#A commentary of peace

[intoaneverythingbagel]

the tragedy of war torn veterans and it's correlation to my hero academia

I think the conversation revolving izuku midoriya, and how he's been treated since the war ended is very, very interesting. The general consensus being that it's genuinely insane the mistreatment he's faced only a bit after the wars ending. He's a hero. He was beaten, bruised, mutilated and traumatized on live television for the entire world to see. And has received zero acclaim.

Most people are saying that it's genuinely fucked up, and yeah, I agree, it totally is. I mean, a 16 year old boy had to step up because a bunch of adults couldn't hold their own, saving the entire world, all while simultaneously losing himself and his quirk. He gave up his dreams, his sanity, and almost his life for peace; and yet he gets to relish in none of that. None of the fame, the acclaim that comes with heroism. Nothing.

Some have said that they find it to be unrealistic- "he saved the world, of course he's famous!- horikoshi is just bad at writing!" And yeah, he should be, but I don't think that horikoshi is bad at writing or that him getting acclaim is just something that isnt being shown. Horikoshi knows how to write fame, how to write stardom, we see it with hawks and Merko and most definitely all might. We even see it in the newest leaks (427) where bakugo and todoroki have fans- the new first years.

So why then? If horikoshi can write, and he knows how to portray fame, then why is izuku facing neglect? Well, as we know, mha has always been a show about how people with disabilities are treated. (I will go further into dept on this in a future post, probably today or tomorrow) being quirkless is seen as being less abled then others= disabled, and now that izuku has lost his quirk, he is back at square one- being disabled. Not to mention the physical strain the injuries he has faced leave him with. He will face life long repercussions from those injuries. He is literally a disabled veteran. And for a lot of disabled veterans, the reality of the situation is that you don't always get to be a war hero after all is said and done. You don't get the fame you deserve, or the acclaim, or the help you need! or any of that because no one wants to hear about the gory, sad, disgustingly depressing side of battle. They want the glamour, the starlight and shine.

They want the miracles, and izuku is no longer a miracle.

I think what horikoshi is trying to portray is that things really dont go back to normal right after the war ends, peoples hearts and minds aren't all immediately changed, and the mindset that has been pushed for decades about quirklesness and it's abled-bodyness will not disappear just because the hero was once quirkless, because at the end of it (at least in their minds) they were right, someone who is quirkless could never truly be strong.

So, my consensus on this debate is that horikoshi is trying to portray how a lot of veterans end up after battle. It isnt some glorifying, amazing thing. It's not this heroic adventure. It's war, and it's after and disgusting and horrific and so so scary and it kills people, and it's usually the real heroes who end up the most fucked. A commentary on how veterans are often discarded once not needed anymore. Shits deep.

[snakeoid]

more doodles of my favorite fictional family that consists of 1 (one) actual canon character dioryth is too fun to draw sorry

[kazamajun]

Thinking thoughts today about the contrasting yet similar ways both of them lost whole chunks of their lives

[hostilecityshowdown]

"Seeing Swerve Strickland with that Killmonger type gear from #BlackPanther along with the robe of the Late Jimmy Rave, that was just a whole Vibe!! #AEWDynasty #ProWrestling #WrestlingTwitter Jimmy Rave would have been impressed with that entrance." - posted by @MrKingCoop on twitter, april twenty first, 2024

[askaceattorney]

Dear Pearls,

Um... W-Well, you see... That is... Uh...

(I hope your kid asks you this same question someday, Maya. Word for word.)

-Mr. Nick

[pianokantzart]

MY FAVORITE SCENE! HERE WE GO.

Also, shoutout to @supermary64​. All the screenshots below are from the clips they’ve posted.

At the beginning of the scene Luigi is being dragged along by his bound wrists. He is captured by strange masked creatures that clearly think very little of him, kicking him in the calves to keep him moving toward a hot air balloon, which takes off into the sky for an unknown destination.

Looking down at the landscape below, Luigi spots an old stone castle, and his expression shifts as he reflects on a better time...

… A time where he was a little kid, building a wood-block castle on the playground, and look at that castle. Luigi is a savant! At that age (which I guess is somewhere between three and five???) he probably spent a good deal of time slowly constructing the thing, carefully and quietly putting effort into every detail. Look at his face! he is completely focused and in the zone. Just one final touch needed… a flag on top…

Then along comes this little shit.

