#does he ever get over his mob trauma?

[brilliantpines]

thinking about. ageswap ritsu

[candyskiez]

I like hearing ppl infodump n u seem like a cool bean. would u be willing to talk abt shou from mp100(?) a bit with just a lil context added in for someone who only has a passing familiarity with the show. side note: plural mob be based

SLAMS DOWN ON TABLE. Before I get into this I want to say this is not a Serizawa hate post. Because I am reading what I wrote and it sounds like it at points. It is not. I was writing what I think Shou feels about him. I love Serizawa and I love them being friends, this is me talking about Shou having complicated feelings about his trauma. Okay? Okay.

Okay okay so. Shou is the son of a guy who tried to take over the world, and his entire life was spent trying to stop him. And then someone did. Someone stopped Claw. His dad got locked up. And Shous whole life had been built around trying to stop him, he had zero time for anything else other than occasionally visiting his mom (who left when he was a kid. We don't know what happened. We don't know if she tried to take Shou with or not. All we know is that Shou kept her presence hidden from his dad. We don't know how Shou feels about his mom or if he lives with her after his dad gets locked up. We know he had adults who were also rebelling in claw (the organization his dad ran), and he seemed to trust them a lot. I like to imagine they're a weird family and like. I imagine there's some Shit there. I like to imagine at least one of them was kinda giving up on everything, not really caring one way or another about what happened to everyone because they're just. Done. But then this wide eyed idealist of a kid comes by and he wants to stop his dad, holy shit the boss has a kid, and the kid is taking all this on himself. Maybe they didn't think they could fix anything but they had to save this kid. Did they believe Toichiro could be stopped at all? What were they like? We don't know much about them. How many of them were just in it to protect the kid? In hopes that maybe that idealistic, weird little boy that stumbled over to them would come out of this still a good person? God. I'm sorry I'm emo about found family. Don't mind me.

And I'm just. Okay. Okay. I think so much about how we get to know what other claw members are up to after everything, but...not Shou. Besides in fan books and stage plays, we uh. We got very little. And that makes him very interesting to analyze.

I just. Always think about how Serizawa stopped Shou from hurting Toichiro and how Serizawa got a happier life. Does Shou ever resent Serizawa? I think so much about their potential claw dynamic. Maybe he was one of the few who was kind to him, but was so disgustingly *loyal* to his dad it made him feel sick to look at. Serizawa would bring him snacks if he looked upset but would always respond to any criticisms of his father with the same unwavering Faith in him. Serizawa would comfort him after he lost a training session, Serizawa shielded the man who hurt him the most. Serizawa was a victim, Serizawa turned a blind eye to him. He needed to save Serizawa, and Serizawa never saved him. Did he feel responsible for Serizawa?

I think he felt like it was his responsibility as Toichiro's son to be the one to stop him. He needed to save everyone. He needed to make things right. He wanted his dad to go back to being who he was before things got really bad. I feel like. At first, Toichiro was an okay dad. And that's why it hurt so bad when everything went to shit and he started being so fucking horrible. Because Shou knew he was fully fucking capable of not sucking and he CHOSE to treat them like this anyway. He couldn't recognize him. He was a stranger with his dad's face and he had no idea what he did. Did he ever think if he could just fix Toichiro his mom would come back? Everything would go back to normal if he could just make Toichiro be a good person again? How long did that thought last?

I just. I always think about how aimless Shou strikes me as being the few times we see him in season three. He doesn't know what to do now. He had this whole purpose and plan. And then it didn't work. He didn't stop his dad. Mob did. His dad's alive. His dad changed his mind, but he's arrested. His mom and dad aren't together. Everything feels like it's tied up in a neat little bow for everyone except for Shou.

Of course we know that's not the case, but Shou doesn't know. Shou doesn't know that Serizawa was fucking panicked about disobeying Reigen even when their lives depended on it, Shou doesn't know that Mob's haunted by that battle. So from his eyes, it's very likely that he thinks he's the only one who hasn't moved on.

He goes from being always so dramatic sounding in all his lines in s1 and 2 to in season three just sounding...so much less? I don't know how to describe it. He sounds so much less...well. Everything was over for him, y'know? He built his whole life around carefully avoiding his dad and saving everyone and being the hero and then. Everything's done, and he didn't have a plan for what he'd do after. It all seemed like the end of Everything, and that'd be it! Nothing after that. But it's all over and he still has to live. Now what? Now what does he do?

How is Serizawa a functioning adult with a JOB now? Minegeshi joined when they were a teenager, how are they just...okay now? How did everyone, EVERYONE else get to move on, but Shou couldn't? Everyone else got their nice little ending, and Shou has nowhere to go. Does he tell his mom everything? That his dad tried to kill him but suddenly decided fine okay murder is wrong now, not soon enough to never have done that to him? Does he ask if he can stay with her? Will his lackeys want anything to do with him? Will Ritsu Everything's done and nothing's over, not for Shou, but everyone just fucking moved on. Everyone seems to be a better person than him now. Everyone seems to be fine in a way Shou just isn't.

Not to get back on my Shou and Serizawa bullshit but. Do you ever think about Shou seeing him again. And having no fucking clue what to think. Serizawa is just ...fine now. Suddenly he's no longer the guy who trailed after his dad and did horrible things for his dad without a THOUGHT. Suddenly he's smart and responsible now. Suddenly he's soooo good now. Where was all that when he needed it? Where was this functional, kind guy when he was TWELVE and trying to stop fucking terrorists. Where was this guy he would've done ANYTHING to have on his side when he was trying to save everyone from the man who raised him. Where was he. Why did he change now. Why had EVERYONE changed now. Why was Minegeshi trying for Mob, not Shou. Why was Serizawa trying for Mob, not Shou. Why was Toichiro trying for Mob, not Shou. Why didn't he MATTER. Why had NO ONE cared that he was in hell, that he wanted things to be okay. What's that one line. "If [Serizawa/Toichiro] has truly changed, it means he was ALWAYS capable of change. It means that I just wasn't worth changing for." And like. Objectively that's not what happened, objectively there were other factors and Serizawa and Toichiro are on very different levels, but Shou is like. Barely thirteen. He's BARELY thirteen. He is a child and all he's gonna see is that nobody cared when he needed them to. And now he's lost and has no idea what to do and everyone's just fine. Like he didn't almost die. Like his dad didn't try to kill him. Like he wasn't in hell for twelve goddamn years. Like he hadn't tried to save everyone. He's thirteen. He's not handling this well.

I feel like he just. Has no clue how to be normal. He doesn't know who he is now. He doesn't know what to do. His whole life orbited around stopping his dad and now his dad is different and locked up and he can't see him all the time, and things were so much worse back then so why does everything feel worse now. He doesn't know who he is now. He doesn't know what he wants now. I think so much about he says hes never using his powers again. Is he just trying SO hard to be normal. That's what he decided he wants now. He wants to be a normal kid who has friends and that's the only way to do it. He didn't have a Reigen in his life who'd tell him like he told Mob that powers are just another attribute. Maybe one day he'll talk to his lackeys, and maybe they'll hold him and tell him that that's his choice but that his powers aren't a curse or a weapon, they're just a *trait.* Or maybe he won't. I don't know. It's just so fucking. God. Shou, man. Shou.

Maybe one day he comes to spirits and such for Ritsu and sees Serizawa. Maybe they fight. Maybe they don't. Maybe they'll talk. It's just. God. Shou has so many loose ends in his life. Is he just trying to leave claw behind by never using his powers again, like he might think everyone else did? He went from "I need to save the world" to "I need to be a normal person." Did he shave his hair to look normal or did he shave it after he had a long talk with a friend that made him reevaluate things. What happened to him. If he has the spirits and such crew still, maybe he'll end up realizing that his powers are just another part of him. Maybe he'll realize they're not a curse or another thing his dad shoved on him. God. Aughhh. Sorry for being ill about Shou and possibly ooc about him but. Aughh.

Once again this is not an anti Serizawa post. I love Serizawa. Shou however probably has some Issues and I like to address them and try to give him more closure. Because I love him. Again, sorry if this is ooc, I'm still trying to get a grasp on him. If anyone who has a better grasp on him wants to add anything PLEASE let me know. I do not fully understand this guy yet but I would love to try to

