#am I finally posting this solely so I can start posting stuff for a different fandom? yes yes I am

[morninglarkspur]

Hi hello, these have been done for over a week now whoops, sorry got sucked into the mega man hole haha didn't end up doing Skuntank, anyways take these two

Seeing as these guys are post game, their profiles are more sparse and general o/

Starling [Cresselia] Species: Cresselia Gender: Agender [Any] Age: --

Younger of the dream sibling

No longer on good terms with her older sibling

Feels responsible for how Darkrai is now

Is the only one who remembers his sibling's name

Silent guardian of Team Gales

??? [Darkrai] Species: Darkrai Gender: Agender [they/it] Age: --

Older of the dream sibling

Has been socially isolated for centuries

Hates Starling for abandoning it

Doesn't want to die

Has forgotten their own name

[coffee-and-guitar-strings]

Studying with ADHD

Dear God. My activity on here is sporadic, as is fitting with my diagnosis, but I thought maybe this post could help anyone that's been struggling alongside me.

Warning: Long Post

Feel Free to browse the bullet points and stop if something catches your eye!

If you don't like any of these, don't use them! They're based solely off my experience, and everyone experiences ADHD differently <3

Content:

Setting up The Space

Study Snacks!! - No hunger in The Space

Compete with yourself

Ignore Pomodoro

Reverse the feeling of 'not being smart enough'

Active Recall

Unriddle.ai (not sponsored,,,)

Final Tip

Final Note

Here ya go:

1. Setting up The Space

Some sites say to create a 'distraction free zone' to study in. Screw that, it never worked for me.

My brain is the distraction. I'll stare off into space if there's no other option.

INSTEAD:

We set up a study space that both fulfils random urges mid-work session, and limits distractions away from the desk.

I.e. we don't get up until we need the bathroom.

You limit the amount you get up from The Space, you limit the number of things your attention span will switch to.

Snacks, fidgets, drawing, separate screen for watching stuff? Whatever works, stick it on the desk.

Food wise, I try to make a healthy lunch and then eat it at my desk while reviewing stuff, but sometimes I need a longer break.

If I am taking a break, I do it away from The Space. The Space is dead to me now.

Try to compartmentalise your area, work only in these spots, relax only in these, sleep only there.

We're trying to train our brains here, people, simple and clear relations of space to activity typically get embedded easier.

Also: work whenever.

Burst of energy at 9pm? Go for it, we sleep badly anyways.

Middle of lunch? Have a flashcard/ notes app on your phone, do it while you eat.

With friends? See method 5 <3

I'll link a separate post I'll be making on exactly how my space is set up, though most of the key points are in this one :)

2. Study Snacks!! - No hunger in The Space

One. Handed. Food. Only.

Also, food that doesn't get stuff on your fingers.

You can't work if you're constantly wiping your hands to keep going, and you need something you can absentmindedly grab while you keep your eyes trained on the work.

I recommend getting artificial sugar in your system, sweets, chocolate, give yourself a mild sugar rush to keep a bit of a buzz going while you work.

(try to be healthy about it, this won't be sustainable long-term, but I find a shot of sugar to the system can help prevent burnout)

Also caffeine! Please be aware of how much caffeine you're having for health reasons - I need to watch how much I have, since my medication is already bad for my heart, but even just having a coffee and some sugar at the start of the session, I get enough energy to start working

As long as I don't stop until I'm Done, I will be good.

3. Compete with yourself

I don't recommend competing with others, it toes the line of 'feeling like a failure' too much for my liking, but if it works for you, go for it.

Instead, I compete with myself. Mostly quizlet flashcards, but also 'how much of this have I remembered from yesterday?', and 'How much more can I remember today?'

Whether it's personality or hyperactivity, this gives a dopamine hit. Finding ways to make studying something you can score against is one of my favourite methods.

Video games are an ADHD staple for a reason, easily trackable progress and dopamine from rewards/hyperfixations/etc. make them addictive.

