#justice vs revenge

[samasmith23]

How Goro Akechi effectively serves as a dark foil to the Phantom Thieves' brand of rehabilitative justice

So... I understand that Goro Akechi is a pretty divisive character within the Persona 5 fanbase (especially his pre-Royal incarnation), but I have to admit, I honestly found his backstory and role as a sinister foil to Joker and the Phantom Thieves to be legitimately intriguing.

I loved how during the palace mission on the cognitive yacht of the corrupt ultra-nationalist politician, Masayoshi Shido, it is revealed that Akechi is not only the true culprit behind the mysterious wave of mental shutdowns & psychotic breakdowns that have occurred throughout the background of the entire game (including the deaths of both Futaba’s mother, Wakaba Isshiki, and Haru’s father, Kunikazu Okumura) but that he is actually Shido's illegitimate child!

Essentially, Akechi was the product of a dubious affair between Shido and a sex worker whom the former later discarded when he discovered that she was pregnant, driving her to depression and suicide shortly after Akechi's birth. Akechi spent his entire childhood being passed around as a “problem child” between various foster homes (highlighting Japan’s problems with how the country treats its orphaned children) before later being granted the power of the "wildcard" persona as well as knowledge of the Meta-Verse by the false god of control, Yaldabaoth.

While Akechi was a societal outcast similar to the members of the Phantom Thieves, he took the wrong message from his experiences. Akechi misguidedly believes that the only way to truly oppose the status quo that looked down upon him is to not only become a part of it (i.e. caring only about his good grades & celebrity status) but to destroy everything that he hates by reducing himself to Shido's right-hand assassin in the Meta-Verse, perpetuating mental shutdowns & psychotic breakdowns to Shido’s political enemies simply to get some semblance of recognition & validation from his abusive father before exacting revenge on him (whilst exploiting his "ace-detective" celebrity status to "solve" the crimes that he himself committed).

Essentially, once Shido finally became prime minister Akechi planned to whisper the truth about being the former’s illegitimate child, telling Shido that he was only able to get where he was due to the son he abandoned and labeled as a potential “political scandal” before murdering him.

Despite Akechi and the Phantom Thieves' mutual dislike of Shido however, Akechi is so fixated on vengeance that he does not care about the innocent lives he ruins and destroys in the crossfire to satisfy his own personal bloodlust. Instead of legitimately trying to reform society like the Phantom Thieves do, Akechi becomes a pawn of the very same systemic corruption that was responsible for his initial suffering. Akechi cares only about his own hatred & jealousy instead of empathizing with others who were also victimized by society’s ills. That is why when Joker has his rematch with Akechi on Shido's Yacht in the meta-verse, the two are visually juxtaposed between Joker standing strong alongside his teammates & friends, while Akechi remains alone, confused & angry. While there is a part of Akechi that regrets his horrible actions and even recognizes the potential for him & Joker to be friends due to their similar backgrounds, he's too far gone into his obsessive vendetta against Shido that he refuses to turn back and now desires to kill the Phantom Thieves in a misguided attempt to ease his internal conflict.

During the boss fight with Akechi in Shido's Palace, the detective prince repeatedly dismisses the Phantom Thieves' efforts to appeal to his common senses, believing that concepts like friendship and teamwork are foolish "cliched bullish*t... in this eat or be eaten world." While this attitude of Akechi's might seem unrealistically cartoonish on the surface, it actually makes sense when considering his background of being unfairly labeled as a "throw-away child" by Japan's foster care institutions. YouTuber LadyVirgilia goes into far greater detail about this in her excellent The Truth About Goro Akechi analysis video. There, she states that an overwhelming number of Japanese orphans are incapable of being legally adopted due to impoverished parents voluntarily relinquishing them from their care while still maintaining legal guardianship over them. Additionally, LadyVirgilia discusses how violent hierarchical power structures often form among the children within these foster homes, with younger orphans sadly being subject to bullying & abuse by their older peers.

