While I am completely convinced that Pantalone and Dottore were, in fact, toxic enablers whose like-minded disdain for Teyvat's laws turned their relationship into a dangerous echo chamber that likely drove them both to extremes over the last 400 years, I think one thing I really appreciate (and which I haven't seen much talk over) is that Dottore's care for Pantalone's well-being was absolutely not one-sided.
Despite not having a single thought for his own health or safety, Pantalone clearly knows Dottore's mental state is a trainwreck, and we get to see Pantalone try multiple times to confront Dottore's (well, Omega's) unhealthy mindset and negative self-image.
In particular, Pantalone seems fixated on reminding Omega of Dottore's humanity--he insists that Omega is Zandik, the person, not just a Segment, and repeatedly refuses to accept that Omega is incapable of human feeling.
Putting aside the potentially very dark reason here (claiming that Omega is Zandik could simply be a way of avoiding the grief of losing the original Zandik--if he's still there, Pantalone doesn't have to mourn him), I think this is actually an incredible degree of kindness to Dottore.
It is clear, and not even particularly subtle, that the Segments (especially Omega) struggled with issues of self-identity, of not knowing whether to think of themselves as "Zandik" or as separate entities, unable to move on from the mindsets they were locked into upon their creation, unable to differentiate into their own people over time, unable to surpass the creator to become "real." Omega makes it particularly clear that he disdained this lifestyle and the other Segments, refusing to see them as anything but extensions of "himself," rather than their own individuals (because his egoism is a poorly projected mask he uses to hide his own struggle to see himself as an individual and not "the one who should be Zandik but isn't"). Omega ultimately craves to subsume the other Segments, becoming "the only Dottore" so that he can finally achieve a whole identity and personhood for himself. There's so, so, so much existential horror in this concept that it's hard to even conceive of how miserable a life it would be--mentally understanding yourself as someone while knowing that you are actually a something instead.
Out of everyone in the game, the only character we see actually affirming Omega's identity, telling him that he is a person, he has a name, he is entitled to the very identity he was born with... is Pantalone. Whatever his reasons--selfish or twisted as they may be--Pantalone is the only person treating Omega like a real human being, and the only one we see over and over trying to remind Omega that, deep down, he still has a human heart.
Even that final statement:
Is a powerful exercise in recognizing agency, allowing Omega to decide for himself what identity he wants to finally, finally lay claim to.
Pantalone doesn't just care about Dottore's intelligence or the benefits he's reaped by being Dottore's financial backer. He cares about Dottore's sense of self, his identity, his very existence.
And the game goes out of its way to make it clear that isn't just a one-off thing--Pantalone's been prodding at Dottore's mental issues for years, trying to get Dottore to work his way through some of his distorted thinking since well back in their relationship. The Anomalous Tree Marrow notes:
In this case, "selfishness" seems to refer to not only the idea of being literally self-centered (i.e. Omega wanting to value his own existence above the other Segments or even the original Zandik), but also to Omega's clear self-hatred. If all the Segments are Zandik, then viewing Zandik as weak, pathetic, or in need of replacement means seeing yourself as weak and pathetic; believing you are "better" than the others means first admitting that "you" were never perfect.
Omega's desire to kill the other Segments, to claim Zandik's identity, to elevate himself to the position of godhood, to fight with everything he has against the fate the heavens assigned "him", all ultimately stem from an inability to accept himself, a constant selfish refusal of reality, an all-consuming desire to achieve more, to learn more, to be more.
Pantalone, in fact, implies this with his metaphor about the praying criminal:
Dottore misunderstands and takes the metaphor literally, but Pantalone's point is clarified later for the viewers:
Over and over again, Pantalone tried to warn Omega that his views and behaviors towards himself were utterly self-destructive, that his self-centered fixation with being "Dottore" stems from an inherent disgust for "Zandik" [himself] and his very human limitations. Quietly, if perhaps too gently, Pantalone has been trying for years to help Omega rethink his fragmented self-identity and reconsider the value of his life as a person.
And it seems that he almost, almost made it through to Omega sometimes:
To an appropriate degree, of course.
Omega can never reflect too deeply on himself or his course of action, because doing so would force him to confront the gaping abyss that lies between the inflated, narcissistic front he projects and the significantly more fragile sense of inadequate "self" that lies below it.
It even seems that Pantalone was able to understand Dottore's mental needs much more than anyone else, being also the only character we see to deliberately, clearly, and repeatedly give Omega the validation he so blatantly fishes for, over and over:
Make all the jokes you want about Dottore giving the Traveler 16578698 chances to join forces, but the reason he did that was because--even while insisting he doesn't remotely care--he obviously desperately craves understanding, acceptance, and respect from others. There's a reason the very first thing he asked Pierro was "Are you going to reject me like everyone else?"
Pantalone knows that Omega--well, all versions of Dottore most likely--needed acceptance, admiration, and confirmation of respect from others, and he went out of his way to repeatedly reassure Omega, giving his praise and accolades wherever it was due, while literally every other character in the game--even Dottore's other Fatui allies!--have not a single positive word to say.
While everyone is busy talking about how much Dottore cared for Pantalone's physical well-being, I think it's incredible just how obviously that care was returned. Pantalone cared! He really did. Dottore tried to protect Pantalone's health despite all of Pantalone's attempts to self-sabotage, but Pantalone tried to protect Dottore's absolutely fractured mental health despite every action leading Dottore closer to total self-destruction.
The irony, of course, is that Pantalone's own mental health is clearly a disaster too, and Dottore has no regard for life that isn't Pantalone's, so this was one of the most obvious (and frankly sad) examples of "the blind leading the blind"--neither one of these characters is remotely healthy, but they still tried their best to help each other. Clearly neither one of them knows how to fix the incredibly broken people that they are, but they were trying! Even as their convictions and goals dragged them both further and further into the dark, they still saw each other's suffering and tried to alleviate it, where no one else in the entire world bothered.
