#but with naruto its so fucking bad that the point of the show should be tearing it down

[opens-up-4-nobody]

Wait... Is Baruto a show where Baruto rebels against his absent father by thinking ninjas are bullshit and has to be pulled back to the "good" ninja side to defeat evil and the decline of the ninja way? Because if so, that is some bullshit. Burn it all down, Baruto. Fuck the ninja system.

[deadghosy]

HANGING OUT WITH NARUTO

KUSHINA!ENBY READER

AGE:10

"[Y/N]-CHANNN!!!! WAKE UP PLEASEEEEE!!!"

Naruto had yelled in your ear as he had try to gently shake you awake but you wouldn't budge so he came to the last resort.

Yelling like an mad-man.

"EHH WHO THE FUCK IS IN MY HOUSE??!" You had gotten up to Naruto's yelling and immediately in self defense, you had grabbed the 'intruder' by the shirt and thrown them out of your room.

Naruto immediately was knocked out but was some what okay. He shook his head to stay awake. He soon  looked up to see your hair flying and you about to punch the lights out of him.

"EHEEHH ITS ME ITS ME NARUTO!!" He said quickly as he shielded himself with his arms. He waited for his death but soon meet with you talking

"Oh! Hey Naruto what you doin here?" You said.

Your entire mood changed made which made Naruto sweatdropped 'man [Y/n]-chan sure is scary sometimes...' he thought

➶➶➶➶➶ TIME SKIP ➷➷➷➷➷

"So you broke into MY HOME, so you could hang out with me?" You questioned, as you sat on your couch with your legs crossed with Naruto, bowing down in apology.

(Like this)

"Y-y-yes [n/n]...I was just bored and I wanted to see you!" Naruto said as he stuttered a bit since he was pretty still shaking from you almost knocking him out.

He was soon met with silence

"...............

zzzzz"

"EEEH [Y/N]-CHAN WAKE UP!"

Naruto shook your shoulder, hoping that you would wake up again.

But your body said otherwise.

Your body reacted in a way that was crazy. Your leg jolted up and kicked Naruto making him getting knocked into a wall.

"O...ouch."

༻꫞꯭ TIMESKIP JUTSU- ꫞꯭༺

You were dressed in your favorite outfit to go out as Naruto was forced to wear something else than orange like.

As his best friend you made sure this boy had drip going out as since you got paid with some money working at Ichiraku Ramen, you were happy at what Naruto was wearing.

Naruto was basically wearing a white shirt with a orange fox in the middle of the shirt, and  light blue shorts. While you had an outfit that matched his. (You could imagine how the outfit looks)

"....isn't this like what couples do" naruto mumbled

"mh? What you say naru?"

"N-NOTHIN!" Naruto exclaimed as he blushed at the thought.

"Ight!" You said as you giggled

You and Naruto were hanging out in the village, talking and asking about where to go for a while. "HEY LETS GET SOME ICHIRAKU RAMEN, MY TREAT!" Naruto suggested as he pointed to himself with his thumb.

You were thinking about it.

"Ya know...Yeah that doesn't sound too bad."

"YIPPEE!! You wont regret this!" Naruto exclaimed and grabbed your hand with your soft/rough hand. He blushed at the feeling of your hand, as you both are smiling and laughing.

Soon after you made it to the ramen shop, still holding hands. The old man, Teuchi Ichiraku saw you and Naruto and smiled softly. "Ah Naruto my boy, I see you brought your girlfriend again." 

You blushed at the statement as you let go of Naruto's hand and started to sway side to side while cupping the sides of your cheeks. "Heyyy I can't be that cute heheh." 

Naruto pinched your cheek as in a way to get your attention. "Stop lying [n/n], you are adorable." He said looking serious.

"Also old man, they don't have a specific gender. SO THATS WHY THEY ARE GOING TO BE MY LOVER IN THE FUTURE!"

Before he could get one more word in you bonked him in the head.

"EHH NARU PLEASE DONT YELL SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YA HEAR!!" your face felt warmer as you looked away from the boy "but it's true though.." Naruto mumbled

Teuchi laughed at the duo, or should I say couple in his mind.  "Cmon kids let's get your feast on!"

“HAI” both you and Naruto yelled in excitement

~few hours later~

After Naruto had 15 bowls, you had 20 to show off your dominance. Naruto promised as he did and paid teuchi.

"How about dessert Naruto!" You wanted to end this day with some type of sweet food in your stomach. "Sure [Y/N]-chan, what do you wanna have?" As he was finna pull out his wallet, but you held down his hand. Naruto looked up at you confused.

"I wouldn't want my future 'husband' to go broke huh." You teased Naruto as payback at what happened at Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto face immediately went red as his legs started to wobble. "Ehhhh..hehhehehe, OF COURSE! Cause when I become hokage I'll be able to get you anything you want [y/n]-chan!" He said. And he meant it all.

"Now now, naru. You need me to be a independent person one day. So don't waste you money on me, ya hear?"

"Yeah yeah. NOW LETS GET DESSERT!!!"

"NOW YOU'RE TALKIN! HEHEEH"

you and Naruto started talking about how you were soon going to be ninjas and how you were gonna make people remember y'all's names.

[stopthebig3]

So some SS fans want to justify their ship by saying Kishimoto is bad at writing romance but many people debunk this by saying Minakushi exists.

So they are criticising Minakushi they said its ridiculous to say it's decent because Minakushi has no development they only appeared to like each other. It's shown clearly how she fell in love with Minato after he complimented and saved her from kidnappers. They dont need to show anymore details because this is not a romance anime. The point is if Kishimoto wants to he can make a good pairing or make them obviously in love or give a reason why they fell in love, he did pretty good with Tsunade X Dan too.

He even drew a manga panel of why Karin fell in love with Sasuke when he saved her from a bear and smiled at her. This was in the middle of a fight, meaning Kishimoto can just pull any reason behind his butt to give a reason why sakura loves sasuke. He had 700 chapters but didn't do anything instead it's the opposite, he KO-ed them with Naruto Gaiden. It's pretty obvious Kishimoto hates this ship but SS stans will justify it to death.

Someone should ask SS why they ship a ship that's badly written.

Oh yeah, because they self insert into Sakura and want to fuck Sasuke. If they agree the ship is written like shit, why do they get mad when people point this out? Weird fandom.

[waffliesinyoface]

anyways i just read all of naruto in like a week so i am now qualified to have The Most Correct Opinions.

Land of Waves arc is unironically the best one

its also the ONLY standard mission in the entire manga?? literally, at no point does anyone interact with a client after tazuna, its all in response to orochimaru/akatsuki. Naruto your resume is ridiculous. The reason Kakashi is 6th Hokage is not because Naruto wasn't strong enough, but because he needed to learn what the actual job of being a ninja entails. Yes you are very strong but you do need to have a basic grasp of paperwork systems.

Its kind of weird that, out of all the akatsuki, kisame is the one who hangs around the longest. Most of the others show up, do their bit, and then are immediately killed. Kisame is introduced first and dies last.

i've already mentioned this in another post but the Cycle of Hatred thing does not work. It worked as a motivation for Pein, but like. The reason the villages kept declaring war on each other wasn't for revenge, it was because their economic system was inherently tied to being the one with the strongest military and also they were paranoid that if someone else got too strong they would be invaded first.

Related: they should've had warring clans exposition and details about the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd wars BEFORE Pein showed up. If there were more details about wars in the past presented in a tragic-but-still-overall-necessary light, then Pein showing up and going "you miserable bastards trample over everyone weaker than you and deserve to be punished or it." It would have had more weight. Literally you could've slotted this during Naruto's initial training with Jiraiya as a follow-up to Hiruzen's "The chuunin exams are a replacement for war" speech.

Sakura why the fuck didnt you marry Ino

Kishimoto did Sakura so dirty at every turn. Literally every time she gets screentime she goes "THIS TIME... I WILL BE THE ONE WHO PROTECTS YOU...!" and has a cool moment, and then gets immediately overshadowed.

Literally at one point she's like "in the chuunin exams i was so weak... i hid behind you guys at every turn" and i felt like I was going insane because both during wave and the chuunin exams she has moments where she's like "yeah i dont have any special powers but i DO have a knife and you're going through me FIRST, fucker" which is honestly way cooler to me than like 90% of all the jutsu bullshit. Literally she stands in between a berserk gaara and a crippled sasuke armed with nothing but a kunai and pure fucking grit.

its very funny to me that the first time naruto ever does a nature transformation its rasenshuriken. Kakashi woke up in a cold sweat one day and realized he forgot to do the most basic teaching about chakra theory when they were genin. Whoops.

Im sorry but i legitimately do not care about the sage OR his sons OR the reincarnation twist. Its not interesting to me and I WILL be ignoring it. I'm all for the sage being reminded of his kids or the idea of history being cyclical, but explicitly going "no youre a reincarnation, this was Fated" is dumb and kishimoto SHOULD feel bad.

Edo Tensei arc is unironically very funny to me. Kabuto is having a mid-life crisis and has turned into a snake about it, and has decided to raise a bunch of dead badasses for. reasons. honestly i am not sure how his goals required obito or the akatsuki??

Anyways he raises a bunch of badasses and WHOOPS theyre all comedians. Deidara and Sasori are bickering, Itachi is being even more of an unhinged control freak than normal, the Mizukage is curbstomping everyone while berating them for not hitting the weakpoints he's explicitly telling them about, Tobirama is annoyed at everyone but mostly himself for actually coming up with this jutsu, and madara puts his entire plan on hold for a minute because he sensed his ex boyfriend and got incredibly horny.

Orochimaru gets brought back to life and promptly goes "actually i take back my plans about konoha, watching sasuke is INFINITELY more entertaining. Also I'm going to help out against the akatsuki because Kabuto's snake fursona is a tacky knockoff of me and I'm disowning him for being lame." I also liked him being chummy with Tsunade, that was very cute. I kind of wish Jiraiya HAD gotten edo tensei'd so that all three sannin could have been reunited on the same side? It would have been cute??

I feel strongly that Sakura and Karin deserve to go to some hot springs together and mutually complain to each other about being unfortunately attracted to the most misogynistic man on the planet after kishimoto himself. Orochimaru and Ino can tag along because they LOVE gossip and complaining.

Gai being the only person on the planet strong enough to beat the crap out of Madara is great, actually. Yes you can block all ninjutsu and genjutsu, but can you block his fists? No.

The "special chakra" produced in uchiha brains is actually entirely unrelated to the sharingan. It mostly just causes brain damage. This is why Madara, Obito, and Sasuke are all Like That.

Obito's heel face turn and the ensuing team up with Kakashi is, against all odds, actually good. I am willing to overlook Obito temporarily coming back from the dead through sheer willpower both because its cool and because we've already established chakra is bullshit and ghosts exist.

Obito your plans are dumb, your motivation is stupid, your critical thinking skills are nonexistent, and your coping mechanisms are insane. Somehow I still like you, despite this??

Does anybody at all like kaguya. Anybody.

Everything about the epilogue annoys me. Mirai and Sarada can stay, everything else I am actively choosing to ignore.

Frankly I'm confused and appalled that kishimoto wrote sasuke and naruto like that, and then put them in heterosexual marriages with other people.

[lexpressobean]

Shino was a good student and is also considered a good Shinobi in general, but it's because he was essentially Brainwashed to a greater extent than the rest of the Konoha 13, second only to Sai. And that's probably super obvious but Imma talk about it anyway, take a peak if you'd like lol

It's the same reason why Choji was originally one of the worst students and as he got older and more experienced, still wasn't up to speed like some of the others in general, allegedly. Shino and Choji both come from Noble Clans, and by the time they're both 17, have a great amount of skill in their own way. And sure, Asuma as a Sensei was noted to complain a lot about Choji, but I think its at least partly because Choji was not brainwashed by the school to a great enough extent. And his obviously loving parents and fellow Akimichi Clan Members certainly did not try to remedy that either. It doesn't show in his character like it does for Shino and the Aburame. Neji is considered a great Shinobi, even better than Shino by Rank. And he was RIGHTFULLY angry, but dude had such a warped sense of his own worth and existence due to his Dad being put to death because of the Situation, being a literal slave, and then finding out his Dad willingly chose to die instead of fighting for his life??? Neji was considered a Noble but he was treated cruelly and spiritually beaten down by his own family to become the Shinobi he was. School probably just gave him some desperately needed structure.

