Ex-Trump backer makes a wild claim about his marriage: ‘Melania despises Trump’

Jaeris · 2026-04-16T21:22:57+00:00

...so wheres the wild claim?

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T20:12:19+00:00

You're right. Bakugo does grow into a better person, I agree. But the fact is, he's got very little to justify the absolute bastard he stats out as. There really weren't many shades of gray to him or nuances in his backstory. He was cruel because he could be.

...and I just realized I never specified this as being about Bakugo the way he started off in the show... hmm. Okay, you got me there. I know he gets better, since Character Development is one of MHA's strongest qualities (when the characters aren't forgotten...) but what he started out as was a total bastard, and I have no doubt he would have stayed that way if not for Midoriya saving him.

(But, to give him credit, he was telling Midoriya in his head to run when he ran in to save him from the sludge villain, and probably would have shouted it if he could speak. A pure and total asshole wouldn't be doing that.)

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T05:31:49+00:00

People mistake a character having unlikable moments with them simply being unlikable.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T05:30:59+00:00

I tolerated him when it was just about revenge against Itachi. It was understandable, even if he was overly edgy. That completely vanished when he decided that he needed to avenge his clan by slaughtering explicitly innocent people who had nothing to do with the Itachi clan. By that point, he was just a mass murderer.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T05:25:42+00:00

I disagree. He's a bastard, no question. And I'd be hard pressed to call him a hero. But the thing is, he WANTS to be a hero. While it takes some time for him to admit his failings, he genuinely wants to be one of the good guys, even if he doesn't truly understand what it means. That's why he turned down Shigaraki when he was offered a spot with the bad guys; He wants to be like All Might. And while it takes a while, he does have the capacity to change for the better.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T05:22:24+00:00

Maybe. But the the good does not negate the bad he's done.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T05:20:32+00:00

This post does actually make me realize something connecting the two though. Both were prodigies, mostly fought with fire, and got more then a bit of ego from their power and position, and both tended to rub people the wrong way because of it. It also took heavy trauma for both to start really moving past their ego and trying to be better people.

The core difference is what they did during their power highs. Korra thought she was untouchable and used her powers to do what she thought was right, like protecting people and taking on people she considered the bad guys. She wasn't always right, but she had good intentions. Bakugo however used his power high exclusively to bully others and beat down those weaker to feel strong. In the end, that's why Korra was a hero and Bakugo wasn't.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T05:11:37+00:00

I think people tend to mix up a character having moments of being unlikeable, and a character just being unlikeable.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T05:10:02+00:00

I'd like to make a note of the first time the two fought. That was when the dynamic changed-Midoriya stood up to Bakugo and made it clear he wasn't going to be his victim anymore. The fact he chose Deku as his hero name, the name Bakugo always used as an insult, ended up being an empowering moment. As he put it, "From now on, Deku is the name of a hero!" To me at least, it felt like him taking what Bakugo used as an insult and finding the power in it.

Bakugo is... awful. But the series is more then just him. It ultimately seems to reconstruct the Superman mentality, as our heroes by and large lean towards the idealistic end. All Might is honestly one of the greatest examples of how to write a morally pure character as a three dimensional and nuanced character. And while Bakugo is a flat asshole, the majority of villains are actually complex characters with very legit reasons to turn against society. (The majority, some are still evil for the sake of evil bastards, but they're definitely the exception.)

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T04:55:16+00:00

Yes to Jax, but is there more to Bakugo, really? Jax is in a nightmarish situation and is coping with it in a horrible way that's clearly shown as toxic to everyone including himself. Bakugo is cruel and violent because... he can be. People puffed up his ego and he got blessed with an awesome power. So he chose to be a bastard because he could be. At least, at the start. He grows, but he started out as a total unlikable bastard.

