#and neither would change their viewpoint

[infpravenclaw5w4idkwhatelse]

Sometimes I forget that real people in the lgbtq+ community do also hate asexual and/or aromantic people, and then I stumble across one post about one thing that so many different groups of people do that’s annoying, and it mentions aroace people as a category specifically as an example (no hate to op. I do disagree because I think the tags is actually where someone’s supposed to relate a post back to themself?? Like. That’s their intended function? Off topic. Anyway) but the rest of the tags are full of people being like ‘#asexual people are so annoying’ or ‘#aroaces are just straights who can’t get any bitches’ or ‘#theyll never be part of the community’

And 1: so much of that is bullshit that homophobic people use to discriminate and belittle other people in the community, and you’re just gonna rebrand it slightly to the left, and it’s ok now?? How does that make any sense at all? Riddle me that one, Batman.

And 2: that post wasn’t even intrinsically aphobic. You specifically make it so because what? You can? That’s a different flavor of exactly what the post was arguing against (adding your own two cents and changing the meaning of a post)

And it just makes me sad to see. Because what do you mean so-called liberals and fellow gay people (umbrella term obvs) are out there, not only devaluing ace and aro people’s identities, but going out of their way to make that known and exclude them on a post that’s not even about that. What the actual fuck has gotten into you? How is you claiming to be superior for feeling attraction any different from aroaces (or any combination of that) claiming to be superior for not feeling attraction?

(aka, the reason you cite for hating them) ((plus, the only, the only, reason aroaces people would celebrate it is in retaliation to having attraction being The Best Ever shoved so far down our throats we can’t conceptualize our self-worth without it, but I digress))

Sorry about the *scrolls back to the top rq* 5, about to be 6, paragraphs, I just really needed to get this out of my system.

[bloodborne-on-pc]

I've been trying to think of the best way to articulate this for a long time, but I think something that maybe influences many outdoor cat owners to be adamantly against the idea of the idea of their pet being an invasive species, is the way we talk and think about invasive species.

If you see any post on social media talking about an invasive species, people in the comments tend to talk about "destroying" them with a sort of gleeful malice. Essentially, invasives are acceptable targets for cruelty. They are considered "evil", making it okay to hate them and inflict violence upon them, and to revel in that violence.

So, if a person has this viewpoint, consciously or not, and sees someone claim their beloved pet is invasive, they will probably balk at the idea and reject it. Their cat isn't evil! That's absurd! How could you say that?

And that is completely true. The domestic cat isn't evil. Neither is the spotted lanternfly, common buckthorn, or any other invasive species. They are harmful to the environments they are introduced into, but they don't cause that harm because they are malevolent. They're doing the exact same things they would be in their original environment. Those things are just bad for their non-native one. In some situations, removing invasive species may involve killing the organism, but we shouldn't relish in the suffering this will cause them.

Obviously, there are lot of factors influencing why people refuse to keep their cats inside. But I can't help but wonder if this kind of attitude might exacerbate it - and if changing the way we talk about invasive species might help a little. Even if not, we should do it anyway - all living things deserve respect.

[justatumblinweed]

The little things do help, y'all ♥️

i had a whole crisis last night, got real bothered by the state of this broken world and felt like i didn’t deserve to call myself punk because i felt like i wasn’t doing enough. but i am. i’m being a kind person. i’m caring about people. i’m helping when i can. i’m being authentically myself in a town that doesn’t want me to. i’m showing other people they aren’t alone. i’m leading by example. i am spreading hope, i am making a difference, even if it is a small one. and i’ll make an even bigger difference one day. things are getting better, and everyone who cares is part of that.

There isn't a whole lot we can do alone, that's why we're a social species. But it sounds like you're doing more than enough on that level. As you said, things are getting better, and everyone who cares is a part of that.

[cruyuu]

hello 💕 love your sukuita analyses and edits 🙏 my friend and i were looking through Gege's official chosen songs for each character specifically for yuji and sukuna now that the manga is over and i don't know if many people noticed Yujis first song was "Heart ni Ho wo Tsukete" and the lyrics are??????? literally canon sukuita 😭 "burn your loneliness" "don't turn to ashes" "you and i are together" "will we love each other? will we turn to ashes?" like 😭😭😭 if you haven't checked it out please do because we were losing it

Hi jenjen and thank you!

I already heard Heart ni Ho wo Tsukete and I agree. The lyrics are crazy. The song is quite beautiful, tho, shipping aside.

As someone who loves looking into stuff and finding connections, it's interesting to me that a character song is hinting at having a deep emotional connection with someone as a way of pushing on through the worst of "the worringly bad state they are in".

Sure, some would say "It doesn't have to mean that" as in "It doesn't have to be abt sukuita" but I like to think that it does because it's not like the story itself relied heavily on Sukuna and Yuuji- beginning with their reluctant union and ending with their parting- right? It's not like Yuuji taught Sukuna something about love and managed to reach him, right? That definitely didn't happen lmfao.

Also... how do you even begin to explain these lines?

I’m attached Deeply attached to you It doesn’t go in a single line I’m attached to you And the lies we tell each other

Remember that this is coming from a song picked for Yuuji, so it's supposed to represent him. Who is he deeply attached to, so much so that the attachment he shares with that person "doesn't just go in single line"? Who does he tell lies to?

Who, again, said he'd do anything to kill that creep and then asked for his return to his body, said that he is the only one who can accept him and would live with him?

It's all so mind-numbingly sweet, very confusing and terribly funny. It makes me want to hurl myself off a cliff. Gaze into the sunset with the cigarette in my hands and just sigh like I'm seventy thousand years old. It makes me want to squeal, screech and not at all act composed like I usually am.

Like, sukuita's relationship has been at the very center of the story even if it was out of focus for a while. Yuuji was with others and Sukuna was with others but then when they met again... those others just couldn't compete. One of my friends joked that they're lowkey that sentence "I have been looking for you in other people only to realize you've been right in front of me this entire time." and I can't help but giggle. Hell, the story itself is proof of it lol

Like I keep mentioning in my posts, these two tend to just act weirdly around each other. It's not even "just hate", neither "indifference", because everything that Yuuji did made him reluctant to part with Sukuna in the end, and no matter how much Sukuna dismisses Yuuji, he's also praising him and acknowledging him over and over and over. Yes, they can't see eye to eye, yes, they're fundamentally different from one another but Yuuji still managed to try and understand him. Sukuna also ended up accepting Yuuji's viewpoint and considered taking on a different path, finally changing after years of remaining stuck in a single mindset.

Like not one person had managed to change his mindset for all those years yet Yuuji- the idiot, brat, thing, whatever- did. In just a couple of months lol. That was the final seal on just how important he was to him in the end. The only one to beat him, the only one to reach him, the only one to come running back with arms open to still allow him to live no matter if he destroyed everything in his life.

Lol.

Which brings me to:

If we burn our union If we burn everything Won’t we love each other? Won’t we love each other? Won’t it become ash?

