#survivor og

[loriache]

"I've been waiting for ages for somebody to unmask them."

This moment tends to elicit negative reactions in a first read through, and I've got some opinions about why where Kabru is coming from here actually makes a lot of logical sense. So I thought I'd elaborate on that.

I think people hear this and go, "He thinks they must be hiding something because they gave money to someone? What a cynic." Or "he dislikes them because they did charity?? What's wrong with this guy!". And obviously, a lot, a lot is wrong with him. But I think this makes more sense than it seems at first glance! What people evaluating this judgement miss is why Kabru is paying attention to Laios and co to begin with.

Kabru knows of the Touden siblings because (he's a little bit of a stalker-) he is keeping an eye on all the relevant parties in events developing on the island, in order to be able to guide them to his preferred outcome. This includes adventurers because they are the ones actually exploring the dungeon! He's well aware that something as minor as internal tensions between party members could be key to the historical events that are developing. (He would love the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.)

His desired outcome is that whatever the rewards are of breaking the dungeon's curse, whether that's kingship or the ancient elven secrets of dungeons, are claimed by:

A) a short lived person

B) Someone who will be a good, effective leader and/or use those secrets and the power they carry wisely, with foresight, and to establish a political bloc for short lived people.

The person he can best trust to do this is, of course, himself. But due to his PTSD regarding dungeons and monsters, he's not able to develop the necessary skills to conquer the dungeon. Once he realises this, he starts looking for someone else who he can support to that end.

But most of the adventurers don't have any intentions of conquering the dungeon, don't have the skills, or are unsuitable in other ways. In fact, it seems like some potentially suitable people are the Toudens. There are a lot of good rumours about them going around - they actually seem to have a very positive reputation! That's what Kabru means when he says "unmask".

So when Kabru is observing something like them giving money to an old comrade from their gold-peeling days, he doesn't consider it a problem because "they're giving money to this person who doesn't actually need it" or because they must have some dark secret if they act superficially nice. I think he actually understands this situation and what it implies about Laios (in particular) perfectly well.

Laios and Falin gave money to an old comrade who got injured and couldn't work. That person then healed up but kept taking their money. Then he used the money to start smuggling illicit goods to the island.

The key is that for Kabru, the problem here is the same as with the corpse retrievers - people using the dungeon's resources to fuel dangerous, selfish, or violent pursuits cause problems for the island, attract more criminals and people with motives other than breaking the curse, and increase the chances of the whole situation ending in tragedy.

Kabru is willing to work with the Shadow Lord of the island if it gets him to his goal - he isn't scrupulous - but the criminal element of the island increasing is something he sees as a major issue.

Also, when you're evaluating someone as a candidate for power, riches, secrets, potentially kingship - then being curious about how the money you give to people is going to be used is kind of a relevant trait!

Interpersonally, Kabru's actually very easygoing - I mean, Mickbell isn't exactly an upstanding guy, is he! But Kabru likes him and they get along well. These traits wouldn't be a problem at all in a friend, or a comrade, or someone Kabru was confident he could use. But he can't get a handle on Laios, and Laios is someone who has the potential to be a major player!

On Laios' end, this is the same as with the marriage seeker who joined their party. She kept asking for things and he gave them to her, because he tries to be nice to others. He even gives her money! It's the exact same thing.

That's fine, but it became a problem because he basically wasn't interested in her motives, didn't notice she was trying to manipulate him, and it also didn't occur to him that the other party members would notice or be affected. We can assume the situation with the gold peeler is the same. When Kabru says that "It's not that they're bad people, they just aren't interested in humans," he isn't wrong.

The extent to which this is true of Laios is linked to his autism imo, (because it isn't just disinterest - he genuinely isn't able to notice nonverbal cues that people are lying to him or have ulterior motives) but to a greater or lesser extent I think it's a very common trait. Most people aren't actually that interested in other people who aren't close to them. Kabru is the weird one here. It isn't an issue except as a leader - which is why we see an immediate comparison to the Island's Lord, because that's how Kabru is evaluating them.

