#i usually love the villains but man :

[sincerelystesichorus]

me becoming a gortash apologist apparently

i never thought i'd say this. i am thinking about Enver Gortash. i'm usually not one of his apologists but... i've had brain rot for my Durge lately, and i think a big moment of developing your Durge is how you react to meeting Gortash again, yeah? you may or may not be close with Karlach but the party and Durge especially have all faced similar trauma of betrayal and exploitation nonetheless (and so has Gortash), he's already been introduced vaguely at the end of Act 2 as a threat/main villain, he worships Bane, he has general edge lord vibes (remember that bit where I'm usually not a Gortash apologist djdjdjd); what i'm trying to spit out, is there's a lot to sway you against Gortash in that first meeting. and I'd argue even a little further, as someone that followed Orin's plans of betrayal against him in my first Tav run, (just because her audacity is so damn funny.)

But anyway. Meeting Gortash. Finding out you used to be close. Perhaps homoerotically, perhaps in a strange platonic manner, or some other third thing, but nonetheless, Durge is assumably the only person Gortash has ever truly liked. He just really goes out of his way with praise at meeting again, the use of the word favorite is notable, and if Gortash had anyone worth elevating, he would, right? That was how Ketheric got here, Orin wants more credibility for herself and the Bhaalists, and Gortash... just enslaves his parents in their old home/business. But he liked you. He's really so similar to Astarion (it's nothing, you're just the only person I've ever truly cared for); he's just already a touch too far gone in his power hungry search for security. He's already repeated the cycle, years and years ago with Karlach as the main example and just the inevitability of being Bane's Chosen. And yet - Durge comes marching through the door again with this band of misfits and his old lackey he wronged, and he's willing to make a true bargain.

And I know it's just in Gortash's character to scheme, but l think playing as reformed Durge makes Gortash's potential deal all the more devastating, since he will truly follow through on his word (or, at least he would.)

It's so funny to show up dating Astarion or Shadowheart, and imagine them teasing you later that night, saying they thought you'd have better taste. Or the bitterness of being with Karlach, knowing that you seemed to be in such deep kahoots. And so on. The point is not valuing that past relationship with Gortash. Focusing on the shiny and new.

And like whatever. Gortash isn't ever going to publicly present that his feelings are hurt but like... wouldn't they? Your past lover or at the very least, only close friend struts in, now thinking they're some big shot, so beyond everything you two had ever done... when you always lived in their shadow beforehand, frankly. Gortash adores how this flawless plan was majorly Durge's, critiques Orin's sloppy manner of filling your place, how Ketheric was just a means to an end. But he liked you. The person who helped him raid Mephistopheles' vault, in turn helping him spit not only in the arch devil's face, but his past captor, Raphael's too (since Raph lives chronically in the shadow of his father, imo.) The person who thought they could formulate and enact this whole plot, and the only one he was willing to follow, to be an equal with, now coming to tell him what everyone always does, inevitably.

A final fuck you, or some form of betrayal, the same thing that caused his mess all those years ago when sold off to that warlock.

It would have to hurt, and while it's funny to imagine my little gnome Durge dying inside and cackling to the party about sleeping with an enemy and technically being the enemy... a little obssessed at the angst you could perceive of Gortash somehow falling for any crazy Bhaalspawn, nonetheless Durge, who was never one for morals, coming back renewed and not to come get him or work things out... but to slay him or turn against him. I'd send the Steelwatchers after our asses too.

In conclusion, Gortash, probably:

sigh. my bias against greasy little guys could never truly make me hate you, enver gortash. look at you, the man that you are.

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #enver gortash #bg3 gortash #gortash x durge #dark urge x gortash #durgetash #bg3 memes #orin the red #orin did nothing wrong #i would love to have a shapeshifting friend so willing to hand out lobotomies #the dark urge #character analysis #words words words #i hope this makes sense i usually fixate on ketheric i love that sad old man #long post #bg3 spoilers #i love how bg3 wrote their villains theyre sooo good #and they do gortash so dirty tbh #also look at me bg3 posting again wow #qb

[piosplayhouse]

Thinking about it considering both binghe and liu qingge (shen yuan's most canonically ideal men) are described as feminine in text, you could for sure make the case that fem yuan has a Hugeee thing for butch girls that she just does not examine ever