It fits them all too well. Love under the guise of hate, killing as an expression of love, hate as an expression of fondness. Everything flipped onto its head because, after all, aren't they too, (from human to curse in Yuuji's case, from curse to human in Sukuna's) when around each other?

I swear figuring out these two (and, in general, just trying to think about their relationship or write an analysis) makes me want to bang my head against the wall. All I'm saying is, if Gege ever goes to create a tragic romance manga, they have my full support because they knew what they were doing, twisting and intertwining these two to perfection before they ripped them away. They made them so entertaining, both as individual characters and when they collided with each other.

Yeah. I despise it here (affectionately).

I hope both you and your friend have an amazing day or night and thank you for the ask!

[locklylenerd77]

Aziracrow kiss scene analysis

Okay, so we've all seen it.

But what does it mean? Today I'm going to talk about Aziraphale and Crowley's kiss.

Viewpoints

Firstly, there are numerous ways to view this scene, including assault, romance, desperation, and an attempt at communication. I won't be talking about all of these, but I do want to delve deeper into the body language of Aziraphale and Crowley.

It's not "cute".

Firstly, this kiss wasn't romantic, gentle, or tender. Crowley grabs Aziraphale by the collar and basically smashes his lips onto Aziraphale's. It's quite an aggressive kiss, throwing them both off-balance. They sway a little, both of them very still, and neither of them pull away or deepen the kiss. It's obvious neither of them know how to kiss, and I think this makes it unpleasant for them both. We see Crowley holding Aziraphale for quite some time but nothing happens. He doesn't pull away to see if Aziraphale is okay, or use body language to make Aziraphale feel more comfortable. He's got no idea what the purpose of the kiss is, but its the last thing he can do. The kiss wasn't romantic, it was a culmination of the prior 6000 years.

Aziraphale's reaction

Secondly, Aziraphale is very clearly in shock. He gradually closes his eyes and places his hands on Crowley's back. It seems to me that this is him trying to "kiss back", except he obviously doesn't know how, and he's confused and angry at the same time. He looks distressed, which could be because of the situation, but also because he's trying to decide what to do. He doesn't want to hurt Crowley by shoving him away in disgust, or kiss him passionately back. They're both in new waters.

It's important to note that Crowley seems to release Aziraphale and not the other way round. He's the instigator of the kiss. Aziraphale is breathing heavily afterwards, on the verge of tears, and this signals to the audience that he's panicking slightly. I think this is because it couldn't be more clear now that he and Crowley are in love. There's no room for ambiguity or questioning- Crowley's defined his feelings (and their relationship) now, and through a human action.

Although they were both aware of their love, they were also both comfortable in their relationship, and perfectly happy going on dates, sharing property, calling each other pet names, and hearing others refer to them as a couple (at least, they don't deny it most of the time). To summarise, the kiss wasn't needed. Defining their relationship by human means was unneeded. Aziraphale is upset and disgusted because the action is so unnecessary, so unlike them. Crowley's trying to fit them into a mould as a desperate attempt of preserving the relationship. Crowley's confession might have been a way of indirectly asking for reassurance, or making their pre-existing relationship more physically intimate, but its's not a get-down-on-one-knee "will you go to nandos with me" imogen-from-heartstopper. His confession also clearly doesn't change anything, because Aziraphale doesn't recoil in shock, or even react much. He knows Crowley loves him, but he doesn't communicate that. So Crowley, thinking Aziraphale has misunderstood him, tries again.

Why kiss?

I think it's crucial that we understand that the kiss isn't a confirmation of their love. Crowley has already stated that they could've been "us", and that "he would like to spend" his existence with Aziraphale. The kiss is a reinforcement of what's already been said, and Crowley instigates it because he's trying to communicate with Aziraphale through human behaviours to bridge their contrasting perspectives.

This fails.

Crowley and Aziraphale already know they love one another. The kiss was a "stay with me, I love you" from Crowley, and an "I know, it's more complicated than that" from Aziraphale in response, but neither of them see it that way. Crowley was trying to make it clear how he feels, when that wasn't the problem. Nothing was unaddressed after Crowley's speech, and the kiss was an unexpected and confusing event for them both. Crowley never planned this- their bad communication has just reached a point where he's desperately trying to make Aziraphale understand him using any tool he can.

My thoughts

I think the true function of this kiss is to highlight their dysfunctional relationship. They can't communicate, so they fill in that gap with apology dances, protecting one another, and human interactions like kissing. They're so far apart in perspective and worldview that the only way to communicate is through a common thing they are both familiar with, which is human behaviour.

The reason Aziraphale is so upset, from my interpretation, is that the kiss changes nothing. They're both talking at one another and not listening, not compromising or attempting to understand each other's views. Aziraphale and Crowley both talked the talk, and the kiss is just Crowley repeating his earlier words. Essentially, Crowley's still not listening. They still aren't communicating.

We view kissing as a romantic interaction between two people to show mutual affection. For Crowley, it's not that. It's a final, desperate resort. "This is how I feel, can't you understand? I'm going to make you understand in the only way I know how that I have left!" But Aziraphale does understand, and he agrees. He just wants them to be together under different circumstances because he's in a toxic relationship with heaven and he thinks he can change it for better.

Summary

-the kiss wasn't romantic, it was just passionate

-Aziraphale isn't disgusted, he's confused and devastated because they've failed to communicate again, and they can't reach an understanding

-The kiss doesn't change their relationship, it just defines it, and neither of them really wanted to define it. We see multiple people pressure them into a "relationship", from calling them an "item" to interrogating Crowley about their status (he's not anybody's "bit on the side"!), and this causes Crowley to want reassurance, especially after their relationship has weakened slightly due to the stress of recent events concerning heaven, hell, Gabriel and Beelzebub, and poor communication. He confesses due to not only insecurity, but others changing his viewpoint of his relationship.

--------

Thanks for reading my essay I have too much free time

[eev583]

Ready for me to randomly dump some of my PLA headcanons on y'all? Well, here they are.

1# Akari and Dawn are cousins. Yes, cousins. They aren't the same person in my Poke Verse.

2# Adaman and Irida were childhood friends. They usually met in secret and nobody from either clan knew about it.

3# Volo can talk to Giratina telepathically. This specially becomes useful when other people are nearby, and they don't want to be heard.

4# Ingo and Akari are friends. They talk to each other about their past lives. (Even if neither of them can remember much of it.)

5# Akari has the biggest crush on Volo. Though Volo, for the most part, didn't notice. (He is smart but also very dense.)

6# Professor Laventon has a father-daughter like relationship with Akari and a father-son like relationship with Rei. (Nobody can change my mind on this.)

7# Irida and Adaman would deny having a crush on the other, but everyone already knows that they do.

8# Akari is a little older than Rei. But not by much. (She's 17 while he's 16 at the start of PLA)

9# Arceus would text Akari through the Arc Phone occasionally just to check in on how she's doing.