 He is aggressive right off the bat, stealing Luigi’s flag and blowing raspberries, testing his limits of how much he can intimidate this smaller, far more timid kid.

In the reflection of the sunglasses you can see Luigi backing down, fearful, hand held out in self defense. He is completely noncombative, and bracing himself for the worst.

Luigi shields his face as his castle is kicked down. He falls over backwards as the instigator laughs at him, twirling the stolen flag in his hand.

On cue, in comes Mario, jumping on top of his brother’s bully, leaping over him to place himself at Luigi’s side.

Mario puts himself between him and the attacker, breathing heavily, gearing up for a fight as he hands the retrieved flag over to his little brother, not taking his eyes off the threat, not an ounce of fear in his expression despite the fact that the he is up against what looks to be an older, bigger child.

Luckily, the bully was hoping for an easy target. Spitting out a block he runs off without looking back.

Mario turns and smiles at his brother, looking very proud of himself. Luigi, after a moment of shy consideration, smiles back. Despite having had his meticulously-constructed castle destroyed, the loss of his creation doesn’t compare to the sense of relief and safety he feels knowing his brother is there, and has his back.

Then the flashback ends, and Luigi is alone.

I think this memory is simply a culmination of how much Luigi is straight up missing his brother. Ever since they were kids he has followed Mario everywhere, even into danger and uncertainty… fearful as always, yet maintaining a sureness that he would be alright so long as his big brother took the lead.

“Nothing can hurt us as long as we’re together”… but they aren’t together anymore. For the first time for as long as he can remember, Luigi is completely and utterly alone.

Luigi looks at his bound wrists and considers the situation. He doesn’t know what’s happening or where he’s going, he only knows this world he landed in is aggressive, unforgiving, and dead set against him. Never before has the future looked so bleak.

Luigi settles back into place, looking dead ahead with a look– sad and thoughtful, like he is recalling his final moments with Mario, and wondering what he would’ve said if he had known there was a chance they were never going to see each other again.

[bearotonin-international]

Not criticizing or any of that, just a genuine curious question because I don't immediately necessarily think of pandas as bears all the time? Could you explain what you mean by occasional bear? Feel free to ignore this if not!

occasional bears are occasionally bears

[mmmmalo]

I'd gathered way back that Typheus's lair was surrounded by pipes because they're a Dad symbol, making John on some level fight Dad again. But I learned a moment ago that the disease 'typhus' derives its name from a Greek word for smoke, so it appears the same logic might apply to the denizen itself... 'typhus' is also a relative of 'typhoon', which others have linked to John's wind powers, but that's not really my focus here.

Cetus then represents Mom, based both on the use of whale as a sexist epithet (Blubber, huge bitch) and the mass slaughter of the fish in the sea which reflects/asserts Mom's infertility. Rose also alludes to massacres at the hands of 'whales' in the excerpt of CotL we see: the fat wizard Smarny (whose name suggests a kind of pancake) looks guiltily upon the dessert-textured corpse pile, and the final line is a Moby Dick reference via Jaws. These would seem to be the abstracted continuations of Rose spelling out 'shrew' on the refrigerator

Hephaestus then, must represent Bro...? His status as blacksmith connects to the Striders' fixation on swords obviously, but it would become a contradiction that Hephaestus repairs what Bro breaks? There's also some sort of racial angle I think, there's tidbits here and there that associate Hephaestus's charred black skin with his "lameness"... Dave says Mr. T's lameness is what makes him ironically cool -- which via Hephaestus becomes an implicit indictment of Bro? Dave says he's training to be a "lame gothy supervillain" when goth-as-black has been racialized by Oglagoth ("black ogle") -- which contains a note of bitterness about his emulation of Bro and the lame shades that darken his leer? There are numerous references to sunglasses (or other dark screens) as "lame" throughout the story that feel loaded now... and sexually loaded at that, since the racialized appearance of blindness (shades) is itself an unbreakable katana, and apparent lack (a disability or lameness) that signals comprehensive sight (total potency, ninja sword as BBC)... or something like that. The Mr. T rant seems to encompass some of the ambivalence around regard for blackness, and Bro's been chained to that line of thought like a Chuck Norris puppet

