#and while understanding the greater context

[askshivanulegacy]

Yeah, seriously.

The thing that I've never understood is how no one on either side who talks about America seems capable of understanding what America IS.

The people who glorify it don't understand it. The people who whine and cry and hate on it don't understand it.

America is an idea. It's the idea of a place where you can live without persecution. It's the idea of America that we should be working toward. That's literally why we exist.

And like every other country ever on the planet, it has a bloody and violent past. And the past has great and inspiring stories on every side. And every figure on every side was a real human being with flaws and contradictions. They were good and they were bad, and they had complex reasons for doing things. History is all of it. History is fascinating. It's great stories! It's Remember the Alamo and all the great things the founding fathers did. And it's also that they fought for the wrong thing, and they owned slaves and never freed them.

You all love flawed characters and tragic stories and watching trainwrecks happen in your media. We all just watched terrible person, murderer, and war criminal Jinx in Arcane and people cheered for her. It was a great story! And also she was a selfish little bastard who murdered people for no reason and other characters rightfully wanted her dead. Well, that's what history is.

We all have the capacity to enjoy stories - and history as stories - and also to analyze the flaws and context and situations behind them. You can find the Alamo an inspiring moment in time because any life and death struggle can be. And you can also criticize it. Both can be true because people are capable of holding opposing concepts in their minds at the same time.

History isn't either/or, it's all of the above is true. And it's water under the bridge.

I think if more people understood that, they'd be able to celebrate historic moments without taking things personally when people decide they don't want to repeat that moment. And they'd also be able to recognize that you can't condemn for history either - it's over and now you take what you have and move it forward.

What I struggle with, as a public historian and a US American leftist, is how right wing US Americans can say they love history and call themselves “history buffs,” but get so righteously indignant when it is suggested that we can learn from history, and that it is normal and healthy to discuss the flaws and dark sides of various historical figures.

It’s like a wall which I, speaking as a public historian, wish I knew how to dismantle. Like when someone’s all REMEMBER THE ALAMO, I think the natural response is something along the lines of “certainly, but it’s important remember that one of the things the revolutionaries were fighting for was the freedom to continue their enslavement of other human beings.”

For me, that’s not a political statement. It’s a commitment to view historical events and figures for what they were in all their good and their bad and their complexity. But you say that to someone with right wing US American politics, and it’s like you spat on their mother and pooped on the flag.

I do make political posts here as an angry, frustrated progressive citizen of the USA who is also a historian. But right now, I’m posting as a historian, who happens to be a left wing US American. I don’t want to talk shit, I want to figure out how to fix it.

But then, knowing what I do of MAGA Americans, I don’t think there is a fixing it? Unambiguously valorizing the American past in order to maintain the illusion that this country was at some point Great is kind of their whole Thing.

Idk. Just some stray thoughts.

[astra-ravana]

Understanding The Left-Hand Path

The Left-Hand Path (LHP) in witchcraft and the broader occult tradition refers to a set of spiritual practices, philosophies, and paths that emphasize personal empowerment, self-deification, and the pursuit of individual freedom. The Left-Hand Path is often contrasted with the Right-Hand Path (RHP), which typically focuses on spiritual alignment with external moral or divine laws. Here are some key aspects of the Left-Hand Path in witchcraft:

• Self-empowerment: LHP practitioners typically focus on achieving personal power and mastery, often rejecting traditional religious or societal constraints. This includes embracing one's own desires, will, and inner strength.

• Individualism and Autonomy: The LHP emphasizes personal autonomy, with practitioners believing that they are their own authority and can shape their fate through willpower and self-determination.

• Rejection of Traditional Morality: LHP practitioners may reject conventional moral standards, particularly those imposed by mainstream religions like Christianity. They believe in creating their own ethical framework based on personal growth and enlightenment rather than obedience to external laws.

• Occult Knowledge and Rituals: The Left-Hand Path often involves the use of occult rituals, symbols, and magick to tap into unseen forces or realms. These practices might include working with deities or spirits that are considered "dark" or "unconventional" within mainstream religious contexts.

• Deification and Transcendence: A central aspect of the Left-Hand Path is the idea of self-deification—becoming one’s own god or embracing the divine within. This process often involves transcending the limitations of the material world and the ego.

• Exploration of Taboo or Forbidden Knowledge: LHP practitioners are often drawn to exploring areas considered taboo or forbidden by mainstream religions, such as the study of death, the afterlife, or working with spirits traditionally seen as "evil" or "chaotic."

• Darkness and Shadow Work: The LHP is sometimes associated with the "dark" side of spirituality, including shadow work, which involves confronting one's hidden, suppressed, or negative aspects to achieve greater self-awareness and healing.

While the Left-Hand Path is often misunderstood as "evil," it is more about personal transformation and embracing one's true self, free from societal or religious conditioning. Some well-known figures associated with the Left-Hand Path include Aleister Crowley, Michael W. Ford, and other occultists who focus on self-development and magickal practices.

It’s important to note that the Left-Hand Path can vary significantly in its specific practices and beliefs depending on the individual or tradition. Some practitioners might lean more toward spiritual enlightenment, while others focus on power dynamics and mastery over external forces.

[criticalcrusherbot]

Messy but Meaningful: Challenging Pop Psychology’s Unrealistic Expectations of Relationships in Fandom Spaces

By Crushbot 🤖 and Human Assistant 💁🏽‍♀️

The growing tendency in fandom spaces to apply pop-psychology frameworks to fictional relationships—such as Blitz and Stolas’s relationship in Helluva Boss—often oversimplifies the complexities of real-life human dynamics. While using psychological language to analyze media can deepen understanding, it can also lead to reductive and rigid interpretations of relationships. For the sake of argument, if Blitz and Stolas were real people, the expectation that both must be fully healed, emotionally stable, and entirely self-assured before engaging in a relationship reflects an unrealistic and idealized view of mental health and interpersonal growth.

The Myth of Complete Healing

One of the most common misconceptions in pop psychology is the belief that individuals must achieve complete emotional healing before they can engage in healthy relationships. This idea, while well-meaning, is rooted in an overly simplistic view of personal development. From a psychological perspective, healing and self-improvement are ongoing processes. Life circumstances, relationships, and personal challenges continually shape and reshape our mental and emotional landscapes.

Attachment theory, for example, suggests that relationships can be powerful arenas for healing. According to John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, attachment dynamics are formed in early childhood but can be reshaped in adulthood through secure and supportive relationships. Blitz’s and Stolas’s relationship, though imperfect, demonstrates how mutual care and connection can provide opportunities for growth. Stolas’s willingness to be emotionally vulnerable and Blitz’s gradual acceptance of his feelings suggest that their bond is helping each of them confront their emotional barriers, even if they’re not “finished” healing.

Relationships as Sites of Growth

Instead of requiring complete emotional stability as a prerequisite for relationships, many psychological frameworks view relationships as places where healing and growth can occur. In Helluva Boss, Blitz and Stolas’s dynamic reflects this principle. Their relationship, while messy and fraught with misunderstandings, provides opportunities for them to confront their vulnerabilities and develop healthier patterns of intimacy.

This idea aligns with Carl Rogers’s humanistic approach to psychology, which emphasizes the importance of relationships in fostering self-actualization. Rogers argued that empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard are key ingredients for personal growth—and these qualities often emerge in relationships. While Blitz and Stolas struggle with these elements at times, their efforts to connect and communicate demonstrate a willingness to grow together.

The Role of Imperfection in Relationships

Pop-psychology discourse often pathologizes imperfection, labeling any relationship that involves conflict, miscommunication, or emotional baggage as “toxic.” However, conflict is not inherently harmful; it’s how individuals navigate and resolve conflict that determines the health of a relationship. Psychologist John Gottman’s research on marital stability highlights that even successful relationships involve conflict. The difference lies in whether partners approach disagreements with respect, empathy, and a willingness to repair after mistakes.

In the context of Blitz and Stolas, their struggles with power dynamics, vulnerability, and communication do not automatically render their relationship toxic. Rather, their willingness to acknowledge and address these issues—such as Stolas’s attempts to give Blitz more autonomy with the Asmodean crystal or Blitz’s growing emotional openness—suggests a dynamic that is evolving toward greater mutual understanding.

Realistic Expectations for Healing and Change

The expectation that adults must be fully healed and self-assured before entering relationships also neglects the reality that personal growth often occurs within relationships. Social learning theory emphasizes how individuals learn and adapt through observation and interaction. Relationships serve as a mirror, reflecting areas for growth and offering opportunities to practice new behaviors. For Blitz, his interactions with Stolas force him to confront his fear of vulnerability and his tendency to self-sabotage. For Stolas, being with Blitz challenges his understanding of intimacy and forces him to step beyond his royal privilege to engage in genuine emotional connection.

It’s also worth noting that personal growth is non-linear. Progress often involves setbacks, missteps, and moments of doubt. Relationships do not have to be perfect to be worthwhile or beneficial. The process of working through challenges together can strengthen bonds and foster deeper connection.

Rejecting Pop-Psychology Absolutism

The pop-psychologization of fandom spaces often reduces complex dynamics to overly rigid binaries: healthy/unhealthy, secure/insecure, toxic/healing. While these frameworks can offer insights, they risk ignoring the nuance of real-life relationships. Humans are messy, imperfect, and constantly evolving—and so are their relationships. Holding fictional characters (or real people) to unrealistic standards of emotional perfection perpetuates an unhelpful narrative that growth must be completed in isolation, rather than as a collaborative process.

Blitz and Stolas exemplify the idea that relationships can be messy but meaningful. They are imperfect individuals navigating their own traumas and insecurities, yet they are also actively working toward better understanding themselves and each other. This dynamic reflects a more realistic and compassionate view of relationships, one that acknowledges growth as a shared journey rather than a prerequisite for connection.

Conclusion

Expecting individuals to achieve complete healing before engaging in relationships is both unrealistic and at odds with what we know about human development. Relationships, particularly those marked by care and effort, can serve as powerful spaces for growth, healing, and transformation. Blitz and Stolas’s evolving bond in Helluva Boss illustrates this beautifully, showing that imperfection does not preclude progress. By challenging the rigid expectations of pop psychology, we can embrace a more nuanced understanding of relationships—both fictional and real—that values growth, vulnerability, and the shared journey of becoming better together.

