#More than a Threat

[loriache]

"I've been waiting for ages for somebody to unmask them."

This moment tends to elicit negative reactions in a first read through, and I've got some opinions about why where Kabru is coming from here actually makes a lot of logical sense. So I thought I'd elaborate on that.

I think people hear this and go, "He thinks they must be hiding something because they gave money to someone? What a cynic." Or "he dislikes them because they did charity?? What's wrong with this guy!". And obviously, a lot, a lot is wrong with him. But I think this makes more sense than it seems at first glance! What people evaluating this judgement miss is why Kabru is paying attention to Laios and co to begin with.

Kabru knows of the Touden siblings because (he's a little bit of a stalker-) he is keeping an eye on all the relevant parties in events developing on the island, in order to be able to guide them to his preferred outcome. This includes adventurers because they are the ones actually exploring the dungeon! He's well aware that something as minor as internal tensions between party members could be key to the historical events that are developing. (He would love the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.)

His desired outcome is that whatever the rewards are of breaking the dungeon's curse, whether that's kingship or the ancient elven secrets of dungeons, are claimed by:

A) a short lived person

B) Someone who will be a good, effective leader and/or use those secrets and the power they carry wisely, with foresight, and to establish a political bloc for short lived people.

The person he can best trust to do this is, of course, himself. But due to his PTSD regarding dungeons and monsters, he's not able to develop the necessary skills to conquer the dungeon. Once he realises this, he starts looking for someone else who he can support to that end.

But most of the adventurers don't have any intentions of conquering the dungeon, don't have the skills, or are unsuitable in other ways. In fact, it seems like some potentially suitable people are the Toudens. There are a lot of good rumours about them going around - they actually seem to have a very positive reputation! That's what Kabru means when he says "unmask".

So when Kabru is observing something like them giving money to an old comrade from their gold-peeling days, he doesn't consider it a problem because "they're giving money to this person who doesn't actually need it" or because they must have some dark secret if they act superficially nice. I think he actually understands this situation and what it implies about Laios (in particular) perfectly well.

Laios and Falin gave money to an old comrade who got injured and couldn't work. That person then healed up but kept taking their money. Then he used the money to start smuggling illicit goods to the island.

The key is that for Kabru, the problem here is the same as with the corpse retrievers - people using the dungeon's resources to fuel dangerous, selfish, or violent pursuits cause problems for the island, attract more criminals and people with motives other than breaking the curse, and increase the chances of the whole situation ending in tragedy.

Kabru is willing to work with the Shadow Lord of the island if it gets him to his goal - he isn't scrupulous - but the criminal element of the island increasing is something he sees as a major issue.

Also, when you're evaluating someone as a candidate for power, riches, secrets, potentially kingship - then being curious about how the money you give to people is going to be used is kind of a relevant trait!

Interpersonally, Kabru's actually very easygoing - I mean, Mickbell isn't exactly an upstanding guy, is he! But Kabru likes him and they get along well. These traits wouldn't be a problem at all in a friend, or a comrade, or someone Kabru was confident he could use. But he can't get a handle on Laios, and Laios is someone who has the potential to be a major player!

On Laios' end, this is the same as with the marriage seeker who joined their party. She kept asking for things and he gave them to her, because he tries to be nice to others. He even gives her money! It's the exact same thing.

That's fine, but it became a problem because he basically wasn't interested in her motives, didn't notice she was trying to manipulate him, and it also didn't occur to him that the other party members would notice or be affected. We can assume the situation with the gold peeler is the same. When Kabru says that "It's not that they're bad people, they just aren't interested in humans," he isn't wrong.

The extent to which this is true of Laios is linked to his autism imo, (because it isn't just disinterest - he genuinely isn't able to notice nonverbal cues that people are lying to him or have ulterior motives) but to a greater or lesser extent I think it's a very common trait. Most people aren't actually that interested in other people who aren't close to them. Kabru is the weird one here. It isn't an issue except as a leader - which is why we see an immediate comparison to the Island's Lord, because that's how Kabru is evaluating them.