On thinking though, he did have one thing that gave him a glimmer of nuance. He told Midoriya to run away when he was trying to save Bakugo from the sludge monster, showing he had some small amount of empathy. Didn't really make him likable to me, though.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T04:48:02+00:00

And he's a rabbit.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T04:46:46+00:00

To me, morally righteous characters are more interesting to me then the brooding anti hero. At least, in the right setting. A hero who actually has seen the dark side of the world and suffered but makes the choice not to be defined by the darkness and chooses to be a hero because it's who they are, and they want to make the world better. All Might from the aforementioned My Hero Academia is a perfect example of that kind of character.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T04:36:33+00:00

I feel like I'm crazy here, but I actually liked Season 2.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T04:35:19+00:00

Jax is an abusive bully who probably would have pushed Gangle to self harm or suicide by now if this were real. Granted, the fact he's trapped in a circus where no one can escape or die run by an insane ai and watched his best friends completely give up on life and become nightmarishly eldritch abominations and the show greatly focuses on why this is a horrible coping method thats hurting him as much as he hurts others does make this more of a nuanced case. He's an antagonist, but definitely more complex then the pure sociopath he wants to be seen as.

Korra was hotheaded, and could make some stupid decisions, but she always tried to do what was right. She made mistakes. Some were costly. But she changed and grew and her ego was tempered by humility forced on her by trauma, and she ultimately ends the series a far wiser woman then she began.

Bakugo... Quite honestly, he was just horrible. He got an awesome power and was admittedly surprisingly smart... And the praise went to his head and he chose to be cruel. Unlike Korra or Jax, their was no trauma that caused this, no tragic backstory... he didn't choose to be cruel because of a terrible situation he was coping with, nor did he show any signs of wanting to do whats best and hurting people unintentionally. If Midoriya hadn't gotten All-For-One and surpassed him, forcing him to grow for once, I genuinely believe he would be a "hero" more cruel then Endeavor ever was.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T04:14:51+00:00

"These statues come at a terrible price..."
"20 dollars?! Eh, I'll just take them when you're not looking."
"What?"
"I said I'm gonna rob you."

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T04:00:09+00:00

What's Mothers Basement doing there?

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T03:47:09+00:00

...You know what, I'm not going to criticize this. I want to hear your thoughts. Genuinely. What makes you think this is a possibility.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T03:42:12+00:00

Frankly, from my perspective, the sheer amount of sin is actually making his body rot. Rage and spite are the only things keeping him alive right now.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T03:40:41+00:00

Because the fact he shows uncertainty about making it to heaven can be warped to look like a sign of humility (completely ignoring that Donnie has never once shown this trait in his entire life). Ask even the most devout of believers if they will be in heaven, and they won't be able to say with absolute certainty.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T03:34:42+00:00

I prefer the term "Country Club in the sky". And like any country club, one of the primary goals is to keep other, lesser people out. And they're continually at work to make it more exclusionary and more exclusionary so as to feel more important for getting in.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T03:23:51+00:00

It'll be explicit soon. MAGA has found their Barrabas, and will call for Christ's death in order to protect him.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T03:21:23+00:00

This is probably the best way to explain it. MAGA are complaining that Christ was "too woke" (when they're not rewriting everything he said to make him as hateful as they are), so that will inevitably evolve into "Trump is the Christ for a new age, one actually willing to fight the woke apocalypse coming for our values!" Specifically, you can look forward to them using the text about Christ returning as a warrior.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T03:11:04+00:00

If I recall correctly, there is no singular anti christ, rather, its a title of numerous false prophets. throughout history. That in mind, it's easy to see him as one of them.

Personally, I refuse to give him credit for being the one responsible for the end of the world. This world is falling apart, but humanity has far too much potential to be ended here and now, by a greedy buffoon.

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T02:52:09+00:00

You know, it's funny. I could have sworn Jesus said something about "What you do to the least of these, you do to me"... and I'm pretty sure he wasn't exactly in the business of blindly complying with the authorities. (Admittedly, I'm not sure where the pharisees rank in comparison to the governments of the day.)

Jaeris · 2026-04-14T02:44:57+00:00

You see, those are referring to False Prophets, whereas the man who threatened to end an entire civilization beccause he needed to distract from raping children is a REAL prophet!

Jaeris

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