While these facts are not explicitly stated about Akechi's backstory within P5 Royal itself, they can easily be heavily inferred due to the game's heavy emphasis on exploring themes related to Japanese sociocultural issues. The institutional failings of Japan's foster care system (combined with Shido's abandonment of his son while he was still in the womb), ultimately contributed to the development of Akechi's warped perception of the rest of the world. Due to being dismissed as a "throw-away child" and being forced to grow up in an institution that is unfortunately subject to high rates of systemic abuse & neglect, Akechi spent his entire life feeling unwanted & loved. Ideals such as friendship & companionship became foreign and unrealistic concepts to him due to having experienced nothing but society's cold & uncaring apathy. Consequently, Akechi became deeply jealous & hateful toward the rest of the world, misguidedly compelling him to want to prove his superiority over the rest of society by manufacturing his status as "the celebrity ace-detective and honors student who ultimately brought down Shido." But when Akechi encounters the Phantom Thieves and befriends their leader Joker, he begins to experience his first genuine bond of companionship. While Akechi maintains a legitimate appreciation toward Joker, he is simultaneously confused & unable to fully process these newfound feelings, becoming envious of Joker's ability to rise above his similar status as a societal outcast to befriend & protect others like himself. Consequently, Akechi projects his own failings & inability to legitimately rise above his tragic upbringing beyond his false celebrity status onto Joker & the Phantom Thieves, cruely dismissing them as "the trash of society" and blaming them for interfering with his revenge plot against Shido.

This empty & hollow existence that Akechi chooses to live is further reflected by the sole two personas that he utilizes during his boss fight: Robin Hood, who represents Akechi's false celebrity & law-abiding gentleman facade, and Loki, who embodies Akechi’s true personality as a deceitful trickster & psychotic murderer.

I personally couldn’t help but find all of these elements to be rather interesting & insightful about Akechi’s role as an antagonist/rival to the Phantom Thieves. It honestly highlights the tragic nature of Akechi's situation, since while he had the potential to utilize his deductive knowledge & skills as a "wildcard" Persona-user similar to Joker, he instead allowed himself to be consumed by his own hatred & madness. In contrast, while Joker was also abused by Shido by being wrongfully sued for “assault” when he tried to stop Shido from sexually harassing a random woman, Joker now fights against the systems of authority that criminals like Shido represent to prevent similar abuses of power from ever occurring again to others. Additionally, we also see dualistic parallels between Akechi and Joker's fellow Phantom Thief/potential-romantic partner, Makoto Nijima, since she too similarly previously fell prey to the misconception that “good grades and following orders are all that truly matters to be a worthwhile member of society.” However, Makoto, now utilizes her study skills to help the downtrodden & oppressed instead of for either her own benefit or because it’s what society expects from her, whereas Akechi exploits his false celebrity detective status to further his self-centered vendetta, innocent lives be damned.

In essence, if the Phantom Thieves embody the potential benefits of rehabilitative justice then Goro Akechi embodies the dangers of retributive justice (aka, revenge). To reference two of my favorite movies, Batman Begins and Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, not only is there a strong difference between justice and revenge (one is about altruistic harmony whereas the other is about personal satisfaction), but the most surefire way to victory is by fighting to protect what you love rather than fighting to destroy what you hate...

The distinction between justice & revenge is made abundantly clear at the end of Akechi's storyline in the baseline game (i.e. before the Royal exclusive Third Semester new content), where following his defeat at the hands of the Phantom Thieves Akechi is suddenly approached by a cognitive duplicate of himself that dwells within Shido's palace. In addition to the Cognitive Akechi emphasizing the futility of Akechi's quest for acknowledgment & vengeance against Shido by revealing that the latter always intended to dispose of his right-hand assassin once he was elected prime minister, the cognitive duplicate also reveals the true depths of Shido's depravity when he states that he only ever viewed Akechi as a puppet to fulfill his own ambitions. While it is true that Akechi was so obsessed with revenge that he allowed himself to become a pawn of the corrupt status quo, it is exceptionally cruel to learn that this is how Shido has always viewed his own son (which is further punctuated by Shido later revealing to the Phantom Thieves that he secretly always suspected that Akechi was his illegitimate child due to how much he reminded him of his mother). It is this revelation in particular that allows the Phantom Thieves to better empathize with Akechi's tragic upbringing & circumstances. Even though they still seek to hold Akechi accountable for the murders that he committed at Shido's behest, the Phantom Thieves simultaneously recognize that in a sense, Akechi was also a victim of both Shido's cruelty and the systemic injustices of larger Japanese society.