And disinterest in/lack of ability with people to the extent Laios exhibits it, it does, actually, make him a worse leader... it's just that as we see in the story, people can help him out. The rest of the party tell him the marriage seeker is taking advantage of him so he tells her he can't give her special treatment anymore. They're pissed and it's a crisis point - he couldn't have recovered their trust without Marcille and Falin - but that's exactly the point. With Marcille and Falin, he was able to recover their trust.

And he has other good traits that make up for it, such as his intelligence, strategic knowledge, open-mindedness and sense of fairplay.

Kabru doesn't disqualify Laios as a candidate based on what he sees about him from afar, though - he still tries very hard to get close to him, obviously hoping that if he manages he can steer Laios to defeat the dungeon and make up for his lack of people-skills in the aftermath. (Which... he does eventually achieve that goal!) He completely fails until the events of the story, so... definitely I think "They just aren't interested in humans" could also partially be a stung reaction to Laios' complete disinterest in him.

Anyway, that's my read on what exactly Kabru's "issue" with Laios is. Obviously, once he does find out what Laios' true nature is like - about his love for monsters - he develops an entirely new set of fears about Laios' priorities. But since Laios kept that a secret until the start of the story, he has no idea of that yet.

Given all that, I think it's interesting that he says that he doesn't think that the Toudens are suitable to defeat the dungeon, and that he's hoping they'll turn out to be the thieves. As some of his few potential candidates, people who he thinks may play a big role in the island's future, you'd think he'd hope they would be good people!

I suppose it's better, in his eyes, because it means that he's involved in something "interesting". They haven't just had their stuff stolen by regular criminals (boring, puts them further away from his goal) - they've been caught up in the beginning stages of "a historic event". The desperate and dwindling group forgetting morals in their quest to retrieve their lost comrade probably appeals to his sense of melodrama. Because he also just... loves drama.

Despite it being "uglier than anything he was expecting", he still pursues Laios as the person he wants to conquer the dungeon pretty much as soon as it becomes clear that he won't be able to do it himself and they are out of time. That's because... well, to be fair, there aren't any other options. And he fits standard A: he's short-lived!

and Kabru still hopes he can fit standard B, too, and be persuaded to use the power he wins for good. No matter how many nightmares he has about Laios, or whether he thinks about killing him. He doubts him, but ultimately he puts his faith in him and seems happy after the manga's ending that he made the right decision.

#dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi manga spoilers #dungeon meshi meta #kabru of utaya #laios touden #labru #laios x kabru #dunmeshi #og post #kabru is such a big picture thinker. and he evaluates people more than he judges them imo #the hater jokes are funny but the people he judges most harshly arent laios and co. they're people like the island's lord. #but you don't see that as clearly because he isn't interested in the island's lord. he understands him. finds him contemptible but useful. #whereas laios lives in his brain rent free because he WANTS to understand him but doesnt quite. #even though he sees the elves as a major threat to his ultimate goals and dislikes the way they treat short lived races #he still understands and evaluates mithrun as an individual based on his own merits #he's one of the characters who is least judgemental in that sense because while he's always making judgements and evaluations #he's also constantly revising them whenever he gets more information #my beautiful machiavellian prince <3 #it's genuinely a really laudable way of understanding others imo. #the only problem is that because he's driven towards his goals by his PTSD and survivors guilt #he pushes himself into situations (the dungeon and also interpersonally) that trigger him or even just upset him #without regard for what he authentically wants or his own wellbeing.

[kaibascorpse]

some of you people are so obsessed with having an acceptable group to ‘punch up’ at that you would rather pretend a marginalized group are Basically The Oppressors™ than listen to their valid criticisms about the fact that ‘punching up’ very rarely hits the intended target, and the majority of the actual damage of that act is suffered by fellow marginalized people in your own community. there is a significant difference between venting frustrations about privileged groups and just outright attacking anyone who (you assume) experiences that axis of privilege regardless of - and in many cases outright denying - their actual lived experiences. it goes far beyond just ‘venting frustrations’ when what you’re really doing is trying to find a moral justification to bully people you don’t like, and when your own desire for catharsis and moral superiority leads to ignoring the voices of the vulnerable people you hurt. you’re not ‘punching up’ - you just like punching people for the sake of punching.

