#i do think hes a villain and hes done bad things but i also think he gets characterized wayyyy too black and white

[simplepotatofarmer]

ermmmm ggnaws on that anon for you . hi loyalll! wanted to share my 2 cents based on tthat post you just made.

c!dream THINKS he knnows what he wants; or at the very least acts like it. he puts on a shhow and performs based on how otthers perceive him. he doesnt know how to process how he feels about his own actions so he thinks hhis goal is to just be the big villain, plain and simple. nobody else was fufilling the role anyway. but thats not what he actually wants, this guy is just so ddamn emotionally illiterate and stuck in denial. hes torn up inside but he'll be damned if anyone *pities* him of all thinggs. so he just digs himself further, fueled by his dissatisfaction that he either cant recognize or outright ignores.

and reallistically imo; he wont learn, not on his own, not until its too late. maybe things could've gone differenttly, maybe if he had a little mmore time. but to him shoving his issues aside is second nature to him, maybe he's scared of who he might be if hes not tthe big bad.

guh i have more thoughts but dunno hhow to word them, just my thoughts as the resident c!dream fictive teehee - @pandoras_hound

(also hope youre hholding up alright!!)

yeah!

like, what dream's stated goals are don't really align with techno's, though the 'big happy family' bit does and as i've said, his tactics are at odds with techno's (for the most part: people tend to forget techno is vengeful and like, waterboarded a guy).

anyway.

you're right that a lot of the issue is dream's.... inability to really deal with his own feelings. he desperately tries to compartmentalize everything that he does and that happens to him, to find a reason that makes sense for the why of it. there's a lot of almost working backwards when it comes to dream which i know sounds weird but.

i do think it's interesting that, before the finale, some of the moments in the prison with techno show dream, like, coming close to getting it? i'm thinking about the moment with the potatoes and 'does this hurt you' or the entire conversation about church prime which i unironically think is one of the most important conversations had or just techno's consistent pointing out of dream not being okay.

he absolutely needed an outside push because he's never addressed or coped with anything that he's done or was done to him. he's either ignored it or weaponized it.

and i think techno gets that which is why i think, if things were different, he could've given dream space and that push to figure it out.

#loyal answers things #dreblr #rivals duo #rivalsblr #c!dream #dsmp

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

deeply enjoy that the novel can also be read as a commentary on the fallacy of information. we have zzs as the main narrator who adds to this nuance by being a former spymaster and leader of a bunch of proficient investigators. hes very intimate with the process of verification of information, and even his vast databank of knowledge and his abilities of filtering and sorting the "true" from the "fake" is tested throughout the novel through many instances and events. its especially interesting because he makes a major mistake, almost from the very start, that he resolves only after a very long time, and only after overcoming personal weaknesses. his personal weakness at recognizing truth vs decept reveals itself in the inability to meet personal events with a human perspective; he is basically functioning like a person with two lives, and most of the time, he at least acts as if he is regarding wkx, suspected master of ghosts, from the professional business grounds of the retired leader of shadows rather than from the perspective of a person with an adventurous life and wishes of his own. in this lies the danger to misinterpret and to refuse to confront what is truly going on. if zzs cant 'find' the "true reason" for the ghost master following his humble retired self, he is going to do his utmost to make up one (on the basis of his personal and professional experience with such situations), instead of considering at least once the admittedly unlikely chance that wkx might like him and is even deeply sincere about him. this doesnt signal anything less but that we, as the reader, should not irrevocably trust even the one person who is in most stories the most trustworthy; the main narrator. instead, we are advised to reserve us the right to doubt and think for ourself, to look critically upon even zzs, which only circles back to the novel's theme of the fallacy of information. it even lends to the novel's dialogue with the human right to form your own opinion and your own thoughts and come to your own conclusions, no matter how much they might diverge from norm or mainstream or traditions, and no matter how tempting it might be not to.

