#misunderstood heroes

[miss-jaye]

monoma hasn’t let go of you since you showed him the sundress you’re wearing.

“neito? honey, i gotta change…” you said with a nervous laugh, trying to gently pry his arms off you. but he just shook his head, his grip tightening slightly. “no.”

you sighed. “what do you mean, no?” you asked, your voice tinged with exasperation. he looked up at you, his face completely blank, but his eyes held a stubborn glint. “no.”

you groaned, letting your head fall back against the arm of the couch where you’d been trapped for the past two hours. “baby, please,” you pleaded, your voice softening as you tried to coax him. you wanted nothing more than to slip into something comfortable and start on dinner.

“let me appreciate you for one more hour,” he murmured, his voice low and soft, savoring every second of having you so close.

“nooo…!” you huffed, feeling your patience wearing thin. “you already did that for two hours, neito.” he just shrugged, a playful grin spreading across his face. “i can do it for another,” he teased, clearly enjoying how flustered you were getting.

“neito!” you whined, but there was no real heat behind it. despite your protests, you couldn’t help but smile at how adorable he was being, even if it was a little over the top.

he finally lifted his head to meet your gaze, his expression softening into something almost vulnerable. “you’re nothing less than perfect, my dear,” monoma said, his voice filled with so much sincerity that it made your heart skip a beat.

“neito,” you whispered, your voice barely audible as you searched for the right response. but what could you say when he looked at you like that, as if you were the only thing that mattered?

he smiled softly, sensing your shift in mood. “just stay here with me a little longer,” he murmured, his thumb gently tracing circles on your arm. “dinner can wait.”

you sighed in defeat, “you’re impossible, you know that?”

“maybe,” your husband chuckled, nuzzling into the crook of your neck, his breath warm against your skin. “but i’m not letting go. not yet.”

you couldn’t help but smile. what was one more hour?

“fine,” you gave in with a soft laugh. “but after this, you’re helping me with dinner.”

“deal,” he agreed easily, clearly pleased that you gave in.

after a while, you felt his breathing slow, his body relaxing more against yours. “neito?” you whispered, glancing down to find his eyes closed, a peaceful expression on his face.

“just resting my eyes,” he mumbled, though the way he clung to you told a different story.

you smiled fondly, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head. “i love you, you know that?”

monoma's eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at you with a sleepy smile. “i love you too. more than anything.”

[moonmothjpg]

🪶I just wanna be enough for everyone🪶

[lennythereviewer]

After sitting and digesting the new Amazing Digital Circus episode, I've come to the conclusion that I really appreciate Jax for the simple fact that he's the first character in a popular series I can recall in a long while who's just an absolute, unabashed asshole.

It feels like in today's media and storytelling no one wants to make their characters too mean or too unlikable. They're afraid to alienate the audience: The absolutely abysmal sanding down and softening up of The Grinch in the Illumination adaptation back in 2018 specifically comes to mind; their flagship franchise is about villains but they can't make the Grinch, the mean one, MEAN.

If a character is in the 'asshole'-archetype, they always fall into the "Stands off to the side and spouts one-liners and pretends to not care but absolutely has a soft side for this one thing/person" type of character.

Jax is mean, he physically pushes people over and out of the way, he insults everyone around him and bullies Gangle, and his only source of joy is seeing people miserable and suffering; even if they're just NPCs. He's not the type of mean where it's fun to watch what he does, like you would a charismatic villain, he's uncomfortably awful.

He's not the Tumblr Sexyman, watered down and digestible-type of asshole, he's genuinely an awful fucking person and it's honestly refreshing to see a character with some bite to them, and the creator not being afraid to make a polarizing character on purpose.

[nenehyuuchiha]

I love reading fanfics with deaging/time travel robin Jason cause it always goes like:

Jaybin: I'm Robin and being robin gives me magic 😊✨

Batfamily: *going through all the stages of grief in a second* 💀

[the-modern-typewriter]

Just a brief anecdote based on your most recent posted anon that I thought you might find amusing- one time I was talking with someone about protag/antag dynamics and how they're some of my favorites in media. They mentioned that they hadn't seen that dynamic very often and I was like "huh, weird! I've read so many, I see it all the time!" And then when I was thinking of examples I realized that. I was just remembering your whole catalog of work which I love dearly and have read all of (I'm a long time subscriber to your patreon as well). A slight spiders georg moment

oh my god

am I villain spiders georg

not exactly the same, but here are four books with good protag/antag vibes:

Summer sons by Lee Mandelo

Dark Rise/Dark Heir by C.S Pascat

The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E Schwab

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

[iheartgirlzn]

tbh i think pjo calypso is so over-hated. like i understand why people dislike her, but i feel like a lot of her actions can be excused.

she’s been cursed to live on an island her whole life because she chose to side with her dad in the war against the gods, and she’s been cursed to fall in love with everyone who ever enters said island. she’s basically forgotten how to love platonically and what it’s like to be loved. but leo changed that for her.

i don’t ship caleo because i feel like she’s unnecessarily rude to him and it them being together doesn’t make much sense. i feel like their relationship is forced. i feel like calypso only loves leo because he saved her, and leo only loves her because she agreed to date him and she ‘makes him feel loved’. even tho i don’t really think she does. (i also don’t like how rick puts everyone in a relationship, but that’s a rant for another time.)

but at the same time, she’s never learnt how to be in a good relationship, if that makes sense? i mean, she got cursed for trying to help her dad and there’s so much more depth behind that. she’s LITERALLY JUST A GIRL WHO WANTS TO BE LOVED. she’s so misunderstood and she’s learning how to be mortal like how apollo did! yet he doesn’t get the hate she does. (i love lester and apollo’s character development tho, i will fight anyone who hates on him.)

anyways, i’m not a fan of how she’s written but i think she has so much potential. i do kind of understand why some ppl don’t like her, but some of her hate is just rlly forced.

[iamnmbr3]

Everyone adapting Dracula: so what do you think of our adaptation?

Me: I don’t love all the toxic sexist stuff you put in ngl.

Them: no no it’s fine. the book was written in the 1800s so....

Me: ok but was any of this stuff you added actually in the book?

Them: ... no

Me: Wasn’t the book about the 1800s version of a gnc power couple with their poly coded friend group fighting the embodiment of assault and toxic relationships?

Them: hm yeah idk. it was written in the 1800s so like. it’s gotta have strict gender roles and slut shaming! woot! 

Me: ... yeah dude i think this is a you thing  

[ellalalala]

Let it be known that I'm an avid supporter of the "Il Dottore as Grigory Pechorin" agenda (I made it up)

[stackslip]

checking twitter from time to time only to see transfeminists arguing about how dworkin is the height of feminism and all criticisms against her and her work are apparently in bad faith. alright

[hopefull-mindset]

Finally understanding Beast Mori (as Asagiri intended)

Hello everyone, I am hoping you’ll be nice about me talking about Mori for two seconds and express my thoughts about such a guy like this. This isn’t going to be some fancy analysis picking apart stuff like I’d usually want to or even me addressing every trait he has because I definitely don’t go into everything. This is me finally being at peace with Mori’s humanity.

Before you say anything, I’d just like to share my own peace of comprehension. So if you were similarly confused the way I was, I think you’d appreciate this (Or if you’re looking for a different approach on Mori).

Im sure most of you have read the manga adaptation, so just to let you know, I am going to be using passages from the official Light Novel translation and if anyone needs it, I can send it to them!

For anyone who’s decided to read, hello! Nice to meet you. I’m sure we’ve all shared the same confusion when confronted with Beast Mori’s difference in personality and approach. Thoughts like “Why is he so much nicer?” Or “Why does he care much more about how kids are treated, when he himself has treated kids the same way he describes in the past?”

How could this person be the same guy who was Mori the Port Mafia Boss? The war veteran who used Yosano the way he did? So we came up with many idea of why he’s different to justify it, but here’s the thing: Mori is the same person he always was, this is a universe where everything is the same, but different where Dazai chooses to intervene.

After a few days, I was able to recognize it but I couldn’t hold myself to acknowledge it. It’s hard to see a man who represents the dark, the Port Mafia, to the Armed Detective Agency’s light. I couldn’t wrap my head that such a controlling, manipulative man could have humanity like the rest of the characters.

Why was this so hard for me to see? Well two reasons— the fandom and how the anime cuts down Mori’s emotions when adapting canon material. This happens to Dazai too, but people are much more willing to talk about it compared to Mori. Now the fandom really does love blaming everything on Mori and that’s not the most constructive thing to do when talking about abuse narratives. I can’t blame anyone for taking this route when it came to Mori because of Asagiri’s poorly thought out choice with him…. we all know what I’m talking about. Elise.

However, I need some of you to understand that abuse narratives are never as simple as “oh, it’s all this persons fault because they’re a horrible person, so [character] is resolved from any guilt or responsibility”. This not only dumbs down the situation and seriousness of it, by mischaracterizing the abuser, you’re also mischaracterizing the victim as well and what they’ve gone through. You’re putting their story in jeopardy.