This effectively culminates in the bittersweet resolution to Akechi's storyline in the base Persona 5 game. When the Cognitive Akechi duplicate offers his real-world counterpart one last chance to "redeem" himself in Shido's eyes by killing the Phantom Thieves in his stead, Akechi for the first time in his life decides to be his own person instead of being defined by the labels Shido and society had imposed upon him since birth. Choosing to no longer be a puppet of Shido's corrupt machinations, Akechi rejects his cognitive duplicate's hollow offer by instead turning his gun on the duplicate and his Shadow minions before sealing the engine room's watertight doors between himself and the Phantom Thieves. At the very end, Akechi was finally able to acknowledge that his desire for false appreciation from both his abusive father and larger society was ultimately worthless. Akechi ultimately sacrifices himself to allow the Phantom Thieves to escape, recognizing their true justice while entrusting them to do what he was incapable of by holding Shido accountable for his crimes & reforming society.

From a certain point of view, one could argue that the Phantom Thieves indirectly inspired a change of heart in Akechi by proving to him the validity of their sense of justice.

Overall, while I was initially indifferent towards Goro Akechi at the start of my playthrough of Persona 5 (and even outright skeptical & suspicious of his motives given his vocal opposition to the Phantom Thieves), by the time I got to his boss battle in Shido's palace I ended gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for what the developers at Atlus were attempting to convey with his character. Akechi effectively functions as both a cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing oneself to be consumed with thoughts of revenge, as well as a dark parallel to the Phantom Thieves who seek to legitimately reform society for altruistic rather than self-centered reasons. It was these elements that ultimately elevated Akechi into becoming one of my personal favorite members of P5's cast (right behind Makoto, Futaba & Ann...) from both a narrative and character writing perspective (especially with the Royal edition's overhauled confidant line for Akechi, which better fleshes out the latter's rivalry with Joker, and the player now has to progress manually instead of it being automatic)! And I am definitely curious to see how Royal's exclusive "Third Semester" content further fleshes out Akechi's character since I'm aware that he plays a major role in the new story content.

#persona 5 royal #p5 royal #persona 5 #goro akechi #crow #black mask #robin hood #loki #masayoshi shido #phantom thieves #p5 joker #p5 protagonist #ren amamiya #makoto niijima #ann takamaki #ryuji sakamoto #morgana #yusuke kitagawa #futaba sakura #haru okumura #batman begins #the last jedi #justice vs revenge #rehabilitative justice #atlus games #video games #mini essay #Youtube

[undeadcourier]

thinking about how the theme of letting go (and the related motif of critically examining long-held beliefs/relationships) appears with the companions.

there's arcade and veronica, who were raised in insular environments and surrounded by enemies their entire lives, who fundamentally disagree with the politics of those groups, and who have to find a way to reconcile the love and loyalty they have for the only families they've ever known with their personal ideologies and goals.

while cassidy and crimson caravans aren't major factions in the vein of the ncr/enclave/brotherhood, cass' quest also revolves around whether she upholds the legacy of her family or follows her own path.

boone is disillusioned with the ncr after the bitter springs massacre but still wears his first recon beret, perhaps as a sign of lingering loyalty, or perhaps as penance. he participated in a horrible war crime because he was following orders, because that mindset was drilled into him since he joined the military. he's not as ideologically opposed to the ncr as arcade and veronica are to the enclave and brotherhood, respectively, but the similarity is worth noting.

what makes these companion quests so memorable is that we're meeting these characters at critical crossroads in their lives, where they have to come to terms with complicated attachments, where they'll define themselves by whether they choose to hang on to a legacy or strike out on their own.

#there's also revenge as a theme but that's another post #and that's to say nothing of how the dlc handle this theme—there are some great posts circulating already #to which i don't have anything substantial to add atm. though at some point i want to dig into that revenge element as well #it's obviously tied up with the inability to let go but there's the old world blues nostalgia vs. elijah & joshua's power hunger #vs. ulysses desire for justice #and there's benny and his ambition and the courier and their myriad motives #it's a good game #arcade gannon #veronica santangelo #rose of sharon cassidy #craig boone #for auld lang syne #i could make you care #heartache by the number #i forgot to remember to forget #fallout: new vegas

[moongothic]

...So Crocodile could beat Akainu

Good to know

Sidenote but that did make me realize how when we see the Impel Down prisoners in Level 4, Oda does semi-consistently draw everyone sweating their asses off, which makes sense, since they're in the Inferno Hell. It is focken hot in there.

