#Does it have anything to Anti being on the 'dark path'?

[hallowpen]

The Concepts of Community & Family as it Relates to Thai Buddhism in Peaceful Property

I really really enjoyed watching this series. I am someone who grew disillusioned with Buddhism at a young age for very personal reasons, only to find my own version of a relationship with it as I grew older and learned to appreciate it from a different perspective. So the spiritual meaning behind this series really resonated with me.

I can only explain things to the best of my personal knowledge, so my apologies if anything is factually incorrect.

There are four basic tenets that one must cultivate in order to achieve true happiness. They are known as the brahmavihara (พรหมวิหาร). 1 - Metta (เมตตา): Literally translating to mean 'goodwill', it is a genuine concern for the well-being of others. 2 - Karuna (กรุณา): Literally translating to mean 'compassion', it is the recognition of another's suffering as one's own and a selfless desire for that suffering to end. 3 - Mutita (มุทิตา): Literally translating to mean 'kindliness', it is the feeling of experiencing sincere gratification from the happiness and success of others, regardless of self-contribution. 4 - Ubeka (อุเบกขา): Literally translating to mean 'equanimity', it is the ability to remain impartial combined with the understanding the we cannot mitigate the personal karma of others.

Essentially, the brahmavihara teaches us to always place others above ourselves... while realizing that they will be responsible for facing their own consequences if they fail to do the same.

How does this play into the "family" dynamics that exist in PP? Oddly enough there are certain facets of Buddhism that preach 'anti-family' values, as family can be one's primary source of attachment and suffering. There is a quote that states, "Family is the blood that burdens you." However, when a familial bloodline has lost its way (or in this case, has been "cursed"), Buddhism encourages surrounding yourself with a community that is organized on a familial basis... what we would call 'sangha' or 'found family'. Valuing the members of that found family above corrupt ideology would realign one's path toward enlightenment. Or in simpler terms, the people we choose to surround ourselves with can spiritually save us from ourselves.

Home's family has been "cursed" by the three poisons of Buddhism: greed, hatred, and ignorance. Phon's greed and value of worldly possessions over others has led her down of path of literal darkness, toward a belief in the occult. Somkid's hatred toward his father has fueled his deceptive behaviors... which he saw as a way to reclaim a father's love (that he believed he never received) from the people who didn't deserve it. Home's grandfather was ignorant as to how his actions, or lack thereof, affected the family that surrounded him.

Home's own version of ignorance would have led to his own karmic downfall. The series does a great job of having Home slowly discover the true meaning of home by integrating him within a 'found family' that teaches him the values of the brahmavihara... which ultimately leads to his spiritual 'awakening' (in a sense).

Metta/Karuna: Communicating with and healing the souls of the spirits the group encounter, requires compassion and understanding... a sense of community/sangha that these spirits and Chobkol (the magician) were lacking.

There were several instances of compassion born out of goodwill, the most obvious being between Home and Peach. Forgiveness is a big deal in Thai Buddhism. It is one of the cornerstones of what we refer to as "harmonious justice", as it promotes ideals of true selflessness. Peach forgiving Home because he's seen the changes in Home and how this one action does not define who Home actively wants to become was really really important. Home and Peach exist in balance of one another... keeping them on a shared karmic path where Home can no longer 'turn a blind eye' to his family's injustices (we could get into that more, but that'll make this even longer than it already is 😜😜😜). I think having Tay and New take on these roles to almost ease the minds of non-Buddhist viewers toward a more Buddhist ideology was actually quietly genius.

Sangha is also what heals the vengeance in Kan's heart, born of the teachings of Metta: "We must refrain from inflicting suffering upon one another and be free from vengeance." It could have been woven into the narrative with a bit more finesse... but I digress.

Ubeka: Home accepts the rightfully directed anger and complaints against him and his family for the harm they have caused. His partiality toward his family, simply because he is related to them, disappears. He stands against his aunt and fights against his uncle at the risk of his own life. And he does so by still allowing them to face the karmic consequences of their own terrible crimes... whether they are at peace with it or not.

Mutita: Home celebrates Peach's dreams above his own wishes... without knowing that they would eventually coincide. I could even argue that their eventual correlation could be a result of Home's 'good karma' paying forward.

Home had to reevaluate his core morals in order to be free of his family's curse (meaning within himself). All these representations of Buddhist notions, born from within his newfound family, are what define Home's idea of the true meaning of home... and happiness.

[matan4il]

Hi Alice! All my love to you in these dark dark times. You've been instrumental to me learning more about what it's like in Israel on the ground right now, and helping me not get swept up in the vitriolic rhetoric so many of my fellow liberals are espousing. I've been horrified by some of the behavior I've seen from the pro-Palestine crowd. I quietly support both sides of the conflict, and hope to see a return of the hostages, a subsequent ceasefire, and a realistic path to a two-state solution in the near future.

I'm asking this in good faith because I trust your research and input on these things, and I'm curious about your perspective. TW for rape and torture. I've seen a report come out on one of the tumblrs I follow (who is very pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist, unfortunately, I only follow them for fandom content) stating that there's been torturous conditions inside Israeli prisons–Sde Teiman specifically–detaining Palestinians. It includes accusations of rape, beatings, and amputations due to injuries from being cuffed. I was wondering if you had seen this report and had thoughts about whether this is another anti-Israel smear campaign or a cruel reality of bad people doing bad things. I'm always inclined to believe victims, and as an American, I'm painfully aware of the atrocities that can happen in detentions centers, especially during wartime.

Please know I'm not accusing you of anything or trying to make this a gotcha thing! I'm curious about your thoughts as an Israeli who does good research and knows her country and history. Thank you again for all you do, and I'm so sorry to hear about your colleague's murder. May you and your loved ones find as much rest and peace as can be found in a time like this. Take care.

Hi Nonnie,

thank you so much for your kind words (especially regarding Alex), your humaneness and willingness to listen to Jews and Israelis! Absolutely, there is no contradiction in supporting regular people on both sides of this conflict. This is NOT a zero-sum game. Both sides can thrive, if we all choose and are just allowed to coexist.

Okay, the Sde Teiman accusations...

Let me start with the history of this army base, because it is relevant to how it was used.

In 1942, the Nazis landed in northern Africa, and were headed eastwards, toward the Land of Israel. As a part of getting ready for that, The British (who ruled Israel at the time) paved a strip of asphalt in the desert, not too far from the expected direction of the Nazis' invasion, and used it as an airfield. They also built a few hangars next to the runway, and this is what in the 1950's became the military base called Sde Teiman ("Field of Yemen," in honor of the Israeli's air force operation of airlifting the Jews of Yemen, and bringing them to Israel. Along with the operation to bring the Ethiopian and Indian Jews to Israel, these mark the only times when a "first world" country brought people from "third world" countries - with the goal of making them citizens with equal rights). I'm sharing this info, so everyone can get an idea of how small and insufficient this army base is for the purpose of detaining prisoners. And indeed, under normal circumstances, it is NOT used for that purpose.

However, when Hamas launches surprise attacks from Gaza, it has been used for temporary detention (until arrested terrorists can be transferred to more adequate facilities) simply because of its proximity to Israel's border with Gaza.

That's how it was used following the Oct 7 Hamas invasion of Israel, too. Things to note about this: Israel did not initiate the massacre and following war, so it didn't have time to prepare a better temporary detention center with personnel properly trained to be jailors, and also, while Sde Teiman had been used temporarily for terrorist detention before, it was never used for as many arrested terrorists as after Oct 7. Consider that on the day itself alone, around 3,500 terrorists invaded Israel, and that was just the first day of the war.

When it comes to general accusations of awful conditions there, which might lead to terrible consequences, a big part of it is probably down to the fact that this base was not meant for this purpose (and the fact that it was used this way is because of the nature of Hamas' attack rather than any intended maliciousness).

The conditions were all wrong as a result of the chaos of war regarding the sexual assault case, too. The guards were not trained to be jailors, they didn't have the right tools to deal with arrested terrorists, especially these terrorists, who belonged to the Nukhba, a Hamas "elite" unit and the main perpetrator of the massacre (the Nukhba to Hamas are like the Waffen SS to the Nazis, imagine what Israelis feel when they hear "Nukhba"). Think of the atrocities committed by these men: the rapes, the beheadings, the mutilations, the murder of children, the burning down of homes with people inside, the extermination of entire families, the destruction of Israel's southern communities, and the psychological trauma caused to the entire country, when many are already dealing with lots of trauma, including of the inter-generational kind. Now imagine being an ordinary reservist, a regular civilian, not someone who has chosen the army as a way of life, not someone who has seen the horrors off war recently (or maybe ever), someone with a family that could have easily been targeted on Oct 7, someone who isn't trained for how to jail the vilest of criminals, then tasked with guarding in over-crowded and extremely close settings such monsters while being psychologically affected by their terrorism (which is the main goal of terrorism! To terrorize even those not directly harmed!)...