[aemiron-main]

modern au (but all the upside down shit still happened but is over now) party plays minecraft + byler isn’t together yet but theyre on the verge of getting together and mike and el are long broken up + everyone’s fending for themselves except mike keeps giving all of his resources to will and once everyone realizes, they start giving him shit for it/teasing mike about how he treats will so gently.  and while they’re arguing in vc and tabbed out of minecraft, will is running around and killing all of them for their loot which he then puts in his and mike’s chest.  mike is literally THE will defender, he’s a literal paladin guarding will from all of the mobs: will, gently harvesting crops mike, obliterating any monster that even Looks at will  eventually el and max team up on mike and chase him, all while mike shrieks in the vc about “it’s not fair for these two to team up on me!!!! theyre conspiring against me!!! ”  dustin builds the most insane redstone contraptions ever, and will patiently listens to dustin explain how they work, even if he doesn’t fully understand it. dustin also tames as many wild animals as he physically can lucas builds literally the cutest house for him and max ever. max accidentally blows part of it up while trying to kill mike with tnt. max and lucas repair the house together. eventually el also joins in with customizing the house and adding little details!!  jonathan starts playing for the first time one day + they ALL gang up on him and for the next hour, he’s dead within 2 seconds of spawning in. will tells everyone to stop eventually because “im pretty sure i can hear one of his blood vessels bursting from the other room”  nancy joins eventually too, and SHES the most brutal of them all. she’ll take down anyone for their loot. mike is begging for mercy but she kills him and takes his stuff anyway. she doesn’t have the heart to kill will or el, though. she does, however, ask them nicely to give her some items because she’s just starting out. will and el oblige because nancy is lowkey terrifying.  will dies in minecraft in front of mike because mike couldn’t kill a creeper in time and mike starts actually crying in the vc and everyone sort of feels bad because while yes it’s just minecraft, and sure, mike is maybe overreacting, trauma is weird and mike still isn’t over will having almost died in the final battle against the mindflayer/henry. will goes to the next room irl, where mike is, and just sits with him for awhile.  suzie starts playing eventually, and her and dustin build extremely complex castles and neverending story sculptures. someone (max) accidentally (while trying to kill mike AGAIN) blows up part of the structure, and suzie traps her in a strange eternal redstone rollercoaster hellscape for awhile until max apologizes.  the core party + max and el fight the ender dragon together. will and mike are the ones who land the killing blow. this makes mike feel slightly better about will’s death earlier.  like lucas and el and max, mike and will have an adorable house for themselves except the rooms mike decorated are kind of wonky, but will loves those rooms the most.  dustin is a madman who builds a sculpture/replica of the mindflayer based on will’s drawings. mike yells at dustin over vc for doing this. will, although he freaked out for a milisecond at first, is laughing his ass off over it because it’s honestly a pretty fantastic recreation suzie, now in cahoots with max after resolving their initial differences, is also sick of hearing mike and will swoon over eachother in vc, and therefore uses her hacking skills to change will’s username to “mikelover”. will, although embarrassed, does not deny the allegations. mike is flustered.  dustin’s tamed animals start living in lucas, el and max’s house since he doesnt really have a proper house, just a handful of extravagant castles with too many rooms to keep track of and a lot of sculptures unfit for pet habitation. el names all of the creatures that dustin hasn’t named yet.  mike has a coolass diamond sword. he takes the time to go and find diamonds for will because he doesn’t want will to feel left out because he doesn’t have a cool diamond sword. will insists that it’s fine and that he doesn’t need a sword, but mike makes him one anyway. mike also helps will build a coolass wizard tower for himself.  when the party first goes to the nether, they’re uncomfortably reminded of the upside-down/vecna’s mindscape. also will thinks the ghasts are adorable. max is throwing hands with the zombie pig men.  max bullies the villagers because their prices are “way too high”. el tries to befriend the villagers. max bullies the villagers because theyre being “rude” to el. 

[mermaidsirennikita]

So You'd Like to Fuck a Villain: Romance Novel Recommendations

Have you gotten caught up in a villain ship? Are you, perhaps, what might be called a villainfucker?

The issue with stanning for villains and wanting them to have romantic love and happiness and possibly group sex, is that they often don't. At least, not onscreen. Some of the most popular romantic ships, obviously, have been villain ships--Reylo spawned a wave of romance novelists (though, I might add, many do not actually write villain-centric romance novels, which is fine), Darklina powered no small part of Shadow and Bone's publishing success... and let's be real, the success of the soon-to-be-ill-fated-from-what-I'm-hearing TV show. On a darker level, Interview with the Vampire took off in no small part because people love the tainted love that is Louis and Lestat, where maybe? They're both villains? (Definitely more Lestat, but you know.)

You know what the great thing about a romance novel is? The villain has to get a happy ending. They just must. It's a rule. If a villain is a lead, the HEA is guaranteed (rhymes), or it's not a romance novel.

So, for Cupid's birthday, I'm recommending some of my favorite villainfucking romance novels. I just think that we deserve it.

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Wicked Villains by Katee Robert.

As you might guess, this series is in fact about villains getting their happy ending, full stop. And it does so by adapting Disney villain ships and placing them in a contemporary setting full of organized crime, sex clubs, and deals gone wrong. It is fun, it is campy, and it is very, very sexy. Check the trigger warnings (which Robert typically lists for each book on her website)--some of these do feature heavy BDSM and CNC.

The diversity of the pairings is so appreciated--while my favorite thus far is the first, Desperate Measures (Jafar/Jasmine with a mob wife "you killed my father" spin, for those curious) you get several triads (Hades/Hercules/Meg, Beast/Gaston/Belle, Ursula/Ariel/Eric, to name a few) and the ever-coveted sapphic Maleficent/Aurora moment. I don't think there's a straight person in this collection of characters. Contemporary romance can be a hard sell for me, especially in terms of villainy... But these are just a ride.

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas.

Obviously, if you haven't read Devil in Winter yet, you need to read Devil in Winter. It's a classic--not just of historical romance, but romance in general. Though, pro-tip: I would recommend reading the preceding It Happened One Autumn first, as that's where the villainy takes place. Devil in Winter is about a recovering villain--a rake who did a very, very bad thing (kidnapping his best friend's lady love) simply because he did not want to get a job. I mean.....

Sebastian St. Vincent is a soft touch villain, and not just because he's super good at touching. You know he's going to roll over and beg for it with his seemingly-gentle, secretly-iron-willed heroine; but it's watching him get there that's so fun. His bark is worse than his bite, but he does deliver quite a bark (and quite a bite). If you like 'em snarky and slutty, read this book.

Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt.

If you like a blond villain who seems better at lounging about than doing manual labor, Valentine Napier takes what St. Vincent was doing to another level of insanity. St. Vincent is sane; Valentine is not, and he's a lot less fun about his kidnappings. Fortunately, his heroine (dispatched to spy on and steal from him) does not take any shit.

This is a book for those who like them loony, because I really don't think Valentine reforms in the least. He just falls in love, all while running around naked in bedazzled, open robes and brandishing a knife. At least he's good in bed and keeps giant, nude portraits of himself in his own house. Keep in mind that this book does delve into some pretty massive childhood trauma, including all kinds of abuse.

Villain I'd Like to F...

This anthology of novellas delves into five stories of historical romance villainy, by five great authors. I'm going to list each novella and its author, as these collections typically disband after a period of time, allowing the authors to sell the novellas individually (though you often can find the collections in online libraries like Libby). In the brackets!

[ Lady Viper and the Bastard by Eva Leigh.

Do you enjoy Dangerous Liaisons? Try this delightfully sexy Georgian-era novella about a widowed vamp and an illegitimate libertine, teaming up to break apart two young lovers (for a price). Except what happens when these two assholes start to catch feelings? Notable in that these characters are in their forties, know themselves, and do engage in some fun role-playing.

Seven Sinful Nights by Nicola Davidson.

Our young-but-ready widowed heroine is toiling in the service of her dickish in-laws... Until the owner of the local gambling hell (who isn't above murder and torture, and does enjoy dominating a bit) shows up demanding payment for her brother-in-law's debts. Those who love an innocent heroine lured by the darkness will love this one, a she very much goes willingly to her "doom" of being his mistress for a week, and loves every minute of it. It's sexy, it's sweet, she also loves a torture moment, there's some exhibitionism.

The Gangster's Prize by Joanna Shupe.

A Gilded Age gangster is thrown off balance by the young woman who comes to him demanding help in finding her missing father. But wait... who's in his dungeon as we speak? Could it be? Her dad? Joanna doesn't pull her punches here, and it's delightfully wacky. Watching our hapless villain hero be like "uhh, what screams from the dungeon" while our heroine looks for her father... who he has captive.. is hilarious.

The Bootlegger's Bounty by Adriana Herrera.

Did someone say sort-of pirates? Our heroine is a nightclub singer, and she books passage to New York with a dangerous rum runner. There's a lot of sex in this one, and--delightfully--a triad, as there happens to be a young gentleman who catches the eye of both our singer and our rum runner...

The Conquering of Tate the Pious by Sierra Simone.

Hedonistic nuns? A Norman invader (in more ways than one) who turns out to be a lady conqueror? As in, a conqueror who is a lady and conquers ladies? I think yes. Our proud abbess Tate is ready to stand up to the Wolf, but what happens when the Wolf is very sexy and cruel in the best possible way? ]

The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe.

If there's one thing Joanna Shupe loves, it's a hero (or a villain turned hero) who hates your dad. This book opens with our casino-owning hero beating the shit out of someone, and when he meets the headstrong spoiled rich girl who wants to open a casino for ladies and needs mentorship... He takes her up on it. All while planning to take down her father (as revenge!!!).

While Clay isn't a super hardcore bad guy, he is pretty violent and pretty diabolical. What makes this book is, of course, his dynamic with Florence, and her defiance of norms that quickly has him completely besotted. This book has a very good grovel, and it should. Does anyone deserve Florence?

... and after reading this one, you can mosey over to Shupe's next book, The Devil of Downtown, in which a bad, bad gangster gets his ass emotionally kicked by Florence's goody goody angelic sister.

The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin.

This is another one that benefits from reading its previous book, Butterfly Swords, first. In that novel we're introduced to the treacherous warlord our heroine is fleeing--Li Tao. Lin doesn't shy away from his intimidation factor: he even gets into a sword fight (that turns into an outright brawl, lmao) with the hero. In this novel, Li Tao gets full focus, kidnapping a former emperor's concubine to get information out of her.

What follows is a match of wits that gradually gives way to two manipulative, emotionally closed off people falling madly in love with each other while being unable to say it. Li Tao is a cold, seemingly-unfeeling villain-as-hero, and he really pushes how far he's willing to go to reach his end goals in this book. Also, there's a sex deal. If that matters to you.

Daring and The Duke by Sarah MacLean.

Again, one that does in fact benefit from reading the two preceding books, Wicked and The Wallflower and Brazen and The Beast (fortunately, they're both good!). Ewan, our titular duke, is the villain of both--and he is completely batshit insane in his pursuit of his childhood sweetheart, Grace. Who, for reasons relating to villainy, wants absolutely nothing to do with him.