But then there's Crocodile and dude never breaks a sweat

Like to be fair there are a few characters who don't seem to be bothered by the heat of Level 4 either (Iva-chan, Sadi-chan etc)

But when you considder the sheer amount of fucking layers this man is wearing, like. You know what. Crocodile being completely heat-resistant up to 1700 Celcius makes perfect sense to me, I'll add that to my worldview, it's canon to me now.

#Moon posting #OP Meta #Sir Crocodile #''How is Luffy going to get revenge for Ace when Akainu's made of magma'' He doesn't have to. Daddy's got it covered #Sabo? I mean I'm sure he hates Akainu too but those two have never met so Sabo vs Akainu doesn't have the same emotional weight #Dragon and Akainu at least have seemingly personal beef and that could make for a good emotionally heavy battle #(Depending on the beef) (Like if there's a good tragic backstory then sure let's go) #But considder this: if all Akainu wants is to erase Dragon and his son from the world in the name of Absolute Justice #Crocodile getting in the way and not letting Akainu even LOOK at those two would be quite fun. In a petty way. #But then there could be the Added Juice of Crocodile wanting to protect his baby boy and his idiot ex while Akainu has no idea #Also Crocodile gets to have revenge on Akainu for hurting his son and breaking his heart by killing his precious brother #Ohhhhhhhhhhhh this is the match-up I want arrite this is all I want from The Final War when the time comes #Also we don't even know what ability Dragon has for 100% certain but like. Like it could be a bad match-up on Dragon's side

[whumperofworlds]

Whump Dialogue

"I always wanted revenge against them. So... why do I feel guilty...?"

#had an epiphany #regarding vengeance vs. justice #so. here you go! #whump #whump prompt #whump dialogue #guilt #whumpee turned whumper #kinda? #revenge whump

[silverstark]

I love how both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng embody “a sword in one hand, a flower in the other.”

#HuaLian #Xie Lian #TGCF #Hua Cheng #‘crimson rain sought flower’ is just another way of saying that #and Hua Cheng means flower city. the fortress built to protect the flower #and Hua Cheng is the ‘Hua’ the God-Pleasing Crown Prince held in one hand while fighting with the sword in his other hand #there’s lots of meta about Hua Cheng being a bad person and he says it himself #but to me it’s nature vs nurture. in which Xie Lian nurtured. #AND; CRUCIALLY; what Hua Cheng chose to nurture matters #what Hua Cheng chose to worship matters #the one god he worships is the compassionate kind people-saving god #the noble gracious special someone #and that says a lot about him #re-reading Book 2 it's striking to me that Hong-er heard from XL himself that he doesn't want to be worshipped through cruelty #He saw how angry XL was about QR hurting someone even when it was in his name #(notably; Hong-er also heard/witnessed XL being told he was in trouble over his choices in the parade) #(this isn't about just/proportionate revenge like the 33 gods: XL said that they didn't deserve to be gods and HC carried out his justice)

[twilight-zoned-out]

It’s interesting how Jack doesn’t want Jonathan to know his suspicions because he suspects it would “break his nerve.” A few weeks ago this would mean Jonathan relapsing into a nervous breakdown but I think when Jack mentions this now he visualizes Jonathan turning berserk and hunting Dracula on foot, and he finds it equally worrying.