Like, Shino comes from an obviously powerful clan, yet even so, Shibi as the Head of that clan was powerless to keep Torune from being taken by Danzo. And Shino might have witnessed all of that as a young child, but he likely understood most of what happened very well. So how were Shibi and the rest of the Aburame Clan going to justify such a thing? The only way to explain it to Shino and keep him from looking for Torune and causing trouble along the way would be to make Shino think of Torune's selection and following abduction as a Good Thing. It was an Honor for Danzo to come to the Aburame, and Torune acted like a True Shinobi, a prime example of what it means to be Loyal to and Love the Village. And the fact that Shino was originally the one chosen to go doesn't mean Shino wasn't good enough in the end. This all just has to be kept as secret as possible, and Shino is already a student at the Academy. This is so that Enemy Ninja don't find out so easily. But they all know, and will always know. So Shino should not cry or fret. Shino is just as much Devoted to the Village as Torune, right? Torune wanted to do this, so Shono should not disparage his choices with tears and sadness...

... Framing it as an especially good thing would have to have been the only way to pacify an otherwise complely terrified and hugely upset Shino. And the only way to cope with what happened would be to believe it was a good thing, to believe all that bullshit everyone else told him. And Shino really would. It would always feel bad, and the trauma would still affect him in a variety of ways. The survivor's guilt. The feelings of inadequacy caused by Danzo's choice to reconsider Torune instead, which spared Shino instead of Torune. The new knowledge that some people in the village are so strong that just their words could make Shibi visibly panic. Knowing Danzo could always come back if he wanted to. But still, it's all worth it, because it was a Good Thing. Shino tries to, and really just has to actively deal with all that... at least until he gets older. And starts to use his developed critical thinking skills to question Konoha's inner workings and politics, especially after Naruto's supposed influence. He'd soon realize how fucked up it all really was with a clearer and more human and personal view on things. He might try talking to Shibi about it, but Shibi wouldn't give him the chance. Shibi doesn't want to even think about it. But at that point, Shino could easily piece together what a dilemma it really was for his father. There was no solution, only two bad options his father would have had to live with...

Torune wasn't loyal to the Village. He didn't love the Village. Torune was loyal to Shibi for treating him like a son, and he loved Shino like a little brother. That's why he did what he did...

Like... how is this shit still not properly explored in canon? Why set up such a situation, at the very end, only to ignore it completely anyway!? Why did we get these tidbits so late in the game when Shino was set up to just be a snooty and sometimes quite an unlikable guy in the series?

[justsomeoneunordinary]

Just a note, Tobirama DID step in between Butsuma and Hashirama in the manga. As i see him, he was a gentle brother, he will feel for Hashiramas pains and joys, he tells his brother everything he thinks, he wants to be close to his brother. Its not until Madara that Hashirama, and their relationship...changed.

As for Hashirama, he loves his brother and its clear his whole dream was because of him, but we dont have canon material on how young Hashirama shows that love to the real person.

Im not saying Tobirama and Sasuke were alike in personality, and similar neither are Hashirama and Itachi, but young Tobiramas gentle ways of always looking to his brother and KiNda was just brushed aside, plus his baby looks thats closer to an Uchiha than his family, strongly reminds me of young Sasuke while his brother was busying with his "big picture" goals. Maybe as Edo he really feels he was lacking in being a brother and thats why he praised both Itachi and Madara on being brothers.

Thanks for the correction! I had to look it up again, and yeah, first Butsuma punches Hashirama and Tobirama catches him but then Hashirama goes on provoking Butsuma (lmao what a king) and that’s when Tobirama steps in. Honestly forgot about that part, I only remembered the first part.

As for the rest… I don’t really see where you’re coming from. As I said, the founders era relies heavily on interpretation and if that’s how you interpret child Tobirama and child Hashirama, then good for you. I myself don’t see any canon evidence that Tobirama looked up to Hashirama in the same way Sasuke did to Itachi. If anything, we see wee Izuna looking up to his big bro. There’s no Sasuke-Itachi and Tobirama-Hashirama parallel I can see, sorry.

And when it comes to Tobirama, there’s even more mystery. We see him as a child calling grown ups dumb and how they just should just make a truce, and then there’s a time skip and he’s more than ready to kill the Uchiha, to kill Madara and doesn’t believe in the peace Hashirama wants to make. What happened? Who the fuck knows, we never get to see his thoughts, only when he props Naruto. What is going on in that head at any time is a mystery to all of us and thus free to interpretation. There’s no right or wrong. (Though, I personally think that antis and stans are equally wrong.)

“Maybe as Edo he really feels he was lacking in being a brother” <- this is where you have lost me. I don’t think that Hashirama was lacking in being a brother and that he thought so either. Canon shows us a rather cold relationship, but as I already stated, I reject that. They had their disagreements but we don’t really see them outside of that so I can imagine them in a loving brotherhood all I want. And yes, I do think Hashirama overreacted when he threatened Tobirama in that final Senju-Uchiha fight, but if him reacting a bit too emotional or rightfully calling Tobirama out when he’s being unfair toward the Uchiha is considered him being a bad brother, then I will point with the finger at Tobirama and say him yelling at Hashirama and insulting him and only listening to him when it’s an order is also being a bad brother. A relationship is a two-way street.

I’m not sure if this is what you were trying to do but if you came to me to point out how great and dutiful Tobirama is while Hashirama is the bad brother, then sorry, but you’re at the wrong address here.

[thunder-point]

A prompt: sasuke and naruto r typical enemies/rivals. One gets injured and the “Who did this to you?” line drops 😫😫 Truly basic but so indulgent

Hello, hello darling anon! Thank you for this prompt. It may be basic as you say, but indeed I can admit it's an indulgence for me as well, so it would be an honor to write something for it. A little nugget of indulgence in my own way of taking and developing this prompt idea.

Sorry for the mistakes, it's not proofread!

Here it goes:

Naruto is used to Sasuke wildly appearing on the training grounds he usually attends and simply starting a mock fight with him, without any words given, without any announcement beforehand, and also, Naruto is used to indulging him with it.

Really, it has happened too many times in the last years. It's a habit for them, at this point. It's a kind of training that makes him ache with discontent when he actually trains alone and there's no wild Uchiha to interrupt and throw a masterful hit back.

But, and here comes the but; what he's not used to is the sluggish, almost lazy, uncoordinated hit Sasuke throws at him as a start. Not because Sasuke doesn't have days where, maybe, he's not in the mood for a fight, or doesn't have his bad days, but usually if that may be the case, he straightforwardly doesn't show himself, and lets Naruto do his hours of practice on his own. When they fight, everything and anything has the embers of their fire blazing at the end of it. Their movements jerk with the forces of all the impacts. That's what makes the thrill rise, their breath be yanked out of their grinning mouths.

So, naturally, Naruto frowns instead, and he only hits back with a lounging kick because of Sasuke's warning, Sharingan-red glance. They don't talk, typically, during these kinds of fights. It's not like the ones they had when they were on different sides and ideologies, this is pure fulfillment of the body, thus the bodies talk on their own.

Yet, right now, as he's met with so much slack for the one who normally pounds force against him like one would beat an iron wall, Naruto can't help the puzzled, slightly mean stretch of his lips.

"Are you going easy on me?" Their usual taunts, the never-ending bickering, that comes as easy as breathing. "Didn't peg you for such a coward, Uchiha."

Sasuke merely grunts, and somehow, as much as it increases concern, it also raises his hackles like no other. Because, sure, Sasuke's retorts usually make his irritation grow, but to be kind of disregarded makes it worse. Much, much worse. Of course, he doesn't question it; doesn't look too much into his mood souring when his rival/kind-of-best-friend ignores him. That's dangerous territory.

So he concentrates on anger instead, and perhaps that was a mistake on its own. He aims a forceful hit at Sasuke's gut, and it knocks the man to his back with a choked sound that you wouldn't see coming from him on a normal day. That makes him halt, finally. He stops with a glide from the backlash of the hit, and immediately rushes to Sasuke's side with little puffs of air, kneeling beside him.

"What-" The shocking patch of blood drenching the side of Sasuke's shirt makes his words turn into a splutter. "Holy fuc- Did I do this somehow? No- Sasuke, why the fuck did you even enter a fight with me when you're hurt like this? Are you really that stupid? Dumbass!"

He lifts the ruined hem of the shirt, gritting his teeth at the gruesome wound that is revealed to him. Sasuke eyes are shaded by his arm, his mouth parted with deep heaves of breath, and Naruto knows he should have picked up the Uchiha and jumped roofs until he reaches the Hospital, or at least Tsunade or Sakura, maybe even Ino, but he only reaches one of the hefty trees on the training grounds when Sasuke lets out a guttural moan that he's clearly trying to hide through his teeth, and Naruto puts him down against the trunk, before he takes his jacket off in a hurry and rips the lower half of his white shirt without a second thought.

That gets him a confused glance from Sasuke, but Naruto simply crouches down beside him, abdomen now exposed to the world, and bunches the piece of material into a fist, before pressing it on the oozing wound. It turns the white into crimson almost immediately, and he curses clumsily, pressing harder.

"You should've gone straight to the Hospital," he mutters, feeling the blood already on his fingers. He grimaces. "Stupid. You're so stupid."

Sasuke doesn't say anything, he's not even looking at him; plainly leaning his head back against the tree with a hard-stone expression. Naruto squints at him, and exhales, sitting with his legs under his butt.

"Hey," he mumbles after a few minutes pass, and the blood seems to be slowing down, and after a pause, Sasuke does turn his half-lidded gaze towards him, droplets of painful sweat already sliding down the straight bridge of his nose, the sides of his handsome face. Naruto can't help himself, his heating worry, and leans slightly forward, voice uncharacteristically soft, "Who hurt you like this?"

It's a thought that plagued him the moment he noticed something truly wrong with Sasuke, and it doesn't live his head even when Sasuke simply looks him in the eye, lips still parted, labored breathes hitting Naruto full-on his own frowning mouth. Who succeeded in hitting Sasuke straight on like this? And such a deep wound, as well.

"Who did it?" Naruto repeats, tone of voice lower, mustering the nerve to gingerly bump noses with Sasuke in a gentle, maybe playful encouragement to get the Uchiha to talk. "C'mon, tell me. I will kick their butt for you. That is, if you didn't fuck them up already after your pride took the hit."

That makes Sasuke snort, the sound lifting the corners of his mouth a little, and Naruto never had the urge so strong to kiss those inviting lips ever before, even when they're slightly cracked - still so fucking charming to look at.

He's yanked out of his trance the moment the cold tip of Sasuke's nose makes contact with his again, and this time it stays there, and Sasuke's breaths are a little calmer.

"Doesn't matter anymore," Sasuke says, rough but with that lilt of his that makes Naruto's tummy do little jumps. It's as unnerving as is comforting. A colder hand joins his to press harder on the wound, and suddenly, lips are on his ear, soft yet scratchy on his skin. "But thank you. For this."

Naruto shivers, closes his eyes, and thinks. Fuck. Of course I'm in love with this asshole.

"Don't mention it," he replies meekly, and swallows once more when he feels a fond smile against his ear. "But next time, go to a Hospital, dumbass."