#tian ya ke #just thoughts im having while im continuing my reread #zhou zishu from tyk #zhou zishu #this has me wondering if zzs's struggle with himself regarding trusting in wkx's display of sincerity #can also be read as his general struggle with being a person with a life of his own and private opinions in service of no other than himsel #one of the things he learns is that is okay to have desires and its okay to Be a person #oftentimes that reveals itself in the novel's question of morality as a concept and the conditions for receiving love and care #'are villains and ppl whove done bad stuff deserving of love and care? do they need to earn it?' #but i think it also comes true here where zzs essentially needs to find a way to be human again #going from having lived a life with a truly atrocious work/life balance to a life that is fully and entirely his own #(i always think that zzs taking the nails has a lot to do with reclaiming ownership) #(and also with 'detoolifying' himself; hes turning himself into a cripple he is 'useless'. this gives him the justification #he needs to live according to his own personal whims and desires.) #updating my tags to find my insane chat with geneticcatalyst again-> #bouncing thoughts back and forth #the mutual tag #geneticcatalyst

[saturnsorbits]

Okay, so I know we all hate him, but Mahito is a legitimately brilliant villain...

#He's what happens when the trope of 'Villain just wanting to watch the world burn' is done right. #He's the embodiment of 'Fuck around and find out'. #Does he do morally incomprehensible things? Yes. Is that what makes him such a good bad guy? Also yes. #There's no arguing either... #90% of the fan base can't stand him and if that isn't proof of him being brilliantly written as a villain idk what is. #I think what I like the most about it is that there's no attempt to humanise or moralise him - at all. #He's bad. #Full stop. #And instead of making this reduce his character to one dimension; he's jam packed full of personality instead. #He's fun and carefree and silly - trying to figure out what else he can fuck up in the world. #He still has motivations and wants... Fuck; he even learns fear when he makes the mistake of touching Sakuna. #(This fear is also then his ultimate downfall as we realise it's his most defining trait...) #Also he's super fucking fun to watch in fights; lets be honest. #And his technique is cool as fuck. #Is this me coming out to say I'm kind of down for a bit of Mahito? #- Everyone look away - #Yes. Yes it is. #Is he a horrific; gross little gremlin man that deserves the worst and is probably responsible for killing your fave? #Yes. #Do I want to squish him into a little bottle and keep him on a shelf so I can shake him when I'm annoyed - #and let him out from time to time to have a little fun with? #Also; regrettably; yes.

[skitskatdacat63]

omg Katie do not apologize for the tags I eat them up!!! I also get emotional about how well?? everyone gets along with each other on the team 🥹 That's your villain? He's out here trending on TikTok

There's just something soooooo incredibly nice about how he has a team that suits him, loves him, will do anything for him, gets along with him, gives him a decent car etc etc. I think even if Aston has slump periods, that's fine with me because I think ignoring those, everything he's gotten this year makes up for all those years of suffering with teams that didn't respect him and treat him well enough. Also its so irritating how so many people, especially on reddit, are SO sure he's going to turn his back on Aston. Don't you know they love him and he loves them???? And also people who think he's just putting up with the tiktoks and stuff, noooooooo he loves being silly and funny 🥺🥺

#the villainization of fernando alonso.... #KIDDING LOL #i do think hes a villain and hes done bad things but i also think he gets characterized wayyyy too black and white #people dont appreciate his sillyness 🥺🥺 #and its so nice that aston indulges that #BUT YEAH GOD THEY GET ALONG SO WELL ITS LIKE A BIG FAMILY 😭😭😭😭 #i was looking at my old tags from jeddah(i think) the other day #and back then i was talking abt how i love the whole family close vibe of aston #and its nice to know nothings changed if not gotten better!!!! #also *catie 🥺 thats one of my pet peeves hahaha everyone always spells my name wrong irl :/ #catie.asks.

[ladiesoftheages]

Someone remind me sometime to post my essay about the way people talk about Henry VIII

#i’m a disability studies major #and one of the most common topics of conversation in dis studs #is the relationship between disability and villains #and that people with disabilities are often made out to be villains #but villains are also made out to have disabilities #because disability is a manifestation of inner evil #shakespeare famously did this with r3 #but it’s an idea that goes back pretty much to the bible #and this idea is so ingrained in our culture we do it withiut thinking #and people absolutely do this with h8 #calling him a monster…guess what? #that’s a manifestation of this idea #harping on about his weight and using ‘fat’ as a perjorative? #that’s also a manifestation of this #for people that don’t like h8; it’s not enough for him to have just done bad things #he also has to be grotesque and deformed because that just proves how evil he really was #it’s funny the number of times people have talked about h8 in this way to me #and i’m like…girl if only you knew that i’m a disabled person whose academic career is literally dedicated to this very subject #and you’re just feeding me even more evidence that proves my point #but i digress… #henry viii #also don’t even get me started on the people who have gotten mad at me for saying h8 was disabled #because as well as people who villainize disability #there are also people that sanctify it #and think that all disabled people are perfect little angels who can do no wrong #(the overwhelming message you get from doing disability studies is that people’s attitudes on disability are just fucking WEIRD #and why can’t anyone just be NORMAL) #disability #disability studies #i wonder how many people actually read the tags…

