#i need to start doing analysis and random posts again

[neilperryismine]

i feel like i forgot about this app and i really miss it, it’s so calm and fun on here

[sskk-manifesto]

What a good episode. Maaaaaan

[rcmclachlan]

Reading the comments on this post and you know what? Tommy does have a podcast!

It's called Getting Rom-Commy with Tommy and he breaks down the history, plots, tropes, and cliches made famous by romantic comedies. He recorded the first episode—Tillie's Punctured Romance, the first feature film in the genre—in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic, and has since gained a small but loyal following who love his deep dives, quirky sense of humor, and the random breadcrumbs about his own life that he drops occasionally.

For three and a half years, he's posted an episode every other Thursday without fail, so it's the talk of r/romcommytommy when the promised episode about A New Leaf doesn't materialize. They worry about Tommy being sick or dead—or worse: growing bored with the subject matter—and flood his podcast inbox with well wishes and pleas to continue the series.

Finally, the episode goes up the following Thursday, and he prefaces it by apologizing for the delay. He had gotten tangled up in a work thing and had spent the previous week dealing with the fallout (i.e.: paperwork), but he's in high spirits because he isn't in federal prison and has reconnected with old friends. And made some new ones! Which has nothing to do with Walter Matthau's performance, which in Tommy's opinion is one of his best, and he jumps right into the movie and says no more about what kept him away.

After that, for months, the series takes on a different tone—more buoyant, almost bewilderingly cheerful—and it elevates what was already a great program to something that truly has a happy ending every time. More people start listening. The subreddit hits 10k members, and speculation about what's causing Tommy's audible joy runs rampant, with most agreeing it's because he has someone special in his life.

Then, the 103rd episode goes live. It's an unflinching look at the movie Blue Valentine, which is very much not a romantic comedy, and for the entire episode Tommy vacillates between sounding dead inside and on the verge of tears. "It's just another example of how even the most passionate relationship will erode over time," he murmurs. The episode ends without its usual jaunty outro.

It becomes clear over the next several weeks that something devastating has happened, because Tommy has ditched his beloved rom-coms for the most depressing movies ever made. The subject of the top trending post on the subreddit for a month is 'If I ever listen to the Closer episode again I will need the following: a gun.'

His listeners debate whether or not to jump ship, but the film analyses are still really good. Plus, it feels like abandoning a friend in their time of need.

I don't know if you will ever see this, Tommy, but I think I speak for everyone when I say: we love you, we're here for you, we're not going anywhere, but for the love of GOD please go to therapy, u/marshedmellowout comments on the post for the In The Mood For Love episode.

No one's quite sure if u/marshedmellowout got through to him, but it feels like a turning point when the subject of the next episode is Desert Hearts. Tommy spends almost half the episode runtime analyzing the film's hopeful ending, and even cracks a couple of jokes. While his voice doesn't have that incandescent happiness from before, it's much lighter.

The next few episodes continue that slow, upward trend, and the movies Tommy deconstructs go from having hopeful endings to happy ones. He's back to making terrible puns and laughing at his own jokes, and everyone on the subreddit breathes a collective sigh of relief. He's going to be okay.

None of his listeners are prepared for how he starts the 118th episode.

"You're all in for a treat today, because I'm joined by a very special guest. He's not a big fan of movies, usually, but he's got a mind made for analysis, so making him watch Groundhog Day was kind of a no-brainer. I've been dying to hear him pick this one apart. Evan, say hi."

The joy from all those months ago is clear and present in Tommy's voice, but it's tempered with something new: certainty.

"H-Hi, everyone," Evan says, bashful and a little giggly. "Sorry, I've never done something like this before."

"You literally had a walk-on role in the country's most watched TV show. 22 million people tuned in that night, and that's not including the streaming numbers."

"That was different! I had one line. Plus, I didn't care about making Brad look dumb."

"Brad didn't need your help with that," Tommy says, audibly besotted. "Evan, you can't possibly make me look dumb. They can't see me."

Groaning through laughter, Evan gasps, "Oh my god, I said you get five stupid jokes and you just wasted one. Better make the next four count."

"I'll do my best," Tommy says. "So, overall, what did you think of the movie?"

It's the most listened to episode of the entire podcast, and u/cadburybunnyeggs's post 'Evan needs to be a permanent host and here's why' makes the front page of Reddit.

(A year later, the Four Weddings and a Funeral episode, which goes live two days before Tommy and Evan get married, is nominated for a Webby Award. What happens afterwards in the subreddit breaks containment and winds up in the New York Times.)

[mrs-monaghan]

Just wanted to say that I love reading every single one of your blogs that deals with jikook! You're witty, funny, and very straightforward. I'm so happy I found your blog!

Aww... you're so sweet. Ty!😘 Here, have some random Jkk moments because you're too kind.

Moment 1

Starting with JK not liking that Jimin was pretending to untuck V's shirt

Link

Thats a terrible sound but anyway, the way JK is looking at Jimin though 🤭🤭🤭 that's what betrayal looks like 😂

Moment 2

Then here we all know that one winter package where Jimin went to bed in a sweater JK spent the day in. Well, here is Jimin way back when, doing the same with JK's beanie

Someone likes the way his boyfriend smells. #feels 🥺🥺

Moment 3

How many times have their concepts been similar now?

There is no "you are me i am you" there is just boyfriends copying eo atp

Moment 4

Did we know?

Aint that the cutest thing??? 🥺🥺🥺

Moment 5

Just JK and his muse... NBD

Moment 6

Just quickly gonna bring this hand hold back 🥺🥺 so darn soft!

Moment 7

Stuck like glue since 2015 (aka spot the couple challenge)

Moment 8

So.... turns out Jimin is used to being punched in his sleep

Just incase anyone needed even more proof that Jikook have always slept together...

Moment 9

Even more proof Jikook watch movies together.

Said movie(anime);

Moment 10

When JK forgets himself and shows us how Jimin really makes him feel 🤭

Damn. If your partner's touch doesn't make you look this blissful you ain't doing it right 😂

Moment 11

JK's first IG photo

Jimin's wallpaper

That day at the beach must have really meant alot to them...

Moment 12

When satellite Jimin ruined the fanchant order 😂😂 (I told y'all he does it too!)

That's so hilarious to me guys, I'm sorry 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Moment 13

I will wrap this post up with an analysis. Y'all know how we love those... Basically in 2018 BTS went on a gate away where they rented this one house. So the sus part is that, ALL members got food poisoning EXCEPT for Jikook.

Basically, one night they roasted this meat but JK couldn't join them to eat coz he had a bad headache. So he turned in. Jimin went to take care of him (naturally) and that's how he also ended up not eating the meat.

But that's not even the best part. The best part was RM saying;

See, Namkook were supposed to be roomates during this mini trip except RM's roomie never showed up 🤭🤭 one guess in which room JK was staying 😜

You can find the entire analysis in depth on this twitter thread here

Jikook and their habit of disappearing. Its so funny the amount of times its always them 2 missing 😂 I love it sm!

Thanks again anon! 💛💜

[ptej1980]

Well yeah….

So it makes sense to us in our Lukola safe space we know what we know and we see what we see, but still for some reason some sub fandom troll blogs can’t seem to stop talking about the content of mine and some our biggest creators with large following. They can’t seem to get our names out of the mouths lol 🤭.

What is funny is Jakola are reaching out holding on for dear life making thirst trap TT about an actor who is doing his best to promote his work and be himself,but…..they are still trying to romantically link him to Nic when again he is doing his best to distance that. Enjoying his newly found popularity with a great show, celebrating his queer community 🏳️‍🌈

The recent water insinuation pics….omg do not get me started and the trolls going to Lauren’s TT being nasty or just plain inappropriate 🤮. I mean make it make sense….if you are in a supportive wonderful loving relationship, why the need to insinuate you are linked to them by posting random water, why would you care. You wouldn’t, the constant cryptic random, posting that is insinuating but never confirming. No proof, no shadow, finger nail, toe anything. So Lauren Newton posts random boat water post to again same thing, to insinuate, no confirmation just speculation.

I mean we know what the tea is and why but for the GA and the split fandom they are going to cause chaos so for Lukola sake I hope 🤞 that they are still enjoying the silence, and watergate ( lol did ya see what I did there 😂) was a good redirection for them to move.

You know how much I like a good body language analysis and I sourced this TT from an IG account

Credit: TT @bentley_lukola

[bakudekuficlibrary]

BakuDeku Post-War Chronicles: Teacher Midoriya Izuku & Pro Hero Bakugou Katsuki

1 Series, 28 Works.

C'mon...Deku by fairykats ( T | 16,283 | 9/9 )

Izuku looks at the clock on the wall. He still has half an hour left of his lunch break. Usually, he’s joined by one of his coworkers, but they're apparently busy today, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He pulls out his phone, because he’s not about to break down in the middle of the school day. He opens YouTube and starts up what might possibly be his favorite non-quirk analysis video on the internet: “60 minutes of Pro Hero Dynamight Yelling at randoms, pt. 6."