Turn the work into a video game (I think at this point I may sound insane to you guys but please trust me)

4. Ignore Pomodoro

ADHD students, we have to think like sharks: we stop, we die.

Once you have found yourself studying with (relative) ease, Do. Not. Stop. You keep that going as long as possible.

ADHD doesn't mean you can't focus, you can, you just have no choice in where that attention gets allocated. So, when a tomato-based timer tell you to turn off your focus and relax, after it took you half the damn time to start the stupid work, it can be a little counter-productive

(I may have some repressed rage for pomodoro, try to forgive me)

Please, ignore the pomodoro stuff. I know it's healthy to regulate the volume of work you do, but I find that once I start working, I can't stop until I run out of energy.

I time or video myself instead, I can track how long I've been working, feel proud of it, and I also can't use my phone during that session.

When my brain stops taking stuff in, I have an hour to 2 hour break, relax (away from The Space) try to reset my brain so it's back to baseline. Then I start again.

5. Reverse the feeling of 'not being smart enough'

I know I am smart, and it's on others if they don't see that, but having undiagnosed ADHD for 17 years did a number on my self image and confidence.

If you struggle with this, it's so, so helpful to try this method, and can start to reverse the negative internal image we've managed to cultivate <3

So, after you've covered a topic: tell someone about it (please make sure they're ready to listen to you rant for half an hour).

Not only are you reinforcing what you've just learnt, but you also get to feel competent, and teaching someone else about your topic helps to raise perceptions (internal or from others) of what you know/what you're capable of.

6. Active Recall

This one goes great with the whole, 'competing with yourself' method (no. 4);

Active Recall is just making sure you're going over old information and recalling correctly, once it's past short term memory. Trying to remember information without it present forces your brain to pull it from Long-term memory and reinforces the information in your brain.

I know it's been said a million times, but this + competing with yourself does wonders for me.

My favourite method is blurting ( read/write notes of one topic, wait ten minutes, do something else productive, and then try to copy that topic from memory. repeat until all key info is correctly recalled)

7. Unriddle.ai (not sponsored,,,)

Okay, this site changed it for me. 5 free uploads, 15 free inputs per month.

Download a copy of the fancy scientific paper/article/book you need to read through. Upload.

Ask unriddle to summarise key points, to re-write it as if you were 7, etc.

This genuinely saved my essays. Suddenly the procrastination of reading my source material was gone. It makes it so much easier to get through dense/boring text and then I wrote everything myself.

Please do not plagiarise, I am only recommending this site to make things easier to read, copying down what it produces is considered plagiarism by my uni, and likely most others.

8. Final Tip

Be kind to yourself.

When I got medicated, my friends were genuinely stressed by how much work I was suddenly doing.

One of them asked me about it, and I realised it didn't feel like I was doing any more than normal. I had always been working this hard, it was just that half the energy going in wasn't being wasted on trying to get myself to focus.

What you put in may not receive the same results as for others, but the reality is that you're likely working harder than they are. The irritating truth is simply that we have to compensate for the different cognitive functioning that neurotypicals get to take for granted

(no hate to the NTs, I'm glad ya'll don't have to think about it, but for someone with ADHD, it can be really tough to realise)

A Final Note:

You are smart. You can do this. We just need to modify the system a little to make it work for us. There is no shame in that, anyone telling you otherwise needs a reality check.

Genuinely though, I've noticed that people telling me I use my ADHD accommodations (required by law) as a 'crutch'.

1. If the world were set up by me, that same person would struggle just as much, if not more.

2. If Rishi Sunak's government is willing to GIVE ME FREE MONEY to access these accommodations, that implies that this genuinely is needed. Not because I think Sunak is intelligent or kind (my own political opinions, please just hear me out), but because there is no way, with the underfunding of the NHS, Public services, etc. that they'd be willing to give me money I don't need to repay if it wasn't a scientific fact that I needed it, and it helped.

Use the inadequacies of the government to your advantage in arguments, make the idiots see how integral our accommodations are. I'd have dropped out of uni by now without them.

