a standard to live up to. It came from his grandfather, as Hafid al Ghul, son of the Demon. It came from his mother, as her Alexander, with Talia deluding herself as Olympias. It came from his father, as the son of Batman.

He thought himself perfect on all those role, mighty ones they might be, heavy and overwhelming even, but he persevered in ways that should be impossible and ultimately achieved the pinnacle of a perfect heir for all of them.

2. Tragic Flaw: The human limitations of the hero or an error in judgement leading to the downfall. He attempts to escape from his destiny; however, he unknowingly runs toward it. His attempt leads him to his “damnation”.

But what he thought was perfection, was his downfall. For even if he was designed and raised to be perfect, those roles are fashioned by imperfect mortals. As the son of the Batman, he was all too much of a monster to even be treated as child, let alone a son. As the son of the Demon, he was too soft, kind, and all too human, to sit upon the al Ghul's immortal throne. As the great Alexander, he was deemed as a mere pawn, a victim of circumstance, and not a victor of his own fate.

He was set up for failure before his story even began.

3. Catastrophe: The horrible ending of the play: death, suicide, ruin etc. Upon the truth being revealed about Oedipus’ origin, Queen Jocasta commits suicide by hanging herself, Oedipus stabs his eyes with the pin on Jocasta’s dress and pleads to be exiled from the city.

And just like all tragedies, it ends up in death...so many deaths and sacrifices. Repeat and rinse, the cycle continues with each redeeming arc punctuated by his death or ruin.

And just like Sisyphus, one must imagine him to be happy. For how else could he endure these unending trials?

4. Central Belief of Destiny: The belief of the fact that the actions were preordained by the gods and the flaw was inevitable. Even though Oedipus attempts to flee from his preordained destiny, the belief in inevitable destiny becomes the reason for his destruction.

How else could he keep harking on to his destiny? Desperately clinging to it like a promise gold once he touched it like Midas' cursed hands? But no, everything he touches turns to dust, every height he scale would be pushed down reverting him back to his old bare bones of an unwanted worthless child from both side of his parents, even how much he tries to make things right. Every person or thing he treasured is another ammunition for plot purposes to make him more tragic than he already was.

Damian had tried to flee before, but fate always brings him back. Because Batman needs a Robin. But Bruce already has a Robin, doesn't he? Because Damian needs to be Robin? Just cause, who would he be then? When all those titles he earned has been discarded and thrashed in the light of Batman's justice?

And the only one title he could be proud of is always threatened to be taken away if he just as much cross an invisible line that keep on changing depending on whims of the doomed narrative.

5. The Chorus: Approximately twelve masked men, forming a specific group, make comments on the ongoing play by singing and dancing.

Due to its form of media, Damian has no twelve singing and dancing masked men. XD

BUT If I have a say on this, I'll give Damian his own set of bardic troupe narrating his life story, and maybe somehow DC writers would finally admit he was loved and wanted, and was never alone and actually have family, companions and friends along the way!

https://www.byarcadia.org/post/ancient-greek-tragedy-101-the-introduction

AND THAT IS WHY it makes more sense for writers to like and, or dare I say, even love Damian's character.

A lot of great fanfictioners in AO3 actually root for this little guy. So it's nice ✌️

[cowboygideon]

Vi is such a fantastic character because she's buff, and she's allowed to be buff. Like she's not "girl buff" with giant tits and a giant ass and then just vaguely defined arm muscles (and I mean "girl buff" as in how television depicts women who are supposed to be muscular, like superheros and soldiers and athletes.) She's a great character for a bunch of other reasons, too, but I'm tired of the media being too scared to give female characters genuine muscles (and combat skills that aren't completely reliant on just speed or agility instead of strength—or their ability to seduce men and catch them off-guard enough to beat them.)

[dragon-ashes1485]

TROP s2 ep7. A rant.

Firstly, this episode has been such a joy to watch, secondly, my heart rate is concerning.

Galadriel:

I loved the scene where she was in the cage, completely ready to die, because she wants to make things right. The scene with Celebrimbor was fantastic, at any moment I expected it to actually be Sauron, but the gentle way she talks to him and held his face like a child broke my heart. Phenomenal acting on both sides and the music was also amazing. Her kindness towards Arondir broke me. Her advising him against seeking out Adar was pure irony given her hunt against Sauron.

Galadriel sneaking around in that orc cloak was so stressful, even though we know she lives.

She seems kinder than in previous episodes, perhaps a result of no longer being around the ring? Or maybe she's just realising everything is going wrong. Either way, can't wait to see where her character goes next.

Elrond:

This guy. I loved how at first he looked ready for battle, but that he was also terribly afraid. But something seemed to switch in his character when his horse was killed and his pure anger there really shocked me. Also absolute savage for sending that orc flying.

I would like to take a moment to admire that he pauses to briefly mourn his horse.

The stunts that he performed are insane in this episode, and I love how Arondir keeps him safe throughout the later part of the battle.

"Durin will come" was such an important part to me, Elrond really looks like a young boy, as if he were sat on the beach during the third kinslaying again. I think the way that was portrayed was breathtaking.

And how he sits, looking up at Adar, completely ready to give in, broke me, he is utterly defeated. He has been abandoned once more (I know there were reasons but that's probably how Elrond feels). He then tries to stab Adar, but it is clear from where he aims for that he doesn't want to kill Adar, he wants to hurt him. His sigh when Adar got the ring kind of made me laugh, he's so done with all this crap.