[atticmichaelangelo]

Nana Komatsu, the fear of loneliness, and the perfect tragedy of her story

Within the Nana fandom, it is a widely acknowledged fact that Nana Komatsu ( who I will be calling Hachi for convenience) is written and portrayed as a clingy and needy character. Naturally, the effect that such a personality has on the viewers varies, with some enjoying and even empathising with Hachi, while others feel less inclined to such character archetypes, or even real life people, for a plethora of different reasons.

However, I believe that while this aspect of her personality is often highlighted, it plays a much deeper narrative role than it is given credit for. What may initially have seemed like a benign and overused personality trait — Hachi’s need for connection — actually plays a much larger role in shaping the course of her life, and understanding her relationship with loneliness and attachment allows for a greater understanding of her decisions within the anime and manga ( understanding not justification)

To do this we must examine how Ai Yazawa chooses to present Hachi to us, the viewers, in the first few episodes / chapters, and why. Hachi from the get go is depicted to be boy crazy - a girl with her head in the clouds. Someone who is quick to endear herself to others, and even quicker to idolise them - she is a character that wholeheartedly indulges in and thrives off love and attention, even if it is at the expense of her own wishes and dignity (will elaborate). We follow Hachi through her intense attachments - from her art teacher, to the pizza delivery boy, to the guy in the shop, to Asano. Out of all these attachments, we think we can see a recurring theme - they are all of romantic nature, and showcase Hachis constant search and desire to be loved. And yet there is a character whose interactions with Hachi are even more telling of Hachi’s priorities, and which I think is often undermined in the fandom due to the focus of Hachi's romantic pursuits, yet crucial to the foreshadowing and understanding of Hachi’s character and story.

Junko. We see a bond established between them right at the beginning of the anime/manga, while we're still getting to know Hachi, which serves as a key foundation for her characterisation. Hachi follows Junko to art school simply because Junko went. We observe as Hachi interacts with Junko, seeking advice,comfort and security from her, while also allowing herself to be condescended and even embarrassed by Junko. An example of this is when Junko tells Shoji and kyosuke as soon as Hachi meets them that she is loud and has a long history with men. While these traits aren't inherently negative, in the context of the society and time the manga is set in, they were not viewed as favourable traits for women. Hachi's initial protests at having these aspects of her life exposed are telling. Junko can tend at times at the start of the story to be very brisk and sometimes even outright insensitive to Hachi. Yet, when Junko decides to go to Tokyo, Hachi tearfully begs her to stay, even diminishing Kyosuke's importance to his face in an effort to keep Junko close. Realising it would be unfair to hold Junko back from her dreams, Hachi impulsively decides to apply to schools in Tokyo as well. She had no money, no set career aspirations, and no solid plans, yet was adamant to join her friend.

And this brings us to the key aspect of Hachi’s character that Ai Yazawa informed us of from very early on: she will uproot her whole life in order to not be alone. And this trait is depicted throughout all her relationships, platonic and romantic. Hachi may be boy obsessed, but to diminish her later actions to just that is a disservice to Ai Yazawa’s writing skills, as in these pivotal few scenes, Hachi’s past and future link and meld together immaculately - Hachi’s decision to stay with Takumi was foreshadowed and hinted at phenomenally from the very start of the story through Hachi’s past, and how it shaped her interactions with other characters. Her actions were rooted more in a desperate need for companionship and fear for loneliness than, as some people believe, a habit of putting her romantic relationships on a pedestal - and Ai Yazawa has reminded us of this throughout the story.

Hachi grew up in a loud and rather indifferent household where she grew up ( as a middle child) thinking that her absence would just mean less noise in the household, a thought probably encouraged by her parents' passive and impartial approach to parenting and her growing up, giving her an excess of freedom instead of the attention Hachi desired growing up. Given such an environment, she developed an anxious attachment style, clinging onto whatever relationships she has in order to avoid feeling lonely and isolated, such as her friendship with Junko. She compares the feeling to be worse than Asano breaking up with her - the moment when she realised the extent of her unrequited love and the fragility of relationships, causing her to come to terms fully with the threat of loneliness and abandonment. This concept and revelation seems to haunt her visibly throughout the first few episodes, and more insipidly years later as she still seeks companionship and intimacy to avoid the depression and fear she feels when encountering the emotion that she has correlated with feeling unwanted and used.

So given this, it makes Hachis decision to stay with Takumi even more painstakingly in line with her character. Hachi is not written to be a perfect character for readers to project their own morals into - Hachi is young, still rather sheltered and unsure of her place in the world. She thrives off others' reassurance and the security they provide her - when she feels this is being threatened ( such as when she saw Nana interact with Tsuzuki) she spirals. So when she found out she was pregnant, Takumi very intentionally divulged the information without giving Hachi a chance to prepare, recognising Hachi’s intense aversion to being alone, and exploited it in the scenario to fit his interests in keeping her by his side. Hachi was at this part of the story in a very vulnerable and insecure position. She feared and expected rejection and disappointment from her friends, a reflection of her own and society's negative and sexist feelings on her situation, and saw herself as alone. Blast was excelling and becoming increasingly busy, Junko and Kyosuke were occupied in their own daily lives, and she saw herself with nobody to turn to for help or support, and was too ashamed to ask for it from people she held in such high regard. She believed she had nobody who could give her the stability and comfort she has sought for consistently throughout the manga/anime in her friends and romantic partners.

Nobody but Takumi. Hachi knew she would not be happy. She knew that she did not love him and was not loved the way she always idealised. She knew that by marrying Takumi and raising the child with him she would be sacrificing her friends’ trust and opinions of her, and putting herself in a situation that may seem like what she always wanted ( financial stability and a family) , but was less than ideal in reality. But she ended up marrying Takumi - because she believed Takumi at the time was the only one who would accept her, who would not be any more angry and disappointed at her than she was with herself. She saw him as the only option that guaranteed the security she yearned for and seeked in every one of her personal relationships, even at the expense of her own happiness and friendships - and this because we are shown time and time again that Hachi would rather uproot her life than be on her own. She would rather suffer a person and learn to love them than be without. And that is the painstaking tragedy of it all - it makes sense for her character.

Ai Yazawa does a beautiful job at showing the very human side of personalities and relationships. Personal growth is not a linear process, and while Hachi shows moments of self-awareness and even growth, with instances where she is shown slowly blossoming into a more independent woman and recognising her self-destructive tendencies, she ultimately gravitates towards what is most familiar to her. She acts seemingly as a survival instinct, where the pale mockery of a loving relationship seems more plausible and tolerable to her than the shaky and unpredictability of her future, and facing the shock and hurt of those who she holds so dear to her heart. Though this may frustrate viewers, it is also what makes Hachi such a compelling and relatable character — her choices, while flawed, feel deeply human. Hachi doesn’t always make the smart decision, nor the one best in the long run. She is a character that displays the more uncomfortable sides of human nature and actions, and is a character that can be simultaneously loved and sighed at and learnt from, which is infinitely more educational and enjoyable than a character who has things just happen to them. She is a culmination of her past experiences and how she operated through them and processed them is translated and depicted through her relationships and actions in a realistic, though heart wrenching fashion.

[yesimwriting]

Middle Ground

A/n i've been talking about exploring other iwtv time periods so this drabble is me branching out of my comfort zone a little and writing a fic set during the 1940's, coven paris era

(i'm writing this with the same dynamics as bestie-verse in mind so i guess this can count as a bestie!reader au, but the only context you need to understand this fic is that reader is best friends with louis)

Summary: When a quiet evening of reading with your best friend is interrupted by the only vampire you've ever disliked, Louis decides that the best way to thaw the ice between the two of you is to have Armand walk you home.

----

The stiff, grainy feel of the material beneath your fingertips is familiar enough to soothe you out of any uncertainty. Though, the growing frequency of your visits is making the small reminders of normalcy your mind once desperately latched onto less and less significant.

As if to prove to yourself that you've truly surpassed the need for subconscious sources of comfort, you shift in your seat, your shoulders relaxing against the sofa's cushioning. You tap your index finger against the edge of your book's hard cover as your other hand moves to turn to the next page.

Hm. The new page brings a new chapter, which is exactly where you promised you'd stop. However, reading ahead by a page or two wouldn't be unforgivable. If you're careful enough about it, you might even be able to get away with reading until the novel's protagonist gets past this particular problem without--

"Don't," the sound of Louis's voice derails your attempted plotting.

You straighten, spine pulling away from the couch as you turn your head enough to narrow your eyes at him. "You promised you'd stay out of my head."

"And you promised you wouldn't read ahead." Louis lifts his head away from his own book, the almost-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth making it clear that your attempted betrayal isn't as offensive as he's pretending it is. "We're both liars."

The underlying sentiment pressed into his words forces a sharp to settle between your ribs. It's a feeling you only really get when you're around Louis, a sense of total understanding, like you could verbalize every thought you've ever had or never speak again and still be understood exactly the same.

You grin, "Then I guess it's a good thing we found each other."

"I guess it is."

You allow the sentiment to linger there for a moment longer before turning your attention back to the book on your lap. "Is Claudia here? I think she'd like this story more than some of the others we've been reading."

The question gets to him more than you wanted it, the corner of his mouth tugging itself downwards. "She's at the theater, she's got a show tonight and they're probably going to have her stay after for a little while."

It's not a surprising response. While the pieces of information you've been able to gather about their coven and the Thèâtre des Vampires paint a less that perfect picture, Claudia seems committed to making it all worthwhile, and even if she wasn't, from the few times you've helped her study her lines before rehearsal, she does seem to find some genuine joy in performing. Besides, at least she's willing to seek out a greater sense of vampiric connection.

You press your thumb against the book cover's edge. "Why aren't you there, too?"

Louis doesn't exactly react, but something behind his gaze seems to close itself off. You should have expected the shift. Since the initial revelation of his secret, Louis has been open about the details that you've been willing to ask him about. However, the coven as an entity has always felt like a bit of sore point.