It's really amazing to me how much Hoyo managed to pack into just one little patch. In terms of using the narrative to convey tons of information about characters' relationships, mental states, and personal narrative arcs, I really can't think of another patch that did it quite as well as this one.
We are told Edgeshot is only seem when he out doing hero work, which make assume he just wanna keep his private life and hero work separted so he can go on living a normal life but then he dress like this outside work:
Like that just his hero costune in black he hiding nothing dressed like that
Here my medicine seller oc and im fully finished with him (I still wanna add back and side veiw his "bag", sword and maybe his hype version but for an other day)
This my first time making a oc to series and it much harder then i expacted i wanted to base him on red foxes i struggles alot when came trying to make him look like he fit in with the other kusuriuris withou looking too alike you know
I dont really understand why horikoshi choose to make shotos main way of transportaion using his quirk would be ice, we seen him being able to fly using his fire just fine and it 100% better way since then he able to move around without having anything in the way or being a distubrance for civiliances and dont need to go back and melt it afterward
The trailer for the mha "more" episode and idk what it is but ochako in one the scenes look off. Like she dont look bad or anything but like she almost sinister, she remind of someone or something but i cant say what the closet i come it the momo hoax one you know the mother bird art by Keisuke Aiso
Okay, hear me out this random Seiai students is related to Seiji. Like come on purple hair that cover one eye with serious expression? How could I not be thinking that. They dont have to be sibling but i feel like they could be cousins that grew up close
When they found out that they tested at the same time they decided to try and avoid each other as much as possibal just avoid any akward moments or make more fair since growing up toghter they are well aware of the others strengths and weaknesses
Loid doesn't think Yor is odd because as far as he knows she supported herself and her brother by doing sex work at a young age of course she knows how to throw a punch and kick a man through a wall. That's why he never clocks her freaky strength or judges what he believes is her past. He knows that it's tough out there and that you gotta do what you gotta do to survive.
Yuri's weird possessive obsession with Yor makes sense when you realize that as far as he knows she supported them both as children by going off with creepy old men and coming home bruised and bloody. He thinks she was forced to become a sex worker because he wasn't strong enough to protect her. That's why he gets so weird whenever he thinks about her and Loid getting intimate and why in the beginning he feels like he needs to control her love life by setting her up with guys (that he's fully vetted and can easily blackmail if needed). To him, Loid is just the latest in a long line of creeps that he can't protect his sister from.
Meanwhile, Yor, bless her dumb jock heart, has no idea that people are making these assumptions about her and genuinely thinks that she is getting good grades in being a normal woman, a goal that is both possible to achieve and normal to want.
Welcome to Fool’s list of criminally underrated Proheroes in My Hero Academia, a list in no particular order. I might make more.
1. EDGESHOT!!!
He’s a character with a very interesting versatile quirk and is even in the top 5 of the Hero charts!!! Why isn’t he a more prominent character!?!?
He’s only mentioned/shown a few times throughout the show after the Hideout raid arc and then suddenly brought in during the Coffin in the sky arc to save Bakugo for the sake of plot. It’s very obvious that even though he was brought there to fight, he doesn’t do nearly as much as the others during the battle. The concept for his character as a “ninja hero” but still being a daylight hero is also very intriguing imo!! I really want to know more about his character. He’s one of my favorite Pros, I wish he was recognized more :[
2. Gang Orca
After the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam he is hardly shown through out the anime.
It’s mentioned that there are charts where people vote to see what heroes are most likely to be villains based on looks. This is more so offhandedly mentioned to bring up how scary he is. However, during the training we see with the students who failed the initial licensing exam, he’s actually quite a softy when it comes to kids! I could totally see him as a teacher at a hero school or being brought in to help teach kids. In other words he is the definition of big and scary but soft and sweet. A trope that I believe needs to be written more often.
3. Snipe
I can go on and ON about how most of UA’s faculty are all underrated characters but for now I’m only going to mention my boy Snipe as he’s one of my favorite teachers :]
He’s a very cool character in concept, design, and quirk! His wiki says that he’s in charge of the Third Year students but not what exactly he teaches. I’ve seen a lot of fan interpretations as him teaching weapon classes mainly focusing in firearms. He’s also the only teacher with a noticeable accent. I’m unaware is he’s actually American or if he just fakes it. But I think it’s be a lot funnier if he was fully Japanese and just has an American accent with no real reasoning.
4. Crust
Another hero in the top ten that barely gets any screentime but this time he’s KILLED OFF BEFORE HE CAN GET ANY!!!!! (I cannot find any good pictures of this guy)
His personality is definitely meant to be perceived as very goofy. Which is nice considering how heavy this media can get! He’s obviously written to be more of a joke or filler character imo. A character useful to other characters stories as he’s killed off during the hospital raid arc. I feel like we definitely could’ve used more upbeat characters throughout the show that weren’t secretly evil. (SLIDE N GO IM TALKING ABOUT YOU.)
5. Majestic
Let me get this straight. We get a hero known as the MAGIC hero who is obviously important to multiple of the first year hero students and he DIES?? What the FUCK MAN.
The idea for Majestic’s character is super interesting. His quirk is actually quite simple, he can summon floating rings that do have a size limit but he can float whatever fits inside the rings. Another very versatile power that honestly from the little he’s shown, doesn’t seem to be used to its fullest potential.
How would yall describe pop steps hair? Like if you would use real life hair textures beacuse to me when its down it look like messy straight hair but when she has her bund i feel like it feel more curly
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