#in all likelihood this old lady was just trying to be respectful lol

[cinnamon-grump]

It’s kinda funny, I didn’t think I’d ever feel hurt by someone referring to me with he/him or as “the new guy” but… it’s a little jarring at least, when I’ve got my pronouns literally pinned to my chest.

[flythesail]

I think the finale felt like a natural ending to everything set up throughout the season except for where we started.

And by that I mean Kerri.

The catalyst of it all is Cassian's search for his sister or else he'd never have a run in with those cops.

The last mention we got of Kerri was in episode 7. As Cassian is on his way out, Maarva tells him:

And just one more thing... Just... Stop searching for your sister. It's a fantasy. There were no survivors on Kenari. What happened there was not your responsibility. You were a child. Let it go.

Which 1) no ❤️ and 2) Maarva you literally separated them.

But to dissect what this would imply, Maarva is saying there were no survivors.

Yet we know from episode 1, there was a girl from Kenari at the brothel at one point. From the lady who works there: There was a girl from Kenari, but she left several months ago.

Granted, she could be lying. But I'm unsure why she would since the girl is long gone anyway.

So what could the takeaway be? That there are survivors from Kenari. After all, what proof does Maarva have? Does she just assume because they saw the incoming Republic ship?

I feel like we have to be missing some piece of information. If Cassian has been searching for Kerri for a long time, I'd even go as far to think he might have returned to Kenari. Like if you're going to search for your sister, it would be logical to start with the last place you saw her. Kenari doesn't seem to be widely known, so where else could you get info about it?

On the topic of Maarva taking Cassian from Kenari though, it's complex. Yes, she might have saved his life. That's certainly what she believes.

But that doesn't erase the fact that she sedated him to do so, separating him from family and the only home he'd ever known.

With this, I also wonder how much Maarva knew about the mining disaster that presumably killed all the adults. (Which, I still question because wouldn't some adults stay back to watch the kids? There has to be more going on there). But anyway, Maarva taking Cassian only feels more icky when you acknowledge she might not have even known the only survivors on Kenari were kids. Like, for all she might have known, his parents could have been nearby.

Regardless of anything said outside of the show, however, I don't think the show itself has a strong stance on whether Maarva "saved" Cassian.

Maarva is made out to be an inspirational figure, primarily by being a vocal supporter of the rebellion.

But she's never at any point honored by others for saving Cassian. That's a good thing.

It's complex and the almost indirect way it's addressed leaves it at that.

I'm trying to make a point here lol, so I'll say Cassian is conflicted too. He loves Maarva for who she was as his mother and respects her for the rebel she was. Yet feelings of discontent over his separation from Kerri are there.

After Maarva tells him to stop looking, he says nothing. He ignores that and more or less leaves.

I think a lot of it comes down to Maarva's age and also time. Maarva is old and he cares about her, so he sees this as a fight not worth having. Likely because it's been had before and it never goes anywhere.

Maarva will tell him to give it up. Cassian will not.

Now I really would have liked Cassian to get a chance to point out Maarva separated them. But maybe the point is that a lack of chance aligns with this storyline as a whole.

Season 1 begins with the search for Kerri, and the finale does not even so much as mention it.

Okay, maybe it's just poor writing. Kerri was the catalyst and they never went into it more than that.

But the writing of the rest of the show is intentional enough that I'd like to say "unsaid" could be the intention.

Maarva separated Cassian from Kerri. That's a fact and one that goes unsaid.

Cassian and Kerri were separated a decade+ ago. Truly, what is the likelihood of a reunion? Even if Kerri did survive, she could be anywhere under any name. And odds are even if he can find somewhere she's been or someone who knows her, they won't even know she's from Kenari or had a brother.

So what happened to Kerri? That too will remain unsaid.

It's a somber ending and not even an ending. After everything, Kerri watching Kassa go is the last we see her.

That's the last Cassian will see of her too. She'll forever be the little girl he left, certain he would return to her only to never.

It's an unfinished story because that's what it is. Unsatisfying because that's what it is.

[makeste]

some asks about BnHA 241 and 240 and then some random other asks

I agree with this completely, anon (especially given his attitude throughout the rest of the chapter), but I didn’t edit my initial response since I think there’s a good likelihood that he still deadpanned the line despite being 100% sincere. one could say he was Accidentally Sarcastic. anyways yeah, Todoroki Shouto is a disaster more at 11. 