Or: the fix-it fic you didn't know you needed after MHA's final chapter.

The In-Betweens by Mister_awesomesauce ( G | 6,355 | 1/1)

Izuku and Katsuki are (not-so) respectable twenty-five year olds making their way in the world after the war ended. Sometimes, in the in-betweens of their busy lives, they find time for each other.

( If those in-betweens tend to involve copious amounts of soju and confessions that they will both remember to forget in the morning, then they wouldn't dare change a thing about it. )

Side by Side by daniartonline ( T | 10,210 | 1/1 )

“Well,” he says at last, mumbling slightly, “You could always teach.” Izuku immediately straightens in his seat, his attention shifting purposefully back toward Katsuki as a surprised, “What?” escapes his lips. Katsuki narrows his eyes, surprised that Izuku hasn’t already thought of it himself. As if he hasn’t been following in the man’s footsteps his entire life. As if he didn’t visit his house every weekend. “Like All Might did. After he retired.”

-

Katsuki offers Izuku a much-needed lifeline, but little does he know all the sacrifices Katsuki's been making to keep him by his side.

Count to Infinity by socksasgloves ( T | 87,244 | 24/24 )

Former hero course student, Izuku Midoriya, is Quirkless once more and has adjusted to life as a U.A. teacher well. His closest relationship is with his childhood friend, Katsuki Bakugou, a well-off Pro Hero who has stuck by his side all these years. Despite both of them living comfortably, Bakugou has been keeping a big secret from his friend: his own plan to get his number one rival back in the field.

Or: What happened between Deku and Kacchan in the 8-year time gap.

You Gave Me Purpose, Kacchan by wowschreave ( T | 42,004 | 22/22 )

UA Teacher Izuku x Pro Hero Katsuki; basically a fic about the eight-year gap!

This is a journey about two heroes as they navigate their paths post-war and fall in love.

All I Need is You by lurethegalaxy ( E | 4,757 | 1/1 )

The energy in the room is absolutely electric as Kacchan's pants fall to the floor, revealing long lines of beautiful skin, all the way up to a perfectly hard and flushed—

“No underwear?” Izuku asks on a punched-out breath.

“I missed you,” is all Kacchan says in explanation, petulant and impatient.

----

In which Katsuki surprises Izuku with a visit, says he's celebrating something, but refuses to tell Izuku what. So Izuku finds a better use for that mouth, instead.

how i long for our trysts by nikkiRA ( E | 2,164 | 1/1 )

Most nights the only thing he has the energy for is crawling into bed beside Izuku and falling immediately to sleep. It’s why they’re taking such a risk and doing this here.

That and because it’s hot. Sneaking away to fuck like they were teenagers again. That and Izuku’s suit. Katsuki has a Thing for Izuku’s suit, how nicely it contours to his body, how strong he looks in it. Anytime Izuku got dressed up, all Katsuki could focus on was how much he wanted to undress him.

Eight years and counting by silverynight ( T |. 3,650 | 1/1 )

"For young Midoriya?"

All Might already knows it's for Izuku, but the question is not exactly about that and Katsuki is perfectly aware of it; he can see it in the soft smile of Izuku's mentor, he can see it in the way his blue eyes shine with knowledge.

Katsuki blushes, but he doesn't look away from the former symbol of peace. He's not that middle schooler hot-heated kid anymore. He's done hiding his feelings behind anger and he's not ashamed about what he feels for Izuku. He's pretty sure All Might knows about that, he's probably waiting for a confirmation.

Katsuki nods, blush spreading down his neck.

"It'll take years to make something like that."

"I'm aware."

"Bakugou, I know you want to kill someone with your knees, please, just not my students." by Shellrazorr ( T | 4,139 | 1/1 )

He did this out of affection, really. His teaching habits were leaning too far into “throwing caution into the wind” rather than “cool laid back teacher who was only strict if you pushed.” And he really didn’t want to get fired.

So here he was, his saving grace, Katsuki Bakugou. He was smart with kids, even if he didn’t act like it. He’d know what to do.

I really should’ve gotten my bachelors in education. I think this is totally illegal.

Or: Bakugou helps Midoriya with a class, and quickly learns his students are idiots.

Everything Stays by Melon_Cauli ( T | 34,628 | 7/7 )

They were different after the war. Everyone in Class 2-A was.

Even if they tried to pretend the opposite, slipping into old habits felt like a cheap facade, especially when the proof of their change was displayed so clearly for the world to see. Their bodies littered in darkening bruises, broken bones, and scars mapped across their skin; some worse than others, their quirks permanently impaired by jumping into battle far too soon, far too young.

There were just some questions that a 16-year-old should never have to answer: How do you deal with losing a part of yourself that had been there all your life? How do you clean off the blood on your hands paid in the price of incompetence?

— or Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku navigate a life after the war, and a life with each other.

you're all i need by wiltedcyclamen ( M | 12,408+ | 3/? )

A walk home goes wrong.

The Blame Game by lettersinpetals ( T | 46,862 | 20/20 )

Six years after settling into his life as a teacher in U.A., Izuku’s life is upended once more when All Might gives him a superpowered suit. With the elation comes anxiety, and Izuku finds himself hesitating to return to active hero duty… so he doesn’t. Even after All Might makes the announcement to the public. Even after his friends leave eager voice messages.

And then Izuku is snowballed into accepting a ‘special role’ in a brand new reality TV show, which will star the most famous class of U.A. — theirs. For just one night, all of them will be placed in a cabin and there’s only one rule: no quirks allowed.

It will be the first time that Izuku and Katsuki will be seeing each other in six years. Surely, everything they’ve left unsaid can hold still for at least one more night, right?

Kacchan vs the Internet by palavering ( T | 34,546+ | 11/? )

Katsuki figures out he’s in love with his childhood best friend, sworn rival, and hero partner with the help of the internet.

r/AmItheAsshole • Posted by u/BoomBoomGod 8 hours ago AITA for punching my best friend for implying that I’m in love and acting like a sugar daddy to my other (childhood) best friend?

Featuring:

/HeroDeku /HeroDynamight /AITA /NoStupidQuestions /offmychest TikTok, Twitter, Discord, Texting, and Class 1-A.

Pro-hero Dynamight x Teacher Deku Works by heartpartsix ( Not Rated | 12,192+ | 6 Works )

An unsorted collection of all my Pro-Hero Dynamight x Teacher Deku works.

CURRENTLY PUBLISHED: 1. In the doorway 2. Dynamight 3. Fall into me 4. For you 5. As long as you need me 6. Waste

by the watershed by passengerside ( T | 4,940 | 1/1 )

Katsuki is the number three Pro Hero who deals with citywide emergencies on the regular, but it’s this self-sacrificial reckless little asshole that constantly has him flirting with another heart attack. Cardiac rehab kicked his ass for two years, and it still never covered how to deal with Deku. “Dynamight-san,” Izuku says slowly, "I uh, didn't call anyone in." "Yeah. I noticed."

izuku fights a battle alone, and katsuki reacts accordingly

Crazy by Exultasaurus ( M | 1,026 | 1/1 )

I actually cannot get them out of my head, so here's a cute little 1k short story about pro hero Bakugou and Midoriya Sensei the night of getting his new hero suit. Izuku gets a bit too excited about a new offer and well...you'll read the rest.

Untitled No. 430 by Cloudsu ( T | 2,548 | 1/1 )

In the grand scheme of things, this was not the way Izuku wanted his life to go. He never wanted this for himself, never saw himself from the sidelines, even when that's the only thing that seemed realistic. Despite all that, he's happy. He's got his Kacchan, got his kids, and all his amazing friends. But, one little question dropped from familiar lips makes the delicate house of cards he's been building crash down.

“Do you ever get angry, Izuku?"

bidding on love by omontz ( T | 3,320 | 1/1 )

Izuku engages in a bidding war for a special limited-edition gold Dynamight standee. Unfortunately for him, dekusdumbbf is out to ruin his life.

all my emotions feel like explosions (when you are around) by tiffaniesblews ( T | 4,207 | 1/1 )

He really could not think of a time in his life that didn’t include Midoriya Izuku.

OR: Bakugou pines for 4200 words.

Tired by ZhoRex ( T | 1,574 | 1/1 )

Izuku Midoriya was beyond tired. Not just physically tired—though that was very real given he hadn’t slept in four days—but mentally tired. He had papers to grade, lessons to prepare, villains to track down, and… his boyfriend.

Inspired by a fanart.

Bakugo is not very subtle when it comes to Izuku. Izuku is so done with him.

Also Kirishima is the best wingman.

