#It's in me so deep I can't explain it

[theblehthatbloos]

621, Don't think I didn't see you reblog that longing post. The corporations don't care about your yearning.

...

Raven, you should listen to selfish hate by jawny again.

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

[moongothic]

(Frankenstein'd two asks together for the sake of previty)

I've been pretty torn between answering this ask and just doing a deep dive re-analysis post about Marineford as a whole (from Crocodile's perspective) because I feel like rereading it now as a Crocodad Truther, I could probably make a whole lot of new observations and/or read into things differently than I did last time I read it (when I was rereading for the purpose of studying the viability of Crocodad) Like there's so much to say about the whole arc and I'd include this line of thought in there anyways... But also, do I really feel like writing a giant essay like that........

I am going to start this by refering to this mini-essay I wrote like a month ago, about how Crocodile seems to have this attitude of "no crying over spilt milk". What's happened has happened, what's done is done, it's your own fault things turned out the way they did, there's no undoing any of it and you just have to continue on. And I do think that attitude would be key here to understanding Crocodile's actions in Marineford re:Crocodad

(Sidenote because this is not relevant to the rest of the post, but the reason this is about Crocodad and not CrocoUncle etc is because if Crocodile was only loosely related to Luffy it would not have the same kind of impact emotionally (for Crocodile; like there is a difference between a nephew and a son). Additionally a part of Crocodad is that it ties into Crocodile's connection with Ivankov in a really important way. If Crocodile was only loosely related to Luffy, him also being trans would kind of be like a random sidenote without being relevant to the two being family, but suddenly if Crocodile is Luffy's other biological parent, him being trans matters a lot more. Also if he's not Luffy's other dad then we'd be still stuck asking who the fuck birthed Luffy to begin with)

While Sengoku's announcement here would make for a horrific revelation to Crocodile in this situation (a revelation we never see his immidiate reaction to, which continues to be deeply sus), what would it change, really?

The little idiot child who Crocodile had attempted to murder multiple times was his own son. Sure, he might've insantly lost whatever grudge he might've held against Luffy, then what? That feeling would be one-sided, because at this point in the story Luffy hated Crocodile's guts and he knew that too. Luffy has no idea about them being related, and even if Crocodile literally walked up the kid right that second and told him the truth, what would it change? He'd still be the man who nearly nuked a million people off the face of the earth, took over a country and killed Luffy and his friends while laughing about it. Being Luffy's other dad wouldn't make him any less of a horrible asshole (if anything it might make it slightly worse 'cause you get to add shit like "child abandonment" onto his list of crimes).

Luffy came to Marineford to save Ace. Crocodile came to Marineford to kill Whitebeard. He had no reason to interfere with Luffy's quest, and with the help Luffy already was recieving from the prison escapees, the Newkama and the Whitebeard Pirates, what would Crocodile's assistance add to the mix? Would Luffy even welcome him in helping save his brother?

Luffy had his own life, a life Crocodile had not been a part of. He had no right to try to insert himself into it at this point, after all he had done to Luffy. There's no crying over spilled milk. What's done is done, you just have to move on. He should just focus on what he came to do; get his revenge and take Whitebeard's head, as planned.

Deep breaths

...Only to realize that Whitebeard is a dying old man and not worth even killing anymore, because he's not the same Primebeard whom once beat Crocodile and crushed all his dreams. Defeating Whitebeard would not give him the catharsis he came for.

And at that point, the fuck was Crocodile going to do? The revenge he wants isn't there anymore 'cause it went bad a few decades ago. And between the raging war and Doflamingo on his ass it's not like he could just sneak out without anybody noticing. He doesn't have allies (aside from Daz under him) to worry about. He only has his hatred to the World Government.

At that point, he might as well be a nuisance to the Government and assist Luffy. Even if the help wasn't welcomed, even if Luffy hated him and regardless if he knew the truth or not, helping Luffy right then and there would still be better than letting the Government have their way and kill his son right in front of him

[crayonurchin]

[imminent-danger-came]

continue being a little mean to toh fans please it is really irritating how some act like its got the best writing of any modern cartoon

Daawwwww I don't have it in me. TOH fans love it for a reason, and there are legitimately good moments! It's just not the most complex or well-written show out there—which it doesn't need to be—but I also totally get your exhaustion. It gets tiring seeing people praise it so highly over and over again when it's just like...fine. It didn't do nothing but it also didn't do something, you know? It's main couple is cute and queer, but that's pretty much all there is to them. It has a fun cast of characters, but they all tend to fall into archetypes. Luz is a sweet main character, but she doesn't have any real flaws and kinda takes a back seat to Hunter and Eda (the white people lol). Her foil with Philip was interesting...but then they kinda backed off and went the "you and Belos are nothing alike" direction.

((I'm also going to answer this anon with another: ))

And It's not that an unsympathetic villian is bad, or that Belos would even be sympathetic with added backstory, it's just that...there were a lot of interesting things to explore with his character that were left hanging.

Like, while he's definitely not at all a good person, it's intriguing that he would bother to recreate his brother over and over again knowing that each time the grimwalker was going to betray him. It's intriguing that he was even willing to kill his brother to begin with (though Caleb was super underutilized in general). Like, you can give a villain depth without justifying or victimizing them (hi Finnegran from tdp, I'll also add Spider Queen & LBD here). So it just feels like a missed opportunity all across the board. It's still surprising to me that we got a confirmation on the Wittebane backstory through an unrelated background character, rather than Philip himself (who had literally possessed a main character, and mindscapes had already been well-established....the pieces were all there me thinks).