For anyone in need of help trying to convince family/friends/teachers/etc. of the struggle with ADHD (or anything else, though I won't have as much experience with it), telling them what you need help with, or any other arguments, send me an ask. I do psychology for my degree, I am used to searching for research papers, and I will help you with the necessary scientific backing for your case.

You are not in this alone <3

Lots of Love!

Coffee + Guitar Strings

@chocolatelandgarden @chaoticstudyprincess

[moonspirit]

Hello Moon,

One relationship that I would love to hear from you on is one that I don't think has been discussed in great length; let's talk about sisters-in-law Annie and Mikasa

I think there relationship has a lot of promise going forward. These two once bitter rivals would find common ground in their love and devotion to Armin, and it seems like this would blossom into a beautiful friendship.

It seems like both would be able to confide in one another as both have had very similar experiences when it comes to things like romance; I see Annie seeking Mikasa’s advice in the moments of friction that come with any relationship, and Mikasa being  “big sister” can help her understand some of Armin’s feelings or thoughts that he is hesitant to express

Also, even though she lives in Paradis, I think there will be times when Mikasa will have extended stays with the two, specifically during Annie’s pregnancies (let's be honest, they are having more than one). She will help around the house and support Annie when Armin is off on his duties, getting a headstart on being the Best aunt.

Its a relationship I am very keen to hear your views on as it is one that while it started with an animosity between rivals I think would become something truly special.

Hello anon!

There's actually a really special relationship between these two and it's very nice to explore tbh.

Mikasa and Annie are two extremely focused individuals. Obvious similarities aside (i.e, being the sole female character from each trio; matching each other in strength; cold and emotionless on the outside - a mechanism to drown out their emotional trauma; feared by the entirety of the 104th & so on), it's important to note that both Annie and Mikasa, even in their early days in the 104th, held a deep respect for each other's prowess in fighting skill. Among some others, I believe it's the one thing that kept them off each other's throats (though more so on Annie's part).

They are both also emotionally reserved, though in different ways. Annie emotional well being is stunted to the point that coming to terms with her feelings is a hard task. Mikasa on the other hand, is straightforward and quite blunt as far as protecting Eren is concerned, but her deeper feelings (as to why she's really so attached to him) remain something she finds hard to put into words. Going further, these two girls received, from Eren and Mr.Leonhardt each, some kindness and affection respectively, and made it their entire life goal to protect/return to them. For this, each was willing to cut down anyone and anything standing in their way.

It's why I believe that Mikasa and Annie understand one another's emotions so perfectly during the final battle. Mikasa understands Annie's feelings for Armin, and Annie understands Mikasa's underlying love for Eren. It's acknowledged during their conversation on their last night in Paradis too (Hange stew episode). Annie sees Mikasa willing to even let the Rumbling take place if it means she can get Eren back alive. The two have exactly one person in mind to protect (and this number grows, ofc; in Annie's case she goes back for Armin and the others of the 104th, and in Mikasa's case, she gives up Eren for the world). These are incredibly difficult decisions to make, which is what makes their exchange in Odiha and on Falco's back so wonderful.

Post-rumbling, it is also the handing over of a baton. From Mikasa to Annie: the duty of protecting Armin.

Now, headcanon time!

I honestly think they'd write a lot of letters to each other. The Alliance sans Mikasa isn't going to be able to step foot on Paradis anytime soon, so if a channel opens up between the two places to reliably exchange letters, that's a way to communicate. Annie being somewhat awkward with letters in general doesn't write much at first, but slowly the things she has to say expand from just Armin-centric stuff to other things as well. Mikasa however, is warmer, and this helps Annie get more comfortable in turn.

I wouldn't say Mikasa's going to be a person who will step in as a very delicate mediator when Aruani have relationship problems, but she's definitely reliable, firm and sensible. She says things like "Annie, you have to stop avoiding Armin," and "Armin, if you don't tell her what you're scared of, she won't understand." and so on. Straightforward, you see.