Friends with Benefits by Multihappydayz ( E | 2,679 | 1/1 )

Izuku felt like he had a sign plastered to his back that read, "I'm sleeping with pro-hero Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight!"

Adult Money, Adult Problems by MJBunnyLuv ( G | 2,220 | 1/1 )

Since becoming a teacher at UA, Izuku has struggled with one thing…budgeting. In fact, he makes more money as a teacher than he did as a pro hero for those two years after graduation. And that’s a problem. Not because he can afford a nicer apartment or help out his mom – those are both good things! But because now he has extra income and it all goes to his growing collection of Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight merch.

Series Part 82 of BKDK Drabbles

Embers by UglyGreenJacket ( T | 3,078 | 1/1 )

Izuku stands in the hallway, his gaze unseeing. He’s soaked from head to toe, even though a closed umbrella is clutched in his hand, and there’s a look on his face that will haunt Katsuki well beyond that night. A look that says he’s lost something that can never be replaced.

“Izuku?” Katsuki asks in a tone far gentler than most will ever hear from him, afraid that if he speaks too loudly, Izuku might bolt.

Izuku’s eyes focus at the sound of Katsuki’s voice and his mouth opens. His jaw works like he can’t quite fathom what he’s about to say. “Kacchan,” he says, “It’s gone. T-the last of the embers…they’re–they’re gone.”

Teachers Pet by Fallendarkangel13 ( E | 5,294 | 1/1 )

TAKES PLACE AFTER MHA 430!!

Conflicting work schedules would always be the bane of Izuku’s and Katsuki’s existence. It’d been too many patrolling night shifts or early-morning class prep for either of them to find the time to care for each other as intimately as they used to. It went from hardcore, hour long lovemaking to quick touches and too short orgasms in the span of three months as Izuku returned back to teaching after the summer break and could no longer accommodate Katsuki's frantic pro-hero schedule.

Katsuki intended to change that.

--

Or: Katsuki wants his hot teacher of a boyfriend to fuck him after seeing how he reacts to being called "sensei" and dresses in his old UA uniform to make it happen

lets be still by ladyofsnails ( Not Rated | 3,490 | 1/1)

Izuku just stared at him for a second, still unable to think of anything to say. He had had so much in his head on the way over, all day today, since the very second All Might gave him that mechanical briefcase and said that “Young Bakugou” had led the fundraising efforts. But now, starting Katsuki in the eyes, standing on his front step, Izuku Midoriya was entirely speechless. It was impossible. The world he was living in was impossible.

“Izuku…,” Katsuki said slowly. “What’s up?”

Series Part 26 of snail has dkbk brainrot

The Snaps from the Same Little Breaks in Your Soul by potatopie (T | 16,078 | 1/1 )

"Seeing the way you two are with each other, it helped me realize what I was missing from my own relationship. Let’s just say you’ve raised the bar considerably. I don’t want to be with someone unless they look at me the way you both look at each other.”

She’s confused when Bakugou’s and Midoriya’s faces both pale while Shinso starts snickering and Kirishima’s eyebrows go up cartoonishly.

“I-I what do you - we’re not” Midoriya is now stammering and blushing, looking to Bakugou who just looks down silently.

Or

The one where Katsuki is such a good boyfriend to Izuku that someone sees this and is inspired to dump their own shitty boyfriend. Even though he's not actually Izuku's boyfriend.

AKA

The post-canon fic where Izuku is a teacher at U.A. and Katsuki still takes care of him.

Series Part 1 of Post-Canon BKDK

Midoriya-sensei's boyfriend by silverynight ( T | 2,106 | 1/1 )

"Midoriya-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Is pro hero Dynamight your boyfriend?"

Izuku wishes he didn't blush that often because it makes it look like he's lying. He gets those questions a lot, but hasn't gotten used to them.

"No."

"Are you dating a pro hero?"

"No."

"Is he your husband then?"

"No." Izuku holds himself back from covering his red face with both arms like he did in high-school when he was too flustered. "Ka–I mean, Dynamight-san and I are friends. There's nothing else to it."

see you at home by marsbarrss ( T | 4,976 | 1/1 )

“Deku, you dumbass, you forgot your lunch again,” he grumbles, pushing the wrapped lunch box into his hands. The floral print flashes up at him. “Ah, Kacchan, you don’t have to make me lunch, seriously!” Izuku flounders, but he accepts the offering anyway. He sort of has to, or else Katsuki will flip his shit. “I can just eat at home…” The class immediately erupts in chatter, jumping to question both men about their relationship.

Five times Katsuki disrupted Izuku at work, and one time Izuku disrupts Katsuki at work.

Carpe Diem, Baby by NoBinoDino ( G | 6,490 | 1/1 )

Before anyone can move, an explosion is set off right next to Kouta’s head. He ducks, rolls, and then whips a hand out to pour water over the leftover flames.

“Okay, what the actual fuck is wrong with Deku-sensei?!” he hears Ueda shout from somewhere behind him.

He looks up, curious, only to be met with another explosion, this time directly in front of him.

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit, that’s fucking Dynamight!”

[Or: UA first year Kouta and his classmates must face off against pro hero Bakugou Katsuki. Spoiler alert; he's kind of an asshole]

I'm just a girl, and this is just our collective bakudeku brat summer. post-war duo has taken over my brain chemistry so here ya go!

(if y'all have any favorites not on here, lemme know so I can add 'em to the list!)

also, been re-formatting the blog to fix broken hyperlinks and give things a good refresh. not much will change, bUT I may be adding pages for doujinshi/zine info, merch/small artist info, bkdk song-of-the-week, etc etc (if you nerds are into that kinda thing;p)

~Gabs ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

[beannoss]

SxF RA 2025: volume 1! (pt 3)

My last post on volume 1, just some additional general observations I had in the re-read! Just a head's up that where the other two posts had no spoilers for future manga chapters, this post does have a few vague and also one or two more specific references to chapters not yet animated.

I was super curious if Twilight's motif of ash floating around him would be there from the start and it absolutely is! The motif is of course especially utilised in Twilight's backstory, but I'm thrilled by the tragedy ❤️‍🩹 that it's been in play since the very beginning.

Once again I look up what Strix means and once again it leaves my brain immediately because I don't understand how it's connected to the mission (from wiki: "a bird of ill omen, the product of metamorphosis, that fed on human flesh and blood") Actually now having typed that and pasted in what it is, I'm like: ... okay so probably this is referencing war and the toll taken on all the Forgers and those they're working to protect in their respective country's pursuits thereof. And then the mission itself is to seek prevention of more. GOT THERE IN THE END maybe

I was intrigued that Twilight is directed to look out for "seditious" activity from Donovan, given WISE is a Westalian organisation... It makes me wonder if maybe WISE's goal/first choice is actually to try and bring in Ostanian authorities to deal with Donovan, assuming they can find the evidence they need for it (and something that Ostanian authorities would actually act on, seeing as they seem fairly inclined towards fascism themselves)

I've talked a fair bit about Twilight's first thoughts about a spouse and family (on the right) but now I'm hung up on the next reference (left) that eluded me when I did my first analysis. Liabilities, huh. Bounces off of Yor's strongly held belief that a happy home life and family to cherish make her better and strengthen her resolve...

Endo may change things of course, but I also snagged on the description of Anya's abilities as an "unintended consequence." To me that potentially implies telepathy wasn't the pursuit of experimentation, which also potentially means Donovan was not pursuing telepathy either, for himself or as a tool. (however, with chapter 111, I suppose it can't be ruled out entirely...)

Anya noting that if anyone found out about her powers, she would have to run away... I wonder... foreshadowing...? I very much hope not but... 😬

I already talked about chapter 2 a fair bit, but this made me laugh. Random dude in the back is so right 😂 they're both odd balls 😊

Loved that chapter 3 gave us a li'l taste test of what it would be like for the Forgers working together. Yor into immediate action; Twilight puzzling things through; Anya giving the missing piece. Moments of emotional sweetness. It's all there! We're only missing Bond!

To Hemlock's point in this most recent chapter, I wonder how accurate his read was... after all, this was only days after Yor had met Twilight and Anya... She definitely has grown and changed and is increasingly thriving as herself, but I find it hard to believe that Yor wouldn't have done this before... Maybe the difference is how much she's now looking at the world around her and engaging with it?

Of course they're all motivated by multiple things, but in line with thinking about Yor & normality & acceptance, I'm now also pondering this panel, and Twilight wanting more recognition than he gets...? (I wonder if this moment also informs how often he thanks Yor for things 👀)

Sharon at the Eden Academy interviews! I don't think I noticed her before!

Henderson's face here made me laugh out loud gjdasklgjksa

I wouldn't be me without a TwiYor note, and I am once again fixating on... well several things here but most especially the circled thing in the left-most panel and Twilight's phrasing specifically... "isn't even" is doing a lot of work there already... the mutual affinity between them really was strong right off the bat, eh? We see it most with Yor but yeah, this is a pretty loud admission!

