#people should not be living in a world where victims of war have to make and maintain their own online fundraisers

[tayioart]

Hi 👋

I hope you are well 🤗

I'm writing to you and have full confidence in your urgent support and assistance to me.

My family is in great danger due to the war, and I'm create a GoFundMe campaign to save them.

Could you reblog the post about my campain, please? You will find out on my profile

Every reblog can make a difference in my family's life 🙏

Thank you for your kindness support ❤️☺️

That's completely fine. It may not feel it at the moment but I promise, God's blessing is with you and your family. You should not have to endure what you are enduring at all. I wish all of you a safe, illuminated future.

Their fundraiser is vetted, and (as of now) is roughly at €15,500/€35,000. This is mostly for escape, with the rest for bare-minimum living afterwards. This is half of the goal.

Hadeel is a pregnant woman who wants the safety of her 6 & 7 year old daughters, her unborn child, husband, mother and two brothers. She has already lost a lot of her family in this genocide. These people just want to leave and heal. They just want safety.

If this reaches you, please boost or donate whatever you can. Even a small amount adds up.

[mixtape-timeout]

Hi Stays, this is a post to warn everyone to be wary of a SKZ author here on Stayblr with the username @/gimmeurtmi

I followed them not too long ago, but they suddenly blocked me. I was confused why because I have my age in my account and followed all of their rules. However, I have some reasons to suspect that this user is a Zionist. As you can see I am very Pro-Palestine, it’s in my blog title and bio, and I think this is why they blocked me.

They made a post showing anger about Stays educating Felix on his live about Coca-Cola (For people who don’t know, Coca-Cola is on the BDS boycott list, they support Israel and built an R&D center in occupied Palestinian territory of Atarot) In their post they said it’s “pathetic” for Stays to inform Felix about this and that he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Felix made the effort to read about the issue on his live and chose to apologize to Stay for it, but this user thinks that boycotting a brand tied to a genocidal state is the same as bullying.

((Screenshots are not mine))

They also showed strong support for the new SKZ collab with Charlie Puth. Many Stays are boycotting this collab because Charlie Puth is a raging Zionist, and the track also has an Israeli producer, Johnny Goldstein who is also a proud Zionist. gimmeurtmi even made a whole tag for this collab on their blog to show how much they’re excited for it, even though two Zionists worked on it and will be receiving royalties for it. You can also see the tags in the third post showing them speaking of Tommy Hilfiger, yet another Zionist, in a friendly manner.

Furthermore, I talked to other Stays in the community about this because I don’t want to jump to conclusions and gimmeurtmi blocked other users who are showing support for Palestine, not just me. From reading their posts on their other blog (@/stuckonspidey) you can also see how far their beliefs about this go. That’s not to say them being Jewish means they must be a Zionist, because that’s a completely false idea. There are plenty of Jewish people who are not Zionist and support Palestinian liberation because we recognize that what Palestinians are suffering through is a history repeat of what our people went through. But this added with all the other questionable evidence makes me suspicious that this user is a Zionist, or at least an Israeli sympathizer who treats support for Palestine as an inconvenience.

From these posts on their main blog, you can see them refuse to condemn Israel or even say anything about their crimes when they got asked about it. Instead, they just talk about how this genocide has personally affected them. There are no posts (that I could find) of them showing any sympathy or support for Palestine, all their posts about the subject are just self-victimizing posts about how they feel. Yes, it’s a scary time to be a Jewish person as well, I know this as a person of Jewish ancestry, too. But fighting anti-semitism AND fighting for Palestine can and SHOULD co-exist. It’s a huge red flag that the only thing they have to say about the genocide is how Jewish people are the victims in this. They also made another post where they claim that “Zionist” is just a word people use to be anti-semitic. This is a tale as old as time that Zionists have used to excuse, deny, and even justify Israel’s war crimes. I was once told that a genocide of Palestinians doesn’t exist and is just an “anti-semitic blood libel���. This is the exact same rhetoric that Zionists in my community and Zionist news outlets use (which, I add, almost ALL news outlets are strongly biased to Israel because of America’s ties to it. Israel is heavily backed in support from some of the richest and most powerful countries in the world, it is not the victim and never was).

I am not making this for drama. I made this post just to tell fellow Stays to be cautious of which writers you’re reading from and supporting. If you are against the genocide that has been happening to Palestinians for 75 years now, I suggest not supporting this person’s work, because at best they don’t care about what’s happening in Palestine, and at worst, they actually endorse it. There should be no place in our Stay community for this hateful ideology.

[neverenoughmarauders]

Lily's meaningless sacrifice

One thing that irks me is when people suggest that in canon, Lily had any idea that Harry would survive (this is merely a canon post, nothing to do with fanfiction). It irks me, partly because it's just incorrect and that's the sort of person I am. More importantly, however, it irks me because Lily not stepping aside when she had nothing to gain from dying is fundamental to the story.

Let's start with JKR own words from an interview in 2005:

MA: Did she know anything about the possible effect of standing in front of Harry? JKR: No - because as I've tried to make clear in the series, it never happened before. No one ever survived before. And no one, therefore, knew that could happen.

Lily knew nothing about the possible effect of standing in front of Harry. Lily was faced with this choice:

Scenario 1: Steps aside, and Harry is killed.

Scenario 2: Be killed, and Harry is killed.

Scenario 1 is (on the surface) objectively better (unless you're a DE and thus want less muggle-borns around). To Voldemort, it's a simple choice: In both scenarios Harry will die, in one, Lily will survive. In fact, this is what makes a lot of people defend Severus' choice to only ask Voldemort to spare Lily. Severus could not save Harry (and apparently it's totally cool not trying to save others if they bullied you).

Lily could not save Harry.

Lily's choice, as far as she is aware, is not whether to save Harry or not, but whether to save herself. And yet, Lily cannot stand aside. As JKR points out earlier in the interview, what Lily did is not that surprising to us readers ("I don't think any mother would stand aside from their child"). Why? Love. Because, as Dumbledore reminds us on multiple occasions: there are worse things than death - most notably in DH:

"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love."

Love, and life with and without love is an undercurrent in the story. Lily's sacrifice is meaningless when made, and yet it's the biggest and most understandable expression of love anyone can show someone else. Lily cannot, and does not want to, live in a world where she has witnessed her son being murdered - especially when her husband has been murdered too. A world without Harry and James is no world for Lily Potter.

It is also - bear with me - not that different from what it was like to be in the Order at that time:

[Y]ou weren’t in the Order then, you don’t understand, last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one...

“He — he was taking over everywhere!” gasped Pettigrew. “Wh — what was there to be gained by refusing him?”

The Order operated against the odds and were being picked off one by one. As Peter asks - what was there to be gained by refusing him? What was there to be gained from standing (metaphorically or not) in front of Voldemort's victims? I've said this before and I'll say it again, Sirius' answer is powerful:

“What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?” said Black, with a terribly fury in his face. “Only innocent lives, Peter!” “You don’t understand!” whined Pettigrew. “He would have killed me, Sirius!” “THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!” roared Black.

Only innocent lives. They weren't fighting this war because they were winning. In fact they were very much losing. But they were fighting because it was right thing to do. Many Order members chose to die, rather than to step aside and let Voldemort take over. Only in their case it didn't make a difference - or at least, it didn't feel like it at the time. Members were murdered, and Voldemort was just getting stronger and stronger.

What was there to be gained by refusing Voldemort?