Initially, 10 soldiers, who are all reservists, were arrested. Since then, it turns out only 5 of them will be indicted (indicating that there is no substantial evidence against the other 5) for supposedly sexually assaulting a Nukhba terrorist. Specifically, the Nukhba company commander of Jabalya. He's not any regular terrorist, he's someone who was a commander that partook in the Oct 7 massacre, he oversaw the committed atrocities, he didn't only commit crimes, he gave the orders. At least one of the suspected soldiers testified that this Nukhba commander was going haywire, and had to be physically subdued. According to reporters, a doctor initially checked this Nukhba commander and found no signs of abuse. Only later did the terrorist start bleeding from his behind. According to a submitted report by Prof. Alon Pikarsky, a senior doctor at Hadassah, the civilian hospital this terrorist was later admitted into, the harm to the terrorist's behind is most likely self-inflicted. Based on accounts from reporters, the overall medical and forensic testimonies submitted cannot confirm nor refute the claims of the Nukhba terrorist.

So when it comes to the case itself, I can't say much. The accusations are serious, the question marks are serious, and I don't have the professional tools to figure out where the truth lies. There will be a trial, more qualified people than me will decide.

Obviously, as an Israeli, I hope the accusations are false. Not because I think there is ANY society out there which is perfect, and in which no crimes ever take place, especially where extreme circumstances are involved, but because I think it's natural to hope for the best for one's people.

Where it comes to the people who tried to stop the arrest of the suspected soldiers, I believe they're in the wrong for multiple reasons: for the sake of justice, for the state of the Israeli justice system, and even for the sake of the soldiers, if it turns out they're innocent. At the same time, while I am NOT okay with the arrests being stopped, I can understand the sentiment. In Israel, especially post Oct 7, soldiers are our most immediate heroes. They risk themselves, they save countless lives, (even the ones "only" guarding terrorists know they could be killed doing this, and they're saving people by keeping the terrorists locked up), they're dealt shitty hands sometimes (like having to guard Nukhba terrorists when they're not even trained for it), and they do all this for us, as a collective, men and women, adults and kids, Jews and Arabs. We ALL owe them, every Israeli. So the sentiment is that there is something difficult to process about a situation where the word of a massacre-committing terrorist commander is believed over that of people who are perceived as heroes. It makes a protective side of people come out, even people who at the end accept that the justice system must do its thing.

And when it comes to the justice system, I think it matters SO MUCH that it will do its thing. No army can prevent every single one of its soldiers, as individuals, from committing crimes. But there are armies that, as a system, commit crimes. The justice system that prosecutes individual crimes is a part of the difference.

Still, even if the accusations are true, even while I'm happy they're investigated, I went into the details of the case, because I do believe that even at worst, there are extenuating circumstances. Those don't turn a wrong act into a right one, but they acknowledge that, under extreme circumstances, and without the right tools, many normative people without criminal intent might end up doing the wrong thing. The psychological burden of guarding extremist terrorists who have traumatized an entire society, including their guards, in close quarters and without the right training, it could be one that would make a lot of regular people crack. I'm glad I've never been tested like that. I'd like to believe I wouldn't have done the wrong thing, but who knows. We're all human, we all have our triggers. Especially in the face of complete evil that harmed our loved ones or threatens to. I feel lucky that I was never put in an extreme situation, like those soldiers, I hope they did the right thing, but I find it hard to morally judge them if they didn't, even where I recognize that if they did what they're accused of, they should be legally judged.

IDK if this helped, but I hope it at least reflects the fact that for quite a few Israelis ('coz I can't speak or all of us, but I think this probably represents a fair number of people), it is complicated, and not a clear-cut case of black and white, good vs evil...

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[bomber-grl]

General Nico Di Angelo dating hc ☠︎︎

Pairing(s): Nico Di Angelo x male reader

Nico is anti social and keeps to himself, that’s a known fact

You’d always see him around camp, mostly in the shadows or just looking bored out of his mind

And one day your lives cross paths

Tbh you really don’t remember, just that you met him- he spoke to the amount he needed to, then went on his way

And this happened, day after day

It was only when you approached him with a question or conversation topic do you guys actually speak and this continues to happen

Now you’re friends and ,before you know it, boyfriends

Nico is a pretty closed off guy and isn’t exactly what I’d describe a ray of sunshine

Rightfully so, he’s been through a lot and because of this close off ness miscommunication can happen

Of course this remains a problem only when he decides to be more open and vulnerable does this get resolved

You of course have to be patient and he’s so grateful that you’re handling the conversation well and not taking it to heart.

Nico isn’t exactly physically affectionate

He doesn’t initiate but if you’d want to hold him or hug him, he’s more than welcome to it

Just won’t be the one to make the first move

It isn’t a personal thing it’s just how he is

He’s unsure a lot of the time so knowing you want him by hugging him and stuff makes him feel nice

Ok, so ik I’ve been talking about Nico once he’s used to the relationship but let’s go back to the beginning

He’s so nervous about every little thing, if anything is initiated he’d stiffen up or use mean humor to cover up how he feels

Ofc you resolve this with him but he’s still pretty bashful about being touched

Especially, ESPECIALLY when you two first kiss

He was already evaporating when you hugged him- just imagine this

He’s obviously nervous when you ask and although he takes a while to respond he ultimately agrees

You both have a short and sweet first kiss and you’ve never been more grateful for how dead Nico looks

His usually pale skin suddenly wears this bright red blush and despite how much Nico tries to hide his face you already mentally screenshotted it

Usually besides when you fluster him, Nico is so ruthless 😭

Usually you both tease and have fun with each other and when he forgets to filter what he says he’s literally SO sorry

Like he says the most gruesome shit when your making dark humor jokes and he takes it back so fast

He’s so scrawny so at least you can use that as leverage 😼

Honestly probably doesn’t even care anymore, have you seen him? He’s falling alseep whenever you try and get back at him

Genuinely not trying to be mean but if you take it that way, well he’s glad he got you back

Anyway, Nico is SO protective

He refuses to let anyone tease or be mean to you

If anyone does so then he takes offense, as if they were insulting HIM

😭honestly pretty sweet and he’s disappointed if you don’t defend him in the same way too

If you’ve made it this far you’re probably wondering how Nico shows affection

Which, it’s pretty simple

He protects you and dotes on you in his own way

I mean you’ve never caught him doing this or else he’d commit but he always gazes at you

Sure, you can say it’s creepy but he genuinely does it because he can’t believe someone he likes actually feels the same way and doesn’t hate him just for existing

*CoUgH cOuGh camp halfblood 👀*

Nico is a sweetheart he’s just not the best at showing it

[aspoonofsugar]

Top 3 Oshi no Ko characters?

Hi!

Ruby Hoshino

Ruby's arc (which might very well end up in tragedy, I know) is by far my favorite. It stays on stand-by at the beginning, but when it kicks in, it starts rolling and it is imho the most powerful one. Ruby embracing her inner darkness is amazing on multiple levels.

On the one hand I love how good she is at manipulating people. She clearly inherited Hikaru's talent at this, far more than Aqua imho. The TV arc is basically Ruby foreshadowing Hikaru's whole modus operandi. She sets up a scandal, fixes it and comes up on top. She is so good nobody could really accuse her of anything either. She just makes use of people's flaws and personalities for her schemes. That is exactly what Hikaru does. She just has less nefarious goals in mind (more or less).

On the other hand the deep dive in her past as Sarina is the best part of the series. It is incredibly heartbreaking to see not only her pain at the hand of the illness, but her parents' abandonment too. Finally, Ruby's spiral ending, as she realizes Aqua is sensei is just a perfect catharsis to the whole situation.

Right now, we have to see how her story ends. I can think of 3 main possibilities:

Ruby keeps on being an idol to honor Aqua and Ai's sacrifice (not very sound thematically and kind of mediocre, but the whole ending is by this point- plus it would fit Ruby and Aqua's foiling)

Ruby stops being an idol and keeps on living normally (the most coherent positive ending, as it would show Aqua's sacrifice was pointless and selfish - still, I don't think we are going this path)

Ruby kills herself in what is the most tragic ending possible (it would fit with some set-up, like her unsolved idealizatioin of Aqua, which borders into incest, Crow's girl warnings to Aqua, etc. - but it would be gut wrenching tonally... that said Aqua's death did not fit the tone and set-up either, so...)

Probably we are going with the first option. Despite this possible lukewarm ending, I think Ruby will still be my favourite.

2. Hikaru Kamiki

Hikaru is a great villain and he deserved a better conclusion to his arc (either positive or negative), than the one he got, so that Aqua could have his sad pretty boy moment :P

Anyway, Hikaru embodies the anti-theme, as he loves wrong and is loved wrongly. I loved the exploration of his past, as an abusive victim. His spiral throughout the movie was gut-wrenching. Moreover, his ability to fool the twins and the readers by using the movie itself was great and it could have been such a cool set-up to a wonderful climax. I think we were robbed of a confrontation between him and Ruby to be honest. Not to talk about a final deep dive into his mind.

2. Ai Hoshino

Ai is on pair with Hikaru. Her arc is short, but wonderful and incredibly impactful. Hers is a perfectly written tragedy, with a powerful catharsis. What is more, her presence remains key throughout the whole story. In a sense, she is the heart of the series... which is why the ending shifting the focus on Aqua is disappointing... Sure, he and Ruby are the protagonists, but the conflict and main mystery and driving force of the story all lie within Ai. She is why people started reading/watching Oshi No Ko. The story should have ended with the answer to "who was Ai really?". (See, this is as if in Monster the climax decided to focus on Tenma's past in Japan instead than on Johan LOL...)

These are my top three. What about yours?

[nutzgunray-lvt]

Class 1A Dynamics (Part 2)

This is going to be consolidated, so I apologize for the long length, but it's going to serve as a conclusion as to why I believe Class 1A's reputation as a found family is undeserved.