#shen yuan goes through her life leaving a constant trail of utterly heartbroken butches she was in a situationship with without knowing #sorry scum villain got me thinking of gender presentation and queerness again.. because i do like it #even though people usually draw binghe as pretty stereotypically 'masculine' in eng fandom id say it is interesting to note in the book #how he is explicitly somewhat androgynous. as airplane says in his extra #and likewise lqgs femininity is pretty heavily commented on #i think the only character who's really described as undeniably masculine is mbj. because sqh is a certified gay ass man 5 on the kinsey #or whatnot. #anyway gender presentation and performance and adherence and queering everything up in a world that loves you!!!! #things to think about #svsss #sqq #shen qingqiu #shen yuan #genderbend tw #tw genderbend

[designernishiki]

tbh it really feels to me that y3 was implying/hinting at minedai having had at least some sort of under the radar romantic relationship, rather than just mine alone having an extreme one-sided obsession with daigo– like… based on how daigo talks to him and how immediately concerned he is for mine, all of which right after mine admits outright that he Loves (capital L) him to kiryu and all that… it feels more like a reveal of their relationship having been romantic than a reveal of mine’s feelings alone. I need to lay down

#god they deserved more #rgg sure does love burying it’s gays as dramatically as possible huh #minedai #y3 #yakuza 3 #yoshitaka mine #daigo dojima #rambling #I know it can be read as just. daigo being a very nice and caring person and mine (who has never had nice things given to him #unconditionally Ever) being smitten because of it #but idk man. daigo is very nice and very caring overall don’t get me wrong but I don’t think we see him that overtly soft with anyone else #he’s a softspoken guy but it’s usually in a more straightforward professional(?) way. with mine there even if it was just a tiny window into #their relationship he was just… sweet and concerned in a way unseen in any other game #sigh #I wish they got to be happy #I know mine’s like. a cartoon villain with the wildest ideologies ever. but. #sigh.

[theshadowrealmitself]

I fucking loved the Spot, loved everything about him, I hope that after everything is done he actually gets his lil doofenshmirtz wish of being Miles’ main nemesis instead of locked away somewhere forever

I really really fucking love when villains gets fixated on their superhero, love how even when he was surrounded by a group of Spiderpeople he kept focusing on Miles

#not a ship post #for the love of god NOT A SHIP POST #yeah this is usually the dynamic I like for enemies-to-lovers #but truthfully I like this dynamic for *any* villain and superhero #just. that’s *their* enemy who gives a fuck about those other heroes? not them #that’s not their nemesis they can’t be bothered #Spiderman: across the spiderverse spoilers #seriously why tf does that tag not autofill #the spot #fuck I forgot his government name #miles morales #Spiderman #spider-man #spider man

[tariah23]

I went into the boys tag for the first time (a big mistake lmfaooo) and I just have to say that white people fall for propaganda so easily especially when wrapped in a thin veil of that same whiteness that they value more than anything else in the world, even when a series like the boys is sort of an obvious social commentary on that kinda stuff 😭……. They’re calling Homelander their girl…. Their BABYGIRL, nigga, he is a fascist sksjsjaja.

#it’s so… like of course they’d like this white man 😭!!! he’s a good character tho I guess like he’s a really interesting villain but #come on 😭 #I feel so bad for Ryan he’s being indoctrinated I hope mothers milk kills that white man who’s been taking his daughter #his black daughter to those alt right rallies bro 😭!!! #rambling #also #I didn’t know that white man from supernatural was in the boys #I never cared about SN and you know the kind of rep it has but he was really good in the boys??? I haven’t paid too much attention to his #acting but he was actually intimidating like he did his shit #my sister loved Frenchie and kimiko’s relationship lol #she kept on calling him zayn… #edit: not to say that wp are the only ones to fall for propaganda because no one is immune to it but the shit right in from of them is #usually to obvious to black and brown people #like they’ll defend the shit first before anything else

[age-of-moonknight]

“Soldier,” Vengeance of the Moon Knight (Vol. 2/2024), #3.

Writer: Jed MacKay; Penciler and Inker: Alessandro Cappuccio; Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg; Letterer: Cory Petit