[quinntamsin]

She'd only seen the Gates perhaps once in her life before this. They reached far into the sky and were blanketed in clouds. She rested aboard her captain's ship, a feeling of languor threatening to overtake her. Eying the tall woman who claimed command of the Spiteful Harlot she sat up. A den den mushi in her hands was spouting some nonsense she could barely make out. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHITEBEARD IS DEAD?!" and at those words Qwynn froze. Edward Newgate, the strongest human in the entire damn world was dead. How? The zoan user instantly shifted into her leopard form and leaped from her place sleeping on the prow of the boat. --- SPOILER WARNING! CONTENT WARNING: Mass character death, brutality and abuse. *The droning voice of Sengoku in the background.* We finally reach the penultimate Arc of the Summit War Saga. This arc was hands down one of the most painful to watch. Not because it was dragging at times, and oh did it drag. But because we all learned that this big rescue mission was nothing but tragedy. I knew what was going to happen, I spoiled One Piece all the time for myself. Hate me if you want, but I like staying updated on the Manga as my mental illness. That being said I watch the show in spurts between work and commitments to my patreon work. So, wow, lets do this, I'm not breaking this one down to bits of the arc. This is going to be a pure bad good and ugly. I want to do it this way because this was the hardest hitting Arc I've seen since Enies Lobby. The Ugly One thing about Shounen ANime is they really like to drag out fights with a lot of twists and what not. I say this as someone who grew up on shows like Yu-Gi-Oh and OG Dragonball Z. This story was great, it added a lot of nice twists and bits but there were a few low points for me. It doesn't dragon on a Naruto Level. I can't put my finger on it, but a lot of ways I really didn't think it should have taken Luffy more than five episodes to get out of the exit ring. This part of the battle is perhaps the most where I got frustrated watching. It really started as the push for the harbor was about midway through. The story where we finally get Squard's stab into Newgate. Watching him do so, learning more about the backstory of Ace and much more was heartening. But there are a few episodes that break down to pretty much "Keep going get going" and then only a little bit of progress is made. This entire Arc is about a losing war, and yet, damn it ground hard into me. And this is the only critique in this regard I can think of! So I was going to do a bad, but fuck it, I already did that. The Good I simp for this show. It calls me like the Jezabelle she is! Now lets talk about what this Arc did so damn well, it made me fucking cry. We already know Oda is kind of against killing people off. He let Crocodile live for FFS. There are even points where it was obvious that people like Moria should have been dead, but nope they are still alive. Hell, its also been revealed that perhaps a certain giant is still alive! Spoilers aside, this entire thing is pretty fucking filled with despair. An entire story about the despair created by the fucking World Government. Yeah, lets not ignore that the world of One Piece is rand by a genocidal government okay with wiping out entire nations and islands for convenience. So watching them murder not only a bunch of pirates, but lying to get them to betray each other makes sense. Sure, we can easily view the Marines as good guys if we already didn't know better. What we see really is a group of people trying to save on eo fhteir own. Attempting to use overwhelming odds but all they ace is three fucking tyrannical gods, and their pragmatic Commander. The Whitebeard Pirate Alliance fall in droves as they are cut down by the Warlords and the Admirals. The Vice Admirals join the fray and as Little Oars dies to save his friends they use his fucking body to climb over. This is some seriously dark shit. All the while we watch as Ace is reminded of how his entire life all he's good at is getting other killed. DAMN ODA! Squard's betrayal in of itself was another great ploy by Sakazu aka Akainu, a truly tyrannical figure. This shows that the Marines as the sword arm of the World Nobles is not above fomenting mutiny. Yeah, it's a good strategy, and honestly it just reminds us that these are not good people. They have NO scruples. Whitebeards death was just so damn disquieting. He just stood there as he finally lost his strength. Then to have his devil fruit powers stolen by that bastard Teach made it even worse. Teach truly is a fucking near Xanatos level villain. This guy has played Newgate SINCE he joined and sacrificed former friends to get what he wanted. All of this culminates into the final death of Ace, and damn, I knew it was coming. I knew it was going to make me cry, yet by the Nine it tore into me. ACE and Luffy are members of ASL, and three kids who grew up in a world that despised them. It it weren't for Crocodile (yes I follow the Croco-mom theory) hadn't saved his boy Luffy would be dead. Gay Canon I will say that this entire episode is laden with fucking masc characters so I can't spin a a lesbian scene here. Honestly, I would headcanon Luffy as a trans masc and Ace as his adopted brother still. Spin up Hancock as his love interest and there we go. TBH with how tall Hancock is I'm reminded of T4T couple memes I see now and then. Now, let's talk about adopted dads. Newgate actually TREATS his suborinates as his kids and grandkids. He treats them well and defends them with all his might. This can easily be seen with cultish as we're talking about a macho-man figure who gets everyone to call him pops. But easily there is nothing in that manner. Honestly in this story I see Marco's desperation here to save Ace as a man trying to save his husband. Marco and Ace FIT as a couple and I really do like that as an angle. For sapphic ships we are still kind of at a loss. The only Warlord Present who can remotely being seen as mingender or "as a womxn" is Hancock. Everyone other major character minus perhaps two vice admirals are androgender spectrum. Now, a rare fic story featuring Hancock and Hina maybe? I mean, there's not a lot of optinos from this storyline! Though, I think a story with Vivi and Hina would also be another good option for an aftermath rare pair set up. Conclusion Wow, yeah, this was a post long time coming and to be honest I've been in a fairly deep funk overwhelmed by real life. Heh, anyways, lets sit back and discuss some final thoughts. The Marineford Arc is a solid conclusion to the Summit War Arc. I really dislike the dub translation of "War of the Best" but whatever. I watch the dub because I get distracted and write and I can't always be reading subtitles. (I use to be a purist, but fucking ADHD and other issues messed it up). Back to the story, this epic battle specifically brought us what we wanted. The despair felt by pirates and the rebels against the might of the Marines. Without the Gura Gura no Mi, the battle would have been harder for everyone. YES, the Division Commanders are powerful. But we are talking about the fucking Warlords of the Sea. One of which is a total meglomaniac who is powerful enough to spider sling across clouds for fun. Aokiji bikes across water because he's so precise with his power. This was a last hurrah for the legends of Whitebeardss Era. Sure Kaido and Big Mom were his mates, but the old man truly was one of the Greats. What we see here is a foolish attempt by the WG to quash the Supernovas. To kick them while they are down and prevent the rise of another Pirate King. Someone capable of challenging the false gods of the Celestial Dragons and put Im on the backfoot. This wasn't going to happen, but what I witnessed was the not just a last ditch effort to save on of their own. I watched a generation's hope of freedom get crushed as villains like Teach, Kaido and Big Mom existed off in the distance. I mean Teach stole a fucking fruit and now has shit that is just plot plate armor level crazy. But yeah, as we go into the New World I'm itching for watching a few Admirals getting a beat down. Hottakes:

Holy fucking shit Marineford is a ridiculous space. I keep forgetting how big Marine ships are as well. Those things Dwarf most of the ships from any of the early arcs.

Are paddle wheel boats a standard? I'v seen three so far, the Kuja Pirate's ship, the one Momonga had and Whitebeard's ace in the hole.

Whitebeard is an interesting figure, I think he should have jumped in. Oars death felt so needless, it just shows that people loved Ace. And this was a means to "punish" him for just existing.

I really just hate Akainu, he's such an asshole.

Aokiji is beyond OP, he's a devil fruit user but he can free sea water. That's a ridiculous cold point to achieve plus averting a common devil fruit weakness.

Well fuck Blackeard for being able to steal fuck powers.

[casliveblog]

(That moment when some good anime finally come out but I don’t wanna watch them because they may be on Toonami at some point and rewatching anime for Toonami does kinda take some of the fun out of it but then Toonami’s like ‘we have nothing planned for the next two months, have double Naruto Shippuden’, which I get because Housing Complex C just came out and it’s four episodes long and that makes it the perfect length to be a Halloween marathon and you don’t want to start a new show just to interrupt it with a Halloween Marathon but like there’s nothing really to look forward to as far as existing anime and it’s kinda frustrating since a lot of the new anime they’ve made have been mediocre or bad and I just want some guaranteed quality.

Just looking at anime that have new seasons that haven’t been on Toonami we have:

SSSS.Dynazenon, My Hero Academia (Season just started but still technically counts), Mob Psycho 100, Made in Abyss (Same as MHA), Jojo (scooped up by Netflix so not expecting it just worth noting), Food Wars, Demon Slayer, Megalobox, Pop Team Epic (See MHA)

And then as far as things that haven’t aired on there before but REALLY should given their general connection or even promotional materials that have aired on Toonami we have things like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man

So just as a way to vent I’ll list my top wanted things and the things that I’m baffled haven’t been on the block yet

Demon Slayer and Mob Psycho 100 are kind of the odd ones out given how long their second seasons have been out and there was even a rerun of Mob Psycho Season 1 that everyone thought was going to lead to season 2 being announced for the block that just... didn’t happen

Megalobox and Dynazenon aren’t my favorite picks by any means but they do seem to gel really well with what the showrunners want for the block and I think they are going to be scooped up at some point when things cool down a bit

MHA, Pop Team Epic and Made in Abyss will also probably come at some point, like Toonami legit can’t keep its hands off MHA it’s basically its big moneymaker since it found out it can’t milk Dragon Ball endlessly, they got their hands on Made in Abyss at a good time right before season 2 was really being talked about so it kinda just kicked up the discussion again and that may mean there’s a deal to be made there but I don’t pretend to know how this shit works and Pop Team Epic is just a wild card in every sense so who knows.

Food Wars has a weird history with the block given how its seasons are broken up into some weird copyright mess so that’s kind of a toss-up whether they’re going to pursue that or not but it’s there should they decide it’s worth going after.

But as far as new series I’d like to see on there within the next year that could really give the block the shot in the arm it needs are Jujutsu Kaisen, (I mean come on the fucking movie advertised on the channel why is it not there) Chainsaw Man (just started so we’ll see about the news) and... believe it or not, Spy X Family, like it’s probably not something most people think of when they think of Toonami but it’s a popular show with some action, at least as much as some of the more chill shows that have been on there.

Ever since Dragon Ball Super ended and MHA’s seasons have been sparse, Toonami’s really kind of struggled to find a new flagship series and covid certainly didn’t help and it seems like they’re putting more effort into creating new shows rather than acquisitions but I think grabbing something with good press behind it already would probably give everything the boost it needs given none of the originals have really been able to get off the ground. I get there’s probably business reasons why creating new shows you have full rights to is probably easier/more profitable than trying to bump gloves with Netflix and Disney+ (the whole reason I didn’t mention Bleach) but that doesn’t do much good if nothing’s pulling in the numbers and we just kinda let the block sit on reruns and shows that are decades old. I’m thrilled One Piece is getting another shot I really am, but it can’t carry the block and if Toonami’s not going to pull the anime that are actually in current conversations then it’s going to get left behind, I respect that it’s trying to make that conversation rather than leech off of it but there needs to be a mix since production takes so long and as we’ve seen with shows like Shenmue and Black Lotus just doesn’t yield the results they’re looking for)

[sasukeless]

i think my biggest problem when people call sasuke a bad friend is that they always imply he owned something to others and that he should ignore his own feelings and goals to please other characters.

sasuke is an honest, straightforward character that doesn't bother to sugarcoat his words. he always will state his opinion no matter what people think so people assume that because of that he's an asshole to his friends. ppl claim he was an mean to team 7 and he didnt deserve all the things naruto did for him and im honestly confused what manga are they reading at this point because that's not it?

sasuke pre-time skip treats naruto the exact way naruto treats him. if you think he's an a bad friend then you must think the same of naruto because they both showed conflicted feelings all the time and the rivalry went both ways. "he tried to kill naruto at vote1" actually, sasuke told naruto to leave. he obviously did not want to kill naruto (or he wouldve at the end lol), their fight starts after naruto refuses to let him go.

sasuke also was not asshole to sakura as people paint him, he's in all his right to reject her for not feeling the same way she does, he doesnt own her anything and she's the one who kept pushing. "he called her annoying" yes, he did, when she was bad mouthing naruto and when she try to compare his trauma of losing his family and clan to her being sad because sasuke left the village lol

also for some reason its often ignored how sasuke never asked team 7 to kept chasing after him. he does the exact opposite and tells them to leave him alone, why is he blamed for their own actions?

i understand naruto's chasing because although at the beginning he was a kid, he didn't understand sasuke, he did later. unlike everyone else naruto doesn't want sasuke home because of selfish reasons, he wants him because he knows sasuke is alone and hurting and naruto hates that and feels it too but those are still naruto's own feelings???

also sasuke doesnt own konoha a single thing. the elders did not just order his brother to slaughter their clan but konoha did not show any care for him after the massacre when he was living alone and raising himself, just like they did with naruto. the whole will of fire is bs and sasuke had no reason to follow it when its literally the main reason his life got fucked up in the first place.