(but also, he’s totally right and Bakugou is in full-blown denial over their blossoming friendship. because he already decided that they’re Not Friends, and thus he has to actively work to maintain that status now. which Todoroki is making very difficult these days! can you fucking do your part to keep the fucking rivalry going, Icy-Hot?? can you at least try?? why does he have to do all the work. sometimes he forgets for a moment and Todo catches him off guard and he responds normally without thinking and doesn’t realize it until later, and god. why is everything and everyone so stupid.)

I have not forgotten (though I did mix up Pixie-Bob with Mandalay though woop)! and that annoyed me too. we only have like six female pros out there as it is. why do half of them (looking at you too, Midnight) have to be mildly sex-crazed. I know it’s not serious and they’re not actually being serious, but still, is it really asking so much to get some female pros whose eccentricities are less specifically tailored to common male fantasies. you’re a fucking hero Pixie-Bob! you’re a fucking earthbender and you’re hot as heck. why are you so worried about not being able to Get A Man. with Mt. Lady it at least fits more with her general personality from what we’ve seen, I guess. anyways, y’all know I love like 98% of this series, but this is part of the 2%, so. it is what it is.

Tomura is Endgame Thanos, a.k.a. the most sinister and most genuinely frightening of the Thanoses. this really isn’t on track to end well sob.

ah, my bad. (regardless, it was still dramatic af.)

I think she’s a six-year-old (?? she seems six-ish, idk) girl who was terrified of her father and trying to stay under his radar (which was frankly the smart thing to do based on what we’ve seen), and was trying to teach her younger brother how to do the same, and I don’t blame her at all for throwing Tenko under the bus (if that’s indeed what happened); I’m sure she just panicked and didn’t mean it. she’s just a kid. -- was just a kid. anyways she was super cute and would have made a fucking awesome hero, and her death is easily the one I’m still the most raw about out of that whole fucking nightmare. I’m not getting over that. I want her to still be alive; at one point I was convinced of a conspiracy theory that AFO had secretly spared her too (because two Shimura heirs to manipulate are better than one), and Tomura only believed that she was dead due to his fragmented memories. but that seems less likely post-chapter 236.

so yeah, I’m still very upset about this. she was good and kind and loved her brother and had a lot of spirit and she did not even remotely deserve what happened to her.

thank you so much!! one of the best parts of fandom is interacting with other people and reading everyone’s different takes and theories. lord knows I miss a lot of stuff when I read, even when I’m trying very hard to pay attention. so I love when other people point stuff out and bring up ideas I hadn’t thought about.

also! without exception, every single person I’ve ever interacted with in this fandom on tumblr has been polite and courteous and civil as fuck, even on the occasions when we disagree, and I absolutely can’t take credit for that. people are just cool. so thank you everyone. (and particular shoutout to @thequietmanno1, who for some reason I can’t tag, but whom this ask is almost certainly referring to specifically.)

lmao anon this made my fucking day. thank you!!

all right, here goes!

a) this is possible for sure in that as a rule, I never put anything past AFO, and I don’t doubt for a second he’d be capable of this. but, it would kind of suck though. specifically it would suck for Tomura, who’s only just starting to come into his own at long last, and who has gone through quite a lot to get to this point. like, that would be devastating to see him reduced to a literal puppet after all of that. and if it did happen, I don’t know what the odds would be of him actually being “saved” after that (All Might at least would try, but I can’t see anyone else being concerned enough to bother. well except for the rest of the League, come to think of it. that could be interesting), and I’d be really sad if that ended up being how he went out. these things usually don’t end up working out too well for the body snatchee.

plus, this also hinges on whether or not AFO is capable of transferring his quirk to Tomura’s body. if not, there’s no way he’d take the tradeoff, regardless of how powerful Tomura’s own quirk has become at this point. that would just be a really bad deal. like trading the cow for beans, except these ones aren’t even magic beans, just like. normal beans. but if he does have a way of transferring the AFO quirk, then yeah. although he could take anyone’s body then if that was the case, and I can think of a few targets who just might be even more tempting than his protege. All Might’s protege, for one. ...you know what, this line of thinking is starting to get a little too horrifying so let’s move on to the other theory lol.