10# Beside just working together, Volo and Giratina are actually good friends. (They've come to realize that they have similar viewpoints on a lot of things.)

I have a lot more headcanons, but that's the end of it for now. I don't want to make this post too long. Just so everyone knows, I'm gonna be very busy for the next several weeks so I won't be on for a while. I'm not gonna be gone for too long though. But you'll know I'm back when I start posting things again.

[shipping-isnt-morality]

I was frankly shocked the first time I discussed the Shoah with Israelis (rather than American Jews). There was a level of… I don’t know what to call it but victim-blaming, that I wasn’t sure how to handle. That’s of course not universal but the very fact that that’s an accepted viewpoint in Israel is kind of telling I think. For example there was even some scandal on the right in America when Ben Shapiro suggested that arming the Jews (more) would have prevented the Holocaust. In Israel that viewpoint is quite common.

There’s a kind of scorn among some Zionists for victims of the Holocaust, and if you really understand their point of view it’s easy to see why. If anti-Semitism is inevitable and incurable, if the very presence of Jews brings it about, then they should have fought harder, or at least left sooner. They should have known better than to ever think they could be welcome or safe in their home. It’s almost an exoneration of the anti-Semite; like a force of nature, he is inevitable and inexhaustible.

Not to always bring everything back to what I know, but it reminds me of how we talk about abusers and victims. These posts about protecting yourself from attackers in your car, in a parking lot, in your home, on a boat, whatever: They take for granted that you can not and should not feel safe in these places. They treat the danger of sexual predators the same as the danger of wildlife. Zionists talk about anti-Semites in a similar way, I’ve noticed.

Lord knows in many cases these are born from trauma. It’s no surprise that victims of serious violations would like to know how to protect themselves from it ever happening again and would want to protect others from the same.

The problem is that this trauma-informed response cannot actually fix the root of the problem. Neither anti-Semitism nor male sexual violence are forces of nature. They are byproducts of exploitative and imperfect systems run and populated by highly imperfect humans. Different systems have had different outcomes, though, some better than others, and recently some quite well indeed. Systemic solutions to these problems - at the least, to greatly reduce them, and to make justice more accessible - do exist. Humans can and have built them.

A systemic solution to the problem cannot start with the victim, though. It has to start with the perpetrator. It has to ask why the system keeps producing people who can and would do this. It has to ask what the perpetrator wants, why they want that, and why they think harming someone else will get them what they want. Simplistic, spiteful, or dehumanizing answers to these questions aren’t helpful; neither are trite or fatalistic ones. Only truthful, consistent, verifiable, rational answers will allow us to change the circumstances which lead to these crimes.

The victim is rarely in a position to change that system, or even to change the circumstances of a single abuser; on a personal level it makes sense to treat the threats as inevitable. On a societal level, though, it is essential that we recognize the perpetrators as rational actors who are fully responsible for their actions and whose excuses must be challenged.

Ideologically it is completely backwards to start from an assumption that it is up to the actions of a victim to avoid victimization. It is infinitely easier for perpetrators, who are after all themselves rational actors and members of our society, to choose a different action which does not victimize someone else. And where possible it is our role as a community to make better choices more accessible, and to punish exploitative behavior.

Because a victim-led initiative, at worst, would result in avoiding victimization through in turn becoming victimizers of a different, even more marginalized group. It recreates the problem: the victim cannot feel safe because the only defense they can conceive is one which never puts them in the position to be victimized ever again, but there is no battle to be won against the entire system. So a smaller battle is chosen, and a weaker opponent singled out (and rhetorically aligned with the systemic danger and hostility), and the exploitation dance happens again, one level down.

I’m hardly the first to observe this. This is probably a clumsy rephrasing of common philosophy examining human exploitation.

But the point is: all of that makes sense as a protective coping mechanism for the victim, but as a society it must not be where our analysis begins or ends. On a societal level this exploitation is not omnipresent, inevitable, or inexhaustible. The perpetrators are in our society as much as the victims are; an uncomfortable fact that I think people need to grow up about.

Our solutions can, should, and must look at why this happens and what we can do about it. The answer is not “nothing”. We have accomplished extraordinary things as a species. We have concepts of justice, of empathy. We have written documents of shared humanity, we have demonstrated shared humanity - for better and for worse. It is possible for us to find answers to these brutally difficult questions.

Palestine must be free, and Jews must be safe. These imperatives are not mutually exclusive. Those who tell you otherwise have something to gain from your fear.

[raayllum]

Been rewatching Infinity Train (3rd show of all time for me) and reflecting on how they write relationships:

The first is that they let characters have real issues with each other — actually unhealthy / toxic individual traits and subsequently unhealthy patterns with each other — even when those characters don’t know anything is wrong! They think they’re fine, fun, healthy, as a dynamic and as a person, the way most people do. The second thing is that in letting the characters be wrong, the show lets both characters, every time, be wrong. [...] It would be so easy for Infinity Train to just go “one half has all the problems, the other just has to help them through it”.

and it just filled me with so much love for how S4 and S5 of TDP but especially S4 wrote its main character relationships.

Rayla was wrong to leave, and Callum isn't wrong to be angry, but they both leave a lot to be desired when it comes to relationship repair; Rayla is awkward and kind of aloof, and Callum is cold and closed off. He mandates that he doesn't want to talk about what happened and she respects that, but then the next day he's jabbing at her over it. And we see in late s4 and early s5 that despite coming back, Rayla isn't really breaking old patterns of behaviour, either. Callum had to burn through his anger and hit a turning point of giving her a solid basis to work from — if he withholds help, she'll never learn how to accept it; if she never shares, they'll never be anywhere but square one — that lets them both do repair on their wound(s).

Janai and Karim are mutually bad at communication. Initially, Karim doesn't plan to divulge his worries at all, but Janai gently nudges him. Then when he expresses them, because they're borderline bigoted, Janai doesn't want to hear them, which is fair, but does leave the concerns he does express completely unaddressed as she shuts him down. Karim isn't wrong that both Lucia and Amaya are being insensitive over what happened, and Janai doesn't communicate her changing feelings regarding being queen, so Karim bites himself in the ass by assuming she'll step down. Was Karim being a bit unhinged and stupidly dangerous by orchestrating the Blood Duel? Of course. But did he actually 100% think Janai would step aside (when in the same episode, Janai was considering that maybe Karim would be a better king to begin with)? Also yes. But neither communicated well, and that's part of why things escalated to the degree that they did in s4.