Bungou Stray Dogs is a story about human beings, morality, and what it all means. Mori, and in turn Fukuzawa, are important to understand Bungou Stray Dogs because they are in two pinochle positions that start this discussion of Morality. I am baffled that a story like this, one that approaches these topics with so much appreciation for humanity and nuance, has a fandom that doesn’t want to talk about what it has to offer.

Asagiri’s poorly thought out writing decision of a joke is going to have lasting effects with how Mori is going to be approached forever and I see this, but I think the little girl jokes are the least important thing to talk about because they have as much impact as the Tanizaki siblings do. He’s also written to be not a good person either, so you can dislike him easily, but how many of these characters are traditionally good people? Kouyou, for example, is not a “good person” and emotionally abusive in example to how she treated Kyouka. That doesn’t stop people from liking her friendship with Chuuya and making content with her.

So this attitude toward Mori had me lost when it came to him because I could see how much thought Asagiri puts into writing him the same way he does with so many, but I’ve seen so many disregard his humanity that I had no way to express any of my thoughts to sort out what to think about through anyone else when faced with Beast Mori. Everyone was as lost I was, and the people that weren’t never explained it in a way I could break that barrier.

So what finally made me wrap my head around Mori? It was exactly one conversation I had with a friend and it wasn’t even about Beast Mori in particular, it was just about Mori and his poor humanity while navigating how to lead. Everything just clicked with that.

(Dazai, Chuuya, age Fifteen)

This right here is where Mori tells us what he thinks his position means after the struggling we visibly see him go through. Is it an inherently correct conclusion to make? No, but does it make sense as someone who’s a leader of a huge, dangerous underground criminal organization? Yes, it does.

We have no backstory on Mori, but his poor humanity is easy to explain when he’s been in positions that require him to disregard his own and everyone else’s humanity for years now. As someone who’s seen war up close and a physician, these jobs require him to take control of the other person. Well in his mind at least, he sees these jobs and chooses to the route that’s most efficient.

It’s never positioned to be for himself though, he doesn’t take glee in what he does for self serving purposes, it’s always for the country, the city, the organization. His thought process is never the power hungry yearning we see everyone mistake it for. It’s never that he wants it, it’s that he needs it for everything to go well.

That’s exactly how he treats Yosano because even though it’s creepy to base your abilities looks on a little girl, that doesn’t stop him from seeing her use before her age and humanity.

His clinical utilitarianism is his core trait but also most disliked one from what I can tell in the fandom, and people tend to misinterpret it to make the more non-favorable view of him. But again, he’s not supposed to be the greatest guy ever and you can understand where these traits started forming. And again, to paraphrase another’s words: he’s cunning, but not power hungry.

He’s also not disliked by his subordinates and actually respected, he respectively enjoys the company, but there’s a mixed answer to that and that it is… nobody is going to listen to you if you don’t treat them with decency. Why would you expect a tool to work if you break them? One of his earliest lessons he learned with Yosano and leadership.

(Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen)

For example, we all know this scene is manipulation. He’s baiting Chuuya with information while still treating the teenager with respect and enough honesty to form a bond. Chuuya is perfectly aware that he’s being used in the present and in the past, but he respects Mori as a leader objectively after his own considered failure and lack of control over the sheep, even if he didn’t consider himself one. I don’t think this honesty comes from nowhere because that quote, “only a Diamond can polish a Diamond”, came from Natsume in reference to himself and Fukuzawa.

He sees himself and Fukuzawa in Soukoku fondly, but I tend to rethink this quote time to time because at first it comes off as a quote about partnership and building off of each other’s good qualities to perfect their own, but the way Mori uses it here feels as though it’s positioned to mean that one of them comes out perfected and the other weared down. Pretty competitive if you think about it.

(Bungou Stray Dogs BEAST)

We’re finally at the part you’ve been waiting for guys! So what was my point for analyzing canonverse Mori? So as I said before, these are the exact same guy and all that word jumble? That was an extended version of what was communicated with me to finally get what was going on with Mori in this universe and why he’s suddenly in an orphanage.

Now I couldn’t tell what was going through Beast Dazai’s mind and where this decision came from instead of actually killing him like the rumor’s implied, but I can come close. I think that Beast Dazai recognized this potential of change either from the multitude of universes he was able to witness or recognized it in his own considering canonverse Dazai never does anything against Mori (even if he visibly dislikes him).