And disinterest in/lack of ability with people to the extent Laios exhibits it, it does, actually, make him a worse leader... it's just that as we see in the story, people can help him out. The rest of the party tell him the marriage seeker is taking advantage of him so he tells her he can't give her special treatment anymore. They're pissed and it's a crisis point - he couldn't have recovered their trust without Marcille and Falin - but that's exactly the point. With Marcille and Falin, he was able to recover their trust.

And he has other good traits that make up for it, such as his intelligence, strategic knowledge, open-mindedness and sense of fairplay.

Kabru doesn't disqualify Laios as a candidate based on what he sees about him from afar, though - he still tries very hard to get close to him, obviously hoping that if he manages he can steer Laios to defeat the dungeon and make up for his lack of people-skills in the aftermath. (Which... he does eventually achieve that goal!) He completely fails until the events of the story, so... definitely I think "They just aren't interested in humans" could also partially be a stung reaction to Laios' complete disinterest in him.

Anyway, that's my read on what exactly Kabru's "issue" with Laios is. Obviously, once he does find out what Laios' true nature is like - about his love for monsters - he develops an entirely new set of fears about Laios' priorities. But since Laios kept that a secret until the start of the story, he has no idea of that yet.

Given all that, I think it's interesting that he says that he doesn't think that the Toudens are suitable to defeat the dungeon, and that he's hoping they'll turn out to be the thieves. As some of his few potential candidates, people who he thinks may play a big role in the island's future, you'd think he'd hope they would be good people!

I suppose it's better, in his eyes, because it means that he's involved in something "interesting". They haven't just had their stuff stolen by regular criminals (boring, puts them further away from his goal) - they've been caught up in the beginning stages of "a historic event". The desperate and dwindling group forgetting morals in their quest to retrieve their lost comrade probably appeals to his sense of melodrama. Because he also just... loves drama.

Despite it being "uglier than anything he was expecting", he still pursues Laios as the person he wants to conquer the dungeon pretty much as soon as it becomes clear that he won't be able to do it himself and they are out of time. That's because... well, to be fair, there aren't any other options. And he fits standard A: he's short-lived!

and Kabru still hopes he can fit standard B, too, and be persuaded to use the power he wins for good. No matter how many nightmares he has about Laios, or whether he thinks about killing him. He doubts him, but ultimately he puts his faith in him and seems happy after the manga's ending that he made the right decision.

[rocketbirdie]

i don't want to lose you. i don't want to lose this

[fabxpunk]

[glupshittostan]

this is actually how blind betrayal went down

[demigods-posts]

the percabeth + grover in tartarus headcanon during the doors of death scene will forever haunt me. percy reverting to his twelve-year-old self. a loyal heart forced to decide between the two people he loves most. annabeth reverting to her seven-year-old self. kicking and screaming to be put down as percy carries her to safety. grover remaining as the adult in the situation. the protector shielding the kids from harm. and the prophecy line 'an oath to keep with a final breath' echoes in the depth of each of their minds. those three will never see each other again. those three will never be the same.

[dragonroilz]

Only two arms, two legs - but with 22 unblinking, crimson eyes.

[turnbuckletalk]

I absolutely loved this match so,so,SO much! look at my boys!!! incredibly proud of them!!

[foreverlyjay]

I’m just fucking excited for this match!!!!

Bloodline wargames ahhhh! Can’t wait!

☝🏽🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

[habitscapes]

Mama

[ambreignsfan4life]

Caption This

Credit to gif owner

What would you do if he looked at you like that?

No wrong answers

[somethingaboutmint]

Yeah

[salemshotspot]

Guys Jon Moxley is coming back at survivor series and the shield is reuniting to defeat a common enemy [im delusional]

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Charlie was really robbed.