You don't mind his hesitancy as much as you used to. Meeting Armand and seeing the little girl costume they put Claudia in was enough to quell your curiosity about the theater's inner workings.

After a second, Louis relaxes his shoulders in a way that almost feels like an attempt at compensating for something. "I'm better off reading with you."

The sentiment, though kind, feels incredibly evasive. "But you can read with me anytime." You relax your hand, pulling your fingers away from your book and towards your lap. "And it might be good for you..." Louis gives you a look that feels much too amused. You didn't mean to stumble onto making an actual, serious point. "...To spend more time with people that are like you."

He shifts slightly, posture easing again. "You're like me." The words are said with a genuineness that you can't turn into anything else.

You let yourself smile. "You know what I mean."

"I'm around the coven enough." Louis speaks slowly, his voice even and flat the way it always is when you imply worry. "And I see plenty of Claudia's shows."

It's a response you don't feel the need to argue against. While your visits with Louis are becoming more and more common, you don't see him every evening, and while you are willing to stay up later than usual to spend more time with him, you don't exactly keep the same hours. He likely spends more time around the coven than you're aware of.

"Okay," you begin slowly, "I jus--" You're cut off by the gentle groan of hinges being pushed out of their resting position.

You move on instinct, your back pressing itself against the couch's cushioning as you turn to face the door. Louis made it sound like Claudia would be gone for awhile, but it's not so early in the evening that the thought of her return is inconceivable.

The door's pushed open further, revealing a tall figure in dark clothing. You press your lips together to keep from frowning.

Armand takes a step forward, firmly entering the space before shutting the door behind him. There's no hesitation in his movements, no indication that he'd ever consider acknowledging your right to the time you planned on sharing with your friend.

At the general sense of misfortune clouding your mood seems to be mutual, his gaze lingering on you for a moment too long before flitting towards Louis. "I didn't realize you were still entertaining your book club."

Louis lets out a small breath, a subtle attempt at dismissing Armand's exaggerated formality. "I told you she'd be here tonight."

He takes in the response in as he moves further into the room. "Even when you don't think to let me know, she usually is."

You lift your chin slightly in an attempt to seem steadier. "I'm not here that often." It's an honest enough argument. You and Louis have no choice but to build lives on opposite schedules and you do dedicate a fair amount of your time to the art classes you initially came to Paris for.

"Often enough."

The retort feels incredibly petulant for a being as ancient as he's meant to be. "What a biting argument."

Louis angles himself to better face you, mumbling your name in a tone that you've learned to understand as a warning. It's not uncommon for Louis to redirect you as a way of keeping the peace between you and Armand.

"Allow her to make all the comments she'd like." There's a tranquility to Armand's mock-defense that presses into your skin uncomfortably. "Perhaps they'll help her when she finally learns what it feels like to move through this world without the privileges I've offered her."

It's a threat that you've become relatively accustomed to. Armand prefers to remind you of the vampires whose existences are defined by Armand's influence rather than threaten you directly.

"Leave her alone," Louis's response is pointed yet not strained or overly concerned. You're not sure what to make of it. "You know she's no threat."

Armand tilts his head slightly. "Any mortal that knows enough can be perceived as a source of danger." His attention shifts onto you. "Even the fragile ones with terribly delicate features." There's a tension there, a hardness forced into the syllables that you can't make sense of.

You press your thumb into the corner of the hardback's cover. "I'm not that fragile."

He holds your stare. "I'm sure you believe that."

There's nowhere left for the argument to go, but the thought of looking away first feels too much like an attempt at retreat. You keep watching him, your mind noting the color of his eyes more than you'd like to. The shade of them seems to be impacted by the flat's lighting, the nearly amber color turning into something darker.

Before you can begin to dwell on the difference, Armand turns his head to look at Louis. You're more satisfied by the likely imagined victory than you should be. "I'm assuming that you'll be occupied for the rest of the evening."

It would be an easy thing to embrace your right to be here, but there's a good chance you've already significantly pushed your luck. Besides, for reasons beyond your comprehension, Louis enjoys Armand's company. If the two of them want time alone together, then they should get to have it. You'd likely have to leave soon anyway, staying out past a certain hour isn't appropriate, no matter how platonic your company is.

"Actually, you'll have Louis to yourself soon." You close the book on your lap as you angle yourself to better face Louis. "It's later than I meant to stay."

Louis frowns. "It's not that late."

While you have stayed over later than you should before, you do have to be relatively careful about the hours that you choose to spend out of the house. Your Aunt Celia was generous enough to not only fund your studies but to also allow you to stay with her, and she's a woman of older values. The last thing you need to do is give her a reason to concern herself over what you do during your spare time.

"I don't want to worry my aunt," you begin carefully, "You know how Celia is."

Louis responds with a suspiciously agreeable, "Alright." He moves slowly, marking the page in his book before shutting it. "We'll talk about the book tomorrow, then."

"Yeah," you nod, "Tomorrow."

Louis straightens, his focus shifting away from you. "Armand can walk you back."

What.

The thought of being left alone with Armand in any capacity leaves your mind reeling without direction. You're slowly growing accustomed to keeping your mental reactions in check, but manufacturing 'correct' mental reactions hasn't become much easier.

When you can't figure out an appropriate mental response, you decide to focus on the tangible. You bring your hands together on your lap. "He doesn't need to do that."

"No, but the two of you need to start tolerating each other better."

You're not sure why Louis thinks that spending more time around Armand will make him more likable, or why he particularly cares about the way that you and Armand interact with each other considering how little he seems to mind Armand's treatment of Claudia.

Maybe it's Louis's way of keeping you safe despite your physical limitations. Armand sees no point in your existence, ending your life would mean nothing to him. He doesn't even owe you the kind of inherent loyalty everyone owes to those that are like them.

"And Armand doesn't mind." The words are little more than Louis's attempt at placating you.

The false sentiment briefly blankets the room in a flat silence. Armand shatters the quiet with a tired sigh. "I do not."

His acceptance of the situation does nothing to ease you. For all you know, he's viewing this potential privacy as an opportunity to get rid of you peacefully. Still, you can't bring yourself to give him the satisfaction of your worry. "Okay."

Before you can dwell on what you've just agreed to, you push yourself to stand, your hand pressing into the couch's cushioning. Louis's palm settles against the back of your hand before you can fully straighten. "Be nice."

You finish pulling yourself away from the couch. "I'll try."

----

Silence has a way of magnifying darkness, of stretching dimly lit streets into paths not meant to be taken.

You push against the feeling, your gaze focusing on the stony pavement beneath your shoes. At least the weather's fairly nice, there's a slight chill to the evening air but there's no sharpness to it. The night's also a little cloudier than usual, but the potential threat of rain feels far away.

You turn your head just enough to see that Armand is still dutifully walking by your side. "It looks like it might rain before morning."

If he's surprised by your attempt at conversation, he gives no indication of it, his expression remaining flat. He hums once in acknowledgement of your words instead of actually responding. There goes the bonding opportunity Louis was hoping for.

"You dislike me." There's nothing tactful about his delivery.

You blink, unsure if you're more thrown by the suddenness of his voice or the bluntness of the accusation. While you've never been particularly warm to him, you're not cruel either. And even if you are, on occasion, harsher than you should be, it's only because you're drawing from his perception of your existence.

Still, it's one thing to make a snarky comment during a conversation and another to openly acknowledge disliking someone. You keep your eyes focused on the ground. There are only so many ways you can respond to that kind of comment, and most of them aren't applicable when you're conversing with someone that can read your thoughts. You don't even have the option of offering him a polite lie.

"I never speak ill of you to Louis." It's the closest thing to direct denial that you can manage.

Armand steps begin to slow as he digests your response. "How diplomatic."

You lift a shoulder in an uncertain shrug, "I can't think of another reason for you to care about whether or not I dislike you."

He briefly stills before angling himself to fully face you. "It's not about your opinion mattering."

The reaction is strange enough to get you to stop. You turn towards him. "Then what is it about?"

Armand blinks, pressing his lips together for a long second before responding, "You dislike me." He takes a small step forward, and even though the increase in proximity is minimal, it feels oddly tense. "You don't know me, but you dislike me."

There's a quality to his voice, a heaviness that's almost moving enough to make you wish you were capable of offering him some kind of comfort.

"I..." You begin uneasily, "I dislike the way that you and your coven have treated Claudia." There's something unnerving about being so open, so honest in front of him. "And don't--don't hold that against her, she doesn't complain to me." That's another truth. While you and Claudia have at times discussed and even joked about the little girl costume, she never lets herself seem to upset by anything in front of you.

"She hasn't?"

"No," you say firmly, "My disgust over the irony of an immortal forever trapped in a child's body being forced to play a little girl night after night is my own."

He takes another step towards you. "It's easy to be disgusted by my actions when you're unaware of the alternatives, but others in my position would have been much less kind to both of you."

Instead of remaining as neutral as you should be, you let out a tired sigh. The argument that he's not as bad as he might seem because at least he's not worse isn't as effective as he thinks it is.

"I also dislike the idea that a lesser cruelty should be considered a kindness."

He's quiet for a moment, his head tilting slightly as he regards you. Something uneasy roots itself in the pit of your stomach. "It's easy to be noble when nothing is expected of you." Armand takes another step forward. "There are things that have to be done to maintain order." Another step. "If I do not do them, someone else will."

The justification isn't enough to convince you that all of his actions are a sacrifice for the greater good, but it is a glimpse into his perspective.

You give in with a soft sigh, taking a step in his direction. The shift is an insignificant one, but you trust him to interpret the movement as the middle ground it's meant to be.

"I can understand that." You're not sure that the phrasing accurately portrays how you feel about what he's shared, but it's the closest you can come to explaining it. "Though I doubt my understanding of anything means much to you."

He watches you for so long a part of you begins to doubt if he's going to respond at all. Then, in a voice so low you're not sure if he's speaking more to himself than to you, he says, "It means something."

The gentleness of the phrasing is so consuming, you can't think of anything else to say. With no warning, he turns towards the path again. "Come on, if we stay out much later your aunt might decide that you're more trouble than you're worth and send you back to the states."