#Marvel #Marvel comics #Marvel 616 #Vengeance of the Moon Knight #Vengeance of the Moon Knight vol. 2 #Vengeance of the Moon Knight 2024 #Moon Knight comics #latest release #Soldier #Tigra #Greer Nelson #I love this distinction between what Moon Knight does/did in vol. 9 compared to other heroes #don’t get me wrong I obviously love Spider-Man (and only to a slightly lesser extent Daredevil) but this is a cool difference #feels a little more grounded almost like community defense as opposed to a high-flying cape issue #also fascinating comparing to a drug implying these low level villains are thrill seekers/adrenaline junkies #but most critically…hmmm….this may just be more indicative of my own perspective than anything (bear with me) #but interestingly those last two text boxes on finding the balance between keeping a group too scared to make a move #and not so scared that they get desperate/have nothing left to lose #is very similar to the basis of a theory of counterinsurgency #that an iron fist can keep a group from developing means + will to organize but the ruling regime must be careful #to not be too cruel or else it will push the group into survival mode/win it sympathy from the local or international population #(it’s very reminiscent of Machiavelli’s The Prince) #Mind you it’s a theory usually entertained by authoritarian regimes where people have few de facto civil rights #and its efficacy/sustainability’s debatable as it takes one hiccup with the regime (markedly weak ruler/secession crisis/natural disaster/ #excessive use of force/etc) for the insurgency to flair up again #Marc’s past with the CIA is mentioned in this issue so I wonder if that’s what this is all about #but uuuuuh yeah do with that info what you will sorry hahaha #don’t mind me rambling in the tags

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Every time the topic of Vegetta and marriage comes up I am forced to see misinformation or even flat out lies about Vegetta's past wedding experience and his relationship with Rubius and I just

#i talk #qsmp talk #IM TIREDDDDDDDDDDDD #For the love of god can you talk about this subject without doing the worst character analysis I've ever seen #Was his past wedding experience bad? yes #Does that somehow mean Rubius was abusive and they hate each other? NO #People don't need to villainize Rubius just to justify their ship dear GOD #I really don't care about fandom opinions usually but this one drives me up the frickin wall #Listen man I love Rubius and Vegetta to death and seeing people purposefully misinterpret them #and their past relationship for the sake of a ship #is just so exhausting #I don't care about people talking about the potential for marriage or how disastrous the last ones were #it's SOLELY when the interpretations are based on second or third hand information #or the intentionally is intentionally made in bad-faith #that I get :/// #A few Spanish mutuals on Twitter wrote some very long threads with helpful information detailing events from past weddings #because they were also tired of people not knowing the details #and they got SO much hate for it from people who were specifically spreading the bad information to new fans #Like. why is a block game ship a hill you're willing to die on #It's so silly when you take a step back and think about it but also I'm so tired

[mejomonster]

I haven't seen the new episodes yet. But from what I can gather this show is wish fulfillment and I'm quite excited that from what I've heard so far the plot is going like. The Most ideal way i would have hoped for it to be written

#lb #mysterious lotus casebook #like? oh yeah i can tell its Love and Redemption screenwriter or i wouldnt be SO satisfied #like 1. murder mystery cases check 2. natural scenery check. 3. cheng yi getting to do comedy check. 4. clingy young man with a shizun crush #whos a clingy bitch <3 check 5. clingy ex rival enemy whos obsessed with li lianhua living check #6. enough *bromance you could just use it as the dangai/danmei of the summer tbh (check check check) #7. themes about growing up about illness about trauma about whats right versus easy right versus normal check #8. wedding dress check. 9. my boy ye baiyi who usually plays a villain... pitentially playing one again CHECK #10 a sexy evil lady <3 check 11 the plot valuing sharing emotions as Strength over physical strength (huge check. lead protagonist #is ordinary. his biggest hurdle is facing his regrets and wanting to die and choosing to keep going) #12 moving lotus tower = howls moving castle CHECK #13 cute dog!!! (and not cgi dog like so many cdramas lol) #14 instead of fighting yr rival you move in with him and take care of him mutually <3 check #just like. excellent exceplent all around #oh and for me bonus: case of the week plots with character arcs as the other half of the episode writing #which i find is a much easier structure to watch on and off (like Guardian Torchwood Buffy etc) #also the show recaps the last scene at the start of the new episode. which again is great for making #things easier to remember

[daz4i]

i agree that ppl woobify poe too much. but also. making him a crazy murder guy needs to have a certain flavor to it or it misses the point as well. you gotta make him autistic abt it or it won't work.

#do you understand what i mean. #he would go full villain mode he HAS gone full villain mode #and he had to be so so weird about it #i think it's during cannibalism that he talks hopefully abt ranpo dying bit then going 'wait but then who will i challenge' #so you gotta take this into account as well! he's excited abt murdering ranpo but also. he loves him too much for that #(kind of the opposite of fyo//lai in that regard lol) #why am i rambling abt this? idk. i miss him. i love him. and i want to see him more murderous like he deserves #he is still an edgy little guy if he wants to be. it's just that usually he doesn't want to bc he's having fun #no wait this is giving me another fic idea....... i can't do this man............