[yuridovewing]

Feel like one of the best ways you can convince someone that no, villains with compelling motives that have sad backstories are not terrible writing compared to straight up born evil villains who just want to kill everyone and be done with it, is to tell them that Warrior Cats writes born evil villains constantly while literally preaching “That’s how evil works, you can’t CHANGE, you’re either touched by demons at birth or you aren’t!” and it blows chunks

#brokenstar tigerstar hawkfrost darktail one eye etc etc would all be so much more interesting if they werent so one note #and just had ‘’born evil’’ slapped on as their explanation for being evil #‘’ew why are you woobifying tigerstar’’ because i think a villain who feels emotion besides ‘’evil’’ and ‘’angry’’ and actually does care #about his clanmates but is also a bigot that deserves to be beaten down is more interesting than canon #to get like real world political here… abusive people and bigots like. are not one note born evil demons #they have loved ones and reasons for turning out the way they did. and im not saying that to go ‘’so you need to give them grace!’’ #im saying that because the line of thinking that every bad person is a super obvious mustache twirling villain with no soul #makes it so that people justify abuse and crimes from REAL people. like ‘’oh my friend says some racist things but he isnt BAD! he loves me! #would an abusive person be nice to his wife in public? of course not!’’ #and its rhetoric like that that lets abuse and bigotry thrive. if you put the world in categories of born evil and born good #then you will dismiss all the ‘’good’’ people in your life who have done horrible things with ‘’but she donated to charity once’’ #i mean. hell this LITERALLY happens in wc where the ‘’born good’’ characters are abusive and murderously xenophobic #where characters like clear sky and blackstar just get a sticker like ‘’oh you cant be TOO mad at them! theyre good at heart!’’ #‘’ignore all the times they killed vulnerable people for the crime of being born somewhere they didnt like! they were nice to a kid once!’’ #the message there is literally ‘’bad people cant REALLY be bad if theyre nice to people sometimes’’ #like. im not even mad at clear sky being motivated by witnessing his loved ones starve to death for why hes such an abusive control freak #thats an interesting reason to become a villain especially since the change happened when he was put in a position of power #the problem is not him having a sad backstory. the problem is the erins think his sad backstory means he was never that bad #and anyone who’s upset at him can go eat shit and die cause he looked sad #like. i get this line of thinking often comes from writers doing this for abuse apologism and just wanting to see abusers be held accountabl #accountable #but how exactly does it help victims of abuse to portray abusers and bigots in a christian ‘’touched by the devil’’ light

[vaugarde]

another wc take is that the girlbossification of mapleshade is boring as hell

#why was she suddenly involved in like. everything. #as a crookedstar's promise truther she was honestly at her best in that book imo bc she was one fucked up woman #who took it upon herself to torture the bloodline of a man who hurt her even years after hes gone and no one knows his name #and the descendants have done absolutely nothing to deserve her vitriol. like she was hurting but what made her a villain #was how she took it out on a literal child who was already being treated like shit by his mom #this is also why i dont like takes that are like ''oh shes a good person actually she was just angry and mad and everyone wronged her #and shes actually a nice ghost that helps people'' bc that was never who she was and she was still fucked up for the murder #im not saying shes a bad character for doing that like shes an antagonist and i appreciate her #but i feel like ppl latched onto her being the one female villain and went ''oh my god shes a girlboss shes so awesome and not bad actually' #do u think mapleshade had girlpower when she made a disabled child watch his family die bc of a bloodline he cant control #to an extent its kinda like how ppl treat thistle? who's obviously much much worse than her but like its the same #''oh its bad writing for them to be punished and treated as antagonists bc they had like one nice thing at one point- #and that one nice moment outweighs every single evil thing they did even if it was literal child murder. its ok if ur sad #'' #idk i think its obnoxious like its in the books and the fanon at this point and its just made me bored of her character #sometimes less is more and when u start trying to excuse her actions or forcing her into everyone else's story #the character has a lot less impact #like i still remember her ranting at the end of crookedstars promise when she was raging at crookedstar that he shouldnt have been born #i dont think i remember anything from like. tigerclaws fury or whatever. #echoed voice