This is a book-long grovel the way Sarah MacLean does it best--with abject shame and humiliation. Ewan is put through the ringer: and he should be, because he did a really bad thing! And was legitimately a nutjob of a villain! But that's what makes it so, so good.

PARANORMAL/FANTASY ROMANCE

The Four Horsemen by Laura Thalassa.

This series has the rather bold take of "what if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Fucked". Starting with Pestilence, bleeding into War and Famine, and ending with Death, this series is a bit bonkers. But it doesn't let up on the extent of the villainous heroes' determination to lay waste to the world. There is a lot of gore. There is a lot of moral ambiguity.

But it's also legitimately funny. Pestilence discovers the joys of a bathtub. Death receives his first blowjob and is like "I don't know, maybe the apocalypse is bad". It's campy, and it's fun, and it leans the fuck in to the concept. I would recommend reading these in order, as the love stories stand alone but the overall arc leads to a big finish (and there are lots of finishes in between, if you know what I'm say--)

The Tenebris Trilogy by Kathryn Ann Kingsley.

If you're interested in the occult and some Lovecraftian vibes set in a pseudo-1920s world, this is it. Our heroine is on the search for her brother, and who is to assist but his stuffy-hot professor who happens to be a cult leader and has perhaps merged his body with that of a Cthulu monster?

What's interesting about this series (which cannot be read as standalones, and must be read in order) is that our hero is legitimately loony tunes, and our heroine is into it. She falls in love with him and his monsters, and that does... extend to the physical. (Tentacles, everyone! Shadow tentacles! Think Venom.) I will add that there's a lovely secondary romance with a trans heroine (with a hero that's not a villain) and it is excellent, but at one point an antagonist is transphobic towards her. An attempted off-page forced detransition occurs. The main heroine is totally supportive of the secondary heroine and stops it, but read with caution.

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole.

This rare villainess/hero romance sees a sorceress heroine take a deposed demon king captive to coerce him into impregnating her so that she can bear his heir (all for villainous purposes, of course). Yes. So this book is heavy on the dubcon--lots of edging, lots of people chained to beds--but to be frank? He is into it. We have a stern, morally upright hero being driven to the brink by the baddest of bad girls, and it's great.

This book is a bit controversial because of the content, and I do recommend checking out my IAD Cheat Sheet before reading for a full list of triggers/details about the world of Immortals After Dark. But it reads fairly well on its own, and I personally adore it. The sex is hot, the romance is angsty, he gets back at her in every possible way, and it's so fun to see a villainess take center stage and bring out the dark side of such a noble hero.

Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole.

Here, we focus on an immortal valkyrie heroine who's had centuries of near-misses with her would-be Berserker love--every time she kisses him, he remembers his past lives with her and promptly dies in increasingly gruesome ways. He's always be good and loving to her... which is why she's so shocked when he returns to her, this time in the form of an immortal-hating torturer who's taken her captive.

This one is dark--yes, he does torture her (not that badly, but there are other scenes of torture at the hands of different villains which are... bad). But if you can hang in there, I think you'll find a very compelling romance with a legitimately troubled, intense hero and a woman he can't get out of his head. There's also a very, very good bathtub scene that turns into "let me blindfold you so you can't see my hideous scars".

Lothaire by Kresley Cole.

The villain romance to end all villain romances (best read after Dreams, so you get the one-two punch of a pair of very different villainous heroes). What happens when you mix a 3,000-year-old megalomaniacal vampire with a 24-year-old whip-smart human woman he believes houses the soul of the goddess he's supposed to wed? A fucking ride, and possibly my favorite romance ever, that's what.

Lothaire goes HARD. It goes hard on the villainy (this is a story of a villain falling in love, not a villain finding redemption), it goes hard on the sex (with possibly one of the most infamous sex scenes in romance, and I love every word of it), and it goes hard on the angst. As much as Lothaire fucks with Ellie's head and is determined to deny his love for her, she's determined to one-up on him and will never, ever break. I think this book is always best summed up in a scene early on where he kisses her, bites her lip, and draws back, smugly expecting horror--only to find her grinning through the blood and pulling him in for another kiss. Tell me that isn't villain romance perfection.

Sworn to the Shadow God by Ruby Dixon.

Not so much a super hard villain romance as it is a "falling in love with Death himself" book, this wacky romance finds our gamer girl heroine falling through a portal to another land and... yes, sworn as the mortal companion of the God of Death as he attempts to complete a trial set before him by the father god. It is funny, it is sexy, it's adventurous, and it is for the Reylos.

You think I'm joking. No. He is very clearly modeled after Kylo Ren, and he sweeps around in dark cloaks and emo smashes about being the God of the Death, and it is glorious. He's less bad than he is detached and uncaring, but, you know... Death. By the end of the book, though? He cares very much about one particular person.

Look, man. Check your triggers always, especially with romance novels about villains. These won't work for everyone. But I imagine... if you like a villain... some of these are for you.

[granulesofsand]

Poison - Hazbin Hotel

🗝️🏷️ RAMCOA, death, substances

There are a few pieces of media that us trafficked alters like because it reflects us. Not how nonsurvivors think we should be, ugly healing and continued survival. And there are always people who don’t understand how this could happen to someone trying to press these characters into boxes they can easily grasp.

Not all of it has to be wrong, but even today I saw a swarm of fans talking about Angel Dust’s song ‘Poison’ as alluding to a romantic involvement with Valentino prior to his contract. They could well be right, and they could well not.

It’s a song from a multisensory media. That media is revealing, foreshadowing, and concealing especially hard during the musical numbers because of the format, so we’re probably not meant to understand the whole of it when it appears.

That said, it’s about trafficking. I relate heavily to that song because it centers a very classic manipulation. Abusers absolutely twist your reality to make it your fault, your choice, always what you did.

Shooting sexually exploitative material differs from plain porn, and the lack of regulation and safety can blur the line. Regardless of where Angel Dust crossed it, it’s SEM now. Hells, I don’t know if we use that term for adults, but sex trafficking damn certain is.

Someone, several someones, in that discussion said that Angel Dust having been attached to Valentino makes his situation more realistic. While the character is not real, his story is. It is not just his story when you turn to a group you otherwise ignore. It does not matter if you lived your own version of this story, you do not get to claim anyone else’s is unrealistic.

I don’t see where the prior relationship with Valentino becomes the assumption, or even relevant to Angel Dust’s abuse. Complicated relationships form easily within these dynamics, and romantic/platonic bonds to handlers are encouraged, if for no other reason than emotional immaturity of a perpetrator.

I love my handlers still. I was made for them in every sense of the word, and the tangled mess that is relational trauma felts. What you pull out will not be the same as what went in.

There is an art of dissociation specific to sexual exploitation that allows you to enjoy it simply because you have no other choice. That can be a poison, the comfort of being abused, and I do find the song to be more about the need to keep going through trauma with no end in sight.

Angel Dust is from a mob family. That is inherently organized abuse, and the whole of it is beyond labyrinthine. Probably it was labor trafficking too. It often involves terrorization, Trauma-Based Mind Control by way of extreme violence inflicted on and around a victim and then interpreted for them. We call it torture, and it is that and more.

You can’t undo that. Heal, if you are lucky and steadfast in your goals, but never undo. He never had a chance, and whatever went on between him and Valentino is not his fault. To say so would be to condemn every survivor who has fallen from what group to another, and this is the story of many. We are real.

Angel was an adult at his death, but his development was likely fucked by having grown up as he did. Peripheral as it may have been — which it does not seem to be — you don’t get a chance at nature if this is your nurture. You are utterly destroyed, dematerialized, to be built over for another’s benefit.

Survivors do not owe you anything. It was the job of the public to preemptively save us from these horrors, and even as we stand in the light you avert your gaze. People die from this — from suicide or overdose or resulting illness, but also from having been tortured to death.

Angel is a character who represents us. He is a survivor, not because he is alive but because he lived through the first time. He died young, as do most of us. He is unsightly and inappropriate and me. Poking at him feels like poking at me, because that is the closest I have ever seen to myself in media.

[exilepurify]

The first OVA for MP100 has really interesting connotations in terms of what Reigen actually knows about Mob’s experiences. Reigen’s the one who’s narrating the recap, so we can assume the perspective and the things he mentions are solely based on his own understanding of the situation.

Obviously the nature of a recap episode is that not every detail can be included, and I recognize that I might be applying meaning to what may just be limitations of the form, but it’s fun to speculate about the meeting of meaning and execution, so why not, right?

When Reigen is describing the events of season 1, he completely skips over Teruki strangling Mob. If it’s meant to be a recap for the audience, the strangling was maybe the most important thing to happen in the whole fight other than the ???% explosion. It’s where Teruki’s worldview starts to break down, it’s a moment where Teruki’s desperation causes him to betray his own moral boundaries (“What am I doing???”), and it’s where we first learn about Mob hurting Ritsu—the inciting incident for quite literally every single thing that happens in the entire plot of Mob Psycho 100. But not only does Reigen not mention those at all, they also don’t show any footage of it happening. It skips directly from the knives to Mob’s ???% explosion.

In the scene that happens in S1E6, where Mob asks Reigen about what qualifies as self defense, Mob mentions balding Teruki, shredding his clothes, destroying his school, and throwing him up in the air, but he doesn’t mention Teruki strangling him to Reigen. Ever.