[basssiliskk]

I have personal beef with most of the tiktok mlp infection aus because of how they mischaracterize or immediately kill off Twilight as if she doesn't literally give off the most potent Final Girl vibes 💀 like she's smart, strong, and knows how to function both alone & w/ a group. Her ass would NOT be dying immediately. Then if they don't make her the first to die they usually make her the evil-scientist villain or something.

Really missing the whole point of why survival horrors are scary, the main conflict should revolve around the struggle of surviving in a wasteland and the strained relationships that come along with that. What good does having a "main antagonist" do? They defeat them and then what? There's still zombies outside

#my little hater rant now that the trend has passed its peak and most people who wanted to throw their hat in the ring have #i really like some of them don't get me wrong #but i feel like a lot of them put their all into the designs and then don't have the same inspiration to write an impactful apocalypse STORY #and as a big twdg fan growing up i'm a big fan of survival horrors #the main conflict of any apocalypse story should always be man vs. nature bc zombies/walkers/whatever are all usually mindless #they don't have a motivation. it's the protag who has the motivation to survive #ofc you can have man vs. man or more importantly man vs. self sideplots but there's usually no “big bad” of any apocalypse story #there's no villain to defeat where once you do everything goes back to normal. unless you want to take a cop out route #and say that person was just hiding the cure all along #but not having a villain is a lot different from ANY mlp arc where there's always a main antagonist to defeat at the end of each season #like tirek or discord or chrysalis #which I think is why so many people making these aus struggle with this concept so much and why a lot of them feel directionless #because a lot of apocalypse stories end with the main character dying or leaving it open ended for a REASON #as both a mlp and survival horror fan I love both of these medias and this rant comes from a place of love btw #this is just me rambling about my interests #basilspeakss

[todayisafridaynight]

something something some yakuza antagonists ideals are completely valid and if they just went about them a different way the whole situation wouldnt have been life or death something something. something something i will agree with an antag (nishiki WHO SAID THAT) more if their reasoning behind what theyre doing is solid enough (yeah girl be mentally ill i support you i'll get you help too) something something

this goes for outside of yakuza too idk why im adding it but like. personally i love antags more than the protags because 1 more interesting 2 bro 99% of the time theyre just so mentally unwell if they had help as a child or just someone by their side supporting them enough in life they wouldnt be doing any of that shit 3 half the time theyre just. right. about the status of things? and i got that autistic sense of justice behind me so i automatically side with them like they go about it the wrong way but theyre right my bad 4 not all antags are evil even theyre literally there because the protaganist needs a foil the whole light needs dark dark needs light thing blah blah 5 theyre bad bitches i cant deny a bad bitch their non-heroic deeds.

i need to type up another slideshow about the intricacies of characters and why so and so did what they did or why so and so shouldnt be faulted for their ideals. god i love writing about characterization i love writing i need to write of course people can dislike "bad guys" theyre written to be disliked because of the perspective you see them from but i love being like oooh hoo hoo you are a hidden gem you are a diamond in the rough damn ya ass fat whats ya trauma? oh god this is long uhm. yeah :]

anon you're spitting but im too drunk to make a good response just know im nodding and listening and agreeing

#snap chats #i stand by that aoki's only flaw was that he was a republican #but Real i get you i usually like antags more than the protags #or i at least gush about them more #maybe its a psychological issue where i see bits of myself in them and can ergo relate #cough cough masato cough cough mine sorry who said that #moreover antags are just funnier. i can excuse 90% of crimes if you're funny #like antags are fun because they're like. they're like if we listened to every intrusive thought we had #like 'damn thatd be fucked if we did that let's watch this guy do it from the safety of our couch' #tho tbh anon ily but i feel like youre tping this mostly from a nishiki lens #cause what nishiki did is probably the easiest to justify from our antags ?? #i mean ryuji was just fucking around tbh. his motives are funny #but mine wanting to kill a man he loves because he sees his life as useless now is p twisted #and i dont have to explain aoki we know. like there's no justifying those two's actions #there's reasoning but it's harder to justify them compared to akira 'everything went wrong so i became stronger' nishikiyama #he's the most sympathetic villain out of the batch My Drunk Brin Is Telling Me #idk where im going with this ramble anymore point is Ask Good

[lorebird]

The mainline pokemon games' poor writing is very frustrating 75% of the time because it's either close to being good or just a complete waste of potential. However the other 25% of the time I fucking love that nothing is fleshed out because then I can hit it with Autism Blast and do whatever the fuck I want