Possibility is one thing, the why is another. It was either that he saw potential and good that could come out of this in the long run, Mori’s intelligence and expertise still proves usefulness, less dangerous for Oda in the long run if he let Mori stay there instead of the Mafia, or all three.

I can say for sure though that this is better for Mori because after the years of being in atmospheres that require so much of him intelligently and exempt of any emotion involved for the sake of efficiency, being able to rekindle his humanity where nothing is expected of him except to raise kids in a non-exploitative context sounds really freeing to me. Considering he’s been there for 4 years, I find the development understandable.

Okay I’m hearing what you guys are saying again, “What about him saying he wanted to save Dazai? That doesn’t seem like typical Mori.” And I’m gonna say something really controversial: Well maybe he did.

Really though, I think he did care about Dazai and not because he saw a child struggling (think about Yosano and Q for 3 seconds), but because he saw himself in Dazai, which ultimately changed way more about their relationship than you guys think. There’s a lot of comparisons to Yosano and I understand where they come from because I think there’s a lot you can see similarities in, but Dazai is not purely a tool for Mori the way she was.

The avoidance of letting him die do come from his use and overall importance to the original plan of becoming the new boss, but I don’t think he would’ve left Dazai alone like that for 4 whole years after leaving the mafia if he didn’t care in some way way. What strikes me the most is how Asagiri decided to add “the man who raised Dazai”.

For Beast Mori, I think he’s had enough time to actually feel guilt and regret for Dazai as a person like a normal human being does. Oh I guess Elise is important too. Her aging up just meant that Mori has become less controlling and not like the little girl who he literally sees as a tool since kids are easier to manipulate. Can’t bring that energy to an orphanage, nope!

There’s better stuff out there about Mori that I think if you’re more open to thinking about Mori after this, you should check it out, these are just my thoughts recently. To end this off, here are two links to Asagiri’s own thoughts on Mori.

[biggesthomuradefender]

homura akemi, my absolute favorite misunderstood “necessary evil” morally grey anti-hero

[proteesiukkonen]

I was going through my stash of books the other day and was reminded I own a character design book that uses Joseph Campbell’s Hero With a Thousand Faces as the base of its theory. I felt like I have an opinion about that, but since I haven’t actually read Campbell’s book - I just know the vague gist of it - I also didn’t feel very secure in that opinion. It’s been two days now, the uninformed opinion is still gnawing at my brain yearning to be set straight so now I am on the local library’s waiting list for Campbell’s book because getting into an extensive argument in my head with some writing guide book I bought at a discount years ago is how I amuse myself apparently.

[hall0wedwyrm]

okay guys im gonna need some input because i think about this everytime i go to listen to any Shadow theme song and it drives me insane

Shadow has a lot of songs that could be 'his theme song' but no one (SEGA) can decide which... so im putting it to the fandom.

Little do you all know i have a very strong opinion about this and i will be judging your choices /hj

also drop your opinions in the reblogs or comments im genuinely curious

I was gonna add Throw it All Away but these two are the ones everyone loves to use to its out of these ones lol

[confused-catastrophe]

I feel like one of the most misunderstood scenes within the Percy Jackson series is the scene in which nico confesses to percy his old crush on him.

A majority of people depict percy as "offended", like, they remix this interaction and make it look like Percy is going like, "Woah.. Wait. IM NOT YOUR TYPE? not that i care but .. IM NOT YOUR TYPE????" when in reality he's really just processing the information given to him.

He was more like, "Woah. wait, so your like.. but you.. wait.. hold up. what? huh? wait... you..me.. liked.. wait.." dude was dumbfounded by the sudden confession😔

[sanzusslutt]

I was rewatching bnha and I was thinking..

In the first episodes of season 4, kirishima saved some citizens from a guy that could make blades from his body. The citizens asked his name and thanked him for saving them, he got some recognition and more people knew about him and that happened with other student too. But that didn’t happen with Izuku.. izuku’s name didn’t get the recognition he deserved and not many people knew about his accomplishments. Every time not only Izuku but every student of 1-A saved someone, pro heroes would take all the credit for it. So, Izu for the outsiders never really saved anyone and they didn’t really know how many people he actually saved.. that’s why in the end of s6 when he came back to ua, no one backed him up except his friends, teachers and the girl he saved.. no one knew everything he went through and how much he helped saving the city countless of times.. if his name was being said more in the city, there wouldn’t be that many people being so persistent at keeping him out of the school…

[justafriendofxanders]

i go back and forth a lot on my interpretations of ats s5, ie. what parts of spike are 'in character' or not, but the one thing that stays constant is my belief that spike and angel fucking would have fixed most of this.