She's also a fantastic source for information and insider-secrets and behind-the-scenes knowledge about all things Armin.

There's a lot of hard feelings between Mikasa and Annie, but over time there come to be just as many points of understanding, empathy and genuine care; all of this makes their post-canon relationship truly special and warm.

[ihavedonenothingright]

Captive Prince: Historical References and Naming Conventions

Hi all! I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and I finally had some time (and an Ancient Greek dictionary), so I figured I'd give it a shot. I've always been fascinated by Pacat's worldbuilding, particularly the naming conventions, and as a classicist myself, I wanted to dissect them. So that's what this is. My focus is mainly going to be on Akielos since I don't have as in-depth a knowledge of French, but I'll go through some Veretian names too (je n'ai pas étudié le français depuis deux années, mais Arles… je voudrais parler d'Arles…)

I'm not approaching this with any kind of formal, academic structure, so if something wonky gets through, please let me know! And lastly, I have no idea how many of these are intentional on Pacat's part. This analysis is less about authorial intent and more about how the associations inherent in these names can lend to our interpretation of the work. I'll also be doing this analysis over a few different posts since there is a lot I want to cover. For post #1:

Country Names

This post will solely feature Vere and Akielos since that's already a lot, but I will tackle Patras et. al. later on. There's some very interesting stuff there that I would be remiss not to look at. Of our subjects for today, Vere is the simpler, and the one I am absolutely certain Pacat intended, so I'll start with it.

Vere

Disclaimer: I am in love with this choice. The word itself is actually a Classical Latin adverb derived from the adjective "vērus," meaning "true," and in Latin it's spelled "vērē" (though you will not see those macrons in extant texts, those are a modern pronunciation and differentiation aid). Vērē can be translated a handful of ways; often it's used for emphasis, and in that case it's usually translated as "indeed," but "truly," "rightly," "exactly," and "truthfully" all work in different contexts. Extrapolate vērus and its derivatives for around a thousand years and you get the Old French word "verai" (ouah c'est vrai !) which means, well, "true."

It's also close in spelling and pronunciation to the modern French "verre," which means "glass," which isn't entirely relevant, but is cool. It makes me think of shiny, fragile displays of opulence like the Galerie des Glaces in Versailles. 

The first reason I really like this name is that it calls back to Artes, the Roman-inspired kingdom that we're told once encompassed all of Vere and Akielos, while still fitting current Veretian (aka half-old-half-modern French) grammar and pronunciation. The second is, naturally, that it fits so well into the series' themes of truth, deception, and verisimilitude. The second we're introduced to Vere, and by extension Laurent, there's a subtle hint there that both he and his country are, at their core, more real, genuine, and truthful than Damen and Akielos. We're already building towards Damen's Kings Rising line, "I have never known a truer man." Even if you don't recognize the Latin, your brain will make the connection between Vere and verisimilitude later. It's perfect, 10/10 Pacat, could not have done it better.

And just for fun: a Latin example!

Commentarii de Bello Civili, 2:27. Latin and English available here. 

Hi, sive vere quam habuerant opinionem ad eum perferunt, sive etiam auribus Vari serviunt…

Loeb Translation: "Whether they convey to him the opinion that they really held, or whether they only flatter his ears…" (165)

Slightly more literal translation (by me): "Whether these ones truly convey to him the opinion as they held it, or rather are subservient to Varius' ears…"

Akielos

The name "Akielos" is a lot more… nebulous. I don't know if there is a Greek print of Captive Prince, but my guess is it would be spelled Άκιελος (modern Greek speakers please weigh in, I'm only a year or so into Ancient Greek so I haven't really touched accent marks). That doesn't map neatly to any modern or ancient greek word—at least that I know of. What is does remind me of is Ἀχιλῆος (Achileos) from Ἀχιλλεύς (Achilleus), aka, Achilles. They're so close that I actually realized lately I had unconsciously been pronouncing Akielos as "Akileos" for a while; and in fact, this makes the Veretian spelling "Achelos" make a bit more sense. English and French both use a hard "ch" to represent χ in Greek words; so I imagine, in universe, that the word might actually be spelled Άχιελος. It wouldn't even surprise me if this was the way Pacat originally wanted to spell it, but had to change it for ease of comprehension.