Mob also never tells Reigen about the incident where he hurt his brother with his ???% explosion as kids. He mentions to Reigen that his powers are dangerous and that he’s scared of hurting people, but his guilt compels him to never mention the specifics of the event to anyone but Ritsu. And directly because of Reigen never knowing the severity of Mob’s concerns, he underestimates Mob’s internal struggles and even trivializes them sometimes, which is why he has the whole “I didn’t know!!!!” moment in the finale. If he knew that guilt was eating Mob alive like that, he would’ve handled it better than he did, obviously.

Instead, Mob writes in that part himself, sitting alone in his bedroom, rather than transcribing what Reigen is narrating. And even when he does write about it, he chooses to say very little in detail. The audience sees the whole scene play out to fulfill the purpose of the recap, but Mob’s internal dialogue—which is reading out in his head what he’s currently writing—says (in the dub bc it’s the one I currently have downloaded for amvs lol), “When my brother, Ritsu, was little, he would get really happy whenever I showed him my powers. But, because I hadn’t learned how to control them, I ended up hurting the brother I loved so much. Because of me, Ritsu…” And from here it transitions immediately to the alley scene. He really doesn’t even say much. When a kid says they hurt their brother, the first things that come to your mind usually aren’t all that serious. It’s pretty common for siblings to hit and bite (sorry to my older sister—I was a biter 😬) and stuff sometimes, especially when young. No one would assume he was talking about pretty serious head trauma from just that.

He does, apparently, know about Mob and Teru torturing Terada via waterboarding. I’m assuming Teru told him that part. It certainly wasn’t Terada. He seems to think the torture is hilarious, though. “*in a laughing, smug voice* This poor soul was tortured and embarrassed. He was in way over his head—literally.” It kinda was, tbf.

Obviously the integrity of the story starts going straight off the rails at this point, with Reigen poorly photoshopping himself into every scene to fulfill his chuunibyou complex. I’m just going to blanket assume that everything Reigen knows about Mob’s actions in the claw division before he arrived there himself comes from a mixture of Mob’s bare-bones reporting and Teruki bragging about the details of power level and technique and stuff.

When it comes to Mob’s 100% rejection and defeating Muto, Reigen openly admits to only knowing of his existence through hearsay and that Mob doesn’t remember how he defeated him. However, for the sake of recap, the audience is shown the full scene of Mob hitting the ceiling on his counter and freaking out, so that’s another interesting dichotomy between Reigen’s understanding of the story vs. what we are shown as the audience in the recap.

And then everything after this point was witnessed by Reigen firsthand, so it’s not so much about his understanding of the situation than it is about the way he’s framing it (which is poorly).

Anyway, it’s super clear that even back in season 1, Reigen had no idea what was actually going on with Mob. And if he did, he didn’t know the ways it was affecting him, or the most heartbreaking details had been fully excluded.

[ygodmyy20]

We have made it. To the end of the Mob Psycho 100 rewatch.

I don't have a lot of posts but you can check out #mp100 rewatch tag for all my other rambles about this rewatch.

Here we go it’s time to make my final post of this rewatch.

Granted I didn’t even get up my alien arc one cuz we watched them so fast.

So yeah.

In the Moving episode, my fiancé was getting so nervous because he was having, like, a visceral response to Shigeo confessing. He thought we were heading into second hand embarrassment land. He basically was this gif of reigen like squirming, hands over eyes, like be thought we were heading into “oh no shigeo totally embarrasses himself in front of a girl”

……..

Annnnnd then we hit the end of the episode…..

and he looked at me like this

I don't think I have ever seen this man look at me with such confusion and “what the fuck” emotions. It looked like I sucked the soul out of him.

Do I feel a little bad for making him go in blind?

..........no hahaha

So uh the break between Moving and Rival was like. Him just sitting on the couch staring at the TV not sure what just happened.

BUT WE GOTTA MOVE ON SO HERE WE GOOOOOO and we get to Rival and I am just over here clutching a pillow because ugh the Teru and Shigeo fight still HURTS ME A FUCK LOT

My fiancé was so tense through the whole thing and when we got to this yank out my feels of the whole end of their fight.

He was def feeling the feels train with me. Every time shigeo reacted to Teru I heard him take a sharp breath. This whole scene I could tell it was effecting him

(mehaps he will finally understand why TeruMob has grabbed me and not let go....mehaps)

Moving onto Trauma. Man, that was tough to watch but I also love it because seeing ritsu accept his brother for who he is makes me all sorts of happy.

This scene always hits me so hard. Ritsu thinking through all the parts he loves about his brother, their childhood, the effect the trauma has not only had on him but Shigeo as well. I am exploring this a lot in my ageswap fic, how the trauma between them set them back so much. How it took Ritsu breaking cycles to make a change. Damn.

And then ofc the end. I was waiting for the moment 99 kicked on, a song my fiancé sings a bunch around the apartment. Watching his face when that happened is probably going into the top moments in my brain, I was so delighted. I know some people didn't like that in the finale but honestly it gives me goosebumps I love it.

Getting to the end was bittersweet. A show that means the world to me I was able to finally share with a person who means the world to me. And after, we talked about all sorts of things.

My fiancé shares a lot of similarities with Shigeo and Teru and Ritsu (and honestly a lot of the other espers in general) He was defined by his talent (music) from a very young age. He was seen as a musician first and a human second. Most people only ever saw His instrument. It became the first thing people knew about him. He was a “gifted child”, so his whole life he’s been told he is special, but the only special thing about him is his talent. His….powers you could say.

So if he ever lost that talent, which he did at one point in his life, what does that make him as a person? I didn't expect it but Teru's fight with Mob at the start of the show hit him super hard because he said he identified with Teru. His talent was all he had so he was proud of it, a bit arrogant, until an injury knocked him down to a very very low floor. Because that's what you do when the whole world tells you this is the only part of you that matters (fuck writing that makes me cry ya'll see why Teru hit me in the feels now???? fuuuck)

I love my fiancés music, how can I not? In the end, it is a part of who he is. But it does not define him. His instrument does not come before him. It is not the reason I love him nor the reason I am marrying him.

He is more than his talent, but his talent is also apart of him. He is just him. He is the protagonist of his own life.

And based on everything we talked about afterwards, I like to hope that message landed.

Thank you mob psycho. Maybe you’ll be just what he needs as well.

[eshithepetty]

SORRY FOR HOW I DISAPPEARED AGAIN. BUT I RETURN AND I BRING.. THOUGHTS....

Reply from this post

I was going to just reply to it, but, actually - no. this deserves to be its own post. Because YES!!! Yes, exactly!!!! This isn't something that I often see discussed in this fandom, if ever, but I think about it so much. I think @peepee-envy is exactly right. So much of this show is much more metaphorical than you think. All the fantastical stuff really just exists to... amplify the mundane. It doesn't really stand on its own two feet on its own. That's why we never really see the power system explored that in depth, that's why the terrorism organisation stuff is very secular in the story and doesn't affect the world more beyond its focused arcs, that's why buckwild stuff like the divine tree exists and is kind of just treated as normal, that's why the aliens just... show up, one day, and do nothing else. Those are all just footnotes. Just glass mozaics the story puts over the actual messages and character arcs to make them more colorful and fun. We already know that part of the story's presentation is changed by Mob's point of view - Tsubomi, the body improvement club and 100% carried away being the most obvious examples - so why couldn't that extend to more of this universe?

Of course, I'm not out here claiming that every fantastical and improbable thing in this story is just a projection of Mob's imagination or whatever, that would be kinda dumb and not that fun. But what is fun to me is thinking about what it could all mean!! What lies beneath the surface, what we can interpret and extract from these events! Like, as the reply above notes - the big clean up arc isn't so much about Ritsu literally going and beating the shit out of people... because, yeah, that does happen... but if we were to take it through a realistic lens, Ritsu would probably be in juvie rn lmao. No, what really matters here is the drama. Put as short as I can, it all goes like this:

There are 2 siblings. One of whom is noticeably different in how he percieves and interacts with the world, something that starts to alienate him (how do you take this to its fantastical extreme? Make him literally see the world differently (seeing spirits) and having different abilities (ESP) of course!)

Because of this alienation, there begins a rift in how this boy views himself and the traits that make him different (thus: a literal separation between mob and ???%...)

Only, these identity issues are obviously not healthy - the way he's started to reject himself is not healthy - and it, inevitably... ends with him lashing out, in a way that noone expected. And his younger brother, who had seen his brother as his role model up to that point... understandably got hurt and influenced the most. (And this being the story that it is.... that means the hurt and confusion gets made physical. Blood on the asphalt. A shadowy demon, 'something else', beneath your brother's skin)

Thus begin 3 long, suffocating years of neither of them being able to deal with it. One has decided to abandon his every desire and personality trait in the hopes that being invisible will make sure he drives noone else away ever again. And the other takes a similar page out of his older sibling's book, and hopes that by doing just what society tells him to do, being good, being quiet and nice and always accomodating to his brother, will mean he can avoid that trauma repeating. (Only, in this case - the feelings are so much more amplified, by the fact that this is not just hurt - this is death. Shigeo very much almost Murdered his little brother that day. And the both he and Ritsu are achingly aware of this.)

(But noone can bear these burdens forever.)

So eventually... the younger snaps. He's tired of upholding this image of perfection, of intelligence, of helpfulness - he feels like none of what he's done, what he's been, in the past 3 years is true, because it's all been born from fear. So when a crack appears in front of him - a chance to not do that anymore, to be someone else... he takes it. He finally lets himself be flawed. And he finally breaks down. (And in this world where he fears death and aspires literal powers with which to defend himself - this rebellion is exhagarated. He lies and cheats and hurts in the most blatant way possible. He's violent. Because in this world where he fears dying - what's a little more blood on the asphalt? He just needs to know it won't be him next. He accepts all this guilt and sinks into it because he's finally allowed to. Because for once, these feelings and destruction is something he controls. Noone else.)