Really Maria, Kenzie's story moved you? Out of all the people to have such bitter jury syndrome, that really disappointed me. She knows he outplayed her there at the end, and she didn't give him credit. I really like Kenzie, but Charlie's game was better in all aspects. I see people saying Kenzie had the social game, but so did Charlie. It's why Maria and Q had absolutely no shot of getting the votes to get him out, they did not have the social juice, but Charlie (like Kenzie) had a good relationship with everyone. He just also had gameplay in addition to the social aspect.

Don't even get me started on Q, when I get my hands on that man...

[scumvillainess]

the thing about og shen qingqiu that i love so much is that out of all the horrible things he’s done, the only thing that he’s done that you can’t defend at all is the child abuse, lol.

he killed a bunch of men and burned their estate down to the ground? well, he can’t be blamed because he was only following the kam agenda as a true man-hater should.

oh, he abused multiple children under his care? yikes, is nobody going to call cps on this man?

[crualex-de-vil]

Commander of my heart 🫡

[machine-herald-archive]

Jayce Skinlines

Full Metal Jayce

Backed by RiotCorp as the Full Metal Fighting League's first corporately sanctioned champion, Jayce has dethroned Pantheon and won the hearts of audiences worldwide—especially those who realize they gain 15 Riot Points every time they cheer his cyclonic blasts.

Debonair Jayce

You're a scholar. You're an inventor. You're the man of the hour and the hour is now, yesterday, and tomorrow. Don't just be the father of invention—be the ivory god of substance, class, and style. It's you, Jayce. It's always been you.

Forsaken Jayce

Opposed to balance in all measures, Jayce has gone down a path he cannot return from. He has sworn vengeance upon Chosen Master Yi and all he stands for.

Jayce Brighthammer

A noble paladin who has inexplicably mastered science and engineering, Jayce Brighthammer is a stout ally no foul creature can best! Unless that foul creature is a loophole in the rulebook, since Jayce likes to get any advantage over the Rift Master he can.

Battle Academia Jayce

A prestigious 2nd year whose face is known throughout the wider city of Durandal, Jayce is the class president, head of the world-renowned Luminary Club, and prodigious inventor of miraculous Jayce-branded technologies. He hopes his inventions will prevent the kind of tragedy that struck him in his youth, though he refuses to speak about what that was.

Resistance Jayce

While many presumed him dead, Jayce's sudden return to the Resistance has been heralded by some as a miracle and others as a curse. Burdened by guilt, he still blames himself for his failure to halt Viktor's rise. Only time will tell if Jayce can turn the tide.

Arcane Jayce (Jayce Talis)

Zenith Games Jayce

Jayce invented Hammerjack as a showcase sport for humanity's new augmented abilities. Nothing else tested athletes across so many directions and terrain, and with this being its first year in the Zenith Games, he intends to show everyone what THE sport of the 22nd century looks like.

T1 Jayce

Honoring Zeus's winning performance as Jayce during the 2023 World Championship.

Prestige T1 Jayce

After T1's shocking defeat at last year's Summoner's Cup, many lost hope that they'd ever be able to reclaim their throne. But Jayce's support for these legends never wavered. Sporting a bright white-and-gold glow, he stands tall in the front row and proudly cheers every victory, great or small, against WBG—a symbol of hope for all die-hard T1 fans.

Wild Rift Exclusive

Superhero Jayce

By day, Jayce is a genius inventor and pillar of the communit; by night, Jayce dons a costume and patrols the streets of Topside as his alter ego Hextech Man! Wielding his trusty hextech hammer, Jayce will stop at nothing to protect his people.

Crystal Rose Jayce

Jayce earned his invitation to the Crystal Rose Ball by proving himself to be one of the brightest minds of this age, but he’ll need to woo all of the right people tonight if he’s going to secure his research funding. Nothing will stand in the way of his pursuit of progress, least of all formal wear.