I firmly believe this is a theme that is repeated throughout the book: not just love and choice, but the obligation to choose what is right, no matter the odds (the irony that this was written by JKR will never be lost on me), and how love is a powerful motivator to do just that. Doing the right thing might seem hopeless in the moment - wasteful even - but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing, or that in the end, it won't add up.

Imagine what Harry felt like at the end of PS/SS when he risked his life to stop Voldemort, only to realise that Voldemort would keep trying to come back:

“Well, Voldemort’s going to try other ways of coming back, isn’t he? I mean, he hasn’t gone, has he?” “No, Harry, he has not. (...) Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time — and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power.”

Harry Potter isn't about doing the right thing because it will bring you rewards, but because it is the right thing.

“Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.”

This speech doesn't sit well with a few people because it sounds like you're asked to remember what happened to someone who did do the right thing (spoiler: he died). But that's not the point, of course. Cedric wasn't killed for doing the right thing or making a hard choice - Dumbledore asks the students to remember Cedric because the enemy is willing to kill innocent people indiscriminately. Standing aside will not be good enough against people like Voldemort. There is, as Dumbledore put it, a need to keep fighting what seems a losing battle. Why? Only innocent lives.

Both James and Lily die that evening because they are unwilling to let Voldemort near their innocent son as long as there is breath in their bodies. James had no choice (this irks me because he did, he could have run away - he could have not fought Voldemort in the Order to being with. They all had a choice, but not the point). Lily had a choice. And she chose, like many had before her, to fight what seemed like a losing battle. She died, not knowing that she had saved her son. Her sacrifice was meaningless - like so many before her - and yet her sacrifice changed the world.

In the end, by choosing to do what was right, she was granted the wish she most desired: Her son lived.

[jedimaesteryoda]

Every once in a while on Twitter (not X, Elon can go screw himself), someone circulates a complaint about A Song of Ice and Fire that is basically some version of "GRRM's series is nihilistic where everyone is gray, there are no heroes and villains, or heroes die and villains win compared to Tolkien's magnum opus where there are clear heroes and villains with the heroes being upright and good always wins."

It's written by people who either never read nor understood the series nor understands the author.

Firstly, Martin himself is a fan of Tolkien stating "I revere Lord of the Rings, I reread it every few years, it had an enormous effect on me as a kid," and is such a huge fan of Tolkien he complains of "Tolkien imitators" who "cheapened it. The audience were being sold degraded goods. I thought: 'This is not how it should be done.' "

Tolkien was a clear inspiration for Martin's magnum opus given in the same interview he stated "I wanted to combine the wonder and image of Tolkien fantasy with the gloom of historical fiction." You can even find nods to Tolkien throughout the series from names like "Oakenshield" to a dwarven heir to a mighty mountain fastness filled with gold. Underneath the gloom on the surface, there is a layer of Tolkien-esque romanticism.

ASOIAF isn't nihilistic. No one would call characters like war criminal and murderer-rapists like Gregor Clegane, Ramsay Bolton and Euron Greyjoy or the vivisectionist and torturer Qyburn morally grey. There are heroes like Brienne of Tarth who risked her life in a hopeless fight to save an inn full of orphans, Sam who stayed with Gilly and her babe beyond the Wall in a forest filled with wights and Dunk who defended a puppeteer from a prince. Then, there is Daenerys whose experience as a domestic abuse victim and child bride lead her to put her plan to take back the Iron Throne on hold to liberate slaves.

My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results… but it is the effort that’s heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight. -George R.R. Martin

These characters go out of their way to help others and live up to their ideals in a world they know won't reward them for it. That's what helps to make their actions truly heroic. In the end, it's their striving that sets them apart.

The ones who are villains don't seem to win in the end. Tywin was killed by his own abused son on the privy over his mistreatment of a peasant girl, and his legacy is already crumbling. Jaime lost his sword hand and is becoming increasingly disillusioned with his house, slowly realizing that they're not the good guys. The Boltons are facing a rebellion and their new bannermen don't want Ramsay as their liege lord. More Freys have been killed as a result of the Red Wedding than fighting for Robb, and they're being overextended. Not to mention, one of their victims has come back from the dead to enact vengeance on their house. House Greyjoy is destined to fall to ruin as the Greyjoys suffer and die in their fruitless pursuits for crowns.

It's also a superficial reading of Tolkien. Tolkien has moments in his series where heroes fail like Isildur, the guy who slew Sauron, failing to do the one thing he needed to do to end the threat for all time by keeping the One Ring, and Frodo, the purported hero of the series, doing the same thing at the end. Thorin Oakenshield refused to provide money to the people of Lake-town over the destruction of their city at Smaug's hands as a result of his party's actions. There's also plenty of stories of heroes failing in The Silmarillion like Turin.

Both are great series in their own right, and if you don't like Martin's series, that's okay, no series is for everyone. But don't mischaracterize it and pit it against a dumbed down, mischaracterized version of Tolkien's work.

[aronarchy]

Why we don’t like it when children hit us back

To all the children who have ever been told to “respect” someone that hated them.

March 21, 2023

Even those of us that are disturbed by the thought of how widespread corporal punishment still is in all ranks of society are uncomfortable at the idea of a child defending themself using violence against their oppressors and abusers. A child who hits back proves that the adults “were right all along,” that their violence was justified. Even as they would cheer an adult victim for defending themself fiercely.

Even those “child rights advocates” imagine the right child victim as one who takes it without ever stopping to love “its” owners. Tear-stained and afraid, the child is too innocent to be hit in a guilt-free manner. No one likes to imagine the Brat as Victim—the child who does, according to adultist logic, deserve being hit, because they follow their desires, because they walk the world with their head high, because they talk back, because they are loud, because they are unapologetically here, and resistant to being cast in the role of guest of a world that is just not made for them.

If we are against corporal punishment, the brat is our gotcha, the proof that it is actually not that much of an injustice. The brat unsettles us, so much that the “bad seed” is a stock character in horror, a genre that is much permeated by the adult gaze (defined as “the way children are viewed, represented and portrayed by adults; and finally society’s conception of children and the way this is perpetuated within institutions, and inherent in all interactions with children”), where the adult fear for the subversion of the structures that keep children under control is very much represented.

It might be very well true that the Brat has something unnatural and sinister about them in this world, as they are at constant war with everything that has ever been created, since everything that has been created has been built with the purpose of subjugating them. This is why it feels unnatural to watch a child hitting back instead of cowering. We feel like it’s not right. We feel like history is staring back at us, and all the horror we felt at any rebel and wayward child who has ever lived, we are feeling right now for that reject of the construct of “childhood innocence.” The child who hits back is at such clash with our construction of childhood because we defined violence in all of its forms as the province of the adult, especially the adult in authority.

The adult has an explicit sanction by the state to do violence to the child, while the child has both a social and legal prohibition to even think of defending themself with their fists. Legislation such as “parent-child tort immunity” makes this clear. The adult’s designed place is as the one who hits, and has a right and even an encouragement to do so, the one who acts, as the person. The child’s designed place is as the one who gets hit, and has an obligation to accept that, as the one who suffers acts, as the object. When a child forcibly breaks out of their place, they are reversing the supposed “natural order” in a radical way.

This is why, for the youth liberationist, there should be nothing more beautiful to witness that the child who snaps. We have an unique horror for parricide, and a terrible indifference at the 450 children murdered every year by their parents in just the USA, without even mentioning all the indirect suicides caused by parental abuse. As a Psychology Today article about so-called “parricide” puts it:

Unlike adults who kill their parents, teenagers become parricide offenders when conditions in the home are intolerable but their alternatives are limited. Unlike adults, kids cannot simply leave. The law has made it a crime for young people to run away. Juveniles who commit parricide usually do consider running away, but many do not know any place where they can seek refuge. Those who do run are generally picked up and returned home, or go back on their own: Surviving on the streets is hardly a realistic alternative for youths with meager financial resources, limited education, and few skills.