Also on the above, whether intentional or not, Spy x Family has also 100% always been to a degree about gender and queerness (if only insofar as: "not normal" -> non-normative -> queer) for every member of the family. It is one area also where I wish I better knew Japanese cultural norms and societal philosophical underpinnings. It's a story clearly informed by collectivism, but there are blatant underpinnings, frequently made explicit, about liberation from societal expectation and pressures and... ahhh I'd love reading a Japanese feminist's take on the series.

and finally this gag, from Chapter 1 "hundred faces" chapter 4 "thousand faces" I, alas, don't think it continued onto million, billion, endless faces but I sort of wish it would XD

<- part 2

[hypexion]

At the end of The Reality War, the Doctor rewrites Belinda's timeline without her consent to make her into the mother of Poppy. I think this is badly written and quite sexist. I'm sorry, but there's probably no way to suddenly flatten out a character into "mother" without it being those two things.

But what if, actually, Belinda was actually a mother all along, and the Doctor fixed the timeline?

Well if that's true, the writing is even worse, and it's more sexist. Hooray! Also: there's a bonus horrifying implication.

I'm going to start with the quality of writing angle first, because that's the main thing that initially aggravated me about the "Belinda was always a mother" theory. To be blunt, there is simply no strong textual evidence for it. Nobody was posting theories that Belinda had a child before The Reality War, because there was no reason to think that. If the evidence can only be found post-hoc, as random pieces of subtext, then it hasn't been presented well. And since Belinda being a mother all along should be a signifigant aspect of her character (if only in a negative space kind of way), then it needs to be presented at that level.

While it's certainly tempting to claim that the audience is stupid and Just Doesn't Get it, there's a point where that stops working. If the intention is that Belinda was a mother, then wasn't, then the Doctor fixed things, for most viewers that was not conveyed. The most common reading is that Belinda wasn't a mother, and then the Doctor rewrote her timeline to make her one. If the theory is true, then the series as presented utterly failed to make that clear. You cannot hinge this kind of thing on random background details and the running gag of "mavity". You actually have to build it into the text.

The Well presented the perfect opportunity for this. Aliss' motivation is to return home to her daughter. Belinda has absolutely zero reaction to this. Sure, she wants to help Aliss, but that's clearly motivated by her generally being a good person. Even a single line of Belinda bringing up Aliss' daughter as a reason not to leave her behind would be far more than the entire season actually gives.

The Story & The Engine provides a similar chance. Now, "Belinda sees Poppy for no good reason" does not count as foreshadowing for what happens in Wish World or The Reality War. It definitely doesn't suggest that Poppy is Belinda's secretly erased from reality daughter. But what The Story & The Engine does have is Abena, who has a less than happy relationship with her father. A child seperated from a parent by the parent's own choice. And again, this passes without comment from Belinda. It would only need one or two lines when Belinda is talking with Abena about what Anansi did. A reaction along the lines of "I would never do that to my daughter (pause) I mean, if I had a daughter" would be enough. Especially if the first part is said conversationally, and the second part as if Belinda is trying to reassure herself that such a thing is true.

Of course, this analysis mostly gets eaten by the Occam's Razor of "the obvious reading is true, there was no original Belinda is a mother timeline". Communication is key, and if the "original mother timeline" theory is true, it's only a theory because it was so poorly communicated.

So that's the writing angle. But the theory also amplifies the existing sexist resolution to be more sexist.

By positioning the timeline where Belinda is a mother as the correct timeline, the theory implicitly states that the non-mother Belinda is incorrect. You can word it however you want, but the theory is saying "a correct woman is a mother". This is an uncharitable reading, but the theory is an uncharitable sexist reading of Belinda's chatacter, so I will continue.

The extended problem is that the theoy also implies that motherhood is the only legitimate reason that Belinda would not want to travel with the Doctor. That her insistence on wanting to return to a specific time is only valid if she has a child waiting for her. Which is simply not true. Going missing, even for a few days, runs the risk of derailing Belinda's life. "My evil ex-boyfriend sent robots to kidnap me to another planet" is not a reasonable sounding excuse for missing work. But if the Doctor has a time machine, her problem is seemingly solve - he can drop her back the next morning, and her life continues seamlessly where it left off.

As an aside, there is nothing wrong with Belinda being a mother. If The Robot Revolution had ended with her saying "No, you need to bring me back to the day I left because my daughter is waiting for me", that would have been a fine character hook. Once you start throwing in extra timelines and suggesting Belinda as a mother is better off in everyway, that's when things get dodgy.

Anyhow, I promised a horrifying implication. So, it's suggested a few times in The Reality War that the reason the Doctor and Belinda's wish child is Poppy the space baby is due to the Doctor's (and maybe Ruby's) memories of the space babies. But if Belinda had a child in an "original" timeline, that child wouldn't be Poppy. Because Poppy is only there because of the Doctor.

So Belinda's real child was erased from reality.

And the Doctor didn't save Belinda's child. He saved his own, effectively overwriting yet another person's life to achieve it.

Belinda won't know the difference? Well that's alright then.

[honey-tongued-devil]

The Color Red in Arcane

an arcane analysis

[This post contains spoilers for Season 2]

We've seen that nothing in Arcane is random, such as the presence of symmetry and gold in the characters from Piltover, and asymmetry and silver when depicting those from Zaun. As the episodes progress, certain details become both metaphorical and a direct signal to the viewer that something has changed within a character. One of these symbols is the presence of the color red.

In the first season of Arcane, we see Viktor and Jayce wearing neckerchiefs. At that time, Viktor is Heimerdinger’s assistant, studying at the academy with a clear purpose (which is to study a way to make Zaun more livable and improve the quality of life for its people), but in a somewhat vague manner. He knows what he wants to achieve, but he doesn’t yet know how to accomplish it. His research is still broad and general. His neckerchief is, for that reason, white.

Jayce instead has already broken rules—he’s ventured into the underground city, conducted unauthorized experiments, and spent his life, from the moment he was able, pursuing a precise dream with the ideal of progress. The way this is directly reflected in his character is through his red necktie.

From Season 1, we can already see that a character who doesn’t yet have a clear ideal—something not necessarily righteous but blinding, to which they dedicate themselves almost religiously—wears neutral colors or ones that match the rest of the palette or outfit. On the other hand, those with strong, solid beliefs, something they think is worth fighting or sacrificing for, are adorned in red.

This is seen again with Caitlyn. 

Caitlyn, like Viktor, had a goal (defending Piltover), but it was vague—it didn’t involve a plan that would keep her awake at night or consume her to the core. 

Before the second episode of Season 2, her choker was blue, matching her palette. But at the exact moment her mother dies and she comes into possession of the Kiramman key, gaining knowledge of the air ducts and becoming blinded by the need for revenge, we witness a sudden change in both her outfit and her demeanor, marked by the sudden appearance of the red choker.

The moment she finds (or believes she has found) a way, red appears on her.

This isn’t about understanding one’s purpose in life but about the moment when something greater enters their lives, and they become “blinded” by an ideal, whether good or bad.

And here we come to Silco, who almost undergoes the opposite process.

Silco is introduced wearing a red shirt, much like Jayce, as he already believes in something from the very start—in his case, a free and better Zaun. 

Once again, this is about a higher cause. All the characters in this category are willing to sacrifice something else. Silco doesn’t care how many lives it will take to make Zaun independent, as long as no one dies in vain. He has a purpose he pursues without hesitation, which is why, from the very first episode, we see him wearing a red shirt. And in Episode 9 of the first season, he dies unwavering in his ideal.

But then, why am I talking about him?

Because he is the one we see change the most dramatically. As a young man (Episode 5, Season 2), he is already wearing a red shirt—his purpose of making Zaun better, no matter the cost, is already firmly in place. But when Felicia, Vi and Jinx's mother, dies, and Vander lures him to the bridge to try to kill him, he is wearing a white shirt. He has lost something he loved, he hesitates, the sacrifice is immense, and he is no longer sure of what to do.

Later, when he returns to Vander in the flashback, with his white, scarred eye, he is once again wearing the red shirt he will never take off again: he lost Felicia, and the next day he lost his best friend. Many people died on that bridge, and in a way, so did he. His hesitation vanished. He has nothing left to lose, so he repeats to his companion the promise of stopping at nothing to achieve his goal, “blisters and bedrocks”.

But it doesn’t end there. In Episode 7, when Ekko finds himself in the alternate reality where Zaun is better, Silco appears wearing a white shirt, because his goal has been fulfilled, and he has lost the anger and blindness that once came with it.

[pix-writes]

Thank you so much for answering my question! You always give very thorough and thoughtful answers 🥹🥹 If you don't mind me asking, can I ask the same question about friendships (possible lovers later, just like with Stanley) but with Ford? Thank you so much again, I really love reading your analysis 🥹🙌🏻✨️!!