[leatherbookmark]

i had op blocked so ray’s rebloggathon was tragically Absent from my dash but now that i caught up, *hyeju voice* el oh el

#and OF COURSE it's this user lmao #and OF COURSE they have a piss poor grasp on jgy as a character #'jgy setting up a 10+ year scheme that would allow him to reach the highest possible power in the cultivation world' lichrally did not #happen. like of course you think wwx is Morally Better than 90% of the characters if you see them as those villainous caricatures #(also the idea that wwx is the protagonist because he's morally Good and we're supposed to root for him is amazing #because idk op's country nor its curriculum but we read crime and punishment in high school. books where the protagonist has Something #Wrong With Them are not some kinda advanced shit you have to go through an initiation and a blood pact to see. its high school #'well Y is bad because everything they've ever done is bad and evil. meanwhile X is good because everything they've done was either #good or fully justified or forced onto him by the circumstances' is op aware how silly this sounds #jesus the more i scroll down the more bullshit i see. jgy antis are notorious for pulling shit out of their ass and trusting our number one #source of information sect leader yao but this is just. very funny. jgy's decade+ plan of killing people to achieve the highest position in #the jianghu. the way they believe 100% that jgy has killed jrs. the way they clearly got the sect he exterminated for jrs's murder mixed up #with the he sect that was murdered for xy yes but UNDER JGS'S RULE. it's all there! #'i really don’t think i’m reading the same book as some of these people' are you reading the book though #shrimp thoughts #ok i'm gonna go to sleep but gosh #the funniest thing is that people aren't even fully condemning wwx for doing the fucked up shit he did. i've never seen anyone insist that #wwx is actually the villain or that you're supposed to hate him. just that he had his moments of unnecessary cruelty #WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE wc and wlj killed everyone in the lotus pier i understand fully why he'd go there. but the same understanding #is not being extended to jgy and his cruelty is being used as a gotcha re: why he's actually the worst evilvillain who doesn't deserve #sympathy. and like bro no they are BOTH exhibiting unnecessary cruelty because they're driven by fury and hatred for people who ruined thei #lives. they're sitting at the same fucking table! but noooooo wwx is an angel. come the fuck on

[kiss2012]

ummmmm ok.

#911 lb #the henren and maddie storylines were great #i really loved the henren one genuinely #and i love that buck showed up for 5 minutes did that tackle burned lasagna and noticed eddie’s cologne like truly buck girls stand up!! #bobby’s storyline also promises to be rlly good i like amir i hope they don’t villainize him or anything #im thinking back to like end of s2 and when they had that boy bobby indirectly hurt and mostly he was just shown as the bad guy and he #kind of was obviously but im hoping for some more nuance with amir #because thinking about 2x18 with buck (basically bobby’s son) getting hurt by the son of someone who bobby and athena indirectly harmed #that was a rlly good storyline and one of the best season finales they had imo #so i wanna see where they go with this now #and eddie. well like. i’ll reserve my opinions until next week i guess #i do love shannon. genuinely shannon was one of my faves she’s one of the most complex and interesting characters the show has ever done #and i love her and eddie’s relationship i always will #but a doppleganger is soooo soap opera-y 😭 im trying hard to take it serious on one hand it’s like wow this is kind of horrifying and #fascinatingly messy and interesting #and on the other it’s a bit ridiculous #also it’s difficult to see eddie’s progress from his (good) s5 arc….just put aside?? #he might not have dealt with shannon but was he rlly at This Point u know… #i really can’t excuse the marisol of it all tho it makes zero sense to have her around for this just to be cheated on like…why the nun #thing and now no mention of that so what was it all for… #there’s sm going on rn…. #anyways im returning to my s2 (beloved) rewatch

[fuckingbeautiful]

Sometimes… being a hater… can get a little tiring

#I want Alvaro to drop dead so bad #I think I hate him more than steve #idk Steve’s done some pretty despicable things to my friends #but Alvaro has been god awful to me personally #but also his godawful ness can’t do much more than make me mad #at least unless he escalates to cartoon villain levels of underhanded assholery #but I don’t think he can unilaterally do the one truly evil thing I’m concerned about #basically unless he goes nuclear all he can do is piss me off #but piss me off he has!!!! #god I hate him

[babygirlbuckaroo]

.