[ravysu]

Sannin headcanons and thoughts

The last thing I would like to post for the sannin week. It is still 24.04 here! :D @sannin-central

This is long. Spoiler alert. Mostly Orochimaru, some Tsunade, a little of Jiraiya (because his story is pretty clear and spoken and idk what I can add). Also I recommend to read this meta about Orochimaru, it has influenced me a lot and has some good points. Sorry for any posible grammar mistakes. Also I really should put here a lot of references to the manga or anime but it was something that was piling up for a year and I'm soooooooo lazy. After all, those are just headcanons. Also: Im not excusing Oro's bad stuff here, Im trying to understand the reasons.

Ive already posted some hcs, here, here and here.

1. First if all, the chronology pic of sannin lifetime based on the info i found on naruto wiki and also some statements about wars from this post. It was tough considering what a mess naruto’s chronology is.

2. Sannin story shows what it cost to be a legend. They're like Team 7 but more realistic. Tsunade literally carried the war but left with nothing and developed a ptsd and have problems to just live on. Also anger control issues. I think she can be pretty bossy and stubborn which is not always nice. Jiraiya is the hero of the day but also very idealistic and can ignore some important details in the real word whether its the fight (he always injured during flashbacks maybe because each time he took too much to handle and on the one hand it's heroistic but on the other is a mistake that can lead your team to situations like in that Iwa cave) or your friends issues (I bet he saw what's going on but thought it's fine until Oro actually got red handed and left). He lives in his world and may have problems to get out to see it through someone else's shoes. As for Orochimaru, it seems like he was a normal guy for 20+ years (I mean, he didn't do crazy criminal shit and had something good in him and it was stated somewhere that it was his teammates influence. It is obvious they considered him as a friend, I don't thinks it was for nothing) but we mostly know his darkest side. Despite being a moster he is a human that have empathy and some ordinary human traits (man just decorates every bit of an environment he is in lol).

3. Tsunade was the leader of team Hiruzen.

4. Tsunade sometimes hit Jiraiya for some stupid things he did or said but never touches Orochimaru even if he did something same. Jiraiya complained about it once and almost got another hit.

5. Jiraiya had problematic parents that didn't care about him much and a lot of time he was wandering in the streets.

6. Judging by the look of Oro bangs and hair, he sometimes cut it off. A stress relief huh? And the fact that he doesn't do it now in Boruto..

7. It was shown that Tsunade and Orochimaru was acknowledged before they become a team. Maybe they did just before, or maybe some longer time before. I prefer the second option and hc that they met because both had no real friends - Orochimaru seemed weird and scary for everyone and Tsunade was Senju so everyone wanted to hang out with her but didn't really care. They weren't seen as what they were - people put the labels on them. But they didn't care about each other's labels and actually saw each other in true lights.

8. Tsunade knew it was an accident and it's not right but still she blamed Orochimaru for Nawaki's death for some time. It was something that seriously damaged their friendship and the team. Orochimaru was mad but also guilty, after all, he was responsible at least as a shinobi since Nawaki was under his watch. So he started to act cold and emotionless and was trying to distance himself from his teammates.

9. Jiraiya was in Ame while Dan died.

10. The whole his orphans mission was a bit irresponsible tbh. They already fought Hanzo and as he stated the conflict between Konoha and Ame is going to an end with Konoha's win. It's weird to stay here for three years in the middle of the war while there were other lands to fight. He left his teammates for some idea. Maybe that caused another crack in their team friendship.

11. If Tsunade would have find a way to live on with her trauma and follow the will of fire and stuff it would affect Orochimaru as well just as her grief affected him. It's like he would get an example that you can live on with this pain. So death isn't above human capability and we are not just the slaves of mortality (sounds stupid but i dont know how else to describe sorry). But as we know what he actually saw is that it broke her crucially to the point she couldnt be herself again. And so the death is above everything.

12. Oro wasn’t just acting as a cold pragmatic bitch in that cave but also tried to save Tsunade. Jiraiya knew it and that’s why he showed this sign to him like "I see what youre doing here" and that stunned Oro because he would prefer to look rather like a cold pragmatic bitch hehe

13. Just a thought. People in the village probably treated Oro as a foreigner or just wouldnt accept him because he looked so differently and had a weird attitude. That's why he sometimes didn't feel that Konoha is his home. After the wars where people were treated as means and tools, even the children, he himself developed this view on people - he dehumanized them and used as the means to his goals, just as his village did. Funny thing some people were straightly dehumanizing him too like Ibiki thought that he was a demon (tho he was a child). And he probably weren't the only one. Anyways the point is that it's logical that Orochimaru don't care about anybody but some few people, he's the product of his era. He's like Naruto that would chose the hatred way. But naruto had some good and understanding people around him and.. Orochimaru had them too, but match how Iruka treated Naruto and this Hiruzen's "I sAw tHe mAliCe in This cHiLd fRoM tHe BegGinNinG". And oro didn't even have a big ass evil fox in him. sry i hate hiruzen

ANYWAYS the moral of the story is not "go criminal if they hurt you" but always treat people like people. Waving my hand to Kant.

14. The reason why Orochimaru didn't pick some good morals to stick with through the hard times no matter what (like, idk, Jiraiya or Naruto) is because 1) I think he is/was pretty depending on people around him 2) the war fucked him and his friends up too much (Nawaki incident + Tsunade) 3) twisted addictions (though I don't think he's that sadistic, we never saw him torturing randoms just for fun, it was always some science experimental shit. He tends to get fun out of cruelty only when it's personal) that maybe developed as a way to sublimate anger and sadness caused by his parents loss (that's what they share with sasuke - unlicke naruto, they knew their parents and it's other kind of pain. Sasuke developed a revenge issue and Orochimaru - cruelty pleasure which... is kinda the same but less epic and more occasional lol).

15. Speaking of that, Orochimaru cared for Sasuke because he saw himself in him.

16. Oro hold grudges against Hiruzen for not choosing him to be Hokage not only because he was ambitious and/or egoistic, but also because Hiruzen was some kind of a father figure for him and his approval was important tho i doubt he was aware of that. He also probably could tell that Hiruzen was suspicios about him when he was a child and that led to many conflicts and was hurting as well.

17. Tsunade knew things weren't pretty with Orochimaru after the wars but she never expected them to be this bad. During the week that she was given in her arc she thought not only about how much she wants to see Nawaki and Dan again despite how wrong would it be but also was trying to bury all the good memories she had left of Orochimaru so it would be easier to kill him.

18. She poisoned Jiraiya exactly because she knew he would not let her do it. Jiraiya was always hesitant to kill and inclined to forgiveness, while Tsunade, as mentioned by Orochimaru, could be merciless (so much so that he was not surprised when Kabuto suggested that she wanted to use Jira for Edo Tensei).

19. That was one of her traits that scared Jiraiya and fascinated Orochimaru.

20. Remember how Oro grabbed Jiraiya's neck when the latter was trying to cover with hair jutsu? On the snake, in Tsnade's arc. Orochimaru could have easily kill Jiraiya by pulling the sword out of the mouth (arteries are right there) but he didn't. As well as he could kill Tsunade when she was still shaking - just aim for the neck or the heart. Instead, he just injured her lung and kicked her which is not a big deal for the kind of shinoby like her at all.. Also he helped Anko not accidentally kill herself but it would be way much profitable to let her do it. "Orochimaru has no feelings".

21. The reason he suddenly wanted to kill Tsunade instead of forcing her to heal his arms as it was planned (which is weird since it will not going to get him heals and he kinda said that he wouldn't want to kill her just minutes ago) is that not only she refused to help him (he thought he could work it out) but she also prefered the village over him (from his point of view). Out if everyone she was the closest to being able to understand him since the village caused her painful losses too but nevertheless she agreed to be on it's side.

22. He wasn't fighting her back in the end partly because he thought he deserved that. Somewhere deep inside hahah.

23. Tsunade got a fear to develop deep bonds so they probably weren't very close with Shizune (also the way she knocked her down in this hotel.. oh).

24. Orochimaru will be here when she'll die.

25. Orochimaru's eng dub to Tsunade: "I often wondered what it would be like to ring that pretty neck yours". No comments.

26. Orochimaru is either bi/pan or ace. Anything or nothing lmao

27. Hiruzen knew about at least some of the Oro’s illegal experiments and was okay just as he was okay with the Foundation all the time. Because it’s useful. Then he has discovered he went too far OR he knew everything and oro just became too inconvenient because of his methods. The way Orochimaru tells Sasuke about reasons they are well treated as the criminals is based on in his experience with Hiruzen.

28. As you may know the lyrics in Orochimaru’s music theme goes “don’t talk with the silence of the heart”. It was taken from one Indian song that also had lines like “don’t question life too much”, ”pain arose somewhere in the chest”, “don’t speak to the wounds of the heart”. Though I’m not sure 100% because I was translating it with some hindi dictionary with like zero knowledge of hindi

29. I like to think that this “silence of the heart” theme and the fact that he called his village a hidden sound village are somehow connected. The hidden sound is the possible explanation of all things waiting to be listened to but the truth is silent and you know it deep in your heart and it bothers you. The world is silent just like the life is meaningless but people can only hear. *Sigh* anyways

30. Orochimaru’s journey is the one about accepting death. When he saw Karin released her chains while was trying to get to Sasuke he understood that the death is a part of human’s strength.

Can’t wait to feel that everything I wrote is wrong or not enough or stupid and obvious lol. Anyways, it’s something that I wanted to share until I move to some other fandom.

[shortnotsweet]

Bakudeku: A Non-Comprehensive Dissection of the Exploitation of Working Bodies, the Murder of Annoying Children, and a Rivals-to-Lovers Complex

I. Bakudeku in Canon, And Why Anti’s Need to Calm the Fuck Down

II. Power is Power: the Brain-Melting Process of Normalization and Toxic Masculinity

III. How to Kill Middle Schoolers, and Why We Should

IV. Parallels in Abuse, EnemiesRivals-to-Lovers, and the Necessity of Redemption ft. ATLA’s Zuko

V. Give it to Me Straight. It’s Homophobic.

VI. Love in Perspective, from the East v. West

VII. Stuck in the Sludge, the Past, and Season One

Disclaimer

It needs to be said that there is definitely a place for disagreement, discourse, debate, and analysis: that is a sign of an active fandom that’s heavily invested, and not inherently a bad thing at all. Considering the amount of source material we do have (from the manga, to the anime, to the movies, to the light novels, to the official art), there are going to be warring interpretations, and that’s inevitable.

I started watching and reading MHA pretty recently, and just got into the fandom. I was weary for a reason, and honestly, based on what I’ve seen, I’m still weary now. I’ve seen a lot of anti posts, and these are basically my thoughts. This entire thing is in no way comprehensive, and it’s my own opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. If I wanted to be thorough about this, I would’ve included manga panels, excerpts from the light novel, shots from the anime, links to other posts/essays/metas that have inspired this, etc. but I’m tired and not about that life right now, so, this is what it is. This is poorly organized, but maybe I’ll return to fix it.

Let’s begin.

Bakudeku in Canon, And Why Anti’s Need to Calm the Fuck Down

There are a lot of different reasons, that can be trivial as you like, to ship or not to ship two (or more) characters. It could be based purely off of character design, proximity, aversion to another ship, or hypotheticals. And I do think that it’s totally valid if someone dislikes the ship or can’t get on board with his character because to them, it does come across as abuse, and the implications make them uncomfortable or, or it just feels unhealthy. If that is your takeaway, and you are going to stick to your guns, the more power to you.