Aw thank you! ☺️

(answer under cut)

I think I've gone over a little bit about how Ford would be in the beginning of a friendship/relationship in this post. Mainly talking about how his flaws/past wound would hinder him forming relationships, generally.

Though I did mention that I think Ford would be easy to bond with, in terms of connecting over something intellectual or nerdy. If you're someone who is game to tag along on research or adventures and can lend a hand figuratively/physically, then your friendship will start to grow, as quality time is the best way to get to know him (he may be a hero/adventurer, but he's truly an introvert with introvert hobbies). Shared interests are something that seems very important to Ford, having been starved of a lot of affection and deeper connections in the past, especially since he found making friends in school/college; so as long as you share a few passions, he'll open up to you fairly quickly.

However, it will take him more time to form a romantic connection and for him to act on it, it will be very slow burn because firstly, he simply doesn't move fast in a relationship, or at least not as fast as modern dating seems to be, and second of all because he has a little insecurity over whether you're interested in him or not/should be interested in him. It takes Ford a little bit to be convinced you won't get your head turned by someone more 'suitable' in his mind. This is also in part to the trauma from Bill's manipulation and torture, whilst you may have only connected after bill was erased, it still brings up trust issues in him and he needs to feel he could trust a partner - as well as work through anxiety about putting you in potential danger (will be quite protective over you as a partner as a result of this).

Kindness will go a long way in securing his opinion of you as someone trustworthy, not only to him but Ford seeing you be kind to his family, your other friends, even to strangers or just plain altruistic in actions not just in words, means that he can trust that he has evidence to back up what he thinks of you and not fall into a similar trap like he did with bill.

Also will admire you for any show of bravery or doing what is right (especially if it's in a situation where it's against the odds, whether it's something dire or a situation where it would be easy to give into social pressures). He appreciates when people say what they mean and are direct with him, as he'll be the same with them (I'm neurodivergent and I hc Ford is too, so this may be specific to being ND, as it's confusing when neurotypical people talk in circles to me!)

Friendship with Ford would include:

watching nerdy TV/films together, whilst I think Ford has only passingly known of/shown interest in world events even before the portal incident, he still managed to have some semblance of interests/life outside of his research, it may arguably not have been a lot, but considering his interest in dnd (including the intergalactic versions) and how he wanted to drop everything to play it with dipper in that one episode, he is definitely interested in catching up on all the nerdy TV/films he's missed out on, cue watching LOTR, star wars, star trek etc. However his gaps in world events comes up as well at the most random of times, he didn't really ask much on what he's missed out in world news (it's not relevant to his work or so he thinks), which can be both hilarious and sad, as as his friend you have to catch him up or remind him (e.g. 'no sixer, the soviet union doesn't exist any more, remember?' 'oh yeah, there was a war in Afghanistan... What do you mean how did it start?!')

playing board games/video games, like I said above Ford is a long time player of ttrpgs and so you will be persuaded into playing some version of a DND campaign if you're not already into it. Ford's excellent at teaching the mechanics and actually pretty good at roleplay and DMing, he can't do many voices but his storytelling is masterful (he is an author after all, even if he wasn't writing fiction and has lots of past practice from college). Dives straight into 5e, learns it quickly and creates his own homebrew version in no time at all! If you introduce him to the concept of dnd shows, he becomes a critter for sure! Essek and Percy are his favourite characters in Critical Role. Hums the theme song sometimes when he's working in the lab. Dipper gets him into Minecraft and you together construct a large home base and underground lab in the game. A lot of these games can take a long time, definitely have stayed up till 3 or 4 am on a campaign more than once.

research in the lab together or out in the field and debating with Ford about all sorts of topics, including your current research projects and both of your hypotheses. You might not have the same skill set as him but he values a different perspective from his own, you help balance out his hyperfocus. Is protective of you if something might be dangerous, will want him to be the one that gets hit/hurt if anyone has to, though both of you have had to patch up the other.

Getting into debates: Ford loves a mental challenge, he doesn;t realise its good for him (consciously/not until post-weirdmageddon) but having someone who isn't afraid to challenge him or speak their mind with him helps to keep him grounded and for him to really pause and think about his theories/morals. It doesn't have to be too deep though, perhaps you simply disagree on something, this will turn into a full debate, but despite some thinking you're arguing, its more of a passionate conversation, you're both having fun. Plus its even more fun when Ford ends up agreeing with you (its rare but it boosts your ego when it does happen)

related to the adventures a little: expect Ford to praise you/your efforts, (reminds me a bit like the 9th doctor or Sherlock) will just be doing something or figuring out a code or puzzle he'll exclaim "fascinating!" Or brilliant/fantastic/excellent/good, sometimes he's not aware he's saying these hushed phrases! Or he'll follow it up with questions, eyes lit up from being energised in his work, like "fascinating! How did you reach that conclusion?" 🤓

catching him up on technology, he finds it difficult compared to the high tech stuff from other universes but I like to hc he would get over it eventually, he's not the most adept in terms of keeping up with internet culture but is when it comes to tinkering with technology and experimenting/improving it. Still likes to call people instead of text and will have regular phone calls with you if you or him are away from each other.l, eases his worries about you (he's protective and still has nightmares from time to time so he likes to hear your voice so he knows you're ok).

Spending quieter moments together, even if its just stargazing on the stan o war whilst stan fishes, if you're close friends, I can imagine Ford would like hugs, holding hands and on the odd occaision napping cuddled up together (platonically) - the naps happened by accident at first, however its nice and your adventures are exhausting sometimes, so you now get the weighted blanket for you to both lie under for an hour or two (Mabel definitely has a picture of you asleep on her phone because its adorable).

Ford hasn't driven for 30 yrs (well not a regular old car anyway) so you've definitely had to drive him places/collect him before because his attempts at driving are almost as reckless as Stan is behind the wheel 😬 on a boat though? He's the most trustworthy captain 🫡 meticulous on the safety checks, will boss you and stan about a little on what to do, but you know it's for good reason... most of the time

[syrupspinner]

ive been playing a lot of collective unconscious lately

at first i was gonna make a post talking about multiple ynoproject games before i realized that i just had too much to say about this one. also, this was written before the update dropped

header made by callisto on steamgriddb

if you dont already know what yume nikki is, i consider it a must-play if you enjoy analyzing games. its effectively a rorschach test with just enough fuel to point you in an interesting direction that nobodys pieced together in quite the same way yet. the best way to play it is either for free on steam, or on ynoproject.net, which also hosts a handful of the fuckton of games that act as entries into the yumenikki-like genre. perhaps the most notable among these games, along with the classics like yume 2kki and .flow, is collective unconscious, a yume nikki fangame designed with the website's massively-multiplayer functionality in mind.

initially, i was worried that the collective nature of the game would encourage way more obtuse design. like, if youve heard of namco's tower of druaga, you might know that while english arcade-goers hated the eclectic and bizarre progression requirements, japanese arcades were abuzz with collaboration, people starting cabinet journals that list their discoveries and offer tips. i minored in sociology and therefore have the confidence to declare that this is a perfect example of collectivism vs individualism. anywho, i was worried that the post-fnaf world would encourage this kind of design on a more widespread level again, which would just mean tabbing out into a guide every few minutes. well, youve gotta for a handful of the journal covers and menu styles (the game does a great job at pacing out the rewards while still maintaining reasonable expectations), but those are optional cosmetics, and their obscurity is par for the course. the effects (scuse me, the eidola) are pretty clear-cut too, i feel like yume nikki just kinda handed em out for random stuff (which is great for what its going for!) but i really like the spectacle and circumstance around em here. like, you find the rat one in a random dumpster somewhere, but the weather one is from communing with the gods

ill note now, there isn't the stock speed vehicle like in most fangames, you can just sprint whenever. this isnt a trivial change, and the game knows it. theres one puzzle that is built around needing to sprint with another effect active. personally, i like this change, but i understand why oldheads wouldnt. dont worry, i still take my time, its just nice to speed up a bit without having to sacrifice my cool eidola

unfortunately, the multiplayer aspect wasnt too lively. there were only a handful of other dreamers, and the ones that werent just afk in the nexus were off doing their own thing god-knows-where on the map. i think i ran into one other person organically, ever, and they just ran past me. i suppose this is an inevitability when you put strangers in a sandbox together... especially since most people (hundreds compared to our twenty-odd) were in yume 2kki, the MUCH larger sandbox. anyway, im gonna stop talking about meta stuff and get into what youre all here for: dream analysis. finally, a use for that stupid psyche degree.

oh real quick, the exception to the loneliness thing is expeditions, something built-in to YNO at large. you get exp if you go to a specific location in one of the games, so you can expect a lot of people there. once you get there, youre gonna see a bunch of people standing around the entrance facing the camera afk.