I can't wait to see the aftermath of this.

Minor characters:

Camnir: so glad he was not in this episode or I would have cried.

Vorohil: please let this guy live. I will be sad.

Rian: I am sad. But absolute props to her for that savage arrow in her final moments.

Narvi: he just watched his kin be killed by his own king...let Narvi be ok.

Celebrimbor:

Ow. I hurt. Charles Edwards is an absolute gem, no he may not "look right" for Celebrimbor, but his potrayal of Celebrimbors descent was amazing.

Also, props to the set team for the scene where the forge transforms into its true state.

He tries so hard to fight against Sauron, he literally cuts his own thumb off. His own. Thumb. And when he's caught by the guards, he tries so hard to explain. I was so scared they'd just hand him back to Sauron until Galadriel showed her face.

I feel like I need to mention Mirdania. She was another product of Sauron's deception. Her death was horrifying and...I just can't even. Her naivety to believe "Annatar" about Celebrimbor, a man she greatly admired, was so sad, and then for her to spend her last moments believing that Celebrimbor had killed her? Ouch.

Celebrimbor tried so hard to escape, only to do what a true lord of Eregion would do, return to the only place he could protect it from, and the place he had just escaped. His bravery really shines through, and in the end it is he who comforts Galadriel.

ps: shot on the left is fantastic.

Sauron:

Still a bitch. But now with Darth Vader powers for some reason. Probably about to destroy Alderaan. I have no more to say.

Adar:

Yea I'm expecting a full orc rebellion next episode. He doesn't care as much as he did about his children which is why they were loyal to him in the first place. Glûg stayed behind when the others went to fight so I think that says a lot. It'll be interesting to see where that goes. I also hate him now because Arondir.

Durin:

Durin's speech was so middle-earthy I loved it. And then it goes to shit. I love that he got Narvi on side. The scene where he sees Elrond again means so much to me, there has not been enough of these two in this series and I really hope ep8 rectifies that, particularly after what happened (or rather, didn't happen) on the battlefield.

I love that Durin admires Elrond's new hair, as he should, it is fabulous. ALSO WHERE IS DISA. I swear if Disa dies, then I do too.

Look at this dwarf in his element. Also eff his dad, his dad is a prick.

He's really starting to come into his own, fighting against the evil. And you can see later how much his father's actions hurt him because not only does it mean he can't aid Eregion, but his father has killed dwarves. His own kind.

Amazon, please be kind to Durin next episode.

Gil-Galad:

Not much to say except from look at this boi in all his regalia. Love it when you see a monarch actually in the fighting, makes you like them. Especially as Gil-Galad has not been the most likeable chap this series.

Arondir:

Anyone needs me, I will be crying. That's all I have to say.

Overall thoughts on episode:

Battle sequence was 10/10. The effort put into this show amazes me. Fantastic acting from everyone, namely Charles Edwards, Charlie Vickers, Robert Aramayo and Morfydd Clark (ok fine, everyone). Well done to all the stunt horses as well, such good horses. Bear McCreary's soudntrack shone this episode, including so many characters themes. Also the last ballad of Damrod in the credits!

I am both anticipating and dreading next episode. What will happen with Celebrimbor? And what of Khazad-Dum? How will Adar use the ring? And will we need a box of tissues?

[serial-serializednovelreader]

It's crazy to me that people call Jonathan a himbo, he's so methodical and clever! It makes sense that Mina would be attracted to someone bright too

Yes, anon, you’re so speaking my language!!! I do wish people would stop calling Jonathan a himbo because — nothing against himbos — but Jonathan is not one of them! And yes, it totally makes sense that Mina would attracted to someone as clever as him, and since she’s also so smart, I’m sure the feeling is mutual.

Before y’all come shouting in my inbox “what do you have against himbos??” and “Jonathan is totally a himbo, what are you talking about?” Let me clear things up:

First of all, I love himbos!!! Kronk from Emperor’s New Groove — peak himbo, imo — is one of my favorite characters. Am I attracted to them? Well…no. As you can probably tell from my last Nova’s Notes, I’m more the kind of person who’s attracted to cleverness or when people nerd out. BUT I cherish himbos for all of their wonderful qualities and if I ever get the opportunity to meet one in real life, I would love to be friends with them! <3333

Secondly, for anyone who’s still saying Jonathan is a himbo…

Himbos have to embody all three qualities equally to be considered himbos! If they are not kind? Not a himbo. Not strong? Not a himbo, I’m sorry! I do make the rules of himbo, I simply follow the rules.

Now on to our good friend Jonathan Harker’s case.

