Shuro’s status of nobility has been brought up a few times when discussing his fight with Laios. I’m sure there’s credibility to the argument but the way it’s been used makes me go, “huh??”

I’ve seen his upbringing used in a negative context, usually to flatten his reasons for fighting with Laios. “oh he’s used to people listening to him so he’s never met anyone who doesn’t do exactly what he says” or “he’s never been exposed to anyone new or any new perspectives and that’s why he hated Laios”. I don’t think these opinions are salient in fan spaces but I saw it enough times I wanted to talk about it.

I feel like we just, forgot that Toshiro is a foreigner? The only poc in the party? And never interacted with gnomes, dwarves, and halffoots since they don’t live in the east? (well, the last point depends on how much you’ve seen from the Adventurer’s Bible)

Compared to everyone else, he probably had the MOST exposure to new people and experiences. And yet he was able to, best he can, quickly assimilate and harmonize with everyone in his new party. Regardless of what he thought about them, it seemed everyone else thought he was amicable. As a poc (and East Asian specifically), that’s mission accomplished.

With all that effort into making himself culturally digestible, it’s no wonder he resented/envied Laios. He put in all this effort to learn their status quo, to not offend the new people he’s meeting, only for Laios to not give him the same consideration. Both of them were socially inept in some way, but only one of them felt the need to do something about it. It’s important to note that their fight was a turning point for Laios too - he realize he had to be more aware and present for his team.

So Toshiro didn’t want to say no outright because it might set back the bonds he’s trying to form. Confrontation is hard, confrontation in a new country is harder. He settles for “close enough” because hey, it’s not that big of a deal. Their opinion of me is way more important than obtaining respect for myself. I’m the foreigner. This has the consequence of making him a pushover, but I digress. He seems to identify himself more as a foreigner than nobility.

And that had to do with separating his identity! The identify he has at his house was kept VERY separate from the one he has with Laios and co. He doesn’t want Laios’ party to know that he is nobility. He doesn’t even care that they call him by “first name”, albeit butchered. He never mentioned the retainers to them (since Chilchuck had to ask who they were).

The retainers are people he’d rather keep at a distance due to their connection with his dad. This might be why he joined Laios’ party solo given the opportunity. But as we see in the image below, they followed him into the dungeon ANYWAYS. You can’t convince me he wanted them to do that. They watch from a distance, disregarding Toshiro’s independence. They don’t always listen to him, they do what they think is best for him, which means they actually follow MAIZURU. To her, his status as their young master is very important, and therefore he needs to be waited on hand and foot. It’s not that he’s used to people doing stuff for him, it’s moreso Maizuru does it regardless.

What drives both identities is an inability to assert himself. He don’t think highly of himself (living under his father’s shadow) and it shows in how people treat him. With Laios and others, he had the opportunity to shape a new identity, but because Laios was the one that introduced him, he and everyone else just accepted the misconceptions. I’m sure Toshiro noted his surprisingly strong influence on his team, something he hasn’t achieved.

With his retainers and Maizuru specifically, she doesn’t put faith in his decisions. She tsked at the fact they went to save Falin, but obeyed anyways because he’s never asserted himself before. (Reminder that assertion is him on his knees requesting their help - the hierarchy of his upbringing does not feel ingrained in him. Giving me overly respectful and considerate vibes, the silly guy)

So he CAN do it! He CAN shape how people see him if he is able to open up a bit more. Rather than his nobility, it’s moreso that he’s never trusted anyone to open up to in the first place. He doesn’t fit in back home. He’s distant from Maizuru, he’s distant from Hien. He’s distant from his brothers and parents. He basically never had friends until Laios. This is his first friend too!!!

He finally opened up to him, and that’s going to pave the way for his character development in the future. He now has someone he can trust, someone to put his faith in, and someone to teach him how to communicate better. By airing his resentment, now all that’s left is that envy/admiration. He’s going to learn from that.

