#his death scene may have been flawed | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

peachsayshi · 2 months

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✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄ blessings ⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

↬ summary: nanami kento tries to be the perfect husband and father but when a tough night fighting curses ends badly it results in nanami snapping at his daughter.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ minors / ageless / blank blogs (dni) ↬･tags: nanami x female reader; hurt/comfort; nanami has a daughter; domestic drama; being a jujutsu sorcerer is hard; momotarō is a famous Japanese folk tale :c ↬･ wc: 3,383

↬ notes: hi, everyone! I'm currently not really active at the moment so please don't feel disheartened if I haven't been responding to your messages or tagged posts. I'm taking a small break and only coming online for a bit to catch up on some messages, read fics or queue posts. I'll be back to properly posting and interacting soon but in the meantime I wanted to share that I finished up this draft over the weekend. I was actually debating if I should post this but then just decided to go for it! sending all my love xx

nanami’s head is heavy, completely clouded with despair, and it tints his brown eyes a shade of murky gray. the walls of his beautiful home feel narrow, almost claustrophobic, which explains why he’s struggling to catch his breath right now. stepping into the hallway, he instinctively peeks into the dining area to find you and his daughter eating dinner together. she’s sitting on the chair, her legs far too short to even touch the ground, holding a half eaten onigiri between her small hands. you are by her side, sneakily tidying up after her as you brush away the stray beads of rice trickling onto the table.

a little glow blooms in nanami’s heart at the sight of you both but there is a vicious creature residing in the pit of his stomach that veils the bright light away.

he quietly takes off his jacket, his bruised fingers loosening the tie around his neck. he clears his throat before announcing with exhaustion to you both that he’s finally home.

your eyes meet his, the muscles on your face falling immediately. he can practically feel the blood rushing through your veins as worry washes over you. the reaction makes his chest uncomfortably tight, but he knows that he can’t hide his expressions around you like he used to.

you both move together so fluidly now, like a single body of water that ebbs and flows to its own natural current.

he escaped the night’s fight with a few cuts and a couple of bad bruises, but there is currently a student on shoko’s table who barely made it through. the young man arrived at jujutsu tech only a couple of weeks ago, but his naive and charismatic qualities turned into fatal flaws in the world of sorcery.

he bit off more than he could chew by trying to take on a special grade curse.

shoko promised nanami that she would heal the boy, but admitted there was only so much she can do in regards to the aftermath of his injuries. the sorcerer couldn’t bare to leave him behind, but gojo refused that he stay and insisted that he return back home to his pretty wife and adorable daughter immediately.

“I’ll handle things from here,” is what his superior said, while nanami’s guilt climbed up his throat.

that student was his responsibility...

...and he failed him entirely.

“papa’s home!” his daughter chirps. the pitch of her voice ringing in nanami’s ears to pull him back to the present and far away from the scene where life and death were dancing together in a tango. “papa, look, look...mama and I made onigiri!”

her feet bounces up and down, and there’s a touch of a pink against her cheeks when her mouth stretches into a beaming grin. the innocence in her eyes makes nanami falter and he can feel himself falling deeper into the abyss. for a minute he resents himself for selfishly bringing such a beautiful thing into this world, only to gamble with the fact that she may potentially be in his shoes one day.

he begs for that outcome to never happen, beseeches whatever higher power above him that exists to spare her from this life. she should never have to go through this, never have to experience these heartbreaks that only wither a person down.

“I can see that,” nanami replies in a low voice before shifting his attention to his feet.

right now, he can’t stomach an ounce of her purity, and it radiates around her like a halo. she's so unbothered by his presence, so completely unaware of the sudden change in the atmosphere around her...

“we made tuna, salmon, and veggies...” she babbles on.

“how nice...” nanami curtly interrupts, before anxiously running his fingers through the strands of his messy blonde hair.

“which one do you want, papa?” she questions eagerly, pointing her sticky hands at the plate to show off the selection of triangles.

“sweets,” you interject just as nanami turns on his heel to walk in the other direction, “how about we finish up eating our dinner, and we can save some for your daddy tomorrow...”

“nooo!” she whines far too loudly, which forces nanami to stop dead in his tracks. he glances over his shoulder to see her puffing out her bottom lip with disappointment, “you said...you said we make it so we eat together!”

she’s only six.

she can’t perceive that her father is struggling to hold himself together. deep down inside nanami knows that, but it isn’t enough to keep his cool. he doesn’t know why his daughter’s insistence causes him to pinch the front of his brows with annoyance or why he shoots a frustrated look in her direction.

he doesn’t know why he’s suddenly picturing shoko calling the student’s parents to deliver the news that the man who was supposed to protect their child was unsuccessful in his duty.

he doesn’t know why he feels at fault for everything that happened, even though the circumstances of the events were completely out of his control.

he doesn’t know why he’s imagining himself on the receiving end of a very similar call, or why he can’t stop picturing his precious daughter on that table instead…

all of this pummels into him, and the monster emerges out from it’s cave.

“be quiet and stop making such a fuss.”

his voice comes out sharper than expected, and the expulsion of his frustration allows him to see the crystal clear picture before him.

the room is dead silent.

your face is in full shock at the hissing tone of your sweet husband snapping at his darling baby girl who he only ever speaks to with a gentle voice.

what truly unravels nanami is the look that his daughter is giving him - her angelic features are sullen, but her eyes remain wide with surprise. her bottom lip is slack, and the only sound he can hear is her uneasy breathing. her eyes, the most beautiful gems in existence, twinkle as tears begin to form and she tries to quickly blink them away before turning her attention back to her plate.

nanami doesn’t know he managed to stop time itself but the three of you remain frozen in place.

he regrets his words immediately.

he wants nothing more than to pull his precious girl close into his chest and smother her with apologies. the part of him with sense tells him to follow through and make things right with her, but instead he begrudgingly continues to wallow in his own self pity as he walks over to his room.

･ﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･

the house is unusually quiet now, the music of domestic joy morphing into hushed murmurs and whispers outside your room door. you settle your crestfallen daughter into her bedroom before moving to check on your husband next.

fresh out of the shower, nanami is seated on the edge of the bed with his exhausted eyes pressed firmly into the palms of his hands. he exhales a heavy breath, his dirty work clothes still piled just outside the bathroom, and your heart nearly collapses seeing him in such a state of disarray.

you kneel before him, two hands sliding across the soft material of his sweats as you brush them along his thighs before carefully bringing them up to circle around his wrists.

“kento?”

he allows you to pull his palms away but your throat constricts when a band forms tightly around your neck. you swallow the lump with an upturn of your brows as you are greeted with red, exhausted eyes. you cup that handsome face in your hands, your thumbs sweetly motioning back and forth across his cheeks as you try to soothe the tension away.

after all this time together, it hurts you to see that he still tries to hide his tears. nanami constantly holds himself to the highest standard, always ensuring that he can solidify himself as the rock for you and your daughter to depend on through thick and thin. it’s so rare for you to see him crack, to watch him crumble under the overbearing weight of the things that he is burdened to carry.

“you had a rough night,” you point out in a low, sympathetic voice and he simply just nods his head in acknowledgement.

his eyes flutter close again when you lean forward to press a tender, reassuring kiss on his brow. “you want a talk about it?”

the way his voice shakes makes you shiver, but you tentatively listen as he relays the events of the night before finally concluding that satoru called him only a few minutes ago to reassure him that the student in question is alright.

“he lost an eye, but at least he’s alive...” he concludes somberly, the warble in his final statement prompting you to wrap your arms around his neck as you pull him in for a protective hug.

nanami receives it with gratitude, strong arms circling around your waist as he buries his nose into the crook of your shoulder and breathes in.

your scent is a reminder of his permanent sanctuary.

a safety, a reassurance of home.

you stroke his blonde locks between your fingers until he exhales, "i'm so sorry," he breathes, "I...I didn't mean to snap like that..."

a tiny smile tugs at the corners of your lips, and you unravel yourself to cup his jaw into your palms once again. "I appreciate the apology, but I don't think I should be on the receiving end of it..." you hint sweetly.

nanami closes his eyes guiltily. "I'm a horrible father."

you click your tongue with disappointment, your face falling as your disapproval pinches between the space of your brows.

"you're just human," you remind him defensively, "you're a wonderful father, the best man that our daughter can look up to"

"did you see the look on her face?" he replies, his voice unnaturally small. the tender expression he gives you is filled with regret, and it's enough to make your heart ache all over again.

"kento," you contend, "don't do this to yourself. we're both going to have days where we mess up, but that doesn't mean that the problem can't be fixed."

you thread his hair between your fingers, like your brushing through rays sunlight. "she's waiting for me to read her a bedtime story," you explain, "but I'm sure she would rather be with you instead..."

"I doubt that," your husband replies as he reaches for your hand to kiss the inside of your palm.

"we will always love you, kento," you answer back, "unconditionally. on your good days and your bad ones"

he didn't even know how desperately he needed to hear that, for your certainty to remedy away all his sorrows, until they actually left your lips.

your husband's throat tightens, tears pricking his eyes once more but he hides them away when he leans in to seek out a kiss from the woman whose heart he deeply adores.

･ﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･

nanami leans his shoulder against the frame of his daughter's room. his heart patters lightly, making him realize that he might actually be nervous. it's strange, he thinks, that he would feel hesitant to approach his own child considering that he was her guardian but nanami had never allowed his professional life to fracture into his personal one like this before.

she's seated on the floor next to a pile of books and her stuffed rabbit secured tightly underneath her arm. there's a warmth in his chest when when he makes note of the soft toy, because he purchased that himself the day she was born and the pair have been inseparable ever since.

he clears his throat, bringing his scuffed knuckles to gently knock on the door.

"my love?" he calls out to her.

his daughter perks up, her breathing changing slightly as it rises and falls with a hint of apprehension. she glances over her shoulder to see him.

"where's mama?" she asks, her question shattering the man into a million pieces at her subtle dismissal.

"taking a shower," he answers cooly, "but I'm here to get you ready for bed..."

her lovely eyes refuse to lock into his own, and she simply tucks her lip between her bottom teeth to avoid giving nanami a reply.

she looks so much like him when he was a child. he remembered when his parents used to scold him too, and how he would also hide away in his room. the only difference is that nanami's parents were far more traditional - a time where elders were never submissive to young hearts.

"may I come in?" he requests politely, ensuring that his daughter knew she had a choice if she wanted to speak to him.

her nostrils flare slightly while she considers him, but to his relief she nods her head eagerly.

nanami steps into her room, always feeling largely out of place amongst her things. "did you find a story for bed?" he asks.

she again quietly nods her head and picks up her favorite book; a compilation of japanese folktales with beautiful illustrations. you both have been reading one for her each night ever since she got it it as a present from her grandparents.

he crouches on his knees to meet her at eye level. "you've really been enjoying this one, haven't you?" he carries on, hoping to coax more words out of her.

“yeah,” she replies in the same mousy voice of uncertainty. she shifts her attention away when she stands on her feet, clutching onto the stuffed bunny tightly while her other hand swings the book by her side.

“and what tale are we reading tonight?”

she shrugs her shoulders with indifference, a hint of pink blushing her cheek. “I dunno. I…I can just until mama is ready…”

nanami visibly slumps. her rejection an entirely new painful experience that he's never endured before. he scratches the back of his head anxiously, finding himself at a loss for words. the seconds pass, an awkward bubble surrounding both father and daughter. it’s only broken when nanami exhales a sigh, and reaches his hands towards her waist to draw her into his frame.

“darling,” he addresses tenderly, “can you look at me?”

“no, you were mean…” she blurts out, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

nanami’s heart sinks.

that’s the first time he’s ever heard those words from her lips.

“I know,” he murmurs shamefully.

her mouth forms into a tiny button of a pout but she meets his eyes for the first time as he acknowledges his behavior.

nanami arches forward to kiss her forehead, “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, sweetheart. I’m so sorry if I upset or scared you”

she fidgets with the book in her hand. “did you not want onigiri?” she asks, her innocence tugging the corners of her father’s lips into a small grin.

“it wasn’t the onigiri, my love,” he reassures, “daddy just…had a bad day at work…”

“why was it bad?”

nanami sighs once again.

she still doesn’t know that he’s a sorcerer. you’ve both reduced his position to her by simply explaining that nanami “helps and protects people".

thankfully your daughter doesn’t pry too hard to ask any further questions.

“someone I know got hurt. so, daddy was a little shaken up when he came home…”

"shaken up?"

"scared, my love"

his daughter shakes her head in disbelief, “nu-uh, you never get scared, papa” she rebuts.

nanami huffs out a laugh, flashing her a full grin now as he brings his fingers to his chin to to ponder her sweet statement. he quirks his brow and cheekily replies, "we can't all be brave like you," in an attempt to lighten the mood.

his daughter narrows her eyes towards his hand, her mind instantly distracted with other things already. "you got hurt too papa!" she gasps, dropping the bunny by her side to point at his knuckles.

nanami glances at his fingers covered in red marks.

"wait!" she exclaims as she places the book by his side. "I have something!"

she spins on her heel and rushes towards one of her drawers. meanwhile, nanami just takes her in with his love soaked eyes, watching as she rummages through her stuff with determination until she scurries back his way.

"got it!" she squeaks with a smile, and to his surprise she jumps right into his arms with such nonchalance it nearly make him crumble on the spot.

your voice echoes in the back of his mind: "we will always love you, kento. unconditionally. on your good days and your bad ones"

"mama bought it for me," she explains, regaining her father's attention once more.

nanami rests his cheek on her shoulder, and inhales her powdery scent as he keeps one arm warmly secured around her waist. he watches her peel off the plaster of the band aid, lbefore grabbing his hand and placing it unevenly over his knuckles.

"now a kiss!" she adds, as she brings his hand to her mouth and exaggerates a loud "mwah" sound for emphasis. "mama says the kiss is what makes it all better"

nanami instantly feels significantly better from this remedy of love. he extends his digits out, and looks at the hot pink "hello kitty" band aid that now rests comfortably on his knuckles.