He is undeniably kind. From what we’ve seen so far (not to mention later), he is not only loving to his fiancée, he is kind to strangers as well. He takes gifts from the villagers, even if he does not understand them. Just a couple of entries ago, he was willing to risk his life over a child he didn’t even know (and the same night after he had screamed running away from the women, too). Some of the Dracula Daily book club on here suspects (as do I) that some of the reason he’s so eager to spring into action the next day is to put a stop to Dracula’s evilness for other people, not just for himself. Heck, he’s even talked about Dracula’s good qualities after finding out he’s a prisoner!!! So, kindness? Yes! ✅

As for strong, there’s not as much evidence here, but I would call him somewhat strong because not just anyone could successfully scale a castle wall twice in one day like that! That takes a lot of strength in your core, arms, back, etc. Sure, Dracula can do it — but Dracula is also a vampire with super strength. Maybe it’s easier than I think it is, but I’m not exactly going to look for a castle to try it!! So for Jonathan to crack his knuckles and go “yeah, he can do it, why can’t I?” is both hilarious and shows that he must know something of his own strength. However, he’s also a solicitor and I doubt he’s built like a bodybuilder. So, strong? Maybe not as much as a typical himbo, but let’s give him the check mark because Lizard Fashion is nothing to sneeze at. ✅

Now for the ditzy part….I’d have to say no to that. Himbos are meant to not be “the sharpest tool in the shed” (yes, I did have to hit you with a Smash Mouth reference, sorry not sorry) and Jonathan is farrrrr from that.

Everything he has done so far has been methodical and smart. I covered this in my other Nova’s Notes (you can look under the hashtag on my page if you want to see more :D) so I really don’t want to go through too much I’ve already gone through, but the arguments I’ve seen for him being a himbo — based on the entries we’ve already read — are that he’s not smart because he:

Doesn’t heed villager’s warnings

“Let’s” himself become a prisoner

Is nice to Dracula after he knows he’s a prisoner

Talks about his fiancée a lot (???????)

For the first point, we’ve gone over this, but here we go again — he doesn’t heed the villager’s warnings, no. But keep in mind none of them actually say “The Count is a super dangerous man!! Don’t trust him!!!” Here’s the passage:

“When I asked him if he knew Count Dracula, and could tell me anything of his castle, both he and his wife crossed themselves, and, saying that they knew nothing at all, simply refused to speak further. It was so near the time of starting that I had no time to ask any one else, for it was all very mysterious and not by any means comforting.

Just before I was leaving, the old lady came up to my room and said in a very hysterical way:

‘Must you go? Oh! young Herr, must you go?’ She was in such an excited state that she seemed to have lost her grip of what German she knew, and mixed it all up with some other language which I did not know at all. I was just able to follow her by asking many questions. When I told her that I must go at once, and that I was engaged on important business, she asked again:

‘Do you know what day it is?’ I answered that it was the fourth of May. She shook her head as she said again:

‘Oh, yes! I know that! I know that, but do you know what day it is?’ On my saying that I did not understand, she went on:

‘It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that to-night, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?’ She was in such evident distress that I tried to comfort her, but without effect. Finally she went down on her knees and implored me not to go; at least to wait a day or two before starting. It was all very ridiculous but I did not feel comfortable.

So here’s the thing: you can see that the only thing the innkeeper’s wife explicitly warns him against is going to the castle that night because it’s a day in their culture where evil spirits are considered to have full sway.

The innkeeper’s wife does ask him if he knows “where he is going and who is going to” — he says no, but she does not speak further on the matter. When he asked about the Count before this, they just refused to speak! I know that may seem like an implicit warning — and it is — but some people on here act as if Jonathan was supposed to have known why they were crossing themselves and immediately have left? Like, he obviously feels uncomfortable, but as he states before and afterwards: he has a job to do. If you were in his position: a newly-appointed lawyer (or position of your choice), and you went to a place where the locals told you not to visit your client that night because it was a night where evil spirits would come out: would you honestly believe them? And if you asked about what your client was like and they just crossed themselves and refused to speak on the matter, would you simply leave the town and tell your boss “nah, sorry, the villagers warned me against him. I decided this client’s not for me”? I guess that honestly depends on you, but I would think not if you want to keep your job!! I know that’s not ideal, but to be fair, he also is not given a fair warning before going in.

There is also that incident in the carriage where he hears those villagers talking and he picks up bits and pieces (including the words werewolf and vampire) but a) they’re not talking to him and b) he doesn’t pick up enough to even indicate who they’re talking about!! In fact, he thinks they’re badmouthing him!!! (Which is understandable, he can only hear a bit and he’s translating on the fly). Again, how he is supposed to automatically know: “oh, Count Dracula is a vampire and I must flee this place immediately.” We know that because Dracula has been a pop culture icon for 100+ years, but Jonathan doesn’t have that kind of knowledge. I feel it’s kind of ridiculous to call him not smart for not knowing this.

However, and this is important, he does take some of this warning to heart. He does take the crucifix and the other vampire-repellent gifts the villagers bestow upon him, despite his skepticism and ignorance of the culture (thanks, English colonization /s). He feels uncomfortable and anxious before he even goes into the castle, literally saying goodbye to Mina in his diary in case he doesn’t make it back!! He keeps the crucifix in his room and uses it to ward off bad dreams and for safety against Dracula (which is not really how he’s supposed to use it, but he wasn’t really told how, so I don’t really blame him for that).

I don’t think a himbo would’ve picked up that something was amiss at any of these points, not until it was too late at least. I think for this test, just picture Kronk (or your fav himbo) in this situation. Would they even notice something was up? Or would they go cheerfully towards the castle?

As for the second point — this is kind of unrelated to the himbo question but — what kind of victim-blame mentality is this????? I have seen people unironically (at least I’m pretty sure it is?) post that Jonathan deserves the abuse he’s getting because he didn’t heed the villager’s warnings (which I already talked about above) and/or he’s “rude” to Dracula. I’m sorry — WHAT???? So if you’re rude to somebody they’re to allowed to lock you up in their castle???? That’s a fair trade? I beg your pardon?! Just…ok. Believe what you want, but maybe let’s not blame the guy who’s been a prisoner in a random stranger’s castle for a month and is sure he’s about to die? Yes, this is fictional and not that deep, but still — weird take.