But Bakudeku’s relationship has canonically progressed to the point where it’s not the emotionally (or physically) abusive clusterfuck some people portray it to be, and it’s cheap to assume that it would be, based off of their characterizations as middle schoolers. Izuku intentionally opens the story as a naive little kid who views the lens of the Hero society through rose colored glasses and arguably wants nothing more than assimilation into that society; Bakugou is a privileged little snot who embodies the worst and most hypocritical beliefs of this system. Both of them are intentionally proven wrong. Both are brainwashed, as many little children are, by the propaganda and societal norms that they are exposed to. Both of their arcs include unlearning crucial aspects of the Hero ideology in order to become true heroes.

I will personally never simp for Bakugou because for the longest time, I couldn't help but think of him as a little kid on the playground screaming at the top of his lungs because someone else is on the swingset. He’s red in the face, there are probably veins popping out of his neck, he’s losing it. It’s easy to see why people would prefer Tododeku to Bakudeku.

Even now, seeing him differently, I still personally wouldn’t date Bakugou, especially if I had other options. Why? I probably wouldn’t want to date any of the guys who bullied me, especially because I think that schoolyard bullying, even in middle school, affected me largely in a negative way and created a lot of complexes I’m still trying to work through. I haven’t built a better relationship with them, and I’m not obligated to. Still, I associate them with the kind of soft trauma that they inflicted upon me, and while to them it was probably impersonal, to me, it was an intimate sort of attack that still affects me. That being said, that is me. Those are my personal experiences, and while they could undoubtedly influence how I interpret relationships, I do not want to project and hinder my own interpretation of Deku.

The reality is that Deku himself has an innate understanding of Bakugou that no one else does; I mention later that he seems to understand his language, implicitly, and I do stand by that. He understands what it is he’s actually trying to say, often why he’s saying it, and while others may see him as wimpy or unable to stand up for himself, that’s simply not true. Part of Deku’s characterization is that he is uncommonly observant and empathetic; I’m not denying that Bakugou caused harm or inflicted damage, but infantilizing Deku and preaching about trauma that’s not backed by canon and then assuming random people online excuse abuse is just...the leap of leaps, and an actual toxic thing to do. I’ve read fan works where Bakugou is a bully, and that’s all, and has caused an intimate degree of emotional, mental, and physical insecurity from their middle school years that prevents their relationship from changing, and that’s for the better. I’m not going to argue and say that it’s not an interesting take, or not valid, or has no basis, because it does. Its basis is the character that Bakugou was in middle school, and the person he was when he entered UA.

Not only is Bakugou — the current Bakugou, the one who has accumulated memories and experiences and development — not the same person he was at the beginning of the story, but Deku is not the same person, either. Maybe who they are fundamentally, at their core, stays the same, but at the beginning and end of any story, or even their arcs within the story, the point is that characters will undergo change, and that the reader will gain perspective.

“You wanna be a hero so bad? I’ve got a time-saving idea for you. If you think you’ll have a quirk in your next life...go take a swan dive off the roof!”

Yes. That is a horrible thing to tell someone, even if you are a child, even if you don’t understand the implications, even if you don’t mean what it is you are saying. Had someone told me that in middle school, especially given our history and the context of our interactions, I don’t know if I would ever have forgiven them.

Here’s the thing: I’m not Deku. Neither is anyone reading this. Deku is a fictional character, and everyone we know about him is extrapolated from source material, and his response to this event follows:

“Idiot! If I really jumped, you’d be charged with bullying me into suicide! Think before you speak!”

I think it’s unfair to apply our own projections as a universal rather than an interpersonal interpretation; that’s not to say that the interpretation of Bakudeku being abusive or having unbalanced power dynamics isn’t valid, or unfounded, but rather it’s not a universal interpretation, and it’s not canon. Deku is much more of a verbal thinker; in comparison, Bakugou is a visual one, at least in the format of the manga, and as such, we get various panels demonstrating his guilt, and how deep it runs. His dialogue and rapport with Deku has undeniably shifted, and it’s very clear that the way they treat each other has changed from when they were younger. Part of Bakugou’s growth is him gaining self awareness, and eventually, the strength to wield that. He knows what a fucked up little kid he was, and he carries the weight of that.

“At that moment, there were no thoughts in my head. My body just moved on its own.”

There’s a part of me that really, really disliked Bakugou going into it, partially because of what I’d seen and what I’d heard from a limited, outside perspective. I felt like Bakugou embodied the toxic masculinity (and to an extent, I still believe that) and if he won in some way, that felt like the patriarchy winning, so I couldn't help but want to muzzle and leash him before releasing him into the wild.

The reality, however, of his character in canon is that it isn’t very accurate to assume that he would be an abusive partner in the future, or that Midoryia has not forgiven him to some extent already, that the two do not care about each other or are singularly important, that they respect each other, or that the narrative has forgotten any of this.

Don’t mistake me for a Bakugou simp or apologist. I’m not, but while I definitely could also see Tododeku (and I have a soft spot for them, too, their dynamic is totally different and unique, and Todoroki is arguably treated as the tritagonist) and I’m ambivalent about Izuocha (which is written as cannoncially romantic) I do believe that canonically, Bakugou and Deku are framed as soulmates/character foils, Sasuke + Naruto, Kageyama + Hinata style. Their relationship is arguably the focus of the series. That’s not to undermine the importance or impact of Deku’s relationships with other characters, and theirs with him, but in terms of which one takes priority, and which one this all hinges on?

The manga is about a lot of things, yes, but if it were to be distilled into one relationship, buckle up, because it’s the Bakudeku show.

Power is Power: the Brain-Melting Process of Normalization and Toxic Masculinity

One of the ways in which the biopolitical prioritization of Quirks is exemplified within Hero society is through Quirk marriages. Endeavor partially rationalizes the abuse of his family through the creation of a child with the perfect quirk, a child who can be molded into the perfect Hero. People with powerful, or useful abilities, are ranked high on the hierarchy of power and privilege, and with a powerful ability, the more opportunities and avenues for success are available to them.

For the most part, Bakugou is a super spoiled, privileged little rich kid who is born talented but is enabled for his aggressive behavior and, as a child, cannot move past his many internalized complexes, treats his peers like shit, and gets away with it because the hero society he lives in either has this “boys will be boys” mentality, or it’s an example of the way that power, or Power, is systematically prioritized in this society. The hero system enables and fosters abusers, people who want power and publicity, and people who are genetically predisposed to have advantages over others. There are plenty of good people who believe in and participate in this system, who want to be good, and who do good, but that doesn’t change the way that the hero society is structured, the ethical ambiguity of the Hero Commission, and the way that Heroes are but pawns, idols with machine guns, used to sell merch to the public, to install faith in the government, or the current status quo, and reinforce capitalist propaganda. Even All Might, the epitome of everything a Hero should be, is drained over the years, and exists as a concept or idea, when in reality he is a hollow shell with an entire person inside, struggling to survive. Hero society is functionally dependent on illusion.

In Marxist terms: There is no truth, there is only power.

Although Bakugou does change, and I think that while he regrets his actions, what is long overdue is him verbally expressing his remorse, both to himself and Deku. One might argue that he’s tried to do it in ways that are compatible with his limited emotional range of expression, and Deku seems to understand this language implicitly.

I am of the opinion that the narrative is building up to a verbal acknowledgement, confrontation, and subsequent apology that only speaks what has gone unspoken.

That being said, Bakugou is a great example of the way that figures of authority (parents, teachers, adults) and institutions both in the real world and this fictional universe reward violent behavior while also leaving mental and emotional health — both his own and of the people Bakugou hurts — unchecked, and part of the way he lashes out at others is because he was never taught otherwise.

And by that, I’m referring to the ways that are to me, genuinely disturbing. For example, yelling at his friends is chill. But telling someone to kill themselves, even casually and without intent and then misinterpreting everything they do as a ploy to make you feel weak because you're projecting? And having no teachers stop and intervene, either because they are afraid of you or because they value the weight that your Quirk can benefit society over the safety of children? That, to me, is both real and disturbing.

Not only that, but his parents (at least, Mitsuki), respond to his outbursts with more outbursts, and while this is likely the culture of their home and I hesitate to call it abusive, I do think that it contributed to the way that he approaches things. Bakugou as a character is very complex, but I think that he is primarily an example of the way that the Hero System fails people.

I don’t think we can write off the things he’s done, especially using the line of reasoning that “He didn’t mean it that way”, because in real life, children who hurt others rarely mean it like that either, but that doesn’t change the effect it has on the people who are victimized, but to be absolutely fair, I don’t think that the majority of Bakudeku shippers, at least now, do use that line of reasoning. Most of them seem to have a handle on exactly how fucked up the Hero society is, and exactly why it fucks up the people embedded within that society.

The characters are positioned in this way for a reason, and the discoveries made and the development that these characters undergo are meant to reveal more about the fictional world — and, perhaps, our world — as the narrative progresses.

The world of the Hero society is dependent, to some degree, on biopolitics. I don’t think we have enough evidence to suggest that people with Quirks or Quirkless people place enough identity or placement within society to become equivalent to marginalized groups, exactly, but we can draw parallels to the way that Deku and by extent Quirkless people are viewed as weak, a deviation, or disabled in some way. Deviants, or non-productive bodies, are shunned for their inability to perform ideal labor. While it is suggested to Deku that he could become a police officer or pursue some other occupation to help people, he believes that he can do the most positive good as a Hero. In order to be a Hero, however, in the sense of a career, one needs to have Power.

Deviation from the norm will be punished or policed unless it is exploitable; in order to become integrated into society, a deviant must undergo a process of normalization and become a working, exploitable body. It is only through gaining power from All Might that Deku is allowed to assimilate from the margins and into the upper ranks of society; the manga and the anime give the reader enough perspective, context, and examples to allow us to critique and deconstruct the society that is solely reliant on power.

Through his societal privileges, interpersonal biases, internalized complexes, and his subsequent unlearning of these ideologies, Bakugou provides examples of the way that the system simultaneously fails and indoctrinates those who are targeted, neglected, enabled by, believe in, and participate within the system.

Bakudeku are two sides of the same coin. We are shown visually that the crucial turning point and fracture in their relationship is when Bakugou refuses to take Deku’s outstretched hand; the idea of Deku offering him help messes with his adolescent perspective in that Power creates a hierarchy that must be obeyed, and to be helped is to be weak is to be made a loser.

Largely, their character flaws in terms of understanding the hero society are defined and entangled within the concept of power. Bakugou has power, or privilege, but does not have the moral character to use it as a hero, and believes that Power, or winning, is the only way in which to view life. Izuku has a much better grasp on the way in which heroes wield power (their ideologies can, at first, be differentiated as winning vs. saving), and is a worthy successor because of this understanding, and of circumstance. However, in order to become a Hero, our hero must first gain the Power that he lacks, and learn to wield it.

As the characters change, they bridge the gaps of their character deficiencies, and are brought closer together through character parallelism.

Two sides of the same coin, an outstretched hand.

They are better together.

How to Kill Middle Schoolers, and Why We Should

I think it’s fitting that in the manga, a critical part of Bakugou’s arc explicitly alludes to killing the middle school version of himself in order to progress into a young adult. In the alternative covers Horikoshi released, one of them was a close up of Bakugou in his middle school uniform, being stabbed/impaled, with blood rolling out of his mouth. Clearly this references the scene in which he sacrifices himself to save Deku, on a near-instinctual level.

To me, this only cements Horikoshi’s intent that middle school Bakugou must be debunked, killed, discarded, or destroyed in order for Bakugou the hero to emerge, which is why people who do actually excuse his actions or believe that those actions define him into young adulthood don’t really understand the necessity for change, because they seem to imply that he doesn’t need/cannot reach further growth, and there doesn’t need to be a separation between the Bakugou who is, at heart, volatile and repressed the angry, and the Bakugou who sacrifices himself, a hero who saves people.