By far, the severely abused child is the most frequently encountered type of offender. According to Paul Mones, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in defending adolescent parricide offenders, more than 90 percent have been abused by their parents. In-depth portraits of such youths have frequently shown that they killed because they could no longer tolerate conditions at home. These children were psychologically abused by one or both parents and often suffered physical, sexual, and verbal abuse as well—and witnessed it given to others in the household. They did not typically have histories of severe mental illness or of serious and extensive delinquent behavior. They were not criminally sophisticated. For them, the killings represented an act of desperation—the only way out of a family situation they could no longer endure.

- Heide, Why Kids Kill Parents, 1992.

Despite these being the most frequent conditions of “parricide,” it still brings unique disgust to think about it for most people. The sympathy extended to murdering parents is never extended even to the most desperate child, who chose to kill to not be killed. They chose to stop enduring silently, and that was their greatest crime; that is the crime of the child who hits back. Hell, children aren’t even supposed to talk back. They are not supposed to be anything but grateful for the miserable pieces of space that adults carve out in a world hostile to children for them to live following adult rules. It isn’t rare for children to notice the adult monopoly on violence and force when they interact with figures like teachers, and the way they use words like “respect.” In fact, this social dynamic has been noticed quite often:

Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority” and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay.

(https://soycrates.tumblr.com/post/115633137923/stimmyabby-sometimes-people-use-respect-to-mean)

But it has received almost no condemnation in the public eye. No voices have raised to contrast the adult monopoly on violence towards child bodies and child minds. No voices have raised to praise the child who hits back. Because they do deserve praise. Because the child who sets their foot down and says this belongs to me, even when it’s something like their own body that they are claiming, is committing one of the most serious crimes against adult society, who wants them dispossessed.

Sources:

“The Adult Gaze: a tool of control and oppression,” https://livingwithoutschool.com/2021/07/29/the-adult-gaze-a-tool-of-control-and-oppression

“Filicide,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filicide

[rewrittenmha]

I'm gonna be completely real... I feel like BNHA should've been more about the LOV fighting to change a corrupt system instead of what we got.

They're way more interesting than the cardboard heroes and that they actually had a point in how things were and wanted to change that.

And that the ending would've been something similar to the ending in the DLC We All Fall Down from We Happy Few. Where now the people hate them, with time others will start to realize that they really did the right thing.

I like the idea of them meeting somewhere in the middle.

Because when you think about it, the heroes suffer a lot of the same things the villains do. Hawks and Nagant were exploited children raised to be assassins and used to do the HPSC's dirty work. Izuku, Shoji, and Monoma faced discrimination. Shoto was abused.

Someone, forgot the name, made a good point a few weeks back. That MHA is the only series that pits victims against each other instead of the abusers. And in a lot of ways, that's right. Because other series do that, but in a way that it's obvious and supposed to be something that's called out and amended.

A great example of this being The Hunger Games. The Districts are pit against each other to keep them separated and foster animosity so that they won't rise up against The Capitol. That's why some Districts are kept in poverty while others prosper. The only way to resolve this is to unify the Districts by making them realize that the true enemy here is the corrupt system.

I was waiting for the LOV to start to actually be the ones to teach Tomura this because let's be real, he's sheltered. What he knows about heroes was a bad experience one night and everything AFO told him. The other members actually lived through and faced corruption firsthand. Tomura didn't actually have a plan in the beginning; he wanted to destroy heroes but he didn't actually know why. Not until he formed the LOV. But the majority of the LOV's goals didn't align with Tomura's in the beginning, they aligned with Stain's.

Spinner, Dabi, and Toga even explicitly state that they were only joining the League because of its (fake) connection to Stain. Spinner because he wanted a world with justice and equality. Dabi because of his detestation for false heroes. Toga because she felt a kinship with Stain due to their quirks and wanted to find people like her after being outcast and shunned for so long.

And if we take these goals/motivations for what they are, they aren't bad at all. In fact, I would even say that they're reasonable. I barely counted Spinner as a villain until the Final War because he believed in true heroes and wanted equality for people like him, he even saved Izuku from Magne. Out of all of the LOV, he would have been the easiest to redeem.

(Yes I'm still mad that Horikoshi ruined him leave me alone)

The problem is, those goals were undermined by their actions later. They were either completely disregarded (Dabi), simplified (Toga), or contradicted (Spinner). Horikoshi basically said screw their established characters, they're one dimensional mustache twirlers with no substance. Every character who points out the flaws of society is demonized to justify the status quo.

And this is actually why I take issue with the whole every character having a villain thing. Because this shouldn't be a case of Hero vs Villain. We shouldn't be looking at the LOV like obstacles to defeat, or even to save. We should be listening to them. The goal here should have been to make a better world where what happened to them doesn't happen to anyone else.

My Hero Academia should have been a story of change, not war. And I think that's going to be the heart of this rewrite

[hoelandah]

Since The Boys wanna make current political comparisons let's see how it stacks up:

Homelander

-raised in a lab, lied to, and dehumanized from birth to be obedient

-rants about elites who run his life (Vought, Stan Edgar, et al)

-fucked a Nazi because he's a love starved, emotionally fucked, mess of a man

-victim of capitalism

-one pretty good son

Trump

-raised in an affluent home where he was more or less seen as a person and given agency

-is the elite

-is a Nazi

-the inevitable result of late stage capitalism

-at least two fail sons

Things they have in common

-bad hair post season one

-aging rapidly

-women and minorities should steer clear (and some men, too, tbh)

(Disclaimer: this is not a Homelander endorsement just an examination of how clumsy and surface level the comparison is.)

More in depth thoughts under cut.

The Boys frustrates me so fucking bad because the writers are fumbling some potentially good political commentary by trying to be "current" and "sticking it to the conservatives." Let it be known that I myself am not conservative, not even close, but media that ham fists to make conservatives mad is just as inept as rightwing media "sticking it to the libs."

It also just...never works. They say never make your work political. This is right yet wrong. Never make you work "CURRENTLY political."

Instead, be "timeless" like Star Trek or Twilight Zone, Tolkien, Orwell, Butler, Atwood and so many more. These authors and stories give political messages that can be transposed and applied to many different places and times. They're nearly universal despite being completely fictionalized events and stories. Being "current" dates your work, it renders you so deeply partial to your point that you can't present your case objectively.

Basically, you are currently living in the mire of bullshit. You're living through actual historical events and thus you don't have a good bird's eye view of the situation. People who lived through World War II couldn't tell you the ins and outs right after it. You cannot give a full picture of the current political stage either.

And finally, the work will only reinforce those who agree (the common lib who actually isn't all that politically literate) and the people you're criticizing will just cognitive dissonance their way through or dismiss it as "woke." You, in the end, add nothing useful to the dialogue.

[theroundbartable]

My position on the war in Israel/ Palestine

Below the cut, because this is my opinion, and you are, of course, not expected to share it, or even care about my position at all. You might not even like what I have to say.

This is for myself and for the people who decide whom to follow based on the flags I raise in my bio (which is none).

It's a bit long, sorry.

