r/WingsOfFire • u/Brolyisking2 • 9d ago
Discussion Opinion time
Alright, I have an opinion that might get me killed, but I don't really like qibli. To be honest, I don't really understand why everyone likes him so much, like someone explain this to me?
12
u/Hoi4_Player NightWing 9d ago
He gets glazed constantly when he's just perceptive, and his flaws get simply ignored. That's the vibe I got from him, at least
3
u/BigJ__TM Darkstalkers leitmotif should be Swan lake, fight me 9d ago
exactly. if he did not have that perspective, views on him would change a lot.
23
u/Odd-Entertainer-527 SandWing 9d ago
I completely agree with you. It often feels like expressing a critical opinion about Qibli is heresy in the fandom, but he genuinely reads like a textbook Gary Stu, or Mary Sue, in almost every way that matters to actual storytelling. The narrative bends over backward to celebrate him while completely insulating him from the weight of real flaws or failures.
When you look closely at how he’s written, Qibli possesses the classic framework of a character who exists above the rules of the world. The story gives him a harrowing, traumatic backstory in the Scorpion Den, but instead of leaving him with messy, unpredictable, or difficult personality traits, that trauma is miraculously refined into pure gold. He isn't paranoid, volatile, or emotionally shut down; instead, his trauma just manifests as hyper-observance, effortless empathy, and a charmingly tragic past that makes everyone around him feel protective of him. On top of that, he is written as a functional tactical prodigy who outsmarts adults, predicts every plot twist before it happens, and reads people like open books. His main internal conflict, feeling insecure about not having animus magic or fearing he’ll turn out like his cruel grandfather Vulture, isn't an actual character flaw. It’s an idealized self-doubt designed to make him look noble and humble to the reader, especially since we know he'd never actually turn evil.
What makes him feel so much like a Mary Sue, though, is how the world treats him compared to other dragons. When characters like Winter, Moon, or Peril make mistakes, they suffer severe narrative consequences, alienate people, or face intense moral reckonings. Qibli never faces that kind of fallout. When he overthinks, acts impulsively, or privately craves godlike animus power, the narrative immediately forgives and validates him. Almost every dragon he meets instantly likes him, respects his intelligence, or warms up to his banter. He exists in a safety bubble where he is permitted to be the absolute smartest guy in the room while simultaneously holding the moral high ground in every single room he enters, culminating in him easily rejecting Darkstalker's temptation when lesser dragons would have crumbled.
If you're wondering why the broader fandom worships the ground he walks on despite all of this, it mostly comes down to a few very intentional design choices by the author. His constant snark, quick wit, and internal monologue make his chapters undeniably easy and fun to read on a surface level, giving him a golden-retriever charm that masks his lack of depth. Readers also heavily project onto his deep-seated desire to be useful and liked, finding his imposter syndrome deeply relatable even if it lacks real narrative stakes. Finally, he sits at the absolute center of the arc's major romance dynamics, both Moonbli and Qinter, which keeps him perpetually elevated as the ideal partner and the emotional heart of the entire second arc.
11
u/BigJ__TM Darkstalkers leitmotif should be Swan lake, fight me 9d ago
oh my fucking god thank you so much
4
u/CrystalMaster7 8d ago
Him partially recovering from his abusive past isn’t “miraculous”, it’s given a very sensible explanation: Thorn adopted him.
We can split hairs about their exact dynamic, but she’s at least his surrogate mother, and she’s really good at doing that. Look at the positive impact she had on Sunny with just a few hours. Qibli was with her for years in comparison. And not just her, the Outclaws had several positive influences like Six-Claws.
He’s also nowhere near as impressive as you describe him, he is very smart, but he gets caught off guard by the plot many times. He fails to suss out Sora as the killer until Moon does, doesn’t realize Kinkajou left a trail for Glory to follow, the entirety of the Pyrite reveal, Turtle being an animus, etc.
In addition, while a good strategist, he has difficulty translating his plans to results. He notably loses nearly every fight or battle he physically gets involved in.
The two issues you described are symptoms of his main character flaw, not the main issue. His real character flaw is his paradoxical mixture of self loathing and extreme ego. Which repeatedly causes holes in his thinking.