Back to the himbo question, I mean, he doesn’t really let himself become a prisoner. He’s at Dracula’s castle for a job. Once he’s done with that job he’s ready to leave, but Dracula makes him stay because he literally locks him in!!! He then explicitly tells him he will stay longer and Jonathan has to accept because he is there in place of his boss, and saying no would be like speaking (negatively) for his boss — and Jonathan is not going to do that. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think a himbo would be able to see all of that subtext within that conversation. I actually don’t know this kind of interaction between a true himbo and Dracula would go, but I imagine not well. Dracula thrives off of interesting conversation and wit, as well as being able to maintain a facade of host and guest. I just don’t see if someone like Kronk could maintain that for long because he would probably be like “but I don’t want to stay longer, let me go” or something, which would end the “game”.

Moving on to the third point, he is nice to Dracula after he knows he’s a prisoner for a reason. When he realizes he’s locked up (which he realizes super fast, by the way), he sits down and has a good, long think about what he can do. More passage evidence!

“I am thinking still, and as yet have come to no definite conclusion. Of one thing only am I certain; that it is no use making my ideas known to the Count. He knows well that I am imprisoned; and as he has done it himself, and has doubtless his own motives for it, he would only deceive me if I trusted him fully with the facts. So far as I can see, my only plan will be to keep my knowledge and my fears to myself, and my eyes open. I am, I know, either being deceived, like a baby, by my own fears, or else I am in desperate straits; and if the latter be so, I need, and shall need, all my brains to get through.”

So he knows Dracula is up to something (or he’s jumped to conclusions) and either way, talking about it is a bad idea. The only way through is to act like nothing’s wrong for now and try to get information out of Dracula. Other than that, he’s going to need to use his brains! Yes, he does talk to Dracula and acts nice — but it’s with a plan and a purpose. Dracula has creeped him out from the start, but he has always been able to maintain good cheer around him. Now, he will put that to use.

So for this himbo test, it’s kind of similar to the second one. Were Kronk in this situation, he would make it by for a while because he probably wouldn’t notice the doors are locked. But once he did…I’m not sure if it would be like the second point where he’d immediately tell Dracula “hey why are all of the doors locked” and the game is up or if his shoulder angel/devil characters would come out to help him. I guess it depends! And to Kronk’s credit, he has figured things out before (e.g. figured out who Pacha was and in relation to Kuzco) *but* it took him like 12 hours after the fact and that’s not how Jonathan operates. Jonathan figures out things pretty quickly. Does he need time to think sometimes? Yes. But he’s pretty much always thinking and trying to figure out more once he’s at Castle Dracula. I just don’t see these two in the same vein here.

For the final point, I haven’t seen much evidence for this, but it needs to be addressed. I think sometimes people tend to equate WifeGuy with “no thoughts, head empty only for wife” and that can be true!!! There are definitely characters like that and I do love them so. Jonathan is undeniably a WifeGuy (and Mina’s not even his wife in name yet), bringing her up anytime he gets a chance. I would argue though that just because he’s in love and brings her up a ton doesn’t mean he’s also not clever and methodical. You can be in love and smart: these can coexist. Mina is a very smart character from what we’ve seen already and she’s in love too!

I don’t really have a Kronk case study for this one, but like anon said — I think Mina is attracted to Jonathan for his smartness and it goes both ways. They love each other for many other reasons (there’s a lot to love!), but I imagine that’s kind of the cherry on top for them.

Why does this matter? I think calling Jonathan a himbo is reducing his character a bit here. Again, I’m not saying being a himbo is bad, but it does discredit his methodical ways and strategy he has in the castle. His methodical nature is part of personality and pretending that doesn’t exist erases his character, in my opinion. Additionally, it raises the question: could a himbo become a lawyer? I…don’t think so…but maybe? Find me a himbo who’s a lawyer and prove me wrong I guess! Wait is Phoenix Wright a himbo…? Question for another time.

In conclusion, Jonathan Harker only passes 1 part of the himbo test (kindness) with flying colors. The strong test he only passes by the tail of his lizard fashion, and as for ditzy? He fails miserably. Recall that for someone to be a true himbo, they have to possess all three traits equally. Even if you could make the case for one, you’d still be missing another. So, no, I don’t think Jonathan Harker is a himbo. You can maybe argue with me that he has himbo moments (if that’s a thing, idk), but overall? No.

[evi-anxiety]

Do you think the paladins regret not spending more time with Allura and get to know her better than just a princess?

Like "do you remember when we were not in mission or training, and she would act totally different. I wish we all could spend time like that back then, not princess or paladins, just friends"

I definitely think there's an interesting divide between "Princess Allura" and just "Allura".

It's clear that the Paladins saw Allura as some kind of leader figure, you know, being the princess of Altea and all that stuff. That being said, I think the loss of "Allura" to the Paladins was a two-way struggle.

On one hand, the Paladins kind of blocked out Allura as being more than a leader pretty early on. We can especially see this in the earlier seasons, where they will do activities and stuff without her present (I think "Space Mall" is a great example of this). I don't think this was done intentionally, but Allura's death forced them to confront this fact.