(He's finally like his brother. He feels, he's finally able to understand him. He wanted psychic powers, because the time his brother fully showed his psychic powers is the time he was truly whole, and he aches to feel whole himself, too. To unmask and become something truer to himself, something that will bring him closer to his nii-san.)

And as for the other... well. There goes the whole rest of the story of Mob Psycho. Shigeo learning to open up. To find friends. To understand himself. To accept his differences. To reach out. To change people. And to finally, be able to mess up, and walk away after it - because it might feel like the worst possible thing in the world. It might feel like he's the worst person in the world, this horrible beast who's just so angry, and who can't stop hurting people, and who suddenly blames everyone around him and is destroying everything he touches as a result... but that's only because he's never allowed himself to take himself into account before. He's never seen himself before, never let himself protect himself before.... and to a person who's lived their whole life in darkness, only candlelight to guide them - the sun would feel like an apocalypse. It's only so overwhelming, because it is so to Shigeo. It's all just a representation of how he feels.

And I just think that's all so fun. It's fascinating... I love thinking about this stuff. And it's also why, I realize as I'm writing this, I've always felt that terms like 'parody' and 'deconstruction' do not 100% apply to all of mob psycho, to what it is as a series.... because, yes, there's definitely elements of both (particularly in the more actiony parts of the series). But at it's heart... it almost leans more into the logic of something like magical realism, where fantastical elements do exist - but they don't explain themselves, and they don't impact the universe they inhabit in a way that people would deem as realistic - they just are. They're there to be a set dressing, they're there to be an allegory, they're there to make it more interesting - but the story was never about them. It was about what lied beneath that fantasy. It's about the humanity of it all.

And it also just makes the story So funny. Like, yeah, guess there's a mind controlling broccoli now in the middle of the town,, why not!! One of my best friends is a green booger, and my father-uncle-brother figure is a scam psychic, and my little brother almost strangled someone to death for me, and one of my classmates want me to be a cult leader.. Also my confession to a girl Literally left 11 dead 69 injured but thats fine !! Etc. etc. I just really like that, jdhdjdhj

This is a story about how even the most special looking people are actually just as normal as anyone else; that the most ridiculous things are just a part of life, that we can find connection in the strangest of circumstances, that life and growing up is awkward and cringe and confusing and!!! It's all just normal. This is life. And I love this beatiful and weird series, with all my heart <3

[zephrunsimperium]

is Knowing Me, Knowing You a romantic billford story? what kind of story is it, actually? it looks interesting but I’m afraid to read any type of billford in fear of it being… not the best. what do you think of the ship, actually, since you’re such a fidduathor fan? also, does it end okay, even when incomplete? I have a lot of questions about the fic tbh. too scared to read it tho lol

Whooooo boy do I have a lot to say about this... I highly encourage everyone to read this entire post.

So, my thoughts on BillFord are extremely complicated. I am, first and foremost, a FiddAuthor shipper. That is the ship I consider canon and I even headcanon Bill to be aroace and actively encourage Ford and Fidds to get together because Ford needs to get over stupid societal homophobia plus it's fun to wear down the human's moral compass about hitting on a married man.

BillFord is a FASCINATING concept and it's not hard to see why the ship is as popular as it is despite the (well-deserved) stigma; a lot of things between them that can be read as fuel to the shipping fire. (ie the hair ruffles, the nose flick, the nicknames, the gold statue, the piano serenade, Ford being attracted to the strange, Bill offering to make Ford "one of us," even the possibly kinky undertones of glowy blue chains and bodily possession)

But the problem is that the ship can get very nasty very fast. Make no mistake, what Bill does to Ford is abuse. He is manipulative and violent and cruel. "Mystery bruises?" Literally torturing Ford on screen? Driving a wedge between Ford and his support system to the point that he has extreme trouble trusting people? Preying upon Ford's insecurities about being a freak? That is horrifying stuff, in particular because of how clear the parallels are to real world abuse.

With that in mind, let me talk about KMKY. I loved this fic to pieces. It’s written and organized incredibly well with a good mix of humor, sentiment, tragedy, and villainy without ever feeling off-balance tonally. The best thing about this fic, however, is the mature and nuanced themes about abuse: how hard it is to still love your abuser even when you start realizing that they're as bad as they are, accepting that you're a victim and have no reason to apologize, how an abuser's own trauma isn't an excuse for their actions. I really appreciate that the author has sympathy for Bill while still clearly acknowledging that "hey, what Bill did to Ford was abuse and Ford doesn't have to forgive him, much less take him back." A lesser writer would force Bill and Ford together, but that's not what happens because it's not what should happen.

So, for anyone who is interested in reading it... The gist of it is that instead of inviting Fiddleford to work on the portal, Ford makes a body for Bill to assist in person. The first 33 chapters develop their relationship (ft. Fiddleford being confused and stressed) and then Ford finds out Bill has been lying and eventually goes through the portal. It is very much a romance but the writing is so good that there are times when it's genuinely heartbreaking that the two of them won't work out.

I would definitely say that Bill is the main character (even though Ford has a significant amount of viewpoint time and he's the one you're supposed to root for) because he's the one who changes throughout the story. It's not a positive change, but it is an extremely compelling character arc. The characterization of Bill in this fic is particularly cool to me because he’s definitely a complete person, but he’s very clearly inhuman.

A little preview/incentive to read it: all of Bill’s underlings have individual personalities, Jheselbraum is a super important character and her characterization is... really cool (that's not a good description, but I was in love with it), the worldbuilding of all the places Ford visits in the multiverse was really cool and fun, there are great OCs like Wendy's mom, this mob boss guy that is a delight to hate, and a sarcastic kick-ass alien lady, Bill's backstory is really impactful, Pyronica is a bad bitch, Bill and Ford fight zombies while We Go Together from Grease plays in the background, there are cool themes about enjoying the mundane things in life and how society treats the Strange, and well-written humor that had me laughing out loud constantly. For as long as it is, all of it was extremely memorable and hardly any of it felt like filler. (I will warn you if you choose to read it, there is some serious steam.)

As for the ending... I totally understand why the author stopped writing it. They were trying to make it canon-compliant, but by the time it caught up to the show it was very clear that adhering to the canon material was holding them back. They did their best, but I could tell they weren't enjoying writing it and if you're not enjoying your art, then I don't think it's worth doing.

Wow that was a long post. Thanks so much for the ask, Anon! I hope this was a satisfying response!

[that-spider-fan-over-there]

BNHA 429: It's not really a win when the only comfort is that Izuku/Ochako didn't became canon during a breakdown.

Honestly I think this is the most confused I've been with this story, so this might be the most openly critical I've been. (I've rewritten this five times already, so if it looks all over the place, I apologize).

"Joki Joki" being Tenko was debunked, which. You know what. Fair. Creating a character that looks like him only for be someone else with a tragic backstory five chapters before the finale? That's kinda cruel.

Harsh backstory for a small-role guy, by the way. A mutant Quirk (that we'll probably know only from supplemental material, if at all) his family didn't have, mouth sewn shut, locked in a basement for years, family leaves him and (probably) a Decay Wave was his only escape? And they say the world of BNHA isn't a harsh one /hj

I'm glad they didn't pull a Teen Wolf (iykyk). Ochako thinks Himiko is dead, Izuku's a shoulder to cry on. For... *counting* 4 pages of holding it in, 2 of actually talking about it, all of the 8 being about Izuku being nice but hypocritical (emotional suppression my dear beloathed Ch. 430 I fear you-).

Izuku says she's "his hero"- it's true, he thinks all his friends are his heroes. But we're shown 2/4 times (Blackwhip and the mob, but not Tenko cornering him in the mall, or their first meeting?) which made me realize he's the only named character/hero she "saved". The "who saves the heroes" thing? Not like she helped other heroes, that plot went to- oh.

Also, the whole "putting others before yourself", the only example listed that comes close to this is her giving some of her Entrance Exam points to him. The others are just her being nice to him, repressing her feelings, Blackwhip was the only other moment that kinda counted. The only "other person" she put before herself? Himiko.

I'll believe Himiko's dead when I see it; blood transfusions don't kill the donator. They take a minimum of 4hrs max. They sent Spinner and Touya to a hospital, but not Himiko, who was unconsicous, winging a transfusion out? Yeah, that's bullshit, "hope for a sequel" is becoming more and more of a plea.

I wish I could say I liked the breakdown, but all I think is "Ochako's a character development tool, with redundant, pointless arcs, and all she got is doomed yuri, trauma and reassuring words from a LI".

I didn't see Izuku crying at first; removing "Joki Joki's" 2 pages, the "talk" took 8/15 pages, I kept wondering when did he ever relied on "her strength", it's not like he trusted her enough to talk about his feelings, secrets or anything.

Class A interrupting was funny, I'm with Katsuki: Does Izuku still have embers (he does). I'm sorry to Ochako, I just didn't care anymore. I knew he didn't tell anyone else, lol (<- I'm shaking him into opening up-). But if he wasn't willing to open up about that I wonder what else doesn't Class A know. Does Inko know her son's dreams are over again or…?

Uh. One For All, crystalization of power from everyone's hopes, LFtR vestige scene, remaining embers looking a bit stronger, "Control Your Heart" is still a thing, "holding someone's hand makes me feel at peace", we have that talk with Katsuki, rule of narrative means if he opens up there's a chance this story can end on a hopeful note, Izuku fans here's how we can still win- (I'm inhaling hopium, I know)

I'm confused Hawks isn't getting ditching the Hero Billboards, just expanding it for "ordinary people". Isn't that continuing part of the problem? Part of why Dabi was created, why many heroes don't care about being a hero? I get it's to inspire others to be everyday heroes, but this if backfires in-universe...