Viren and Claudia are another great example, and honestly reminded me the most of the pair from S3 of Infinity Train, in which one starts to back out of the Literal cult they've formed while the first 'follower' refuses to consider any other paths till they end up destroying each other. We see something reminiscent here. Viren is responsible for setting Claudia on her path and for bringing Aaravos into their lives, but Claudia has been making her own choices independent of what Viren wants for a while now as of S4, bringing him back because she couldn't afford to lose him and slapping his concerns out of him for the same reason, when Viren thinks he may ultimately want something else. She's been through too much to have her turning point with clear eyes, and we see Viren in S4 steadily building up to have his own (circa S5). I'll be very interested to see the two interact and this massive divide in choices/priorities come to a head, should Viren live into S6, especially as it teaches the hard lesson arc 2 keeps reaffirming over and over: you cannot save someone who doesn't want help, and you cannot change someone who isn't willing to change. They have to do those things and accept your viewpoints / accept your help piece by piece when they're ready or willing to. And that's life

[silentwhispofhope]

Could we get headcanons for Vash and Wolfwood having a crush on the same person? And then if you want to, add the reader choosing them at the end?

Like general headcanons for them both liking the reader and then headcanons for if the reader chose Vash and then if the reader chose Nick? If that makes sense haha

If not that’s fine! Thank you!! 💕

A/N: It’s not a problem at all! Sorry for the angst at the end!

Having a Crush on the Same Person

Honestly, it turns into a little competition between each other due to their such differing viewpoints. It’s just a silent agreement of the best person getting to be with you.

The two sometimes have staring contests as you drag one of them away to do something. If Vash is the one being pulled, he’s smiling like an idiot as Wolfwood grits his teeth. If Wolfwood is the one being pulled, he smiles cockily as Vash furrows his eyebrows.

Each of them have different ways of trying to gain your favor. Vash let’s you play with his hair and wear his coat. Wolfwood shares his candy with you, which is a high honor thank you very much.

They each try to form some special memory with you because, let’s be honest, they’re both broke af, so neither of them can bribe you with gifts or small trinkets. Wolfwood would take you stargazing while Vash would take you to a nearby bar for drinks.

Eventually, the two do get sick and tired of mentally outmaneuvering each other. The duo talk and decide to confront you on who you want.

If you choose Vash, he will practically be crying tears of joy. However, Wolfwood changes. He’s a lot colder in response to your actions and creates a large barrier between the the two of you. The undertaker talks less to the group and increases the amount of cigarettes he smokes.

If you choose Wolfwood, he will smile and puff out his chest. Vash, on the other hand, will be devastated but completely empathetic. He’ll try to pretend as though nothing is wrong and put up a fake bubbly personality around you. You know something is wrong, but you two are no longer as close as before.

[stripedstarsblueflags]

i feel so high school (au) pt. 6.A: piarles

anyway here are some high school aus for my fav f1 rpf ships and an exploration of who knows how to ball, and who knows aristotle

(based on american high school setups cause of the song)

photographer!charles and motocross!pierre: pierre knows how to ball, charles knows aristotle. they’ve known each other since they were kids, lived on the same street, in fact neither of them can remember a time before the other was in their lives. it’s a small, folksy-looking town right on the edge of a national park, so not only is it surrounded by forests and mountains but it’s pretty cut off from “the outside world”. no nearby amusement parks or sports stadiums, if you want to have fun there and you’re a kid your playground is the Great Outdoors. that’s where young charles and pierre have their best memories together. they’d go exploring on nearly-forgotten hiking trails, form their own trails when they discovered a cave or a spring or a waterfall or somewhere they liked to go back to. pierre was better at climbing rocks but charles was way better at climbing trees, and they were definitely way too competitive at stone skipping considering they were both egregiously lenient about what constituted a “full skip”. they went camping every summer, tried to go stargazing and ended up making their own constellations, just two kids and nature.

it changed a little bit around middle school. their hometown had an elementary but that’s it so all the kids in that age group had to take the bus to the next town over for the next two schools. that town wasn’t really any more urban, but it was definitely bigger and being surrounded by so many new people threw a wrench into everyone’s social life. it was practically a rite of passage. pierre starts to drift away from charles in the first place because he finally meets some other kids who ride dirt bikes. he and charles both have one and while he was constantly trying to get charles to join him, charles would pretty much always say no and pierre would begrudgingly agree; now he’s got friends who will actually go riding with him and he’s elated. it doesn’t seem like such a big deal but he starts spending more and more time with them, especially after school, and ends up taking a different bus home because he stays in that town later. charles gets a little worried and tries to approach him about it, like hey why are you hanging out with those rough-looking kids? why are you out so late i thought you had a curfew? and even though he means well pierre feels increasingly like charles is trying to mother him and being overbearing and even a little possessive (although this last one is closer to the truth).

so they grow apart, only charles has spent so long with pierre that he never really made other friends and he’s left a little stranded. instead of taking the ambitious risk of trying to find new people he gets really invested in various hobbies, trying to disappear into his mind and feel less alone. he goes through half a dozen crafty activities (songwriting, sketching, any musical instrument he can find in a tourist shop) until he gets a camera for his birthday and that’s something he can finally connect with. that’s one of the last moments he spends with pierre when he could still consider them “friends”, bringing pierre along on this really tall hiking trail so he can get the optimal viewpoint and pierre hasn’t seen charles with this much wonder and excitement in his eyes in so long and when charles is taking his picture pierre feels suddenly bashful like he doesn’t deserve that much attention, doesn’t deserve to be treated like an art piece… and if there was any one moment the two of them could have realized what was really going on between them that would’ve been it but do either of them do even a little bit of self-reflection? noooo

they graduate to high school and if charles thought anything would change he’s wrong, but maybe things are starting to look up for him a bit. by now he’s coming around to the fact that he’s definitely not straight, even though that hadn’t even been a possibility only a few years ago he’s a teenager and he’s old enough to start having certain thoughts about certain people. if he and pierre were still super close maybe he would’ve been able to take more notice of his own complex feelings, but as it is it’s a lot of fleeting infatuation and half-formed lust around boys who barely know he exists. that changes when he meets carlos and lando, two guys in his year; they’re friends because they’ve both moved recently from much bigger cities and don’t have a lot in common with the small-town park ranger crowd. they also don’t know charles’s somewhat loser status so they kind of take him in, and he’s just so relieved to have friends that he doesn’t really question whether carlos looks at him a little too long sometimes or tries to get him alone an awful lot. in fact he finds he rather likes the attention. the three of them fall into this sort of little-too-close rhythm where the lines between friendliness and flirting are so blurred they might as well not even be there.

pierre, on the other hand, has kind of gone down the opposite path. when high school started he got a motor bike for the first time and as soon as he felt that level of speed and adrenaline he was pretty much addicted. the group of guys he runs with have mostly gotten their own bikes aw well and it’s not long before a few of them start to compete, there are actually trails nearby in dried out lake beds and such and he finds that even as an amateur he’s got serious talent. that starts to be his dream, to be a pro athlete, and that journey starts early. between races and sponsorship events and basically joyrides, charles pretty much never sees him. but they’ve got something major in common now.

(pt. 2)

[midnight-in-town]

Hi. I hope you are having a nice day.

I just happened to have a question about Kuroshitsuji. We are all wondering that who could it be that attacked the Phantomhives on the twins birthday and 2 of the most common theories r that either it's the queen or it's real Ciel.