#dracula #dracula daily #just a thought #jonathan harker #jack seward #I think Jack's kind of scared of what Jonathan might do if he's completely consumed by his desire to destroy Dracula #a kind of brain fever in itself #which Mina also addressed earlier #when talking about pity #revenge vs justice #and Jack doesn't want this to be worsened by Jonathan seeing Mina slowly turn before his eyes #even though they both suspect to some degree #october 25

[soph-skies]

i think one of the reasons i’m so drawn to xue yang (besides Hot. and Vaguely Evil) is that every time i see him i’m staring at an alternate universe wei wuxian. he and wwx are absolutely each other’s ‘what could have been’ and watching them interact is so fascinating

#you can so clearly see how despite beginning in the same situation their paths diverged so early on in life #and then we get into the nurture vs nature debate #i’m willing to argue a bit of both here #wwx is so fundamentally justice oriented and we see what lengths he will go to to defend that #literally with his life #i don’t think you could ever change that but i do think the (limited) care of the jiangs certainly shaped him #xue yang seems so fundamentally drawn to cruelty #but it’s hard to see where the pain of abandonment and thirst for revenge separates from his nature #i think he would have always been interested in cruelty i think that aspect of him cannot be changed #if he just wanted revenge he would have stopped at harming those who abandoned him #yet he continued to extremes and murdered entire clans seemingly for fun #i would argue even if he had a loving upbringing that innate cruelty would have still manifested itself somehow #HOWEVER #xue yang with a loving upbringing is still harmful but certainly not to the extent he is without it #i see that version of him as a more twisted wwx type who is into experimentation but ultimately is drawn back to society by his loved ones #they are so fundamentally opposed in their values #and yet on some level they are both that scared abandoned child #mdzs #the untamed #cql #wei wuxian #wei ying #wwx #xue yang #xy #cql meta #the untamed meta #i love 2 am philosophy

[bittersweetbeet]

So I'm working on a victim analysis essay on whether or not victim is gonna get redeemed but now I'm curious what others have to say and their thoughts on the topic. I've seen some mixed opinions BUT I wanna try and open a sort of discussion!

#excited to see the results and what others think! #PERSONALLY I don't want victim to be redeemed #for reasons I will explain in my essay #but basically #I'm an absolute sucker for characters who lose themselves to revenge and seeking justice #but I don't think redemption is impossible #again will explain in my future essay lol #bean rambles #animator vs animation #animator vs animation victim #alan becker

[bebx]

Trigger warnings: mention of abuse, self harm, victim blaming

“Why would Johnny marry her, if she was controlling even before their marriage?” “Why couldn’t he see the red flags?” “Why didn’t he leave sooner, if she was so abusive?” “Why did he stay for so long?” Stop. Just. stop. with these type of questions. I know you don’t have any ill intentions and you were genuinely curious, but the thing is, what you’re doing — by asking these questions — is called victim blaming, and it triggers not just Johnny but every other victim of domestic violence.

You don’t ask a victim why they didn’t leave their abuser sooner. You don’t ask them that if their abuser was so abusive then why’d they stay for so long. Ever. You don’t know how hard it is to leave a toxic relationship. It’s mind game and it’s exhausting physically and mentally.

Victims often stay because:

Even with the abuse, they still love their abusive partner.

An abuser will most likely gaslight/manipulate their victim into believing it’s their fault: maybe if they loved enough, if they gave them enough time, they wouldn’t get hit/punished.

It’s not always all bad. Even with the abuse, there’re times where things are heavenly good. And those times are what most victims hold onto. Their partner can be abusive, but when they’re in a good mood, things are perfect.

They (the victim) believe their partner can still change/that they can change them.

They (the victim) don’t want anyone else to know about the abuse, whether the reason’s because they still love and want to protect their abuser or if it’s because they simply don’t want their friends or family to know they’ve been abused and still want everyone to think their relationship isn’t abusive.

An abuser can and will most likely say one of these things, when their partner (aka victim) try to break up with them:

don’t leave me. I can’t live without you

I’m sorry I promise I won’t hit you again. I can change

I will hurt everyone you love if you leave

I will hurt myself if you leave

I will find you and hurt you if you leave

I’ve also gotten asked one time too many about the text Johnny sent to Paul, and I’d like to address the subject for the last time: Johnny’s sending inappropriate text about his abuser to his friend — after he’s been mentally/verbally/physically abused repeatedly by said abuser — does not make him the bad guy. These things are called revenge fantasies. It’s completely normal for victims of abuse to have negative thoughts and to want to do horrible things to their abusers, most of them do not act on it.