Edit: just because I like keeping things together, here’s more discussion about this post :P

and i hate when white fans of the series can understand the idea of fantasy racism but not actual racism that takes place in the series. they get so mad when someone discusses the idea of laios having like an ignorant or racist mindset. and I think it is very weird how some bring up the fact that he is autistic to “excuse” his behavior towards toshiro and borderline forgets about it. as someone who is black and neurodivergent is frustrating when white people neurodivergent overtake these conversations and forget that autistic people of color can exist and how they would relate to the show and what is discussed.

falin descuido venga la alegría

Will say that I see the "binational democratic state" a lot, even on anarchist threads (which... lol) but genuinely if you think that a binational state in which the status as an "israeli" exists in contrast with the status as a "Palestinian" and you genuinely think an "israeli" political system will allow for the right of return for Palestinians (which the whole plan hinges on) then you are naive at best and at worst, have no real intent in providing Palestinians with any real alternative to self determination and are a liberal zionist wanting to preserve the israeli state.

Palestinians are currently called "demographic threats" in their own land. What makes you think that will magically go away, along with systematic oppression? Be for real.

still getting anon hate over my post saying you shouldn't work for a fucking US defense contractor as an engineer btw. didn't know "it's bad to work at the war crimes factory" was a controversial opinion on here

April 28, 2024

Donations Needed: Help a Gazan Skater Evacuate His Family

This is the link to help Hani. Hani is a skater currently living in Belgium and rebuilding his life. His family lives in Gaza and are suffering at the hands of the occupation. His father was killed and they lost their house. He is now responsible to protect his family.

He needs the funds to help them evacuate. Please donate and share this.

Read more about Hani’s situation below (from his GoFundMe):

“Hello, I'm Hani from Gaza, and I'm 23 years old. I've been living in Belgium for a year, and I'm an inline skater. I'm collecting donations to get my family out to safety from northern Gaza to Egypt because I can't afford the large amount of money needed. I'm here in Belgium in the process of rebuilding my life and achieving my dreams.”

“After losing my house and its destruction on October 13th, my family became displaced in tents, and on September 15th, I lost my father due to the attack on Al-Shifa Hospital. My father was suffering from kidney failure and passed away due to lack of treatment. He was the breadwinner of my family. Now I am responsible for my family, which consists of 10 members, including 3 minors, and my 18-year-old brother. The rest are my sisters, including two toddlers, one is 3 years old, and the other is 2 years old.”

“My siblings were university students and had dreams too, but because of the war, they lost everything; they lost the university, our home, and our father. They aspire to continue their studies at the university, but the war destroyed everything. I'm now trying to get them out of Gaza to Egypt to rebuild their shattered lives. To do that, they need to be evacuated, and they need to pay for the coordination into Egypt. Due to war time prices, they're asking for 5,000 euros per person to get them out of Gaza because northern Gaza has been completely wiped out, with insufficient food and people scattered among the rubble of homes under heavy bombardment. I hope you can help me through your donations or by sharing the story with friends. Thank you so much with lots of love.”

Please donate. Every little bit helps. If you cannot donate, share this.

https://gofund.me/5d6469bf

Completely forgot about that one side story where Laois shoots himself in the forehead with kraken cum aoekdkkfkke

Al-Hadaf interview with liberated prisoner Omar Assaf, translation via RNN Prisoners:

—

Al-Hadaf News Portal interviewed prisoner Omar Assaf, who confirmed at the beginning of his speech that the Palestinian people cannot escape confrontation, and therefore all prisoners and fighters have chosen this path with conviction. These prisoners knew that the road to freedom is not strewn with roses but with suffering, oppression, and injustice. These prisoners defend freedom and independence and pay the price of struggle willingly despite all the difficult and suffocating circumstances. But the choice remains singular: to continue on this path paved by thousands of fighters and resisters.

Assaf added during his talk with Al-Hadaf Portal, saying, "I was arrested 46 years ago, 40 years ago, 36 years ago, and 30 years ago, and also in the years in between I was arrested, but with all the meaning my words carry, this [recent] experience fundamentally differs from previous ones. After being freed from prison, many friends who had previously shared experiences of arrest came together, and we agreed that the face of this phase of arrests is very different, and the conditions of the prisoners were not like this. Thus I am speaking of new facts imposed by the occupation army; here I am not talking about individual matters, nor about fabricated heroism, but about ten thousand prisoners suffering the same conditions. Most importantly I am talking about prisoners from Gaza, as the torture and abuse inflicted on them is more severe; they truly suffer the tragedy of starvation and torture."

The conditions inside the prison are harsh and painful.