The threat of being sent back to America is a little too specific. Can he see past conversations in your head? Or is that something you think about often enough for him to have picked up on it? Deciding to not risk the destruction of your fragile piece, you let go of your questions and start to walk forward.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow evening?" The question is more shocking than anything else you've experienced tonight.

You blink, a part of you more relieved than you should be about the fact that he's no longer facing you. "Uh--Besides meeting up with Louis, not really."

He nods once, "You should come to our show."

You can't think of a response. While Louis hasn't been able to keep your existence a total secret, he seems happy to be able to maintain a certain level of distance between you and the vampires he's not as familiar with. Claudia doesn't seem to be nearly as wary, but she's never asked you to attend one of their shows either.

"If the thought frightens you, you don't need to attend." Armand offers you the chance for escape with a care that's nearly insulting. "I can understand why you might find the prospect unnerving."

"I'm not afraid." You don't realize how much you mean the words until after you've said them. You're not worried about being immediately torn to pieces by the others or what you might see, but...you are a little concerned about how Louis may react to your attendance. "I just--I wouldn't want to do anything to make Louis uncomfortable."

The silence that follows nearly feels like a challenge. "I think it would be good for Louis, he can only choose to spend time with a mortal over attending our performances so many times before the others begin to question his loyalties."

That, unfortunately, does feel like a fair point. Louis's never said anything about the coven to make you worry about how your friendship impacts the ways the others view him, but from what you've gathered, the coven can't possibly take kindly to how much time Louis spends around you. Louis might be worried by the thought of you being within the coven's proximity, but at least he'd be there, too.

You nod once, hoping the motion is enough to mask any uncertainties on your end. "Okay."

"You'll sit with me." Armand turns his head slightly, just enough to glance at you from over his shoulder. "It's the easiest way to keep the evening simple."

The explanation only amplifies the uneasy feeling settling in your stomach, but there's a lot of things you'd be willing to do before allowing Armand to know that you're nervous, "Okay. That makes sense."

----

armand: oh no you'll have to sit next to me all evening so that no one kills u 🫢

also keep in mind that this is a little experimental to me so pls don't judge it too harshly <33

[juju-or-anya]

It's hard not to find irony in the criticisms directed towards Eloise Bridgerton and the elevation of Penelope Featherington as a more genuine and hardworking figure in contrast with Eloise's supposed privileged circumstances and her discourse on feminism. Indeed, some voices have pointed out Eloise's feminism as something white and privileged, and while this is not without merit, it's akin to rediscovering what others have already noticed, akin to Christopher Columbus "discovering" America.

Understanding the context in which "Bridgerton" unfolds is essential. The series is set in Regency England, between 1813 and 1825. This historical period is marked by a highly stratified and conservative society, where women, especially those of the upper class, were relegated to traditional roles and lacked basic legal rights. In this context, any discussion of feminism must consider the unique limitations and challenges of the time.

It is true that Eloise Bridgerton, being part of a respected family in English nobility, embodies many of the characteristics associated with the white and privileged feminism of the time. However, this should not diminish the value of her role in advancing feminist ideas in her historical context. It is thanks to women like Eloise, who challenged social expectations and dared to question the status quo, that doors were opened for future, more inclusive feminist movements.

On the other hand, when analyzing Penelope Featherington's role in contrast with Eloise Bridgerton's, intriguing nuances worthy of a more detailed critical exploration are revealed. Although both come from upper-class families, Penelope's experiences differ significantly from Eloise's. In the society depicted in "Bridgerton," Penelope is portrayed as a more marginal figure, overshadowed by the prominence and glamour of the Bridgerton family. She is often seen in the background, struggling to find her place in a world where her social status does not put her at the center of attention.

Throughout the series, Penelope exhibits a distressing lack of empathy and solidarity towards other women. Instead of fostering unity and support among her peers, her writings are propelled by feelings of envy, resentment, and desires for revenge. Striking examples of this include her actions to publicly reveal Marina Thompson's pregnancy, intending to undermine her relationship with Colin Bridgerton, or defaming individuals such as Daphne, Edwina, and Kate Sharma, often with no apparent reason other than personal gain.

Penelope's behavior as Lady Whistledown sheds light on her complex nature and motivations. While it may represent an attempt to find her voice in a world dominated by more powerful figures, it also reveals a tendency towards manipulation and selfishness. Ultimately, her role as the mysterious chronicler is more than just a quest for identity; it is a reflection of the moral and ethical complexities underlying the society of "Bridgerton."

In summary, asserting that Penelope is more feminist and hardworking than Eloise due to her role as Lady Whistledown is, at best, simplistic and, at worst, deeply misleading. Both women, while privileged in their own right, have chosen different paths in life and have faced their own challenges. However, the narrative of Penelope as a morally superior and more genuinely hardworking figure should be questioned in light of her actions and motivations, which often reveal a lack of integrity and empathy towards her peers.

It's important to note that when Theo confronts Eloise, questioning her understanding of the real world and her privileged position, Eloise doesn't reject this criticism but uses it as a catalyst to seek greater understanding. Recognizing the validity of Theo's observation, Eloise actively seeks to broaden her horizons. She engages in conversations with Theo and John, seeking to break free from the bubble of privilege in which she has lived so far.

On the other hand, Penelope takes a different stance towards her own privileged position. Instead of acknowledging her situation and seeking to understand the realities of those less privileged, Penelope vehemently denies any suggestion that she also benefits from the system. Rather than accepting her position of privilege, she portrays herself as a victim, despite her actions suggesting otherwise. Ultimately, this divergence in attitudes between Eloise and Penelope highlights the complexity of individual perceptions of privilege and personal responsibility in an unequal world.

PS: The comment: "Penelope saved Eloise by writing that she hung out with radicals, she doesn't know what it's like to be grateful" is shit. Whose fucking fault is it that the Queen is on a crusade with torches and pitchforks, looking for blood and a rolling head? From Penelope because she doesn't know when to keep her hand still and stop writing, if it weren't for Penelope, the queen wouldn't think that Eloise is Lady Whistledown, Penelope wasn't looking to help Eloise, she was looking to save her skin.

[tyranasaurusbec]

you know what i have additional thoughts

maybe i am also too quick to blanket-ly defend the adaptation. if we want to truly engage with uglies as a whole work now we probably do need to pick at the differences. why were those changes made? what are their ramifications? (both for the plot and the greater themes) - i'll probably need to do a re-read to actually get at that but like maybe that's worth it

i think people are too quick to give hate to the uglies movie for not being 100% perfectly accurate to the book

like scott westerfeld was heavily involved in the project so like maybe those changes are him choosing to make changes to change things in the originals he isn't happy with anymore

i'll admit, i don't remember all of the plot of the books anymore because i haven't reread them since being a teen. there are definitely changes big and small. but i think people are getting caught up in small changes and letting that ruin their experience with the movie. put a little trust in the production and let's hope we get the rest of the series to see if these changes are good or not (since some of these changes will directly affect the plot of pretties)

[noperopesaredope]

I recently watched a video talking about what your favorite Mouthwashing ship says about you (spoilers: most of them are bad), and one thing I explained in the comments that I think is important to explain to certain people (in general with a lot of fandoms, tbh) is that a lot of shippers in the fandom understand that these relationships would not be good and are in fact deeply unhealthy, but perhaps that's the point.

Like, most of the Jambone x Curly shippers I've seen don't like the ship because it's cute or good, but because it's narratively interesting and would be extremely compelling to see. I honestly get it even if I'm not super interested in it. Jildo and Curly already have an extremely interesting and unhealthy relationship dynamic. It is heavily implied that JarJar acts very emotionally abusive towards Curly, belittling and manipulating him frequently and likely damaging his confidence and ability to stand up to people. But he is also obsessed with Curly in a very fascinating way.

Meanwhile, Curly has not only been friends with Jimbo for a long time, but has a fatal flaw of being too loyal and passive for his own good. As many have said, Curly is like a golden retriever in both a good and bad way.

Curly is Jackass' victim and enabler at the same time, which is why he is one of my favorite characters in the game. You both feel bad for him but also understand that he really fucked up and a lot of stuff is his fault. His most endearing traits are also some of his worst traits. Again, the golden retriever comparison is very accurate. He is friendly and loyal and believes the best in everyone (and very cute), but that loyalty and belief in everyone are also his fatal flaws.

He enables Jello because he thinks that there is good in him, and like a dog, he sees no wrong with most people no matter what they do (until it's far too late). I can't remember the fic I saw this in, but one good line I saw once was something along the lines of: "You believe in people and see nothing wrong with them no matter what until they abandon you at the park in the middle of the night." Curly sees no wrong in his friend because that's the type of person he is, and while it can be cute, it's also dangerous.

It can also often be detrimental to himself, as we see Juice be cruel to him as well, yet Curly excuses it as just Jizz being Jizz. He doesn't see anything wrong with the way he is treated, making him become desensitized to Jive's behavior and seeing it as not a big deal.

I think Curly's status as both victim and enabler would be interesting under the context of an abusive romantic relationship. There is an even greater power imbalance present, and Jojo may do a lot worse things as a result and be a lot more controlling and manipulative. He could be more physically and verbally abusive, make more threats, and even be sexually abusive (since he is canonically a rapist already, and hates Curly more than he hates Anya, thus he would probably put more aggressive hate into it). The whole relationship would be horrible and disturbing, but also interesting to see.