Plot twist: there does need to be a difference. Further plot twist: there is a difference.

In sacrificing himself for Deku, Bakugou himself doesn't die, but the injury is fatal in the sense that it could've killed him physically and yet symbolizes the selfish, childish part of him that refused to accept Deku, himself, and the inevitability of change. In killing those selfish remnants, he could actually become the kind of hero that we the reader understand to be the true kind.

That’s why I think that a lot of the people who stress his actions as a child without acknowledging the ways he has changed, grown, and tried to fix what he has broken don’t really get it, because it was always part of his character arc to change and purposely become something different and better. If the effects of his worst and his most childish self stick with you more, and linger despite that, that’s okay. But distilling his character down to the wrong elements doesn’t get you the bare essentials; what it gets you is a skewed and shallow version of a person. If you’re okay with that version, that is also fine.

But you can’t condemn others who aren’t fine with that incomplete version, and to become enraged that others do not see him as you do is childish.

Bakugou’s change and the emphasis on that change is canon.

Parallels in Abuse, EnemiesRivals-to-Lovers, and the Necessity of Redemption ft. ATLA’s Zuko

In real life, the idea that “oh, he must bully you because he likes you” is often used as a way to brush aside or to excuse the action of bullying itself, as if a ‘secret crush’ somehow negates the effects of bullying on the victim or the inability of the bully to properly process and manifest their emotions in certain ways. It doesn’t. It often enables young boys to hurt others, and provides figures of authority to overlook the real source of schoolyard bullying or peer review. The “secret crush”, in real life, is used to undermine abuse, justify toxic masculinity, and is essentially used as a non-solution solution.

A common accusation is that Bakudeku shippers jump on the pairing because they romanticize pairing a bully and a victim together, or believe that the only way for Bakugou to atone for his past would be to date Midoryia in the future. This may be true for some people, in which case, that’s their own preference, but based on my experience and what I’ve witnessed, that’s not the case for most.

The difference being is that as these are characters, we as readers or viewers are meant to analyze them. Not to justify them, or to excuse their actions, but we are given the advantage of the outsider perspective to piece their characters together in context, understand why they are how they are, and witness them change; maybe I just haven’t been exposed to enough of the fandom, but no one (I’ve witnessed) treats the idea that “maybe Bakugou has feelings he can’t process or understand and so they manifest in aggressive and unchecked ways'' as a solution to his inability to communicate or process in a healthy way, rather it is just part of the explanation of his character, something is needs to — and is — working through. The solution to his middle school self is not the revelation of a “teehee, secret crush”, but self-reflection, remorse, and actively working to better oneself, which I do believe is canonically reflected, especially as of recently.

In canon, they are written to be partners, better together than apart, and I genuinely believe that one can like the Bakudeku dynamic not by route of romanticization but by observation.

I do think we are meant to see parallels between him and Endeavor; Endeavor is a high profile abuser who embodies the flaws and hypocrisy of the hero system. Bakugou is a schoolyard bully who emulates and internalizes the flaws of this system as a child, likely due to the structure of the society and the way that children will absorb the propaganda they are exposed to; the idea that Quirks, or power, define the inherent value of the individual, their ability to contribute to society, and subsequently their fundamental human worth. The difference between them is the fact that Endeavor is the literal adult who is fully and knowingly active within a toxic, corrupt system who forces his family to undergo a terrifying amount of trauma and abuse while facing little to no consequences because he knows that his status and the values of their society will protect him from those consequences. In other words, Endeavor is the threat of what Bakugou could have, and would have, become without intervention or genuine change.

Comparisons between characters, as parallels or foils, are tricky in that they imply but cannot confirm sameness. Having parallels with someone does not make them the same, by the way, but can serve to illustrate contrasts, or warnings. Harry Potter, for example, is meant to have obvious parallels with Tom Riddle, with similar abilities, and tragic upbringings. That doesn’t mean Harry grows up to become Lord Voldemort, but rather he helps lead a cross-generational movement to overthrow the facist regime. Harry is offered love, compassion, and friends, and does not embrace the darkness within or around him. As far as moldy old snake men are concerned, they do not deserve a redemption arc because they do not wish for one, and the truest of change only occurs when you actively try to change.

To be frank, either way, Bakugou was probably going to become a good Hero, in the sense that Endeavor is a ‘good’ Hero. Hero capitalized, as in a pro Hero, in the sense that it is a career, an occupation, and a status. Because of his strong Quirk, determination, skill, and work ethic, Bakugou would have made a good Hero. Due to his lack of character, however, he was not on the path to become a hero; defender of the weak, someone who saves people to save people, who is willing to make sacrifices detrimental to themselves, who saves people out of love.

It is necessary for him to undergo both a redemption arc and a symbolic death and rebirth in order for him to follow the path of a hero, having been inspired and prompted by Deku.

I personally don’t really like Endeavor’s little redemption arc, not because I don’t believe that people can change or that they shouldn't at least try to atone for the atrocities they have committed, but because within any narrative, a good redemption arc is important if it matters; what also matters is the context of that arc, and whether or not it was needed. For example, in ATLA, Zuko’s redemption arc is widely regarded as one of the best arcs in television history, something incredible. And it is. That shit fucks. In a good way.

It was confirmed that Azula was also going to get a redemption arc, had Volume 4 gone on as planned, and it was tentatively approached in the comics, which are considered canon. She is an undeniably bad person (who is willing to kill, threaten, exploit, and colonize), but she is also a child, and as viewers, we witness and recognize the factors that contributed to her (debatable) sociopathy, and the way that the system she was raised in failed her. Her family failed her; even Uncle Iroh, the wise mentor who helps guide Zuko to see the light, is willing to give up on her immediately, saying that she’s “crazy” and needs to be “put down”. Yes, it’s comedic, and yes, it’s pragmatic, but Azula is fourteen years old. Her mother is banished, her father is a psychopath, and her older brother, from her perspective, betrayed and abandoned her. She doesn’t have the emotional support that Zuko does; she exploits and controls her friends because it’s all she’s been taught to do; she says herself, her “own mother thought [she] was a monster; she was right, of course, but it still [hurts]”. A parent who does not believe in you, or a parent that uses you and will hurt you, is a genuine indicator of trauma.

The writers understood that both Zuko and Azula deserved redemption arcs. One was arguably further gone than the other, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are both children, products of their environment, who have the time, motive, and reason to change.

In contrast, you know who wouldn’t have deserved a redemption arc? Ozai. That simply would not have been interesting, wouldn’t have served the narrative well, and honestly, is not needed, thematically or otherwise. Am I comparing Ozai to Endeavor? Basically, yes. Fuck those guys. I don’t see a point in Endeavor’s little “I want to be a good dad now” arc, and I think that we don’t need to sympathize with characters in order to understand them or be interested in them. I want Touya/Dabi to expose his abuse, for his career to crumble, and then for him to die.

If they are not challenging the system that we the viewer are meant to question, and there is no thematic relevance to their redemption, is it even needed?

On that note, am I saying that Bakugou is the equivalent to Zuko? No, lmao. Definitely not. They are different characters with different progressions and different pressures. What I am saying is that good redemption arcs shouldn’t be handed out like candy to babies; it is the quality, rather than the quantity, that makes a redemption arc good. In terms of the commentary of the narrative, who needs a redemption arc, who is deserving, and who does it make sense to give one to?

In this case, Bakugou checks those boxes. It was always in the cards for him to change, and he has. In fact, he’s still changing.

Give it to Me Straight. It’s Homophobic.

There does seem to be an urge to obsessively gender either Bakugou or Deku, in making Deku the ultra-feminine, stereotypically hyper-sexualized “woman” of the relationship, with Bakugou becoming similarly sexualized but depicted as the hyper-masculine bodice ripper. On some level, that feels vaguely homophobic if not straight up misogynistic, in that in a gay relationship there’s an urge to compel them to conform under heteronormative stereotypes in order to be interpreted as real or functional. On one hand, I will say that in a lot of cases it feels like more of an expression of a kink, or fetishization and subsequent expression of internalized misogyny, at least, rather than a genuine exploration of the complexity and power imbalances of gender dynamics, expression, and boundaries.

That being said, I don’t think that that problematic aspect of shipping is unique to Bakudeku, or even to the fandom in general. We’ve all read fan work or see fanart of most gay ships in a similiar manner, and I think it’s a broader issue to be addressed than blaming it on a singular ship and calling it a day.

One interpretation of Bakugou’s character is his repression and the way his character functions under toxic masculinity, in a society’s egregious disregard for mental and emotional health (much like in the real world), the horrifying ways in which rage is rationalized or excused due to the concept of masculinity, and the way that characteristics that are associated with femininity — intellect, empathy, anxiety, kindness, hesitation, softness — are seen as stereotypically “weak”, and in men, traditionally emasculating. In terms of the way that the fictional universe is largely about societal priority and power dynamics between individuals and the way that extends to institutions, it’s not a total stretch to guess that gender as a construct is a relevant topic to expand on or at least keep in mind for comparison.

I think that the way in which characters are gendered and the extent to which that is a result of invasive heteronormativity and fetishization is a really important conversation to have, but using it as a case-by-case evolution of a ship used to condemn people isn’t conductive, and at that point, it’s treated as less of a real concern but an issue narrowly weaponised.

Love in Perspective, from the East v. West

Another thing I think could be elaborated on and written about in great detail is the way that the Eastern part of the fandom and the Western part of the fandom have such different perspectives on Bakudeku in particular. I am not going to go in depth with this, and there are many other people who could go into specifics, but just as an overview:

The manga and the anime are created for and targeted at a certain audience; our take on it will differ based on cultural norms, decisions in translation, understanding of the genre, and our own region-specific socialization. This includes the way in which we interpret certain relationships, the way they resonate with us, and what we do and do not find to be acceptable. Of course, this is not a case-by-case basis, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who hold differing beliefs within one area, but speaking generally, there is a reason that Bakudeku is not regarded as nearly as problematic in the East.

Had this been written by a Western creator, marketed primarily to and within the West (for reference, while I am Chinese, but I have lived in the USA for most of my life, so my own perspective is undoubtedly westernized), I would’ve immediately jumped to make comparisons between the Hero System and the American police system, in that a corrupt, or bastardized system is made no less corrupt for the people who do legitimately want to do good and help people, when that system disproportionately values and targets others while relying on propaganda that society must be reliant on that system in order to create safe communities when in reality it perpetuates just as many issues as it appears to solve, not to mention the way it attracts and rewards violent and power-hungry people who are enabled to abuse their power. I think comparisons can still be made, but in terms of analysis, it should be kept in mind that the police system in other parts of the world do not have the same history, place, and context as it does in America, and the police system in Japan, for example, probably wasn’t the basis for the Hero System.

As much as I do believe in the Death of the Author in most cases, the intent of the author does matter when it comes to content like this, if merely on the basis that it provides context that we may be missing as foreign viewers.

As far as the intent of the author goes, Bakugou is on a route of redemption.

He deserves it. It is unavoidable. That, of course, may depend on where you’re reading this.

Stuck in the Sludge, the Past, and Season One

If there’s one thing, to me, that epitomizes middle school Bakugou, it’s him being trapped in a sludge monster, rescued by his Quirkless childhood friend, and unable to believe his eyes. He clings to the ideology he always has, that Quirkless means weak, that there’s no way that Deku could have grown to be strong, or had the capacity to be strong all along. Bakugou is wrong about this, and continuously proven wrong. It is only when he accepts that he is wrong, and that Deku is someone to follow, that he starts his real path to heroics.