In my opinion, the Final Exam arc and Forest Camp arc is when we start to see the cracks in Class 1A's dynamics, as well as their more problematic moments that don't match how they supposedly are as characters. We do get really nice moments of Momo offering her home and services as a tutor to a handful of her classmates (Jirou's interactions with Momo's mom were really cute), but that's it.

Kirishima hears from Bakugou's former middle school friends how they and Bakugou bullied Izuku for his Quirklessness... and promptly ignores it. Mr. Anti Bully hears that the role model he looks up to was/is a bully, and does NOTHING about it. Not even when Bakugou gets them kicked out of whatever place they were studying at and blames IZUKU for it does he do anything other than say, "Lol, classic Bakugou!"

One of the biggest moments, in my opinion, is when Ochako, Ida, Momo, and Tsu (I think it was them? I can't remember) have no objections to Bakugou backhanding Izuku. They hear Recovery Girl saying that they have no communication... and take it at face value. No trying to stand up for him, no saying that Bakugou's the instigator between them, nothing.

(To say nothing how Sero failed the exam for being taken out of the arena unconcious, even though Bakugou passed despite ALSO being unconcious when he was dragged out of the arena 🙄)

The actual camp itself was pretty nice in regard to student interactions. Shouji was worried for both Tokoyami and Izuku (Izuku looked so cute being carried by Shouji 🥹), and Izuku made sure not to place Bakugou's safety over Tokoyami's when Dark Shadow went on its rampage. Tokoyami in turn was perfectly willing to sacrifice his life for Izuku, Shouji, and everyone else's safety. Aoyama risks his life and position as the traitor by clearing a path for Bakugou to get to camp. It was extremely annoying how Todoroki had to keep telling Bakugou not to run towards the villains and not to make the poison gas worse by using his Quirk (collateral damage is a concept Bakugou doesn't give a FUCK about), but I guess that was nice or whatever.

Then came the rescue.

Shouji aknowledges how guilty Izuku and Todoroki must feel about Bakugou's kidnaping, and then Kirishima and Tsu get into an arguement about whether or not to leave the rescue to the adults. I HATE how Kirishima guilted Izuku into joining the rescue. Izuku had broken limbs and a high fever to the point of having seizures. He was unconscious for three days, and for him to be told, "You can still reach him with your arms!" when everyone in class knows Bakugou would (and DID!) refuse Izuku's help is disgusting. In theory, it's nice how they take Bakugou's ego and feelings into account when they decide a small team is going to rescue him (I'll have more to say on that later). But then, Ida tries convincing Izuku not to go... by punching his sick and injured friend hard in the face. Ida, what the FUCK? Did he ever apologize for doing that?

And then not only does Bakugou not ever thank Momo, Ida, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Izuku for rescuing him and risking their place at UA, Aizawa then acts as though the class needs to regain his trust (even though they had no idea the rescue team went through with their plan) when it really should be the other way around. Great father figure he is, right?

So they move to the dorms, and we get a really nice moment where Tsu tearfully apologizes for saying that the rescue team were acting villanous in saving Bakugou. This is all well and good, but then we get to the Licensing Exam. As awesome as it was to see Ida helping Aoyama secure a place in the final round, as awesome as it was seeing everyone defer to Izuku's judgment, it all was completely undone by the bullshit house arrest.

I've gone on and on about how it's my least favorite part of the entire story, but seeing 1A not aknowledge Bakugou's bullying of Izuku yet again really soured my opinion on them. Ida especially gets the brunt of my criticism here, because as one of Izuku's best friend, he should have figured that Izuku not only didn't want to break curfew, he's NEVER looked for a fight when it came to Bakugou. And then when Izuku apologizes (barf) for defending himself, they all accept it like he did something wrong.

I HATE it, and for a while, I hated 1A because of it.

Then we get some smaller moments between that and the stupid Dark Izuku arc that are pretty nice. They express worry and relief for those involved in Eri's rescue, Izuku encourages Jirou to not be afraid to express herself musically, and Mina teaches Aoyama how to dance before the School Festival. Everyone criticizes Izuku for running around and trying to get candy apple ingredients for Eri, and they make fun of him for getting in trouble after the Gentle Criminal fight, blah blah blah. No one cheers for him or encourages him during his mock interview with Mt. Lady, but whatever.

Then Izuku leaves UA.

Not ONCE do ANY of Class 1A consider why he left, even though he literally tells them in the goddamn letters he left for them. Not once do they call out Bakugou for being the actual reason he has such low self-esteem and self sacrifical tendancies. Not once do they consider having just his closest friends find him and bring him back. After all, most of them admit they don't really know Izuku on a personal level. They don't even stand up for Momo when he jumps down her throat for not calling him by his stupid hero name.

Nope, they all decide to just bumrush him and let Bakugou lead the charge.

They let Bakugou make fun of him, project his own flaws onto him, and not once aknowledge that Izuku is neither in the physical condition nor mental condition to be hearing any of that. They then quite literally beat him into submission. Sure, some of the classmates try saying nice things to him about how he helped all of them (Dark Shadow was so gentle with Izuku 🥺), but Sato tries guilt tripping him about Eri, which is just gross.

Then comes the infamous Youtube Apology, where Bakugou talks about Izuku's Quirklessness and how that made him lesser than Bakugou in his eyes. No one reacts to any of this, and instead of just letting Izuku sleep or getting him to the fucking doctor, they throw him in a bath like that'll fix anything. We do get an awesome moment where Tokoyami and Sato call out Bakugou for bullying Izuku again despite supposedly apologizing, but that's chump change, considering what all they put Izuku through.

And then comes the traitor reveal.

I don't blame 1A for being angry at Aoyama, considering how his actions put everyone in danger, but I think it's so strange due to two things. One, Aoyama was clearly coerced into being a traitor. His parents were the ones who made the deal with AFO, and Aoyama was obviously remorseful for his actions. Two, just look at Bakugou. He was the one who not only ran towards the villains in the first place, but everyone had to keep him from making everything worse when they were trying to protect him.

And yet who's the one that gets treated with consideration and kid gloves?

Bakugou.

I can't say anything about the Final War, because everything is so fucking messy, but I guess I will say how nice it is that the class protects the girls from Mineta's sexual harrassment and don't take it laying down.

To close off, Hori did a piss poor job in showing organic development of 1A as supposed super close friends and found family. They all deserved better than what they wound up becoming, and it's just really sad all around.

[gffa]

Have you watched the First Okiro's recent Star Wars video? He made a really interesting case about how TLJ Luke was a form of character assassination. When I saw the ask you answered about how Luke treasured Yoda and read the last paragraph, I thought maybe you'd agree.

https://youtu.be/r0I86ii2N_8?si=-oHY6dQsFBsSAfPv

Hi! Honestly, I pretty much refuse to watch any Star Wars video essays anymore because so many of them are anti-Jedi and I don't think it's fruitful for any of us for me to put myself through that, they don't gain anything, I don't gain anything, etc. So I have no idea what the case being presented in the video is, I'm only going on "character assassination" in TLJ and how I actually disagree. I mean, I think it was poorly executed in some ways, but that the basic concepts of it are ones I actually think are the best parts of the movie. My problems with TLJ's Luke story is that I think the extremity of it was too much, that him being on the island for six years without contact with anyone was too long for how I see Luke, as well as I think the structure of having Han die and not showing that deleted scene of Luke mourning his death, of having Luke interacting with Rey but making it all about Ben, none of that worked for me. But what does work for me is that the idea of overcoming pain and suffering is a one-and-done deal is just not how Star Wars or the Force works. Luke very nearly fell to the dark side in Return of the Jedi, that wasn't just put there for the aesthetics, that was something he was genuinely teetering on the edge of, he was raining hell down on Vader when slicing away at his arm, Sidious genuinely felt the anger and rage roiling inside Luke, he had to struggle to turn away from it and embrace what it meant to be a Jedi.

That's not a one time struggle--that's something characters face their entire lives. And if you include the Disney comics (which are really good imo), Luke struggles with loss and pain and anger after the defeat on Bespin, he has to struggle through not falling to the dark side again. And, hell, even MARK HAMILL says that Luke's fall down the reactor shaft on Bespin was akin to him basically trying to commit suicide because he was so devastated. So I think it's fair that Luke could struggle with that again later in his life, I think it's fair that after pouring everything of himself into building up the Jedi again, to have it torn down by someone he loved, someone that he may have bordered on attachment to (as Star Wars and the Jedi define it--love and attachment are not the same thing, attachment is the desire to hold onto something/someone so tightly because you can't live without it and thus you can't see it clearly, which I think I could believe of Luke, that he was so blinded by his desire for what he wanted for Ben that he couldn't be objective about him, just like he struggled with loving his sister so much that rage boiled inside of him when Palpatine threatened her and Luke's friends on the second Death Star), that he retreated because this felt so massive and he felt like he was the only one who could build this school and that he pulled these kids into this life. Like, it's fair that Obi-Wan struggled with Anakin's betrayal and cut himself off from using the Force on Tatooine, so I think it's fair that Luke struggled with Ben's betrayal and cut himself off from using the Force on Ahch-To--they both had to process that grief and it's not always a perfect path when it's someone you love that dearly and were so incredibly close to. Ultimately, the entire speech Luke gives is one that is DESIGNED to be knocked down, he is literally standing in front of the First Order and facing them down with his laser sword at the end of the movie, Rian Johnson literally says that it was Luke's personal failure, not the failure of the Jedi religion, and Luke finds his feet again. And that's my guy!!! The guy who makes mistakes, but is such a core of goodness and compassion and care for others that he eventually gets over these massive hurdles placed in front of him, and so that part of Luke's story worked for me. I'm just not wild about the finer details of how it was actually executed, even if I think it's fair to point out that Rian Johnson was handed a pre-existing situation that he then had to reverse engineer a backstory for with an extremely limited time to do it, because apparently THEY DIDN'T PLAN OUT THE TRILOGY AHEAD OF TIME for fucks sake.