#in writing this im primarily thinking about #transandrophobia #but i kept the language vague bc really its much more widespread than this one issue #this post is about all the queer groups that get ostracized for not being oppressed enough or having ‘too much privilege’ #getting lumped in w the oppressors bc we are assumed to have the same privilege and power as them even when we quite literally do not #gaining conditional privileges for not being visibly/openly queer is not the same as having systemic privilege. #at best it’s a defense mechanism that comes with the constant threat of having that privilege revoked should anyone realize you’re queer #if being ‘privileged’ requires hiding or not acknowledging part of your identity then it’s not really a privilege. #my posts

[winterprince601]

i don't know how else to say it: jon snow comes from two long lines of reckless magical bullshit and is basically a melting pot of feral royal blood but that's less important than the fact that he was raised by ned stark.

#jon snow #asoiaf #asoiaf meta #house stark #ned stark #asoiaf shitpost #eddard stark #best dad #a song of ice and feels #maybe #i think it's incredibly important that rhaegar and lyanna created jon #i think their legacies will be influential on him and his status as targaryen-stark has magical significance #but they didn't PARENT him #congrats to ned for making the chosen one a levelheaded anxious man who cares more about his little sister than the existential threat #and a GREAT haggler :)

[bizarrelittlemew]

calling it right now that season 3 starts like this

#so confused about people saying the season finale feels like the end because to me it didn't at all #there's like 5-10 issues immediately set up for another season #they're in a happy place at this point because they've both realized their love is bigger than anything else #and makes it worth working on their problems together #the problems are still very much there #both of them have deep self esteem/self loathing issues that haven't been resolved in the week since ed woke up #ed doesn't know about stede's trauma #they haven't talked through anything #and they'll be shit at starting/running an inn lmao it's not gonna go well #and those are just some of the internal issues #then there's prince ricky and all the authorities that would very much like to get their hands on both blackbeard and stede bonnet #because stede just full-on kept using his government name after faking his death. nice one #the crew are not “gone” they're more like off to college for a bit but will probably run into trouble immediately #again because while they escaped to the ship they didn't eliminate the threat (the british empire) #it's not a forever goodbye #ok this got super long already anyway i have a whole fic marinading in my brain until i've finished these 4 wips i'm in the middle of ✌️ #hope we get a renewal soon because i want to see the rest of their story!! #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd #our flag means death

[harringroveera]

The Byers’ fight scene just got so much more interesting

#harringrove #when the threat goes a lil more homoerotic than he expected #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #incorrect harringrove quotes #billy hargrove x steve harrington #harringrove & the party #harringroveera #harringrove textpost #steve x billy #incorrect billy hargrove quotes #incorrect steve harrington #harringrove meme #harringrove edit #steve harrington x billy hargrove #steve harrington meme #billy hargrove meme #source: hazbin hotel #dustin henderson #max mayfield #lucas sinclair

[transmascissues]

building off of this post, people love to say that “trans men want to keep going into in women’s spaces after they transition because they just want to have the best of both worlds!” but in my experience, there are four main reasons that a trans man might use a “women’s space” after they transition:

it’s an important resource that’s being arbitrarily gendered and we need to use it regardless of which gender is “supposed to” be using it.

it’s a public facility where we’d be significantly less safe in the men’s version and we have to choose our safety over our desire to not be misgendered.

it’s a social space that we’ve been in since before we transitioned and we don’t want to suddenly be cut off from our friends and support system.

the trans man in question is multigender and is also a woman, or maintains some other kind of connection to womanhood alongside their manhood.

do any of those sound like “evil men rubbing our dirty little hands together making plans for how we’re going to get male privilege without losing access to women’s spaces” to you? they sure don’t to me!

i think it’s pretty reasonable that we want to transition without losing the ability to access the resources we need, keep ourselves safe, keep up the relationships we’ve built, and express all facets of who we are. all of those are really, like, pretty basic parts of having good life and we shouldn’t be expected to give them up when we transition.

and honestly, if you claim to care about trans people, you should not be so attached to the gendering of these spaces that you’re willing to deny trans men those things for the sake of upholding gender restrictions. anyone who prioritizes the sanctity of gender segregated spaces over the safety, health, and well-being of trans men is a fucking transphobe. (yes, even if you’re trans yourself.)

and that’s what really gets me about all of this — the vehemence with which people are willing to defend those spaces being entirely and inflexibly gendered, despite how enforcement of gendered spaces has hurt trans people time and time again. gendered spaces have literally always been set up in ways that force trans people to break the rules; some trans men might break those rules in ways that don’t make sense to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong for us to do so! it just means you might feel weird about it and that’s okay, discomfort won’t kill you.

