Current Mantra

my take on the itoshi brothers

the itoshi brothers’ relationship is so complex and it makes me want to throw myself off a building so hard. spoilers to anime onlys, and spoilers for the u-20 arc onwards. if u dont wanna see then just scroll <//3 so anyways as i was saying, the itoshis

this is half analysis, half theory, part screaming, so like if u have anything u disagree w me on or anything u wanna add then please do

so obviously from the very start we can see how warped their relationship’s gotten ever since sae went to spain. rin focuses all his attention and efforts into getting better so he can crush sae, while sae doesnt even acknowledge his existence. 

at first, i only saw rin’s side in this. i admit, up until i reread the manga and their backstory, i was thinking ab the situation solely from rin’s perspective and ended up neglecting some details. most especially sae’s reaction to the fallout, as well as some other minor details.

we can see from the suitcase than sae had just landed, and that his first instinct was to go to rin. his first priority was to go see his baby brother, with the intention of telling him about his decision regarding his soccer career. he obviously still cares about rin here, and we can see that as he didn’t “completely” abandon their dream. 

for sae, his view on their dream shifted. after seeing how big the skill gap is between him and the world, he decided that he can’t be the best with rin as he is. especially as rin hasn’t had the opportunity to see how it actually is outside of japan. i think he shifted his view so that they can still be the best, just with him lifting up rin rather than being by his side. much like how reo shifted his view into becoming a midfielder so he can make nagi shine even brighter 

sae changed his resolve to become a midfielder, while he “entrusts” the original dream to rin. In his eyes, it’s still their dream, as he’ll still be the best with rin, just not as strikers. however, i don’t think he counted that rin would be completely attached to their original dream. well, either that or he was desperately hoping that rin would understand where he’s coming from

to be completely honest i think it's the latter. as rin expressed his discontentment with sae’s new resolve, we see in his eyes that he’s frustrated. and then it all comes boiling over when rin yells “you’re not the same brother i shared a dream with”

we can obviously see the hurt in his eyes before his face is masked by shadow. i think that deep down he already knew that rin wouldn’t accept his “new dream” but was still hoping he would. rin saying this was just the confirmation that he would, in fact, not accept it

again this post is half analysis half theory. personally i think that the brothers, in their own way, were trying to defend their relationship. rin wanted to keep the previous them, the them that were together in their dream always. sae wanted to preserve his relationship with rin somehow, seeing as how much he changed after his time in spain

sae, in his own way, is still trying to protect rin. at first, his original plan was to make rin the best striker by becoming the best midfielder. that way, rin isn’t alone when he finally faces the world. however, as rin didn’t want to give up on their dream, then sae decided that the best course of action was to destroy that dream so that rin wouldn’t get hurt any further

in my eyes this is the moment sae steels his resolve to shatter that dream. he then faces away from rin so his resolve doesn’t shatter, knowing that seeing his brother’s face in anguish will weaken that resolve

the fallout hurt both of them, but that hurt spiraled into two different responses. sae becomes completely aloof to rin, while rin begins to harbor a boiling “hate” towards sae. 

after the u-20 game, we immediately see that rin’s “hate” for sae is in fact not hate. his first instinct is to call sae “nii-chan” a deeply affectionate title that hasn’t been said since that night. however, sae crushes rin’s spirit by saying that isagi is the one that has the potential to change japan’s soccer

now here i think sae, in his own, messed up way, is trying to motivate rin into becoming the best in the world. the worst part i think is that it works, as this is one of the critical moments that causes rin’s way of thinking to change, with the other one being the fallout. here, crushing sae is no longer his “first and foremost” priority, and he’s instead setting his sights on becoming the best, without anyone or anything holding him back

i’m not very good at articulating my thoughts and there ARE some things i wanted to put here, but i couldn’t explain them in a way that’s coherent to anyone other than me. but the final thought im getting away with here is that ultimately, the brothers still haven’t given up on their dream, whether they’re aware of it or not. by inadvertently giving rin motivation to become the best, sae is still giving rin a chance to catch up to him. in the same vein, rin’s desire to catch up to and surpass sae is his desire to prove his worth to sae again

once again these are just my personal views on the relationship. i could be wrong, i could be right, i could be partially wrong or i couldve missed the point completely. either way i just needed to get that out of my brain. so if u have anything to contradict me with or anything to add, please feel free to do so! i love hearing ab other people’s thoughts anyways <33

I can’t stop thinking about Tala Abu Ajwa.

She was 10 years old.

Killed by Israel on the 4th of September, 2024.