I did have some other interpretations of the name, but I think this is the strongest. Because in addition to the obvious association, the name Ἀχιλλεύς is thought to be derived from the words ἄχος, "distress/grief" and λαός, "people," making it either "the grief" or "grief of/to the people" depending on who you ask (you rely on cases for that sort of distinction in Greek and they're not exactly present here. iykyk).

I really like the idea of Akielos being associated with grief; we're first introduced to it as a country in mourning, and then later on, as the cause of grief in Delfeur. And then you have the association with Achilles, himself a prolific brother killer, who Pacat references later in 'The Fall of Inachtos,' our in-universe Iliad. Insane levels of grief on grief on grief. Plus, because it looks closer to the genitive form, I automatically associate it with the opening line of the Iliad:

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

menin aeide thea Peleiadeo Achileos

Sing, goddess, the anger of Achilles, Peleus' son

So we can throw a little rage into the equation. As a treat. 

Also important to note that the -os there is a masculine ending. It doesn't have the most bearing, but it does mean that if we want to be strictly accurate to Ancient (and modern!) Greek grammar, I have to throw a quick article in front of it, making our final "how do the Akielons spell Akielos?" answer: ὁ Άχιελος ("ho Achielos"). The ὁ here is equivalent to le in French, with the major distinction being that in French, you don't typically need an article in front of a proper noun, whereas you do in Greek.

That's it for today's analysis! See you guys next time around for Patras, Artes, and (maybe) Arles, Ios, and Delfeur/Delpha.

Part 2 >>

[rinshiroufan]

An Analysis of Two Different (Yet Complementary) Endings: UBW in the VN and the Anime; and What They Mean

So I recently finished my re-watch of Ufotable’s unjustly maligned 2014-15 adaptation of Fate/stay night’s Unlimited Blade Works route; I thoroughly enjoyed myself, which wasn’t shocking at all—Rin/Shirou is only my favourite fictional relationship (not just romantic, but any kind of relationship). It did however induce to more thoroughly and exhaustively compare the anime original conclusion to the two’s story with the original ending as presented in the VN, if only because I suspect that a careful reading of the nuances of the characterization of both will yield some very fruitful results. It might seem a bit paradoxical at first, but I’ve come to find these two scenes while seen incredibly fondly by most Shirin shippers are in fact quite underappreciated—because there’s just so brilliant and intricate in the subtle ways in which they manage to weave in so much depth and substance into exceedingly simple and seemingly plain plot developments. They are insanely thematically rich, and people often are left far too dazzled and enchanted by the magic of the superficial writing that they miss the genius hidden beneath the surface.

We’ll start off with the comparatively simpler part of the analysis: the original conclusion to Rin and Shirou’s story.

The Ending in the VN

For the purposes of this analysis, I will be skipping all of the epilogue sans the final classroom scene; the reasoning is quite straightforward and should be readily obvious—most of what is of relevance to this analysis is basically confined solely to Rin and Shirou’s final conversation. This disclaimer might appear to be superfluous to some, but I decided to include solely due to my recognizing an asymmetry in the structure that I chose to employ herein—because the section posterior to this one will have to deal with comprehensively picking apart the entirety of episode 25 of the anime. There was a distinct possibility some readers might find the decision somewhat puzzling, so I think it would be no great harm to tell people what precisely they are getting into, though I consider the content itself will be perfectly sufficient in providing people with an understanding of the thought process behind it. So without further ado, let’s finally begin.