I’m sorry, but you can’t expect Johnny, or anybody else, to still want rainbow and puppies and unicorns and happiness upon his abuser after he’s had a part of his finger chopped off because of her, after he was mentally/verbally/physically abused to the point he had to hind in the bathroom and had to call security guards, after she withheld his medical care, after she shat on his bed, after she allegedly cheated on him and after she lit a cigarette on his face. That’s just not how it works.

His text about her to his friend may be inappropriate, but that. still. doesn’t. and. will. never. make. him. the. bad. guy. in. their. relationship.

I felt like I needed to say this, because people have been sending me asks about why Johnny stayed with her for so long, why he sent those texts about her to Paul.

And I think people need to stop asking a victim why they did what they did as their way of coping, why they stayed for so long, and start asking an abuser why they abused the person who truly loved them instead.

#tw mention of abuse #revenge fantasies #johnny depp #justice for johnny depp #i stand with johnny depp #hollywood #i believe johnny depp #depp vs heard trial #depp vs heard #johnny depp is innocent #aquaman #pirates of the caribbean #jack sparrow #captain jack sparrow #grindelwald #gellert grindelwald #fantastic beasts #aquaman 2 #aquaman and the lost kingdom #fantastic beasts the secrets of dumbledore #warner bros discovery #warner brothers #warner bros #disney #wb pictures

[br1ghtestlight]

they'll just give the death penalty to anybody in america huh 😭 like anybody who killed more than one person or raped or anything immediate death penalty. how many per month? per year?? how are there ANY life sentences at this rate

#just weird to me bcuz the death penalty isn't a thing here or in most developed countries..... like what if u got the wrong guy? #like thats just a guy idk seems like more of a revenge thing vs justice. or just making room for more prisoners probably #then again this is the same country that has like hundreds of thousands of people locked up for drug posession so LMAO #txt

[betweenthescarletmoon]

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Más allá del sol / Far beyond the sun

Más allá del sol / Far beyond the sun

Yo tengo un hogar / I have a home

Hogar, bello hogar / A beautiful home

Más allá del sol / Far beyond the sun

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

What if Jake Lockley, as well as from Marc Spector, was manifesting his own perception of peace in the Field of Reeds? It would explain the use of Más Allá del Sol, which I would say became his amazing theme when he whistles it. I have a feeling that despite the rough exterior, he dreams of a type of rest like this. Makes sense, if your entire existence's purpose is to constantly deal with the worst of the world to keep your alters safe, without a moment to breathe.

What if Jake saw the lack of danger, loneliness, and hurt as only possible with revenge? The only way of protecting Marc and Steven, who are both currently unable to choose murder because of their respective moral compasses and triggers?

What if the Scales and Jake's sense of justice differed? (What if they aligned? It's very possible Harrow wouldn't be accepted into the Field.)

Even after two weeks, this show gives me new thoughts. Thank you Mohamed, Oscar, Ethan, Jeremy, and WHOEVER the genius behind the soundtrack was.

#moon knight #moon knight meta #moon knight episode five #moon knight episode six #asylum #moon knight asylum #gods and monsters #moon knight gods and monsters #moon knight analysis #jake lockely #jake lockely analysis #marc spector #steven grant #arthur harrow #meta #justice vs revenge thematics #the moral concept of the afterlife #mas alla del sol #oscar isaac hernandez estrada #oscar isaac

[ofpsalms]

what’s your muse’s fatal flaw?

YOUR AMBITION

You know what you want, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with setting reasonable and realistic goals. There is, however, something wrong with going to great, possibly unscrupulous lengths to achieve them. You’re like a Machiavellian Icarus flying too close to the sun of your objectives, and if you don’t want to end up being a villain hell-bent on world domination, then take stock of your life for a second. Make better decisions.

tagged by: @viagothedandy ( thanks dear! ) tagging: steal it!

#[ ✞ | temet nosce // 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 ] #callout post #certainly in context of that theme of justice vs. revenge nico grapples with i talked about a long while back

[vamptastic]

i don't have a problem with fanfiction actually i just really prefer something that takes the voices of the characters and puts them in a new situation, short and sweet, or maybe a character study if it's done well. straight up porn is also respectable because at least nobody is trying to claim it makes them a skilled author. but the top rated of any fandom is at best a shitty romcom movie with the gay couple of the week plastered into it and at worst several hundred thousand words of the authors pet white man going into heat. like, if you want to make the argument that fanfiction is a genre in its own right that should be respected, people need to branch out a little more. there's a bit of decent horror and suspense pieces here and there, but by and large it's just tropey romance nonsense, which isn't for me.