[velvetvexations]

This is an edited version of something I posted to r/DaystromInstitute, a Star Trek sub. I'm proud of it and, having deleted my account, want to preserve it here.

Dukat is a fantastic example of Narcissitic Personality Disorder

I'm an individual with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It's very, extremely frustrating to see people claim everyone from Dolores Umbridge to Donald Trump also have NPD because they're like, just the worst. NPD doesn't mean "selfish", or "controlling", or even "self-absorbed", and certainly is not a synonym for abusive, despite all the self-help books that say sniping a narcissist who came within eight hundred yards of you is legally permissible under Stand Your Ground laws.

You might expect me to not be so appreciative of Dukat, who is, after all, a pretty horrible person. I actually have a worse opinion of Dukat's supposed nobility than many, as fairly often the fandom prefers to back the idea that he really was a misguided anti-villain who only succumbed to devil-worshipping when the writers assassinated his character.

Well, unfortunately, it's harder to recognize authentic NPD traits in heroes, and "recognize" is a term I use loosely, since most writers certainly didn't have NPD in mind at all. Nonetheless, I love Dukat because he exemplifies a nuanced, if not overly flattering, portrayal of a personality disorder that actual human beings deal with, and 99% of the time is just flattened into a thing you call people you don't like.

As a child, one thing that did a lot to mitigate the more negative social aspects of NPD was having it imprinted on my brain by anime and video games that being a Hero and as good as possible was the best thing to be. While praise and attention in general does scratch a powerful itch too, once my child-self internalized the values of the media I consumed - helped along by also being autistic - the standard for which I judged myself was set. I would literally cry if I accidentally picked up dark side points in a Star Wars game.

I think Dukat went through a similar process. Not all narcissists cling to a model centering morality, but Dukat, for one reason or another, did. He sincerely believes everything he does is altruistic and fair, and more than that, he wants to be altruistic and fair, having misidentified the origin of his cravings.

Another thing that helped me a lot growing up was a book called The Screwtape Letters. If you're unfamiliar, it's by CS Lewis and is presented as a series of letters from a high-ranked demon to his nephew, who works as essentially a shoulder devil attempting to guide his patient into sin and disconnection from God. I feel like Lewis would probably be annoyed with me not getting anything properly Christian out of it, but it is an amazing manual for teaching you how to examine your own thinking and subconscious impulses. It started me down a path of being very self-aware, which made it easier to navigate NPD, because I'm incapable of tolerating the flaws in my internal logic that I'm able to catch. If I may be excused for saying so, I think I do a decent job on that count, with the downside that I'm often far too hyper-critical and it results in regular anxiety.

But Dukat never learned that skill. As a result, his attempted nobility clashes with his other competing impulses, and all his actions are reinforced, rather than rejected, by his conscious, which his NPD assures him is being followed to the letter. As Lewis said:

The baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity at some point may be sated; and since he dimly knows he is doing wrong he may possibly repent. But the Inquisitor who mistakes his own cruelty and lust of power and fear for the voice of Heaven will torment us infinitely more because he torments us with the approval of his own conscience and his better impulses appear to him as temptations.

Dukat's inner struggle is fueled by the need to be a revered benefactor while also having served at the head of the bastard offspring of the Iraq War and Holocaust. His solution at the time was to make it more like the Second Boer War, the conflict that originally popularized the term "concentration camp" despite the fact that those concentration camps weren't even meant to eliminate the thousands that were killed in them.

DUKAT: So in my first official act as Prefect, I ordered all labour camp commanders to reduce their output quotas by fifty percent. Then I reorganized the camps themselves. Child labour was abolished. Medical care was improved. Food rations were increased. At the end of one month of my administration, the death rate had dropped by twenty percent. Now how did the Bajorans react to all this? On my one month anniversary they blew up an orbital dry-dock, killing over two hundred Cardassian soldiers and workers. "KIRA": We didn't want a reconciliation. We wanted to destroy you. DUKAT: So I had to order a response. But even then it was a carefully tempered one. I ordered two hundred suspected members of the Resistance rounded up and executed. Two hundred lives for two hundred lives. That's justice, not malevolence. Justice.

Throughout the episode the Kira hallucination embodies the disrespected and ingratitude he feels he gets for being "nice". Cardassian values, attitudes, and objectives came first. Dukat, however, was smart enough to understand some of what was being done to Bajor was wrong, but not quite able to tear himself away from his own identity as a Cardassian and the protagonist of the universe. That was just too much to totally upend, as would be required to fully comprehend the reality of the situation.

So he tries, in his own way. Because he wants to be a good guy, the hero, the main character, and he truly believes that he is. Unfortunately, it remains pointed solidly in the direction of his own ego. He's unable to recognize that to err is Cardassian, but repentance divine, because he's already invested in so much. His identity as a Cardassian, his own past actions, his impulsive grabs for power, and being convinced he's such a good man shields him from thinking critically because it would necessarily mean criticizing himself. Dukat can only truly appreciate that he's made mistakes when it makes him feel like he's being the bigger man willing to compromise and graciously admit fault, but he was in charge of the Occupation for twenty years. It's hard to walk back from that.

And I should know, because even understanding I'm the one at fault, it's pulling teeth to force myself through accepting I did wrong, much less admitting it to someone else. I don't want to be someone who fucked up, no matter how minor. Pulling teeth. Quite a lot of NPD can be described that way, in fact. While half-brained wannabee psychologists present narcissists as being sociopathic manipulators who skillfully terrorize those around them, most of NPD is horrible, chest-thumping anxiety. It's not fun at all to want to break my controller in half every single time I get got in a game of Splatoon, even when the round is far from over.

Most Cardassians involved with the Occupation seemed to be either outright monsters or falling under the "banality of evil", like Damar. They considered the Bajorans as, at best, a bunch of backwards hicks who needed to shut up and listen to their betters. Dukat, though, fetishized Bajor and the Bajorans themselves, as quite creepily seen in his string of Bajoran lovers and his dogged pursuit of Kira throughout the show (which horrifically took Nana Visitor putting her foot down to keep from being canon!). He pursed his tenure as head of the Occupation with the zeal of someone who truly wanted his subjects to see he was doing all this for their own good.

The Dominion and most other Cardassians don't give a fuck if your subjects like you except insofar as it's convenient and makes them less likely to rebel. That's the Dominion's whole thing, they just want control, and if the carrot doesn't work they'll shrug and without a hint of emotion give you the stick. It doesn't matter to them how they're in charge as long as they are. When Dukat makes his point about having only executed two-hundred (suspected!) members of the Resistance, the Weyoun hallucination comments:

"WEYOUN": The Dominion would never have been so generous.

It's telling that Dukat is fixated on the contrast between him and the people he allied with enough for it to show up in his breakdown. Just a little before that, Dukat says:

DUKAT: Major Kira knows full well I made every effort to heal the wounds between Cardassia and Bajor. Since the very beginning it was my intention to rectify the mistakes of the past and begin a new chapter in our relations.

Dukat is capable of saying, vaguely, abstractly, "mistakes were made", but it infuriates and honestly baffles him that it's not enough for him to be recognized as the most brilliant and loving extraterrestrial patriarch the Bajorans could ever wish for. In an earlier episode, he has this conversation with (the real) Weyoun:

WEYOUN: If you ask me, the key to holding the Federation is Earth. If there's going to be an organized resistance against us, its birthplace will be there. DUKAT: You could be right. WEYOUN: Then our first step is be to eradicate its population. It's the only way. DUKAT: You can't do that. WEYOUN: Why not? DUKAT: Because! A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them to acknowledge your greatness. WEYOUN: Then you kill them? DUKAT: Only if it's necessary. WEYOUN: I had no idea. DUKAT: Perhaps the biggest disappointment in my life is that the Bajoran people still refuse to appreciate how lucky they were to have me as their liberator. I protected them in so many ways, cared for them as if they were my own children. But to this day, is there a single statue of me on Bajor? WEYOUN: I would guess not. DUKAT: And you'd be right. Take Captain Sisko, an otherwise intelligent, perceptive man. Even he refuses to grant me the respect I deserve.

Weyoun ends the scene laughing at Dukat. Because he was just advocating they exterminate all life on Earth, and yet he's amazed, truly stunned by how crackers Dukat is. The sheer depths of Dukat's psychological need for validation is as clinically fascinating to Weyoun as it is to the audience.

As it is to me, anyway. Like Narcissus and his pool, I peer into Dukat and see myself. Unsurprisingly, he's one of my favorite characters.