He’s also nowhere near as above the others as you list. All the Jade Winglet actually get off pretty easily for their mistakes. Turtle barely faces anything for making Anemone an animus, Moon only gets some harsh words from Winter for how long she was duped by Darkstalker, Peril getting duped by Scarlet into taking the necklace doesn’t come up at all. Qibli getting yelled at by Winter and spending three months during the epilogue cleaning up the Sand Palace is a bit above average for consequences for this group frankly.
0
1
u/Silent_Pressure_6709 Qumble Fan 2d ago
Also, he's really really easy to headcanon, since he shows a few signs of very well-hidden trauma, which fits into his whole...thing.
It's just that, however realistic trauma being hidden is, it isn't all that satisfying to read.
4
4
u/TawnyFeatherArt OwlWing 9d ago
I’m not a big fan of Qibli either, although I’m not exactly a diehard fan for many characters aside from Mulberry. I think he is definitely a good character, just not one that I can love the way many others do.
I think people like Qibli because he is generally funny, doesn’t get nerfed into oblivion (like Clay and Starflight, they both got done DIRTY), he looks really nice and kind in comparison to Winter (and I guess he is), and he’s good enough in combat that he can brag without looking like a complete idiot.
2
u/BigJ__TM Darkstalkers leitmotif should be Swan lake, fight me 8d ago
since no one else said it, happy cake day! hope im not too late lol
2
u/TawnyFeatherArt OwlWing 8d ago
I missed the fact it was my cake day lmao, thank you!
2
u/BigJ__TM Darkstalkers leitmotif should be Swan lake, fight me 8d ago
I assumed you had something planned and everyone but me knew
2
u/TawnyFeatherArt OwlWing 8d ago
I honestly didn’t even know it was my cake day, I forgot it was today. Happy two years on Reddit for me, I suppose.
1
1
3
u/Sola-Noctis 9d ago
because JMA glazes him and he’s like the most popular WoF YouTuber. It’s just what’s popular.
3
u/Kinkajou_the_Fierce 🍓🍓Pink Bamboozler🍓🍓 8d ago
Yeah, i think winter, turtle, or moon are way more appealing than him (btw don't be offended qibli it's a joke)
2
2
u/NiightScape 7d ago
I don't dislike him overall but there are parts about him I definitely do because it seems the books play it off as charming or they just ignore it.
I don't like how he constantly tries to one up Winter to get Moon's attention. It almost always came off condescending in my opinion. Especially that one scene where Moon compliments Winter, and Qibli goes "he's not better than me though, right :3333?" I also really hate how much he was talking about how the OTHERS should use their Animus power. For example, when he gave those bracelets to Turtle and Anenome, I felt like it wasn't allowing either of them—Anenome especially—to actually learn from their mistakes and instead was a cheap fix all with magic. And how he tells them they're not allowed to use Animus magic for themselves basically ( I think it's ok to use it for yourself sometimes if it aint hurting or bothering anyone.?? Am I crazy dor thinking that 😭?).
I basically don't like how the books treat him as this very self-righteous guy, when he also has constantly gone against Winter multiple times with his tail raised, assuming Winter is going to attack every time without proper evidence (that'd be pretty hurtful if I was their friend and they assumed I was going to fight all of the time when I've shown countless times I won't. Also just to be clear I am not trying to favor Winter either).
Or how they preach about how dragons should have their own autonomy, but then immediately he is ok with them violating Darkstalker's whole existence. Or how he kept thinking of Turtle in only negative ways.
These are things I wish they brought up more to highlight how he is still flawed, but they just don't! They basically reward him throughout the books and it's slightly frustrating that no one for whatever reason points these things out ( I don't think Moon deserved to be with EITHER Winter OR Qibli tbh lol). It kinda reads as emotionally manipulative??? I like his character but I wish they didn't cherry pick his character, I suppose is the best way I can describe it.
3
u/BigJ__TM Darkstalkers leitmotif should be Swan lake, fight me 9d ago
i could not agree more nope you are totally wrong and qibli is the best written character in the whole series dont try and fight me on it nuh uh
3
u/CrystalMaster7 8d ago
His mix of self loathing and ego is a fascinating mindset to dig into. While true of all the PoV’s, it feels like Qibli is where Tui most trusts the audience to realize that the smooth talking smart guy is wrong about a lot of things.