“but using women’s spaces after transitioning to male defeats the purpose of transitioning! the whole point of transitioning is to be able to live as a man!”

and who are you to tell trans men what the point of our transitions should be? what if the purpose of us transitioning is just to live the happiest and most fulfilled life possible, and forcing ourselves into unsafe spaces or denying ourselves access to important resources or cutting ourselves off from important people in our lives or pushing down the more complex parts of our genders would “defeat the purpose of transitioning” for us? what if being able to go where cis men go is just one part of a much bigger journey, not the end goal?

if you really want to talk about “defeating the purpose,” let’s talk about how policing which gendered spaces trans men can access defeats the purpose of trying to stop cis people from policing which gendered spaces trans people can access, because it allows the policing of trans people in gendered spaces to continue in some form instead of eliminating it altogether. let’s talk about how using “evil men invading women’s spaces” rhetoric against trans men defeats the purpose of trying to stop cis people from using it against trans women, because it allows the rhetoric to continue in some form instead of eliminating it altogether.

the point of saying “let people decide which gendered space is right for them” isn’t to make sure everyone uses the one aligned with their “true gender,” it’s to let people do what’s best for them without punishing them for their choice. sometimes the best choice is one that seems wrong from the outside, and you need to learn to live with that.

i just think we as a community need to be more hostile toward people who think upholding the sanctity of a gendered space is more important than giving trans people the freedom to move through the world without being punished for existing in those gendered spaces. that kind of thinking is fucking dangerous and it’s weird as hell that some of y’all are so comfortable with it being directed at us.

moral of the story: stop giving so much of a shit about where a trans man decides to piss or see a doctor or hang out or whatever else. even if you think he doesn’t belong there, he probably has a good reason to be there anyway, and that reason is frankly none of your damn business.

#im SO tired of this bro #like just shut up why are you so worried about this #i promise the big bad trans men arent here to hurt you. were just living our fucking lives #our mere presence is not a threat to you any more than yours is a threat to us #and even if you dont give a shit about us. this thinking leaves the door wide open for transmisogyny to join the party #so like. if you wont shut up for our sake do it for the trans women&fems who also get fucked over in the end #transandrophobia #transandromisia #transmisandry #virilmisia #virilphobia #anti transmasculinity #transmascphobia #trans men #transmascs

[sergle]

Compromising someone's physical safety bc of an internet argument is so not funny, but what IS funny is that this is the type of content Sssniperwolf makes. btw. It's all like this. This is what is being criticized, and what she's doxxing people for talking about.

#sergle.txt #Sssniperwolf #hiiiigh quality content right here #and yes I see what you see. I'm seein it. but this guy hasn't brought personal things or physical appearance into the roasts. #(unlike her. who's called him ugly and bald etc etc) #so I shan't say anything either. keepin on target bc the freebooting and threats to other ppl are way way more important than (gestures)

[alena-draws]

Little snippet from a vashwood reincarnation comic that I do not have nearly fully fleshed out in my head with written down text that would surely be 50+ pages and which I will probably get to draw never aaaah

#you know I would LOVE to draw this comic someday #but I can not start another one while having 2 to finish and I need to work on portfolio stuff for after uni D: #this comic would be much more vw centered than my other au cause it would just be vash meeting wolfwood reincarnated about 200 years later #and then they slowly acclimatise to each other's proximity with this thing hanging in the air between them #this thing being all that was left unsaid and unfelt but can be felt now without the looming threat of battle and a free future ahead #sighs #I wish I could show you and for once have the thing fully drawn out #this scene being the start of probably my favourite scene from the end #trigun #trigun spoilers #vashwood #vash #wolfwood

[mountain-ghouls]

And that’s how HotLock started dating

#threats are the only way to flirt with Deadlock #ghoul art #deadlock #hot rod #hotlock #drift #rodimus #driftrod #transformers #mtmte #more than meets the eye

[bonebrokebuddy]

It’s time for a, “things I sent to my twin’s inbox but she said I should post myself because I never post my own work and she’d like if I stopped spamming her inbox with ideas but I forgot about it and just kept it in my drafts notes for months and now finally I’m posting the fucking things.”