"thank you, my darling," he coos and peppers her cheek with a few kisses before turning her to face him once again. "you made me feel a lot better"

she flashes him an equally large smile in return, showing off her missing teeth.

"I did?"

nanami chuckles as he scoops her up in his arms to give her a well deserved bear hug. she laughs as he stands on his two feet, and sheds away any lingering thoughts of apprehension that may have stuck.

"you always do," he reassures, his soul vibrating back to life when he feels her return his embrace. “you think you can forgive me for how I spoke earlier?”

“yeah,” she confirms and squeezes him just a little tighter. "I love you lots, papa"

"oh, my angel," he hums, "you have no idea just how much I love you too..."

･ﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･

after winding down from your evening pampering session, you decide to pass by your daughter's room to check on your little family. you peer through the cracked door to find nanami spread out on your daughter’s bed, with your daughter curled into side and her head resting on his chest.

“did I come from a peach too like momotarō?” you hear her ask, but your heart flutters at the sight of your husband’s pearly whites.

you’ll never get over how much you love seeing him smile with such genuine emotion.

“no,” you hear nanami reply calmly, his finger lightly holding the page open. “you remember your mother explaining how you used to live in her stomach first?”

“oh yeah,” your daughter replies with a hint of disappointment over the fact that she was not birthed from a piece of fruit as mentioned in one of her favorite folk tales.

“shall I carry on?”

“uh-huh,” she answers and she readjusts her position to get even more comfortable. "I think if we look hard enough we might find momotarō..."

"you think so?" your husband wonders with honest curiosity.

"I know so, papa!"

"how many peaches do you think we need to check?"

"hmmm," she mumbles, "maybe a million?"

"a million?" your husband dramatically replies, "that's a lot of peaches don't you think,"

"I mean, it's less than a billion..." she responds quite matter of factly.

you catch his gaze from between the door that’s ajar. his expression fully relaxes, and you smile knowingly in his direction at the sight of father and daughter making up.

“papa?” his daughter questions upon his sudden silence, but your husband keeps his focus on you as he hums in acknowledgement before replying, "you're not wrong, but it'll still be quite a challenge to cut through a million peaches..."

"we might need some help," your daughter adds on.

you blow him a secret kiss as to not interrupt further, and quietly close the door before heading back to your bedroom.

#[peach is away.💌]#[peach queues.🧡]#nanami x reader #nanami x you #nanami x female reader #nanami x ofc #nanami kento x you #nanami kento x reader #nanami kento angst #nanami angst #nanami hurt/comfort #jujutsu kaisen angst #nanami fluff #jujutsu kaisen fan fiction #jjk fluff

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alagaesia-headcanons · 5 months

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I've Had A Thought. I was thinking about the scene where Eragon is reminiscing over Brom's message to him as his father, and how Eragon is confounded and troubled that he in no way mentioned Murtagh. I found it a little sad that, for whatever reason, Brom decided Murtagh didn't bear mentioning. Then it crossed my mind to consider the possibility that Brom didn't know about Murtagh at all.

As it turns out, Eragon actually does think about it in that scene- he says, "He must have known about Murtagh. He couldn't not have." And admittedly I don't think this is the most likely scenario or that it's now my personal interpretation of canon, but the idea really has captivated me. Because it actually does fit within the facts! (the new book notwithstanding)

Brom was a gardener at Morzan's estate for three years, and while it's probably more likely that he learned about Murtagh in that time, I think it's certainly feasible for him to never know. Morzan was very determined to keep him hidden and took a lot of precautions to ensure just that. Oromis said Morzan forced all his servants to swear fealty and Brom found a flaw in his wards to infiltrate, and possibly he was able to do so because a job as a gardener didn't require such strict oaths because it wasn't in proximity to Murtagh.

Again, it may not be the most likely, but I can absolutely believe Selena might not have told him either. She also would have been aware of the serious danger Murtagh was in and would've wanted him to stay hidden. Even after Brom told her who he was and she started working with the Varden, she might have kept it secret. For one, Brom's hatred of Morzan is described as extreme and all consuming, and that it never waned with time. Even if she came to believe that Brom wouldn't harm Murtagh, she might not have trusted he could look at him kindly. And of course, telling him about her child with Morzan also risked damaging their relationship considering that they were lovers. Then there's the possibility that Selena did build all this necessary trust to tell Brom about Murtagh if he wasn't aware of him already, but it was too late for her to discuss it with him before she died. So I think it is conceivable that Brom actually never knew about Murtagh's existence.

Where this concept really shines is in an AU where Brom survives after Murtagh saves them from the Ra'zac. I've always liked these, and I sometimes toy with my own, but there's so many ways Brom could react and I've never been able to settle on one well enough to get invested in it. But I find this SUCH a fascinating take on it (especially if you wave off the detail that Murtagh's voice sounds ~exactly like~ Morzan's, which I tend to do). Brom recovers and meets their rescuer, and he has no idea he's looking at Morzan and Selena's son. Murtagh seems terribly familiar, but Brom has been relentlessly haunted by his past for so long now that he doesn't put much stock in the perceived similarities. Meanwhile, Murtagh realizes that Brom truly does not know that he's the son of the man he murdered, a precarious but welcome relief. Because he doesn't know- up until Murtagh's confession in the valley.

Brom is stunned by disbelief. It can't be true, Morzan had no children, because surely he would know, surely-! But another thought dawns on him, drowning out the memories of Morzan, because who could have been the mother of his child other than his wife: Selena? And Murtagh is looking at him with fear, fear that he'll turn on him because he shares the blood of the man Brom hated most. It's heart wrenching, because even as part of his mind tells him that maybe he should scorn him, Brom is looking at this man who single handedly saved him from the brink of death and saved Eragon and Saphira from far worse at the hands of Galbatorix, and who has given them extraordinary devotion ever since.

In his core, he accepts the truth of Murtagh's claim as he explains his past and recounts the story of his parents exactly how Brom knows it to be. The paradigm shift sends him reeling. Murtagh believes Brom is affected only because of his past with Morzan; he has no way of knowing what he felt for Selena. He still glances at him nervously, especially as he admits that he briefly intended to serve Galbatorix, yet then there's also a spark of trust and gratitude- maybe even hope- in his eyes when Brom doesn't rescind the way he vouched for him when they were stopped inside the gates. How could he? Murtagh has accomplished one thing neither Morzan nor Selena ever did: escape.

Despite everything, his aching heart feels something fiercely like pride. He would not dare ruin that for him.

Then to further prove the truth, like the world is laughing at his years of ignorance, Ajihad recognizes him, because after Murtagh was brought to Uru'baen, the Varden's spies informed him of Morzan's son. But of course, that was after Brom cut himself off and started living in Carvahall, so he never learned of that discovery. "Morzan's son" is said over and over, but in Brom's mind, that idea is far eclipsed by Selena's son. He's hurt and ashamed to realize he never knew something so significant about the woman he loved. And he feels guilty that Murtagh struggled for so long in Uru'baen because no one was there to save him when he was left helplessly alone. Brom must have been so close to him when he arrived right after Selena's death, but he just didn't know.

Brom is utterly at a loss. How can he process Murtagh- the child of Selena and Morzan, Eragon's half brother, and in a certain sense, his own stepson? What can he do now? He was already so terrified of telling Eragon the truth of being his father, and now he has another staggering revelation to inflict on Eragon and Murtagh both. The prospect feels terrifyingly impossible, but keeping his secrets has grown even more painful. Watching how easily and how well Eragon and Murtagh get along is now bitterly ironic. Even without knowing it, Murtagh is a great older brother, waiting vigilantly near his side after the battle. The injury Durza inflicted scared Brom in a way he can't put into words; he simply could not bear to lose Eragon. How could he risk that happening without telling Eragon how much he loves him and values him as his son? But telling him truth could be the quickest way to lose him. And now, with Murtagh, he has more to lose than he ever realized.

-And because Murtagh deserves it, I like all these changes resulting in the Twins never getting the chance to kidnap him, and so Brom has to figure out how to make the three of them into a family <3

#eragon #inheritance cycle #brom #murtagh #selena #morzan #eragon shadeslayer #murtagh acquires dad number 3 #As He Deserves!!!#every few week a new ic au possesses me for a hot sec #broms inner monologue is just constant stressed screaming #my man is so unprepared for everything thats going on #(the one real hitch w the premise is how oromis knew so much if brom never found out about murtagh but no way im gonna let that stop my fun

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veliseraptor · 2 months

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Top five spiciest untamed opinions!

man, I've been in my own little corner of fandom for long enough that I feel like I struggle a little to parse what is spicy of my opinions and what isn't, but here's a go at it

The Untamed is a show with complex, morally grey characters that's telling a slightly different but not inherently inferior story. Maybe I'm just a bit defensive about this, and I have with time come to appreciate a lot of things about the novel over the way they play out in the show, but The Untamed was the first version of the story that I fell in love with and I think at least some of the criticisms of it overstate the degree to which it morally simplifies the story. I think, whether because of requirements of censorship or other reasons, that the moral messiness of the story is subtler, I don't think it's absent, and while Jin Guangyao in particular falls victim to a pretty intense villain edit the narrative still has plenty of sympathy for him (even if the audience, all too often, does not). I think it's telling a slightly different story (as others have discussed), but I think it's a strong adaptation that still works with the underlying themes of the text.

However, that being said, The lessening of Wei Wuxian's culpability, as in the introduction of the second flautist, weakens his character. I feel like the character of Wei Wuxian as we see him in The Untamed still has the recognizable flaws of the character from the novel - I think the degree to which they're sometimes claimed to be toned down is overstated, which I think I've written some about before. He's still at least a little arrogant, causes problems, has a definite temper, and doesn't always respect other peoples' choices, among other things. But what The Untamed does do is remove some of his culpability, or at least temper it - both for Jin Zixuan's death and the massacre at Nightless City, which are two moments that contribute to a strong tragic arc in the first life, which makes for a more powerful (imo) arc in the second life. Removing, or at least lessening, Wei Wuxian's culpability for Jin Zixuan's death and Jiang Yanli's death makes him more a victim of circumstance than of his own human flaws, and at least for me, a character who is doomed by their own flaws is a far more compelling one than one who just happens to fall victim to outside forces. It makes him, I would argue, more passive and less of an active force, and I think the culpability for those two deaths - and the loss of control that causes it - makes for a more powerful narrative than that of a man who is victimized by someone else's actions.

Jin Guangyao was a good Chief Cultivator. I see people talk about him as though he was corrupt and evil and just plotting all the time, but the Bad Things™ he does mostly happen before his tenure as Chief Cultivator and, even taking those into account, have a limited impact on the world at large (with the exception of Nie Mingjue's death, but even that I would argue has more personal repercussions than broader political ones). As far as his responsibility for the cultivation world at large, we have no evidence prior to his downfall that he is negatively perceived by people, except for the fact of his birth/origins.

this is more MDZS-related than Untamed specific, but: MXTX deserves praise for writing "problematic" and messy queer sex, but it's just not hot. I don't have a whole lot to add on this one, but one of my least favorite parts of some corners of The Untamed fandom are people who are thoroughgoing MXTX antis who are quick to cry about the ~problematic~ aspects of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's sex life (which, honestly, I think are overstated a lot of the time, as is the weirdness of the sex scenes); however, in my opinion, the sex scenes as they stand just aren't very sexy, and I don't think that's intentional (as it arguably is in SVSSS). The sex scenes may be a shortcoming in the text, perhaps, but not the one certain people think it is.

this is again a stronger argument in the novel but I think it's present in the show as well: Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian are "there but for the grace of god" foils, but not in the sense of Jin Guangyao being "Wei Wuxian if he made bad moral choices" but in the sense of "who Wei Wuxian could've been if his circumstances were different." I've definitely written about this before and how much it drives me nuts the way people treat narrative foils in this story in general as Goofus and Gallant style duos, but this is a specific one. I think Jin Guangyao is an example of a story that runs alongside Wei Wuxian's, but ends in a different place, and I think the story isn't saying that he ends in that place because of something inherently worse about Jin Guangyao, but because of the way his circumstances happen to diverge from Wei Wuxian's in specific key ways. In some ways his ending is even a near beat-for-beat rewrite of Wei Wuxian's death, and Wei Wuxian receives the grace of a second life not because of any inherent merit, but actually because of his bad reputation. I think this goes for Xue Yang, too, actually.

I absolutely know I'm forgetting things and there are probably things back in my bitchy opinions tag that I could dig out, but here's at least a few that came to mind.

#conversating #maester of spreadsheets #lise has opinions #none of these feel so bitchy they need to go in the bitchy opinions tag but just in case i think i'll #lise's aggressively bitchy opinions about irrelevant and unimportant matters #lise memes #top five meme #the sad queer cultivators show

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lunabug2004 · 2 months

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Why the Troy and Angela Situations Should Not Be Compared (+ Why Mike's Reaction Is Valid)

One of the things that gets my blood boiling as a Mike defender is when people try to compare the bullying/El's reaction to said bullying between the Troy and Angela scenes. They are not the same thing, not even close! Yes, they're both cases of bullying, but two very different levels of extreme.

Yes, I understand that words can hurt just as much, if not more, than a physical weapon, and Mike understands this too, that's why he tries to connect with El the morning after. But in the real world, one without monsters or powers, the one they believe they're living in at the time, violence is almost never the answer, it only makes things worse, as it did. Mike also understand this. Now, yes, it took him a minute to figure out that El didn't quite understand this yet, but he works to fix his mistakes as soon as he does.

Now, let's look at season 1's incident. Troy is threatening to cut Dustin with a knife if Mike doesn't jump off the quarry cliff. Two lives are in immediate and direct danger in this situation. El, literally at the last second, saves Mike as he's falling, so that's one problem fixed and one less life at stake. By this time, yes, Troy has moved away from Dustin, but he is still holding the knife! And then he aggressively steps towards El, threatening her with it, so she snaps his arm and makes him drop it. This is self defense, as well as defending her friends from a dangerous situation.