The war in Israel/Palestine has now been going on for over a year and I keep seeing blogs that are entirely pro palestine, and then others who are entirely Israeli, accusing each other of rape and murder and genocide, of antisemitism and zionism, etc. etc. Most of these accusations were fact checked and true. Some arguments I heard of people were quite obviously formed through what their government told them, might even lied to them about. I cannot blame these people for clinging to faith, to clinging to the vague idea that there is a sense to their suffering, or who are trying to deflect of their own guilt.

I am German. I know the arguments. I know why they exist and I cannot blame people who's life might be depending on that hope, who's sanity might depend on that faith.

So far, I have not really posted my own opinion on it and I understand that my position on this is not a common one. Nor is it one that many people will accept or find satisfying. Never the less, this is my point.

Under normal circumstances, I would never have made a post and I already am very late to the debate, but since elections in the US are up and more dangerous than ever, since the debates and the war lead to attacks on people online and world wide, since all this enables the same fascistic views that once dominated my country and are threatening to dominate the field once again, I think I should at least say something.

I need to, in order to make up the the past my grandfather took part in as a German soldier, to honor my grandmother's memory who welcomed refugees of war and "war criminals" who were stationed in the neighboring Arbeitslager in her home; in her home where she was all alone with her sick father and waited for the news of her brothers falling in the war while the polish captive cooked them dinner and taught her to read. I need to, as someone who's ancestors were both shooting and housing their enemies. As someone who carries both the guilt and the pride into the next generation.

This is not a football game.

I can't go and pick a side and root for their win. I can't go out on the street with other students and hold up "free palestine" signs, when I know that the words are war propaganda from a group of terrorists. I can't go and side with Israel and justify a genocide by telling people they are being antisemitic if they criticise the Israeli government.

It is the Israeli government under Netanjahu, it is the Hamas who are fighting this war, and to say that the people under their leadership aren't in on it is naive to a degree.

We are not talking about winning and losing here. Because there are no winners in war. I CANNOT debate on who's human rights are worth more than the other. I CANNOT ignore that the Hamas started the war, I cannot ignore that they abuse their captives, I cannot excuse that the Israeli government shoots back at hospitals and abuses their own captives as well.

I can't choose between the grays, because to me, they are the same shade.

But to say they are all supporting those leaderships, to say that not most of them are just trying to survive is terrifyingly cold. That would be like saying they deserve what is happening to them and that can never be the truth.

This doesn't mean I'm not judging between the two. I judge the obvious violence on both sides, I fear for the victims on both accounts, I hate the idea that categorises who is allowed to live where in the country, I despise the idea that Israel alone is to blame.

"You can't not pick a side."

I did. Because there is not just two sides to this war. There is three or four, perhaps even more than that.

There is the terror organisation, there is the government, and then there is the people stuck in the crossfire. I refuse to side with the criminals. I refuse to side with the abusers. They are both wrong, they are both murderous and violent, and siding with one would be - for me - like pointing the gun at the other.

That said, I do not believe that people who raise the palestine flags are wrong, neither do I judge the Israel one. Both sides deserve justice for what happend and what continues to happen. But to a German who only raises the flag once every four yeara at soccer games, worshipping the government that is doing all this, that feels wrong. I know that my view is distorted because of my family's Nazi history, but I can't help feeling that way.

If we're talking about violence, justice would mean that more violence is the answer. An eye for an eye is justice too, but this will never result in peace.

Quite honestly, I don't even think a two state solution would be the answer either. It could be, if Hamas and Israel wanted peace. If Natanjahus war wasn't a ploy to keep himself in power. As it is right now, with the war expanding, even if they managed to somewhat put down their weapons, they will continue to be neighboring enemies, they will continue to hate each other and they will continue to never forgive, to never forget, justifying future reasons to war.

Honestly, I'm not arrogant enough to say I know the solution. All I know is that I know where I stand. And I will never, under any circumstances, judge you if you live in Isreal or in palestine. Nor will I judge you for fighting for each of their rights. Because unless you wish for the complete destruction of the other, unless you justify a genocide, then I am on your side. Because you are, in this war, on your own. And I don't want to see you there alone.

And I will not raise your flag, I will not raise the flag of your enemy, I don't even raise my own flags because I'm honestly not that much into soccer. Because I separate you and your life from the system you live in.

All I can do is tell you that if you flee to Germany, I will be one of the people voting for your safety, for your right to stay, and for being properly integrated. I will not side with the right wing fascists that dominate this country. I will not side with people who simply picked their favorite oppressor. It's not enough to save you. But I'm not a hero. I can only refuse to be the villain.

This makes my position obviously debatable, to some even unacceptable, and I understand that it's not very satisfying to read this from someone who is lucky and priviledged enough to watch from the sidelines.

But I simply cannot support either of these systems. Because neither of them value human life, let alone human rights.

[codenamesazanka]

Story has this tendency to add more suffering after the initial horror backstory, as a way to delve deeper into Hero Society/the world:

Shigaraki didn't just have a deadly quirk and was never saved by Heroes - his dad abused him and his family enabled this and then he killed his entire family and was ignored by dozens of bystanders before being picked up by a Villain who gives him his family's severed hands to fuck with him. Then it turns out even his birth was plotted by AFO.

Twice wasn't just a criminal who suffered a traumatic break. He was an orphaned 16-year-old who was kicked out onto the streets and turned to using his quirk for comfort, before falling into crime.

Spinner wasn't just called some names and got bullied and became a hikikomori. He got sprayed with pesticides for daring to walk outside, and admits that he was ready to completely give up.

Toga didn't just had to go to quirk counseling and repress herself. Her parents emotionally abused her and quirk counseling truly was to stuff her into a neat, 'normal' box and even when she was unconsciously biting her wrist hard enough to bleed in her sleep, no one did anything.

Touya wasn't just neglected by his dad and went villains for revenge. He was cornered to the point of a mental breakdown, before being alone when he nearly burned to death, was in a coma for three years, escaped from a shady AFO-ran orphanages, came home to see Enji still beating up Shouto, then became a street kid for the next 8 years.

AFO and OFA wasn't just two siblings with quirks living through a time of chaos where people quirks were considered subhuman. They were born to a homeless woman who died, and so they becoming orphaned trash river rat babies who lived on the streets their whole lives.

Scissors-kun wasn't just tied up and locked away in his own home by his parents. His family and multiple relatives were all involved in the abuse and cover-up, in which he was locked in a basement for years and they even sew his mouth shut (implied because he cried too much), before being purposefully abandoned when the town was evacuated due to it turning into a war zone.

From his latest interview, Horikoshi apparently writes things because he wants his story to be interesting and evoke strong emotions in readers. Fair enough. I think he chooses these absolutely awful backstories as a way to make his villains understandable and sympathetic - so we can clearly understand their anger and pain and know why they would seek out destruction even if those crimes are inexcusable. Also fair. Or maybe it's just the logic of the darker the backstory, the more heartwarming the lukewarm save will feel - if they've suffered so much, they should be grateful they're even getting a bit of relief.

But the thing is. Because these horrors are so atrocious and clearly the results of how corrupted and dysfunctional and cruel Hero/quirk society is, I really have no choice but to loathe Hero society and basically all who upkeep it, and wish for its complete upheaval.

Scissors-kun revealed to be the victim of one of those years-long confinement cases, undergoing years of neglect and social isolation, and then even mutilation, all because his family can't accept his quirk, and no Hero even knowing of his existence to save him from his own family - him being saved by Old Lady holding his hand doesn't bring me joy. I don't see change. I see an injustice that occurred long before the League ever started their terrorism and continued even after they were defeated, and only recently alleviated partly because the League lashed out and forced some reckoning, and even this help Scissors-kun received is the lowest of bars.