On the other hand, I think Allura also contributed to this divide. She had a lot on her shoulders, not only being the leader of a dying race, but also the leader of Voltron (in the sense that she was teaching the Paladins how to be Voltron). She was their space guide, their sense of security, and they put a lot of trust on her word.

That being said, she also made a lot of mistakes as a leader, and I think she put the pressure of those failures on herself. So she built this sort of persona of herself to the other Paladins. Leader first, then her second.

To answer your question, I 100% agree that the Paladins regret not spending enough time with just "Allura". They were so caught up in their own needs for a person to fall back that they failed to realize Allura had her own troubles as a person of authority. They cared about her, of course, but I think as a found family a lot of characters had trouble showing that they care.

Idk, maybe after Allura's death they try to come up stories about her outside of missions, and they just. Can't.

[mxltifxnd0m]

RANT INCOMING

i’m aware this is just a me thing and a headcanon but…

you can’t sit here and tell me that sam and dean don’t exclusively go after white women as love interests 😭😭

we only see them be paired up with white women and it lowkey irks me.

and yes i know geographically that the show mostly takes place throughout the country in small towns in the midwest where it’s predominantly white people with some minorities sprinkled throughout.

but the only POC that we see either of the guys with is dean with cassie and that’s it 😭 (i may be wrong and that’s okay).

i would have love to have seen dean or sam with a POC as a love interest (or just a little more poc representation in general).

(this is a me thing and biased bc im half asian) but sam would have been into asian women (THERE I SAID IT).

i’m highly aware that i’m complaining about POC representation for a show that ended almost over 4 years ago, but as i watch the show, i can’t help but notice this.

don’t get me wrong i LOVE the show but it doesn’t mean that i can’t criticize it.

but yeah that’s my 2 cents on this (i def have more to say but i just wanted to keep this short lol)

[aleksanderscult]

Analyzing one of the Darkling's most notorious lines

Even though nobody asked for it, I want to analyze one of Aleksander's most controversial lines.

And it's none other than:

"I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but me."

Most people say that it's proof of his evilness and he can have no redemption and blah, blah. But we miss the big picture here. It's too easy to take a line, say it's evil and move on. I'm not that kind of person. I always look deeper (as you have already noticed) and in this line too there are so many things that can be drawn from about the way he was raised, his mentality at that point of the book and the lengths he would go to take Alina for himself.

Because, my dear people, it's more than a toxic line.

1) I'm gonna start with the most obvious one which is his possessiveness. I've already analyzed this point here so I'm not going to dwell for long.

In the beginning, Aleksander was (more than) willing to kill Mal 'cause he was the greatest obstacle between him and Alina. But as the latter gained more and more allies and friends the number of the people that Aleksander had to kill increased. He knew that she created bonds with most of them something that contrasts his own situation. Because he has none. He has soldiers. He has allies. He has his nichevo'ya. But he has no bond with anyone. Except with Alina. A girl that is too dependent, too caring with her friends so he has to do something about it. There is no way Alina will ever love him as long as those people are alive and he knows it. She will always fight him and push him away as long as there are beloved places to fight for and familiar people to turn to.

So what can he do about it? Destroy everything she cares about and apparently he has already started. He burned the orphanage, the place where she grew up, and killed the only mother figure she ever knew. If, one by one, her comforts are destroyed then Aleksander will be the only person she knows. Yes, in the beginning she will still fight him but as Aleksander has said "You will find I have more practice with eternity". And in the end he would win. Alina would give up. She would surrender to him and give herself completely to the Darkling 'cause he will be the ONLY familiar face she knows. She would forgive him and love him since what other choice could she have? There is none other left.

And for Aleksander it would be the same but for him it would be a victory. Because they have each other at last. No one would keep her away from him and he finally has a person that he can share the eternity with.

(Not me saying that I won't dwell for long and I wrote two paragraphs)

2) This one I consider the most important. This whole "I'm gonna cut you off from every person so you'll have only me" doesn't sound kind of familiar??🤔🤔

Ah, yes. Baghra of course!

For those of you who have read "Demon in the Wood" you know what I mean. But for those who haven't I will explain.

When he was a child, Aleksander kept asking his mother about his father.

Where is he?

Is he dead?

Who was he?

But he never got a good answer. He never knew anything about him.

It's possible that Baghra told him that he was a powerful Heartrender. But even that is not confirmed in text. We, the fans, guess it because the Darkling always showed favor to Heartrenders. And he might did this out of some repressed fondness for him.

But anyway back to Baghra. It's obvious that she didn't want him to think or feel anything about his father. She chose to keep everything a secret to her son in order to cut him off from any bond he could create with his father.

I believe she did this for two reasons:

A) Because she's not one for sentiment, as the Darkling himself had once said. She's not the type of person to say to her children "Oh my sweeties! Your father was tall and handsome with dark hair. He was a really good man". Not in a million years I imagine her to behave or say something like that.

B) Because she wants him for herself. When she was a child her mother didn't care at all for her. She only showed love towards her otkazat'sya sister. And the same went for her father. She saw a powerful Grisha bring an otkazat'sya back to life and he got killed for it. So, two members of her family died leaving her behind.

And when she gave birth to a powerful son, she wants him to stay with her forever. To love her and be his only companion. She didn't treat him with open love. She didn't kiss him goodnight and there is evidence that she verbally and emotionally abused him. If he ever did something that she didn't like, that didn't go along with her opinions and plans, she opposed him and scolded him. But she did it because she knew that he would always forgive her. He would always come back to her because there is no one else like them. Powerful, immortal, filled with so many and similar experiences.