In season 4, Angela publicly humiliates El. Yes, it's awful, and yes, she deserves the smack that she gets for it, but it's nowhere near as bad as what Troy was doing. Angela isn't putting any lives in immediate danger, she's not brandishing a weapon! Legally, El smacking Angela is assault, because at the point of the roller-scate-smack, the ordeal is done with, and there was no physical harm done. I'd like to add that I'm aware of El falling, and that she may have been hurt, but technically no one touched her, so it still isn't technically self-defense (I may be wrong here, pls correct me if so). This is a very unfortunate situation, and I feel terrible for El, as should everyone, but I'm a firm believer that when it comes to bullies, you shouldn't fight fire with fire, and Mike seems to carry this belief as well, as he repeatedly tells the boys to just ignore their bullies in s1. @foodiewithdahoodie has an old post (can't find it irl, but it's stuck in my brain) in which they say El treats Angela, a normal girl who is not a serious threat, with the same extreme hostility she shows the UD monsters, and I completely agree with this. El is flawed, and Mike's not a bad person for reacting to those flaws, that just happen to include unnecessary violence, the way a normal person would.

Anyways, what I'm getting at here is that these two situations are completely different (again, Troy has a literal weapon, two peoples' lives were being actively threatened!) and Mike's reaction in both circumstances were completely valid! In season one, he was seconds away from death, and so when El saved him and made the threat go away, he was eternally grateful for her defense. In season 4, he tries so hard to get to her when he realizes what's going on despite having just found out she'd been lying to him for months, and he was even completely on El's side, trying to find and comfort her, until she hit Angela, then he believed she went too far (she did), so he made that known. He's never been one to sugarcoat when he disagrees with certain behaviors, and he doesn't start here, he tells it like it is: Angela doesn't look fine. It also is just a lot to process, so it doesn't surprise me that it takes an overnight thought-session for him to figure out where he went wrong, and again, he tries to make it up to her! To connect with her, bringing down some of his walls in the process! She just disregards his experiences, then brings up him not saying ILY, so he gets defensive and puts back up his walls, and they never get to continue this conversation! (This is an analysis for another day in and of itself tbh)

To reiterate, it just irks me when people compare these scenes to try and make Mike out to be a bad person, when they are nowhere near the same situation! His reactions being different makes total sense, esp when adding the shock-factor of it all! I'll stop talking now cuz this could go on forever and I lowkey feel like I'm just repeating myself now.

Pls tell me your thoughts on this!

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teamsasukes · 9 months

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ok in my opinion, many things are wrong with the idea that sakura viewed sasuke only as a prize to be won to boost her self-worth; that when it comes to sasuke, she's forever frozen in time as a 12-year-old girl who can't see beyond his good hair and great grades. this post is my attempt at thoroughly unpacking and refuting that notion

when we meet sakura in part 1, she is obsessed with societal standards and her admiration for sasuke is almost entirely rooted in that. he's the ideal future husband -- from an ancient clan, stoic, intelligent, skilled, and by sakura's own description, "cool" -- these are things that she has been conditioned to want! so this is the sasuke that she envisions, until...

until they get put on a team together, and sakura gradually comes to realize that perhaps sasuke is not what she's made him out to be in her mind. he talks about crying, about being afraid. he's paralyzed with fear in their first mission. naruto may very well be stronger and more capable than him! oh, and sasuke gets into silly fights with naruto all the time. none of that is "cool." suddenly he seems less like the ideal future husband and more like a real person with flaws and baggage of his own.

that sakura's view of sasuke changes is so apparent through how radically her behaviour around him shifts between the early formation of team 7 and the chunin exams (and any point after). sakura goes from being unable to listen to a bad word about sasuke (maybe even the ones that are deserved) to defying him when she deems fit. she even praises naruto at his expense, because societal views are not at the forefront of her mind when it comes to the two boys anymore -- they're just naruto and sasuke. they're her friends! she goes from calling kakashi out for bad-mouthing the uchiha clan because she's doesn't want to risk sasuke getting mad at her, to calling naruto out for a similar statement, not due to personal involvement in the equation, but simply because it's not right.

and people typically agree with me up to here. it's when we get to sakura cutting her hair in the forest of death that opinions diverge, and some people tend to think that sakura should have "gotten over" sasuke to propel her character development forward. i don't necessarily find this reading invalid -- it's certainly a more straightforward direction for her character to take. sakura's goal was sasuke, now sakura's goal is to be strong. the problem is that there was always more nuance to her goal of winning sasuke's heart than people afford it in fandom discussion, and similarly, i don't think that the progression needed to be as clear-cut as "sakura gets over sasuke" to still be meaningful. in this case, i feel like people's expectations about what should have happened following this scene might preclude them from seeing the growth that this moment did produce.

sakura cutting her hair in the forest of death is the critical point her arc built up to for all of part 1. sakura is insulted by the sound nin for pouring so much time into her appearance when her training is clearly not up to par, and she cuts her shiny and perfect hair in a declaration that she will no longer derive her self-worth from the validation that would come from romantic attachment (to sasuke, or anyone else). instead, it will be from standing shoulder-to-shoulder with (or even ahead of) her teammates in battle -- so that she can protect them rather than the other way around. then the flashbacks during her fight with ino make it explicit that sakura has wanted to become a skilled shinobi -- one who could match up to ino -- all along, but since that is not a socially acceptable goal from a girl, she instead declares them rivals over sasuke's heart. the boy is not important here (haha, it always sticks out to me that when she asks him out before the chunin exams, sakura is more bummed about sasuke's assessment of her skills than his rejection). she doesn't even think of sasuke while fighting ino, lol -- she grandstands about how only she can "get him," but that's for the purpose of riling up ino, so that there's no chance she'll go easy on sakura. sakura wants to know, definitively, that she can match up to ino. and she does.

in light of all of this, people often say sakura had "no reason" to like sasuke -- after all, i did spend the entire last paragraph establishing that sakura's pre-series crush on sasuke was an immature infatuation that had nothing to do with sasuke and everything to do with ino. but, again, team 7 spent months together on a team and sasuke and sakura became actual friends! he was a good teammate to both naruto and sakura, if a little rough around the edges. i don't think it's implausible for sakura to develop real feelings for sasuke during this time. and if that is not enough, if you need deeper, thematically fulfilling reasons -- well, i sort of object to that on principle. i think friendship, having fun with one another, being at ease around each other -- these are all perfectly good reasons to fall in love with someone. and you may say that naruto also fulfills this criteria, but if sakura was physically attracted to sasuke and not naruto -- well, i think that's fine too, and it certainly doesn't warrant any moral judgment. people say often that sakura should have ended up with lee or naruto -- the first of whom stated outright that he loved her because she was beautiful, and the latter who introduced her as a "pretty girl" -- but whether their feelings are shallow is not endlessly dissected. (it's not narusaku or leesaku i protest to here, just the double standard)

but for the record, i think kishimoto did write in enough for us to understand why sakura would fall for sasuke in particular. i discussed this in another post, but alongside ino, sasuke sparked the most significant character growth for sakura. he was the first to make her reevaluate her treatment of naruto (and by extension, her rose-tinted view of the world), he was the first (and only) of their teammates to express disappointment that she wasn't investing in her own skills, he figured out when she felt insecure and reminded her of the areas in which she was more proficient than the rest of the team. sakura's initial idealized view of sasuke does not endure for a number of reasons, one of which is that the real sasuke actually expects her to hold her own and sees potential in her. for sakura, whose main motivation as a character is to become stronger for her teammates, this must mean a great deal! we mostly lose track of this element of sasuke and sakura's dynamic in part 2, which is a shame, but when she cracks open the earth with only her fist, naruto and kakashi are utterly astonished, while sasuke just smiles -- like it is no surprise, like she's been capable of it all along -- so there is that, i guess.

(and for more on thematically fulfilling, see this post on what i think could have played out if sakura were not relegated to a side character in all but panel presence in part 2. but really, i find it so interesting that sasuke and sakura both repeatedly have a lot of trouble suppressing their compassion to do what is expected of them as shinobi. apart from sasuke, i think sakura is also the only character to express that human life has inherent value -- at least, she says something along those lines when she fights sasori.)

anyway, post-forest of death, sasuke version 1 has pretty much dissipated in sakura's mind -- the only place he ever existed -- and sakura's treatment of sasuke changes further. she stops intruding on his physical boundaries, stops flirting, stops asking him out -- she's there for him, but as a friend first. she hugs him in the hospital, but that's not necessarily a romantic gesture (she's physically affectionate by nature, which is why she ambushes naruto with a hug in the same manner at the end of the pain arc) and sasuke finds it comforting (signalled by many things, chief among which is that naruto leaves the room after observing sasuke's face). and yes, she confesses to being in love with him twice afterwards, years apart, but that is only because she is extremely stressed and panicked and wants him to stay for his own (and the second time around, add in naruto's) safety. her first confession is too centered on her own feelings, while the second is just woefully oblivious (through little fault of sakura's -- she doesn't know why sasuke is so intent on destroying the shinobi world), but neither of them come with the condition of sakura wanting sasuke to stay only so he can be with her. sakura wants sasuke to be safe! she wants him to be mentally sound! she lets him know that she cares about him!

i absolutely need to reiterate: at no point in part 2 does sakura display any sense of entitlement to sasuke. she always pleads with him to stay, rather than demanding anything of him. and even in the privacy of her own thoughts, sakura ponders bringing sasuke back in a few contexts: she wants sasuke to be okay, she is so sorry for burdening naruto, she needs to help naruto, and if sasuke comes back, they can all be a team again. romance does not even enter her mind. it is such a willfully egregious misread of the text to say that she only wanted sasuke back so they could be together.

moreover, it is honestly just nonsensical to me when people say sakura wanted sasuke as a prize, because it laughs in the face of her entire character arc and completely ignores why her pre-series crush existed at all. back then, sakura wanted sasuke as a status symbol. as of part 2, though, he is decidedly not what konoha's society would see as the ideal man. in the eyes of the state, he is a wanted criminal. sakura, meanwhile, is a student of the hokage, one of the most skilled medics in konoha at the ripe age of 16, and one of the most powerful shinobi of her generation (a feat achieved entirely through her own labour). she has stood next to her teammates in battle and helped take down a literal god. she does not need sasuke to feel fulfilled. nevertheless, she chooses, every day, to care about him, even though it would be infinitely easier not to. and if sakura wanted to haul around a status symbol in the form of a boyfriend, if only to bolster her already impressive profile (which she would not. that's the point!) -- naruto, konoha's new favourite traumatized teenager, is like. right there. but sakura loved naruto before he was proclaimed a hero by konoha, just like she continues to love sasuke even though he is very far from the coolest boy in their class.

my feelings on chapter 699 are... mixed, because the way things resolve for sasuke is just so sad, but what we see play out between him and sakura is: 1. sakura asks to come with him 2. sasuke is 100% comfortable saying no (how do the "sakura forced sasuke to be with her" truthers reconcile with that one, lol) 3. sakura appears mildly disappointed but like. she'll survive. that's it. then he thanks her, taps her on the forehead (but promises he'll see her soon, in an inversion of what that gesture meant from itachi), and we leave them in a pretty hopeful place, all things considered. there's room for reconciliation, for growth, for love. (and i don't want to hear about post-699 because i don't care. i don't consider it canon, and pretty much no one on tumblr does either, except to occasionally shit on ships they don't like)

this ended up being way too long, but i want to say: if you don't like sasusaku, that's your prerogative. i'm not here to change your mind. i certainly think they should have been written better in part 2 (but i'd argue that, like, 99% of those issues are just a natural consequence of sakura being continually sidelined by the narrative, rather than problems inherent to the relationship itself). regardless, i think too often people let their opinion of a ship impede character analysis. to claim that sakura relentlessly propositioned sasuke and that she saw him as a prize does such a huge disservice to how much she has grown and what she has accomplished over the course of the series.

#this is just something i feel very very strongly about #i'm so sick of people saying 'you can't be a REAL sasuke fan if you like sasusaku bc sakura felt entitled to him and pressured him!'#like. it is not my fault you never learned how to read!!!! that's on you!#& beyond that as i said i just think it requires an incredibly bad-faith reading of sakura's character to be tenable at all #haruno sakura #naruto meta #sasusaku

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damianbugs · 4 months

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Hi!! First I just wanted to say your fics have been an inspo for me to write my own fics and I enjoy them immensely. Second, I’ve been wandering something and I want to ask something about how Jason Todd is portrayed after his death.

I don’t really understand why so many just kind of lie? Or exasperate who Jason Todd is and isn’t. Like the Cass and Bruce scene in front of Jason’s grave, or that scene in Gotham Knights where Alfred tells Bruce “Jason was determined to disobey him.” I know out of universe it just has to do with the mischaracterization of Jason but I’m having a hard time on finding an in universe explanation. Is it out of guilt? Out of misplaced love? It’s confusing me a bit

first of all, thank you!! i'm so glad i could inspire you that is truly the highest complement i could receive <3

secondly, this is a really interesting discussion! you're right about how in a meta way it's the deeply routed classism in jasons writing, as well as many writers (example: grant morrison) just really hating jason for some reason and doing everything they can to make him absolutely insufferable. not even in a cool evil villain way, but in an embarrassment point and laugh kind of way.

for the purpose of this discussion lets (with much difficulty) ignore the writers predispositions and implications and just focus entirely on what this means for the characters. it's good you mention the cass and bruce at jason's grave scene, because i think that example alone is a good way to deconstruct some of character's (for this post: bruce's) perspective of jason's death.

to summarise before dumping a billion paragraphs developing the point; let's not dance around it and accept that much of people's understanding of jason's death falls into the victim blaming variety, but in such way that the characters don't seem to realise that's how they perceive him, which is almost worse than them purposely retelling it in such a way. as well as that, aside from this indenial misunderstanding of jason, i think this shows the sort of flaws the other characters have.