Aoyama's farewell party with Eri singing was as sidelined as the 3Baka (… actually no, 3Baka is still more sidelined sob) and it hurts, but hey. Monoma got a statue before Katsuki, I just know if he isn't traumatized about his corpse he will brag. (I'm trying to find positives in this chapter)

The last pages. I know it's symbolic. Society extending a hand, Izuku "inspired" them to move. It's what Izuku was talking about in Ch. 1, "saving people is the coolest thing a hero can do". It's even from his poem inspiration "Called useless by all/Neither praised/Nor a bother/Such is the person/I wish to be".

But it doesn't come just from Izuku fighting giving up OFA, but from him still failing Tenko, who was doomed from the start, the LoV never knew who he was before "Tomura" (so. Spinner how's the book working out-). And no one else wants to, look at Ch. 427.

If it was still an ambiguous "AFO searched for Tenko", fine Ig, but since Ch. 419, it's half "No one helped Tenko except AFO" and half "Tenko never had a chance to live". I'm not saying them hating Tenko isn't justified. Look at what they have to rebuild. But ditching the "Tenko's whole life was planned" part, they still don't know the LoV came to be because they thought a child looked scary. Jeez, no one knows they were victims of ostracism, abuse, manipulation. Why they turned out the way they did.

And it ends on Izuku and Ochako smiling with the "future where heroes can relax" line. It's adorable, but they're still dealing with the guilt of Tenko and Himiko being gone. But I guess it's fine because they're smiling now? Because people are now doing something? So the reward from almost dying is: Bystander syndrome is chipping away?

*sigh* I guess the TL;DR for my opinions are:

Joki Joki isn't Tenko but damn if he isn't a woobie,

If I don't see the corpse Himiko isn't dead, I refuse,

Somehow Ochako's breakdown was more about Izuku, and we still didn't get introspection, just because it's comforting words doesn't mean they don't feel hollow,

It sounds like I hate her: I don't hate Ochako, I just hate the way she's written in "Tell, Don't Show" for Izuku, even my opinions about the breakdown are more about "dude what are you talking about" rather than it being about her and her alone, so I can't take her as seriously,

I think I just became Katsuki ATP: yeah yeah she's crying but what about Izuku and OFA- oh it's mostly fine.

The fun bits were relegated to two pages and small panels but I like to think Monoma goes to Katsuki's room to brag about the statue, Eri deserved to have a full page to sing

Hawks, I fail to see the point of switching Hero Billboards to "Everyday Ladybug" Billboards,

Bystander Syndrome is one thing, how are they gonna prevent another instance of the LoV if they don't know it was discrimination that started it all or that Tenko was a walking Greek Tragedy?

Izuku and Ochako's smiles give "Aw, it's adorable. Oh it's traumatized" vibes.

Yeah no, I'm not buying it. If Edgeshot can still live, why can't Himiko or Tenko? Why does Izuku still have embers, if we have one chapter left? What is the reasoning for "twisting fate", "saving and winning", "perfect victory with zero casualties", "I wanna save that little boy" if it ends on standard shonen ending?

Hell, OFA had dead people communicating with our protagonist and antagonist, and is connected to the deuteragonist, and you're telling me it doesn't mean something good can happen to Tenko?

... God now I just hope the next one isn't a timeskip, just Izuku and Katsuki holding hands, talking and being honest to each other (especially Izuku because oh boi I have seen some Writing Critics and I can't say I disagree) (maybe we'll confirmation on what actually happened to Himiko and Tenko, what about OFA, but that only depends on the page count of the next one).

Once again, sorry if it's all over the place, this chapter just. It wasn't great, in my (overthinking) opinion. I'm still unconvinced Himiko and Tenko are dead dead, until the last page of BNHA, we now have BKDK talking left, so let's see what the next one will bring. And I'm not rewritting all of this, I'm tired XD

So, yeah, that's my thoughts! Thank you for reading!

[onewholivesinloops]

Anyone who defends Teppei or pities him has to be such a loser like there’s so so much misogyny in taking the abusive pedophiles side in comparison to the child he tormented

“Ohhhh poor teppei :((“ it’s a grown man who deserves it, get a life

LITERALLY. Imagine sympathizing with the fucking piece of shit abuser over his victim. I don't care if he's trying to be a better person now, his feelings should never be prioritized over the child he hurt deeply.

I'm also sorry for using this as an opportunity to ramble but...

Satoko killing this new version of Teppei who's willing to change for the better for her sake is one of my favorite Higurashi and WTC moments of all time??????????

It's so fucking satisfying as much as it's really interesting.

Like, going back to Satokowashi after Satoko gained looping powers. She started viewing fragments as dispensable because there's always another fragment. She writes off every world except the final one as a mere delusion. They're not any different from "dreams" to her. Those are dissociative tendencies. She's dissociating by detaching herself from emotions such as guilt and empathy because it makes things easier to deal with. It's a trauma response and it's innately connected to her PTSD. She's always struggled with maintaining a consistent internal reality, and she's always thought it's no use trusting and relying on others and that it's best to shut off one's mind to get through traumatic events. It's also why when she blames St. Lucia, she blames Rika. And when she does horrible things to her friends it's excusable in her mind because everything is rotten and untrustworthy anyway.

She's clinging to the ideal of a perfect, happy final world because it's what she craves after what she went through at St. Lucia where she was tormented and had no emotional support, but if she comes to the realization that she's really hurting others by doing this she's going to fall apart. And isn't this reformed Teppei, a change in Satoko's lived reality that she herself said was inconceivable to her, the biggest threat to this maladaptive coping mechanism?

Satoko killing Teppei is basically all the bottled in rage and fury and the dissociation from any part of her world being real. She kills him with her own hands then bludgeons his corpse and it speaks to the idea of rejecting a love that doesn't exist and rejecting others to avoid rejection. Satoko destroys the Satoko of that fragment through killing a Teppei that never existed for her, one that was never even meant to, which is why she defiles and vilifies him so aggressively and thoroughly. The Teppei she knows would never do this so she rejects him as well as the part of her self that tried to embrace that. The Satoko that doesn't want to kill Teppei is just a new self formed outside of her original intent because it's just a theory/fantasy instead of reality as none of this was ever real in Satoko's world. Everything has already happened for our Satoko. She is already the culmination of Teppei's abuse and that's something that cannot be changed. She cannot find it in herself to move past Teppei's abuse and the resentment therein.

I really enjoy Tatariakashi as a whole because it's Satoko writing a play where she manipulates everything in such a way so that Ooishi and the police would suspect and blame the protesting civilians, and in doing so it actually becomes a play where Hinamizawa becomes the very mob that did in fact affect her for years by ostracizing her and treating her as a cursed child.

It's Satoko's ultimate form of repayment for how long it took before any actions were taken in terms of trying to save her or just no longer treating her as a scapegoat. And I really enjoy the political angle of all this because it's a critique of the community that has always been failing Satoko, and it also acknowledges how Ooishi and the police perpetuate Satoko and her family's treatment as outcasts by treating them as a means to an end in their own plans.

It's also all about how Satoko prefers to cling to the known trauma over the unknown.

It's her revenge fantasy coming to a head because she kept growing more angry and detached. It's so good. Satoko is so good.

[zahri-melitor]

I missed writing up my Helenapoll thoughts so here we go:-

Joey Cavalieri – I think Cavalieri does some interesting complex things with Helena’s background and in grounding the fundamental trauma that made her Huntress, from the ‘danger of being raised female’ to ‘danger of being a Bertinelli heir’ to ‘danger of mob connections’ to ‘danger of being a vigilante’. It has a level of realism that you don’t generally get in the regular DC comics universe in regards to some of these topics.

Chuck Dixon – Dixon’s the one who cemented Helena into Gotham and put the work in to establish her rocky relationships with everyone else. He gave us Robin III: Cry of the Huntress which set up Tim and Helena’s relationship, which I adore. He gave Helena a clear role in Gotham as the outsider, which is not always fair on her, but provided plenty of conflict for plot momentum and let her yell at Bruce more often. I think Gotham would be lesser without Helena having that position in the group.

Grant Morrison – so DC One Million is unexpectedly good Helena content, to my surprise. It’s one of the few places outside that uses her experience as a teacher really naturally in terms of how it frames her views and actions as a vigilante (apart from all of those regular Helena solo stories where she goes off hunting down the abusers of her students, of course. Which is apparently the ONLY plot anyone can come up with any time Helena gets pitched for a short story/single issue)

Devin Grayson – ooh let me get spicy for a moment. I think Nightwing/Huntress is bad Dick Grayson. I’m less convinced it’s truly bad Helena. Now the fallout from this by creating the ‘you stole my man’ narrative that ends up being the overarching topic of the Helena and Barbara dispute (even though they have multiple other fascinating points of contention) is irritating, but it’s interesting in terms of Helena testing if this helps in any way with how she relates to the rest of the Bats. (It fails) In terms of her other stories, I don’t actually mind Fear of Faith or Spiritual Currency, but they’re very one trick only (She’s! Catholic!) with Helena. They are helpful in building the reasoning for why Helena joins with Pettit.

Greg Rucka – it’s the man himself! Cry For Blood is easily my favourite Helena story, and his hand is obvious in all the best parts of Helena in No Man’s Land. If you don’t like Rucka’s Helena, you don’t like Helena.