This all implicates Grandpa as Echidna, but I'm unsure how to connect the two. The Dr. Moreau epithet would mark him as a mother of monsters? Some accounts locate Echidna's cave Arima on a volcanic island? The matter of calling Grandpa "she-viper" (feminine phallus?) might align with how depictions of Grandpa as a sexual threat have a certain homophobic tint... I don't know. Unlike Hephaestus, I don't have a convenient word to latch onto to search for repeated motifs, though Joey's hatred of serpents would seem to retroactively encourage the she-viper angle

Hm... the lack of insult in Typheus-as-smoke feels off too, in the wake of the other three. Maybe it will all click later

[michdoodles]

reworked the dialogue in the corner comic to be less offensive lol. It was sort of an eyesore tbh and I like everything else on this so why not change it? og post here if you're curious

[themosthatedbeingg]

{Not gonna comment on the failure thing cause oooff he’s shut himself inside of his palace for 7+ years cause he deemed himself a failure and still does but now there’s a bunch of random ppl that won’t let him shut himself up again so that’s kinda annoying .}

[good-beanswrites]

That LCSYS and OoA crossover got me wondering about Fuuta.

How does he feel about being in Mahiru's place and Amane being in his place? How does he act around them?

How does he act during his interrogation?

Poor guy isn't cut out for this role, but he's doing his best! I had some format fun with this one -- I took your OoA chapter of his interrogation and put Fuuta's LCSyS thoughts in between, I think it worked out well! I discovered some new things about Fuuta's mindset in the au through the process of writing, it was really interesing :0

(Trigger warnings for suicidal thoughts, including a brief mention of Haruka's situation. There's also something about Fuuta repeatedly stopping Es from getting Shidou.)

Fuuta heard Es' footsteps approaching. He took a measured breath. In and out. His exhale trembled a bit from nerves. He figured he could use that to his advantage.

Es entered the cell and took in the layout. Fuuta was propped up in a hospital bed, his neck and torso securely braced and his left arm in a sling. He was kneading a Jackalope stress toy with his right hand, digging his nails into it. More stress toys stood on the table to his right, and Es almost tripped on one a few feet ahead. As Fuuta saw Es approaching, he dropped what he was holding and swatted the rest out of his reach.

"Been a… while, Warden," Fuuta said. Es was expecting more malice in his tone, but he sounded like his life force was draining.

Fuuta hadn't liked the idea of playing the damsel in distress. He wasn't some sickly bedridden patient with a quivering voice and trembling limbs. Thankfully, Mahiru and Mikoto had talked him into taking a different angle: some of their favorite books and movies featured a battle-weary hero, weak from the fight and scorning the cowards that didn't fight alongside him. That seemed doable, he thought. He put an extra pant into his breath, hoping to evoke the thought of messy wounds from his brawl with Kotoko.

"Fuuta… you…" They pulled a chair to the side of the table and took a seat. "Are you okay?"

That's their opening? What kind of fucking question is that?

He kept Mahiru's pointers in his head, picturing a bloodied and bandaged knight, or maybe an action hero resting up after getting riddled with bullets. He forced his voice to come out more tired than he felt.

"…look like it?" Fuuta responded. If he was angry, his voice did a terrible job of showing it.

Es didn't know how to respond. Do I look like it? was obviously a rhetorical question, but they needed to show some tact.

After a moment, Fuuta spoke up again. "…look awful… don't I?"

Still unsure of what to say, Es nodded slightly.

Heh. Good. Time to twist the knife a bit. Play the confident card, make them feel guilty. They'll see how strong I am -- how strong I've always been -- and what a mistake it was to let me fall so far.

"Could've been worse. Could've died."

Es stared down, pondering their next words. Several seconds passed.

Fuuta watched them. He felt a sinking in his stomach. Their sullen silence wasn't what he'd been anticipating. He wouldn't have been satisfied with a lot of possible responses, but he'd still been expecting something. Where was their respect? Their remorse? Their pity? Anything? He reached his arm out.

A loud knock on the table got their attention.

"Oi… talking to you." Fuuta's irritated glare met Es as they lifted their head.

"I'm sorry," they said, "I'm… I'm not sure what I can say."

"Don't know what to say? I almost died because of… you don't know… Even so, it's a miracle I … If Shidou had taken any longer, would've been over for me. Don't blame him, though.

I think I've said too much -- Shidou said only a few sentences at a time...

It was impossible to keep it short, though. Es just told him that they have nothing to say in defense of his near-death. Did he really mean so little to Es that they wouldn't even dignify him with an explanation?