anyway, when i got the soulfire eidola, the obligatory weapon effect, i got some "donut steel" vibes. its kinda funny to jump from a kitchen knife to casting Demonic Flare: Pillar of Hellfire with a floating eye face vigil and arms made of flames. but then i simply got over myself and took this as a surface-level aspect of minnatsuki's personality. you can tell a lot from a protag by how they kill npcs. for example, sabitsuki has a gun, but only uses it for intimidation, leaving the act of killing to some old pipe she found; implying that she is pragmatic, and still sees the act of murder as something dirty and ill-fitting. meanwhile, urotsuki uses a chainsaw, a weapon infamous for being impractical against humans irl but pervasive in fiction due to the sheer cool factor; this tells us she glorifies killing, seeing it as something fun and badass. minnatsuki is similar to the latter, having a fantasy spell as their method, meaning that we can see a hint of escapist desire, to be empowered beyond mundane humanity in a way that equates to the ability to harm others.

other eidola, like her animal forms being a mouse (stereotypically skittish and shy) and a jellyfish (weak and passive, confined to water), and her instument of choice being the meek and obscure kalimba, paints the picture of a girl who feels desperately powerless. she doesnt want to lash out and kill others per se, her weapon is a bit too fantastical for that. she just wants to feel strong, and whats stronger than some arbitrary mythical abstraction of an element of destruction? and dont get me started on the umbra and spectral eidola, letting her fade into nothing or just be untethered to the world. theres something she wants to escape

another thing? very rarely are you given an eidola. with soulfire and umbra you have to actively avoid people trying to stop you from leaving with it. the ones that seem more permissive have caveats: you get rodentia in a back alley from someone hidden in a dumpster, you loot lumen off a corpse, spectral comes from a literal cult ritual, and climate makes you earn the blessings of three separate... gods? before youve earned the right to it. the only real exception is kaliba, because theyre like $20 on amazon. nah but seriously, maybe it represents being a heartfelt gift from a friend? or maybe its granted more readily because its recreational, and doesnt empower minnatsuki in the way weve talked about them desiring?

by the way, i dont think minnatsuki has a gender. not like in a kris deltarune "actively canonically nonbinary" way, but as an unimportant detail left up to interpretation. maybe theyre just a cis person who doesnt care and puts no stake in it as an aspect of their identity, or maybe they just feel alienated from the social concept of gender altogether? i prefer the last one, personally, for reasons ill get to later

that brings us to the eyes. there is so much eye imagery in minnatsuki's dreams. eyes on stalks that watch you, where trying to talk to them is useless. giant murals with a six-armed diety that has an eye on its palm. women in melancholy, whos faces lack eyes. a giant flower hidden in the dark that hides a single large eye. only being able to enter the house in rainstorm city that has the eye symbol next to it. perception plays a toll on minnatsuki, and i think it goes both ways. they feel observed in a burdensome way, and they feel incapable of 'seeing' on the same level as others. or maybe they see too much? is there an event she shouldnt have seen, or does she experience sight at a level above others, recognizing things others cant? the child and spectral eidola may be a wish fulfillment of the former, letting her see the unseen in a literal way, while also letting her overcome limitations that she has seen for herself with the latter

another thing about the design i wanna mention real quick is that so much is diagonal. this is something that the rpgmaker engine isn't built to really allow. like yeah, you can, and this game goes out of its way to make it non-obtrusive by having minnatsuki slide along walls sometimes, but it's not something the foundation was set in mind for. this also brings to mind the idea that minnatsuki doesn't fit in with others. it's not a disease like in .flow, it's not something that's detrimental to her in a literal way. it just causes friction with the world around her, because she doesn't feel as if it's built for how she is. she just doesnt quite fit with the world around her sometimes, the way she moves is just a bit off, like a direction-locked movement system trying to go diagonally

theres also a lot of thematic relevance to the idea of connection and ingroup membership. the game is named from the jungian ideal, a level of understanding inherent to the human mind where process instinct and achetype (the latter basically being our classification of others into pre-conscieved schema like "the wily trickster" and "the tyrant leader"). in addition, the game has a lot of togetherness imagery, with npcs sometimes travelling in packs or existing as hordes (the only exception i can think of are npcs that give you something like an eidola or menu theme, perhaps meaning isolation holds a deep importance), and things acting as notable points of interaction when they are isolated (note that the dungeon-relevant houses in gbc world are furthest from the village, for example). there's also a lot of totem poles, acting as the dream trigger and the centre of the nexus, signalling great importance. in first nation tradition, totem poles are created to honour the lineage of a clan (using designs that are unique to that clan), and send messages such as welcoming visitors and shaming wrong-doers (both of these uses involve establishing in-group membership).

i believe these themes combined, minnatsuki's dreams letting her feel powerful and connected, paint the picture of a person that is alone and powerless. minnatsuki doesnt have friends, and im not sure if she even has bullies. i have yet to meet a chaser in this game, so maybe that means that nobody even singles her out in a negative way? stares and weird looks, maybe, but only as a collective and not as a personal connection. this is corroborated by the school location, which minnatsuki's dream constructs as a tainted and evil place, half-formed from broken blueprints. she understands it as a flawed idea done poorly; implying that her disillusion is so severe she sees her isolation as an inseparable corruption of the entire system. so, she feels powerless to stop it, as well as alone and friendless

unfortunately, the game doesnt seem to have a proper ending yet. which is a shame, because most solid ynfg theories start with you working backwards from the ending. well, i supposed "social outcast that struggles with confidence and/or self-esteem" isnt a groundbreaking theory, but im still interested to see if this supported or jossed as the game gets more updates. also, i noticed while brushing this up that at some point i switched from they to she for minnatsuki, so i guess the audience has interpreted.

look i could ramble about this wonderful game all day. dont get me started about my thoughts on the event in uncanny world, the lonely girl in snowy shoal, and the random blond girl that can just show up in random places out of nowhere and that takes you one a scooter ride once you get to know her?

im gonna be playing this for a long, long time, and im gonna love every second of it

[the-way-astray]

what are your thoughts on the Vackers?

you know, i really do have too many thoughts on them. that's why this is like. months late. this has been stewing in my drafts for so long, it's about time i released it. also, this is more of a headcanons list than an analysis. sorry, anon

i won't talk about aldella here because i already have way too many posts about them. as for everything else . . .

general vacker stuff:

they are all so tired from the pressure but they hide it well

more than a few vackers are pressured into doing the elite levels and joining the nobility even when they don't want to

vacker family gatherings are like "so, what did you get on your level seven midterms? do you want to be a mentor or regent? do you want to be a councillor or just an emissary, which is also fine because then you can have kids! more vackers, yippee. oh, what's that? you want to do art? and stay single? oh."

there have definitely been vacker twins and triplets, their parents just hide it the way tam and linh's parents tried to, except successfully

there has been one (1) pyrokinetic vacker. one. they were wiped from the history books and nobody remembers them. they're ancient now, so they barely leave the home, so that helps them fly under the radar, as well. even most other vackers don't know of their existence

being a vacker is like. i was born with a crown on my head. but it forced me down a path that i may or may not want. while everyone looks on in jealousy because they think i have it easy. but it's not

the vacker accent isn't natural. it's taught and learned from a very young age. fallon vacker started the trend when he was a councillor, and ever since then vackers have mimicked it because they're scared of seeming fake, and because it makes them feel more close to their family, or rather, the glaring spotlight their family's under (this is sort of canon-compliant: della has a hint of the accent, even though she's not a vacker by birth)

marrying a vacker is giving up your privacy forever and ever. you will never not be talked about again (think what happened at alden and della's wedding. that was over thirty years ago. imagine if i was still gossiping about the end of the cold war to this day)

once you "become" a vacker through marriage, you're held to a strict, somewhat arbitrary standard, where it's just like. nothing is ever enough. ever. you have to be an emissary or a mentor. if you get there, then you have to be the best emissary or mentor. being married to a vacker is arguably worse than growing up a vacker in that regard

many a vacker have wanted to be in a relationship that would be considered a bad match. but they don't do it. they stay officially single, but they do continue to date the person behind society's back. this is not uncommon, regardless of what the general public wants to believe