However, I think it could be a bit different. Like maybe real Ciel, still being a child may not be the mastermind (although my viewpoint is kinda changed after seeing so many kids in real life turning psychos or murderers more often than ever lol XD). I remember Yana showing us the evil aristocrats in the circus arc from Vincent's time. We saw undertaker, Claus, dee, that photographer, one unnamed lady I think, and maybe some more guys. Here's the thing, what if it's one of them that backstabbed Vincent? We know that Claus, undertaker and dee could never do that since they were there to help Ciel after he became the watchdog (although now undertaker took real ciel's side, somewhat). But not all of those people from Vincent's time came to serve his successor, which was our Ciel at that time. The photographer looked quite sus as well since he didn't necessarily take anybody's sides and would just do whatever would benefit him (like what if he's not just a photographer but an aristocrat under a fake identity?). Then whatever could have happened to the rest of those evil aristocrats like that lady for example. Did they just stop being evil or being related with the Phantomhives especially after what happened to the Phantomhives or did they really betray Vincent? What if somebody was grooming (not in the sexual way) real Ciel and was collecting all sorts of information from him like how the Phantomhives may let their guards down on the twins birthday? It obviously seemed like the attacker was indeed close to the Phantomhives or else how did they manage to carry out this plan so perfectly? Also real Ciel did have a bubbly personality and was extroverted. We saw nothing of the boat trip that happened without our Ciel. What if real Ciel was hanging out with an adult with whom he would be talking about his problems (like how he didn't want his brother to leave him and open a toy store) and that person was taking advantage of real ciel's vulnerability to gather information about the Phantomhives. But real Ciel at that time may not have known that and maybe he trusted that adult but then sadly he realized that he was betrayed? What if that's the reason he looked more disappointed and guilty while being kidnapped (since neither him or his dad was able to see through that attackers real self) while our Ciel looked confused and scared.

Sorry for the long ask. Well, I want to know what you think, if you don't mind.

Hi Anon ! I'm having a busy day but I'm okay, I hope you're fine as well. :3

So, about the attack on the manor 4 years ago, I definitely talked about this subject many times, meaning next time, please do a quick check before asking. ;) Long story short, it's not "the Queen or real!Ciel", it's "the Queen, John Brown and real!Ciel".

For real!Ciel's motivations, please read my recap post about the RCMT theory (the name is definitely a misnomer yes, since real!Ciel was manipulated by Victoria and John Brown). Also feel free to browse the RCMT tag for more discussion.

As for the Queen and John Brown, here's the companion theory about the Fenian Brotherhood being one trigger behind Vincent and Rachel's death.

Lastly about Vincent's evil nobles that we have yet to meet, I think most of them are still working with the Watchdog, it's just that, like Dee, they may not all be in England.

As for any potential traitor, yes it's possible, though there is no real hint so far in the story (UT being a special case). To tell you everything, @dorkshadows and I, we bet on Klaus.

No real reason why, except that we see him a lot in the story despite him having, so far, 0 narrative significance. Also, we believe, unlike Dee who probably knew all along which twin our!Ciel was, that Klaus might choose real!Ciel's side in the upcoming future.

TL;DR Vincent probably became a political enemy of Victoria, so she indeed used real!Ciel's obsession for his little brother against his parents ("maybe you could replace your father as my Watchdog, that way I won't have to get rid of you and your little brother, also you would have enough power to make your little brother stay with you forever UwU").

Lastly, on December 14th, it's probably John Brown, as "Jane the maid", who killed most of the servants and abducted the twins.

My blog's missing a post about John Brown's motivations, as a demon staying for about 50 years by Victoria's side, but @dorkshadows and I discussed a few ideas that I'll share publicly at some point when I have time.

Have a good day Anon ! :)

[tildeathiwillwrite]

The Room

Whumptober Day 4 HALLUCINATIONS | Hypnosis | Sensory Deprivation | “You're still alive in my head.”

Whumptober Day 8 SLEEP DEPRIVATION | Isolation Chamber | Forced to Stay Awake | "Leave the lights on."

Whumptober Prompts List | Masterpost

Fandom: Original Work

Words: 800

Tag List: @fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @mr-orion @scaewolf

@the-ellia-west

CW: omniscient narrator, sensory deprivation, isolation lab whump, noncon drugging, observation, hallucinations, fear, running, collapse, crying

A/N: This is certainly the month for experimentation for me, especially experimentation with viewpoints.

----------

The room was dark.

And silent.

It was neither warm nor cold.

It smelled like nothing.

Felt like nothing.

By all observations from the outside, the room was just that: a room. Perhaps it could have once been a living room, a bedroom, or a dining room. A room given purpose with lights and furniture and people smiling and laughing and crying.

It was none of those things. The walls have been padded, corners rounded in such a way as to create the illusion of an endless room. The temperature has been carefully regulated, remaining twenty-one degrees Celsius, or seventy degrees Fahrenheit. The light fixtures were long ago removed, and the door is impossible to find by touch.

The room was occupied by a single person. A young man, freshly twenty-seven, dressed in light, loose, airy clothing that does not belong to him. His head was shaved before he was left in the room. Better results that way. So the people who constructed the room discovered.

The young man was asleep when placed into the room. What he was dreaming about, the people who administered the drugs couldn't say. In most subjects, the drugs provided a deep, dreamless sleep, an unresponsive subject, the perfect candidate for a multitude of experiments. Sometimes the subjects did dream. But that was unimportant to the experiment.

And so the young man awoke in darkness, lying on his back in a room that he knew he hadn't gone to sleep in. A spike of fear prompted him to sit up, looking around wildly, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Hello?" He called softly, unsure if he was allowed to disturb the silence.

The room absorbed the noise immediately. He might as well have not spoken at all.

He tried again. "Is anyone there?"

His voice didn't echo. The sound was gone the moment the words left his lips.

The padding on the floor was barely noticeable under the young man's feet when he stood and began to walk, arms outstretched. His footsteps made no sound. When his hand finally made contact with the wall, he was surprised at how similarly unremarkable the wall felt.

He ran both hands over it, but that didn't change how the wall, though it was certainly there, was almost indistinguishable from the air. For all he knew, it could have been air turned solid. He certainly couldn't see well enough to tell the difference.

Keeping one hand on the wall, the young man turned and began to walk. Outside the room, the people observing his behavior watched with rapt attention, eyes both on him and the monitors displaying his brain activity, provided by the sensors surgically placed under his skin. Less danger of the subject removing them either accidentally or purposefully.

The walls of the room had been altered to have a slight curve invisible to the human senses. The room itself was massive in its own right, but to a subject within its confines, following the wall, it appeared to go on for eternity.

Hopelessness set in after only an hour of walking. The young man paused, hand still firmly on the wall, and glanced back, as if his currently-useless eyes would tell him how far he had come. Outwardly, his jaw tightened, and his free hand twitched. The brainwaves visible on the monitor for the observers, however, were spiking significantly, betraying how his mind was racing, trying to find a logical solution when, with his limited knowledge, there wasn't one.