"…Oi, say something."

"Sor-"

"Sorry won't cut it." Fuuta sounded more pained than angry.

That was easier to accomplish now that he was actually feeling some pain. After everything, all Es had to say was a half-hearted "sorry."

So, they really don't care about me...

Es took a breath. "…Kotoko did this to you?"

Well then, I guess I'll just have to make them care.

"No sh… agh…" Fuuta gasped for air.

"Fuuta!" Es got up and walked to his side. "I'll go get Shidou-"

"Don't!" Fuuta's eyes betrayed his desperation.

Only when my pain is thrown directly in my face do they give a damn. And they were going running off to Shidou, anyway! Though maybe...

After they locked eyes for a few moments, Fuuta let out a chuckle. "Look … you … down on me, like always. Must be so happy to see…"

"I- no, I'm not. I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't think Kotoko would-"

"Beat me to near-death? What'd you expect … you affirmed her…"

"I…"

"…thought she wouldn’t have … same crime here in…"

It seemed Es was finally listening, finally trying to open themself to him. And all of the sudden, Fuuta hated it. He felt paranoid under their gaze. He wasn't sure if it was fear of them seeing through his false injuries, or fear of another judgement from them. Regardless, he felt his pulse race with the way they were watching him.

"Oi, quit standing… staring…"

"I’m sorry, I didn't think-"

"Useless… apology…"

But what else could Es do besides apologize? Stand their ground and contradict Fuuta while he was in that pitiful state?

Fuuta was tired of their weak apologies. If Es had the conviction to name him guilty, they should toughen up and admit it.

With a deep breath, Fuuta forced himself to stay slumped into the bedsheets. He was getting riled up, but couldn't afford to look to strong.

"Really didn't think it'd… turn out… Me too. All I did… call some bad person out… say what's wrong was wrong…"

Es' gaze had become intense again. Those eyes, staring into his. Studying his injuries. Studying his expression.

Staring.

Staring.

Staring.

"Their reasons were b-" Fuuta gasped and clutched his chest. Es began to turn towards the door, but Fuuta grabbed their cape with his right hand.

Why can't they just offer help themself? Why do they go running off to someone else at the first sign of trouble? Am I really so disliked they can't face me?

Es swatted his hand away. "Hey, you can't just grab me like that."

"Don't dare…"

"Fine, I won't get Shidou. Yet." Es stood in place and waited for Fuuta to regain his voice.

Fuuta pretended to catch his breath, using the time to muster up something to say. If he wasn't so insistent on Es taking some responsibility for themself, he'd consider letting them call Shidou and just end this whole interrogation. He was ready to jump up and start swinging.

He itched to leap out of bed and give Es a real piece of his mind. He repeated the others' advice and pleading for him to keep his temper in check for the sake of the experiment. He thought of Amane -- how eagerly she awaited her own interrogation. All of this had been her plan, after all. As miserable as he was, he wouldn't ruin everything before she got her turn.

No, I will not steal her trial.

"You judged me… said I was unforgivable… without the whole story… How's that any different?"

"Excuse me?"

"That's so hypo- khh!" Fuuta slammed his hand on the table, trying to play it off as an emphasis, but that didn't mask his pain.

"Careful, Fuuta! You'll hurt-" Es gave up on that concern when Fuuta glared.

Pssh, like they actually care.

"Someone died because of you. You're saying I'm the same?"

"I didn't think they'd die!"

"But you knew people would dogpile them."

"I wasn't acting alone. Anyone else… out of my control… Why'd you pick me…"

"Milgram has judged-"

"Milgram doesn't make any f-"

Maybe Es should have put their foot down and called Shidou regardless of Fuuta's wishes. But something compelled them to hear him out. "Don't push yourself."

He tried to gauge if they were being sincere. He wasn't sure if he only mistook it as genuine concern since he was hoping for that so very badly.

Fuuta was clearly annoyed, but he took a breath and continued. "Still don't see it? We're just the same!"

"Me? The same as you?" Es couldn't deny Fuuta's point. They both made their judgments without thinking that someone could be seriously hurt—or dead.

That's got their mind turning, huh? I've got 'em now -- even if they don't feel like taking responsibility for my condition, I can subtly get them to take responsibilty for anothers'.

Fuuta was not known for his subtlety.