#i wanna write buck as a terrible person So Bad. but i’m too busy and already neglecting my fic for the big bang #i just can’t stop thinking about it today #a buck who is exceedingly selfish and manipulative and a liar and is actively fucking people over on purpose #like hes an absolute sweetheart to eddie and chris but is also really toxic and possessive about them #making himself absolutely indispensable to their lives so they can’t even think about leaving him #actively plotting against anyone who tries to ‘steal them’ from him #can’t decide how evil i’d make him. maybe capable of murder? i’m not sure #maddies the only one who knows how Evil he can be. eddie is starting to find out but he’s in too deep now it’s too late #also buck being toxic and possessive about bobby….. yeah yeah yeah #except unlike eddie bobby isn’t irreparably in love with him. so he starts investigating him and is horrified by what he finds #the absolute Horror settling into eddies bones when he learns about the things buck’s done #and the simultaneous realisation + certainty that there is nothing buck can do that would make eddie actually want to leave #the knowledge that eddie and chris are the only thing holding buck back from becoming a full on villain #the hope that by keeping him busy and giving him a nice family suburban life they can keep others safe from him #and the kinky smut potential oh my god #i Need it #ARGHHHH #i’m even giving it its own tag so i can come back to this in future: #evil buck #rambling

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

well I'll be. there is Obito trash talk happening on my FE dash. -holds hand over heart and makes the most disgusted, offended Lorenz sound, you probably know the sound-

#DCB Comments #I'M KIDDING. mostly. :) bc you're all free to your opinions :) #I JUST NEVER EXPECTED HATE ON MY FAVORITE NARUTO CHARACTER ON MY FE DASH LOL #sorry folks he's been my (naruto) favorite since... a long time now ain't got time to change that now (i don't want to LEL) #i know what y'all're sayin i just have /opinions/. ones that have lasted for like what 15 years or so now? #counting pre-Tobi's face era? don't remember exactly but smth around there! #a lot of my favorites are sad uwu boys i think... but hey hikaru no go is great guys there are no villains! #at least no villains that engage in crimes of any sort so hey that's cool! #sadly tho I think the stans in this fandom have uh. really ruined ppl's perceptions on villains #mainly that villains aren't viewed as sympathetically when they should be/can be #'cause I feel like a lot of ppl who have dealt with those fuckheads have become more like... #critical of villains in general? esp ones that the story is trying to say aren't all that bad #it feels a bit like there's less tolerance for villains who have ''a good cause'' in mind bc of Edelgard #which is sad bc it's also like Edelgard herself and the writing for her for those games #did kinda ruin it for other villains who don't have identical situations to her. I feel like there's a lot of like #''no second chances'' toward antagonists/villains even though for me personally I feel like #second chances are the most important thing depending on circumstance. like giving a criminal a second chance can be important #like I don't forgive ppl who say like ''oh I killed to see what it felt like'' which is actually a very real thing that happens #but complicated circumstances? I like Dimitri's way of doing things in the sense that he's not just executing all criminals #mister Duscur Tragedy-aware fuckface was jailed but presumably not killed bc Dimi is done with death as immediate punishment #and I think it's very humane to give criminals a second chance if they're willing to atone #that includes a second chance not just to stop being a criminal but to be a normal person again #and ofc it depends on the severity plus circumstances (again no sympathy for killers who do it out of plain morbid curiosity) #that's why I love how Dimi handles Miklan. his case was severe but it was handled as you get a second chance but #the second you try something you're dead on the spot. Dimi knows better than to put his ppl in danger by giving criminals a second chance #he's fair to the criminal in question but also keeping his ppl safe at the same time. it's a very fair method imo #still tho I've seen ppl compare Eren from AoT to Edelgard which disgusted me lol the narrative differences are EXTREME #Edelgard has legit just ruined it for antagonists villains and anti-heroes and it sucks #(I don't mean specifically the post that spurred this LOL I mean I've literally seen the damage TH has done to other media across socials)

[whyamihereat4am]

my favourite thing about chuuya nakahara is that he's just kind of. chill. about everything. he's like, my tragic backstory has no hold on me, i went to therapy and i'm all good now. i'm a bad guy cuz it pays good and my found family happens to be here. what do you mean that's not a good reason, you a cop or something?