It makes me want the society that allowed something like this to happen to him to be utterly destroyed.

[darkcomets]

God I was not ready for that 😭

MAJOR SPOILERS LOL

BAKUGO’S DEATH HAD NO RIGHT BEING THAT GOOD, GOD DAMMIT-

Boy don’t I love seeing my favourite character die

I love his character and development, and while I know that he’s coming back, I’m still crying over this. Well done MHA, you’ve officially broken me for life

Bakugo started off as an absolute asshole of a kid, a product of society. Because of his quirk, he was always complimented and encouraged by his classmates, which helped inflate his ego. He was bratty and aggressive, mainly thinking of himself, constantly trying to beat down Midoriya because of his own insecurities.

But because of the newer environment at UA and all of the villain attacks and events that forces high schoolers into situations they shouldn’t have to handle yet, Bakugo has been forced to see that he isn’t the strongest person around, and that he isn’t the centre of the world. A fact that he eventually has to accept. And we can see that it works. Bakugo and Midoriya’s relationship throughout the series is one of the most important ones (in my opinion) for both of their characters and perhaps the storyline too. It starts off with a bully and victim, two people who have been stuck with each other for basically their entire lives. Bakugo bullied and abused Midoriya for his quirkless mess to make himself feel superior, and once they got into UA, the bullying died down because of the new environment they’re in that won’t enable Bakugo’s behaviour, but their relationship was still strained. After being forced to work together time after time again, they eventually start to learn to work together. Then Camino happened and Bakugo basically broke down in front of Midoriya, expressing his frustrations and anger at his weakness and Midoriya’s newfound strength, and the two of them fought. The fight ended pretty quickly (I think), but by the end of it, the two seemed to have gained a better understanding of each other.

In the movie, Heroes Rising, we can see the two now being able to work together. Izuku is at a point where he is able to trust Bakugo with giving him One For All, and Bakugo asks him ‘What about your dream?’ He is literally thinking about Izuku in this moment, and his future, and sounds like he is almost worried. While he doesn’t remember anything afterwards, it was a hell of a fight, and their relationship has continued to evolve.

In Season 6, during the first war, Bakugo literally sacrifices himself for Midoriya. His body ‘moved without thinking’ so it was an instinct to protect Midoriya, someone he used to despise and constantly shit on. And during Deku’s vigilante arc, he not only stood in front of Class 1A and somewhat led them in the search for him, he apologises to Midoriya for everything he had done. Of course, an apology can’t undo everything that he had done to Deku in middle school and before that, but it is a huge development in his character. Because the Bakugo that we started off with would never have ever apologised once. Bakugo is calm throughout the entire apology, and not an inch of anger or aggression is shown in his expression, this is pure and genuine emotion. He admits his weaknesses and his reasons for his actions towards Midoriya, acknowledging them as something he should not have done. He knows that an apology doesn’t change what he has done, but Bakugo is willing to change. He is starting this change by calling Midoriya ‘Izuku’ instead of Deku. Bakugo using his first name shows how their relationship has grown immensely and that they really have gotten closer. It’s a huge moment for the two of them, and what ultimately causes Izuku to finally relent and falls into Bakugo’s arms. And now in Season 7, during the battle against Shigaraki, Bakugo reflects on things with Shigaraki’s words. And most of those thoughts is Izuku. And right as he’s walking up to Shigaraki, ready to fight again, he is thinking of Izuku. He thinks about All Might, and admits himself that he was ‘kind of a brat’ when they first met (slight understatement, but still). And right as his body falls onto the ground, the All Might card he opened with Izuku falls next to him. He kept it, after all those years. Something he opened with Midoriya. Personally, I see it as some kind of significance that it’s Izuku losing a key part of him. They started this journey together, and now one of them has fallen, and two has become one. I am not ready to see his reaction oh my god-

That’s just how I see things. I might be a bit biased as a bkdk shipper, and I probably got some things wrong since I haven’t watched the anime in a short while, but that’s my view on this. Bakugo isn’t a saint for apologising and calling Izuku by his actual name, but I think that’s the whole point of his character development. Going from an absolute asshole who looks down on everybody around him and thinks himself better than those around him, to someone who knows that he was wrong for his previous actions and has started to learn to work with the people around him. Someone who still has his flaws but is learning to get over them, acknowledging his own weaknesses. Bakugo isn’t an amazingly kind person like Izuku, but he has still made amazing development in character. And that’s what makes him one of my favourite

Damn this is long 😭

Tell me if I got anything wrong or missed anything out

[mightypurplethunder]

I don't want to see any of you usamericans talk about "punching nazis" ever again. I don't want to hear yall pat each other on the back and say shit like "If I had been alive during the holocaust I would have done something about it", or any other white savior shit like that.

You don't care about jews, you didn't care about them back then, just as you don't care about palestinians now. Yall repeat and repeat "the holocaust was terrible, we should condemn it", not because you care, but because it lifts yourselves up. Because it's the only war that the US won where they just happened to be on "the good side", so it portrays you as heroes, warriors of justice, which happens to be excelent propaganda material, so you exploit it. You make memorials, you make films, hundreds of them, fetishizing the jewish suffering and portraying yourselves as the force of good that saved them all. Meanwhile, dozens of other genocides - many of them even bigger and bloddier than the holocaust - happen around the world, many of them endorsed or supported by your government. But yall don't care. It's not the holocaust. You're not the good guys in this one so why bother making a movie, why pay atention to it at all? It's hard to keep track of everything happening in the world, it has nothing to do with you. So you just keep scrolling your socials paying no mind to whatever fucked up shit is happening out there, until you run into some fucker from the global south posting something mildly critical of israel, or about how the United States shamelessly exploits jewish history for the sake of warfare, or how victim mentality is a dangerous thing for a marginalized group to hold on to, and you get furious. How dare they say things that don't align with the narrative I've been fed my whole life?? They are anti-semitic!! They hate jews!! They are nazis!! And you tell them so, you put them in their place, because you are a democrat and a good guy and you won't tolerate nazis. And then you reblog "support our troops" posts and write letters to your president begging him to bomb brown people on the other side of the planet because they are terrorists, I think. And I'm here to tell you that you are not the good guy, you are not a hero. You are a victim of indoctrination and an idiot, and your domestic white politics mean absolutely nothing to the rest of the world.

Yes, I did watch Schindler's list. No, I don't hate jewish people. Yes, I'll aggresively condemn Israel's actions and anyone blind enough to say that one genocide justifies another, and I will always support palestinian people. And if you happen to be a jewish person that has somehow found themselves in the center of a conversation that isn't even about you, and getting negative attention you don't deserve, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that no matter what you do or where you live, you keep being used as a scapegoat and your life and history exploited for colonialist propaganda, your heritage is worth more than that.

So keep calling yourselves the good guys, keep pulling the anti-semite card or the "Palestine is homophobic" argument. Keep playing your white politics in your white country that you stole from non-white people. The rest of the world is watching you and history will remember you as what you are and always have been; fucking colonizers.

[feministfang]

Why is pro-watermelon 🍉 gang keep saying this is the first time they are seeing a live genocide and still nobody cares?? No this isn’t your first time!

Women around the world have been slaughtered, murdered, raped, and facing all other kinds of oppression since the dawn of time. There is already a world’s oldest and biggest genocide that is still happening today. And that is femicide.