If Bakudeku’s relationship does not appeal to someone for whatever reason, there’s nothing wrong with that. They can write all they want about why they don’t ship it, or why it bothers them, or why they think it’s problematic. If it is legitimately triggering to you, then by all means, avoid it, point it out, etc. but do not undermine the reality of abuse simply to point fingers, just because you don’t like a ship. People who intentionally use the anti tag knowing it’ll show up in the main tag, go after people who are literally minding their own business, and accuse people of supporting abuse are the ones looking for a fight, and they’re annoying as hell because they don’t bring anything to the table. No evidence, no analysis, just repeated projection.

To clarify, I’m referring to a specific kind of shipper, not someone who just doesn’t like a ship, but who is so aggressive about it for absolutely no reason. There are plenty of very lovely people in this fandom, who mind their own business, multipship, or just don’t care.

Calling shippers dumb or braindead or toxic (to clarify, this isn’t targeting any one person I’ve seen, but a collective) based on projections and generalizations that come entirely from your own impression of the ship rather than observation is...really biased to me, and comes across as uneducated and trigger happy, rather than constructive or helpful in any way.

I’m not saying someone has to ship anything, or like it, in order to be a ‘good’ participant. But inserting derogatory material into a main tag, and dropping buzzwords with the same tired backing behind it without seeming to understand the implications of those words or acknowledging the development, pacing, and intentional change to the characters within the plot is just...I don’t know, it comes across as redundant, to me at least, and very childish. Aggressive. Toxic. Problematic. Maybe the real toxic shippers were the ones who bitched and moaned along the way. They’re like little kids, stuck in the past, unable to visualize or recognize change, and I think that’s a real shame because it’s preventing them from appreciating the story or its characters as it is, in canon.

But that’s okay, really. To each their own. Interpretations will vary, preferences differ, perspectives are not uniform. There is no one truth. There are five seasons of the show, a feature film, and like, thirty volumes as of this year.

All I’m saying is that if you want to stay stuck in the first season of each character, then that’s what you’re going to get. That’s up to you.

This may be edited or revised.

[ignitification]

I highly doubt Horokoshi will redeem them after all the Shit they did.like seriously Shigaraki is too far gone to be saved.Like Ok maybe Killing them is a bit far but it's clear they can't be Redeemed.Horikoshi wouldn't redeem literal Mass Murderers.

Their Trauma and Backstories don't justify or Excuse mass and Serial Murders, Destruction Arson and Torture.Do I feel bad for them?,Yes but they're clearly not able to be saved,This isn't Naruto where you can change the villian's minds by talking to them.

Seriously They are huge Threats to Japan and are literally breaking every Criminal out of prison to cause destruction.

It's Clear the Villians Have to be Stopped,big time.

Dear anon,

maybe. Maybe you are right. But, me and you both are not here to discuss Horikoshi's plan for his characters. I won't pretend I know where the story is going and even if I did, it would probably be just as delusional. What I can tell you though, is that, in my opinion, and please do not take this an offence, what you said is a load of bullshit.

Let me explain before you throw me to the wolves:

The story, from what I get is just now nearing its apex, which means that the whole ordeal of what happened in the last arc (let's call it, PFL vs Heroes because for the life of me I can't remember the name of the place in this moment) is a pre context to what is going to happen right now. PFL vs Heroes has the function to introduce 2 things: villains redeeming arc (or also: AfO being the only real villain of BNHA) and the crumble of society as we know it (heroes retiring and all that crap). Which also means that this, THIS PART, is the origin of what actually is the main arc of the story and which (may, in the long run) might be the why and how of Deku being the N1 Hero in a new society (I talked about this here).

This said, it should appear clear how 'at this point' you mention means jackshit in the timeline. We just now discovered that Dabi, one of the forefront members of the League and Front, is actually the long-thought-dead son of current hero N1 Endeavour. What is then the whole point of introducing Touya just to do nothing with it? Rei has been dismissed from the hospital, Shouto has accepted that Touya is alive and that they might be more similar than he thinks and even the same Enji knows that if he does not try and save the son he already failed to save once there is no redeeming for him.

Which brings me to my next point: if the same Enji knows this, and in light of the fact that Dabi is willing to die in order to expose the abuse that lead him to actually become a villain, what is the point of then just leaving Dabi be? Like, coincidentally if Endeavour does nothing about this situation not only he lets his son die twice, but he also inherently tells that he does not deserve redeeming. In basic words, the only possibility for Endeavour to actually redeem is to save Touya. His redeeming means that he saves a villain. Does it make sense for you to make this whole plot in order to just drop it afterwards and say 'nah, fuck this, i built a whole plot to actually show how society fucks people them up and then destroy that society just to let these people being fucked by society again?'? Cause for me it does not.

Maybe in your eyes they cannot be saved, but remembers what Touya says here:

He is right. All the heroes are as dirty as they are. And maybe some of them are better than others, but always remember that these villains have so many reasons to be the way they are.

Plus: if you think the LoV is unredeemable, then you must think the same of Endeavour and Hawks (who are currently N1&2), you must also think that BJ is an hypocrite (in regard to him not wanting Touya to expose N1) and that All Might, as Dumbledore, is a caring piece of shit because of what he did to Izuku.

P. S. I don't think that redeeming the villains of the story is condoning their actions. It's actually trying to say that everybody makes mistakes. It's okay to make them. But you have to acknowledge them and want to correct them, in order to be saved. This is also another reason why I think that AfO, after all, is the only villain of the story.

You have also to understand that Horikoshi does not want his villains to change their minds after talking to them. Why would they? What is the point? Why should you believe anyone in the system that fucked you over repeatedly and then told you that someone will come save you and never did? I, for one, would never trust anything that comes from mouth of anyone in that society, be it good or bad. They condone abuse, corruption and neglect, so who are the bad people here? Furthermore, it's not even about changing their minds, because this is not about perspective, but UNDERSTAND OF WHY THE FUCK THESE SOULS DECIDED THAT THE ONLY WAY OF THEM GETTING THROUGH THEIR MESSAGE WAS THROUGH VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION. Like, they do not need to change their minds. They need to be held together and said that it is okay that they turned out this way because it was not their fault and actually show them why was that not the right way. If they want redemption they will get it. But it's really up to them to do it, however, the fact that they need to be given a choice is absolute. You cannot accuse anyone of not being able to be saved or redeemed if you do not give them a choice to.

Finally, onto the threat to Japan part, I think the threat that AfO poses for Japan and for the LoV (who are puppets in AfO's hands, unless they decide to free themselves) and especially Shigaraki is way more dangerous. You have to separate those actions from the LoV. Liberating criminals is AfO's doing in Shig's body. He does not want to be controlled, but he also cannot sometimes surrender to it. AfO, if he does not need any of them anymore will literally just toss them away. After all, he kept the LoV as it was for Shigaraki, and Shigaraki was strumental to his plans because AfO wants a new body and a new quirk for himself. He needs to be stopped. The others need to be saved (of they choose to). But that was the point that Toga made in that famous panel:

where is the line you draw at being possibly saved? Isn't it enough for you that they are human?

If it isn't, well, I don't know what to say.

I hope this finds you well, and yeah, remember that a choice should be always offered, a hand always out forward (as Izuku did with Bakugō): it's up to them whether they want to catch that hand, but It would be absolutely morally wrong not even try to just because you labelled them as 'not savable'. Everyone is the same. Everyone deserved to be loved and understood. Everyone, here, is worthy of compassion and feelings. Shall that not be the case, the world has failed again. And me, with it.

[sapphic-sasuke]

Sasuke haters think we’re cringy for pointing out Konoha’s mistakes and trying to say that the massacre was wrong lmao they are like ‘bro it’s not real it’s fiction u should show this much reaction to real world stuff and he is an asshole cause he didn’t wanna be a good bootlicker’ and then go worship naruto and write essays about how much sakura sucks and how that one time lee kicked sasuke’s ass also how they think we are angry about a fictional massacre but we just don’t care about real life massacres and racism is beyond me tbh

Hey anon, I agree with you. It’s quite jarring.

They hate Sasuke because he refused to serve konoha when he had every right to not want to. And they love to mention the same scenes over and over again. Like... okay? And?

“It’s just fiction” but the persecution the uchihas faced and subsequent genocide is obviously based off real life. Discrimination??? Including that in fiction; oh wow, where would kishimoto get that from?? His asshole??

Trying to derail the topic away from naruto to real world situations just because the two are similar is frankly stupid and makes little sense. Like just say you’re trying to end the discussion because any sort of criticism pertaining to relevant crimes against humanity and history makes you uncomfortable. I speak and am aware about world issues. What’s ironic is that it’s people who can identify that genocide even in fiction is wrong and a harmful trope to use if the victims are portrayed as inherently evil that are more likely to speak up about it happening today.

In reality, Naruto as a show openly criticises and questions capitalism (gato), human experimentation, the horrors of war, so why is it so surprising that people will point out genocide? Like, I can’t believe it’s a surprising take to think genocide is bad😭

“But konoha-“ nigga fuck konoha. Konoha is evil, uses genocide to keep up its facade of peace, tramples over weaker villages, turns a baby into a nuclear weapon. Do you guys understand how harmful the concept of “the greater good” is? The greater good DOESNT EXIST. It’s decided by leaders in power who chooses who is worth saving and who is worth dying and that’s exactly what konoha did.

[babybottlepop96]

Always: Shikamaru x Reader

Warnings: death, sadness, fluffy shit.

A/N: this one is about 2.2k words, it kinda got away from me lol enjoy and request!

Being Naruto Uzumaki's fraternal twin sister had its perks. I mean, the excessive amount of friends, ramen 24/7, always having a best friend that would be there for me and have my back no matter what but would also put me in my place if he had too. Being born five minutes after the infamous jinjuriki he was also so protective. Threatening any guy that would just have the nerve to flirt with me, the sister of the future Hokage.

We only had each other for so long, sure, our relationship took a bad turn for a while. While he was usually ignored and looked at as a monster, I didn't get the kind of treatment. Being the "normal" one of the twins, I was treated with more respect because I didn't have a tailed beast to host. I always felt awful for that and no matter how many times I stood up for my brother, he refused to accept my sympathy. The Chunin Exams came and went when he finally came to me after a few weeks of ignoring me. It was after Saskue had left and he was a mess. He cried into my shoulder and told me he was sorry. I just held him close and told him that I was never mad at him. I could never bead at him for how he felt about everything. It was unfair to him to be treated that badly, unfair that he had no say in being a host and I told him that he was so strong and had such a kind heart and people would eventually see that. I mean, they had to right? He was going to be the future Hokage.

When he left for those years with Jiryia, it was hard. It was like half of me was missing and I felt kind of lost without him. While he was out training, I had passed the Chunin and the Jonin exams. I was so proud of myself, but it would've felt even better if my twin was with me. 

When he came home, I wasn't there to greet him. I was on business with the Kazekage. Gaara became a close friend, he accepted my friendship because he felt like he could trust me. He became like a little brother. And then everything happened with the Akatsuki and I ended up losing an arm trying to save a few children from a clay bomb. I laid in one of the beds while everyone was trying to get Gaara back and I felt like I failed. I was a fucking Jonin for kage sake and I couldn't protect or retrieve Gaara. It hit me hard.

When Temari, Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto arrived, they went straight to Kankauro. That poor boy was in such pain from the poison, it hurt my heart when I heard him scream from the extraction. I was so focused on not paying attention I hadn't realized Naruto had made his way over to me and held my left hand. Once I felt his hand touch mine, my eyes flew open and he had tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, (y/n)! I should've been here to protect you! I failed and I'm so sorry you got hurt." He his head dropped to the side of the bed and cried.

"Hey, hey it's okay Naruto. This shit happens you know that. And it is not your fault, okay? You had to go and train. This was just a mission that turned wrong. But you're here now! And I just know you're going to go after Gaara and bring him home. And I'll be rooting for your success.. believe it!" I smiled, small tear trails staining my own cheeks. He looked at me and gave a small smile.