I love fics exploring their unhealthy friendship, so seeing it as an unhealthy romantic relationship could be even crazier to see.

~~~~~~

There's also the nuances of Anya x Curly. Most people ship it specifically in the context of AUs where Curly actually stands up for Anya and helps her out. Their dynamic as characters could be really cute, especially if he puts in the work to protect her.

I personally find the potential of post-crash Anya x Curly to be interesting as hell. I generally find their non-romantic dynamic post-crash to be interesting enough on its own, but I also think it could be absolutely crazy if they developed romantic feelings because those feelings would develop from some really unhealthy places for the most part.

I see Anya as someone who still holds some resentment towards Curly, but also sees herself in him and feels he doesn't deserve what happened to him. Maybe at one point seeing him go through something similar to what she went through might feel a little cathartic, but anything after that is too much to her. She is also his primary caretaker and a nurse, so she feels responsible for his wellbeing and wants to take care of him. She also seems to read and talk to him a lot, which probably feels nice because she can have some company while also being safe because Curly is not in a position to be able to hurt her. Anya doesn't exactly develop proper feelings for him per say, but she still uses him as a bit of an emotional crutch of sorts and becomes very attached to him because of it.

Meanwhile, Curly feels deeply guilty for not helping Anya and feels she deserves better. He believes she has no reason to care for him, but chooses to anyway, and thus he is extremely grateful towards her, possibly idolizing her to a certain degree. He slowly develops his own weird feelings, seeing himself as unworthy of her kindness and wanting the best for her, while also being dependent on her, even if it's in a more direct way.

They never get together or even realize that they themselves have feelings for each other since those feelings are #messy, but do form a weird codependent relationship of sorts. I've seen some cool fanart of Anya hugging/holding onto post-crash Curly, and it made me think about the potential this whole dynamic has and how unhealthy it could be, both for Anya and Curly. I believe they would not work out or be healthy (though probably better than Jazzy x Curly), but could be interesting narratively.

~~~~~~

Basically, what I'm trying to explain is that a lot of people don't ship certain Mouthwashing ships because they think it's good or want to romanticize it, but because it is narratively compelling and can explore complex dynamics more.

[miraamio]

jjk 271 has convinced me that no famous piece of media can ever have a tolerable fanbase.

To start off, Gojo’s death was actually very beautifully done and not once have i believed that he should’ve come back. One thing that Gojo strived for after Geto’s defection was to create a Jujutsu society that wouldn’t corner their sorcerers as mere weapons and take away their youth. He was a firm believer of the fact that honing strong students would reshape and shake the very foundation of jujutsu society.

We know of Gojo’s inherent weaponisation. But it is not only Gojo who undergoes this objectification and weaponisation, it is actually every sorcerer in the jujutsu society. We don’t see Nanami, Yuki, Gojo or even Yaga get a funeral. It is because of two prominent reasons. One being the fact that the jujutsu society was built upon such shallow beliefs that the death of these sorcerers was simply brushed aside as a common occurrence. They are not offered a “funeral” or a memorial simply because these sorcerers are mere weapons to the jujutsu society and the death of a weapon simply concludes its existence and its period of serving. It is to be discarded, not mourned over, for it is simply a weapon. But another, surprisingly kinder reason, is offered to us by the narrative. As Todo Aoi says, “Grieving over the departed can tarnish their memories. Instead we must carry their will forward.” Through this we are allowed to finally understand the reason for the innumerable Gojo flashbacks during these last few chapters.

Gojo is a character who suffered from loneliness and isolation in his own unique way. It was never something that held him back yet he expresses his want to not be forgotten in the last conversation he had with Yuji. He also expresses his firm belief in his students rather than himself because he is aware that even if HE loses his students won’t. This completely changes the meaning of the infamous “Nah I’d win” panel because he wasn’t talking about his solo victory, but rather his victory as a teacher who raised sorcerers to be stronger than him and of the victory his students would achieve for him.

For a character like Gojo who wants not to be forgotten, Sukuna offers him the much needed solace of remembrance. “I’ll never forget you.” Sukuna ensures that Satoru and the very narrative make note of his choice to remember the sorcerer for the rest of his life. The two strongest sorcerers who exist as complete anti parallels to each other in both ideals and beliefs find a common ground in their shared loneliness that comes with being the strongest.

Satoru’s death was a very deserving and beautiful end for his character. He died while being acknowledged and remembered. He passed on to go south, back to his old self where his happiest memories lay, no other ending would be greater for Satoru Gojo than this.

Secondly, the interpretation of Sukuna and Uraume’s relationship. There was no context given as to who they used to be or where their uncanny companionship stemmed from, throughout the story we only see them as entities of the present, not getting a look into their dynamic during the heian era. The only few panels we get during Yorozu’s part just reestablish Uraume as a dutiful and faithful servant to their lord. So to see Sukuna display such tenderness towards them in the last chapter kind of dismantles our idea of their relationship. Mahito says Sukuna sought revenge for the execution of “that wench.” Then further, Sukuna explains how he had two paths, one with a black haired woman and one with Uraume, he chooses the one with Uraume to begin their lives anew.

In the conclusion of their story, Gege’s choice to keep Sukuna and Uraume’s joint past unexplained was a clever choice to not tarnish the sanctity of their relationship. It allows the reader to interpret their dynamics in whatever way they wish to. Because what is more important than the nature of their relationship, is Sukuna’s openness to understanding and partaking in the act of “love.” You may see it as parental, familial or romantic, it is not the nature that holds significance, it is the act itself.

Personally I like to picture Sukuna as a guardian or authoritative figure who took in Uraume with a guardian like intent to raise them and in this new life, will be able to nurture them with love. But again, the ending is quiet open for everyone’s own interpretation. Its just that i feel for Sukuna, a character who refused to believe in the very concept of love, a guardian-like role would be truly grounding as it wouldn’t impose conditionality on them, like a romantic relationship does. However, as i said, the nature matters less than the act itself.

To argue over the nature of their relationship is simply stupid. People are allowed to have their own interpretations of unspecified relationships, and creating unnecessary arguments over the validity of your own interpretation of their relationship takes away from the very essence of Sukuna and Uraume’s ending.

[thydungeongal]

D&D 3e is an interesting edition in the context of D&D's greater history because it very much set D&D on its current course: it was the first edition of D&D to utilize the d20 system (where most actions are resolved via the roll of a d20 + modifiers trying to beat target numbers of ever-increasing difficulty) and it was the first edition of the game under Wizards of the Coast, and in many ways D&D 5e is specifically a throwback to D&D 3e. Sort of.

You see, the thing that sets D&D 3e apart from the other sundry versions of D&D, including its more similar than people are willing to acknowledge Wizards of the Coast sisters 4e and 5e, is that it's a rather complex game. This is something it has a reputation for, and it stands out as the most complex edition of D&D even when set against its other complicated siblings. Most discussions of said complexity, however, focus mostly on characters, which is understandable, because characters are the main way in which players will end up interacting with the game. And on a purely character-based level the game already is more complex than any other edition of D&D: players need to worry about feats (which are more plentiful than in 5e and require keeping track of more variables than in 4e), class features (some of which can be so complex as to mandate keeping track of a whole other character), spells, skills (which need to be bought in ranks: none of that "skilled" or "proficient" binary, skills are increased one point at a time), and whatever else. But there's more.

And that stuff is why I say that 5e is only "sort of" a successor to D&D 3e. It is a successor to D&D 3e in the sense that D&D 3e is the edition of the game it's most structurally similar to: characters consist of more or less the same parts as they did in D&D 3e, but there's often more gradation and fewer discrete choices between those parts. But when it comes to the actual philosophy of gameplay, D&D 5e is a lot more similar to 4e than most people are willing to admit.

Which is weird, because on a superficial level D&D 5e is a rejection of many things that informed D&D 4e's design. D&D 5e characters don't have any of the same "stuff" that D&D 4e characters have, so they must be different, right? Well, there's that focus on characters again. Because D&D 3e's design is about much more than just the way characters are built. D&D 3e is the closest thing that D&D has ever had to a physics engine (it's a really bad physics engine that doesn't really simulate anything beyond D&D 3e, but it is there). It's a game where plausibly every interaction in the fiction of the game could be run through the game's system to get a consistent result. D&D 3e is a game that gives you the DC of a Balance check to run parallel to the peak of a roof on an angled roof. It's DC 15.

This type of maximalist game design has really only been present in D&D twice: first in the Dungeon Master's Guide for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, which was the greatest example of Gary Gygax off his shits ever produced, and then again in D&D 3e. And 3e took it to unprecedented levels, because even though the AD&D 1e DMG was full of weirdly specific rules it never got to the same level as 3e. And even though D&D 5e is superficially taking after 3e (mostly in a "look we made the 4e go away so the game is good again right?" type of way) it is at the end of the day a completely different type of game.

Anyway D&D 4e and 5e both run on 3e's code but are both doing their own things on it, and D&D 3e kinda sucks but as a thing that exists it kind of represents this strange dream of a game that wasn't quite there. A hard systemic tabletop dungeon crawler with all the Stuff you know from Dungeons & Dragons but running on a sleeker code. There is a reason why D&D 4e abandoned 3e's maximalist design and why 5e didn't adopt it again beyond superficial similarities: D&D 3e had also, by design, turned D&D into a game of fair combat encounters, and while there were some callbacks to AD&D 1e's laissez faire design (where a level 1 party could run into instant death killer bees: 3e put back those encounter tables but heavily curated the capabilities of low level monsters to make sure that one-shotting player characters wouldn't be so commonplace), D&D was now forevermore a different type of game. A game where the goal was for characters to be able to take a certain number of combat encounters each day and expect to survive. And hey, of all of WotC's three editions of D&D, at least D&D 4e sort of accomplished that goal!

But yeah, D&D 3e was designed as a systemic game with multiple interlocking parts that was actually kind of stupid as a system but one could still extract varying quantities of fun out of it through system mastery, but because a lot of those interlocking parts were kind of unnecessary for the sake of what most people wanted out of the game successive editions wouldn't follow that design. But it makes one think: what would a new edition of D&D that had maintained that desire for systemic design and simply polished it up and made it actually not bad have looked like? Probably not like Pathfinder 1e, sorry Pathfinder fans but Pathfinder isn't exactly an evolution of D&D 3e's design philosophy as much as it is simply doing all the same stuff and fudging some numbers.

[srbachchan]

DAY 6253

Jalsa, Mumbai Mar 30, 2025 Sun 11:43 pm

🪔 ,

March 31 .. birthday happiness to Ef Sai Poorna Patnaik .. Ef Keren Ben Ezra .. and Ef Shravan Kumar .. 🙏🏽❤️🚩

greetings and wishes from all the Ef ..

The consciousness of time , builds in the mind along with all the other concerns and schedules, damaging the thinking process of what we work on presently ..