But nobody seems to care about that because according to them there’s a "gender war" going on. I wonder if these watermelon people would be protesting and boycotting the same way if it was only the Palestinian women suffering in this genocide.

None of these people ever fought with this much vehemence for women in iran, for afghan women, for sudanese women, women in Congo, and all other women who are suffering around the world.

In fact, they’re busy glamorising terrorists like Hezbollah and Khamenieh (however the fuck you spell it) and mourning the deaths of the likes of iran’s terrorist leader who died in helicopter crash just because these bearded devils chanted "free-palestine" two, three times.

More than seventy per cent of the people who have been killed in this genocide are women and children. But the only time i see the pro-Palestine m@les talking about it is when they wanna blame it all on feminists. "WhErE aRe tHe fEmInIsTs?" "WhErE aRe tHe liBerAlS?"

Just shut the fuck up and tell me where are all the anti-feminist men and women who love to say m@n should be the leaders?? Where are all the muslim and christian conservative bigots who keep saying shit like women should obey men and men should lead?? These are your leaders now!

Muslim women commenting "BoYcOTT" under every female influencer’s post promoting an israeli brand while at the same time cooking and cleaning like slaves for their husbands so these men could become the next big leaders oppressing women using their power.

If you wanna boycott anything, then boycott these men. Stop coddling them and stop doing anything for them. Instead, use all that energy in making yourself a powerful leader.

But no, FemInIsts aRe sO eVil aNd wRonG fOr tElliNg wOmEn tO sToP coNfOrMinG tO gEndEr rOLes. FeMinIsTs hAve rUiNed EvEryThInG fOr wOmEn. ThEy aRe sOciEty bReAkeRs!

It’s not the feminists fault that there’s a genocide going on, it’s the men’s. Men are the ones who vote for these male politicians. Men are the ones who worship these male leaders. Men are the ones who ruin everything for women. The enemy is exposed yet your rage is directed in the wrong direction.

There’s not one male world leader who is not destroying the planet with his evilness. But all i see is comparisons being made about which one of them is more evil; the islamic ones or the zionist ones or the white ones??

Listen! Idgaf about your free palestine land or the entire boycott list of brands. I don’t even care about your brave palestinian m@les dying either. Y’all cry about pregnant palestinian women having a hard time and feminists doing nothing for them, but who the fuck is impregnating them????

Women of Palestine should be freed from both israel and Palestinian men. That’s just what i care about. And women of Israel should be freed from these men too. No, they don’t deserve to be raped or killed just because they support Israel. It’s not even palestine vs Israel, it’s men vs women; where men are the oppressors on both sides and women are the victims on both sides. Every war has always been a genocide against women.

[laineystein]

i personally don’t support war and find blindly serving any military awful. I don’t mean to be rude i just wonder why you think that defending israel is the only way to garuntee jewish safety? that feels like taking responsibility off of other countries and leaving diaspora jews vunerable. im really just anti military but this conflict has been awful and i hope for the safety of all jewish people israelis muslims and palestinians but no safety to a government of right wingers

I admire your bravery in reaching out when I don’t have anon turned on. Few would, so good on you.

First off, I’m not serving blindly. None of the soldiers I’m serving with are serving blindly. We all believe in what we’re doing and we’re going to keep doing it until the mission is done and all of our people are safe again. I could get into the nuances of conscription and reserves but I’m not going to. With confidence, succinctly, none of us are serving blindly. (I’m also employed by the IDF outside of reserves so I assure you that I, in particular, love my army and believe in what we stand for.)

I don’t *think* that defending Israel is the only way to guarantee Jewish safety. I know it is. We are a country surrounded by homicidal antisemites. Hamas has stated that they will continue doing what they did on October 7th until we cease to exist. There is no peace for the Israeli or Palestinian people with Hamas still in power. So we’re destroying their tunnels and we’re rooting them out and we’re here for our hostages. Let’s play devils advocate - if Israel didn’t exist do you all honestly think that Hamas and all other Iran proxies would just allow Jews and the Western world to live in peace? Because they wouldn’t. Y’all should be grateful that we’re here because if we weren’t, they’d be killing Jews elsewhere. Don’t let them fool you into believing this is about land. They. Hate. Jews. And Israel is the only place in the world where Jews can truly defend themselves. My grandfather survived the Holocaust BH and he always says that they didn’t have a way to defend themselves in the camps. They weren’t organized. They didn’t have weapons. They didn’t have the upper hand. Well now we’re organized and we’re armed and we’re trained. Never again will we be helpless - thanks to Israel.

“That feels like taking the responsibility off of other countries” - what responsibility? To protect Jews? To persecute Hamas? Feh! None of that will ever happen. Not once has any other country *saved* the Jewish people. And, actually, often times people are turning a blind eye to our persecution - like most of the world did on and after and ever since October 7th. Like they did during the Holocaust. Like they have every time Hamas and PIJ indiscriminately fire rockets at Israel. As I said, never again will our safety be in anyone else’s hands because the world has shown us time and time again that they do not care.

“Leaving diaspora Jews vulnerable” is an insane way to blame the victim. WE WERE ATTACKED. But do you think we needed to be attacked for people to hate Jews? No, this has just empowered them to do so out loud. There has always been a correlation between anti-Israel hate and violence against Jews in the diaspora. In May of 2021 when 4000+ rockets were fired into Israel, goyim in the diaspora took this as permission to act out their antisemitic fantasies. Again when WE WERE ATTACKED. Don’t forget - People were celebrating our massacre before Israel even set foot in Gaza. Don’t let the world fool you into thinking that Israel defending ourselves has created antisemitism in the diaspora, it’s only encouraged it.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume you are not Jewish. I don’t know how to explain this conflict to you - a conflict I have lived my entire life (like my parents and grandparents before me). I don’t know how to share my pain and grief and the pain and grief of my tribe in a way that will make sense. But I’m done needing to justify my existence as a Jew. Israel is done justifying its existence as the homeland of the Jewish people. History has shown us that our survival is our responsibility and I/we won’t apologize for it. The same people that are too cowardly to stand up for us when our people are killed and raped can keep their mouths shut when we defend ourselves.

And it seems like maybe you didn’t read this post that I shared today which really would have answered a lot of this without me needing to go on a sleep deprived rant.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

It is fair that Iroh and Zuko don't punished for their crimes like Ozai did? Does redemption mean they deserve to be rewarded?

Before we ask ourselves what's fair, what's more practical: forgiving and cooperating with the two Fire Nation royals that can (and want to) use legitimate means to not only end the war but also help make up for what their nation has done, or to lock them up somewhere and then try to defeat a nation that has been kicking the good guys's asses for a whole century and possibly having to stage a coup to put someone non-Fire Nation on the throne, which the citizens would obviously reject?

Can the heroes (and the whole world) affort to NOT have the Avatar learn firebending just to make Zuko feel like shit for not being forgiven? Can the world afford to keep fighting with the Fire Nation non-stop instead of changing it from within just to punish Zuko by not making him Fire Lord? Does the world gain anything by imprisoning Iroh, the heir that got cast aside, the general that doesn't bother with battles anymore, instead of letting him fight for their side to make up for the evil he did in the past? Is that truly having the moral high-ground or is that simply being stubborn and stupid?

There's a reason most former colonies in the real world immediately create strong diplomatic connections and trade stuff with their former colonizer. Why terms for peace are constantly exchanged through wars, no matter how brutal the mutual attacks become. If you focus so much on punishing the bad guy that you forget about making sure the innocent survive, you're going to get everybody killed either by being obliterated by the enemy or by running out of resources (including people that are willing/able to fight for the cause).

