I've thought a lot about this over the years, and I'd like to share some thoughts about it.
Specifically about source separation and how it affects my identity as a fictive.
When I first arrived in system, I was extremely attached to my source. When I saw myself on the screen, or any sort of media about myself, it was easy to apply it as me. I'd talk to other MHA fictionfolk, and they'd treat me in a similar way, or, expected me to be like source. In some ways, I was, in other ways, I wasn't. It was just me, and however that presented itself.
And it's still me. I still look the same, have the same past, and when I come across media of myself, I still think of it as me. But it's also grown from that.
I think source separation for me happened gradually. I started meeting new people, I started building a new identity for myself outside of my past as a villain and my revenge, and I thought of this new life as something to breathe in. A new start, I guess. So that's what I did.
And it's been 8 years since then. And when someone says "Dabi is the worst character in MHA" I think to myself, fucking dick. Because that's still me, but I've also changed since what you've seen on screen. And you don't know me, and you don't know the life I've built for myself since then.
8 years is a lot of time to self reflect. And because of that, I realized, yeah, I'm that villain on TV, sure, but I don't want to be treated that way anymore. I'm just a guy. Almost 30 now, and I love simple shit. I love cleaning and tidying up, listening to music, spending time with my partners, and reflecting on how much things have changed for me since I got here. I don't spend my time so fucking obsessed with my family and father.
That was my past. It was my entire life. But not anymore. Growing from my source isn't a bad thing for me. It just means I'm living a good life, the one I never got to live before.
I'm still Dabi. And that's never going to change. But, I've moved on, for the most part.