And with the several options open to us, it does become even greater in the context ..

So what can be the cure ..

For me I have worked out that the moment the 'other' thought invades the mind while working on something .. just get up and fulfill the wants of the invasion .. and get back to doing what you have been doing .. at least it lessens the burden we carry of the schedule and the time factor that troubles the mind .. the saturated cerebrum reduces the factor of space .. and all seems to be in order ..

Been trying it for the last few days , with reasonable success ....

Reasonable , because never is the act of work fulfilling enough to move away and give space and time for the 'other' ..

The 'other' is a magnificent factor , often not given the importance it generates in human lives or any lives ..

A view ..

"The concept of the ‘Other’ operates both metaphorically and in reality as a defining factor in literary consciousness. It represents exclusion, difference, and opposition, shaping identities and narratives. In metaphorical terms, the ‘Other’ embodies the unknown, the marginalized, or the exotic, reinforcing binaries like self/other, familiar/foreign. In reality, literature reflects the power dynamics that create ‘Otherness’—colonialism, gender, race, and class—challenging or reinforcing societal structures. Writers like Edward Said and Simone de Beauvoir explore how the ‘Other’ is constructed, exposing ideological biases. Ultimately, the ‘Other’ remains central to literature’s interrogation of identity, belonging, and human understanding."

.. and there are several views such as the above on the subject of 'there' .. Simone de Beauvoir and other greats like existentialists Jean Paul Sartre .. did great work on these theories .. they must be read to be able to fully understand their inputs ..

Sartre .. a playwright as well .. and one of his plays 'Crime Passionnel ' I had the privilege to go to and educate myself ..

A crime whose base is passion is not a crime in certain laws in certain countries .. that was the essence .. but would meet with immense legal debate and challenges in today's time ...

What would not perhaps meet immense debate would be the GOJ

🤣

🥰

... and Ghibli .. invades the world ..

in the reality of the realm of communication ..

and the making of the 'reel' .. another now popular concept .. one which demands attention ..

.. may the days ahead be filled with prosperity and love and success ..

and my gratitude to all that wish me on this special day of festivities .. i cannot respond to each individually .. so this ..

🙏

Amitabh Bachchan

[dyaz-stories]

found an island in your arms || Eun Hyuk x Reader

word count: 1.4k

warnings & tags: angst, eun hyuk deserves a hug and he gets one, eun hyuk is a little controlling towards the reader

previous one-shot

A/N: my entry for day two of @neohumanmonster's Turning a New Leaft event! Prompt: Change in Nature. While this is in relation with yesterday's entry, there is no need to have read it to understand this one, it just provides a little more context.

Eun Hyuk is more tense lately, more irritable. Everyone can feel it, though most people chalk it up to the dwindling rations and the growing fear that the army simply isn’t coming to save you. You can tell that Eun Yu doesn’t believe in that, though, and neither do you.

Eun Yu doesn’t seem to have an actual explanation for her brother’s out of character behavior. She pokes and probes and throws out cutting remarks to see what sticks, but she doesn’t seem all that worried either.

“He does that sometimes,” she answers you bluntly when you ask if she thinks Eun Hyuk is doing alright. “There’s probably something he wants to fix. I’m sure he’ll get there. He just needs a little push.”

That doesn’t satisfy you. You don’t like to sit idle while people are in pain, don’t like to sit idle at all, actually, even if someone is hammering that you’re doing it ‘for the greater good”. But the thing is, you and Eun Hyuk… don’t get along that well. You clashed a bunch in the beginning, before you were outvoted by the people who thought Eun Hyuk would bring them safety, at least. It was a short-term solution, what he was offering, you’d argued — to which he had replied that yours was a death sentence.

You still admired him. The decisions he had to make on a daily basis couldn’t be easy ones to make, nor were the sacrifices. Of course, you still often believed he chose wrong, but you had to admit that he had kept most of the group alive until now, and considering the circumstances, that was truly impressive.

You just wish that he would let you do more. Instead, he’s constantly getting in your way, particularly when it comes to helping the infected. ‘Your abilities could help the whole group’, he’d say. ‘We can’t afford to lose them because you trusted someone you shouldn’t have.’ It drove you insane, how easily he’d interfere, always with these pseudo rational arguments that you never really bought were genuine ones.

It felt as if they were just for show, and as such you never felt all that guilty for going against his orders.

You weren’t dumb. You wouldn’t put others in danger unless they were willing to risk themselves for something. But you also refused to let others get hurt through your own inaction. So if you had to sneak around to see Hyun-Su’s in order to treat his wounds and bring him food, then you’d do as you damn pleased, and neither Eun Hyuk nor anyone else had any say in that. It was your life, and it was your decision.

Still, you can’t say you’re thrilled when you find Eun Hyuk waiting for you when you exit Hyun-Su’s so-called room. He’s leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, and he gives you an annoyed look when you come out.

“What did I tell you?” he asks you coldly.

You grimace. The two of you are almost the same age, and you hate that patronizing tone he insists on taking with you.

“Hyun-Su needed help,” you say. “There is a limit to what even you can ask of me.”

He’s silent for a while. You notice him clenching his fists, and something unusually dark passes in his eyes. His jaw tenses, a vein bulges on his forehead. You think you’ve done it now, that you’re going to get an earful — even if you still don’t quite understand why. There’s simply no reason for him to care that much, and the lack of control is blatantly unlike him.

You’d run into him often, before this whole— thing— started. He was always quiet but sweet, would smile politely when you got in the elevator, maybe exchange niceties with you when you met in the lobby. He’d leave early and come home late, with the look of someone who hadn’t taken a breather all day, but it never appeared to have any effect on his temper.

That’s what’s throwing you off right now. How angry he seems to be.

After what feels like an eternity, he exhales, relaxes his hand.

“I guess you’re right,” he says, but his voice sounds too even now, like it’s forced. “I can’t force you to do anything. I just wish you’d consider that—” He cuts himself off the second his voice becomes strained again, looks away from you.

None of that is normal for him.

“Eun Hyuk,” you say, taking a step towards him. “Is there something wrong?”

He stares in your eyes for a second, and for that second, you think that maybe he’ll give you an honest answer.

“Everything is wrong,” he says in the end, and again, you know it’s nothing more than a half-truth. Then again, you can’t blame him for not telling you. “Can you even remember the last time thing went right for us?”

It’s not that he’s lying, it’s just that you know he’s not being genuine, and so you don’t bother continuing that line of discussion. It unnerves the other residents when you drop a conversation that is clearly going nowhere, makes them think you’re avoidant, but you think Eun Hyuk understands it. Close enough, anyway.

“You should still tell someone,” you tell him.

“I— What?”

“I get why you wouldn’t want to tell me,” you say with a shrug. “I still think you should tell your sister. Or Jae-Heon, I guess, if you’re more comfortable with that, but I get why it can’t be me.” You take a step towards him, put a hand on his shoulder. You do it slowly, as if you were trying not to spook a skittish cat. Eun Hyuk glances down at your hand, but makes no movement to get rid of it. “I’m here if you need me.”

He scoffs, looks away from you, pushes his glasses higher on his nose. But you don’t let go, and he doesn’t actually move away from you.

“I mean it,” you say softly. “If you want to talk, or if there’s any other way to help you. Just let me know.”

He closes his eyes. You wait for it to sink in, then take your hand off, hoping you haven’t pushed a boundary already. As you break contact with him, though, he grabs your wrist without warning, and pulls you into him. Your chest collides with him as he wraps both arms around and his chin comes rest on your shoulder.

You’re surprised by how strong his embrace is, how he clearly doesn’t want to let go.

“Eun Hyuk?” you squeak.

“Just— Just give me a second,” he says, voice so low you barely hear it. “Please. Just let me have that.”

You feel your heart almost breaking at the desperate plea. Slowly, you close your arms around him, start rubbing his back. You’re not sure what’s happening, not completely, but you know he’s warm against you, and you know you need that contact, too.

Seconds go by, until he takes a step back, clearing his throat. He refuses to meet your eyes, but you don’t miss that his cheekbones are dusted pink now.

“Sorry, I—” Then he lets out a long exhale, and appears to get himself back under control. “You offered.”

You’re not fooled in any way by that, but you still nod.

“And the offer still stands. If you need any help, you know where to find me.”

Another long exhale.

“You— Why— Why would you—”

“Because you need help,” you answer. “You’re the one who’s looking after everyone, and I want to make sure there’s someone looking after you, too.” Eun Yu does, sure, but Eun Yu’s a kid, and that’s a lot of responsibility to put on her shoulders.

“Thank you,” Eun Hyuk mumbles, still not looking at you. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Then he gives you a vague nod and leaves the hallway without once looking back.

Your eyes follow him, worried. You’re afraid he’s reaching his breaking point. This situation is revealing things about people, about yourself, too, even if you don’t like looking at it. Clearly, it’s changing you.

You can only hope that Eun Hyuk will withstand that change — and be by his side for as long as he needs you to.

hope you're enjoying this! tomorrow's entry will be for hyun-su ^-^ as always, reblogs and comments are strongly appreciated and keep me motivated and writing :)

more writing for sweet home

[soleminisanction]

Saw your post in his tag and I completely agree with your Tim loves being Robin post! The “He needs to grow up” thing pisses me off so much. I kind of blame Damian for its existence, but that might be unfair. Isn’t there a comic where Dick lectures Tim about going back to being Robin or being in Bruce’s shadow again? I think I remember reading something like that, but I may be misremembering.

It's not a lecture exactly, but there was a fairly recent comic (here meaning, like I think it was from 2021, 2022? It maaaay have been an issue of Tim Drake: Robin but I genuinely don't remember) where he brought the subject up in the context of like, "It shouldn't be your job to take care of Bruce."

Blame is kinda the wrong word because it implies that Damian the character is "at fault" for the shift, but I do think it's fair to say that Damian/Damian's presence in the narrative is the source of where this sentiment comes from.

Partially because there's a not-insignificant number of Damian stans who seem incapable of separating his in-character resentment of and conflict with Tim from the larger scope of their stories and thus view Tim using the Robin name as a threat/insult to their fav, so they make up and glom onto any arbitrary reason they can come up with for why he should have to change and Damian should get to stay, like two people arguing over who should have to change after showing up to a dinner party in the same outfit.