Gail Simone – I maintain that Simone took a very complex situation, with Barbara and Helena’s layered antagonism over Dick, the Bat(girl) costume and the two betrayals surrounding it, their differing moral stances on when killing is acceptable and why, their mutual lack of trust from previous failures and personality clashes, and found a way to work through it so they weren’t at eternal loggerheads. They were both justified in their dislike for each other, but finding a way for them to become friends (with screw ups along the way on either side) and move them away from that eternal ‘two women cannot be friends if they’ve ever been attracted to the same guy’ canard was just a really important moment for their mutual stories. Plus it was the first time anyone had really given Helena time to be in a title with more than one other woman (Zinda and Helena and Dinah getting drunk and kicking heads together is something that can be so special).

Tony Bedard – oh the other Birds of Prey writer we tend to ignore. The interesting thing with Bedard’s run is that he gives Helena the space to work as the BoP field leader, given Dinah’s absence, which is a role nobody would have considered for her until Dinah resigned. It’s a growth period for her.

Ivory Madison – I like Huntress: Year One. I really enjoyed it as a story. I think Madison had a lot of fun drawing out the parallels and future echoes in it, and I really just enjoy the background competence given to Helena even at this early stage as she learns to be a vigilante.

[happyandticklish]

Fucked Up Tk Shit

This is for my own edification so no one else has to read this lol. I feel like a lot of times we twist headcannons to make the Thing work out for characters in media that we consume, ESPECIALLY in regards to superpowers, and because I’m a morbid little piece of shit I can’t help self-destructing those in my head as to how it would end in actuality

So, I have constructed a list of all the horrifying/angsty ways those headcannons would probably actually end if you applied it to the logic of the show/book. It is put under a read more because I did not hold back lol.

Trigger warns for death, injury, and non-con (I know the tk community is a safe space for escapism for a lot of people, including me usually, so I recommend not reading it if you would be easily hurt by negative connotations in association with the thing; I cope by imagining the worst possible scenarios that the Thing could end in, so that’s most of the reason why I made this, for explanation ahsfjhji)

1. BNHA 

- Denki probably has to hold back anytime he’s tickled and ends it almost immediatelly, because getting too out of control could make his powers act up and force him to accidentally electrocute someone and risk seriously hurting them

2. The Bright Sessions 

- Subscribing to the headcannon that Damien does like the Thing, his powers would act up and force people to tickle him, so he does his level best to repress that shit down because even if the other people did want to tickle him, the sheer amount of times that his powers would make them do it would become very non-consensual on his parts. Especially if they realize what’s happening, or know about his powers, and get freaked out and leave him, making him only feel shittier about the whole situation

- Mark would most likely get freaked out over tickling as it makes him lose control. There’s probably been a couple moments where he’s tentatively let Sam or someone try it, and every time he freaks out, which isn’t great, because it forces him to teleport if he’s around her, and,,,, yeah

- Joan hasn’t been touched, let alone tickled, in years on end, and would self-combust if given even the slightest modicum of affection in that area. Probably engaged in tickle fights with Mark when she was little, and though she understands why the subject makes him uncomfy now, she can’t help but feel remorse at losing that form of connection with her brother

- [I was gonna do Caleb and Adam but I simply can’t fuck them up, I love them too much]

- Damien doesn’t ever tickle people because he can’t be sure if he’s forcing them to hold still and say they like it or if they actually want it

3. Beastars 

- If Legoshi was tickled by Haru, they run the risk of him accidentally seriously hurting/biting her off instinct, similar to when they tried to bang it out, and it’s possible he might accidentally fling her into something or knock her off too hard while trying

4. Durarara 

- If Shizuo were to tickle someone, he might accidentally crush in their ribcage or some shit due to not realizing his own strength

- Izaya probably does like tickling but does not have a single person who would be willing to do that to him, and the only other person who knows, Shinra, has called it weird and forced Izaya to repress the interest more

5. Mob Psycho 100 

- Shigeo probably isn’t ticklish, or at least doesn’t really laugh and react like his friends do, and he feels a supreme sense of jealousy every time he watches his friends engaging in silly tickle fights

6. AOT 

- Due to the sheer amount of trauma Levi has induced and his feelings around trusting others and touch in general, being tickled would probably send him into a full blown panic attack

7. Be More Chill

- The Squip definitely made fun of Jeremy for liking tickling and he had the whole zappy thing happen whenever he thought about it

8. All For The Game

- Both Neil and Andrew probably can’t stand being tickled without it triggering something in them

9. Camp Camp

- Max definitely has never been tickled in his life, and doesn’t even know what it feels like

10. Detroit: Become Human

- As much as I hate to say it (and will definitely be writing fics claiming the opposite), androids can’t feel sensation and therefore wouldn’t be ticklish or ever get to experience that

11. Gorillaz 

- If Murdoc were to tickle 2d, it would most likely be in an abusive, non-con way, often going far past his limits and ignoring any pleas for him to stop, purely for shits and giggles because he’s an asshole

12. Inside Job

- Bear-O had a tickle setting on him that would engage whenever he thought Reagan needed cheering up, and it traumatized her so bad that she can’t handle that kind of physical contact anymore

- Since he was a child, Brett was told by his family that it was weird that he liked tickling, as well as by peers and past girlfriends, so he just assumes that it must be just a weird Him thing, and has a huge amount of shame around the issue

13. Fullmetal Alchemist

- Sometimes Alphonse will stay up late and try to somehow replicate the feeling of tickling through his armor and can’t help the disappointment he feels every time when it obviously doesn’t work

That’s all I can think of for right now, I’m sure there are more but they’re not coming to me right now. 

[morxty]

Dazai analysis after reading No longer human

English is not my first language and maybe I'm not very good at this, it's my first analysis. :)

In this analysis I compare Dazai with Yozo (the main character of No longer human) to try to deduce the reason for Dazai's behavior.

////

Despite Yozo and Dazai's obvious similarities, such as recurring jokes and gloomy thoughts/outlooks on life, Dazai doesn't seem to exhibit the social anxiety Yozo has, as well as the extreme need to please others.

So I'll use a few things in the book to describe him.

(I am not saying that what I write is the truth, but how I am interpreting it)

On the one hand, he is apparently seen as an extrovert, joker, energetic, shameless, lazy, and obsessed with suicide. While on the other hand he is seen as a cold person without any kind of empathy, moral conscience, manipulative "without feelings", depressive. Being supposedly his true form of being. The only change that can be seen that marked him was the death of Oda, the only person with whom we have seen him have genuine feelings, so he is not a person incapable of feeling. Oda asked Dazai before he died to be "on the side of those who save" so Dazai did, he went to the side of the "good" not necessarily because he wanted to change but because the only person he had connected with he asked, and maybe he held on to this to keep living, but then why does he keep trying to kill himself? I will venture to say that it is simply because he does not find a genuine reason to live, it is not something that has come out of him but an external message.

In my opinion, this is a clear example of Dazai not getting over Oda's death (since he's the only person he ever connected with). It can be seen that for some reason he does not form affective bonds with others unless it is superficial, thus being able to manipulate and replace them. After reading the book, I think this doesn't really mean that Dazai does this out of the simple essence of being a bad person, but because it's what depression combined with trauma does to some people. While we don't know much about his past, just being in a mob at such a young age is a trauma, although it's obvious something happened to him before he was picked up by Mori.

He is a person who has no sense of right or wrong or any kind of morality, allowing him to keep his options open, which gives him more chance in the anime/manga to make "bad" decisions regarding others. If I remember correctly, Yozo (main character of No longer human, on which Dazai is somewhat based) talked about precisely not feeling human, not being able to connect and understand the emotions of others, which led him to live in loneliness and feeling different all his life, I couldn't explain if this is because of depression, or if on the contrary this is a reason why depression develops (not really important here). But I think this fits pretty well with Dazai and why he is this way (in the sense that he betrays everyone regardless of whether they were/are his teammates), because maybe he doesn't feel like he belongs somewhere, so we could essentially describe him as an individualist person.

Regarding Dazai's duality, I don't think any of the two parts he shows are really 100% his complete self, since one is a farce and the other is the crudest form of his depression. He is simply a person who is incapable of understanding others or incapable of feeling connected to anyone because he is traumatized and because he has a tendency, whether consciously or not, to disguise his feelings, which is why he sometimes seems insensitive or incapable of reacting to horrible things. , it could be said that "he doesn't care about anything" at first glance, which is common in depressed people. The only time that something was appreciated regarding his feelings was when he was with Oda in his last moments of life, and frankly, he was seen as a rather lost person; "what should I do?" He asked, that's when Oda told him to be on the side of the good guys. Etc. What I mean by this is that he is capable of having affective ties, I insist a lot on this, I know, but it seems to me that it is something that should be understood.

Dazai is a person without a reason to live who unconsciously clings to some concept; like joining the Port Mafia, Oda, the Agency, or even it can be assumed that also the fact of looking for a person to commit suicide with is.

On the other hand, I think its important to take into account the possible similarities between Yozo and Dazai in terms of toxic behavior towards the people around him. If I understand correctly, Yozo ultimately turned out to be, for whatever reason, a liar and an alcoholic who took advantage of the people around him, being taken in by women in their homes and spending their money. We can't see this in Dazai, but he is seen as a bad partner, since he hands over his tasks to others and doesn't keep his promises, clear proof that he is possibly a rather toxic person.

Did he really change when he left the Port Mafia?

Yes and no. For obvious reasons, the experience in the mafia in full development age as it is from 14 to 18 years old, and the death of the only person who mattered to him is obvious that it would change anyone. He is not a person immune to the things that happen around him.

This is already in the perception of each one but I honestly think that Dazai changed a bit, of course he is still the same person without moral values ​​and etc, that is why he continues doing what he does, because these are behaviors that simply cannot be changed because you decide so, you can simply "repress" or "hide" them, the latter is exactly what he does.