After everything that happened at the sand and Gaara's return home, no longer a host for the one tail, things seemed to go somewhat better. I got a fake arm that works well with my chakra and I had been training non stop with all my friends. But I mostly spent time with one particular ninja the most. A cute, lazy Pineapple haired Nara. You see, Shikamaru and I had been close and dating for about a year at this point. We never particularly told anyone, but people seemed to know. Well, all except Naruto. He was so oblivious to it all, he didn't realize how close Shika and I were until Pein attacked the Hidden Leaf. So, that's where I'll begin this little tale.

~~~~~~~

"Shit shit shit!" I was running around trying to get civilians to safety, grabbing children and pushing other civilians towards the Hokage head mountain. A building was starting to crumble and fire and explosions were coming from everywhere it seemed. Once I felt like I got everyone I could I ran back to where the main event was happening. Thankfully Naruto wasn't here, I wouldn't even begin to imagine what they would do if they had captured him. I mean, they killed Gaara, but Lady Chio had that special secret jutsu that she took to the grave. I couldn't bear to lose my brother. 

To fight was lasting so long, there was no way to tell when it would all be over. I was separated from Choji, Ino and Shikamaru when everything began. The three started fighting while I helped get the civilians to safety, but I knew they had to be around here. Alive. They just had to be. Things were seemingly going fine until I heard a small child scream. I snapped my head to the sound so fast I swore I got whiplash. A small girl was cowering against a wooden wall, the enemy heading toward her. I ran as fast as I could and snatched the girl away. I tossed her to the side gently and told her to run. She just looked at me, her big brown eyes filled with tears and a worried look on her face. "It's okay, you go to the mountains and find your family. Okay? Go!" She nodded and took off. I fought off the enemy for as long as I could. My chakra was running extremely low, so low that I wasn't able to dodge the wooden spear that came hurtling towards me. It went straight through my chest, pinning against the wooden wall behind me. I coughed up blood and my vision started to go a bit fuzzy.

"Your time is now over. You were a decent Shinoni, but you were still weak." The enemy spat out. I didn't say anything as I clutched the wooden spear that pinned me to the wall, trying to take in air. It felt like I was drowning, I could feel my lungs filling with blood and tears start to run down my face. I would never see my friends again, see my brothers happy go lucky smile while down bowl after bowl of ramen. I would never be able to Shika that I loved him. Everything was fading to black, my head dropped and my arms went limp by my side.

I woke up in a dark place, no longer in pain. I was dead. "Hello little one." A voice spoke and I looked around to see a small light. I ran towards it, hoping maybe I'd wake up for real and I was alive and well. That this was just a sick dream or a gentusu. But what I saw when I reached the light was unbelievable. I saw the fourth Hokage with a woman with red hair. 

"Welcome, (y/n)." The woman came over to me and gave me a hug. "I'm your mom." She whispered in my ear and turned to the man. "And that's your dad." To say I was crying was an understatement. There was a river flow of salty tears streaming down my face as I hugged them both. 

NARUTO'S POV

I ran back towards the village at full speed, I just had to get back. I had to protect my friends and mentors. I had to protect (y/n). I saw the massive crater when I returned to what was supposed to be my village. Injured and dead ninja and civilians alike were being gathered in a clearing. I ran ahead, I had to find them, I had to find everyone. I spotted Sakura first and ran towards her, "Sakura!" She turned her head, tears running down her face and I stopped in front of her. "Where is everyone?" She pointed to our group of friends, everyone is there except for Kakashi-Sensei and my sister. "S-Sakura? Where… where is Kakashi and (y/n)?" She sobbed louder which caused all of our friends to look over. I walked towards them and the moment I spotted Shikamaru on the ground holding someone, sobbing, I froze. I knelt down and looked over him. He was holding my sister, cradling her head in his lap. Her body was paler than normal against the red stain on her shirt. I didn't move, I didn't cry, I just stared, not convinced that she was actually gone. After a few moments I got up and made my way towards the true enemy.

"N-Naruto? Where are you going?" Sakura asked me, her voice meek and breaking.

"To end this."

SHIKAMARU'S POV

The enemy had retreated for a bit, allowing us to gather our injured and deceased. I was frantically looking for (y/n) I had to make sure she was okay. "(Y/n)!!" I heard Ino yell from behind me. I ran towards her voice as fast as I could. Once I reached her, my blood ran cold. There she was, the one that I truly cared about and loved, pinned against a wall, spear straight through the chest. I tentatively reached out and touched her and my instantly moved back as I felt her cold, stiff, lifeless body. I stood frozen. The rationalist inside me was gone and I then pulled the spear from her form and caught her in my arms and she limply fell. The cry that ripped from my throat was inhuman, angry and broken. I fell to the ground holding her close to my chest. "W-wake up, please!" I cried even harder knowing it was useless. She was already gone. Passed onto the afterlife while I was here to deal with the heartbreak. The pain. I knew this love thing was a drag, but I endured it for her. She made my days brighter, the sun burn hotter, she made everyday so much better. 

"Sh-Shika? W-we should get her to the others." Ino whispered, scared her own voice would break, as she gently put a hand on my shoulder. All I could manage was a small nod and tried to suppress my cries. I carried her to where everyone was putting the deceased and all our friends stood there with wide eyes and I carried their closest friend in my arms. Everyone was shocked, too stunned to say anything as I put (y/n) on the ground. But I still cradle her head in my lap, I couldn't let her go just yet. The tears still slipping down my cheeks were enough for everyone to know this was real. When Naruto showed up I sobbed, he was just in shock as the rest of us. When he left to go confront the real Pein, none of us stopped him. If anyone could end this. He could.

YOUR POV

Talking to my parents had been the most calming time of my life. Well, afterlife. They told me stories about what it was like before they died, how Kakashi was like another son to him. How they never wanted Naruto to host the nine tails. I told them how life was growing up, how I was dating Shikamaru and my dad gave me a whole lecture on safe sex, even though I was dead and I wouldn't have to worry about any of that. Well, until I started to glow. "Looks like you still have a full life to live my sweet." My mother smiled and I looked at them with a smile and tears in my eyes.

"I love you both." I said as I faded back into the darkness. This time though, when I opened my eyes I saw a face I never thought I'd be able to see again. "Shika?" His eyes snapped open and he stared down at me, his eyes wide and mouth open. He stared at me for a moment, not believing what he was seeing. His dead girlfriend, breathing. Alive.he held me so close to his chest and sobbed even louder. Ino and Choji were all giving him sad looks until they saw my arms wrap around his neck and held him closer.

"OH SHIT!" Choji yelled as the other dead bodies were coming back from death. I sat up slowly and grabbed Shikamaru's face and kissed him. I kissed him like it would be the last time I ever would. 

"I… I thought I lost you for good this time." He spoke softly.

"I will always come back for you." I smiled at him, tear glazed eyes staring into his own. "Always." We kissed again, pulling each other close. We stayed like that for a moment until we heard a certain obnoxious blonde yelling at us.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?! SHIKAMARU THAT'S MY SISTER! WHEN THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Causing everyone to let out a laugh. Resting his forehead on mine Shikamaru spoke quietly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Shika. I love you too."

[trulyhumblenarcissist]

Well... Shit

I've just finished Jujutsu kaisen, both anime and manga, it was a beautiful marathon like the old ones I used to have when my life didn't get in the way of my passions (but that's another story). I must say the experience was incredibly refreshing and I'm glad I've decided to finally give jjk a try. First and foremost, it definitely has its own problems: the power system is not so clear and easy to understand at times (or maybe I'm just dumb) and some characters suffer from a severe case of plot armor that gives them the edge to win fights that should be out of their league. The premise isn't original at all, but I don't think Akutami wanted to create something ground breaking. There are a lot of references to well established shonen mangas, such as Bleach and Naruto (duh). Curses born from humans' bad emotions are definitely similar the hollows that terrorized Karakura in Bleach. I'm not going to point out the obvious resemblance between Gojo and Kakashi because I guess it's already a meme at this point, but Itadori and Naruto are definitely quite similar: sunny types with a demon trapped inside their bodies. With this derivative kind of setting, you would expect jjk to be quite simple and boring, but here's the catch: this manga manages to embrace stereotypical shonen tropes while at the same time painting them in a different light. Let's talk about Itadori and Fushiguro's relationship, for example: they are basically Naruto and Sasuke on a surface level and it would've been so easy writing them as sour rivals, at least in the beginning. The industry loves this type of relationship, but Akutami said "screw that" and actually made these two boys the best of friends. Itadori saved Fushiguro's life and Fushiguro saved Itadori's in return. They are very different people and their ideologies are bound to clash: Fushiguro doesn't want to be a "hero", he's a sorcerer, whose duty is to exorcise curses, not to save every single person he meets. He has a strong moral compass and he judges things on his own, avoiding to be influenced by others if possible. To him, saving lives is not an obligation, it's something he decides to do only if he thinks it's worth it. This may appear extremely selfish and arrogant, but in reality, Fushiguro's choices don't stem from an exaggerated ego. He despises injustices, to him the world is inherently unfair, so there isn't proper way to make things "right". It's impossible saving everyone and it isn't even something worth pursuing, especially because someone's safety could easily become someone else's demise. Fushiguro came to the conclusion that, since fairness really doesn't exist, the only thing that he can do to make the world a better place is basically starting from his own world, helping only the people he really wants to help (a similar concept is expressed by Nobara, who doesn't concern herself with the problems of people she doesn't know or care about, because she understands that doing it would be the fastest way to become miserable). Itadori, on the other hand, finds humanity inherently worthy of salvation, no matter what. That's because he is strong and his strength is definitely his curse, metaphorically speaking. The strong must protect the weak because it is the moral thing to do.

If you're strong, you are gifted with something more in comparison to the average person; since nothing is given for nothing, you must return to the world at least a part of the luck you have received by birth. Things get even more complicated for Itadori the moment he realizes that Sukuna could destroy (and he almost did it) everything he cares about in an instant, forcing him to make amends for crimes he didn't even commit. That's a very tragic situation for our MC and I really, really appreciate the fact that Sukuna isn't just another Kurama, ready to become Itadori's pet friend and help him whenever it fits the plot. To this day, Sukuna intervened in Itadori's fights only when he wanted to, for a whim or because the situation could benefit him. So refreshing! Itadori is definitely cursed from both Sukuna and himself, which is a very interesting plot point and it makes you wonder who will be faster in making Itadori's life a nightmare: Itadori himself or Sukuna?

Itadori's objective to save as much people as possible is also liked to his visceral desire to be accepted and loved, to have people around him even at his death bed. But, unfortunately, his merging with Sukuna definitely suggests he will be soon forced to isolate himself, in some way, basically depriving him of the only thing he really wanted. Besides, his desire to have friends and comrades is probably the byproduct of his upbringing... He wasn't alone, he had his grandpa, but he never met his parents and this is definitely a huge gap in his life, even though he seems to not care.

This rambling is already too long as it is, sorry... The last thing I'd like to point out is that, finally, we have some pretty good female characters! No Sakuras or Hinatas and that's really nice. Nobara, the heroine, is unhinged, badass and also extremely feminine in her passions and desires. She's not the typical tomboy nor the typical girly boy obsessed princess in distress. She can defend herself without sacrificing the softer sides of her personality. She is Kugisaki Nobara and no one can tell she must be different in order to fullfil her role as a shaman woman. I really like her (sobs). Maki makes tingle my little bi heart so I will not say anything about her. I'm not gonna show my simping shameful self, not now at least.

Honorable mentions:

Call me main stream and basic, but I fucking adore Gojo... He's hot, a little sadistic and completely childsh. For once, he is a teacher that doesn't get obscured by his pupils. He is so broken and op that Akutami needed to... Well you know. Another element that gives me a bit of sadness is the fact that Gojo is basically my age... And the fandom calls him a "dilf"... A dilf! He's just 28, don't call me out like that.

Suguru's story was pretty sad, I wish we could've seen more of his descent into madness.

Mahito... Cute, but nothing special. I find him kinda boring sometimes, he doesn't tickle my imagination neither my speculative instinct, while Suguru is definitely more interesting, especially in his relationship with Gojo.

That's it for now, I can't wait this week's chapter.