Hey

I’m loving the new story if u can’t tell. 😔

hades dump #3

February started with false hopes of a ceasefire.

It is now February 15 and the largest medical facility in South Gaza, which sheltered ~2,500 people and had been under siege for two weeks, has been attacked. It is now completely out of function.

We are 21 days away from marking 5 months of ongoing genocide.

Here are several posts with numerous donation links & other ways to help. I’ll also include the tag I use for those posts, where you’ll find individual gofundme’s listed as well. There is also Operation Olive Branch, which has an excel sheet of numerous families in Gaza & how to donate to them + how to contact them. If you can afford it, please consider donating and please, please remember to scroll down to donate to families at the bottom of the list. If you cannot give, please simply share as many resources as you find.

The day is finally here...

My favorite chapters of Dr. Stone have been animated!

I'm so glad anime-onlys finally get to see these chapters.

I'll talk a little more about why these chapters matter a lot to me under the cut, specifically more about Xeno's character. I've been able to digest these chapters for almost 5 years, so I would say I am a certified Xeno expert. I'd read it if you want to understand Xeno's character more, it'll make his future actions make more sense to y'all.

Don't worry, there's no spoilers.

The most important aspect of Xeno's character is who he was before, who he was when he first met Senku. Xeno wasn't born a bad person, he became one over time, as he grew up he felt like his dreams were taken from him. He always had some authoritarian tendencies, but those tendencies were brought forth the more he became shackled by authority.

His true passion is science, all of his wants are motivated by his selfish drive to do as much science as possible, no matter the financial and ethical barriers.

Xeno first met Senku when he was 10, Xeno being 20-21. They were online friends for 9 years, so they both got to see each other grow up.

Senku's drive to save humanity was instilled in him because he rejected Xeno's crumbling ethics. His trip to Africa, his studying biology and topics far beyond rocket science, was because he knew people like Xeno posed a threat to humanity. He knew he would have to counter mad scientists from a very young age.

Xeno and Senku are meant to be mirrors of each other, this shows in Xeno's design. I will say I am very proud because I figured this out years ago before Boichi (the manga artist of Dr. Stone) confirmed it several days ago.

Both Xeno and Senku represent the quest for knowledge by oneself because they feel like nobody will be as passionate while carrying the torch. Xeno decided to become a dictator because he felt like he could be the only one willing to sacrifice morality for the sake of human scientific progress, while Senku felt like he could be the only one willing to do everything possible to save every human on Earth.

(Notice the difference in their eyes, Xeno's don't shine. This becomes more important symbolically later. This theme is brought up again and again.)

In summary, Xeno is a passionate person who lost all hope in humanity because of the barriers that were placed in front of him. He is arrogant, controlling, and has sinister motivations.

Senku is the scientist of light, while Xeno is the scientist of the dark. Senku is selfless, Xeno is selfish. Senku studied science in the hopes of progressing science at the benefit of everyone, while Xeno studied science in the hopes of progressing science at the benefit of himself - his curiosity.

As I've grown up alongside Dr. Stone, I've noticed the shift in my own character. I love Dr. Stone because it is all about wanting to learn as much as possible. I find that very relatable. Like Senku, I loved reading books on quantum theory and chemical biology when I was little - although I was like Taiju, I rarely understood it. But I continued to read regardless because I just wanted to know everything, I was and am endlessly curious.

I found myself relating to Senku after I first caught up to Dr. Stone in January 2020, but over time I have begun to understand Xeno further - most people are not curious. They feel no passion for learning more and the importance of building upon existing human knowledge, even if it could help many. Sometimes we need great, powerful people, to drive humanity forward even at the cost of one's moral character.

More than 200,000 people are trapped in the northern Gaza Strip and are facing a real famine and mass extermination. Also, more than a million and a half people are facing the same famine in the southern Gaza Strip.Speak up for them, your voice can make a difference in this unjust world.

Also save my families within these families

Save my families who are suffering from famine here 👈👈

Types of Blorbo Thoughts:

Projection - This blorbo is just like me and therefore every single trait I have is now their traits as well

Incoherent - This blorbo constantly fills my head but if you asked me to describe why I liked them so much i wouldn’t be able to tell you

Music - Every single song I listen to reminds me of this blorbo

Horror - I love this character so much I want to put them through Horrors beyond their comprehension

All of the above - Hell on earth.

I don't know who needs to hear this but your brain is lying to you and you don't need to wait until there's a round number on the clock to go the fuck to bed or start that project or eat a meal.

Get up and do it now.

LETS GO LESBIANSSS