But it is obvious that he has changed when his bandages decreased and he shows himself with a different attitude in front of others. The Port Mafia vs Agency setting is completely different and that would present minimal change to either.

This is already in the perception of each one but I honestly think that Dazai changed a bit, of course he is still the same person without moral values ​​and etc, that is why he continues doing what he does, because these are behaviors that simply cannot be changed because you decide so, you can simply "repress" or "hide" them, the latter is exactly what he does. But it is obvious that he has changed when his bandages decreased and he shows himself with a different attitude in front of others. The Port Mafia vs Agency setting is completely different and that would present minimal change to either.

Although Dazai doesn't seem to have a complacent demeanor like Yozo, he does say things that make him seem kind and then doesn't follow through, like when Chuuya asks him to take him somewhere since he's very weak afterward for using Corruption, Dazai tells him yes, and then leaves him. Or like when he congratulated Akutagawa for getting stronger but didn't apologize for how he treated him, yet he didn't make a bad impression.

He doesn't get over Oda's death;

Oda gave him a reason to be on the Agency, what he is doing is probably just to "finish" that request. If he had accepted Oda's death, Dazai would have committed suicide long ago (his suicide attempts in the middle of the anime being impulsive and recurring acts of his own behavior).

Bandages:

His character designer confirmed that the bandages were drawn to represent Dazai's obsession with suicide. In my case, I prefer to think that it is so, that the bandages are to cover his suicide attempts, but also injuries from the mafia and, (small headcanon) perhaps scars from morphine injections (Yozo injected himself with morphine).

My opinion is that he is a character who avoids suffering at all costs, using both the "good" and "bad" facets to avoid confronting himself and not feel vulnerable. We can see that he seeks to escape at all costs from what he suffers apart from this, with the fact that he drinks too much alcohol. Which in turn could justify his obsession with suicide, since death would mean feeling no more pain.

I feel that Dazai, if we compare him to Yozo, surrounds himself with others and makes changes to avoid himself. Yozo saw no point in eating, and only ate because the others ate and he was there. So perhaps it is more likely that Dazai himself would be incapable of cooking for himself (in one chapter it is seen that he only eats small cans of food), and would do things like change the environment to find something that makes him have desire to live, even if it turns out to be unsuccessful. This leaves us with obvious contradictions such as why he would seek a reason to live if what he wants is to die, because he does not seek death itself, but rather the end of suffering. I would undoubtedly classify him as a character with a very advanced depression, which is what we can see both in the anime and in the author's novels, as well as his addiction to alcohol.

//

I honestly don't really like the type of person he is, but that doesn't really mean he's good or bad in bungo stray dogs or as a character himself. I would really like to see him show his feelings at least once. Although if you ask me, I think he ended up committing suicide at the end of the series.

[autcnomy]

the breathless joy....with which he greets clark....the way he promises to tell no one about his secret abilities....the way he begs him to help him....but the thing is Lex really DOES need therapy and time in a psychiatric unit (a good one tho lol jesus), even though he isn’t clinically psychotic.  he could GET there very easily, given the LONG list of trauma he’s undergone since he was a little kid. 

like. how many things can i list as of mid season 3? some of them are just really painful ways to erode lex’s sense of safety and trust, others are full-blown traumatic episodes. and most significantly, MANY are CHRONIC, and NONE are ever ADDRESSED PROPERLY. 

--lionel’s incessant narcissistic abuse and neglect 

--health scares connected to asthma (don’t you dare @ me on this, i have lived through several family and friends having asthma and attacks are unpredictable and scary asf, no matter how rich your parents are)  

--the smallville meteor shower and the physical and mental trauma of being caught in a kryptonite explosion 

--julian’s death (and lex believes he’s at fault even though he was a small child) and lex’s subsequent nervous breakdown

--significant bullying from childhood peers over his appearance, the breakdown (it happened at excelsior/prep school in the “belltower”), and socio-economic privilege 

--surely knowing lionel was unfaithful to lillian multiple times 

--lillian’s death, unexpectedly, of cancer

--the way lionel’s abuse and neglect doubtlessly intensified thereafter 

--the nanny, the closest thing to a proxy mother, abandoning lex shortly thereafter

--the club zero incident and fallout, and lex’s attempt to take the blame for his friend

--the “bad things” lex did in college, and their consequences

--being “exiled” to smallville to run a seemingly doomed fertilizer plant

--the infamous car accident and near-death experience 

--the whole bullshit with pheromone girl trying to marry and use him 

--the whole bullshit with that victoria chick and her dad 

--the hostage situation over level three

--the nanny resurfacing, and dealing with her death being like reliving lillian’s death

--being kidnapped, hung upside down, and threatened in the dark at gunpoint by the guy who looked like the guy lex’s friend killed in club zero

--multiple professional assassination attempts on lex’s life, including by his own father and by one of clark’s vigilante classmates, who sees lex as a “meteor freak” 

--the whole thing with the clairvoyant old lady who DIED because of how scared she was by seeing what was IN HIS FUTURE!!!!! (and we’re surprised he’s paranoid????) 

--the entire tornado thing, where he had a chance to let lionel die (he fucking should have, he probably would never have become a villain if he had, i said what i said) but didn’t, and then had to deal with his fake-blind dad gaslighting and guilting him while invading and monitoring and BUGGING his own personal space

--closely related, the luthercorp buyout of lexcorp: it’s a form of assault and disrespected boundaries, it’s a denial of autonomy, it’s toxic!!! it counts!!!! 

--learning and forgetting (even if he forgets, the damage is there) several times that his best friend is a powerful alien and never told him

--repeatedly trying to show the kents respect and affection and repeatedly being judged by jonathan kent based on lionel luther’s actions

--being lied to and then learning the truth about what happened to his grandparents (his dad murdered them in a rigged tenement explosion, with a best friend who is apparently a notorious mob boss, lmfao) 

--falling in love with helen and nearly losing her to a stalker’s attack

--marrying helen and being betrayed and left for dead on a tropical island because of her

--realizing he’s had a psychotic episode while on that island COMPLETELY ALONE FOR 3 MONTHS--one which revealed his (understandable tbh) desire to commit patricide--and realizing he can’t even trust his own goddamn senses

--realizing the woman he genuinely loves and trusts did try to kill him and that his ABUSER! was RIGHT!!!! about her!!!! 

--trying to win back his ABUSER’S!!!!! respect by becoming a luthercorp employee again and being  gaslit into further self-doubt by said abuser (”are you SURE you’re okay son uwu” fuck a cactus lionel) 

--learning clark’s good friend chloe was researching and working for lionel behind his back

--ALL the events of “Shattered,” including learning he accidentally mortally wounded lana, who’s probably been kinder to him than anyone else

--after it all being stuck in a horrible mental hospital and realizing his best friend won’t help him (in his own admittedly warped perception) 

Holy shit that’s 33 things. 

[gracelogan]

if you're not up to chapter 325 turn away now... also if you're not down for swearing cause I'm Australian and I've gotta rant and the two go hand in mf hand

Holy motherfucking shit I fucking knew William was gonna die. One because it's the only way to push John to take action by his own will rather than reacting because that's what he thinks is safe for him to do and two because.. well actually just one but one is one to fucking one hundred because oh my fucking god is John gonna lose his absolute shit

But, but I think he's not gonna go all wild ham on people this time. No I think he's for sure learnt his lesson and is gonna just smash shit to pieces with a plan this time. He's got a good fucking network to support him which appeared after his worst mental break down ever, his uncle is gonna get involved and finally meet John and he'll at least not be asshole enough to throw him away because John's powerful but he might disregard him cause he's a child and might assume John's takes after William if he does no research... honestly the guy doesn't fill me with a lot of faith and I t think he's going to be a bad influence on John or at least get him in some deep, deep shit it'll take Arlo to get him out of if he's not been 'reeducated' by his aunt which is beginning to look like a strong possibility

also Arlo needs a fucking nap. Arlo almost deserves a fucking nap too. Poor little idiot doesn't realise he's being taken for a ride by his aunt which I feel like he might have if he didn't look two minutes from keeling over.

John was doing so fucking well too. ugh this is gonna be like five giant steps backward if he were fifty feet tall and two steps behind him was a bottomless ravine. Please let my optimistic guess be right in that he stays with his people and they stay with him, he fucking needs them in two chapters more than ever (cause I don't think they'll reveal it to John in the next one, drag out the suspension)

Fucking loved Arlo and John's interactions in the last few chapters, fav ship for sure out the series but John's starting to get regular friendly with him again and that's so cute and fluffy I can't even handle it. There's Arlo angsting his way down the hall noticing everyone else bitching about him and then John appears out of nowhere all happy to see him and concerned of this wellbeing.

Kind of says something about his character though too, that he notices the mob instead of the individual with power.

but also I fucking knew everything was about to go to shit when they got a seemingly big win. With William gone it's the end of the line for John staying as out of things as he can and well, despite his methods he does get shit done rather efficiently. All we can hope is that Arlo comes to his senses and joins John before John has to break him out of reeducation prison which would be an amazing arc for John finally overcoming his trauma and ideally murdering Keon

probably though Sera will get caught and sent to reeducation, Arlo will lose faith in his family and the system, confess to John who has likely just heard about the murder of this father or is just about to hear about it and John will spiral wildly out of control and take everyone and everything down with him as he does and somehow it will work itself out but with people actively trying to help him

side note, I did also love John's interaction with Remi, Blyke and Isen. Isen's face when John tells them his dad wrote UnOrdinary is like 'everything I learn about you makes it worse please stop I'll go to jail for knowing anything more'