someone will betray him and he'll go ok well that's pretty upsetting. they probably had a good reason though. i'll forgive them if they let me get a good punch in. if they're really just a hater they're giving me bad vibes and i don't wanna deal with 'em at all tbh.

things have been done to him that would warrant a lifelong crusade of revenge for anyone else, but for chuuya nakahara it's just, that was super not cool but i'll let it slide if you get therapy with me.

chuuya is down for any crime and thinks moral boundaries are for losers and stuff but he's the nicest guy in the port mafia when it comes to not mistreating his subordinates and probably helps old ladies cross the street. he shows up for a solid 10-20 minutes of screentime per season and makes all the fans fall in love with him while doing the bare minimum, and despite technically being a villain i don't think he's worked against the agency a single time (although to be fair this is often not on purpose). he also does the bare minimum every time he's asked to help in-universe and clearly isn't even trying, and he sweeps anyway because he is ridiculously overpowered and could probably kill literally everyone if he actually wanted to, and i just. no one is doing it like him. you go you unbothered king.

#i haven't gotten around to reading stormbringer yet (although i have read some spoilers) so this may not be entirely accurate #but these are the vibes i get from him from what i do know and i love them #guy who could probably destroy or take over the entire world if he really wanted to but he's too cool for that #he just wants to day drink and look fabulous and make lesbians swoon #bsd #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bsd chuuya #chuuya nakahara

[confused-wanderer]

No because I can’t be the only one who thinks that the other batkids mess with Damian’s non-existent knowledge of jokes and references. Each of the batkids already has their own niche of bad jokes they love saying. And Damian is just adding fuel to the fire by being an unsuspecting victim:

Dick: Knock knock

Damian *who’s seen Superman and Jon do this all the time* : .. who’s there?

Dick: Nobody

Damian: …nobody.. who?

Dick:

Damian: ?

Dick *keeping a poker face*

Damian: Grayson.. nobody who?

Dick *shaking with silent laughter before walking out of the room*

Damian: .. Grayson has lost what little brain cells he had left. Shame, it was the most anyone had in the family.

Alfred: Master Damian.. it is you who didn’t understand.

Damian: .. what?

Alfred *raises an eyebrow*

Damian:

Damian *realisation dawns*

Damian *marching out of the room while unsheathing his katana*

Alfred: Keep away from the carpet Master Damian.

OR

Jason: You know.. you always see flamingoes sleep with one leg lifted off the ground..why do you think that is?

Damian: .. you pose a good question for once Todd. I suppose it could be a form of protecting body heat.. what is the reason for this?

Jason *wheezing*: It’s ‘cause if they had both legs up they would’ve fallen over.

*doubles over laughing at his own joke*

Damian:

Jason *now fallen over, rolling on the ground*

Damian: This is why Father doesn’t love you.

It has also led to an unintended common ground between him and Tim, who are both just so done with the rest of the family. Stephanie is just waiting for the day Damian realises that Tim references vines almost everyday. She’s sure Tim’s going to lose a kidney when that happens.

Bonus points if Tim already does, but Damian just looks at him weird every time and just chalks it upto another “Tim thing” like:

Tim: .. it is Wednesday my dudes.. *screams*

Damian: … Drake it’s Friday. The only thing you succeed at is disappointing me.

OR

Tim: Do it for the vine.

*jumps into blazing fire with a bomb hidden somewhere in the building about to collapse without informing anyone or taking proper equipment to find said bomb*

Damian: Father told me I must not hate you, but if you were on fire, and I had a glass of water.. I would drink it.

And

Tim *driving while in a high-speed chase with a villain about to summon the end of the world while the car is on fire*: Road work ahead? Uh yeah, I sure hope it does

Damian *over the comms* : Father I fear Drake has more brain damage than he usually does. I have genuine concern for my safety. If I kill him, you should know it’s in self-defence.

————-////

Edit: The first joke is a knock knock joke but when Dick says nobody it means nobody is at the door, so no matter how much you say “nobody who?” you won’t get a reply because there’s no one at the door. Hope this clears it up😅

#batman #dick grayson #jason todd #nightwing #red hood #tim drake #batfam #bruce wayne #damian wayne #headcanons #robin!damian wayne #Damian al-ghul #red robin #Stephanie brown #spoiler

[direquail]

I think what bothers me most about how John is talked about in the fandom is the implication that a different (implied: better) person would've done things differently and somehow more right than he did.