Detective Comics #790

at first glance this seems like a really touching and emotional moment where bruce is sharing his grief with cass (especially when the entirety of #790 is about bruce struggling to do just that), but then you really read it and you're like what the fuck... why are we standing in front of this kids grave slagging him off? not only are we hearing all of bruce's regrets about how he raised jason as opposed to his son's actual death, but we are dragging steph into this too.

to bruce, jason's death is an accumulation of everything he let the boy get away with finally reaching it's tipping point. that jason's ambition to "prove something" lead to his seemingly inevitable demise.

now i do think it's important to note that WE (the readers) know jason died saving sheila. that despite being beaten, betrayed and left for dead, he tried to save someone and paid the price for it. no one else knows that, because the two people that did are dead. as a result, bruce is left with the facts that;

prior to his death, jason was acting uncharacteristically (<- important point) violent and aggressive towards himself, borderline passively suicidal. bruce himself acknowledges this.

that jason ran away from home in search of someone who may or may not be his mother. this is because losing his parents is a hurt jason has still not healed from and a topic bruce has handled badly in the past (example: willis todd). jason does not trust bruce enough to tell him about this.

once they find his mother, jason is instructed to not get involved in the joker related problem. to the extent of bruces knowledge, jason reveals himself as robin, and decides to get involved despite the instruction not to. either because he again, didn't trust bruce to believe he would handle it, or that jason was trying to prove something to bruce, to sheila, or to himself.

sheila dies, jason dies and bruce is the only one alive from the tragedy with only half the story.

All of this can be found in A Death In The Family, but I don't feel comfortable sharing panels of it given where the story takes place right now.

bruce spends the next few years blaming himself at any given point, but the blame is misplaced. bruce feels as though HIS negligence of JASON'S personality and HIS allowance of JASON'S freedom as robin is what allowed JASON to go and die. instead of seeing what he knows to be true about jason (his empathy, his kindness, his grief and loneliness) bruce can now only see how his allowance of all these things played a part in JASON disobeying him (whether maliciously or not) and dying.

in short, bruce is projecting big time onto his dead kid.

bruce is, as per usual, coping with loss by antagonising it. he did the same with babs, with steph and later on with damian. for a character like batman, who upon failing immediately turns these losses into lessons (for himself and all those forced to comply), it's the only way he seems to 'move on'. if he can understand that jason died because of all the things bruce let him do wrong, then he can convince himself that the guilt he feels for it is necessary. that jasons death is on him and that it mattered.

unfortunately, in order to do that, bruce is indenial about what he LITERALLY KNOWS ABOUT JASON! it's not like he was an absent father to jason in the slightest. but hey, if he can vitiate jason's enthusiasm to help people as jason's impulsiveness to fight (two things that can be true but not in accordance to the context he describes them in), then the blame is on jason for being brash, and on bruce for being lenient.

he shoots jason in the foot and himself in the knee to keep them both down. because, well, jason's dead anyway, and bruce unfortunately isn't. this is the closest thing they'll get to sharing the truth bruce knows he's missing and he knows it's his fault for favouring the mission of his son — so at the expense of jason, bruce lets them both be the lesson to learn from.

it is why jason is used as a cautionary tale, and why bruce is so unstable on allowing people (especially children) into his life emotionally. the second robin is a lesson for any young vigilante eager to join the mission, and batman's part in the death is a lesson for bruce wayne to... be even more emotionally untrustworthy? instructions unclear.

the final part of the grave scene is also important, because bruce is admitting that he is not so different to jason. that "for some of us [Bruce and Cass] there is no turning back". he is projecting these flaws about jason not only because that's the only way he can cope with jason's death, but he is projecting these flaws because regardless of what actually happened, he (and cass) are destined to meet the same fate. jason died for a multitude of reason that bruce may or may not have caused knowingly, and these reasons only exist because bruce knows them to be true in himself and anyone else damaged enough to find themselves on his side of the blurry line.

so, now looking a bit less zoomed in, i think it's unfortunate that jason's time as robin is often perversed by the people who should know better (bruce & alfred), and while it is bad writing on jason's character, it is great writing to show the flaws in the characters around him.

especially how it shows that grief is not always something that can become healed. bruce's guilt about his parents death amounts to something hopeful (batman), but his guilt about jason's death makes bruce cruel and childish.

tldr: no one knows the true story, so they compensate from what they do know — but by doing so they project and misinform existing characteristics of jason in order to compartmentalise the gravity of his tragic death. bruce is unable to cope normally and everyone is forced to follow the same fate, because batman's lessons are rarely wrong, even if they cause ten other problems and misunderstandings to understand.

#did this answer anything idk its exam season who even am i #dc meta #bruce wayne #jason todd #character study #saki anons #saki comic talks #put me in a box with bruce wayne and i will eat his brain #sorry idk where that came from erm

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cosmicjoke · 3 months

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Of course Levi has a selfless and compassionate side, but objectively speaking, I don't think the manga/anime emphasizes these qualities as much as some people are exaggerated. For example, in the manga, the garrison soldier they captured during the uprising arc says that he even killed people he shouldn't have killed (I think those people were servants idk)

Or like in the trost arc when he doesn't react to the deaths of all those people who died in the chase for the female titan. There's a scene in the uprising arc where Hitch talks about this genocide and sort of berates him and his corps, but Levi doesn't react to it. He values human life, but not enough to talk about it or to go on about it.

He characterizes people who are inferior to him, who are not of equal status, as weak. In the Shiganshina arc he says he hates weak people.

I think his role in the anime is more of a supporting weapon character than these actions. He's more of someone who stands out in battles and with his strength. And he can play a supporting role in some characters, including the main character.

This may sound like slander, but that's not my point. My point is that in some fandoms, people tend to exaggerate one aspect of their favorites and either don't acknowledge or ignore their flaws or make excuses for them. In the anime and in interviews, we see Levi touch upon his compassionate and selfless aspects. But he also sometimes exhibits cruel, reckless actions on some issues.

No, the manga and anime makes it expressly clear how much Levi cares.

Levi didn't kill anyone during the Uprising arc outside of Kenny's squad, who were first trying to kill him and his squad. Purely self-defense and purely justifiable. He only hurt the people at the military base where they captured the soldier from. They didn't kill anyone there. These are Levi's exact words:

"Unfortunately for you, they won't be coming to your rescue. Killing them would've been a bother, so they'll just be off their feet for the time being."

This, accompanied by panels showing Levi's squad taking the soldiers out, only injuring, not killing, them.

Levi reacted during Trost. What are you talking about? We see a close up of Levi when the shit hits the fan, his expression clearly troubled and his fists clenched at his sides. His fists clenching is plainly highlighted because the reader is meant to understand that he's upset. A clear expression of anxiety and frustration at not being able to help.

Hitch is talking about the people that died during the incident in Trost, not a "genocide", and Levi takes full responsibility for it, making no excuses for what happened. Hitch is shocked because she thought Levi would try to make excuses and deny any responsibility, because she thought he was heartless, but he didn't, because he cares and he's just as upset as she is. She didn't expect that.

Just because he doesn't blubber and cry outwardly doesn't mean he isn't feeling anything. He knows it's messed up and that it went sideways when it wasn't ever meant to, just like so many of the missions the SC conducts.

When he says he "hates weak people", he means he hates the situation. He's frustrated and upset. He hates that these people who have no experience fighting titans are on this mission with them, because their ranks have been so thinned out, and because of that, they're likely to get killed. You have to pay attention to Levi's actions, not his words. Levi is known for not being good at expressing what he means when he speaks. His actions are what's important. He works himself to the point of exhaustion trying to save those people you say he "hates" for being weak. Does that seem like something someone would do who doesn't care about their lives?

The problem is, you just aren't paying enough attention to Levi's character, and further, you don't understand his character. You seem to need it said and spelled out in literal terms in order to pick up on what's going on, which, if that's the case, this isn't the story for you. Levi's emotion isn't blaring and in your face. It's subtle, but still obvious if you simply pay attention. You see it in his actions and expressions. We aren't exaggerating Levi's compassion and kindness, you just don't want to or aren't able to acknowledge it because it isn't spoon fed to you and it doesn't fit with your preconceived notion of who Levi is. You need to pay more attention in order to understand Levi, because he's a complex character, not the one-note "weapon" that you want to define him as.

You talk about bias and not being able to see clearly as a result, but your own bias is pretty evident on this topic. You get basic facts wrong and then present them as "evidence" for your claim that Levi is reckless and cruel. It's just that you don't understand him as a character.

#Levi Ackerman #attack on titan #shingkei no kyojin

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theheirofthesharingan · 14 days

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You know I feel most of Sasuke shippers tend to hate Itachi a lot. They think whoever they ship him with is a better for Sasuke. I'm a sns stan myself but most sns stans hate Itachi, it also the same thing with ss stans.

It's not Sasuke shippers, it's his fans in general that hate Itachi. My interaction with SNS fans hasn't been negative (so far) so can't say, but I agree with you on SSers. You're right that they view Itachi as some kind of a competition for their respective ships because there's always a desperate attempt to magnify his flaws and deny/ignore the rest of the context because it challenges their notion of him being irredeemable.

A longish rant ahead. Haters are free to not interact. SSers too.

Majority of Sasuke fans hate Itachi. Some hardliners hate nearly everyone that isn't Sasuke. The only ones exempted from their hate are Mikoto, Team Taka, Fugaku (sometimes), and Obito and Madara (for some reasons - idk why). Itachi, Kakashi, Naruto are the worst people to be around him with no redeeming qualities who existed to make his life worse, instead of, you know, responding to their own traumas much like Sasuke did.

Some "generous" ones even though hate him/don't like him, aren't that extreme as the first ones, but there's also a weird kind of aggressiveness to them that's similar to the former ones. They may or may not ship Sasuke with others but the hate for Itachi is certainly constant.

None of them view Itachi as a human. Largely, the audience's perspective on Itachi relies heavily upon how Sasuke sees him. He doesn't see Itachi as someone breakable. The one memory of Itachi crying he assumed was his imagination. Even after learning the truth there's no memory of Sasuke recalling Itachi's vulnerability even though there would have been plenty of moments where he broke down. Just not in front of Sasuke or anyone else.

It doesn't mean Itachi was all what canon shows him to be. It's entirely the third person perspective without getting into Itachi's head that we see. Maybe more people would see him differently if we got more of him? Because a lot of fans too reduce him to just a powerhouse that's capable of taking down all the enemies singlehandedly. He's capable of being both vulnerable and strong. Those aren't mutually exclusive.

Coming to the shippers, I have a special beef with SSers because I've seen too many of them who claim to "love" Itachi, but the first moment they need to defend her or the ship, the first person they choose to shit on is Itachi. I don't dislike her, but imagine hating on Itachi to defend her? The only hate/criticism about her that I disagree with is Naruto fans hating on her for not choosing him. The rest is spot on.

SSers want Itachi to be "punished" and enumerate all the things he didn't deserve forgiveness for. And how S*kura would never put Sasuke through what Itachi did. I mean, that is a fair point, but how much more do you want Itachi to be punished more than he already was?

Living his entire life in exile, being hated by Sasuke despite loving him so much, a terminal illness, the guilt of all things, and eventual death, with zero chance at life. What kind of sadism it is where you think he deserves more punishment than this?

If it's not enough, Boruto seems to be more about SS than Boruto himself. There's just too much content on SS (or is it just my Twitter feed being stuffed with it? Idk) where they're the main focus, where Sasuke loves his family and all that. And where is Itachi in all this? How many times does Sasuke think about Itachi, if at all? Some anime scenes have them, yeah, but I'm assuming they're fillers.

I'll never, ever begrudge Sasuke for moving past Itachi and his memories, but it is heartbreaking that his memories have been abandoned in favour of someone Sasuke didn't even love and a family he didn't ever want.

He deserved better than this. And if Sasuke ever dies, there's literally no one that would remember Itachi. Unless of course they bring in a twist or something for the next gen. But I hope not.

Congratulations, shippers, you won. *claps*

It may or may not be the same for SNS fans, but if there's a lot of hate in that circle too, they can also rejoice for the same reason. Itachi doesn't exist anymore. It's been almost 20 years since his death in canon. The people Sasuke has been around are those he's shipped with. So, it's a win for both?

#itachi #uchiha brothers #itachi uchiha #uchiha itachi #sasuke #sasuke uchiha #anti ss #anti sasusaku #anti sakura #ask #anon

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anderscim · 4 months

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// DRDT spoilers up until ch2 pt. 1

okay, so i actually do have a more… debatable reason why i believe J is the chapter 2 culprit. i’ve never mentioned it before, so i might as well.

time to break it down. ^^

————

again this is more of a personal interpretation that can be argued one way or the other, but for me, J’s secret quote regarding Mai Akasaki is one of the major indications of J being the culprit.

i’m not going to elaborate on what the secret quotes are since i assume many people know about them already—but for clarification, i am referring to the ones that appear on Mai Akasaki’s info page.

okay, so my point: until at least the chapter 2 victim, each character’s secret quote and/or bonus episode related to Mai Akasaki happens to be correlated with the reason behind their death.

i’m just going to work through some examples.

Xander’s quote regarding Mai is as follows:

“She couldn’t stand to do nothing.”

(also fun fact—when i went to fact-check, the first quote that appeared for me was coincidentally Xander’s. what luck.)

this quote is specifically about taking action—though we don’t have any details that could indicate what exactly Mai was trying to do, it might’ve been a plan exposing the fatal flaws of Hope’s Peak that went terribly wrong (and resulted in Mai’s own death).

in my own interpretation, Xander himself takes actions that represent the need to do what it takes to end the killing game, even if it means going against his own morals. but in the end, he trusts in himself that killing the-person-who-may-be-somewhat-responsible-for-the-killing-game is the right decision, and he goes through with the plan. this ended up in his attempt to murder Teruko, and consequently, his own death (though due to Min’s intervention). in other words, Xander’s choice to take action was the very decision that led to his downfall.

…please let this be a definitive correlation.

alright, moving on to Min’s quote regarding Mai:

“An average girl with nothing special at all about her.”