(i have three vacker ocs. not going to talk about them here. if you want additional details, ask me)

some thoughts on the main vacker family:

alden manifested late. like really late. like sixteen. and he was terrified that he would end up not manifesting at all and kids were whispering about him and he had like. daily panic attacks

when he finally manifested, he swore that he would be better than everyone else, so he trained twice as hard and kept it up through adulthood, which is the real reason he's such a good telepath

his mom always told him that his ability manifested late because it was twice as powerful, which he tried to believe

he met quinlin on a noble assignment

della definitely has days where she feels weird about being a century younger than alden

also she felt like she had to "prove" that she was worthy of marrying a vacker, which is why she knows so much random trivia about them

also she constantly refers to herself as a vacker because she feels like it needs to be advertised. like she doesn't belong enough if she doesn't make it twice as clear. but in reality she feels insecure about it

once she started dating alden, she felt like she couldn't stop because then there would be gossip about them

biana always felt like she'd never match up to fitz because he was the perfect child

so when she manifested before him and also got her nexus off before him, it felt like a reminder that she was worthy, which is why she talked about it so much

alden and della are actually good parents despite their own crumbling relationship

they act more like co-parents than partners

before fitz manifested, when he was the weird kid, it bothered him so much because he was a vacker and he felt he should be better than that

so he tried hard to be cool. but it never really worked until he manifested. then suddenly everyone loved him. because of that, he clung to his early manifesting as a sign of his worth, which is why he talked about it so much

he met keefe when they were both ditching (shut up. fitz definitely ditched a few times. i know it in my soul)

he thought keefe was weird so they weren't immediately friends but they kept running into each other so it was like. oh, well

(MY OWN PERSONAL HEADCANON, NOT CANON) while fitz's crush on sophie was real and sweet, it was at least partly subconsciously because he felt like he could only have interest in girls with powerful abilities, not because he was ever explicitly told that but because the society he was raised in told him he was only good for making kids with powerful abilities

this wreaked havoc on his self-esteem and he went into a spiral at around age 11/12 where he tried to find a life for himself as a sort of childlike way of "proving" to himself that he was someone even without an ability (this was before he manifested)

this is when he started to bake. which he was taught by alvar. which is how they ended up so close

he loved baking and surprising absolutely nobody, it became his emotional crutch because whenever he went into a negative spiral, he remembered how when he was 11/12, his way of furiously proving he had worth was to bake. so he did

then he manifested at thirteen and he clung to it. because it proved he did have worth. so that's the other reason

biana and stina used to be friends. like, really, really close friends

this is why biana isn't weird about being a bad match. because she (and stina) knew deep down that stina should be the kid of a bad match, but they never talked about it

they fell out because biana didn't like the way stina took out her frustration on other bad match kids

this is why maruca went to stina after falling out with biana. it made the hurt double

that's it for now. may come back with a part two

[imagionationstation]

Heyya! I hope your break from social media was nice! :D

I just wanted to say I love your writing both on here and ao3, and find myself looking through your character and episode analysis on here a lot when I need inspiration.

I drew some art of your separated feral donnie au and i hope you like it. Hope ya doing well! :D

Okay, hear me out, I saw your post and I made a response and then Tumblr deleted it so I got upset and walked away with the intent to come back and reblog it later and totally forgot.

There is a reason that I never get to Asks even though I spent all day thinking of how I'll respond until one thing interrupts and now that Ask is lost to my drafts until I stumble upon it months later-

The memory loss is strong with this one.

Also, thank you sm. I adore when people can use my random stuff to positively influence their writing/art. That's literally why I write them, because I fully realize that there's a lot that can go under the radar and it's not fair of me to wonder why people only notice the bad when I have never stepped out to share the good.

THE PUBLIC DESERVES TO KNOW.

Plus, there's not nearly enough 2012 Donnie fanfiction out there, so I do my absolute best to fill that hole. I love to make converts. CONVERTS TO THE DONNIE FANCLUB CAUSE.

Because I like him and all that he does a normal amount <3

BUT ANYWAY LOOK AT HIM- THE FERAL CHILD!

He. Is. So. Realistic. I CAN'T EVEN BECAUSE THAT'S HIM.

The little gap- the big brown eyes- the cracked plastron and the scarring around his throat and the symbol on his chest- MAN.

HE'S SO ABUSED AND HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW IT.

Like I look at him and his little crouch and his squinty glare that looks like this boi needs glasses because he doesn't know how to properly glare or even have a mean bone in his body my gosh his big brown eyes are right from my brain he's so innocent I CAN'T-

YOU GUYS ARE MAKING ME EVEN MORE NUTS OVER MY OWN AU AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT'S POSSIBLE-

NOW DON'T GET ME STARTED AT HIS LITTLE HISS.

Honestly, this kid wouldn't hurt so much as a cockroach, but if that monitor even considers shocking his Friend again he will learn to change his ways, so help him-

[takeariskao3]

idk guys things are just weird

this is going to be a very chaotic and disorganized Personal Post (sorry in advance)

i know this is silly and i don't owe anyone anything, but i genuinely feel so sad that i don't have anything to contribute or post today on harry's birthday.

something is up with my writing and i can't quite put my finger on it.. harry and ginny are being...very soft and not in a way that is in-character or plot driven. things are just off. all my plans i have in my head are literally flying out the window everytime i sit down to write and i don't trust if it is the right decision for the story or just some weird mood i'm in that's manifesting in a really out of character tone on the page.

i suppose it could be a couple different things. i haven't met with my therapist in two weeks so my brain could just be overloaded with other crap that i need to process and or decompress before my writing thoughts feel organized again.

my husband has been massively stressed out because of many different things going on in his life separate from our family and so i've been going a little over the top trying to be there for him.

our daughter hasn't been sleeping all that well and she's been fighting a virus/cold for going on about two weeks that i think we are finally on the tail end of.

work for me is bleh. i don't enjoy what i'm doing right now. we are in one of those cycles that is all reporting and data entry and retention analysis and its so boring and just not at all what fulfills me from this position. however in the same vein, the semester is right around the corner so it's also the last push to make sure everything is ready to go for when students return to campus.

i killed a spider today which is like a very big deal for me. i am deathly afraid of spiders and my good friends can attest that when confronted with one i dissolve into a lot of screaming and sweating and general panic. so i def think i am experiencing the aftermath of an adrenaline rush even though that was like five hours ago.

all of this is to say, i think i need a break from wips. specifically already gone and the entire the path from you universe. i feel like this past month has just been me forcing something that doesn't need to be forced. i think if i take a step back from both stories, and quit putting so much pressure on myself, my head will clear and things will start falling into place.

this week is @corneliaavenue-ao3's ficfest! and i hope this will be a really good way to bring to life some of these soft moments that keep trying to knock down the door and also keep me in the habit of writing. i don't want to put a timeline on it and somehow set an expectation for myself or anyone else but i'm guessing you can expect a two/three week longer hiatus for those two stories, and you can probably expect a fair amount of random one shots and/or drabbles from me in the meantime.

i'm sorry if this is disappointing, i can promise it is just as disappointing for me. i miss having a clear head and the words flowing effortlessly. i hope someday i get that back, but for now, i'm going to hope a little time away from those plots helps settle the static that lives inside my head.

as always, thanks for reading and understanding <3

[thesharktanksdriver]

Hey! Its me again! :D

I love the fact that Reader plays a ukulele to distract themselves away from their thoughts, it's wholesome oml.

*THE TOXIC GOSSIP TRAIN FLASH BLACK*

(ALSO Your post abt Zoro and reader is so funny and gives me the giggles- I love platonic one piece ITS SO UNDERRATED)

Anyways, I have a few random memes and incorrect quotes for your reader and the Determination! Series! Hope you'll like it! :)

———————

*this takes place after Zoro just joined Luffy's pirate crew and Reader is tagging along*

Luffy : Hey Zoro! I just have one question for you

Zoro : What is it Luffy? *His arms behind his head trying to nap*

Luffy : What color is an orange?

Zoro : Luffy you bonehead, the color is just the same as its name. Just like a lemon *he is proud of himself*

Reader : *questioning their decisions*

———————

Crewmate : You're smiling. What happened?

Young!Buggy : What? Can't I smile just because I feel like it?

Reader : Shanks tripped and fell down the stairs today. *Treating shanks broken nose*

Young!Shanks : *with a broken nose* >:( jerk (to Buggy)

: You lying, cheating, piece of shit!

————————

* they're eating dinner*

Reader : Can you pass the salt?

Shanks : *throws Buggy across the table*

— 🛎️ Anon!

Hi!!!!!!

Never thought I’d be getting the honour incorrect quotes for my series from someone else : D

I shall also post some as well

Nami: Every time I hear someone talking about updog, I’m torn between not wanting to fall for it and wanting to help them complete their joke.

Luffy: Okay, but what is updog?

Sanji: Updog is a long sausage in a bun, often served with ketchup, mustard, onions, and/or relish.

Ussop: No, that’s a hot dog. An updog is when a new version or patch of an application is released.

Y/n: No, that's an update. You’re thinking of the fourth largest city in Sweden.

Zoro : Surely, that’s Uppsala, where’s updog is the giant spider in Harry Potter.

Nami: That’s Aragog. Updog is a symbol conventionally used for an arbitrarily small number in analysis proofs.

Ussop: You’re thinking of epsilon. Updog is an upward-moving air current.