#I'm thinking about volo as per the usual. my version of him is so far from canon he's not even the same character #not that he even Has a lot of depth. his motive is even less fleshed out than cyrus' already weak reasoning #in canon it's just kinda. 'oh no I have been sad :( time to subjugate god and remake the world in its entirety' #I grabbed him like a squeaky toy and turned it into #'everything I knew and loved was wiped off the face of the earth I will always outlive everyone who means something to me #the one person who won't Fucking Despises Me because she knows I'm becoming what I hate. also not dying sucks when you hate your body #and don't know yet that being trans is an option' #mans just wants to start over and have his home back and live the normal life he lost #rambles #GOD DO NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT VOLO I WILL NEVER SHUT UP IM SO EMO ABT THIS MAN #come to think of it I've done the same thing to cyrus but like. that's bc I write him in a completely different context #from the one that motivates him in canon #so he has a completely different motovation when I write him #GOD I LOVE VILLAINS W FRIENDSHIP EVO POKEMON!!!!

[new-hyperfixation-every-month]

wait ppl actually like elijah?

#look i get it #haha funky pink elephant man #but elijiah makes me SO UNCOMFORTABLE #im usually rlly into funky villains #but the way he talks abt sydney and the religious themes that surround his character... #idk i cant bring myself to like him #kinda love up and adam tho #chnt #camp here and there

[thisblogisblank]

I wanna make a Learning With Pibby au where, instead of the glitch coming and fucking everything up for everybody, Pibby and Bun-Bun just fall out of their show Backrooms-style, and they have to traverse the cartoon multiverse to get back home.

#learning with pibby #there's no real overarching plot or big twists or anything #just a buncha one-shots about Bun-Bun and Pibby going into other cartooje and befriending everyone #they always end up accidentally saving the day too #usually bc the villains see em are like ''well I can't go through with my giant planet-ending plans now. look at them.'' #also the pups from Melira's show come with them for one reason or another. bc yeah. #all of the adult themes go straight over Pibby and Bun-Bun's heads. even if someone tries to explain them to em they're just like #sitting there empty-headed #absolutely NONE of it gets through to em #also there's little to no trauma or sadness for everyone. just the basic ''man i wanna go home :['' that you'd expect #and after so many episodes of this they all get home safe and sound #with new friends #new outlooks on life #and SO many new stories to tell. #just that classic tooth-rotting fluff everybody lives/nobody dies au. gotta love it.

[itspileofgoodthings]

that scene when Tim tells Lyla “you” when she asks him what he wants and then repeats himself when she asks him what else he wants—

i. Cry.

#the thing about romance that actually gets me #is that somehow it is the most direct connection to the love of God #for me #and I know mostly we speak about God’s love in terms of familial love or friendship and of course it is all of that #but romance is so unnecessary and so complete and so piercing and direct #at its root what it is #And Tim Riggins man. #he just pulls back the veil #and lets you see what unconditional unselfish complete love looks like #and it’s breathtaking! and it makes me cry #and with him and Lyla it isn’t the usual balance of a dynamic that’s selling it #because she IS the worst and she is rejecting love in favor of her girlboss villainous little aims #she just also wants Tim occasionally as a treat and as something to use for her own ends #and I don’t ship it at all #And not for a second does it make his love less beautiful #it’s also such a moment because when he says it there is this struggle that passes over her face #and Minka Kelly isn’t a good actress! But in that moment she is. She can’t help it #Kitsch has simply drawn back the veil and forced her to look on the face of love and the reaction is this brief struggle #between her humanity and her ambition #and the ambition wins but it’s such a cold soulless pitiful little victory #and it’s just. I cry every single time I watch it which is a lot because I’m always rewatching it #friday night lights

[cherry-bomb-ships]

God I love seeing f/o imagines specifically about villains cuz they always start with shit like "ur f/o is so mean and serious and ruthless and has killed thousands and hates everything >:D"

But my current main evil f/o is the most pathetic wet napkin of a villain to ever exist so trying to think about him in such a serious way is... difficult to say the least 😂💖💖

#ruby rambles #💜: the man of my schemes #LISTEN that doesn't mean i dont love those posts especially for my other f/os #but c.ortex is usually my first thought with... ngl every f/o imagine i start to read nowadays 😭 #so again trying to think of him like that doesnt usually work hzbxbg #its okay he's MY pathetic wet napkin of a villain 💖💖💖💖💖