They say that sometimes victims replicate the same pattern when they grow up.

And with the Darkling it's true.

Now he does the same to Alina. And whatever else he also did to her is a result of Baghra's upbringing that he repeats. He wants her to depend on him, to turn to him for love and company. To forget everyone else. Because no one will understand her like he does. And when he kills people she cares about, when he destroys places that mean something to her, he does it because he knows that she'll forgive him. Because she'll realize that he's the only one that will stay with her forever. Everyone else is dust and bones but not them.

Furthermore, eternity will make her tired of fighting him and hating him. "You'll tire of everything" as the Darkling said. Just like he did.

So yes, in this infamous line we can see that Baghra's manipulation and abuse towards him affected him and rubbed off him.

Here he speaks like her.

3) I think we all agree that the Darkling's dream to provide a safe home and life to the Grisha and put an end to the constant wars that Ravka suffers from is noble and reasonable. He's actually the only person that DOES something about this.

But by book three the Darkling's mentality has gotten worse, in large part because of Alina's constant rejections. She keeps slipping away from his hands, she keeps fighting him and she always keeps her power away from him. A power that he desperately needs and awaited for hundreds of years. All of these have made him almost mad from fury and despair and even though his strategic skills haven't been diminished, he now seems more concerned about having Alina than giving the Grisha a haven. He's no longer mentally stable to do it especially after he saw his mother commit suicide. Right now, he's willing to go to extreme, brutal lengths to have her and fuck the world and the casualties that are needed for this.

In conclusion, that line of his goes deeper than "oH mY GoD hE'S sO EviL! ThE ToXiCiTY!".

Yes, he's toxic and that line was toxic as well but what can you expect from a person that was raised by an abusive parent, never had a home, never had friends, didn't know how to form healthy bonds with others, saw so many loved ones die a mortal death and couldn't stop the wars that plagued his country?

Toxicity was the only path eternity would allow him to take apparently.

And if you want to know my opinion. I don't see the Darkling as the villain, but as an anti-villain (an anti-villain is a character that has a noble goal but the means he uses to achieve it is controversial and catastrophic, like Magneto).

A man that had a viable plan to stop the Grisha persecution but when you are immortal and see atrocities again and again for hundreds of years your heart becomes colder and harder. I don't think he took pleasure from killing people (like Voldemort, for example). For him they were just casualties of a war that, according to him, needed to be sacrificed. And he saw them this way because they were dust and bones for him. There was once a time (when he was much younger and more innocent) when he saw people as people. With their own lives and emotions. But the constant loss of people he cared about made him stop trying. Stop trying to make bonds and feel emotions (and this aspect of him was confirmed by the author itself in an interview).

Just like he said in the same scene:

“I have lived a long life, rich in grief. My tears are long since spent. If I still felt as you do, if I ached as you do, I could not have borne this eternity.”

He used to cry but not anymore.

He used to feel grief, sorrow and emotional pain but he forced himself to withdraw from any sentimentality.

He had closed his heart a looong time ago.

(UNTIL ALINE CAME AND PIERCED THAT ARMOR HEHE)

[hedwig221b]

I must must must tell you, Eros mania is one of my all time favorite sterek fics! And trust me when I say I’ve been ballsdeep sterek since like ages lmao! I especially got intrigued by the “cat and mouse” game “stiles” was playing pushing the limit of what is/is not cheating despite him being taken over by an evil spirit. The part where real Stiles gets horrified by what’s happening and begs for mercy from Derek sobbing on his feet, it realllly made me yearn for a plot like that in the future lmao. One where their love is put to test with adultery~ in loose terms because it depends for people what is seen as cheating and what not. But 🤔 yeah really loved this aspect in the story, wouldn’t mind to see it explored some more in your future works hehe. Thank you for bestowing this masterpiece upon us mere peasants

Thank you soooooo much, darling! 💗💜💗💜💗

Eros Mania Amor is one of my faves as well, so thank you for sharing the love! Stiles playing and being all flirty with anyone other than Derek was sooo weird to write, I was like "Derek! Come get your man" all the time lol, and he definitely did!

I know it's weird to say this, especially considering what happens in the fic (nothing happens!!!) but cheating in fics is sooooooooo not my thing. Sorry! Like, EMA situation is the only way for me to explore the "cheating" aspect, or that one scene I did in Predators. Or the whole situation of Angel, Ignited.

It's when one of them has to, or forced to. Never because they would actually cheat. And they suffer the entire time because it's so unbearable and unnatural to be with another. Like, that scene you mentioned with Stiles falling to his knees and begging for Derek's forgiveness despite him not really cheating (I'll stand on that)... I fucking love that scene.

I mean I can't read them basically with anyone other than each other, I'm so not a multishipper it's bad... Can't even handle exes, I swear, I start yelling and crawling up the walls at the bare mention of st*dia or st*lia or st*o, or Derek with that bitch... and another bitch... or even the badass one god bless her I know she is loved by the fandom but that man is off limits 🚫

So yeah... I mean, I can always twist things like in EMA, but never truly cheating. They are obsessed with each other forever and always 💗

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

me facing off against the same paragraph for the third night in a row:

[sweepweep]

My hot take on D1:

Hifumi is not the perv of D1. Sure he’s a little odd, he submits like a dog to Celeste, and he loves fictional women, but like so do most of us. He makes some icky comments, but NONE of that even COMPARES to TOKO.