[codenamesazanka]

idk how to feel re: spinner's 'octopus' comment. on the one hand, i like seeing him portrayed as bitter (who can blame), maybe even hypocritical in that bitterness, but man. surely there were better ways to show that. this is spinner we are talking about, after all. was that comment that necessary. it does feel like a weird attempt at propping up deku, and remind us that, even if he's sympathetic, spinner is still a villain who "chooses" the path of shittiness (like you said). unlike deku, endeavor or even hawks (as though those have done anything other than say a few nice words and admit that they did wrong). doesn't feel like it's there not to give spinner depth, but to remind us that heroes are indeed the greatest

Hi anon, thank you for this ask!

I agree with you - this is a dark side I can/would/do like to see in Spinner. Bitter, and who can blame him! But hypocritical in that bitterness. Angry and vengeful and petty and hurtful, because that is what grief and hurt can do to someone. I'm not opposed to it!! It is a very real thing that happens. Internalized bigotry. Being a hypocrite. Simply being so hurt and miserable that you grasp for exactly that same hurt to fling out - because you know it hurts, you know exactly how it hurts and haunts, how effective it is. The best weapon in the arsenal, one that's always been there, long before you were ever a part of this. Because it's there, you reach for it. I understand such feelings very well and am always on the lookout for it to be portrayed!

It's just obvious there's no intention of exploring that. As you said, it's not to give Spinner depth. It's not a look into how systems of oppression and discrimination wears a person down, how anyone is susceptible to it, how this shit is so tough and messy and awful, and so we must find solutions. It's none of that - it's Spinner being a villain who "chooses" the path of shittiness. Possibly his very last line in the whole story. 😔

You can try to read those intentions into it, but it's supplemental. The average reader don't have to at all. I don't begrudge anyone who has a worse opinion of Spinner after this. That line is there for that purpose. Shoji has no relevance in this conservation, and Spinner himself brings up his origin of anti-heteromorphic abuse. Spinner going out of his way to call Shoji an octopus is unnecessary except as one last lasting impression and strike.

Spinner is an ungrateful asshole, and Deku is the kind boy who tried. Villains ultimately deserve most of what they get, and Heroes are the greatest.

Sorry to just repeat your lines, anon, but I must, as you're 100% correct.

Thanks again for the ask!

[fantasyinvader]

I was thinking about the shadow realm again, specifically the lords fighting their doppelgangers. Each one seems to reflect the dark truth of their character. I'm putting the original Japanese text through deepl, and this is what I get.

Edelgard: Two of me would be convenient. Don't you think so too? Edelgard: Yes, I agree with that. But …… I don't trust myself.

Dimitri: Why are you …… fighting with the emperor and others? Have you forgotten the grief of all? Avenge them quickly. …… Dimitri: ……Oh, I'm glad it was you who showed up. You are the one I want to …… kill the most.

Claude: This is an opportunity for me to fulfill my, your ambition. Why are you sitting there so still? Claude: If you were me, you'd know it. I don't like to leave things to chance!

These happen regardless of route. So while Edelgard can have an arc about her learning to trust Shez, in reality she still doesn't trust anyone. Hell, she's also saying that she herself can't be trusted, alluding to her manipulative nature explored in Safflower. Dimitri's strict morality tells him he should be fighting Edelgard right her, avenging the lost and punishing the guilty. But this mentality only serves to fuel his own self-loathing. And in Claude's case, it's alluding to his attempts to manipulate others in service to his goal rather than him pretending to be a "kind soul" like the translation says. Taken together, these highlight how Shez failed in comparison to Byleth.

In Scarlet Blaze, there's the entire arc about how Edelgard learns to trust Shez as mentioned. But we also see her taking action not out of morality, but simply because it would gain her support from X. It's in this route that we get confirmation that Edelgard does oppress the common folk and coddle the nobility despite her anti-nobility speeches. We even get that she won't simply give commoners positions because if they fail they'll make her look bad. The route is alluding to Edelgard's fake nature, how in the Japanese of Houses she admits everything she said and did with Byleth was an attempt to sway Byleth to her side. She is still the immoral character she was in the base game even when she kicks Thales to the curb because this war that she starts is still the result of her being manipulated by him. And unlike Byleth, once Shez joins the Black Eagles he doesn't have the option of doing the right thing and fighting Edelgard.

In Dimitri's case, Azure Gleam points out that Dimitri's issue isn't what happens to him during the timeskip of Houses. His issue is how he has a strict sense of morality, and how he hates himself for not being able to live up to it as he also believes it's his duty to avenge those killed and punish the guilty. Shez can't teach Dimitri to love himself, to realize his duty as a king is to the living and not the dead, and as such will go on with Dimitri to punish the empire for the war despite it being clear they were manipulated.

In Claude's case, Wildfire only furthers the motive decay Claude had already suffered since coming to Fodlan. He's willing to do anything for his ambitions, including manipulating others by saying they're really doing this or that, but he fails to realize how twisted those ambitions have become. How twisted he's become, and unlike in Wind and Moon he's not willing to put his trust in a Liu Bei-like figure. Rather, he walks the path of conquest himself because he trust no one else to really help him with his goals. He becomes another Edelgard, and Shez only makes this worse.

If anything, it feels like Hopes was intended to clear up misconceptions people had about the three lords, though in Claude's case there was a lot elements that weren't fully implemented and required the player being familiar with Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Wu's bad points.

[therese-lokidottir]

Fucking pissed off at all the retconning of Loki’s backstory and his pain in the series. And how it rendered people virtually blameless according to some fans. The more I read, the more annoyed I get.

It’s not Thor, The Warriors 3, and Odin’s fault anymore they were so awful, it wasn’t that Loki was outcasted for being different- It’s the TVA making them that way because Loki should be a villain. Loki was born to be a villain. Also Odin “loves” Loki and Loki should have appreciated that.

Rightful king of Jotunheim? Wrong! Loki was just born to be a buttmonkey villain. It’s not his birthright. Infact, let’s not touch Loki’s self hatred over his heritage to the point people don’t even know he’s a frost giant if they haven’t seen any of the previous films.

It’s not Thanos who sent Loki- It’s the TVA who made him that way because Loki should be a villain and is naturally evil. Also he was mad at his Brother and Father and had a tantrum.

And Dark World and Hell, even Ragnarok where Loki does fucking GOOD deeds? Ignored. Loki should be a villain. He’s never done any good deeds ever and was always a villain cuz he has the TVA pulling his strings. (Let’s face it, the MCU dislikes Thor 1 and Dark World.)

All of his trauma seems to be retconned and all the people who hurt him are now considered blameless because they were puppets too, basically. Loki is supposed to be an evil punching bag and nothing more. It sucks his relativity away. It sucks his moral grayness away. It sucks his trauma away as “Not actually real, really. No one hurt him- or at least no one to blame hurt him. He’s just the evil punching bag of the MCU, but like it’s not the TVA’s fault either cuz they saved him and are just doing their job, and were brainwashed, or some shit. 🤷🤷” Fuck this series, fuck Waldron. This series has such a terrible understanding of nihilism and an anti-Free will message to boot, it’s not as smart as it thinks it is. No one writing on this liked Loki or knew anything about him, and it’s clear. And now the writers have the absolute nerve to say that “Asgard was Toxic to Loki and he finally has people who care about him”? Now???? When the people who “cared” were probably just as bad if not worse than Asgard???? I’m sorry for ranting- I’m just so annoyed. This is why nothing in the series will ever be canon to me and what they’re saying now is annoying. Not even the series Variant of Loki is canon to me. :( Fuck the TVA plot. (I’m beginning to wonder if the writers see people who were outcasted and othered as “pathetic”……)

Yeah, I get it I've made my rants as well

Really, the entire premise of the series and the TVA have an implication no one seem to realize and that they don't actually want to explore. It's frustrating because really what it is that no one is any certain way, it just that anyone who goes off the path is murdered.

The Loki of the void fighting of the example of how both shallow the writing is and how it contradicts and doesn't even explore its own concepts. They say Lokis who try to fix themselves end up in the void, but then it just goes with the idea that Loki is evil and selfish. So, why even have that line at all?

It's such a poorly written show that because of its need to make loki to be terrible any interesting end up going down the drain. Also, because it's so unclear what the actual rules are. There are no implications of what is actually true vs what the characters are claiming so you have to take what the characters say at face value and that is frustrating and often contradictory to what was established early in canon.

[cdevill]

A review of Omniscient Reader.

I have caught up completely to the Manhwa or the web comic. Therefore, the review will be based on the web comic. I'm currently debating on if I should read the web novel but I have seen a few chapters. It is mostly the same from my experience. Therefore, I'll keep it strictly to the web comic version only.

Characters, it has a interesting premise and it tries to present Dokja and Joonghyuk as foils to one another. Yet, both are very secretive of their plans to their allies. If he was an actual foil. Dokja would actually be more open with information. He may not have to say, "I read the entire book." However, "I had a prophecy of the future but I have come to change it."

Dokja should be charismatic. You can have a charismatic hero that is confident, outgoing, and a thrill seeker. Yet, still has mental hang ups. It doesn't always have to be, "socially awkward guy/girl!" Remember, a foil. Joonghyuk is anti-charismatic, harsh, blunt, and cold. Therefore Dokja should counter this by being charismatic, fair yet firm, nurturing, and warm. This can be used to work on Dokja's character. There is a time you must be cold and blunt.

Constellation asking for help? Dokja shouldn't have been.

"Don't try the 2,000 coins trick on me again."

He should have been.