The young man sank to the ground, back against the wall, staring blankly ahead. He remained there for some time, perfectly still, his brain activity calming, until suddenly it spiked again. His head snapped to the side, eyes narrowed, as if trying to see something in the complete darkness of the room.

Of course, there was nothing there.

Not in the room, at least.

But, as observed by the young man's reaction and the brain activity on the monitors, he certainly believed otherwise. His eyes widened, and he sprang to his feet and began to run, hand still on the wall. The readings on the monitors were spiking dramatically, reaching higher and higher. The observers murmured to each other, some writing down notes, others leaning forward as if closer proximity to the subject would yield better results.

The young man was visibly panicking by now. His eyes were wide, his skin clammy and pale, his breathing fast and shallow. He ran.

And ran.

And ran.

But he could not escape.

Could never escape.

Could never outrun the thing in his head that was chasing him.

He finally collapsed, his legs becoming like jelly beneath his weight. Tears ran down his cheeks and soaked into the room's padded floor as he curled up into the fetal position, murmuring feeble protests that none but the room could hear and absorb.

"No…."

"No please…."

"Please… mercy…."

"Please… I beg you… please have mercy…."

But there was no mercy to be had.

[stupidrant]

Speaking from my (admittedly vast) experience with fandoms (sweeps some dust off of myself). I'm fairly confident that the reason more people have been speaking out lately about their appreciation for Atreus and Angrboda's natural and healthy relationship development (which is vanishingly rare in popular media as far as romantic arcs go) or their enjoyment of Angrboda individually (recently stumbled across a YT comment which echoed almost everything I said before about how refreshing it is to see a female character with self expression, who isn't afraid to be vulnerable and caring in front of a male lead and let him know she wants and needs him around instead of being a yet another girlboss stereotype or a hardened woman with Walls TM; the comment was posted about half a year before I joined the fandom so neither of us inspired the other) - is because people are seeing a support system for this ship and character building up in the fandom. They're witnessing others coming up with their open and confident analysis of how outstanding and unique a character Angrboda is and how well written and meaningful her interactions with Atreus are.

Reading those, more people are gaining courage to join those discussions. And voice a similar viewpoint which they hesitated to express before, out of fear they'll have to deal with a vocal minority of trolls. Because trolls always operate using the method of wearing down the opponent. They *know* they're a minority so they are creating an illusion of importance and prevalence of their opinion by suppressing another viewpoint (which often dominates among the audience/consumers but because of trolls' well organized harassment many people withdraw from discussion boards and comment sections altogether; because one only has so much time and energy and cannot go up against consistent group attacks).

But once people see the vector changing, analytical approach becoming more mainstream and their response to a character and storyline being reflected in other posters' comments they resume - or start - expressing a similar view more confidently, knowing that trolls no longer dominate the spaces. Not to brag, but to illustrate how it works in practice: in my other fandom several people told me they didn't have the guts to speak out before they read my posts and before other people left me positive feedback and started breaking down storylines and characters from various angles (not necessarily matching mine but still important to be talked about). Fandom environment thus changed from trolls having a presumed "exclusive right to speak out" to a space where a massive number of people felt comfortable talking about the story and characters, not being afraid it would inevitably end in harassment and verbal abuse on part of self appointed wardens. This way trolls lost the ability to execute their "wear down the opponent" tactic.

Similar thing that currently happens to Angrboda and Atreboda happened in the fandom earlier, when GowR had just been released, only it was in regards to Freya. Back when Gow18 came out, every first post in YT comment section and on various discussion boards was how Freya is "a biatch who nEedz to DYI!!11!!" Once in the blue moon there could be found a logical comment pointing out that Freya can still work though the Baldur issue&heal from it. That if Kratos, a ruthless killed, was able to overcome his past and move towards a healthier existence so could Freya (especially since even at her worst she never reached old Kratos's level). But those rare displays of intelligent thought were immediately and brutally silenced by dog piling trolls. Then GowR came out and the narrative itself vindicated the aforementioned, logical point of view which naturally gave Freya fans a safe space to speak out and have discussions. That didn't mean creating an echo chamber but providing people with an opportunity to talk about complex characters at length instead of bending to trolls pressure.

Thus, the more we openly talk about Atreboda/Angrboda, the more we let the developers know how many of us enjoys this storyline and the deviation from pseudo-"feminist" (actually utterly misogynistic) mainstream cliches in GowR, the more we point out that Angrboda's arc has to be the first in over 10 years that allowed a female character a full measure of self expression, the more people are going to join in.

YESSS i have noticed this in the recent months and truthfully, you are one of the reasons for this newer confidence in them! youve helped reassure me and realize that its really just a vocal minority that acts like this 😭i knew before i came here that it was gonna pass but ofc things happen and i get bummed out. but im glad im getting over that 😭 Im really happy more people are coming out of the shell even after the initial hype has died down (which is where the ‘true’ fans shine) and im glad its been getting so much better🥹 Im not shocked abt the freya one unfortunately. Theres too many people that want to stay in that negative state just because and after a while, you have to ignore it alot of times. Freya hate makes no sense alongside angrboda/atreus and anyone else from this game. No, the game isnt perfect and has its flaws and i understand critiques and whatnot but i will never understand the hate LOL

[hoboblaidd]

I’ve been listening to old banters to get the rhythm of how Solas talks, and I’m gonna word vomit a little on his relationships with the Inner Circle. Long rambling post so under a cut.

Solas and Cole’s interactions are wonderful. They’re speaking the same language, they don’t need clarifying questions to get what the other is talking about, and with Cole we actually see the wisdom (“Wisdom”??) part of Solas on full blast. And since they’re speaking this weird language, Solas is more Solas than he is with anyone else. I also love how he talks Cole down from a panic attack, it’s a little thing but so wonderful. A big question is does Cole know exactly who Solas was? Possibly debatable, but I like to think he does and just doesn’t see it as something that’s his to reveal like how he kept Blackwall’s secret. That’s why the Solas post-Inquisition mindwipe is both necessary from Solas’ perspective and so incredibly violating (and sort of retconned with Trespasser?? maybe proximity to a full power Solas took the edge off it, or it was only ever a stop gap, or the writers tried to water it down which would suck). Speaking of, no one reacts to the more minor mindwipe Solas does in the post-breakup banter with a romanced Lavellan. This random apostate mage just changes the channel on Cole’s empathic read and no one is like ‘hang the fuck on a minute, he just out-spirited a spirit.’ 

Aside from Cole, Solas and Varric are the friendliest of his interactions, but I like that it’s not all sunshine and roses. Solas has his (frequently racist) viewpoints that he dumps on Varric, but Varric pushes right back without ever becoming antagonistic. It’s a clash of two competing world views and the wisdom that comes with it, built on lived experiences. They’ve both been around the block and come out of it with different ideas, but they can talk about it as mature adults. Some (or all) of this is attributable to Varric’s charisma rather than Solas’. He’s friends with everyone (except maybe Sebastian lol). If anyone was gonna crack Solas’ cold veneer of disinterest, it’d be Varric.

