#i really like Kabru and his Everything he's got going on but the Manipulate Mansplain Manwhore jokes are starting to not feel like jokes

[juiceastronaut]

*I place a hand on Toshiro's shoulder and the other hand on Kabru's shoulder and look at you guys* hey so you know these two are having perfectly reasonable and in-proportion reactions to situations that theyre upset by, right? Especially considering their backgrounds and how they grew up?

*I gesture at Toshiro* Toshiro hasnt had a proper meal or sleep for the past few days, learns very upsetting information about someone that he cares about, then Gets Attacked (WHOLE PARTY DIES) AND THEN is subjected to the shenanigans of a guy he was already kinda annoyed by at best. Bro Laois was just the straw on the camels back. He then actually eats for, need I remind the first time since the main group met up with them, and is IMMEDIATELY chiller and more sympathetic to Laois. With the whole cultural differences and different styles of communication running as background noise to it all.

*I gesture back at Kabru* And this guy was caught between wanting to be SOMEONES FRIEND *SO* BADLY that he ate something that was Deeply traumatic for him to even think about, and the cognitive dissonance between Social Politeness and PTSD he had a blind intrusive thought about just killing the guy to avoid the situation. The Social Politeness Reflex is probably just as strong as the Trauma reaction is, given how he grew up. By Kabru's rules, he cannot refuse if he wants to continue to work towards being Laois' friend. To call it manipulative with malicious intent seems kinda an overstatement

Like. Im not saying theyre *right* or that Laois also doesnt/didnt have a reason to be upset right back at them (alluding to a further arc with Kabru, spoilers), I'm just saying, just because somebody is being "mean" to a member of the main cast doesnt mean theyre worse than trash and deserve to die, ya know?

Btw, not autistic, but ik for a fact that I've said "How was I supposed to know, you didnt tell me!" Verbatim to people AND I know how shitty it is to learn someone was only pretending to like something you really care about, so I very much do think they were wrong with how they handled these things, and sympathize with Laois by experience. There's just two sides to these things and I dont think Kabru or Toshiro are written to be bad people because they specifically were wrong in these instances.