(b) a few people have mentioned the Shimura Momo theory to me, but to be totally honest, I can’t see much of a logical basis for it other than them bearing a slight resemblance and having similar hairstyles. Inko has also been brought up as potentially being related to Nana for the same reasons. it’d be cool, no doubt, but for me, I need more evidence than just that. I just don’t see how this would advance the plot or the characters’ storylines in any meaningful way. I guess it could potentially tie Momo in more to the central plot, but it’d be kind of a weird way to do it, idk.

then again I’m one to talk, because until fairly recently I was on board with Hagakure of all people turning out to be a Shimura (Hana, to be specific). she’s the traitor, she’s invisible, we never did find out what Hana’s quirk was, and this would mean that Hana was still alive this whole time which would be GREAT, because seriously fuck you Horikoshi!! but yeah that doesn’t seem likely now either. dammit.

anyway, so I’ll just say that both of these theories are possible, but for me personally, in order to be sold on a specific theory I need to be able to see how it logically fits within the storyline and how it moves the story forward. like, Dabi being Todoroki Touya is something I’m 100% on board with, because that’s an established mystery in the series (who is Touya, what happened to him, who is Dabi, etc.), and Dabi fits into place with the evidence we have, and it gives us a lot of Todoroki drama and gives Endeavor and Shouto a personal connection to the Leagu... Pliff. but for something like the Momo theory, I would need there to be some indication that there’s a third sibling we don’t know about, and some hinting about there being more to Momo’s past than we know, and right now I don’t see either of those things, so it’s hard to get on board. hopefully that makes sense.

anon I really like that you phrased this as an inevitability lol. (and I am 100% on board.)

assuming this happens at the very end of the series, I like to think Tomura and the rest of his gang will manage to “escape” the heroes (“oh no... Tomura... he’s getting away... this is awful... somebody stop him” meanwhile no one is making even the slightest effort to move lol), at which point they will live the rest of their lives happily ever after as Lovable Outlaws and All-Around Scamps. like, maybe they’ll still commit some crimes, but they won’t be like serious crimes or anything. they’ll have more of a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe, maybe. I want them to be happy and I don’t want them to go to jail even though they’re teeeeeeeechnically murderers, I GUESS (look, nobody’s perfect!!). but maybe they steal the occasional priceless artifact and inadvertently wind up saving the world. seems like the best compromise.

lol I don’t know what this means either. like in the way a Youtuber has their own brand?? or like Frito-Lays. idk all I really do is talk a lot about an extremely popular manga, so I don’t think that’d really count?? I’m fine with this just being a little tumblr discussion blog haha.

so I’ve gotten like a half dozen asks and messages about this lol. (someone actually told me a very specific detail about said past! so just to remind everyone, I’m spoiler-free on Vigilantes right now guys, I’m sorry. I know it’s no fun.) I regret to admit that I still have not yet gotten around to it. I don’t know what it is, but I’m having a lot of trouble reading new stuff right now. I tried to start the other new BnHA spin-off which @temperatezone told me about (and btw no I did not know about it, so thank you!!) (and also! BnHA has THREE SEPARATE FUCKING SPIN-OFFS right now, how fucking crazy is that. like, I don’t want to accuse a manga series of literally trying to take over the world, but!! seriously that’s just insane), which has an amazing premise, but I haven’t had time/been in the right mindset to start that yet either. it sucks. I’m sorry. I’m working on it. ;;

press f to pay respects to what could have been, guys. they literally had it all. class, an ironic acronym, you name it. and now it’s just PLF. the Iron Patriot of villain organization names.

[oh-my-otome]

Hi! Could you organize DTL MC's level of maturity in each suitor's route? Thank you!

Ooh, this is a tough one! 

What’s considered “mature” is going to vary based on cultural and societal norms– even age groups! I’m sure there are quite a lot of young people who believe wholeheartedly that they are mature, meanwhile their parents are like ‘lol, sit your ass down and do your homework.’

And I’m sure that the parents parents are looking at them like ‘wth did I do wrong?’