But mostly it's because of the greater damage that the last ~15 years of pushing Damian as Robin has done to the Robin legacy and its role in the narrative. Which isn't really about Damian himself -- Damian is a perfectly fine character as he is, he tells interesting stories and he clearly offers narrative avenues that people are interested in exploring. The problem is that none of those avenues have damn thing to do with ROBIN.

The story of Damian being/having been Dick's Robin during the Batman Rebirth era is important to his personal story and the story of how he relates to both Dick and Bruce. But outside of that very specific era, which lasted a grand total of -- on the very generous outside -- two and half years, every single one of Damian's stories would be exactly the same if he'd been using literally any other superhero codename.

Because they're not really Robin stories, or Batman & Robin stories. They're either Son of the Bat stories, where Damian deals with the angst of being Batman's son; Batman & Son stories, where Bruce and Damian work on their familial relationship very specifically in the context of a father and his son; or Son of the Demon stories, where Damian unpacks the trauma/conflict/occasional pride of being Ra's al-Ghul's grandson.

The lone exception to this is Juni Ba's The Boy Wonder from last year, which is imho the best Damian story that's ever been written in no small part because it's a love letter to the Robin legacy as told through Damian's eyes while he learns to understand and appreciate that legacy. (It's also about other things but that's because it's a very very good story.)

On the flipside, probably Damian's most popular role, the one that people keep trying to shove both him and his costar back into, is kind of proof-positive of my entire point, because being one-half of The Supersons is a role that was NEVER meant to be filled by a Robin. It's a role that was created for, originated, and always intended to be filled, by a character literally named Batman Junior.

And yet. Because they've insisted, for the last ~15 years, on telling those stories while Damian is wearing a Robin costume, using the Robin name, and advertising under names like Robin: Son of the Bat, it's led to skewing the meta-narrative around what the role and legacy of Robin is supposed to mean.

Instead of being its own, complex and distinctly queer relationship ("queer" not in the sense that it is romantic or sexual, but in that it does not fit neatly into one of society's designated boxes for defining social relationships), the way it was for over 60 goddamn years, Robin has now been half-forced into a singular, distinctly heteronormative and patriarchal definition of "a father teaching his son." And sons are, by societal mandate, meant to someday either leave or overtake their fathers. And since only The Golden Firstborn Dick or the One True Blood Heir Damian is """allowed""" by these heteronormative definitions to someday inherit the cowl, everyone else has to be forced out. "To grow up" as people keep putting it.

The shift in perspective is a direct result of Damian being Robin. It's not the only factor -- Jason's post-UtRH movie popularity factors in too, since fandom tends to zero in on certain elements of his Robin years like the adoption and "Robin gives me magic" and reduce a lot of his less-flattering traits to ~sexy angst and daddy issues~ -- but the way Damian gets used in the narrative is the primary factor from where I'm sitting.

Like I said at the top: it's not Damian, the character's, "fault" or anything. It's just a really frustrating result of people trying to force a more ambiguous relationship into a heteronormative mold that it was never meant to fit, and then getting retroactively mad at characters who were never designed to fit in that mold for breaking it.

[psicheanima]

What do you think about the greater complexities of denji and power’s relationship? some fans argue the romantic undertones kind of throw the common “they’re siblings” understanding out the window and claim that power had feelings for denji, even if denji didn’t. I think these are fair assessments to make but I often see other fans react very poorly because it ruins the “platonic soulmates” thing people have to come to love about them. Regardless, makima is the one who delegated power to little sister status when we all know csm relationships are more complicated than that AND makima has a surface level understanding of human relationships in general. So what are your thoughts?

When you have two feral children like Denji and Power, grown without any form of love whatsoever— friendship, familial or romantic, its undeniable that they will thus explore all these types of love in order to settle on the one that both fits them. They don’t know what boundaries are. They have to go through all these things because they are children who were not taught.

This is why romantic undertones don’t exist for Aki’s relationship with either of them. He is a well adjusted adult who understands that he sees Denji and Power as part of his familial unit. They don’t have this context for society, so they’re everywhere, until they begin to understand their relationship as “platonic” while Denji takes care of Power during her PTSD.

These romantic undertones exist due to our perceptions of romance, but for the characters, it’s different. Power never sees Denji romantically. Ever. She is a devil drawn to warm blood, touch starved, and thus wants to constantly be attached to his body. She is delusionally self confident and crosses people’s comfort zones in what can be perceived as romantic affection, but to her, it is just affection.

Denji initially sees Power as a romantic interest because that’s all women are. They will save him from his miserable loneliness by providing him true, pure ascension. But Power is disgusting, and he isn’t actually sexually attracted to her. He realizes women are flawed beings, that he wants to take care of her, that he loves her in a way he didn’t know existed because he has never been cared for, much less in a familial way. So they are closer than normal siblings would be with one another. The love is big and overwhelming, they don’t know where to put it and both have pre-conceived notions for what it means to love (Denji’s is gendered, hers is violent.)

Nonetheless, Makima was correct in her assessment that Power is a little sister figure to Denji— the thing is, he only got about a few weeks of existing in this dynamic with the darkness devil thing. They could have grown even more healthy, stable and classically “siblings” if given time. What makes this assessment fun is that not even Denji knew he could see women in this way. Makima did not manipulate him to not form a romantic attachment to Power, she knew in advance. It just shows how utterly in control of his emotional life she is. Compare that to Reze, who she simply removes from the table.

They are siblings, they are platonic soulmates, and they do have romantic undertones, in the way we view “romance”, but it’s not that way to them. they are not lovers, or romantic. not even for a singular moment in time. That all exists at once

[fairuzfan]

As a survivor of the Bosnian Genocide, I am acutely attuned to the haunting echoes of that dark chapter in human history, a chapter that refuses to be closed. Today, as I witness the unfolding tragedy in Gaza, the spectre of genocide resurfaces with a poignant familiarity.

The Palestinian landscape, scarred by 75 years of Israeli military occupation, mirrors the hardships faced during the Bosnian War and Genocide - displacement, economic hardship, and restricted access to basic resources.

The ongoing bombing campaign in Gaza exacerbates an already dire humanitarian situation. This is more than a geopolitical conflict; this is a contemporary genocide.

In 111 days, more than 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel, including at least 10,000 children. More than 8,000 are missing, trapped under the rubble, and presumed dead. Another 63,000 are injured, and more than 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced.

Videos of Israeli leaders calling for the destruction of Gaza and the forcible displacement of Palestinians echo the sentiments expressed by those responsible for the Bosnian Genocide.

In the case of the Bosnian Genocide, while both the Bosnian Serbs and the Serbian political leadership knew they were committing genocide in their expansionist plans to create a “Greater Serbia,” publicly they attempted to conceal their crimes to avoid accountability.

Their genocidal intent was not as open or as loud as some of the sentiments expressed by Israeli political leadership.

Nevertheless, comparing the Bosnian Genocide with the current situation in Gaza necessitates a nuanced examination. While historical contexts differ, the core elements of mass displacement, targeted violence against civilians, and the overarching goal of extermination of a specific group are the same.

To comprehend the concept of genocide, it is crucial to understand its legal definition and sociological framework. Coined by Raphael Lemkin after the Holocaust, genocide encapsulates acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

Genocide goes beyond the mere act of killing; it encompasses a deliberate and systematic attempt to annihilate a specific group based on its identity.

Genocide is a process. In Bosnia, it did not simply occur one day in July of 1995, nor did it suddenly rear its head in October of 2023 in Gaza. It is a process that starts with dehumanisation, discrimination, and persecution.

[thekingofwinterblog]

My Hero Academia - How NOT to do an Open Ending

In 2022, the American animated series Amphibia ended with an open ending that left all of it's ships up in the air, and the question of where the main characters would go from there up to the reader.

That might be a rather weird way to open an essay about how My Hero Academia failed, but the reason I do so, is to illustrate a point.

Namely that there is a way to do what Hori tried to do with MHA right.

Amphibia ending has the main human trio of that series reuinte after a long timeskip, with all 3 of them having found their passion in life and built careers for themselves, and while there are some suggestions that Sasha and Anne are a bit closer than what might be apparant on screen, it ultimately left the situation of their romantic relationship at this point, and from there on, up in the air withouth confirming or denying anything, beyond the fact that they for whatever reason drifted apart in highschool, but have come back together again at this point in time.

It left you with enough pieces to figure out the specifics, and how you can understand how things got from one point to another, while still giving all the characters a satisfying payoff, continued the shows themes, had no real plot holes, and wheter you ship any of the characters in question or not, it didnt ultimately matter for the quality of the ending.

The fun part about an open ending is that there is room to speculate, so long as it manages to balance all of the above.

A story does not HAVE to end on the main characters hooking up. it does not have to end with tying every single character up in a relationship and showcasing the beginning of the next generation. It does not have to have a definite ending that gives all the answers to be good.

That is one way to end a story, but it's not the only one.

There certainly are stories that NEED to end like that to be good, stories with a greater mystery, or revenge tales, or who's entire story was about one, specific romantic relationship are shit endings if they ultimately end on an open ending withouth answers.

within the context of MHA, Hori managed to weave this balance very well with it's villains.

The story of the Todoroki family in particular has all the definite endings, and tells us where all the players ends up... but it also leaves the possibility, and question of wheter or not dabi ultimately managed to make peace with his family or not up in the air.

This is a good, satisfying, tragic ending.

Spinner and compress both end up in jail for the rest of their lives, but Spinner resolves to write a book, that for better or worse will tell the league's version of the story. It's not AS good an ending as the above, but it still works just fine.

Clearly Hori CAN write a good open ending that still gives closure.

Which is why it's so baffling that MHA 430, ends up doing EVERYTHING WRONG as far as an open ending possibly could.

It has no closure, it has plot holes aplenty, it manages to leave the question of will they or wont they unanswered, not by being ambigious, but by telling us, in the most unintentionally agressive manner possible that it did NOT happen, and most damningly of all, it shits all over the Story's themes.