My favorite interactions he has are with Bull and Vivienne. They’re wildly different in tone, but the foundation is similar - both Vivienne and Bull know he’s withholding something, and they dig on it until he deflects (sometimes well, sometimes less so). Solas recognizes Bull’s intelligence and skills at observation, which is nice for a guy who'll be casually racist to a Tal Vashoth inquisitor as a "compliment." They're kind of bros, as much as Solas can be a bro with someone. Plus, the chess game is my favorite thing in Inquisition. But Solas' banter with Vivienne is just the best. He’s soo bitchy and sarcastic, and neither of them back down from their opposing views. Even with a few moments of agreement, they are diametrically opposed and a ton of fun. They're also not at all wrong about each other - could it be that, gasp! both their world views are wrong?? But she clearly reminds him of the Evanuris, which is a nice insight. And as an aside, Solas with his hackles raised, or low approval, gives so much more away about his personality than you can just find in high approval or less antagonistic dialogue. I like the edge to it. I'm realizing my Solas is basically a low approval Solas who is occasionally nice, and I'm cool with it.

His interactions with Dorian are a slightly more one-sided antagonism on Solas’ part. Dorian means well and tries to reach across the aisle, and Solas generally shuts him down. Dorian’s viewpoint makes sense, but so does Solas’. Dorian is beloved and rightfully so, I love him more than I love Solas. But as much as he’s trying to do better, he’s still got a ways to go, and Solas never fully lets him off the hook. I do think Dorian gets there by the end of the game, at least in recognizing that he can't just help with one thing, he needs to go as big as he can until it kills him. And frankly Solas' expectations of him (free all the slaves elven and non in Tevinter) aren't entirely grounded in the reality of a mortal lifespan. But he still should act.

Something that isn’t talked about much is his relationship to Cassandra, which I really like. It’s built on mutual respect, and they both hold their ground on things without getting antagonistic. Cassandra’s occasional “the Maker would give you comfort” rankles me for personal reasons, but he takes it in stride and never dismisses her over it. It’s who she is and it comes from a place of earnestness instead of proselytizing. They’re not friendly, per se, but they don't have to be. It's the best kind of strictly business, coworker relationship you could ask for.

Solas’ relationship with Blackwall is also great, because it starts from a place like ‘two veterans walk into a bar’ sort of camaraderie and ends with ‘this person is a mirror of what i hate that i am’. Solas at least admits that his initial anger re: Blackwall’s lie was wrong, but I think he was more angry that Blackwall ended up being just like him rather than a better version of him. But also how tf did the god of lies etc. not clock Blackwall’s cagey ass before the reveal. Solas is so bad at his job (and yes I know the none of them were gods and all the labels are propaganda and mythologizing but that's less fun than shitting on the god of lies for being shit at lying).

His interactions with Sera are frustrating, but not for what they are, more for the lack of follow up. There’s something odd going on with Sera that seems more than his usual ‘are these elves real elves’ bullshit. But we don’t get anything more than the cryptic stuff he (and Cole) say to her, and some bits sprinkled into her story. Sera’s a frustrating character for me in general because it feels like the writers sort of forgot the seeds they were planting, or figured they’d save it for something that never happened. It might just be me, but I felt like I was waiting for another shoe to drop that never did. I’d like Veilguard to explore it, and maybe it will, but I’m not holding my breath. But, Solas also outlines the entire philosophy and practice of his rebellion when he’s talking to her which is awesome, especially leading into Veilguard where we might get more context.

Those are my deep thoughts. I want to do a deep dive word vomit on his relationship with each evanuris, but a lot of that will be speculation that's likely to be changed by Veilguard so we'll see. We know pretty much jack shit about his feelings on Sylaise and June (aside from my eternal soft spot for June after theshirallen's portrayal).

[cruyuu]

same anon from before here! i agree with both of your answers. i really do just hope we'll get something outside of these two being total opposites of one another... maybe reach a middle ground? it seems impossible but i'm hoping hard for it lol what do you think?

Hi anon!

Well, it's pretty hard to say. I would also really love if these two stopped being so contradictory with each other but you know what they say- Opposites attract. If they were the same, I wouldn't really enjoy their dynamic as I am right now.

Still, I get where you're coming from. It remains unsaid and yet it is so glaringly obvious, yet they can't acknowledge it because they piss each other off and hurt each other. Both of them would rather die than admit they felt anything outside of anger at the other, despite the fact that both of them do complete each other.

maybe reach a middle ground?

Well... it is not impossible, I'll tell you that. The more you pay attention to them, the more it seems like that's exactly what they need to do lol.

I still don't know what to make of this but as we progress further and further into the story, I am starting to believe that Kenjaku wanted Yuuji to be the next Sukuna. The next ideal. The next strongest. Not evil but good. To use all that strength not for himself and his ego, but for others, because Yuuji surviving can fix the problems of the society where the weak ones are shunned and plucked off. Yuuji can protect them. He wouldn't fight to show off his strength, unlike the jujutsu sorcerer of history (Sukuna), but would use it for good.

Basically, if Yuuji survives he can be the change of the entire jujutsu society, so to speak. He could be an example to teach everyone that strength comes from protecting the weak, protecting humanity, and not just for status.

That would put him as an antithesis of Sukuna, a complete opposite of him and that ending can work for me.

Loneliness as strength - Sukuna

Companionship as strength - Yuuji

Still, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm discrediting the middle ground approach because it would truly change everything.

There's the weak and there's the strong. There's the selfish and there's the selfless. Humans are dual by nature. Each of us have the good and the bad. Each of us are both selfish and selfless. We're not just a single emotion, we embody a lot of others. Just like how Sukuna isn't entirely evil, Yuuji isn't entirely good.

Sukuna ate his brother just because he wanted to live and now the same fate is creeping up on Yuuji. If he wants to live, then Sukuna must die. You could say that is Sukuna's route all over again, except less brutal and guided by moral views. But history will repeat. Considering that we know that curses can reincarnate, who's to say Sukuna won't come back wearing someone else's body in the future? If his twin brother managed to be reincarnated than that must mean that Sukuna might too.

So would it be a satisfactory ending? Depends on the way you view it. The only positive thing is that Yuuji might die of old age but maybe Sukuna can reincarnate even before that so it's truly up for debate.

In fact, I do think that them reaching a middle ground would be a totally fitting ending. Making both of them acknowledge the faults within themselves that they're trying to ignore. Yuuji doesn't want to die, and neither does Sukuna, yet instead of co-existing, they're forced to kill each other because they think it's the only way. They don't want to meet in the middle because they look at each other in black/white. Yuuji sees Sukuna as evil and just evil and Sukuna sees Yuuji as good and just good.