So since you asked me, let’s do it like this. We’re going to need to consider two specific things: 

First, we’ll define what “we” are. We are the avatar, otherwise known as the main character (MC). But what is an avatar? Well, avatar has a lot of definitions, from religious to scientific, but the one that immersion games mean are the second and third definitions:

2. An embodiment or personification, as of a principle, attitude, or view of life. 

3. An image (moving or fixed) that represents a person in a virtual reality environment or in cyberspace

Since the avatar is supposed to be the player, the quick and easy answer to your question is: whatever the person playing personally defines maturity as.

However, otome games are “on rails.” This meaning changes depending on the type of game you play, but in the otome sense, “on rails” means that you can make certain choices, but those choices are pre-defined. You can select what you like, but only from the choices given to you.

So this means that any given MC is of two minds: the character created by the company and its avatar who controls it. 

The MC is going to say and do things, and get into situations, that you, as a real life person may never encounter, agree with, or respond to the way the character does. 

Because you’re real, and the character is designed to have enough personality, so that the game is broad enough to be entertaining, for as many (hopefully paying, since it’s a business) people to be interested in.

And now, the second thing: how do I personally define maturity when it comes to DtL’s MC?

For me, someone who is mature acts their age and doesn’t wait for other people to deus ex machina their problems away. They recognize that there are things they can do, and things that they need help with– and aren’t afraid to ask for help. 

One of the worst things you can do for yourself is know that you need help and not try to reach out. There is always, always going to be someone out there who can help you. And, believe it or not, someone who has been in whatever situation you’re facing. 

The world is just too big for there not to be– the math is against you. Whatever you may be facing, there is someone who has gone through either exactly that, or something similar enough that the nuances are just that– nuances.

Do not be afraid to reach out. 

And that’s what I like most about DtL’s MC. She, by and large, isn’t afraid to secure a solid foundation for her emotional well-being. If you can’t help yourself, you cannot help anyone.

Another big thing for me: street smarts. There are so many different types of intelligence, but one thing everyone must learn in some form or another, is what is known as street smarts. 

Street smarts is a potent mix of common sense and all of the information you have gained living your life and interacting with as many different people as possible. You can life experience and learn to apply it to different situations to ensure your emotional, physical and mental survival. You’re able to use this resourcefulness to protect, uplift and inspire others as everyday life presents you with different situations. 

And DtL’s MC has it in spades.

Except for when they wrote Katsura’s route, because seriously wtf!?

They took a really great MC and smacked her with the derp stick. Katsura’s route can be called Home Sitting Simulator. Or Dog Watching 3000. The only other thing you do is constantly…constantly whine about how you think Katsura is in love with some lady because she’s so pretty.

Okay, and? You have to realize that what you find attractive in someone else, no matter how strongly you feel about it, that doesn’t mean that others share your view point.

MC spends a large portion of Katsura’s route hardcore projecting her conclusions that Random Lady is beautiful onto Katsura, who hasn’t given the lady a second glance.

The disconnect between the MC and the avatar is almost unbearable. We know that Katsura isn’t interested in the lady, because we’re reading it. Katsura himself expresses no interest in the lady and even goes out of his way to show that he’s interested in you, the MC. But the MC won’t acknowledge it for the longest time and that’s not fun to read at length.

I thought the writers took a promising adult MC with a college degree and tried to make her into a lovesick teenager who can’t navigate a romantic connection with another person. Until the plot decided that she can…but only after having Random Lady give MC her blessing.

This character existed solely to grant MC her Go Ahead and Frick Frack Him card. You don’t need another person’s sanction. He’s a single adult. Ask him.

Saito’s MC is pretty good. She’s very grounded. She says that she doesn’t want someone else to protect her, not because there’s something inherently wrong with being protected, but because she wants to reciprocate. She wants to be a contributing factor in the relationship, rather than lay back and let Saito save the day all the time.

Saito, being who he is, wants to keep the trope-dynamic of him protecting her, bu she b\pushes back– she learns self-defense. She’s honest, forthright and humble.

Depending on which ending you pick, she either gets shitfaced drunk or is very depressed. But still, I can see where she’s coming from. Saito in his His Affection route is the same as MC in Keiki’s His Affection route. Which is to say: you want to smack the both of them in the back of their heads.