#dgmr there are some great fanfics by people that should absolutely be considered good authors #but when the top rated works in a genre are shit across the board you gotta accept that it's maybe a little bad #particulary theres a great naomi/misa death note fic that does an fantastic job with a plot rooted in the source material #but using technicalities of the rules in new and original ways #it also has a great theme of revenge vs justice and a bit of commentary w misogyny too #i basically consider it a spinoff novel to the main series at this point like it could fit into canon decently well #and ive also got my little collection of humor/crack fics #and a couple monstrously long fanfics that are like. bad but deeply relatable #mostly though even the good stuff is just. decent romance #and i do not care for romance #id just sometimes like to look at media through a lens unrelated to sex and romance #genfic is so rare nowadays honest to god i miss the self insert era #at least it was original

[narutocharacterpolls]

ROUND THREE

UCHIHA SASUKE vs TENTEN

Reasons for submission under the cut

Sasuke

he is trying so hard to do what he is supposed to, even succeeding at it, only for everything to be a lie

he's authentic and driven and he doesn't care what other people think, if he believes something he will go ahead and do it, unafraid of paying the price

Sasuke was right about everything

he went through so much and never gave up, it's very inspiring and means a lot

Fortnite Sasuke

despite everything he can't help but love

his relationship with Itachi is one of the most heartbreaking and beautiful sibling relationships, genocide aside it's very relatable

he looks just like Mikoto.....

he's beautiful!

he has so much compassion for others and will do what he can for them, but still does not compromise his own beliefs and goals to do so

he's so personal to [submitter] and has been the sole reason of making it through hard times

love is stored in the Sasuke

true heroine or the Naruto series

all his outfits slay

the whole manga wouldn't even exist if it weren't for him

kind, compassionate, driven by love, fucking iconic

trans masc icon and legend

the revolutionnnn

he is an emo icon

a communist

a transgay legend

[submitters] family is generationally effected by genocide so Sasukes justice means the world to [submitter]. Sasukes love means EVERYTHING to [submitter]

he is full of love

very strong

excellent gay representation

owner of the worlds most special eyes

the most relatable Naruto character

a snarky lil bitch :)

he went thru so much & gets too much hate for someone who only wanted revenge for his murdered clan

cat boy

femme fatale

kept going despite all the trauma he went through

flawless observation skills

analytical, intelligent

never let anyone push him around or manipulate him

full of love and kindness

pacifist at heart (refuses to kill innocents)

sought to destroy Konoha

serves cunt in all his outfits

friend of animals

killed Orochimaru because he felt like it

Tenten

her main jutsu is just throw so many knives at you and I respect that

her weapons mastery/sealing jutsu had so much potential and it never got the treatment it deserved

team Gai supremacy

#bestnrtcharapoll #naruto #polls #uchiha sasuke #sasuke uchiha #tenten #id in alt text

[aideshou]

#fav #ventus #freakin venty wenty #kingdom hearts #disney town #i always wanted to play toontown online #vs #light hearted vids today................. #innocence like his is justice #revenge even

[moidhaterxxx]

I'm gonna say something mildly controversial lol.

Depictions of female rage never resonated with me. And no it's not because I'm not white or conventionally attractive blah blah.

It's because depictions of male rage focus on portraying the RESULT of the rage vs female rage portraying the woman herself.

Like think about it, every revenge movie with a man has extensive shots of him in action and you see the "evil people" (men and women) beaten up or shown justice.

But female rage often depicted as pretty women with blood all over them and even if they're beating up villains, the camera just stays focused on their visuals. I'd rather see the men they beat up and take revenge on than a shot that's meant to look pretty.

#Like John wick taking revenge looks cool #Vs women screaming and crying and in pain #Like I dunno... #Maybe this doesn't make any sense lol #Please don't misunderstand this #radical feminists please touch #radical feminist safe #radblr