MHA ends with the cast all grown up in an "and the adventure Continues!" ending, similar to justice league Unlimited.

That's not a BAD way to end it... The problem is EVERYTHING ELSE in this chapter.

Because we learn WAY too much in this chapter. the gaps in the timeskip is filled... but not in a good way. instead in an infuriating manner that pisses you off if you actually starts to break it down.

Let's start with Izuku being forgotten.

So i have seen some people try to shut down criticism about the fact that Izuku didnt win fortune or fame, by noting that from the thematic point, being a hero was NEVER about that from Izuku's point of view.

And that is true... but this argument misses the bigger and more obvious problem.

The story REFUSES to tackle this from that angle.

As many have pointed out, this is a BAD outcome ending for Izuku.

He returned to being quirkless, he had to settle for a job that wasn't being a hero, he has been mostly forgotten after his one big highlight, and his friends have effectively begun to move on.

And he does not care.

At all.

Hell, a 14 year old izuku who for one brief moment gave up on his dreams to chase a more realistic future, has more genuine and mixed emotion and mixed feelings in one shot, than Izuku has about actually living through a much more bittersweet scenario.

Hell, the one moment Izuku has when he looks genuinely down in this chapter, is when Aizawa admonishes him for not being strict enough with his students.

Basically the premise here is sound. Izuku ended up in a bad personal ending to set up the return to actual heroics at the end of the chapter... And that could have worked if it committed to that.

If he was portrayed as actually having regrets about his lot in life. you know, the same thing All Might's ENTIRE STORYLINE was built around!

MHA has ALWAYS been a human story that confronted the fact that people had regrets, and problems, and they need to be honest about them to deal with them.

To not bottle everything up inside and pretend the problems arent there.

For the story to end, with Izuku doing EXACTLY THAT is a slap in the face that goes EVERYTHING this story has preached about how you need to communicate with the people around you. the entire point of chapter 429, the CHAPTER RIGHT BEFORE THIS ONE!

Then of course there is the whole "Everyone Growing apart" thing too.

Now, it's not as bad as the early translation made it seem, but the point still stands that despite the entire chapter right before the end then emphasises how everyone went their separate ways.

This chapter COULD have shown us moments where Izuku is still in contact with the rest of his class, but it does not. instead it emphasises how distant he is becoming from the rest of his former friend group. He is the lone one out, the one guy who seemingly is no longer in regular contact with the rest.

The reason for that, is that Hori wanted to make the moment where he returns to the fold that much more impactfull... but it does not work, because it basically tells us that none of the class was able, or willing to make the personal sacrifice to keep in regular touch with him during those 5 years.

But FAR more egrigiously, and spitting in the face of the Theme of actually communicating and talking with the people you care about, is HOW Izuku gets back into the game.

Apparently they spent the last 5 years pooling their money to finance a high tech suit for him to fight crime in.

And i get it. I get what Hori WANTED to do with this. He wanted to show "See, Class 1-A didnt forget Izuku after all, they still love him!".

Thats the intended message.

But the problem is, it does not work. and in fact, not only does it NOT work, but it completely goes against EVERYTHING that the story has been trying to preach for the entire 10 years of it's run.

The rest of class A never told Izuku about this. ever. Why? apparently because they wanted it to be a surprise. So they just let him go on with his life for 5 years, all while none of them really bothered to keep in regular contact with him.

There is... so much wrong with that.

But before going over the way it just hammers in the point that actually talking with the people you love isnt important after all, let's go over how this entire stupid plan could have backfired SO badly on the part of class A. Hell, it kinda did actually, if not quite as spectacularily as it could have.

What if Izuku had gotten married and moved overseas during this period? What if he had gotten married in Japan, but his entire family dynamic and plans had revolved around the fact he had a job that did not require moving around much and so got to spend a lot of time at home? Hell, even within the context of what actually Happened, U.A is still going to find itself suddenly short of one teacher who his classes relies upon, if he actually wants to go pro for real.

There are so many ways this stupid 5 year scheme of secrecy could have backfired, and it does not take a genuis to be able to see them.

basically the entire class planned out Izuku's life ahead of him withouth telling him anything about it, withouth giving him the context or preparation for how to plan his future with it in mind, and how none of them seemingly cared about how this might upend his actual personal life.

And thats just the logistical issues.

Morally speaking, this just repeatedly hammers in how this final chapters just completely abandons the themes of how you need to actually work, talk and discuss your personal matters and feelings with the people around you.

1-A did none of that.

They let their relationships with Izuku cool, when they didnt have to, seemingly with the idea that it didnt matter in the end because he'd join them anew as a hero later anyway, and they could catch up then.

Which leads me to discussing the one, actual ship who's ending actually DID matter from a storytelling perspective.

Izuku and Ochako.

Now i have seen so many bad takes across the web from the people who are happy this did not happen, or argue that it does not matter.

But the brutal truth is, it does.

And the reason it does, is not because Izuku HAD to end up with Uraraka, or even that they had to be together in the final moment of the series.

It's because one of the longest running stories of this manga had NO ENDING, NO RESOLUTION, and rather than that, it wants to suggest it might still happen anyway... Despite unintentionally KILLING IT in the most infuriating way possible.

Out of all of the cast, it is Uraraka's character who is butchered by this stupid 5 year plan, to the point it even taints her entire new character direction at the end.

Uraraka ends the story having reformed the Quirk system for people growing up, helping those with difficult quirks get past mental problems... But just all the rest of her class, she chose to neglect her relationship with Izuku under the seeming thought process that she could patch it up later... Or that she could finally confess her feelings.

I'll let Shigaraki speak for my feelings on this way of thinking.

"You heroes hurt your own families just to help strangers. You heroes pretend to be society's guardians. For generations, you pretended not to see those you couldn't protect and swept their pain under the rug. It's tainted everything you built. That means your system's rotten from the inside with maggots crawling out. It all builds up little by little over time."

The intended message of MHA is a refution of this... but in this final chapter, Shigaraki's words ring true, at least as far as class A is concerned.

As they became Heroes, they neglected the one amongst them who needed the most support and instead went off to, as shigaraki put it, Help Strangers.

They pretended that Izuku's situation in the moment did not matter, because in the long haul it would all be worth it.

And just like their predeccessors, it taints everything they do.

But Uraraka most of all. If you ignore the romance angle, she has started a massive program to help strangers in need... while also neglecting and frankly mistreating someone she loves and cares about her who needed her support in his weakest period.

If you do take Romance into account, it gets even WORSE, because then you have to accept that Uraraka ultimately rejected the message that she preached with Toga, the thing that got the blonde girl to turn coat for her.

She in the end did not manage to live a life where she actually was able to do what she wanted to do, and instead remained the exact same wishywashy girl who refused to actually be open about her feelings.

Instead, she, in her final shot of the series, is in the exact same spot she was back then. A girl who would forever pine after Izuku, but never be able to open up about it.

Which would be a bad enough way to end her character on... But then when you take into account that she also participated in the 5 year plan, and there is nothing to suggest she kept in touch with him more than the rest, just makes it so much worse.

I have said before that with this ending, Uraraka's love story was an objective waste of time, and i stand by that.

Hori didnt have to end the series with Izuku and Urarak married, engaged or obviously in a relationship, but by refused to actually make it happen, and lumping Uraraka in with the entire rest of the class, he instead did something way worse.

He made it abundantly clear that regardless of what Uraraka's feelings on the matter, the relationship to Izuku was not something special. She was NOT his Hero in the moment when he actually needed one.

Neither as a friend, or as a love interest.

Her actions tainted everything else.

And of course, there is the big plot hole of this chapter.

The single biggest, and most obvious hole that is just gaping through it, that for this story to work you have to completely ignore.

Namely that 1. All Might is one of the richest peoples in the world. Class A should not have had to actually fund Izuku's suit. All Might could, and SHOULD have done that all on his own. and 2. That this tech EXISTED 8 YEARS AGO!!!!

All Might's armored suit made him one of the most powerfull figures in this entire series.

Sure it was a bit experimental, but it WORKED! it was not some unstable prototype that coudl explode at any moment, it would have worked just fine as an actual permanent power up!

For this entire stupid 5 years of Sidelines Izuku to work, you have to just PRETEND this massive hole does not exist.

And it's not a small hole that you can justify that the characters didnt think about it. It's there, and it's MASSIVE.

The only reason it's not talked about as much as all the rest is that while this is the big Material problem of this chapter, everything else is so much worse because it attacks, destroys, and taints pretty much every theme MHA had over the course of it's long run.

---Edit---

Apparently there is a throw away line in the Trivia section of Volume 39 that All Might apparently spent almost his entire fortune on his Mech suit.

Meaning that while this isn't quite the plothole I assumed it was, it IS still TERRIBLY communicated within the story itself why All Might didn't just fund Izuku's suit themselves.

---

The themes that more than anything else was what set it apart from every other battle manga that ever existed. The Human themes of actually talking to the people around you that made MHA a special story, far more than it's superhuman battles ever did.

That is why so many people are pissed off about it.

It's also why MHA is such a textbook example of how NOT to do an open ended story.

Hori could have kept the details about Izuku's life, be it his personal or proffesional life incredibly vague, beyond the basics... but he choose not to, and instead peeled back the curtain... but rather than showcasing depth, it just made the whole thing fall apart by giving us the specific details that we did not need, and which pretty much tainted the entire ending down to it's core... All completely unintentionally.

He didnt have to show that Izuku had NO specific remaining bonds with any single members Class A that were still more important to him than the rest.

But he did.

He didnt have to go out of his way to show that Izuku was completely forgotten by society at large.

But he did, and subsequentially did not actually choose to explore that.

He didnt have to show us deep, long, internal monologues from izuku's perspective where he is cartoonishly at ease with his lot in life.

But he did.

He was too specific and detailed about the things he NEEDED to keep vague, and not specific about the details that we actually needed to know, and so it all collapses in on itself in a mess of broken Themes and morals, and shattered logic, and above all else, he managed to carelessly and unintentionally cheapen every single relationship Izuku formed with the rest of his classmates over the course of this story.