Now, don't get me wrong, it's valid to wonder "Is it fair that Zuko and Iroh don't get punished?" But if we do that, we also have to ask "Is it fair to cause more suffering and death just to punish them?" and "Is it fair to put them in the same category as everyone else in their nation when they are genuinely sorry and making an effort to fix things?" Not to mention "Is it even fair to put Zuko, who changed sides as a teenager, in the same category as Iroh, who only felt remorse for his actions as an adult?"

People are complicated. Justice, as a concept, is complicated. War is fucking complicated, tough to end, and creates TONS of inherently unfair situations. The writers of Avatar are well aware of it, but their answer to the problem has been pretty consistent: rehabilitation.

We are repeatedly told "The people of Fire Nation itself are not inherently evil, they were literally indoctrinaded for a whole century" and "EVERYONE is capable of great good and great evil." Characters are redeemed in the show ALL THE TIME, and the last episode has Zuko, who was victimized by Ozai his entire life, say that he now believes even Ozai isn't beyond redemption - provided, of course, that he ever bothers to put any effort into it.

The show is well-aware that not everybody wants a second chance. Or a third, or a fourth, and so on. That not everybody even DESERVES said chances. But that the door should remain open anyway because that's the only way to move forward - and that doesn't have to mean "Let the bad guys walk all over you." Ozai, who has yet to show any remorse for anything, is still in jail, without his bending and political power, meaning he cannot hurt anyone (which he explicitly would have done if he could) and that's where he'll stay until he decides to change. Zuko and Iroh, who are already sorry, get to live in harmony with others.

This is as close to "fair" an inherently unfair situation could ever get.

[lance-space-mommy]

Men Would Do WHAT With A McChicken?

Major BNHA Manga Spoilers Ahead

It was a difficult time after the war for Midoriya. Despite his victory, there was a lot he had to deal with in the aftermath. By the time he graduated, the backlash from the war died down and he was able to enjoy his time as the greatest hero.

Midoriya started a lot of programs for people being discriminated against because of their quirk. He also worked hard to start organizations that protected quirkless people. Even if he’d never be the number one hero, he’d still find ways to save people. The phantom of Shigaraki always reminded him to continue forward at the same rate he had been going.

Interviews were a very common thing for Midoriya. He did interviews more to bring awareness to problems going on rather than to be personally recognized. That was one thing people admired about him. Nonetheless, he was popular, and people were interested in him. There would always be times when he couldn’t necessarily avoid talking about himself.

Many individuals looked up to the hero Deku and some even developed deep parasocial relationships with him. Midoriya, of course, tried not to think about it much. He appreciated all of his fans, but he didn’t believe he was someone people could idolize.

There was a popular company that would make support items for everyday individuals to help them handle their quirk. A lot of quirks go against usual human anatomy making it hard to live normally. For instance, having a quirk where the individual grows drastically every time they eat.

The company worked closely with Midoriya as he funded a lot of their bigger projects to make it cheaper for those who need the gear. It was brought to Midoriya’s attention that they were being sought out by a popular talk show for an interview.

Midoriya was volunteered by the company to be the one to attend.

Not worrying much, as their biggest investor, he happily agreed to attend the interview. It was another chance to talk about the company’s goals and how those in need of help should remember there are always places to go. The pro of being popular was that he could use his platform to do good in the world no matter how big or small the goal.

Class 1-A had been super close, but the war made things rather awkward. There were a lot of unresolved traumas, and a lot of important discussions were avoided. When the class graduated their communication only declined further. A big part of their lack of communication was the tight schedules they were given during their first years as hero interns at big hero agencies.

There was no bad blood, but the lack of communication when serious conversations needed to be held broke the strong bond. Midoriya was the main victim of it. Everyone avoided him, worried he’d tear open the wounds they wanted to hide away.

When they realized that Midoriya had been reaching out for help and not to help, it was already too late. Midoriya finished his schooling to be a hero but never went to an agency or had a career as a pro hero.

Only those who stayed in touch knew he went to college to get a degree in business and education. Aizawa was more than happy to give him a recommendation as well as to vouch for him to be hired. Nezu didn’t have to be convinced to hire Midoriya when everything was said and done.

Who would have thought the first thing they would hear about their old friend for the first time in years would be a crazy news article?

Fuck a McChicken Izuku Midoriya, formerly known as hero Deku, opens up during his recent interview. He describes his relationship with the public and reveals more intimate parts of his life as a public figure. ... Despite the heavy topics throughout the interview things take a hilarious turn of events when talking about the public's perception of him.

Everyone who knew Midoriya in U.A. rushed to watch this recent interview he had. Much to their surprise, he looked amazing. His skin glowed and his style significantly changed. He carried himself with great confidence and remained incredibly welcoming.

Many tried skipping the part that was the most replayed but found that they needed a bit more context and backed up to the beginning of that conversation.

“Moving on to something more lighthearted! Let’s talk about modeling!” began the interviewer, Katagiri Nanao, as she flashed a bright smile.

Midoriya perked up, a bit surprised by the question. “Oh, okay! I’ve never been asked about my modeling gigs before!”

Katagiri nodded, raising a hand to exaggerate her agreement. “Which I have to say is crazy! Those magazines immediately sell out whenever you’re in them!”

“Thank you, I appreciate it. Now, what would you like to know?” questioned Midoriya, leaning back in his seat calmly.

“What was it like to be in the public eye as a model and representative than as a popular hero figure?” inquired Katagiri, her body language and expression signaling she wasn’t eager to get gritty details but rather a bigger picture of who Midoriya is.

Pausing momentarily, the question seemed to only grow louder in Midoriya’s head. “Well, it was strange but incredibly freeing.”

“Why do you say that?” pressed Katagiri, finding Midoriya to be an incredibly interesting person.

“I harbored so many bad memories during my time as a hero. My body has been damaged beyond repair. Through the fight with All for One, I lost my quirk. I lost the respect of many people when the news broke. I didn’t see a point in trying to become a hero anymore. It didn’t seem fulfilling, and people deserve someone better than me. Changing careers was the best decision of my life.”

With his back straight and tall, Midoriya looked directly into the camera with a shameless smile. He wasn’t going to sugarcoat how it had been a hellish experience for him.

Katagiri slowly shook her head, aware of how bad things had been for Midoriya. “I must applaud your perseverance. You were only sixteen years old when the first war broke out and freshly seventeen when the final war occurred. To have the entire world depend on you must have been scary.”

“I believe the scariest part was the lack of empathy I received from the public. It was a scary point in time, but I had grown adults screaming at me and calling me a monster. It was extremely dehumanizing,” confessed Midoriya with a tone that sounded rather distant as the memories rushed back.

“It’s a shame what the world did to you. I’m very happy to know you are in a much better place now,” shared Katagiri, her finger tenderly wrapping around Midoriya's heavily scarred hand.

Midoriya took a deep breath, doing his best not to cry. Giving Katagiri’s hand a quick squeeze he went back to where they left off. “I think being in the public eye is much easier now that they don’t expect anything out of me.”

Katagiri grinned, slapping her hands against the arm of her chair. “I believe it! I don’t think I’ve seen one negative thing said about your appearance in magazines.”

“Oh really? I mean, I purposely avoid seeing anything negative written about me,” meekly admitted Midoriya, scratching the back of his neck.

“This may be a personal question, and you don’t have to answer, but would you say you are an insecure person or are sensitive to hateful comments?” asked Katagiri hesitantly. She did not want to put Midoriya in an awkward position, but she wanted to know if there was a reason he avoided negative comments.