Or for short:

DP X DC PROMPT #7:

————————————

Danny visits metropolis and people are deadset on believing that Danny is either Clark’s little brother or his nephew from Illinois… despite that Clark can literally not be related to him. Not that the people at the Daily Planet know that, but even the ones who do know are giving him a hard time.

“I’m adopted Jimmy!” Clark threw his hands in the air in frustration. “You are very aware of that.”

“But he looks just like you Clark, you even talk the same!” Jimmy peaked around the corner, catching a glimpse of Danny talking to Lois in the employees lounge.

“He has a upper midwestern accent. I’m from Kansas, Jim. Not all midwesterners know each other!”

“So?”

“Jimmy. You know damn well why we can not be related.” Clark subtly gestured to his cheap “I believe in aliens” mug. Jimmy was Clark’s best friend and most of the time he really appreciated the kid’s keen eye but Jimmy also seemed to be constantly dead-set on figuring how to give Clark a headache.

“But he looks like a mini you! Have you asked him if he has a spare spaceship lying around anywhere?” Jimmy snarked as he glanced over to Danny and Louis who were finally heading back from their break.

“Jimmy, I will put you on the moon and leave you there.”

“Alright sheesh. I get it, I’ll drop it.”

#dpxdc #dcxdp #dc x dp #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc writing prompt #bones writes #clark kent #superman #jimmy olson #danny fenton #daily planet misunderstandings #a reminder that Clark Kent simultaneously has the biggest heart in the dcu but also is a snarky asshole who is able to keep up with Lois #the threat clark uses in the end is inspired by the adventures of Superman radio show #because Superman has used the threat ​‘tell the truth or we go to the moon’ More Than Once In The Radio Show to intimidate villains or goons #into telling him information #but the best part is TAOS Superman would 100% follow through on that promise bc that version of clark is 110% the sass I love to see #but also that snark is literally All of his personality in the typical bad writing version of ‘blank slate character is relateable #and a self insert so young men can fit themself into the main character’s shoes’ #and TAOS Superman has Zero hesitance to maim or injure a criminal no matter the crime bc he’s a very black and white thinking bitch #but I think he’s a neat specimen from the past that I’d like to put in a jar and study #bones writes in the tags #anyways if you go into the show aware that it’s a piece of it’s time (1941-50) and occasionally is Very racist. go listen to TAOS #it’s very interesting as you see the difference in media as it shifts from pre-WWII to current WWII to post-WWII #it’s very neat. just listen to it through a ‘this is not canon’ mindset (bc it’s a radio show that’s officially non-canon) #and a historical view mindset #then you’ll have a fun time listening to the old timey radio show with the occasional ‘wait What the fuck did they just say?!’ moment #to keep you on your toes

[svtskneecaps]

"do you think god stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he created" except it's the qsmp admins realizing players including but not limited to forever, pierre, tazercraft, cellbit, phil, fit, bad, and etoiles are able and completely willing to break the server for reasons such as "to gamble more", or simply because it's funny

#qsmp #pierre crashed the server so they could gamble #fit could absolutely crash the server to gamble #etoiles is so cracked they had to spawn enough mobs to lag the server to pose a threat to him #phil has chayanne in pieces simply bc it's funny #bad would break the server to gamble and he is at the moment functionally immortal (22 totem pop tom over here) #tazercraft caught cucurucho in his chayanne pajamas breaking back into the nether and also shredded a federation build with a fucking drill #cellbit cracked their arg in like a week and may at this point have a more comprehensive lore document than the admin team lmfao #forever has been nerfed at LEAST twice and that's absolutely not gonna be the end of it #this is not an exhaustive list. god help the qsmp admin team. #shut up vic #block game brainrot

[wanyinchen]

uh oh you hurt his demon, whoospies

He may be a big softie but DO NOT push his buttons.