Zoro: No, that’s an updraft. An updog is the modern version of a henway.

Luffy: What’s a henway??

Nami: Oh, about five pounds

===

*Squad reactions to being told ‘I love you’*

Y/n and Luffy: Thanks fam!

Ussop: Oh no.

Zoro: Sounds fake, but okay.

Sanji: *A flustered mess*

Nami : Can I get a refund?

===

Ussop: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the things you lost throughout your life.

Zoro: It would be nice to have my sense of purpose back...

Y/n: Oh wow, my childhood innocence and My will to live! I haven't seen these in years.

Sanji : I knew I lost that potential somewhere.

Nami: Mental stability, my old friend!

Ussop: Jesus, could you guys lighten up a little?

===

Y/n: *dies*

Luffy: Timer starts now! When are they coming back? I say two months!

Zoro: Bullshit. One month.

Ussop: Nah, half a month.

Sanji , sobbing: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Y/N JUST DIED!

Nami, scratching chin in thought: One week.

(This one is wayyy to real lol)

===

*after the Squad has been separated for a few years*

Luffy: So what have you been up to recently?

Zoro: Leading a revolution with Sanji.

Luffy: Good for you two! Me, I've joined the mob.

Zorro: *nods* Oh, how cool! That's awesome!

Luffy: I know! Anyway, have you heard from the others? Y/n ?

Zoro: Happily living as a hermit in the woods. Ussop?

Luffy: Wrongfully locked up in an asylum, which reminds me, we need to break them out later. Nami?

Zoro: Cult leader.

Luffy: Yeah, that sounds about right.

[tiredoflifelol]

XO Kitty Watch Notes: S1 Ep. 9 & 10

So. I liked this WAY more than I thought I would. Maybe it’s my lack of exposure to cute rom-com dramas exposing itself. Idk the script could def have been better, and the acting wasn’t always the strongest, but it wasn’t bad either. Kind of have enough thoughts for a full coherent analysis post, but I’m also thinking I wanna wait till I’ve watched season 2 and then do the whole show together. Honestly doing this has reminded me how much I love talking about media and it’s made me wanna start a reaction yt channel. (but I won’t bc I don’t rly have the time or the camera or the editing skills and no one would watch it anyways lol).

But yeah overall pleasantly surprised by this show and excited to watch season two!

Ep 9:

- Interesting emphasis on “reason, season, and a lifetime” is the show gonna follow that formula for Kitty w/ Dae, Minho, and Yuri? No clue who would be what yet. Unfortunately keep getting the feeling her and Dae aren’t endgame though. That’d be too drama fee. And as unfortunate as it is (and as much as I hate it being applied to real life) in shows like this the sweet, first love, “nice guy” is never the one that makes the final cut 😭

- Ok yeah these cuties are way too happy to last. But it’s okay, Kitty can send him my way bc that back hug with the coffee mugs?!?!

- “What a coincidence” “actually I followed u here” my guy😭

- Mrs Principal u need to divorce ur husband. He’s horrible. But I’ve actually grown to like her so much more than I thought I would.

- Yeah idk I just rly feel for her rn

- “Yuri was just a shiny thing that caught my attention” hmmm idk how I feel abt that

- And now there’s gonna be issues that Kitty knew abt Alex being her brother and didn’t tell Yuri….

- Ahaha them being fit together like a little jigsaw puzzle studying on the couch.

- Honestly if Yuri wasn’t gay I would 1000% say they should be a throuple

- although….Dae: this is my girlfriend Kitty and her girlfriend Yuri who’s my best friend (do we see the vision)

- Interesting Minho being this upset over Dae lying when technically none of it affected him? I mean it did but not in a major way? And the expression on Dae’s face as he’s looking at Minho talking…..

- Kitty: this is my girlfriend Yuri, and this is my boyfriend Dae, and his boyfriend Minho, my mortal enemy

- Dae with the sleeves rolled again! I’m so intrigued as to why they chose that as a contestant style choice for him

- YES MINHO AND DAE SCENE

- oh no no no. Pls don’t tell me they’re setting up a bff betrayal. “How could you do that to Kitty” “why are you so concerned about Kitty” WITH NO ANSWER. I’m gonna be so pissed do we not already have enough dramaaaaa. Why must romance shows always ruin friendships

- Not Minho calling the guy Florian is talking to “Biceps”. Dae coming in with the common sense of not sending it bc they don’t know details

- oh and not the jealous girlfriend now too😭

- “What if you have not done well all semester…?” “Probable doom” pls why is this show so funny sometimes

- Not the Dae and Minho tag team interrogation. But don’t show Q the morning before finals?? Dude has to focus on tests?

- THE DAMN SPARKLE MUSIC AGAIN WHEN YURI TOUCHES KITTY IM CACKLING

- Damn declining Juliana to keep teaching Kitty…I’m impressed by the messiness the writers are coming up with. (I mean irl that wouldn’t be a big deal but in a show everything is foreshadowing/building) (Also Madison coming in with her friends was cute - she’s my fav side character fs)

- I’m more invested in the Alex’s parents stuff than the relationship drama

- Random but Mrs Principal is so hot

- Ew not the husband calling his wife spoiled. That’s so gross on so many levels

- Crazy to talk abt cheating on finals in the middle of a packed audience

- Well there goes the performance. Nothing like the classic lore drop before an important moment😭

- Hsjska not them talking abt it on stage

- Ok the trip into the fireworks, dress on fire, Minho running to the rescue is so cringe I wanna scream

- wtf why are we having a weird fight over who got there first. I will be so upset if this ruins the Dae Minho friendship

- Omg Jina crying it’s gonna make me sob for her. That scene where she grabs both her kids? The “Danial follow me”? The tone with which she said “I have no idea”? Total chills. She’s giving baddie taking back her like and I’m here for it

- KITTY IF U DONT TELL DAE ITS NOT MINHO

- her crying and the fear as she told Dae made me sad for her, but imma need that girl to keep Minho from getting his face caved in.

- The look on Dae’s face though…he was so resigned and sad😭

Ep. 10:

- lowkey the tension when Dae pinned Minho against the wall though…(I jest…unless any of u agree with me. But mostly I jest)

- They were also both weirdly calm? The acting so far has been pretty good even if I didn’t like the script, but that moment for sure could have been better

- DAE IS CRYING EVERYBODY STOP

- his absolute befuddlement over it being Yuri is sending me

- Him walking away is very fair because I wouldn’t be like “oh yeah lets keep dating” if my partner said they had a crush on someone else the whole time we were (back) together, but it is heartbreaking to see her sobbing alone

- Everyone else in the family on the verge of tears and Alex just smiling in the corner💀

- Not Kitty’s dad hearing “I’m crushing on someone else (a girl) while dating my longtime bf” and going “it’s great that you’re confused, it’s how we grow!” 😭

- Noooo now she’s fighting with Q and he took the night-night tea?? Pure evil

- Mrs Principal is redeemed and making her own choices!!

- I’m dying all the other rando guys realizing Kitty lives in the boys dorm

- And I get what Q is saying about him taking Dae’s spot but there’s no guarantee Dae would have been first? Unless he was second and then yeah I could understand that…although the difference btwn 1 and 2 shouldn’t matter w/ his scholarships?

- Well damn. Her being expelled would solve a lot of this drama😭. I understand where they’re coming from though. Like you cant randomly have one person decide they want to secretly live in the opposite genders dorms for SO many dif. reasons. She really should have brought evidence of the webcam and the state of the room foreword and done a second appeal for a roommate change

- WHY IS SHE ON THE TABLE. I *cannot* handle the second hand embarrassment she gives me like GIRL PLS

- I just realized she’s had the same nails all semester. Girl is dedicated.

- “Daniel was my first love, and no matter how much time passes that stays the same” “I think I can understand that” oof. Yeah so Dae and Kitty are done. Which like I knew but…

- BRO HOW CRAZY IS A SCHOLARSHIP THAT YOU HAVE TO BE FIRST EVERY TIME. Like the dif. btwn first and second is generally very small this is INSANE

- Dae was gonna fight for her but she left the necklace omg they’re making me insane

- Look at his dad pulling out those fast and furious skills. Way to come through my guy

- STOP THEYRE MAKING ME SO SAD RN

- Not the goodbye kiss and the classic “you’ll always be important to me” spiel

- This is horrible

- Rip out my heart and stomp on it why don’t you

- Oh no. She’s gonna confess to Yuri.

- Oh no. Now Julianna is here

- They’re def setting up jealousy btwn those three for the next season which is blegh bc if there’s one thing I hate more than miscommunication tropes it’s jealousy tropes (especially when what’s presented as “unreasonable” from one partner ends up being right)

- Oh no. A Minho confession? Straight into love?? MY GUY

- she JUST said she broke up with your best friend??? What abt the bro code??? Or just timing in general???

- Crazy way to end