And obviously it's like, people can love something despite it's flaws, and they can cherish it for the good it has, but they still don't need to praise it as an ultimate form of media, you know? We don't need to pretend toh was this dark and complex story—it was just a story a lot of people liked and resonated with. Which I'm glad it's there for those people, and I'm glad there are options when it comes to queer pieces of media!

That said the show with the best writing of any modern cartoon is The Dragon Prince (streaming on Netflix).

[lyxchen]

When you feel weird saying your favorite actors name out loud when talking to your parents or friends because it feels like it's going to reveal how deeply obsessed you actually are

[teabutmakeitazure]

was sad so I went through all the Childe content saved on my phone and instagram

I can't believe I'm attracted to a GINGER why am I cursed

[lionheartedmusings]

i've been thinking about this on and off all morning, but i think i pinpointed the reason q!forever / /q!jaiden storyline happening right now has left me so frustrated, and why ultimately… it's good storytelling, i just dislike it. this is nothing against the ccs, i have the utmost respect to them, i am critising fictional characters.

a) there's two women on the server, and while q!forever's criticism of q!jaiden most likely wouldn't have gotten such a kneejerk reaction from me, when juxtaposed with the notion of a grieving mother being obsessive / suspicious for expressive her grief privately… it's hard to swallow. and hey, i firmly believe q!forever would be suspicious of ANYONE in q!jaiden's position, so it's not on him. it's just uncomfortable to watch as a viewer bc god forbid women express strong emotions in a way people find distasteful.

b) it makes emotional sense from q!forever, but no logical sense, and yet he justifies his suspicion with logic. nah, fam, you're just deeply traumatised -- that's okay. but what q!cellbit did was sneaky, slimy, and giving god complex (i love q!cellbit but dude is fucked). q!jaiden has been infinitely more honest in the brief interactions they had than q!cellbit ever was. you don't have to agree with her or her motives, but if q!cellbit got the benefit of the doubt so should she.

c) his paranoia is understandable, but extreme to the point where suspicion is becoming fact and it's just… an uncomfortable watch. i'm a sub, i've been watching the streams daily since the brazillian creators arrived, but man it was rough. everyone is being painted with the same brush, and his stubbornness and unwillingness to talk to bad (because saying what you think and not listening to the other side isn't talking) is deeply frustrating. q!max suddenly being more trustworthy than baghera and bad is wild, and he's giving these people very little grace. it's jarring.

d) in the end, i don't think this will have consequences if his behaviour persists, but i hope it does. i want to see characters go off the deep end in their pursuit of what they think is right, and burning all bridges until they realise they're alone. if that's where the story is going, i hope q!forever absolutely loses his shit bc it's… where it's headed right now.

[separatist-apologist]

I found a song about you MB, from a very obscure little musical, and it goes like this:

How do you write like you're running out of time? Write day and night like you're running out of time? How do you write like tomorrow won't arrive? How do you write like you need it to survive? How do you write every second you're alive?

<3

You're so funny anon

Sometimes I wish I could accurately convey how bad some of that time was for me, especially last year- and how writing and being here with you all made everything bearable. Like if I could just crack open my head and let you all feel it, too, and the relief I felt when I was writing and posting so we could all talk and share ideas and what not.

[trans-xianxian]

so funny to me that jiang cheng has to take a deep breath and actively stop himself from becoming physically violent w lan wangji when he pisses him off.... most toxic angry emotionally stunted man on earth employs breathing techniques

[angels-in-overcoats]

There was nothing inherently wrong with anything that happened in the episode

Like, the acting, the writing, the characters, it's all good stuff

But... it's just... wrong, right? Like, it just feels wrong

[kevyeen]

I wish being weird and batshit insane was socially acceptable, conforming to societal norms is killing me.

[kyouka-supremacy]

WAIT YOU AREN'T AMERICAN???

[soubiapologist]

wait okay if yun mentioned mimuro on fanbox then logically speaking that means one of two things;

she read my scary weird fanbox fanletter and has put two and two together that the weirdo requesting mimuro art on skeb is probably also the person who mentioned being a fan of his on fanbox and is thusly subscribed to her fanbox and wants to throw this poor lunatic a treat (or that just based on the skeb request) or

she's really just out there thinking about him and wants to let people know regardless if they're That Weirdo or not

because there's literally zero reason for her to mention him since he's like a tiny bit character and she hasn't even mentioned him in (checks calendar and throws up) over a decade so either she did that for/because of me #MYIMPACT or she's literally thinking about my little freak boy for like. fun.

[aberooski]

so tonight my friend and i sat down in call for 2 1/2 hours and binged GX and augh. i feel like i’m always saying it and you’ve heard it before…

thank you. just, thank you. from the bottom of my heart for making me feel so welcomed and having a person to enjoy this with and being able to enjoy with other people. i really resonated with your post about feeling authentic because of this series and i’m the happiest i’ve been in months now that i’m rewatching it.

if GX is like a weighted blanket, your presence and friendship are like the warm comfort of a hot chocolate on a snowy day.

so thank you again for letting me be so free and authentic and happy, because i have someone as wonderful as you to be authentic with <3

i didn’t think i’d be a GX fan for very long, or that i’d meet someone who i’m proud to call an online sibling because of the series, but you proved me wrong and i’m so happy that i was. :)

🫂💜

🫂💖

[theramblingvoid]

Sometimes I think about how even when I'm trying not to be, I am entirely made of the people I love. I recently reconnected with a close friend I hadn't seen in about three years. Apparently they're into watching video essays now. I'm more of a gaming YouTube person, but to each their own, I've always known this friend to be a touch more academic than me anyway. Fair enough. We find other things to talk about.

It is two months later. My watch later list is entirely filled with video essays. Three years is not enough time to forget how to love somebody. I'm glad of that.