"Thank you for letting me know that my friend is in danger. I don't need a reward. I just need to save my friend. That's worth more than anything that you can give me."

I can't help but feel that Dokja is like Joonghyuk 2.0 but just has all the information of what happens during the events and characters of TWTS.

The story tries to focus on characters but it does little to develop them and their relationships with one another. Instead, we keep being yanked back to scenario after scenario with little to no break to develop everyone's relationship with one another. I'm bringing this up because, Min is quite happy to defend Dokja despite a pretty bad move on his part. Remember, public thinks he made a bad move because he no shares his secrets. Regardless, Min not having any knowledge of his plans, having only interacted with him at least once. Is slightly attracted to him. Since he wasn't a man that bended to her will via her beauty. This is still not enough to have her lay her life down on the line for him not once but twice. Yet, she shrugs her shoulders and is like, "we got you." It be different if they had more time devoted to establishing a very meaningful relationship. Where we see that he saved her from going on a dark path. She being indebted and grateful, doesn't know why he did that but because Dokja saved her. She knows he is doing the right thing without telling her or him just telling her that the thing is bad. Why? He had kept his word before and she is saved by keeping his word. Therefore, she puts her trust in him because of their connections.

Yet, we lack these interactions because the author wants to show us, "look at this cool fight/scenario!" There were times I stopped reading the comic and wished they slowed down to promote a deeper friendship.

The power system is just all over the olace. You're telling me that other beings can have better stats all the time but our limit for the scenario is only 50? What is the point of a flashy sword skill or incanation. If the other being speed is doubled mine? Either have a limit for everything or don't have a limit at all. As you level the cost to increase your stats staggers to where the price is too high to level them any further. This solves the problem of people being too powerful at everything. You can be as strong as a demon but lack their magical abilities.

It seems like I have nothing but bad things to say about the web comic. However, it's not all that bad. I do like the mysteries of characters and the world at large. I'm dying to find out more of their past. The two best relationships I have seen is Dokja and Joonghyuk and Dokja and his mother. Those are explored much more better than everyone else's.

The fights are okay. It seems power scaling suffers from the aforementioned restrictions and the author rushing forward to get to the next fight. If proper context was established, fights would hold more weight. Image if the author made Dokja more charismatic to his group and helped him group handle some or all of their mental hang ups. Instead of just, "next scenario, next scenario, next fight, next fight." The current near end of the manhwa would be a much more emotional gut punch.

Manhwa has a lot of mysteries that leave you wanting more but with poor time given to characters along with their developments to themselves and one another. The power scaling all over, improper foils, and Dokja feeling like Joonghyuk is what makes this Manhwa suffer heavily for me. I can't give this any higher than a 4/10.

[pinktie]

I think Jack Connery/Nightmare was meant to showcase a potential path open to Kaito as he worked as a magic consultant for the Kid Taskforce similarly to how Jack worked to catch Nightmare for Interpol as well as Kaito's ability to theoretically blackmail other criminals into doing his dirty work for him instead of either helping them or exposing them to the police. He also successfully showed Kaito's weak point of hurting Jii, which could very well happen again and Jii would act similarly if Kaito was the one threatened (it's not just limited to Jii but anyone who could potentially be Kid's accomplice) as well as a nightmare scenario of someone getting close to the truth of his Dad's double life, in this case via being a big fan, but using this knowledge to hurt Kaito rather than help him - truly his worst fears brought to life. There is the moral dilemma of wether Jack is justified in doing worse crimes than Kaito to stop his son from dying versus Kaito doing relatively mild but still high profile crimes that often put him in danger to avenge his father. Finally Kenta's voice is the trigger for Jack's fall, he was otherwise successful but despite knowing Kenta was nearby he broke persona and was fully Kenta's Dad when he couldn't afford to be which foreshadows a potential future with Aoko and how he can't simply stop loving her when he's Kid, their friendship doesn't disappear because he's hiding and she knows him so well it could expose him and therefore her. He is a thief in these situations and a murder suspect so he can't prove his innocence, comfort the child so much like himself or do anything but escape (the invincible magician is powerless), plus the constant what-if of if he did it bare handed, without the need to be careful of fingerprints/DNA as a criminal, could he have saved him?

As for the aftermath...the Taskforce still is strongly opinionated that Kid isn't a murderer, whether Kenta understood that or resembles Aoko in hating Kid to avoid hating his Dad or those that failed to stop him being taken from him is unclear, Hakuba noticed the Kid glove and concluded they attempted to save him but either by Hakuba or the Kaito and Jii team the fingerprints from inside the glove never threatened Kaito's secret. Due to the card knocking the dark knight helmet off, I'm not sure how many people noticed that Nightmare was Agent Connery or what they did with this information. Their are clear parallels to Kaito losing his father without knowing his secret identity which I hope isn't foreshadowing for him to agree to his parents' decision to leave him in the dark, Jack became a thief after Kenta and for Kenta - it's a completely different scenario to Kaito being born while his Dad was protecting his Mother and then raised to take over. People who knew Jack getting in trouble once this is revealed could be good angst for Kaito as there are potential consequences for unknowingly enabling him post-identity reveal unless he presents himself as just that good a manipulator, in which case were any of his relationships real post-becoming Kid (we know he cares about the Nakamoris but will they)?

Meta-wise this is the result of Gosho trying to delve into the potential angst for this tragic anti-hero with a dark backstory and dangerous foes (by adding more dangerous foes and talking about some of his trauma) but he made a gag-manga. Specifically one where a mad scientist can make a robot clone of someone, where literal magic exists, a rich genius teenager has a private lab and is constantly in a different country and many things can be hand waved as Kaito is just that good a magician and the manga isn't to be taken too seriously but it's balanced with Kaito being funny, clumsy, socially awkward and secretly not infallible and the rest of the cast being just as crazy in their own way. It's Gosho's earlier work before he changed his art style and realised Detective Conan was a hit so abandoned the episodic 'Kaito does crazy things to try and help/achieve his goals' to make it darker. This draining the magic from Magic Kaito is not helped by Kid being someone Conan relies on immensely due to his extremely high-level abilities and makes a good action hero for films as well as comic relief (Kaito getting hurt is often played for laughs) in the more grim world of Shinichi and company so rather than focusing on Kaito's relationships with the Ekoda Gang or his own Organisation Gosho is trying to replicate DC and the films.

Your insights are great, and I agree.

I already understand why the author included that incident, and I have recognized the potential for development for a long while now. The issue, however, is that it wasn't ever brought up again by anyone.

There's no flashback, no reassurance from his mother or Jii saying something like, "It's not your fault," and Kaito's relationship with Aoko remains completely unaffected.

The task force and Hakuba, while believing that Kaito KID isn't a killer. They should at least be wary about KID's future heists. For he was involved in the death of a major law enforcer.

The logics weren't applied to the story. Which is not good when you're trying to making it serious.

Jack's death, though heavy, holds the same weight as the other one-off characters that Kaito interacts with in every arc.

It's a shame that the author has shifted the tone for a writing style that he has grown to be comfortable with. As you said, ' This draining the magic from Magic Kaito'.

[garden-bug]

Luke's inner conflict surrounding attachment and the Jedi code from my Dinluke fic

“Love and compassion are the Jedi way.” “But not family.” Luke is again stabbed by that brief, painful conversation. Sometimes moments of it will play out in his head and it’s as if he’s there again, except in his mind he stays and doesn’t leave, and he has an answer for Din when he says that the Jedi way is incompatible with the Mandalorian values of family.  “Luke. It's normal to be afraid for the people you care about, but that doesn't make it okay to push human connection away. Yes, it might be hard to figure this out as a Jedi, but what you're doing right now is avoiding your fear, which isn't going to make you any less afraid or the reality that bad things do happen any less painful.” Leia has always been wiser than him. “I believe the Jedi lost their way. Instead of dealing with how we felt in a healthy way, we were encouraged to push our fear and anger away, and many of us, Anakin included, bottled it up. He was… scared of something, and nobody helped him, or reassured him, because it was about your mother and he’d broken the Jedi code to be with her.” Ahsoka became completely disenchanted with the Jedi. And Luke doesn’t blame her — not after what she went through. It’s no wonder she struggles to associate herself with the name. In her view, the Jedi failed his father, she failed his father — even though there was nothing anyone could have done to prevent him from turning to the dark side.  He… he would never have made the choice his father did. If it came down to it, if it was Din in his mother’s place — “I can’t choose you, I can never choose you. Can you really tell me you understand that?” Din brought a hand up to his helmet. “I don’t know.”  What did Din mean then? He didn’t know if he could understand putting someone above everyone and everything, including what you believe in?  “Had she said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order to be by her side.” And even Ben. Why would he have had to leave the Order?  The point is — It all comes back to — Leia.  “…what you're doing right now is avoiding your fear, which isn't going to make you any less afraid or the reality that bad things do happen any less painful.” He wants to make Din understand, maybe by pushing him down and kissing him, because why the Force shouldn’t he love someone like that? Yes, it’s terrifying, but he’d sure rather love Din and have that than end up like Ben (sorry, Ben) who for some reason had the idea that loving someone equalled selfishness and destroyed your ability to put anything or anyone above the person you love and therefore was the antithesis of the Jedi code. “Attachments lead to pain, pain leads to suffering. The path to the dark side, it is.” But Yoda didn’t mention that pain is caused by fear of loss. Fear of loss is a result of one’s inability to accept that loss is part of life. Attachment does not mean love. Attachment means… a desire for control over things in life that cannot be controlled. Being tied to them. And as much as Luke loves Din he would never want to be tied to him in that way. As a Jedi, Luke must love with acceptance that everything he loves he may one day lose. Otherwise, he risks following in the footsteps of his father. Can he do it?