Hifumi’s a little freak but Toko is downright creepy. She stalks Byakuya, ignores him repeatedly telling her no, and makes so many comments about and to him. Not to mention to tons of pervy things shes said to about most of the cast. She’ll accuse them of being creepy then openly enjoy it, meanwhile whoever it was about didn’t even consider the creepy side. Makoto spaced out when meeting her, she accuses him of “undressing her with his eyes” then smiles and giggles and says something about not really minding while blushing

She assumes the perviest of everyone and just really makes them all super uncomfortable. She ignores them asking her to stop

Hifumi may be a bit of an oddball and a bit freaky, but most of it is towards Celeste, who PLAYS INTO IT and ENCOURAGES IT, and fictional women

TLDR: Hifumi’s uncomfortable and odd, but Toko is a literal stalker and ignores all boundaries, making her the perv of D1

[genghisthebrain]

gale being the prim reaper is the most hilariously incorrect take I’ve ever heard in my life

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

if dorian didn't show up, do you think louis would have shot minnie?

I do. I know some people think either he wouldn't have or he would've missed so that's why the writers had him shoot Dorian instead, but mmmmmm no, I don't personally think so. I like to think that if he had taken the shot, his shaky hands would've caused him to shoot her fatally.

Mostly because I'm already so normal about the fact that of the Ericson crew, Marlon and Louis are the only ones with a body count. Well, that we know of, but shown to us in the game, at least. Plus, we know it's Louis' first kill.

Like yeah, Clementine and AJ become part of the crew and they have bigger body counts, and if we're counting indirect kills caused by actions, then Tenn has a count... and I guess everyone has blood on their hands for blowing up the boat... but I'm talking about killed directly with a weapon like....... I lied, I'm not normal about that at all, Louis and Marlon are the ones who have killed someone in Louis' route. I'm also not normal about the fact that Louis kills Dorian and then even as he's clearly in shock, he tries to go with Clementine to get AJ, and then later on when they talk about it, he says it feels like bile but not quite and he's glad he has it in him to do it.... listen, listen, listen... I'm obsessed with that.

Anyway, so if Louis shot Minerva, I think he would've accidentally killed her and can you imagine? He's already enough of a mess after killing the woman who pinned him down and tried to cut his finger off [or succeeded] but he knew Minerva, they were friends before the twins were taken. Even Violet couldn't kill her even though that would've been the smarter thing to do, and we know thanks to meta knowledge that killing her would've saved lives, but Violet couldn't, and I don't think Louis would intentionally either.

Speaking of Violet, if Louis killed Minerva, I hate to think about what that would've done to Vi. I think she might've actually left at that point, like what was planned before it got changed to her being burned. I don't think she would've attacked Louis over it, though, like yeah she attacked Clementine in the cell but Louis? I don't know, but I don't think so just because it's Louis and he'd be a mess about it anyway.

Though if he did kill her, it would be a neat parallel to draw... y'know, because Louis forgave AJ for killing Marlon even though he was pissed and heartbroken, and Violet was annoyed with him the entire time... but could she ever forgive Louis for killing Minerva? Y'know? We already have a similar parallel with AJ shooting Tenn, but still.

If Clementine killed Minerva in that moment, though, then I could see Violet attacking her since in her eyes, Clem proved her right.

So yeah, I get why they added the Dorian kill to his route. It adds another compelling element to Louis as a character, but we also need Minerva alive for episode 4; Louis can't kill her, he can't miss, and he's not going to stay with her because we need Violet to stay on the boat and him to be on shore for all routes.

[cosmicqvake]

Okay, so I’m nearing the end of S5 in my latest AOS rewatch, and I saw a few tiktoks, and I just wanna sorta rant for a second.

I may be a massive Daisy stan above literally all else, wbk she’s my best girl… but I believe that Yo-Yo was in the right to kill Ruby Hale. Period.

Firstly, I know revenge isn’t the SHIELD way, I get that, but at the very same time there is so much hypocrisy there surrounding other team members (eg. Coulson had his revenge on Ward, Jemma ALSO tried to get revenge on Ward but failed, Hunter as well, even May was intent on it, etc) so why shouldn’t Yo-Yo also get to have her revenge? Ruby left her disabled for life (and did it on purpose + showed no resentment + would do it again, might I ADD, by literally repeatedly threatening Fitzsimmons with the very same thing). Yo-Yo deserved vengeance, in some way.

I understand Daisy’s motive in wanting to save Ruby, to bring her on as a SHIELD agent and try to give her a new purpose, the same way she was/had- but this never could have happened. SHE CUT YO-YO’S ARMS OFF- DISABLING HER. Allowing her to become a SHIELD agent after this fact would be just as bad as welcoming Ward back onto the team with open arms after what he did to Fitz- which left him with a permanent disability in return too (in a different way but obv similar to Yo-Yo nonetheless). Both Ruby and Ward were HYDRA. Both significantly hurt a team member on PURPOSE. It’s the same deal. Bringing her onto the team would’ve been wrong.