Given that Saito’s MC’s depression, I don’t think that it reflects too much on her general maturity. She’s going through something. I still think she’s pretty good.

Speaking of Keiki’s MC, she was fine right up until she stretched out Keiki’s heartbreak by deciding for him what he’d like. Ugh. Just . UGH. I like that she didn’t push him into new experiences and allowed him to feel his way through living a dual life, by being respectful and kind.

Hijikata’s MC adapted to a level of independence that she wasn’t used to, as he’s very dedicated to his work and is interested in a woman who can handle things on her own.

It turns out that Hijikata is unexpectedly old-fashioned with some of his views and progressive with others. He wants an independent woman, but lectures her about safety when it comes to letting men into her room. His MC is able to steer their conversations in a way that gets Hijikata to think before he speaks, and she never feels afraid to speak up.

I do think she whined a little too much when he says that he wants to break up with her (because he was being threatened by Kyo). 

If someone says that they want to break up with you out of nowhere:

Get track shoes

Put your feet into the track shoes

Lace the ever-living fuck out of the track shoes

Break the sound barrier while you run away from them

That is one of the reddest red flags that ever dared to be the color red. Don’t wait around for the reason. Fucking run.

Kyo’s MC is kind of tricky. Kyo’s route is a never-ending wild ride that touches on the games origin in a way that no other route does, and you’re being threatened and attacked, so you’re never really in a situation where you get to just be normal, with no worries.

I think Kyo’s MC handled the situation the absolute best she could, given the circumstances.

Haru’s MC I worry about. Of all of the available suitors, we know that Hijikata is typically called on to torture people and we know that Okita kills a man right in front of you. We also know that Okita nearly killed a man in the act of torturing him.

Keiki orders people, who specifically came there to kill him, to be killed by at least one other person, while you’re there.

And we can safely assume that Saito, in his capacity as a samurai and a captain, has in all likelihood killed someone.

And although it is kind of weird to talk about, outside of Keiki, lethal force is part of their job.

Haru, on the other hand, has no choice. He is literally forced to kill others, lest he be killed. But Haru himself talks of it in two different ways: with absolutely no emotion, or smugly in an ironic fashion.

As a yandere, there is really no way for this MC to be with him where she wouldn’t cause some type of damage to herself. Somewhere along the way, she would be sacrificing some part of her emotional well-being to accommodate him in some way and the same is true for Okita’s MC, as he is also a yandere.

We can see this when Kirisato tries to get it on while on the job and MC is at first trying to get him to stop, but then gives in when it starts to turn her on. We see it again in Okita’s route where she takes him at his word that she should never cry or else the relationship is over.

Sakamoto’s route is almost like the writers trying to apologize for Katsura’s route, as once again we have an MC and suitor who very clearly like each other and yet they can’t seem to figure out how to get into a relationship.

Sakamoto’s MC is very comforting and kind and , similar to Keiki’s MC, allows him to feel safe in expressing his feelings, as Sakamoto tends to bottle up everything. 

Takasugi decides to be a creeper and threaten MC (writers, STAHP), which understandably scares her, but she risks her life to get Sakamoto vital information, showing that when it comes down to it, she has no problem throwing her hat into the ring to defend those she cares about.

Overall, I think the most mature MCs are Sakamoto’s, Kyo’s and Saito’s MCs, given that they experience difficult situations with as much cunning and tact as can be expected of a character with their stats. 

Particularly Kyo’s MC, who faced one difficult situation after another and didn’t fold, to the point where the writers had to make up a Mary Sue-esque handicap of having her be clumsy for no reason other than to keep her from being too good.

As the avatar, we’re living in the modern world both in the game and in real life. We are more likely to have a similar reaction to the MC when she balks at some of the old fashioned ideas that the suitors have in the game– because to us, they are old fashioned…it’s just that to the suitors, their ideas are inline with what is modern for them, since they are in their own present day worlds. Although Hijikata did get a little grandpa-y with the room thing. I feel like the other suitors would have raised their eyebrows a little bit a him, if they heard that.

The least mature would have to be Katsura’s and Keiki’s MC. If Keiki’s MC didn’t do what she did in his His Affection, she would have been fine, but she knew that he had been doing everything except literally move mountains. I have no idea why they chose to write her that way at the very end when she was the complete opposite.