"I'll tell you. They were just in middle school. Maybe closer to Amane… than you…"

"Amane…" Es already knew this from what they gleaned from Fuuta's first video, but it didn't register how close in age their victims were. Wait, why were they thinking of Amane as a victim? "Amane… huh… I noticed you two have been spending a lot of time together lately."

"You kidding? Don't change the subject... You don't talk about her like… Only one who cared before everything went to hell. You made her go through it. Decided she wasn't forgivable… painted a target… She could've died too! Then we'd be exactly…"

"Don't put me on the same level as you."

He took another moment to calm himself. His "broken" arm clenched into a fish underneath the blankets. It made sense that Es wouldn't want to talk about the other prisoners during his interrogation, but their avoidance of Amane made his blood boil.

"Are you not-"

"I'm just doing my job. Nobody told you to go online and decide who are bad people and harass them. You made a game out of judgment. This is what I'm supposed to do."

Fuuta laughed at Es for still failing to acknowledge their similarities. Then he winced in pain. Then he kept laughing and mocking Es for taking their job seriously.

It was difficult to keep up the act the whole time, but he was always quick to recover each time he slipped up. He was doing this for the others. All hope for himself was lost, but at least he could do this for the others.

Es snapped back. A pointless, cyclical conversation. Fuuta stopped Es from calling Shidou no less than three times.

If he had to sit here and suffer through this interrogation, so did Es.

Eventually, the bell brought the conversation to a halt.

Silence.

Why was Fuuta so quiet?

"Hey… Fuuta?" Es leaned over to get a better look at his face. His eyes seemed glassy, and he seemed to be breathing more slowly. "Fuuta… I'll go get-"

"Don't. Not worth…"

"Worth what?"

"If you're not going to… forgive… what's the point… living?"

Fuuta would just chalk it up to getting too in-character, when the others asked.

"Don't say-"

"Everything hurts so much."

This feeling of betrayal. Of loneliness. The fact that I was the first named unforgiven. The fact that I'd be the first attacked, making me the victim -- not a hero, nor a warrior. The fact that you knew all along. You knew I was none of those things. You saw right through my act, to the real me, the one who is a victim. And that's why you acted the way that you did. You're trying to do your job without hurting me any more, as if I'm something fragile to be handled carefully. And that hurts most of all.

To keep things on track, he added,

"Painkillers don't help… Strange wonder I survived. Is it really worth it?"

"Worth it…" What could Es even say about that? Anything they could think of was either more unwanted pity or…

A cold accusation that Fuuta was bargaining his life for forgiveness. Es's thoughts flitted back to Haruka's interrogation- no, that comparison was unfair. Haruka's loaded intentions were worlds away from Fuuta's resignation. How could Es dare…

"I understand… this job requires resolve…"

"Resolve? You really have resolve… just kill me. With your own two hands. Don't hide behind the rules."

Look who's talking...

"I can't do that. I can't sink to the prisoners' level. It's my job as the warden to make a fair judgement. I… I have to judge each and every one of you… no matter how much they plead, cry, or bargain… even if they are dying right in front of me."

"What is even the point? You give a damn about my life, forgive me! If not, kill me… get it over with."

The words came tumbling out. Fuuta tried not to think so hard about what he was saying. It was all in character. That was it.

For some reason, he got the sinking sensation that he'd be pulled aside later to explain himself. He wasn't sure who'd get to him first. Yuno? Shidou? Kotoko? Now that he thought about it, it would probably be Mahiru.

"Bargaining tactics won't work with me."

"Not like I care. Or… if I get out of this alive, I'll… kill… you…"

"Fine by me. If we truly are the same, then I'll have had it coming. Now, Prisoner no. 3, Fuuta, sing your sins."

Fuuta breathed a sigh of relief.

Fucking finally...

[moonilit]

Ei: only through eternity you are closest to the heavenly principles

Focalor: Fuck the heavenly principles

[soraeia]

I just wanted to nap and now Ukkoz is being loud and nasty

[zevzevarainai]

earlier there was a power surge that turned off my computer and i took that as a sign from a higher power telling me to stop playing baldur's gate 3

[no27-autonation-honda]

uhhh yeah sure current f1 drivers tierlist on how they fare when put in drag fuck it

[atanxdoesstuff]

"So, you're Izuna?"

"I am... if you want me to be."

"All I want from you is an answer!"

"It doesn't matter who I am. I'm here for you, Tobirama. See? I'm real."

---