Assaf explained during his talk with the Al-Hadaf Portal, stating: "The journey of suffering begins from the moment of arrest, where the occupation before October 7th did not practice this brutal abuse in this manner. Yes, there were cases where they were assaulted, and some were shot before October 7th, but after Al-Aqsa Flood, all prisoners were subjected to various forms of torture, abuse, and bone-breaking."

Assaf emphasized: "The prisoners are not treated as prisoners of war, but as hostages, being stripped of all rights guaranteed by international laws and norms. Once a prisoner arrives at the prison, he is subjected to daily abuse, and I emphasize daily, indeed every moment and every second, different prison units enter the cells like the 'Metzada unit,' and these units start brutally assaulting the prisoners, although the situation inside the prisons does not provoke this kind of tension. Therefore, every prisoner realizes that an assault can happen at any moment, thus the conditions inside the prisons are harsh and painful."

The food inside the prisons is little in quantity and unhealthy in quality.

Assaf continued: "The food provided by the prison administration in terms of quantity is very little and not enough to maintain the body's structure. This food is only enough to prevent the prisoner from dying, but in terms of quality, it is unhealthy and also not fit for consumption, and you must imagine, there is no presence of cheese or fruits, it is a real tragedy, as we lost thousands of tons of [flesh] from the bodies of prisoners during this phase."

hey man I found a piece of your soul stuck in the text messages of old friends you don’t speak to anymore. do you want it back

which dungeon meshi character are you?

"Our new camp in Rafah, after our third displacement, is located in a graveyard near the Egyptian border. Each day the tents of new arrivals – of those forcibly displaced by Israeli attacks – creep closer to the graves.

After every Israeli massacre, both graveyard and camp expand, crawling toward the outer edges of the desert.

We’ve been here since December 2023. Nine of us share a tent that is 16 square meters.

We are in the desert, but sometimes it does not feel that way because of the density and the near-constant sounds of Israeli explosions and drones.

There are so many people in the camp, all of us in tents that do not protect from heat or cold.

Winds sometimes uproot tents. There are stray dogs everywhere. Every day we line up for drinking water. Sometimes the water runs out and we return to our tents empty-handed.

My family’s tent is in the middle of the camp. Next door is a medical point that supports those who have been displaced here.

I’ve seen doctors stitch up children’s wounds with care. Often there is no local anesthesia, so the doctors compensate with extra warmth and smiles. An elderly woman came to the tent for treatment for a chronic condition. They treated her with kindness. They did not have much medicine for her.

Since medical supplies are scarce, the doctors use what they have on hand.

We are being annihilated. We are running out of options. The north and south are separated, and communication is cut off. I used to hope that I would see friends and family in the north again, but now I just don’t know.

After this war ends, where will we go? Israel has destroyed our homes, and our favorite places no longer exist."

22 April 24

ok sorry i have something to say about nope. i have seen a lot of ppl talking ab oj avoiding eye contact w everybody 99% of the time & a lot of ppl have been reading this as his character being autism coded. which is great! as a Black autistic person i’m like fuck yeah! turn that shit up!

but there are layers here. oj’s Blackness plays an evident role. so many of the characters that he is actively Not Looking At are….. white. (i saw another user talking ab this and i’ll tag them if i can find their post again). there is a very real cultural significance of Black people not looking white people in the eye to avoid “causing problems” or literally being beat and/or murdered for it. this is central to the movie. oj is SMART. he is calculated and analytical, and he’s worked in the film business for a very long time. and this poses the question: in a movie about a spectacle, what does it mean to be invisible?

additionally, oj’s avoiding eye contact makes sense for his character even if he wasn’t autism-coded. if the whole point of the movie is that you are saved by not viewing the spectacle, it makes perfect sense that oj is avoiding everyone’s eyes. if you are saved by not seeing, what is it that would make you look? what would make you give up everything if you knew what you would lose?

there’s only one thing, of course. only one thing oj would give everything up for. and that’s his sister.

monkyeon’s stickchuck has me in tears 💀

From what I can remember about writing that lil ditty is I'm p sure I recorded it in the middle of the night like a year almost exactly to the day after I'd broken up with one of my exes and I was like STILL pissed and sad about the way that went down (if u were here for that u know, that's some deep cut z lore lmao)

Some of my new sad shit for your hearing pleasure 

- More - Wires