Yet against others... they continually acknowledge the other sides of them. They acknowledge their differing viewpoints and everything. Look at all their fights against others and then take a look at when they're fighting each other. It's hilarious really. Like Yuuji keeps assimilating everyone into his found family (which are people who wanted him dead) and yet won't acknowledge Sukuna nor try to change his mind and Sukuna keeps praising everyone who dies against him yet won't praise someone who survives (Yuuji) even though he should, really lol.

Their hands are forced against each other, even though, as we have seen time and time again, they work well together. They unconsciously match each other. They're twins basically, but they won't ever admit it lol.

Precisely because Sukuna loves to yap how he abandoned his humanity (even though he has empathy for his opponents??), and Yuuji abandoned his selfishness when taking on his grandfather's wish (even though he's taking more lives than helping at this point??). Funnily though, both of them do their best to act a total opposite to each other. I've already mentioned that in one response to an ask (and also touched upon it here).

And if they can only acknowledge this, who knows, maybe that is the real change which is necessary. But this is just my opinion. Who knows where the author will take us and what else we may get along the way. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[darkonekrisrewrite]

Ochako is Different

(Current Chapter Spoilers) It’s a little early to make this but I had to.

‘If Toga still wants to talk to her, she’s willing to give her her own blood for the rest of her life.’

“I want to talk about love with you, himiko-chan!”

‘She won’t support everything she does from now on’

‘The world isn’t ideal (comfortable?) for people like her’

It’s almost exactly what I wanted, but it’s still totally perfect.

This Chapter is great for Toga and Ochako, and perfect for Ochako’s development.

In fact I’d say that this puts Ochako over the top of what’s been shown to be heroic in bnha.

Because while Ochako doesn’t really side with Toga fully, which is understandable from her point of view but she does pretty much say that Toga won’t be killed or locked up to rot because of the promise she makes to her.

This implies a long term plan/commitment and freedom, the first part obviously stated that neither Ochako or Toga herself want her death and the second part because there’s no way Toga would ever accept such a thing from inside a cage.

“Living Free” being an essential part of Toga’s character that wouldn’t just be ignored and doesn’t seem to be on Ochako’s viewpoint, with her saying:  ‘She won’t support everything she does from now on’

“From now on” implying Toga will have the freedom to choose.

This answer from a hero to a villain might really change things, or at least have the intent to change beginning here.

Ochako’s answer feels big enough for that, not only in her direct relationship with Toga but also on a much wider scale in her clearly stating that: The World isn’t ideal/comfortable for people like Toga.

This along with everything else she said makes her the best Hero in this series.

Even out of the Core Three Heroes.

Shoto Todoroki, a good, focused Hero, succeeding in everything he set out to do in bnha’s story, and also succeeded in becoming exactly the type of hero he wanted to be.

Be a Hero that puts others at ease? Nailed it.

Be like his friends who get mad and shed tears for others? Got it.

Protect his family and others? Even Dabi in a way? Total Victory.

A Perfect Score for Shoto, also his family, and all the innocent people that he saved.

But that’s it.

Shoto still hasn’t taken any kind of wider view on Dabi/Endeavor/his family or hero society, even though he’s had more than enough time to think about it.

He never came to the larger realization that: “Hmm, actually the fact that Endeavor was able to buy Mom like a broodmare, consult with doctors plainly about his intentions regarding his children, have one of them literally die, another be clearly scarred and his wife sent to a mental institution and yet despite all that…no one (Hero/Government/Civilian) says or does shit…that might be a problem too?”

Shoto is definitely a Hero; he’s just not quite seeing the big picture when he really needs to.

Deku on the other hand isn’t even close.

Because while he does inspire others, he has yet to actually help them himself.

Gentle criminal, Lady Nagant and Overhaul are all ‘Villains’ that Deku has interacted with and changed but, when talking about direct actions, he never helped any of them or even acknowledged their negative points about hero society other than giving a single platitude.

Gentle Criminal had heroic aspirations from the start, despite being hurt multiple times by hero society; he still chose to do the right thing.

Whether or not that really works out for him in the end is yet to be seen but he still did it, and on his own.

Deku never tried to help Gentle or even find out what happened to him or La Brava after their fight, despite emphasizing with him and their struggles.

Nagant was in some way, like Gentle, inspired by Deku, just in her case it was taken to a somewhat unbelievable degree.

“Extend a helping Hand” is not an answer to the fact that hero society was assassinating innocent people who threatened the status quo.

But Nagant is fighting on the hero side now so I guess it was answer enough for her.

But from a wider story perspective Deku didn’t address anything.

Overhaul is one of the darkest villains in the series, with what he did to Eri.

But Deku still made him a promise, to bring Overhaul to his ‘Father’ (figure) if he was willing to regret what he did.

He didn’t.

I mean, if we had jumped right into the next war in only a few moments after this point then I would understand Deku not having enough time to make good on his word but there was a lot of down time in-between.

Was Deku actually serious about the no-armed cripple Overhaul having to regret his actions before he was taken to see his comatose Father?

That’s kind of messed up when you really think about it.

Was Deku planning on doing it anyway, just at some undetermined point in the Future?

We don’t know, it was never brought up again.

It makes anything that Deku’s going to say to Shigaraki seem a bit Hollow because there’s no past foundation to hold up his word to, on a personal or societal level.

Vague promises on top of other promises that haven’t been fulfilled is not a good look for a Hero.

While it is true that this may change later, it may lack impact and believable commitment, coming in a bit late on Shoto’s part and with Deku’s loyalty to hero society at odds with everything Shigaraki is.

But Ochako isn’t like that.

Ochako

She recognized that there was a problem (though eventually) after seeing clear signs of it and looked at everything involved.

Toga’s Quirk and her tears, how she felt about love and the world around her.

Also with her experience in dealing with the “innocent” people at UA high and how they treated Deku.

Have to believe that too had an effect on her decision and reasoning to try to understand Toga, in how she was made a villain currently.

She may not really understand Toga in everything, but Ochako is still saying all the right things, addressing what she knows about Toga and how society has treated her.

No other hero has done that yet and followed through.

Because Ochako didn’t just say: “You have a point, but you know morality.” Then try to punch Toga in the face or overpower her into submission.

She said: “You have a point, but you know morality, so I will personally help you in the way you need.”

Immediately trying to do just that and saying she’ll continue to in the future.

‘If Toga still wants to talk to her, she’s willing to give her her (Ochako’s) own blood for the rest of her life.’

That’s a Hero. And what a real Hero would do.

It really was just that simple of someone offering her Blood, that specific someone showing that they cared and telling Toga that she wasn’t a monster or a deviant.

And Toga accepting Ochako’s feelings would make sense as this is everything she ever wanted-

BUT-

The only hang up is how Ochako would then deal with Hero Society after this, because they are definitely not going to be on board with her choice, even though it’s part of the only option/path forward that could save their world.

And with the inherent flaws/corruption in the hero system and the Quirk Singularity, Ochako’s choice is undeniably the start of the only path that could save bnha’s world.

So yeah Ochako is actually doing Amazing so far.