Further:

Context for the story: Luke is trying to rebuild the Jedi Order, falls in love with Din (who decides to embrace being the Mand'alor after being inspired by Luke), has a terrifying vision that his attachment to Din will lead to pain, and pretty much runs away to Leia on Coruscant where he tries to figure the whole thing out.

Ahsoka has gone anti-Jedi because she had a traumatic experience and still blames herself and everyone for what happened to Anakin. This is a character flaw she may or may not overcome in this story.

When Din says "but not family" implying that he believes family goes against the Jedi code, he is in the wrong and later feels immensely guilty because 1) it's mean (he was upset) and 2) his idea of family is mightily messed up, having been raised by a cult. The extremity of the guilt he feels is, though, irrational, because he has a lot of issues and he was having a panic attack in the scene where he reflects on what he said which messes up your judgement (source: personal experience).

I will revise this section because I don't think it represents Obi-Wan's feelings for Satine (I'll need to think about this more):

he’d sure rather love Din and have that than end up like Ben (sorry, Ben) who for some reason had the idea that loving someone equalled selfishness and destroyed your ability to put anything or anyone above the person you love and therefore was the antithesis of the Jedi code.

Luke fully recognises here that Anakin's own choices led him to becoming Vader. (Something Ahsoka still struggles to accept.) If this is not something you agree with please DNI with this post or with me, because I will not change my opinion.

Save for that, I would absolutely appreciate any comments or insight (I may not take them into account, but I'd be interested to hear them anyway because I want to offer as rich an insight as I can into this issue and discussion is super great for that). Also I think I might have clarity issues in this passage so if anything is unclear feel free to let me know (kindly - I am human).

Also important: I am NOT writing a Luke who 'gives up' being a Jedi because omg Din Djarin! They are both incredibly interesting characters in their own right with their own beliefs that are integral to who they are and I intend to do them as much justice as I can.

If you read the story (which I will link below) please be aware that it is a first draft and therefore I don't feel that it perfectly expresses all of the messages I want to get across. Still, huge thanks if you give it a try!

[antianakin]

Another thing I don’t like about Jedi: Survivor was how that conversation between Cal and Bode regarding Cal’s feelings for Merrin echoed the anti-Jedi crowd’s misconceptions regarding attachment.

Yeah there were a few moments in Survivor that landed a little Jedi critical specifically because of Cal and Merrin's relationship becoming more explicit in the narrative. It's not necessarily worse than Fallen Order's sequence with Malicos, but it's not better, either.

Both of the games seem to fall into the same category as Rebels did where it's like 95% positive about the Jedi and Cal's relationships to other Jedi and his identity as a Jedi is MONUMENTALLY important to the character and the story and Order 66 is clearly still supposed to be a TRAGEDY, but it leans SLIGHTLY into the idea that they might've brought it on themselves and that there are things the surviving Jedi can do now that they wouldn't have been able to before. It leans into the concept that the surviving Jedi can be BETTER than the ones who came before them specifically by not following some of the teachings and practices of before.

HOWEVER, that being said, it also often has a lot of these comments coming from unreliable sources (like Malicos and Bode) where you can write it off a little by deciding that these people are just bitter assholes who've given in to darkness anyway, of COURSE they don't like the Jedi and will say whatever they want to make themselves look better. Anakin claimed the Jedi were evil and trying to take over so that his genocide of them could seem justified, but it didn't make it TRUE.

There's a moment I think where Cal himself says something to Merrin along the lines of being able to explore things now that he wouldn't have been able to explore before, but it is SURROUNDED by a narrative that has a lot of wonderful messages about attachment and has Cal acting like a real Jedi would. Bode's entire storyline is about how he let the loss of his wife consume him and he loses all hope and sides with the Empire against his own people because he believed it was the only way to protect his daughter and that mattered more to him than anything else. He's willing to let people like Cere and Cordova and everyone else on the Hidden Path (specifically in the Jedha Base) be killed because he wanted Tanalorr to be a place where ONLY he and his daughter could hide from the Empire and he believed that opening it up to other refugees would make it less safe. Bode's own daughter realizes how far Bode has fallen and showcases the exact opposite of attachment when she lets Cal and Merrin come in and then doesn't hold it against Cal when Bode is killed.

And Cal nearly lets his own grief consume him into darkness, but he ultimately is able to fight back against it and refuses to kill Bode out of anger in part because of the love he has and has been shown by Merrin and Greez. Cal's entire arc in this game is about learning to let go of people, both to death and just to different paths in life. They start the whole storyline with Cal sort-of feeling slightly resentful that the rest of the Mantis crew went off to do their own things and he's had to continue their missions alone or with a new crew and he has more than once conversation with them about why they felt they had to walk away and Cal has to figure out how to accept that.

So, yes, there's some moments in this game where his romance with Merrin leads to some dialogue that seems to indicate the Jedi wouldn't have approved of romantic relationships of any kind, which is a little annoying and I wish it weren't in there, but it's SUCH a small moment in a game that has so many really genuinely good things to say about attachment and what it does to you and why it's important to let people go, so I'm more than willing to pretend these small pieces of dialogue just... aren't there.

[ottokallenhonkai3rd]

⚜ ℐ𝓈 𝒪𝓉𝓉ℴ ℴ𝒷𝓈ℯ𝓈𝓈ℯ𝒹 ⚜

Antis describe Otto as obsessive or simp, who is after Kallen and doesn't respect her love for Sakura. ~*~ To answer the question... Yes. Otto is obsessed. But not for Kallen's love, but for Kallen's life.

He says that himself and is aware of it. And this “obsession” can be traced back to a profound fear of loss that runs throughout “Elan Palatinus”.

Otto's view of the world underlines why he desperately wants to bring Kallen back to life:

When you truly want to change the world, you will discover how pitiable your own strength is. The Holy Maid gave her all to the people, and was repaid with merciless shackles und nooses. The world is at chaos. It´s neither fair nor sensible. It wrongs heroes and breeds scum. It is rife with ugliness without a trace of beauty. The malice of the world shal be sundered- by the villain. - Thus spoke Apocalypse Here he clearly denounces, how the people Kallen wanted to protect are repaying her. This makes it clear that he perceives Kallen as a good person, even a heroine, and most of humanity as crude and ugly. And Kallen is very important to him. This may be due to his childhood, in which he was not treated well by his family and Kallen was the first person who showed him anything like appreciation. Yes. Otto definitely has feelings for Kallen. This was mentioned in "Honkai Chonicles - Otto Apocalypse", as well as in game. But Sanka Saga shows that these don't play a role.

This event recreates an alternate version in which Kallen follows the path that Otto did out of love for Sakura. In this event, Otto intentionally binds Kallen to Sakura and Yae Village so that she does not return to Schicksal and be executed. If Otto only cared about Kallen's love, he would have accepted this risk rather than leaving her with her bElOvEd Sakura. ~*~ And if we're already talking about Sakura and Antis mostly prefer SakuKallen, I'll say something to the lady now.

If the worn-out fake version of your passionate love tells you that you're a little obsessive, then there's something to it. You might not get it that way because Kallen's story is a shambles. But Kallen intended to return to Schicksal. It's being teased in Sanka Saga...

As well as in "The Gratitude Arc" and also in "Dark Sakura Tales". This webcomic only exists on the Chinese HI3 site and appears in "The Gratitute Arc", "Divine Key" and "Elan Palatinus".

In this webcomic you also get to see a completely different side of Sakura. You can tell that she can't cope with Kallen leaving her and would prefer to keep her with her. "In many dreams she had dreamt of making you belong only to her. She thought, she had found her own beacon of light. But that Light chose to shine on otheers instead." By the way. In "Dark Sakura Tales" Kallen never left Yae Village, she just wanted to prevent the human sacrifices. I would have understood it, if Kallen had actually left Yae Village to seal the box, as initially assumed. But no. She was never gone. And Higokumaru can only manipulate. Manipulation involves taking advantage of doubts, fears and weaknesses. He cannot implant thoughts that are not there. In that case, I wonder how obsessed one can actually be? I can only feel sorry for Sakura. But in my opinion, that's only the case in this manga. As shown above, there are several indications that Kallen left Yae Village in HI3, if only to complete her mission. In Gun Girls Z there is an alternate story in which, under the Herrscher's influence, she actually forces Kallen to stay with her.

Happy Birthday "Kallen..." "..." "Kallen..." "..." Why don't you answer me...? Obviously or "Your" pupils will no longer reflect other people's figures "Your" body temperature will no longer be passed to other people. "You" already belong to me alone … It doesn't matter……. It doesn't matter. That's enough. "Sakura...don't..." ——As long as I can still see "your" smile "Don't want……" ——As long as I can still feel the presence of "you" "Don't want……" ——As long as "you" are still by my side I will be very happy I turned you into this soulless doll. This is the best birthday gift. Thank you, love. Source ~*~ But let´s make a Checklist:

A constant need for validation from the person you are in love with Otto: Could be. Sakura: No.