(´-`)

…okay, maybe not the most helpful. but there is a different source of information i can use, thankfully. time to refer back to Min’s bonus episode with Mai.

towards the end of the video, Min says this:

which is… incredibly ironic in correlation to the events of the first chapter. Min, in fact, does help someone. Teruko. Min defends her from Xander after he stabbed her. but Min’s intervention is exactly what led to Xander’s death—and consequently, what tied Min to the same fate. if Min hadn’t been there to defend Teruko (albeit the whole “manipulate the crime scene to make Teruko seem to be the culprit” part), she likely wouldn’t have died via execution like in chapter 1. so to me, Min’s desire to help others—as was detailed in her interaction with Mai—was exactly what led her to her fate.

either way, for both characters, a core theme that was involved in their “cause of death” (or motive to murder depending on how you look at it) was also closely linked to their relationship with Mai Akasaki.

okay, so how does this relate to J? at all?

well, uhm—might be best to take a look at J’s secret quote related to Mai.

“She kept it a secret, and told no one.”

this quote is very likely related to J’s connection to Mariabella Rosales—which is detailed very clearly in her motive secret.

so… quite frankly, i’m scared this is a major red flag. it feels very fitting for the person with a quote related to their secrets to be the chapter 2 culprit—after all, it’s not only related to the official murder motive, but the secret detailed in this quote is something that J is incredibly defensive about and would hide it at all costs… if it wasn’t for Arturo exposing her in front of everyone. it would be interesting if somehow, the already-revealed motive secret was a major motivation for the murder. i feel like it would also make sense for J to have a bonus episode that discusses her origins and the deeper reasons behind her hatred of the “selfish and artificial celebrity” lifestyle she was forced to live in for so long.

but… that’s more speculation, not an actual claim. it’s why i never addressed this in my death predictions post. (-.-;) well, at least this is one way to show my thought process.

as always, take all of this with a grain of salt.

#bagel’s train of thought #bagel’s blurbs #drdt #danganronpa despair time #despair time #mai akasaki #xander matthews #min jeung #j rosales #fangan #fanganronpa #i had no idea what i was saying throughout… all of that (._.)

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swiftwidget · 1 year

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The Case for Toshinori Yagi Living and What (Could) Happen Next

Now that MHA 386 is officially out in English as of 4/23/23, @aoimikans and I can talk about our discussions and theories of what comes next. This is mainly an argument for (and reassurance of) Toshinori Yagi living through the coming fight with All for One with evidence from the series—as well as some related theories and predictions.

Buckle in, because this is a long one.

An outline for the sake of having an abbreviated list of what we intend to cover:

The Case for Toshinori Yagi living through this fight and why.

Toshinori’s character arc - What we know, and how it has been presented - A Callback to a Previous Meta: “Narrative as an Active Force [...] True Heroic Ideals” / Toshinori’s Heroic Spirit

Shigaraki vs. Izuku - The One for All Mindscape - Bakugou completes the whole. Save to Win. Win to Save.

Toshinori’s last fight and its nature - Won’t cost him his life, but may cost him a limb.

The proximity of Hero Killer: Stain - Also, does he have the Green Goblin hover glider?

The Question Posed: Can a Quirkless Person Be a Hero? - The difference between "Hero wa dekimasu ka?" and "Kimi wa hero ni nareru."

Nighteye’s Vision and Twisting Fate - How it’s worked before

Citizens of MHA - How they could help

All for One’s Hatred and Self-Inflicted Demise - He isn’t the same AfO

Quirks: What we know, and how we know it - What are Quirks - To be Quirkless - To have multiple Quirks

How All for One could screw himself over in the end - It’s too late for him

Whereas Toshinori has decided to live…

What we know: Toshinori grew up as a Quirkless young man living in a state of terror with a strong drive to do something to change the world and make it better. His mentor, Nana Shimura, was like a mother to him and passed the power of One for All to him. She was killed, and Toshinori was forced to flee until he was strong enough to take down AfO’s empire. He returned and in his first fight with AfO he believed he killed him. He was injured to the point his sidekick Sir Nighteye suggested retirement and revealed a vision of a terrible death at the hands of a villain. Toshinori refused to retire, but he became disheartened even while he continued his work as a hero with a shortening time/endurance limit. Then he was inspired after meeting Izuku. Izuku changed his outlook, particularly during and after the Kamino fight.

How it has been presented: Perhaps some of the most defining moments of Toshinori’s character arc are scenes in which he declares his desire and determination to live despite the hardships of his post-Kamino existence. Let’s take a look at some:

It has not been an easy road for Toshinori. After making the above declarations, his self-worth took a major blow when he fell behind, unable to keep up and support Izuku in the way he felt he needed to. But then, he was given an intervention from some unexpected sources—Hero Killer Stain and the last person All Might saved—who gave him back his will to live, and he reaffirmed his drive to live and support his students.

Toshinori’s character development—particularly post-Kamino—has been all about being Toshinori Yagi and having a life after losing his ability to be All Might. Toshinori Yagi is flawed, not the physical powerhouse he was as All Might, but he has worth and the desire to live as himself.

Toshinori lives and his character arc and development all mean something. The mentor-dies trope died with Nana Shimura in the last generation of heroes. Sir Nighteye’s vision of a certain, terrible future died with him (see the Nighteye section below for an expansion on this). Toshinori’s character shows a life after being a career hero, being a Pillar of society, and being a Symbol of Peace. He didn’t lose his value when he used up the last of One for All. Toshinori has inherent value and should be allowed to live out the rest of his natural life.

Toshinori dies… and then what? What was the point of his declarations? What was the point of his development and overcoming hardships? These were personal victories witnessed by very few people in private moments. Just from a story-writing perspective, his death would be so incredibly unsatisfying. And if he dies, what happens with AfO? Does he just move on to the next fight? No, death doesn’t make sense here.

I once wrote a meta post titled “Narrative as an Active Force and Izuku as an Embodiment of Heroic Ideals”. In the post, I briefly discussed how those that left the path of a True Hero typically faced suffering punishment (usually an injury or an encounter with Stain). In the case of Toshinori, his first fight with All for One resulted in his injury because he fought—if only for that final blow—for revenge for Nana Shimura. AfO taunted him, insulted Nana Shimura, and All Might “killed” him.

Toshinori’s choice to go and face All for One for a third time without a Quirk was an act of bravery, sacrifice, and True Heroic Ideals. This alone would, in a way, atone for his previous actions of fighting with wrath and intent to kill.

This altruism—not a Quirk, not power, not fame—is what makes him a hero.

Whereas Shigaraki is Izuku’s foil and foe, not All Might’s…

Just as Toshinori told Naomasa Tsukauchi that he was always meant to fight All for One (and told Todoroki to return to face Touya/Dabi), Izuku is meant to fight Shigaraki. It is also important to note that Naomasa was also present when Gran Torino told Toshinori that he could never fight Shigaraki because he would not be able to see him as a villain, but as Nana Shimura’s grandson.

Each party is pairing off to face the foe they are meant to face.

Toshinori lives and faces All for One, helping take down the villain whose evil acts formed Toshinori’s youth and career. He is the best suited in this moment to tie that loose end.

Toshinori dies… and then what? He would join the other vestiges of One for All holders past. But what good would that do? Flame Vestige Toshi already receives input from Toshinori with him still living.

Flame Vestige Toshinori (Aura Might) has access to all of Toshinori’s memories. He is Toshinori Yagi within the vestige mindscape, one and the same, wholly Toshinori while being separate from the living body of Toshinori. Toshinori is already there. They are one and the same. And Flame Vestige Toshi can communicate with the other vestiges, so if there was something critical that Izuku needed to hear, the vestiges could pass that message along.

If anything, if Toshinori died and became a clearer image in the vestige mindscape, it would be a major distraction and an unspeakably devastating loss for Izuku—who, may I remind you, is fighting after seeing Bakugou pretty visibly dead-looking and losing control of his emotions immediately. Even ignoring that, what would Toshinori be able to add to Izuku’s knowledge or power that his Flame Vestige or the other vestiges haven’t already? What could he add to Izuku’s knowledge that he hasn’t already taught him in person? Nothing really. So! With that said, there would be no point in having Toshinori enter the One for All Mindscape.

Shigaraki is Izuku’s foil, his foe. From the beginning of the story, Izuku has been pitted against Shigaraki who is the final Big Bad. Izuku has also shared his desire to somehow reach and save the child—Tenko Shimura—that is trapped within the twisted person of Shigaraki-AfO.

This is his fight… but not his alone.

Save to Win. Win to Save. Izuku is one half. Bakugou completes the whole. Ultimately, the final fight—if we are to trust how things are foreshadowed so far—will be Shigaraki vs. Izuku and Bakugou.

Not only that, but they may finally do what is necessary to be whole themselves. Bakugou may Save to Win (i.e. he may save Izuku when things seem dire and turn the tide of the fight). Izuku may Win to Save (i.e. defeating this Shigaraki-AfO hybrid to save Tenko and everyone he knows).

Toshinori has already told them they could be great heroes together. This is their fight to prove it, together.

Whereas Toshinori doesn’t need to defeat All for One, he just has to stall…

We understand All for One is on a time limit. He is rapidly regressing/de-aging and will likely disappear given enough time. We also know that as he regresses, All for One’s emotions and mental focus are slipping out of his careful control. He was in a hurry to get to Shigaraki so that Shigaraki could take in the main body Quirk and All for One would then be able to live on and take complete control of the Shigaraki-AfO hybrid.

Toshinori understands the absolute need to keep All for One from reaching Shigaraki (and also Izuku). Toshinori understands no power thus far has kept All for One from going where he likes. And even those in the control room attempting to coordinate the fighting and the evacuation of civilians understand that there is no one else who could stop All for One.

Importantly, Toshinori understands All for One’s obsessive hatred for him. No powers necessary, Toshinori was able to stop All for One in his tracks by just being there. Toshinori’s presence alone was enough. The rest is stalling AfO until his time runs out.

Also, this fight is taking place at Kamino. Toshinori Yagi’s place of origin, the starting point of Toshinori post-All Might. You don’t fight there again, with that significant backstory, and lose. (I swear, I will cry if the chapter is Toshinori Yagi: Origin or Toshinori Yagi: Rising.)

This Toshinori is the fulfillment of him being himself. He is the “mighty ally” waiting to stop All for One. This man who has struggled with self-worth and the will to live post-Kamino, he calls himself mighty! Quirkless Toshinori faces the greatest threat of generations with a fierce grin and the confidence of one who will put his whole back into this fight. He will win—and AfO will lose—because he must.

Aoimikans and my “Cost an Arm” Theory: Even though we believe Toshinori will not die and ultimately AfO will lose… we don’t necessarily think this will be a clean fight. Sir Nighteye predicted a terrible death, so what might he have seen leading up to it? Loss of limb, perhaps.

Toshinori will be in some kind of mech armor that AfO will probably need to—maybe after some badass fighting—tear apart. We’re fairly certain that given Horikoshi’s track record of heroes getting pretty gnarly bodily injuries, AfO is going to take one (or part) of Toshinori’s arms in the fight to get back at him for all the punching and smashing All Might did.

That and we know that information from Toshinori’s body/mind is fed into the vestige mindscape already via Flame Vestige Toshi. Perhaps Toshinori will lose the arm, the arm appears from the flame of Toshi’s vestige, distracting Izuku enough for a negative turn in the battle, which then leads to an opening for Bakugou’s reentry into the fight to turn it for the better. Drama! Suspense! Weeks between chapters with tense uncertainty!

Also, Horikoshi has a love of Star Wars and getting a limb cut off is just in vogue.

But don’t worry! If this does happen, Toshi will probably get a badass prosthetic like other similarly injured characters.

Also… just think of all the Hurt/Comfort fan-fiction that could stem from this… the possibilities…

Whereas Hero Killer: Stain is nearby and has a death wish…

In the same vein as the “Cost an Arm” Theory, a prolonged fight with All for One, regardless of how cool the mech armor is, will likely lead to Toshinori injured and appear to be at risk of a death blow. (There must be distress for the positive turn of the battle to be an amazing relief.)

Enter, Hero Killer: Stain who has been shown to be in an area resembling Kamino where Toshinori will be fighting.

(Is that the Green Goblin flying thing Stain has?)

Stain can do two things that could alter the direction of the fight:

One, Stain’s Quirk only needs a single drop of blood to temporarily paralyze All for One, giving them much needed time to stall.

Two, Stain could very well take a death blow in Toshinori’s place. Stain has repeatedly said that All Might is the only one who is allowed to kill him… but he may just have to settle for dying for All Might instead. Given how Stain is the way he is, it isn’t difficult to imagine this playing out.

Whereas Toshinori revisits Izuku’s question from the very beginning…

In MHA 386, Toshinori remembers Izuku’s question from the very start of the series.

Izuku at the start asks "個性がなくてもヒーローは出来ますか!?" "Kosei ga nakutemo hero wa dekimasu ka!?” “Even without a Quirk, can [I/someone without a quirk] be a hero?”

When Toshinori answered this question and offered Izuku the chance to earn One for All, he said “��はヒーローになれる" "Kimi wa hero ni nareru." “You can become a hero.”

Aoimikans pointed this out to me when reading the Japanese version. There is a difference in what both Izuku and Toshinori are saying. “Can be” is different from “become.”

Izuku was asking: Can a Quirkless person be a hero?

Toshinori’s original answer was essentially: No, but you can become a hero if you have this Quirk.

This is so, so very significant in the context of Toshinori’s final fight and thematically for the story as a whole. He is about to give Izuku the answer he was originally looking for: “Yes. Yes, you can be Quirkless and a hero.” Toshinori is personally trying to prove to Izuku that Quirkless people can be heroes.

Izuku was Quirkless, and was a hero from the moment his body moved on its own in chapter one. Toshinori is Quirkless now, and he is a hero.