Finally, Daisy claimed Ruby was “coming around” just before Yo-Yo killed her. Daisy, ilysm, but girl. 😭 Ruby literally tried to kill Daisy moments earlier, as well as throw inanimate objects (and Fitzsimmons…) around the room with her mind. She killed Werner by accident (which shows the serious lack of control she had- and how dangerous she was in that moment), not to mention she was refusing to be reasoned with (and couldn’t be). She was completely out of control and it wasn’t going to get better (look at what happened to Creel after he merely touched the Gravitonium- he never improved).

In a way, Yo-Yo did her a favour by killing her. Even if another solution came along in time, Yo-Yo, as the others would regularly say, MADE THE HARD CALL. She did what was best in that moment. Not to mention, Yo-Yo also thought that by killing her, she saved the world. Although this proved false, at the time she thought she was doing the right thing to save all of literal humanity. As I said, in the end, she made the hard call.

Not to mention, Yo-Yo admitted that she’s not proud of what she did. It’s not like she enjoyed killing her. Yet, so many people make her out to be some monster. I hate it.

In conclusion, I’m on Yo-Yo’s side with that whole thing (and hate seeing people- and the team themselves- giving her absolute hell for it). However I truly flip-flop between all the characters during S5 and their many arguments. MAN, that season is always a tough watch for so, so many reasons. It’s good, but painful.

(P.S. I’m convinced most of the people who stan Ruby are just Dove Cameron fans. Which I have nothing against. You do you. 11 year old me was her biggest fan frfr. But other than that, I don’t see why people like her character so much tbh. But alas.)

[untilsfe]

I've been thinking about this for some time now. About the Jotaro being Kenichi's or Usagi's son thing. And as much as I love to see Kenichi being appreciated by the good man he is... Guys, don't neglect Usagi like that, he also deserves to be called Jotaro's dad, and not only because of their blood bond.

First, I want to set clear that I'm with everyone else that thinks Kenichi is the real parental figure of Jotaro. He and Mariko did an excellent job raising that kid. But let's set things clear; 1. The fact that Usagi is Jotaro's father doesn't cancel all the time and experiences Jotaro had with Kenichi. Jotaro has 6-7 years of memories in which he had a good man taking care of him; they love each other and I don't think that would ever change.

2. The circumstances. If Usagi wasn't there to see Jotaro grow and be part of his life, was because Mariko chose not to. A valid choice being the mother of the child, but that left Usagi and Jotaro in ignorance of their relationship for years. And when Jotaro discovered who his biological father was, he just had the understandable wish to get to know him, and be with him. Not because Kenichi wasn't a good dad, but because he is on his right. The right to meet this man that he could have called father.

And 3. Usagi, who also was denied the chance to meet his son and wants to spend time with him too, is also exercising his right as a parent to spend time with his child. And if them both, Usagi and Jotaro, wish to build their relationship from scratch and finally be there for each other, I mean--we have to recognize it and let them have it!!

And that does not mean his kid will be taken away from Kenichi. By all means, he will always be a part of Jotaro. In everything he does, no matter the situation he is in, Jotaro will always carry the teachings of Kenichi fondly in his heart.

But then again, Usagi, even if he in the present time is not "worthy" of being called Jotaro's father properly, the important thing is that he wants to earn that title, and he is willing to do everything he can to be there. They have an entire lifetime ahead to make their bond stronger.

This is not a matter of who did or will do more for Jotaro, who left a bigger mark or who will he look up to when he grows up. It's that both men love this kid, both will be a part of him, and both will protect him at all costs. So I say we call them both Jotaro's Dads and no more "the dad who stepped up" or "the dad who's left out" because, I don't know you, but that makes it sound like a Jim Hawkins (Treasure planet) kind of trope and doesn't make justice to the beautiful construction of a relationship this three actually have.

None of them are bad for what they are doing, nor Kenichi nor Usagi are the villains of each other's story. In the end, we all know it's Mariko's fault, ok no x'd lol. They just do what they can.

[couldtheycatchkillerqueen]

Regarding the recent post:

Killer Queen is too short ranged of a stand to affect most sleuths and it's not in Kira's character to drop Sheer Heart Attack at the police departament and hope.

Kira generally doesn't have many ways to deal with characters that: Work in teams. Work from far away. Have any sort of records showing that they're invastigating him.

The man had to be bailed out by Bites the Dust and still lost Most sleuths wouldn't even let Kira get away for long enough for him to aquire Bites the Dust so that's not even something to consider in most of these cases.

{But you're really ignoring one thing: It can't be detected by anyone but Stand Users. Why would they think they needed to investigate Yoshikage Kira specifically? There's no evidence of the killings, since in canon, even the police didn't try to investigate the mysterious disappearances. The sleuths would mostly not be able to understand that Killer Queen exists, and even if they assumed it was something supernatural, there's still no evidence. And the man managed to impersonate another man in front of his family, landlord, coworkers, and everyone who may have talked to Kosaku on the street, with only the man's child catching on. Had Hayato never thought to set up a camera in his parents' room, Kira would have never been caught at all. And Kira doing poorly against teams of people investigating him doesn't line up when he's gotten away from them twice (he would have escaped Jotaro and Koichi were it not for Act III, and he did escape the entire Duwang Gang when they were chasing him by severing his own hand), plus managing to keep his identity secret from EVERYONE except Hayato until the kid figured out how to use the time-loop to his advantage. You're right that most of the time Killer Queen wouldn't get to Bites the Dust, but it would be because Kira wouldn't need to. He has eliminated people in broad daylight before, and he could do so again when against someone who can't see Stands.}