Obsessively keeping in contact with the subject of your affection  Otto: No. Sakura: I see this problem with Sakura. "But that light chose t shine on others instead" and the fact that she consciously decided to stay in the stigma world with a fake Kallen.

Ignoring the personal boundaries of the subject of your affection  Otto: No. Sakura: No.

Behaving in a controlling manner with the person you love  Otto: No. Sakura: Under the control of the Herrscher, yes. Bullet point soulless doll.

Feeling extreme jealousy of other relationships the person you love might have with other people   Otto: No. Sakura: "BuT tHaT lIgHt ChOsE tO sHiNe On OtHeRs InStEaD.

Feeling overly protective of the person you love  Otto: Yes. Look the secound screenshot. Sakura: No.

Becoming so overwhelmed with emotions about a person that it disrupts your daily functioning Otto: No. Sakura: No.

Feelings of low self-esteem, especially when it seems like your love isn’t being reciprocated  Otto: Low-selfesteem, yes. With regard of Kallens reciprocated, no. Sakura: No.

Refusal to engage in social activities that don’t involve the subject of your affection  Otto: No. Sakura: Yes. Because she chose to stay in the stigma world with fake balls instead of returning to life.

Feeling extremely possessive of the other person’s time, space, and attention  Otto: No. Sakura: No.

Feeling a need to control the actions and behaviors of the person you supposedly love  Otto: Already a little. Even if it was out of his fear of loss. Sakura: Under the controll of the Herrscher, yes.

Experiencing anxiety over your relationship with this person Otto: No Sakura: No.

I gave one point for each “maybe” or “other circumstances.” Therefore, Sakura and Otto would be on equal terms when it comes to obsessive behavior. ~*~ Still, I think Sakura is much more obsessive and her obsession, unlike Otto's obsession, is really about Kallen's love. Strange that he is still basically the simp and Sakura is completely innocent.

[raehs]

ALL VERSES. will be updating as needed.

i really just wanted to post this so there's less guessing with my verse details lol. will probably add more tonight. there's also like zero formatting here so i apologize for that.

era : SEQUELS.

arc : jakku.

pre - the force awakens. will only be taking place on jakku. age range : 14 - 19.

arc : the force awakens.

canon compliant. age : 20.

arc : the last jedi.

semi divergent but mostly canon compliant. rey is with luke for a lot longer than 3 days, possibly more like a few weeks to a few months, maybe a year at the MOST. ( which does alter the movie a bit but i see it as the fighting doesn't happen at the same time as rey's training + tfa doesn't directly lead to tlj, there's time between and tfo doesn't attack right away. rey shows up at the end with the falcon. ). kylo + rey also bond over the months. (: age : 21.

arc : between the last jedi + the rise of skywalker. [ resistance reborn ]

the few years between tlj + tros. there's 2-3, possibly more years between where rey studied under leia and also helped recruit people to the resistance. compliant with resistance reborn + spark of the resistance. age: 21-23/24. GO TO SEQUELS VERSE.

arc : the rise of skywalker.

divergent. anti romantic re/ylo. anti rey palpatine. anti rey burying lightsabers in sand, anti spice runner poe ... etc. major points happen. (personally would love to replace palpatine w/ snoke or smthin ...) there's also 2-3 years in between tlj and tros. heavy influence from dotf. age: 23-24.

arc : post - tros.

age : mid 20s. anything directly after the war ends. lots of rey traveling, learning, searching, adventuring. GO TO SEQUELS VERSE NO. 2.

arc : rebuilding.

quite a bit after the war. rey is also in the process of or already has started to rebuild the jedi, though she teaches in a new, different way. in their own way. age : late 20s - mid 30s.

verse : [ duel of the fates ]

based on the duel of the fates script. the main thing i get rid of is rey mind tricking poe + some other minor stuff. i'm damerey neutral (really depends on the writing partner). 10 years after tlj, early 30s. honestly i like this more than tr.os but i wanna remain sequels - characters friendly + people who haven't read the script. will only put things in here if i know you know the details!

verse : [ smuggler ]

rey takes the job offered to them by han solo and never crosses paths with kylo ren.

verse : [ sith ]

rey is in fact found by snoke / palpatine and raised in the dark. wasn't actually raised by that weirdo but people working for him, maybe raised by snoke lol. some mara jade vibes maybe (idk legends dont @ me ). her anger is twisted and turned into something that is used against her, as is her loneliness and need for a family.

era : PREQUELS / THE REPUBLIC / MOVING TIMELINE.

found on jakku in the care of unkar plutt as a child (though born on hyberkarn -- her parents were being hunted by mercenaries and left rey in the car of plutt, but they died and never came back for her), rey is found by the jedi and brought to the temple. she's named kira by the jedi who found her, as plutt only referred to her as 'child' and 'girl'. she chooses rey as her names. she struggles with a fair amount of jedi things, as they're naturally a more aggressive and angry person, and struggle with being consumed by her attachments.

01 : rey is taken on as a padawan during the very beginning of the clone wars / prior to the clone wars / prequels era. she's at the front lines with her jedi master, who's very jaded at this point in his career but he pushes her hard to make sure she can survive the war and what happens after it. they took some time to warm up to each other but end up having a very close bond. (': [ also have an option for her to be obi-wan's padawan, or someone elses with plotting <3 i think she'd also be good as plo koon's padawan. ] she's also given the title of commander, which she hated, feeling that she didn't do as much as the clones who deserve it more than her. age range : 14 - 21.

02 : a slightly older rey goes through the clone wars as a jedi knight. she's a general with her own battalion and puts her everything in keeping her men alive. (': early - mid 20s. GO-TO PREQUELS VERSE.

era : EMPIRE / POST ORDER 66.

verse : [ order 66 survivor ]

01 : rey survives the purge as a padawan and only escapes because of her master. she escapes to an outer-rim planet and keeps her head down. she cuts off her padawan braid and puts her lightsaber away ... until the inquisitors (+ kylo) find her and she has to go on the run and constantly move. she's 14-16ish during order 66 but the verse spans 10+ years, or until she joins the rebellion. GO-TO POST ORDER 66 VERSE.

02 : rey survives as a jedi knight. dependent on the timeframe but is around mid 20s when order 66 happens. mid 20s - mid 30s.

verse : [ inquisitor ]

rey is turned to the darkside by the inquisitors and from feeling everyone she loved die. she's a ghost of a person, barely there, fueled entirely by anger and hate. but she starts to come back to herself. also her hair is white. 20s.

verse : [ rebel pilot ]

01 : very similar to the force awakens! from jakku, rey gets mixed up with a " rebel fighter " and they have to get off jakku due to being chased by imperials. bb-8 also needs to get to the rebellion because she has a list of rebel cells + people who are secretly working for the rebellion. no specific time frame, can be in the beginning of the rebellion or more aligned with a new hope / rebels. 19+.

02 : former padawan rey joins the rebellion as a pilot. around the age of hera + kanan. late 20s - early 30s. GO-TO EMPIRE VERSE.

verse : [ force shenanigans ]

basically the star wars holiday special but less ... chaotic? rey ends up traveling to any era of star wars due to a crystal that can travel through time. can take place after tr.os or any other point of time. mid 20s.

ERA : ANY.

verse : [ scavenger ]

basically just. rey is a scavenger on jakku and completely content in never leaving. -- this is not the same as the jakku verse, as that one is specifically pre - tfa. this one is for any era of star wars and / or rey never makes it off of jakku with finn and bb-8. 19+.

CROSSOVERS.

verse : [ avatar: the last airbender ]

takes place at any point of time in the atla universe (pref. during the original show or legend of korra), but rey is descended from air nomads. her father was earth + air but was a non-bender, while her mother was strictly from air nomads, but was also a non-bender. they found out rey was a bender when she was young and did their best to hide her.

WIP VERSES : supernatural ( werewolf / witch ), grishaverse, modern ( college ), modern ( archaeologist ), modern ( pilot ), superhero fandoms ( mutant ), multiverse ( any fandom ), bg3, general scifi ( star trek / dw / etc etc ), pjo ( child of zeus or apollo or hermes maybe ), mythology ( bia reborn ), misc fantasy, asoiaf, tinkerbell, winx club, royalty, green lantern, fallout, the 100, high republic (sw), mermaid au.

REQUEST ONLY.

verse : clan of three.

affiliated with @devoutgun.

found on jakku as a child, rey is adopted by din djarin when she's young. this verse can deal with rebuilding mandalore, rey being a member of clan mudhorn, rey finding out she's force sensitive at a much younger age, it's also likely that rey is taught by luke skywalker in the ways of the force alongside ben. -- events of the sequels can still take place but things are a bit different.

verse : rey skywalker. [ REQUEST PLS ]

rey (beru) is the lost child of luke skywalker who was kidnapped as a child in hopes of bringing her to palpatine. that never happened, and any leads their parents had to find them go cold. she picks a name for herself and believes one day her parents are coming back for her -- she doesn't grow up completely alone. force ghosts regularly visits her, teaches her things, reminds her that she isn't alone. tbh, this is very similar to regular verses so this is kinda specific to skywalkers but i’m open to writing in it with anyone. esp in combination with time travel.

verse : legacy of infinite sadness.

rey is the grandchild of obi-wan kenobi. specifics can be changed as i have multiple ideas. rey's story remains basically the same except that her grandfather is obi-wan ( doesn't have to be biological! can be force ghost adoption! ).