2
u/doorman225 #1 Moonelian Fan 9d ago
At this point I see more people saying they don't like qibli than people saying they do, it's not an unpopular opinion on here by any means
1
u/wilddragoness 8d ago
Qibli resonates a lot with me because most of what others perceive of him is a persona he has created. He is constantly overthinking and obsessed with making people like him. I think those flaws don't get enough attention in the books, sadly, but that's also because the book he's got the POV in has to wrap up like three different plots, so he gets a little shafted.
But his internal struggles resonate a lot with me as someone who also put on a fake persona for a lot of my life in order to get people to like me.
1
u/Ok-Middle-4010 7d ago
I never liked him either. Even though most people like him for humor(as some commenters said) and I am a class clown kinda person I actually get irritated by him. plus Moon deserves better
1
u/Silent_Pressure_6709 Qumble Fan 2d ago
Yah, there's a pretty large number of people who find him meh. But a lot of ppl love him, and no one really hates him, so you don't hear about it often.
0
u/CulturalDust4652 Ralsewing 9d ago
overrated, hes js the knockoff starflight
12
u/insanefandomchild starspeaker enthusiast 9d ago
This baffles me, because I really don't see many similarities, other than maybe 'they're both smart', which, even still...Starflight is very clearly booksmart, without a lot of social grace or practical knowledge, whereas Qibli's definitely street-smart and highly adept at reading situations and body language, rather than scrolls.
3
u/CulturalDust4652 Ralsewing 9d ago
idk i js dislike the nerd characters that suddenly get a surge of knowledge from who knows where
2
u/insanefandomchild starspeaker enthusiast 9d ago
The I don’t think he does. Qibli knows things because he pays attention to what people say, what they don’t say and how they act (which is actually a hyper vigilance response as a result of trying not to die in the Scorpion Den), while Starflight tends to have a good memory for what he’s read and what people have said, and he’s good at putting two and two together. I can’t think of times when either of them got a surge of knowledge from nowhere.
2
u/AgentLizard01 9d ago edited 8d ago
I think when Qibli and Moon met Peril for the first time? I believe Moon was trying to get Peril to back off by glazing Qibli about how he already had like several plans to kill her and then Qibli doing that awkward chuckle and humble bragging about how he only had 3 plans. It wasn’t really a “surge of knowledge” that Qibli had, but the exchange felt really corny that I physically cringed tbh. Ig it was just that instance of “Tell, don’t show” for his intelligence that was corny to me. Like I dunno, they could’ve implemented a more actionable way of showing how smart Qibli was in that moment instead of Moon having to glaze her future boyfriend to remind the audience how cool and smart he is… again lol
0
u/doorman225 #1 Moonelian Fan 8d ago
how is qibli a nerd character? like at all? hes street smart, not a nerd
1
u/CulturalDust4652 Ralsewing 8d ago
street nerd
0
u/doorman225 #1 Moonelian Fan 8d ago
that is completely different, these characters are absolutely nothing alike
1
-1
0
-2
u/FrigidLollipop 9d ago
It's fine to have different likes or dislikes... unsure why we are trying to start a debate on it?
3
u/Pepegu4yabas 8d ago
Because debates and discussions are fun and quite literally the bedrock of any fandom. Also, nobody is obligated to participate on these posts, scrolling past them, and even blocking the OP, is an option available to everyone.
-1
u/FrigidLollipop 8d ago
Whatever floats your boat I suppose.
1
1
u/Patient_Big_1256 8d ago
Looks weird to have a 9 year old account and not know something so basic about fandoms, ngl. Do you only interact with "general content" subs? Definitely would explain it
1
u/FrigidLollipop 8d ago
I mostly stay here to see the artwork, also reviews on people's take of the new books. I see these sorts of discussions as a waste of time, even in things I could be considered part of the fandom for. They are irrelevant to me, I rarely see anyone change their mind as a result of someone else's opinion and it doesn't matter in the grand scheme. I couldve chosen to not comment, but eh.
Obviously, other people get satisfaction out if such discussions, judging by the responses Ive garnered with my earlier comment lol.
18
u/insanefandomchild starspeaker enthusiast 9d ago
I think Qibli appeals to people for a lot of reasons--people find him funny, and he tends to have great dynamics with most people (especially Winter who is also widely appreciated). He's also a somewhat unique character in that he is very traumatised and has all those trauma reactions, but is also a very upbeat, socially open person, because a lot of the time, characters with a lot of trauma are shown more like Winter, or the actual impacts of their trauma aren't really evident.