When the text goes to lengths to explore how suddenly coming into an incredible amount of power in a fatally constrained situation cannot lead to a good outcome.

If you're putting John in dialogue with the concept of the "magical girl", which Muir has said he is (a little tongue in cheek, but)--these are young, often profoundly unready people, who often get taken advantage of by the people who give them their powers. And like, yes, John is not a teenager, but I think that's part of the point, is that at no point is a person really prepared to become as powerful as he did--even before he merged with Alecto. Even when he was fully in control of his powers, even when they were given with honest intent and trust, even when he used them with the best of intentions and tried to do the right thing, there was no way for him to be prepared, especially given the situation he was in.

And it's funny to talk about how bad John must be in bed, but also, this isn't a scenario where John is some self-deluding Elon Musk-like villain or loser. He is genuinely trying to do the right thing, in terms of rescuing the Earth's population, rescuing the Earth Herself, and doing it ethically (see: M--'s insistence that they perfect the cryo containers until they could transport pregnant women).

I really do think this is something people are blocking out, because it is one of the uncomfortable parts of Muir's message with the series. But ESPECIALLY because the people "critiquing" him as an embodiment of patriarchy and empire are failing to see that part of Muir's critique is of human vulnerability to power: That is, that power corrupts.

And this even has echoes with Gideon & Harrow's story! Harrow begins the series in a deeply unequal dynamic with Gideon! And she does horrible things, not just because she is traumatized, but because she is traumatized and has the power to act her desires out on Gideon. She might have the motive (trauma), but that's not enough without the means (power).

And, yeah, I do have a semi-salty angle on this because people are frequently loath to think critically not just about axes of oppression but individual relationships of power when it applies to them and to people they like. ESPECIALLY when there is a very vocal segment of the fandom that is enthusiastically pro-harassment. It's very convenient to villainize John and actively dis-identify with him, because otherwise, you'd have to face the question of whether you'd do any better in his place. But the thing is, the mission of revenge he embarks on is a lot closer to many peoples' hearts than they'd like to consider.

That's the whole point.

#the locked tomb #john gaius #tlt meta #and let's be real--this is made easier by the fact that john is a man #given who the author is that's a meaningful choice. but it's not an uncomplicated one either

[ew-selfish-art]

Dp x dc AU: Danny as the ghost king has an expanded reach for powers he’s just now learning he has. Turns out it’s just super easy for him to summon people… uh, so easy he can do it in his sleep?

Danny is an exhausted kid and clockwork making him take a whole class in the methodology and practice of summoning as a Ghost King prep course is really not what he needed. But just like every power Danny hones, he gets good at it, like, really quickly. And it’s not long before he’s able to call forward his entire court and Clockwork himself with little more focus than saying their names with intention.

Danny is getting ready for school and chatting with Jazz over FaceTime (her first college classes were all super early and he got very narrow windows to talk with her before school)- when he complains a little too seriously about Boxy.

And then low and behold, Boxy confused to be out of the thermos, appears before danny. Which… cool he could summon out of the thermos, thats a fun technology thing he needs to work on but uh… oh no. He didn’t mean to do that and now he has to hang up with Jazz, capture Boxy who is having too much fun making fun of Danny and still try to make it to class on time.

The next accidental summon isnt accidental so much as experimental- and it doesn’t work when Danny is in his human form- but apparently he can call humans through as well. Him, Sam and Tucker played the worlds worst game of hide and seek just to test it and sure enough it works. They both come through, saying there was a head rush like you might get on a rollercoaster and a full body sensation of cold creeping fingertips.

So Danny gets really, really careful about using names in battle. Code names and trying to call his rogues by nicknames helps- but Danny is in a particularly annoying battle with some pariah zealots when he says:

“I mean who do you think I am? Fucking Batman? Get out of here with your world ending villain shit-“

And before he’s done bad mouthing the horde… a Very confused and very angry Batman appears on the battlefield. Uh… oh okay he’s helping danny never mind maybe this isn’t the worst day ever.

The following interrogations should have been expected by Danny. Also the request to be sent home, which uh, danny doesn’t know how to do yet.

#dcxdp #dpxdc #dc x dp #dp x dc #danny phantom #dc crossover #dp crossover #long post