“No, not necessarily. I don’t see much of a point worrying about what people think of my body as much as I care about what they think of my motives,” answered Midoriya fluidly, a calmness returning over both him and Katagiri as the question didn’t offend him.

Katagiri couldn’t help but be surprised to hear that Midoriya didn’t care too much about what others thought about his body. Sure, models appear to be confident, but most people have something they are insecure about or would want to change. If strangers were saying rude things or pointing out the insecurity, Katagiri assumed it would affect anyone including Midoriya.

“Why’s that?” asked Katagiri with amusement in her tone.

Midoriya’s expression surprised everyone watching. A charming smirk spread across his lips and his eyes returned to the screen with a dangerous glint of mischief.

“It's flattering knowing men desire me. But then I remember a man would also have sex with a McChicken. So, I don't let it get to my head.”

It's hard to imagine that that interview was everyone’s reintroduction to Midoriya. Well, at least that was the case for everyone who abandoned and forgot about Midoriya when he left the hero sphere. Nonetheless, people found themselves missing that space Midoriya used to fill. Guilt was quick to accompany that loneliness.

Meanwhile, those who remained close to Midoriya were thriving when they saw the hilarious moment in the serious interview.

Bakugo, one of the few people who remained in contact with Midoriya after they graduated from U.A., laughed uncontrollably. Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone to call the freckled nerd. Todoroki, another one of the few people, smiled at the screen and scooted closer to Bakugo to also get in on the call.

Unaware of how he had just broken the internet, Midoriya quickly picked up the call with a happy greeting. “Kacchan!”

“Hey Izuku. Icy-hot is here too,” warned Bakugo, looking at Todoroki who was creepily smiling at the phone.

“Hi Shoto,” welcomed Midoriya gently, having a soft spot for Todoroki after everything he’d been through.

“Hi Izuku,” replied Todoroki calmly, shoving his head in front of Bakugo’s to get closer to the phone speaker.

Bakugo quickly swung the phone away as he shouted, “Ever heard of personal space Icy-Hot Bastard?”

The duo’s mini fight was cut short by the beautiful laughter emitting from the other end of the call. Midoriya needed that laugh; he missed his lunch break and was in desperate need of comic relief.

“So,” drawled Midoriya from the other end of the call, “not that I mind you calling, but what do you need?”

Bakugo smirked, looking at the captions of the video he had just watched. “Does sex with a McChicken sound familiar?”

Silence was the only response Bakugo got. Midoriya practically melted off his chair and into a puddle on the floor. While he knew that his interviews did reach far and wide, he didn’t think that his friends watched them, let alone Bakugo and Todoroki.

“Izuku?” called out Bakugo, the happy tone prior had been replaced by a concerned one.

Feeling guilty about ruining the mood, Midoriya complained, “I can’t believe you saw that.”

“It’s all over the news, Nerd,” chuckled Bakugo, watching as Todoroki instantly relaxed.

“What!?” Midoriya’s scream nearly caused Bakugo to drop his phone.

“Yeah, everyone is talking about how funny it is you said guys would fuck a McChicken,” pitched Todoroki, feeling proud for helping his friend process the information.

“Oh god… while I am happy this grabbed people’s attention, this is not what I want to be known for,” sighed Midoriya as he ran his fingers through his bangs.

Bakugo rolled his eyes while Todoroki frowned.

“Come on Freckles. Now that people have seen that viral clip there is a chance they’ll watch the whole interview or follow you on social media. One way or another, this is not only funny as hell, but it’s a good business opportunity,” offered Bakugo. He was aware Midoriya was used to unwanted press, but he has never had to worry about people focusing on something that could overshadow his mission.

Midoriya let out a soft huff before focusing on Bakugo’s words. “You’re right! Besides, I didn’t lie. I shouldn’t care about a man’s opinion of my appearance when they would fuck my armpit if I let them.”

Let’s just say Kirishima was highly concerned when he came back to the agency for his lunch break only to see Bakugo and Todoroki knelt over laughing.

[theheirofthesharingan]

There's a part in the Sasuke light novel where Sasuke praises Naruto for respecting Itachi's wishes, but still trying to exalt him in a meaningful way using his influence. Sasuke says Itachi wanted to leave his love for his little brother in the world, not hatred and anger. So not only is it addressed, but it's agreed upon by the only living Uchiha heir, the person who knew Itachi best, and someone who also has a stake in the matter.

While I kind of get your point about Itachi's thinking being self-defeating/self-loathing, I think it's unfair to act like that makes Itachi a victim of people like Naruto or Sasuke who "don't understand him". Itachi is dead and there was no real time to heal that part of him. Itachi also spent much of his life being told how he should think and act, and what should be what he wanted. He also spent his life negotiating those options and acting them out through the filter of his own worldview. His final wish is the only time he actually gets to voice and control what he wants his world to look like. What gives Sasuke or Naruto the right to decide what's best for him? Why would they even want to? It's true that "wanting his love for his brother to remain" could be increased by spreading the truth of the matter, but it would also foster more anger, more chaos, more distrust and hatred. Is that the correct action to take regarding transparency and accountability? Probably not, but the point of Itachi conveying his love to Sasuke was to trust him in being able to live in a way that spreads that. A more subtle means to the same end.

Fuck Kakashi though. Itachi looked up to him and Kakashi didn't give a fuck about what that meant.

Please know that whenever I'm criticizing something or someone on Itachi's behalf, I'm not including Sasuke in it. And I don't think Itachi is a victim of Sasuke (or even Naruto) because Sasuke probably has no say in what he feel, and Kakashi remained Hokage for 12 years before Naruto took over. There was sufficient time to fix things if Kakashi himself wanted to do something about it.

I also understand that truth coming out would result in ugly consequences and no one other than Sasuke loves Itachi, so to them well-being of the village is above everything else. If anyone clears Itachi's name now, gives him honour and all now, it's useless. Even Sasuke forgiving him didn't heal anything in him. So what are they going to do clearing his name a decade after his death? Nothing.

However, it doesn't make it any less frustrating that he was never give a chance to live a life that he would have wanted. A lot of people in the Narutoverse as well as the fandom take things far too literally when they say "he was confident" and "he wanted things a certain way" as if that's all he who was. Just like other kids he too had a fragility and innocence, and he was failed by every single adult in his life. And he died believing he didn't deserve better.

He suffered way more for the things he did and even didn't do whereas people who hurt him were either considered good guys or faced no consequences. Why is it the actual criminals don't get punished, but for Itachi we have to choose the better option between "being hated" and "being forgotten"?

To me, manga alluding to the information from the novel makes them relevant. I'm aware that in Sasuke's novel Naruto told people and also that no one questioned him. But again, no one also seemed to question that how come Itachi, who was reputed to kill his clan single-handedly, who was an Akatsuki, ended up saving lives in war and why? Wasn't war started by the Akatsuki?

How many people today even know or remember him? Hiruzen has his ugly face carved on the rock. I'm not even saying you have to install Itachi's statues everywhere, but at least punish the people who are alive who destroyed his life, who were responsible for annihilating an entire clan, which included innocent people.

Kakashi disappointed me with both Sasuke and Itachi. After learning why Sasuke had joined the Akatsuki, his first reaction was he needed to kill Sasuke. I excuse Naruto characters a lot because of their trauma, but what trauma response this was? The same for his indifference towards Itachi.

I love Kakashi, but he disappointed me so darn much.