What does that mean in the overarching world of MHA? If a Quirkless person can be a hero in a world where Quirks exist, anyone can be a hero. More on this in a bit…

Whereas Nighteye’s vision of a certain terrible death died with him and Izuku isn’t the only one who can twist fate…

In trying to get Toshinori to retire early after his first fight with AfO, Sir Nighteye blurted out that he had looked into Toshinori’s future and saw his terrible death at the hands of a villain. Toshinori and Nighteye both were convinced that what Nighteye sees is the hard truth—once it is seen, it is set in stone.

This idea is thoroughly challenged when Nighteye foresees his own and Izuku’s death during the fight with Overhaul, and yet Izuku does not die. Nighteye says that it may be possible that the will—the thoughts and beliefs—of so many people altered fate.

Nighteye’s vision of Izuku’s death was proved wrong, and in dying Nighteye took with him the certainty of his visions (and the ability to double check for a certain changed future). So, Toshinori’s own predicted terrible fate is not so certain anymore.

It’s important to note that Izuku doesn’t have to be the focal point of this bending of fate. It just takes the will of many people. Which leads to a possible prediction…

Whereas civilians did not all go underground to evacuate…

While there has been a good amount of focus given the civilians that took refuge with the help of U.A. and are currently in moving sections to evacuate the area, not everyone chose to follow that lead. Some have been seen to have hunkered down elsewhere in attempts to protect themselves. Not to mention all the civilians Izuku encountered during the Dark Deku arc.

There is the possibility that those civilians may get the message that or witness Toshinori fighting without his Quirk and decide collectively to step in and try to help. Their bodies may also move on their own and they may act heroically in this crucial moment. And, as mentioned above, it takes the will of many to change fate. All the heroes fighting, all the civilians evacuating, all the civilians possibly out there trying to weather this storm, those are the kind of numbers that could alter fate.

And Toshinori has physically checked in on them. He’s gone to the civilians in person after his encounter with Stain.

Aoimikans would also like to mention that Naomasa Tsukauchi just yelled, “You’re Quirkless!!!” for the whole world to hear. It wasn’t just the internal radio. La Brava has been broadcasting the fights in Japan for the ENTIRE world to see. Not only will the civilians in Japan wish for Toshinori Yagi’s success, but people around the world are glued to their screens at this very moment watching what’s happening in Japan.

This theory that civilians will perhaps provide the backup needed for Toshinori to succeed in prolonging the fight to stall AfO is not unrealistic... Well, Aizawa said it best.

What is more brazen and cocksure than Toshinori going out to fight All for One, alone, while Quirkless? Of course the civilians Toshinori met personally would be inspired to action by him.

Additionally, we have an additional theory as to how a crowd of civilians could help (beyond the hoping and wishing and and possibly watching on screens if someone is out there to record the fight) and it is connected to altered fate, the will of a person, how Quirks work, Quirkless people being heroes, and All for One’s current condition.

Whereas All for One has known motives and flaws…

What do we know about All for One?

We know he grew up idolizing the villain from his younger brother’s comic books, believing they would win despite him not reading to the end of the story. We know he was obsessive over keeping his brother to himself.

We know he grew in power and influence by using his Quirk to steal other Quirks and gave Quirks to those seeking power in exchange for their service. He bought loyalty when he could and dished out terror when he could not. We know he created mindless servants called Noumu with the doctor’s help.

We know he has been chasing the vestige of his brother and has killed the other holders of One for All in his pursuit.

All for One is an apt name for his Quirk and himself. He wants to take all things for himself and take revenge on those who get in his way: the previous One for All users, any person that betrays him like Nagant, and—most notably—All Might.

However, the All for One we are most familiar with is the 200+ year old man who has time and patience to spare, the All for One who plays the long game. That All for One no longer exists.

What do we know about the current All for One?

The current All for One is on a time limit. He is vicious and powerful, pushing the Quirks he has taken to their fullest power. He takes Quirks without hesitation when he can get a hand on someone, whether he needs them or not.

This All for One is impatient and acts without that same careful consideration of the All for One that played the long game. He is rushing to get to Shigaraki in order to save himself, and still he could not resist the pull of his anger, his hatred for All Might.

This All for One is not the rational thinking villain he was, and he cannot contain or fully control the Quirks in his body. Toshinori knows this, and this spells AfO’s doom.

Whereas understanding the nature of Quirks is critical to this fight…

Aoimikans and I love talking and theorizing about Quirks. Just take our ongoing fan-fiction with @toshinoumu. We only used what we knew was canon, expanded on those ideas, and ended up predicting the High End Noumu (years in advance), the Doctor’s involvement, and a number of facts about Quirks. Quirks are really cool to explore, and understanding how they work is crucial to understanding the overall story.

What are Quirks? Quirks are not just powers, they are a vital part of the person that has one. 個性 or “kosei” has a more literal translation than “Quirk.” 個性 “Kosei” translates to “individuality.”

Why is it significant that they aren’t just abilities or mutations? Quirks reflect the person and the person is often compelled by the kind of Quirk they have. The most prominent examples are those persons with Quirks that affect their actions in a negative way. Toga’s Quirk drives her desire to drink blood and become another person. La Brava’s Quirk requires her to love someone and to express that love in order to be used, which was detrimental to her relationships in her youth and critical for her partnership with Gentle.

Quirks can and have affected the thinking of the person who has them. It’s a little chicken-before-the-egg when it is the person’s own Quirk, but it is critical when we consider those given Quirks that either “don’t suit them” or when we look at the multi-Quirked Noumu.

Ill-suited Quirks. In the case of Quirks that don’t suit a person, let’s look at Aoyama and Shigaraki. Aoyama was Quirkless before AfO gave him the Navel Laser. His body was physically pained by the ill-fitting Quirk. That’s a physical drawback. How about mental? We have theorized since Tenko’s backstory was revealed that AfO was the man in the doorway and that he gave Tenko the Quirk Decay (and may have taken Air Walk from him, see previous meta post MHA: Fling Theory for the section on Tenko and the man in the doorway). The trauma of awakening Decay as well as the introduction of whatever mental influence having Decay, a Quirk that’s only use seems to be destroying, turned Tenko into Shigaraki, the villain that wants to destroy everything.

What’s up with Noumu? Noumu are the product of having multiple Quirks forced into one body. The mind becomes overwhelmed and the Noumu becomes an obeying puppet who acts according to the will of their master at the sound of their voice.

How being Quirkless makes a difference: In addition to what we know about Noumu, we know from the record of the previous users lives that One for All was difficult for the previous users to carry and live for very long—the longest lived being the 4th user who died of old age at 40, not an old age. The only users who were not as impacted in this way were Toshinori and Izuku who were Quirkless.

It’s clear that Quirks—particularly multiple Quirks—can negatively impact the wrong body, and it is more than physical. It’s mental and it’s in a way spiritual.

Quirks carry the spirit of the person, their dreams, and their will. That piece lives on and persists.

We know because of One for All that the will and spirit of the previous OfA users lives on with thoughts and wills of their own. We have seen the vestiges of not only the OfA users, but also the ghostly silhouettes of the Quirks within All for One and the parasitic All for One that is within and attached to Shigaraki. We have seen what happens when Shigaraki-AfO takes in a Quirk whose will challenges his own—Star’s Quirk revolted inside his mindscape and destroyed some of the Quirks within. We have seen AfO attack the Quirks’ ghostly vestiges that tried to stop him when he was fighting Jirou, Tokoyami, Dark Shadow, and Hawks.

All for One even elaborated on his own experiences with the consciousnesses of those Quirks he stole and explained how OfA carried the consciousnesses of the users forward.

With that understanding, it isn’t hard to see how a Quirk like All for One could influence or match All for One’s desires and actions. He is driven to take Quirks. And given that AfO himself admits to be haunted by the consciousness from other people who can rebel against him, it makes sense that he has had to practice some kind of focus to keep himself from experiencing the drawbacks of having Quirks that rebel within him.

A mental focus, current All for One lacks.

Whereas All for One wrote himself out of the story chapters ago…

The All for One who played the long game gave himself one last tool to rewind his body to its prime, but it was one and done. One use, no going back. Yes, in using this card, he was able to grow more powerful with the knowledge he would disappear. No, I don’t believe he used it with a full understanding of what that would do to his mind.

In using this last ditch card, he wrote himself out of the story.

All for One is as self-serving as he always has been, but now he is being rash. He’s looking to reunite with Shigaraki-AfO to become one again before he really does disappear. As he regresses and de-ages, he is not in full rational control of his desires. He takes Quirks without needing to, he isn’t holding the Quirks he uses back, and when faced with Toshinori Yagi, he cannot help but stop regardless of his time limit.

Aoimikans and I have theorized for some time that AfO could be overwhelmed by Quirks he takes into himself. This could, if we are correct about a number of predictions, be a key factor in the coming fight.

What would happen if he is stalled, short on time, not in control of his desires and acts irrationally, and his fight with Toshinori doesn’t go as well as he wants?

What would happen if a crowd of civilians acted with heroic impulse to help Toshinori? And what would happen if all those people shared a singular idea, a singular focus of will, to help save Toshinori and defeat All for One?

What would happen if All for One acted on an uncontrolled impulse and decided to take and take and take those Quirks from people who come to help Toshinori?

What would happen if his focus slips and the rebelling spirits of Quirks he stole—including Hawks’ spirit—fight back from within?

What happens when Toshinori proves a Quirkless person can be a hero? Could someone, or many people, become heroes by becoming Quirkless?

Could the man who takes everything for himself be defeated by Toshinori, the man who gave all of himself for the world, and all those who may give up a piece of themselves to help Toshinori?

Whereas I stop being so long winded and summarize…

This is the final fight between Toshinori and All for One. Toshinori is at the greatest height of his post-Kamino character arc—Quirkless, heroic, confident, and determined. All for One may be at his physical best, but he is at his mental weakest and doesn’t have long before his own actions rewind him out of existence. Toshinori only has to stall, and he will be successful in that endeavor—though may be injured in the process. Toshinori will possibly get some help from Stain since he is nearby and wants to die by All Might’s hands anyway, might have to settle for dying for him.

Toshinori will live because his character arc bends in that direction, no other outcome makes sense or would be a satisfactory ending. His death wouldn’t help Izuku, wouldn’t add to the story, and so cannot happen.

The pairs for the last big fights are coming together. The Todoroki family vs Dabi/Touya. Toshinori Yagi vs All for One. Izuku and Bakugou vs Shigaraki. And probably back to Toga and Uraraka at some point as well as Kurogiri, Mic, and Aizawa.

All for One’s current mental state puts him in an internal dilemma. He is not in full rational control of himself and therefore is ripe for rebellion from within! All the vestiges of Quirks stolen—past and present—could very well help to confuse/stall him during the fight with Toshinori. As they already have in his fight with Jirou, Tokoyami, and Hawks.

Citizens could also come to Toshinori’s aid and add their will to his, which could very well help alter Toshinori’s “terrible death” fate. Also, they could possibly become Quirkless if AfO lets his dark urges take control and takes their Quirks (which would only make his mental situation worse), and be heroes in that moment with Toshinori.

All for One will fall at Kamino. He will rewind and rewind…

We aren’t sure what happens to AfO if he reaches a child-like age. Will he be the same person, only less controlled? Or will we see a sad, childish side of All for One that just wants his brother back? If so, would Toshinori sit with this lost child until the end? Horikoshi has a tendency to show the child within the characters so far, it isn’t impossible AfO will get the same treatment.

Either way, everything supports the case for Toshinori Yagi living. We’ll see what comes next.

Thanks for reading! :3

#MHA386 #MHA386Spoilers #Toshinori Yagi #All Might #MHA #BNHA #Toshinori LIVES #The Case for Toshinori Yagi Living #All for One #AfO #One for All #OfA #Izuku Midoriya #Naomasa Tsukauchi #WE WORKED ON THIS ALL WEEKEND #FORMATTING THIS WAS A PAIN #Toshinoumu #For our readers

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alexlovesfanfics · 3 months

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Things I would change about HOO if I had the chance

Disclaimer, I am not suggesting that I am better than Rick Riordan, BC while I do have issues with certain actions of his, what he has created is extremely impressive and without a doubt amazing. I am not suggesting that his books need to be burned and that they're terrible, but it’s important to note that no book is flawless and every book can have criticism levied against it but that should not necessarily affect your enjoyment of a piece of media.

With that out of the way, let’s get into it

The debate on whether or not to save Nico is my least favourite part of the entire Riordanverse. I despise it with every fibre of my being. Look I get why they were arguing against saving him, and I do think there's value in the scene and it shouldn't be removed, but Percy should not have accepted it. Percy and Nico may have had problems (points to Nico’s internalised homophobia + probably religious guilt, the misplaced blame of Bianca’s death, the betrayal of Percy to Hades, and probably many more examples) but Percy’s fatal flaw is loyalty. He literally took on the great prophecy for Nico. He could have asked his dad to idk. Turn him into a dolphin until Nico’s 16th birthday or something. But he didn't. Also, Nico was the one to get him the Achilles Curse which probably saved his life countless times, and Percy should at the very least want to return the favour.

Speaking of the Achilles Curse, how did they get rid of it? Are we forgetting that Percy can swim without getting wet? (Also it seemed a bit contrived to me). And before you go arguing that it lowered stakes, no it didn't! There’s a great fanfic I once read that showed what it would be like if Percy kept the Achilles curse, while also delving more into the curse aspects of it! In the end, you could clearly see why he wanted it gone! It could have been an extremely interesting plot point!

I made a post about it before but the Percy Jason rivalry was contrived. It should have been an Annabeth and Jason rivalry while Percy and Piper were the friends. Like. Both Annabeth and Jason were used to being the leaders, and while Annabeth can give up control, she doesn't usually do so. They’re both also the competitive ones so they would definitely clash a lot more than the usually laid back Percy. Honestly Percy and Piper would both be really good friends.