Hello everyone! I'm "new" to the fandom :D (LIES i have been lurking for the last two years before summoning the courage to draw for it, yes, i am like that, unfortunately)

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #i just wanted more sword wielding aziraphale ok? thats a thing that makes me so interested about him #like he is created to be God's heavenly warrior and not just ANY warrior. but be one of THE guardians of eden. I imagine that God #wouldn't just hand that job to just anyone ya know? #the dichotomy of aziraphale: 1) this heavenly warrior who is created for war and to defend his charge viciously against all threats #and 2) this softie who does not like to fight and anxiously worries about things. who frets and fusses about his clothes and all #the gentle things in life. who loves food and tartan blankets and soft waistcoats and creamy trench coats and books and nifty #glasses and being comfortable. but most of all he loves his demon more than anything. the very thing he was supposed to fight against. #the very demon he was supposed to hate with all of his might. and whoopsies he has have fallen in love with the demon irrevocably. #AAAH AZIRAPHALE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA #sha's artsies uwu

[reikurusu]

Five Times Rei Protected Kazuki + One Time Kazuki Protected Rei We all know there were more

#We all know this happened way more often than actually shown on screen #Both ways cuz ain't no way Kazu only saved Rei once #JUST THINK ABOUT THE FIRST CD DRAMA WITH KAZU CARRYING REI (bridal style?) BACK TO HIS PLACE #Buddy Daddies #Kazuki Kurusu #Rei Suwa #KazuRei #Kazuki x Rei #Rei x Kazuki #BD 1x01 #BD 1x02 #BD 1x12 #buddydaddiesedit #BDedit #I decided to go with 'protecting' rather than 'saving' #Just because on the second row there wasn't really a threat #But Rei was still willing to go first just in case #Also Rei why are you just letting him strangle you?? Your hands are free?? THE TRUST IN KAZUKI I GUESS!!! T_T #Either way they're my boys and I love them so much T_T

[mera-kiin]

LOOK AT ME. I CANNOT END.

#disco elysium #mine #shivers #that game where the looming threat of nuclear catastrophe hits just as hard as the worst breakup of your life #the worst break up in the world #the break up of all break ups #that game where the city loves you so much she wants you to live more than you do #because she is dying and oh theres that looming sense of dread again #it makes you sob small sobs while you hug your loved ones and cry I love you into the space between their ear and neck #I dont want to end I want to stay here with you #I love you

[cemeterything]

honestly the terror didn't need an entire scene where dr stanley dismisses collins' concerns to demonstrate that mental health wasn't a priority on that expedition. the men they hired made that very clear from episode one.

#🐉 #i know the lead poisoning bear attacks and general threat of slow terrible death probably didnt help matters #but i think it was more a case of making existing problems worse than inventing new ones #the terror

[adrift-in-thyme]

One thing that really got me about this update is that while they’re back on the road now and Twi is alright…it’s not a victorious departure. It’s sorrowful, it’s fearful, and it’s ridden with guilt and regrets about what just happened

Their body language says it even more than their words do. They’re slumped, they’re tense, they’re frowning rather than smiling. Hardly anyone cracks a joke this time around.

Their journey is beginning to take a toll on them. And although the Shadow just suffered a crushing defeat he doesn’t have the same emotional aspect that our heroes have had — and continue to have — to deal with.

I definitely foresee some arguments — maybe even physical altercations — in the future. That alone makes them vulnerable to the Shadow’s revenge (which previous updates have shown he doesn’t hesitate to exact. He’s angry. He’s coming for the heroes. Especially Twilight.)

I look forward to seeing how this will all play out

Credit to @linkeduniverse

#trin rambles #linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu chain #lu update spoilers #also #the unofficial leaders are feeling it the most it seems #time and wars are especially drained #it’s evident more than ever in their expressions and actions and words #they put a lot of pressure on themselves #took the supportive role during twi’s battle #and prolly have slept the least of any hero there #even rulie got a nap #I doubt those two allowed themselves one #having your leaders vulnerable is one of the greatest threats #it’s clear that the other boys can step up and take charge if needed #but the shadow will likely use this weakness to his advantage #before any of the other heroes CAN step in