The Jason and Annabeth rivalry would probably be exacerbated if Jason acted like he had been raised by y'know. Wolves. To me personally it never really came across that he had been with Lupa since he was 2. He should have been more. Wild ig? Like in Caffeinated Flummiddle’s ‘Decendents of Olympus’ (I butchered their name, I’m sorry) he literally ripped out someone's throat! That’s more wolf like behaviour! And while I don't want him to be all Alpha and stuff, I would like more wolf characteristics please. Maybe a preference for raw meat, lending to the irony of him dating a vegetarian

Speaking of the vegetarian in question, I hate how they handled Drew. Traumatised girl who fought in a war, lost her older sister, and had become cabin counsellor gets humiliated by a new sister who forcefully takes her place. So once again, I’m going to take inspiration from Caffeinated Flummiddle’s work and make her aroace, and also less cruel. She’s definitely no sweetheart but she’s more sympathetic. I mean, look at it from her perspective. After all the aforementioned stuff happens to her, Percy Jackson, one of the strongest demigods and well beloved figures goes missing, the gods shut down Olympus, and suddenly there’s info on where you can find Percy after months of searching, but it’s fruitless and instead of Percy, you get 3 random people, one of whom is your sister, and is extremely mean towards Aphrodite kids, treating them as if all they care about is physical appearances (side note: I hate the interpretation of the Aphrodite cabin. Literally during Vital, they were running around offering to make ppl look good, when it would have made more sense for them to be gearing up to fight to protect their home and the people they love. After all, there’s a reason love and war are so often interlinked. I personally would have leaned more into this protector aspect. Aphrodite kids fight for love, and to protect). So Drew in my version would have rightly wary and pissed, but would bind with Piper for the course of her stay at camp, coming to see her as a sister and encouraging her to lean into her femininity. But no counsellor Piper! Idk why Rick loves to make all of his characters either Counsellors or Praetors. Out of the 7, the only non-cabin counsellors were Hazel and Frank, who were both Praetors

Leo would stay single and learn to love himself, and that his value is not dependent on his relationship status. I would prefer Hazel/Frank/Leo like in this very specific fanfic but Single Leo works better thematically. No Calypso plotline. The gods freed her and that’s that.

Actually no that’s not that. Calypso could join the hunters like her late sister. After all, after centuries of being forced to fall in love, she's probably done with it.

Idk if Reyna should join them or instead just travel around the world and chill. After all, not every single female character needs to join the hunters.

Small tweaks to Percabeth. Check my previous post for more details. Aka no judo flip scene, and more supportive Annabeth

No evil Nyx. She’s a primordial, she has better things to do than bear with demigods. This isn't a big issue but I’m not a fan of it.

ACTUALLY ADDRESS THE POISON SCENE MY GOD. CW for Suicidal behaviour but Percy was willing to let himself die! And Jason just went ‘Yeah I get it’ instead of giving an appropriate reaction!

Also idk if I'm hallucinating but I could have sworn that Annabeth once said that she got underestimated for being blonde. That was the stupidest thing ever. I'm not blonde but I can assure you, ppl don't get discriminated against bc they're blond. I feel like it would have worked better if the focus was pivoted from 'being seen as dumb BC she's blond' to being seen as dumb BC she's a girl'

Also idk if I'm qualified to talk about this but Rick really just gave us body positivity (Frank not being conventionally fit), before magically taking it away. Like maybe if he got there through exercise it wouldn't be quite as bad (though it's important to remember that not all plus sized people can exercise and get super thin, and it depends on a number of factors like your genetics and any possible medication) but just magically he got stereotypically fit, which annoys me to end BC of personal reasons

Definitely not qualified to talk about this but I remember there was a whole issue with a part of the way Rick handled Piper's Cherokee identity. I can't remember but I believe it was BC she wore eagle feathers in her hair which is only done by Cherokee chiefs? If anybody is well educated on this issue, pls feel free to educate me.

More emphasis on smart Percy. We all seem to have forgotten the diet coke scene and that is a crime

More Grover??? He went from being one of the main characters to being nowhere around

There's probably more but I can't remember right now. Might make a part 2

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #nico di angelo #heros of olympus #jason grace #percy jackson and the heroes of olympus #piper mclean #leo valdez #hazel levesque #frank zhang #reyna avila ramirez arellano #grover underwood #heros of olympus critical #rick riordan critical #tw Suicidal behaviour #suicide #lmk of i need to add more tags #shut up alex

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cattailbouquet · 3 months

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TWF 4 Thoughts + Theories

TW: Suicide mention

This is quite long. I had a lot of thoughts.

I loved it! A huge part of what drew me to TWF in the first place was the bigger focus on the human characters, something that stuff like FNAF didn't have as much of at the time. And episode four DELIVERS. Imo, the best horror stories make you care about the victims and/or delight in the villain's terrible antics, and TWF does both super well.

Spoilers Below:

We finally met Charles! Him and Susan are fun to listen to.

Banny continues to be a ladyfailure and smashes into a table.

So apparently the facial recognition has always had an issue w/ Sophie? Huh.

The employee’s seeming disinterest in what's going on is a bit concerning? "I don't want anything to do with it." Charles I've got bad news.

Susan's death/undeath had been depicted several times already, which doesn't take away from what we see here. The Snap? The Breathing?? Those vile squelching noises??? The rabbit may be starving but I’m put off the next several meals.

"bon" was just as spooky as I'd hoped. I, among others, was under the impression that he was a representation of Bon's facial recognition system or A.I., but that doesn't seem to be the case, since we see him approach the robot? You horrible ghost man what is your deal. The happy little hand clasp Bon did after brutally murdering a woman was morbid enough to be hilarious. The scene of him talking to Susan in Wonderland was so eerie and sad.

Felix becomes a bigger slimeball by the second. He's so terrible in such a real way. The fact that he dug a grave for himself and then proceeded to back away from the cliff sums him up perfectly. He's too scared to take that kind of action on his own, but he'll dig a hole and wait to drop dead. Even in this, he will always choose inaction. Everything he does is to try to avoid consequences. He barely spares a second thought for the two little kids who loved him enough to call him "Uncle."

Edd and Molly are super cool. I was kind of expecting them to just hang around being scary and/or sad, but it looks like these two are going to be major players here. Bunnyfarm makes it seem like they're on board w/ the idea of Sophie joining them, but that might've been a misdirection. E+M might be opposed to the idea of becoming "beautiful"? Hydrogen bon vs. coughing babies.

Speculation/Ideas:

Does "bon" purposefully mangle the bodies in an attempt to push them into accepting becoming “beautiful”? Or is it a flaw in the Bon animatronic that “bon” is exploiting? Or both? Their faces don’t fit what the system says, so “bon” spurs the robot into trying to make them fit.

Edd seems weirdly ok with Susan wandering around the purgatory and needs to be nudged into action by Molly. I could see that causing problems later.

I had a feeling that Bon wasn’t Just Possessed By Jack. If it were that simple, Bunnyfarm would’ve been the perfect time to reveal it. If Jack is dead and connected to Bon, then he’s not the one at the wheel. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t dead at all. I have no clue why he would up and leave his family, though.

I could see E+M trying to stall “bon” by playing keep-away with the other victim’s souls, at least initially? They probably wouldn’t be successful with this until later down the line with Brian? Maybe? He’s the only victim who isn’t confirmed to be in an animatronic, nor does he talk about being “beautiful” like the others. We haven’t heard from him since episode one so this could easily change.

What oh what is that under the tarp? The little bedsheet ghost looking thing. A new friend, I hope.

All in all, a beautiful episode. Worth the wait! Can’t wait for 5+6!

#TWF4 #The Walten Files #twf spoilers #TW suicide mention #tw death #The Walten Files Review #twf

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tsarinatorment · 10 months

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Michael Yew's Fatal Flaw

This meta is the fault of @apollosgiftofprophecy who made the questionable decision of asking about Michael's fatal flaw in my vicinity the other day.

People who have been following me for a while may recall I once answered an ask about Apollo kid fatal flaws, and mentioned Michael there. Please ignore what I said back then because I'd barely even started picking him apart to see what made him tick, and my conclusions there have since been deemed rather surface-level!

The first question, of course, is what is a fatal flaw? What makes it different from a regular character flaw? The clue's in the name, I think - fatal flaw is one that's most likely to one day result in the hero's death, as Annabeth also suggests in Sea of Monsters:

“I don’t know, Percy, but every hero has one. If you don’t find it and learn to control it … well, they don’t call it ‘fatal’ for nothing.”

Athena gives us a little more to go on in The Titan's Curse:

"In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos's traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. In a hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous." I balled my fists. "That's not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends—" "The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom… that is very hard indeed."

Of course, she's talking specifically to Percy about his flaw here, but there are certainly broader points to be inferred from this. When you break down all her warnings, it boils down near enough to "your fatal flaw is one you either cannot fight, or do not want to fight, because you think it is right/justified", which is interesting. It's a flaw that you don't, necessarily, recognise as a flaw, which makes it difficult to do anything about because how can something that's right be wrong?

As Athena says, the most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation - flaws that, in most situations, actually help, or are perceived to do so. These are the flaws most likely to kill the hero - and maybe others, as well.

With that out of the way, let's start picking apart Michael properly.

Generally, I see anger, pride or stubbornness put forwards as suggestions for his fatal flaw, so I'll look at each of those and see how well they actually fit. On top of that, I'm also going to explore two other contenders that I've come to notice from the hundreds of times I've re-read his scenes - protectiveness, and love.

First up, let's talk about Anger.

Anger is the one that seems to spring to mind most readily for some people (myself included), and it's hardly surprising given his introductory scene:

She was in the midst of yelling at Michael Yew, the new head counselor for Apollo, which looked kind of funny since Clarisse was a foot taller. Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in battle last summer. Michael stood four feet six, with another two feet of attitude. He reminded me of a ferret, with a pointy nose and scrunched-up features—either because he scowled so much or because he spent too much time looking down the shaft of an arrow. "It's our loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!" [...] I couldn't believe Clarisse and Michael standing over her, arguing about something as stupid as loot, when she'd just lost Beckendorf. "STOP IT!" I yelled. "What are you guys doing?" Clarisse glowered at me. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk." "Oh, that's perfect, coming from you," Michael said.

(As an aside, I love Michael's "kiss my quiver" line because hip quivers are very much a thing and if you think of his quiver as on his hip instead of his back... he's basically saying "kiss my ass" but in a kid-book-friendly way)

Michael's introduction is full of aggression - he's standing on tiptoes, getting "in Clarisse's face", and yelling at her. To make matters worse, it's in front of a grieving Silena which makes him (and Clarisse, but we've already had four books on how much Clarisse can be a bitch in Percy's opinion) look incredibly callous and uncaring. Percy's rather unflattering description about "two feet of attitude" and "because he scowled so much" adds to the overall impression that Michael's a right piece of work as well. Thanks, Percy.

It's a good introduction, though. This is memorable, as far as character introductions go (far more memorable than the first time we're introduced to Beckendorf, or Silena, etc.), and it's full of personality - personality that says Michael is not afraid to throw hands and will do it anywhere, anytime. It directly opposes him with Clarisse, but in such a way that makes them seem like similar characters, and we know anger/rage is one of Clarisse's traits as well.

This scene isn't a one-off, either. We get the full feud against the Ares cabin, which Michael spearheads:

We ducked as Michael Yew's chariot dive-bombed an Ares camper. The Ares camper tried to stab him and cuss him out in rhyming couplets. He was pretty creative about rhyming those cuss words. "We're fighting for our lives," I said, "and they're bickering about some stupid chariot." "They'll get over it," Annabeth said. "Clarisse will come to her senses."

The fact that it's Clarisse, not Michael, that Annabeth thinks is going to stand down also says a lot about how she sees the pair of them, and she must know Michael reasonably well, so this adds another note to the impression that Michael can be even more unreasonable than Clarisse (although it should also be noted that in this feud Michael is the one in the right, and Chiron has said as much to the campers, or at least the head counsellors - and of course from a narrative point of view, Clarisse is a far more familiar character for readers).

Michael himself also admits later on that he lost his temper with Clarisse again off-screen:

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

Those names certainly weren't ones for polite company - or a children's book. I think we can confidently say that Michael certainly has a temper, much like his father is legendary for.

But is it a fatal flaw? Well, sadly we have a scene that's implied to be Michael's death scene (I say implied because we never saw a body and a lot of things don't quite add up, so I prefer to think of him as not-dead, but for the purposes of this meta we'll consider it his death scene), so let's go look at that.

He struck the bridge with the butt of his scythe, and a wave of pure force blasted me backward. Cars went careening. Demigods—even Luke's own men—were blown off the edge of the bridge. Suspension cords whipped around, and I skidded halfway back to Manhattan. I got unsteadily to my feet. The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge, except for Michael Yew, who was perched on one of the suspension cables a few yards away from me, His last arrow was notched in his bow.

Michael's final stand happens immediately after several demigods - including his own siblings - are just blown clean off the bridge by Kronos. Is it a decision spurred by anger after things going wrong after they were finally going right? It would make sense.

However, there is one big issue with anger as his fatal flaw. Obviously, Michael does have this temper, and it does get out of hand, but we only ever see it get out of hand in the (relative) safety of camp. The Michael we see in Manhattan actually seems very calm and in control the entire time. He's observant and quick-witted, and is the only head counsellor to spot (or at least verbalise) a potential flaws in Percy and Annabeth's plan.

"He's right," Annabeth said. "The gods of the wind should keep Kronos's forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the entrances to the island." "They have boats," Michael Yew pointed out. An electric tingle went down my back. Suddenly I understood Athena's advice: Remember the rivers. "I'll take care of the boats," I said. Michael frowned. "How?" "Just leave it to me," I said.

Of course, Percy being the son of Poseidon can plug that massive gap, but it took Michael asking the question for him to make the important connection that he needed to.

This calmness continues into the battle itself, as well.

Michael Yew ran up to us. He was definitely the shortest commando I'd ever seen. He had a bandaged cut on his arm. His ferrety face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like he was having a great time. "Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?" "For now, we're it," I said. "Then we're dead," he said. [...] "We have to fall back," Michael said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge." "No," I said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn." Michael laughed. "How do you plan to do that?" I drew my sword. "Percy," Annabeth said, "let me come with you." "Too dangerous," I said. "Besides, I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can." Michael snorted. "Thanks a lot."

No temper tantrums, no yelling like he did with Clarisse earlier - he's matter of fact when he realises they don't really have reinforcements (not knowing, of course, about Percy's little Styx bath), he doesn't argue with Percy when Percy starts taking command. He continues to say his piece and get his point across, but at no point do we ever get the sense that Michael is anything other than perfectly in control at any point during the battle - which is not what you would expect from a rage-based fatal flaw.

For example, contrast Michael's scenes with Clarisse later in the battle:

The real Clarisse looked up at the drakon, her face filled with absolute hate. I'd seen a look that intense only once before. Her father, Ares, had worn the same expression when I'd fought him in single combat. "YOU WANT DEATH?" Clarisse screamed at the drakon. "WELL, COME ON!" She grabbed her spear from the fallen girl. With no armor or shield, she charged the drakon.

and

"I AM CLARISSE, DRAKON-SLAYER!" she yelled. "I will kill you ALL! Where is Kronos? Bring him out! Is he a coward?" "Clarisse!" I yelled. "Stop it. Withdraw!" "What's the matter, Titan lord?" she yelled. "BRING IT ON!" There was no answer from the enemy. Slowly, they began to fall back behind a dracaenae shield wall, while Clarisse drove in circles around Fifth Avenue, daring anyone to cross her path. The two- hundred-foot-long drakon carcass made a hollow scraping noise against the pavement, like a thousand knives. Meanwhile, we tended our wounded, bringing them inside the lobby. Long after the enemy had retreated from sight, Clarisse kept riding up and down the avenue with her horrible trophy, demanding that Kronos meet her battle.

Calm and collected whomst? Not to say that Clarisse's temper isn't understandable here, but this fits much more in line with Athena's description of a fatal flaw - one that seems justified, right, even (and later on, Clarisse gets frozen by a Hyperborean Giant, so this does come back to bite her!), as opposed to the way Michael seems to stay in control of his temper even when his siblings are being killed around him.

With all that in mind, while I willa gree that anger is a flaw of Michael's, it certainly doesn't seem to check the boxes to be a fatal flaw, so let's move onto the next one: Pride.

Pride has its roots in the same parts of the narration as anger, so this section is going to be rather shorter because I don't need to rehash all the quotes again. The main thing that stands out on the pride side of the feud, specifically, is that it's completely needless for Michael to keep agitating Clarisse and the Ares cabin.

Clarisse turned to Chiron. "You're in charge, right? Does my cabin get what we want or not?" Chiron shuffled his hooves. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo's cabin has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters—" [...] "I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counselors? Are any of you going to side with me?" Nobody was smiling now. None of them met Clarisse's eyes.

Chiron's put his hooves down on the matter - the Apollo cabin has the best claim to the chariot, Clarisse is the aggressor here. The other head counsellors all agree with that, too. Michael could, and given the upcoming war, should, ignore her and put his and his siblings' focus towards the war and not an argument he's already won.

But he doesn't. His chariot is attacking the campers - the Apollo kids aren't just defending themselves from the upset Ares kids, they're on the offensive themselves, arguably more so than the Ares campers.

As we crossed the commons area, a fight broke out between the Ares and Apollo cabins. Some Apollo campers armed with firebombs flew over the Ares cabin in a chariot pulled by two pegasi. I'd never seen the chariot before, but it looked like a pretty sweet ride. Soon, the roof of the Ares cabin was burning, and naiads from the canoe lake rushed over to blow water on it. Then the Ares campers called down a curse, and all the Apollo kids' arrows turned to rubber. The Apollo kids kept shooting at the Ares kids, but the arrows bounced off. Two archers ran by, chased by an angry Ares kid who was yelling in poetry: "Curse me, eh? I'll make you pay! / I don't want to rhyme all day!"

This feels a lot like he's trying to validate that yes, the chariot really is his cabin's, and the fact that Clarisse keeps insisting otherwise despite every non-Ares member of the camp being on Michael's side is insulting/undermining the Apollo cabin's claim.

It also sounds like he made sure to have the final word against Clarisse when she still refused to come and fight, which is a very prideful action.

"Nah," Michael said. "Left it at camp. I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. We'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing." "Least you tried," I said. Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

The thing is, though, that we hit a snag with the pride theory at this point for a similar reason to the anger one - as soon as there's something bigger and more immediate to focus on, Michael sets it aside.

He gives up the chariot they were fighting over - the chariot that, rightfully, is the Apollo cabin's - for no reason other than because he knew that they needed the Ares cabin to come and fight and it was the only thing he could think of that he could do to try and change Clarisse's mind - made even more stark when compared with Michael's original, in-camp, reaction to Clarisse's declaration.

Clarisse threw her knife on the Ping-Pong table. "All of you can fight this war without Ares. Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying." The counselors were all too stunned to say anything as Clarisse stormed out of the room. Finally Michael Yew said, "Good riddance."

It's true that Michael does get upset when Clarisse ignores his sacrifice of the chariot and still refuses to fight, but I think that's understandable given the situation (and he is, still, a teenage boy with a temper). It doesn't change the fact that he does it, however, nor the fact that Michael doesn't rescind the sacrifice and bring the chariot with him regardless, despite its potential stragetic uses in the war. Pride certainly doesn't seem to have much if any weight in his final stand, either, so I'd say that like anger, this doesn't actually fit as his fatal flaw, even if it might be somewhat of a personal trait/flaw.

At this point, it seems a little bit like a moot point to poke at Stubbornness because most of the counter-arguments for anger and pride also address this, but I'll quickly go over it anyway because this is the first one that properly shows itself all the way through Michael's appearances.

I've already mentioned the way he doesn't back down in the chariot feud, which is pride, yes, but also stubbornness - he won't leave it alone, won't let Clarisse stake her own claim on it, keeps fighting past the point of necessity over it.

But then we have his final scene, where he stands his ground. There's no indication that Michael even tried to run when the bridge crumbled.

I got unsteadily to my feet. The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge, except for Michael Yew, who was perched on one of the suspension cables a few yards away from me, His last arrow was notched in his bow. "Michael, go!" I screamed. "Percy, the bridge!" he called. "It's already weak!" At first I didn't understand. Then I looked down and saw fissures in the pavement. Patches of the road were half melted from Greek fire. The bridge had taken a beating from Kronos's blast and the exploding arrows. "Break it!" Michael yelled. "Use your powers!" [...] I turned to thank Michael Yew, but the words died in my throat. Twenty feet away, a bow lay in the street. Its owner was nowhere to be seen. "No!" I searched the wreckage on my side of the bridge. I stared down at the river. Nothing.

Michael completely ignores Percy telling him to run, tells him to break the bridge that he's currently on and clearly has no intentions of leaving, not with that notched arrow that he then seems to have fired, given that there's no arrow later on. This seems the closest we've got so far to a flaw that goes beyond a simple character flaw and into the fatal category.

Except.

He's a stubborn character, but just like with anger, like with pride, Michael keeps putting it aside when it might otherwise cause issues during the battle - he questions Percy's plans more than once, but despite that, he cedes command to Percy on Williamsburg Bridge, follows his orders instead of continuing with his own strategies, and generally shows that he's exactly the sort of person you want by your side/at your back when you're fighting. Michael's flexible and prepared to change and adapt as the situation does - which is pretty much the opposite of stubbornness, so while at first glance it seemed like a strong candidate it's once again contradicted by the scenes on Williamsburg Bridge.

So, that's the three usual suspects that arise from the chariot feud all falling apart once we rearch the battlefield. Michael is certainly passionate about the fight - more than once, Percy implies that he seems to actually be having a good time on the battlefield and there's no other explanation other than eagerness for this moment:

I sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Snake women exploded. Hellhounds melted to shadow. I slashed and stabbed and whirled, and I might have even laughed once or twice—a crazy laugh that scared me as much as it did my enemies. I was aware of the Apollo campers behind me shooting arrows, disrupting every attempt by the enemy to rally. Finally, the monsters turned and fled—about twenty left alive out of two hundred. I followed with the Apollo campers at my heels. "Yes!" yelled Michael Yew. "That's what I'm talking about!"

But despite all of this, that passion doesn't seem to be based in anger, pride, or stubbornness, despite those being the first things people seem to think of when they think about Michael - and that's why I have two more options added to the list to explore.

Moving on, then, I'll start with Protectiveness.

So, just now I said that stubbornness is what caused Michael's final moments, but is it really? It was certainly part of it, but also - as I mentioned earlier, when talking about anger, Michael's final stand is immediately after some of his siblings have been thrown off the bridge - having already seen at least one other sibling killed earlier:

Hellhounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. Most were destroyed with arrows, but one got hold of an Apollo camper and dragged him away. I didn't see what happened to him next. I didn't want to know.

Siblings, of course, that as their head counsellor he is the one in charge of and responsible for - it's likely that he's the oldest in the cabin as well (although not guaranteed), and that these are all his younger siblings that are getting killed/seriously injured/status unknown. We're told that the "remaining" Apollo campers are running for the end of the bridge and retreating as far as possible - all of them except for Michael, who was with them to start with but stopped and turned to face the enemy.

Michael and his archers tried to retreat, but Annabeth stayed right beside me, fighting with her knife and mirrored shield as we slowly backed up the bridge.

Followed by

The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge, except for Michael Yew, who was perched on one of the suspension cables a few yards away from me. His last arrow was notched in his bow.

This is the point when Michael makes the decision that the bridge has to be destroyed, figures out how to destroy it, and basically orders Percy to do it. I've got a whole other argument about how Michael is the reason Olympus didn't fall that first night of the siege, but at this point I think it's blatantly obvious that the only thing Michael is thinking about is protecting his siblings. Why else would he put himself (tiny archer who should never, ever, be on the front lines - which is hinted at by the fact he still seeks out as high a ground as he can get aka the cables) as the rear guard, the barrier between an entire army and his fleeing siblings?

He's protecting his siblings - he's guarding their backs as they flee to safety and he's finding a way to stop them from being pursued, even if it kills him in the process. It's clearly the right decision to him, the only decision he thinks he can take - and it's textbook fatal flaw.

But before I settle on that, there's one more I want to talk about, which is really an extension of protectiveness, and that's Love.

I'll admit that love always feels like a bit of a cheat to me as a fatal flaw - it's a bit of a catch-all, in that if you argue hard enough you can pull back almost any character to love in some way (which is why Aphrodite is such an underrated yet powerful goddess), and it's nowhere near as obvious for Michael as it is for Apollo and Nico (yes I know what Bianca said, but consider: she didn't know what she was talking about. Nico's fatal flaw is a whole other meta, though), but I think it fills in a few gaps that protectiveness leaves a little open.

There's something that gets overlooked a lot when Michael gets discussed, especially the chariot feud, despite the fact that Percy outright states it.

Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in battle last summer.

No sugar-coating, no forgetting about a background character that got all of two pre-death appearances - Lee was killed in battle, and Michael was the one that took over the cabin from him.

We never get any canon information on Michael and Lee's relationship, but obviously they knew each other well, given that Michael's the next most senior kid - and isn't that the kicker. Because this line tells us one very important thing: Michael had to step into his big brother's suddenly-vacated shoes in the immediate aftermath of a battle, with no time to grieve.

We even have a comparison to make right in that same scene:

Even Jake Mason, the hastily appointed new counselor from Hephaestus, managed a faint smile.

Jake's also been shoved into the same role, a role we later find out he never wanted and never recovered from - big brother's dead, your turn to step up and lead the cabin in war. Most of the counsellors are laughing but all Jake can do is a faint smile. He's not okay, and you wouldn't expect him to be - and in The Lost Hero he's even more blatant about the fact that he's not okay (same as Will, in fact) - so, clearly, Michael is not okay, either.

The chariot feud is a whole mess of emotions - anger, pride and stubbornness are ones I've already covered - but I never see anyone talk about grief, and how Michael's been forced to lead a cabin in the wake of the death of his older sibling (the first wartime promotion, really - the Stolls situation isn't quite the same), and how he has to be at least somewhat off-balance, because grief is a tricky little thing and there's no way it hasn't got its nasty little claws in Michael, and that only a few scant months - a year at most - after Lee's death, it's still very, very raw.

And there's a strong correlation between love and grief. "What is grief but love perservering?" "Grief is the price we pay for love" - there's a neverending list of sayings about grief and love.

Then there's the bridge. There's Michael putting Austin and Kayla right at the back, setting traps but a long way back from the front line. There's the way he knew that without the Ares cabin they weren't going to win so he surrendered the chariot in the hopes of getting the front line fighters to join in - the ones that will stand between the archers and the enemy, between his siblings and the enemy. There's, again, the way he stood his ground as a barrier between Kronos and his army and his siblings, even though if Percy hadn't destroyed the bridge he would've been overrun and killed (and he was in such a precarious position that breaking the bridge... well, we know what happened or do we).

But also there's the fact that Michael was fighting at all. The fact that Michael wanted to fight - when Percy gives him the opportunity to take the fight to Kronos, to fight back rather than just numbly defending the bridge/Manhattan/Olympus, Michael seizes it.

His ferrety face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like he was having a great time.

"That was my last sonic arrow," Michael said. "A gift from your dad?" I asked. "God of music?" Michael grinned wickedly.

I followed with the Apollo campers at my heels. "Yes!" yelled Michael Yew. "That's what I'm talking about!"

He's right there on the front line, it's so obvious that he's there because he wants to be, because he believes in their cause. Because he loves Apollo.

It's never said in so many words (although we know Apollo has interacted with Michael because he's given him those sonic arrows), but it's there in Michael's actions, in how he never falters in the pro-god side of the war despite losing sibling after sibling after sibling to it - Michael has to love Apollo for anything else to make sense.

It's his siblings he sacrifices himself for, but it's his father he chose to fight for. And it's both that he died for.

If that's not a fatal flaw in action, what is?

#michael yew #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo meta #tsari analyses things #i have so many feelings about Michael okay #he didn't deserve to die #and i sincerely hope he didn't

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