The crux of the conversation between Rin and Shirou that caps off UBW is her invitation to him to tag along with her to London as she goes to continue her training in becoming a proper magus—and Shirou’s reaction to her doing so. I will now post all of Shirou’s key internal monologues relating to the matter during his initial contemplation of the matter, omitting all of Rin’s elaborative comment interspersed throughout Shirou’s thoughts for comedic effect, in order to allow us to better understand what precisely the story is trying to communicate here.

She speaks casually, but I'm sure it's an amazing thing. …But London, huh? …That's certainly too far away. My father wasn't in the Magic Association. I'm just like him, and I don't like formal stuff.

[...]

…But I might be able to move there. I can start working more, study English, save up traveling and living expenses, and find a job over there…

[...]

No, no, let's say I am able to rent an apartment there. I don't know what kind of a place the Clock Tower is, but I'm sure Tohsaka will get even busier. …Then it should be better for me to go there after I become a proper magus by myself. Yeah, that sounds good. First of all, London isn't suited for me. I bet I'll faint if I go there and if it's filled with people like Kotomine———

It is at this point that Rin finally notices Shirou has wandered off in his thoughts and thus not paying attention to her—subsequently presenting what amounts to an ultimatum to him. But before we go into that, let us more carefully and studiously parse what we have been presented with here: a dialectic. A dialectic meant to represent Shirou’s inner conflict—an exceedingly minor and trifling conflict, no doubt!—between his ideological aversion and distaste for formal magecraft and the sorts of individuals drawn to it, and his curious desire to nonetheless follow Rin wherever she goes. For literary effect, the text chooses not to immediately explicitly reveal what might be behind this willingness to nonetheless move to London despite his misgiving, but anyone who has been paying even the tiniest bit of attention can easily deduce what might be the cause. Nevertheless, the story firmly establishes a key piece of information going forward—Shirou is not fond of the Mage’s Association. He would certainly not choose to associate himself with them of his own volition.

But now that we have the set-up, we are almost immediately greeted with the pay-off—the previously posted CG of Rin’s brilliant visage in an adorable hunched over position and adorned with a radiant, loving smile, accompanied by the following text: 

"So, what will you do, Shirou?" She asks me gently, with eyes that see through me. "——————" My face turns red. Her words and expression blow away my humility and my dislike of the Magic Association. …This is what I mean by Tohsaka holding my weakness. I can't help it if I fell in love with her.

“Oh, why go silent now? I haven’t heard your answer yet.“

She keeps smiling mischievously. She knows what my answer is, but she's mercilessly attacking me. "Uh… I, um…" To be honest, London is too far away, but I can't imagine myself being taught by anyone other than Tohsaka. And I never even thought about parting with her. Most of all, I want to be with Tohsaka. "Be clear, this is important. Will you still come with me, even if it's as my assistant?" She looks up into my eyes. She looks so attractive that I feel like my heart will pop out of my mouth. "S-Shut up, you idiot…! You idiot, idiot, idiot! I-I-If it's so important, tell me about it in a more appropriate place! I can't answer you when it's so sudden…!!!"

I don’t know what’ll happen to me if I keep staring at her, so I look away. ...I still feel Tohsaka’s presence.

She’s happily watching my reaction.

"Hey, Shirou. What's your answer?" She murmurs gently. ………She's got me beat. Is it this hard to nod and reply honestly? "………" But I can't turn around unless I say it to her.

"……You idiot. Don't ask me such an obvious question." I meet Tohsaka's gaze and tell her my honest opinion. Her smile broadens at those words.

“And I never even thought about parting with her. Most of all, I want to be with Tohsaka.” That’s the key portion here. The internal tug of war between Shirou’s deep-seated hatred for the common amoral magi and the stifling environment of Clock Tower on the one hand, and his unbridled love for and admiration of Rin is decisively and unquestionably resolved in Rin’s favour. It was barely even a contest. Returning to previously discussed dialectic, it is noteworthy how Shirou considers moving to London at a later time than Rin so that he wouldn’t represent a burden for a Rin less likely to be able to spend precious time with him. Hell—the guy already starts making plans about how he’s going to move there without her even inviting him or expressing that she wants him to go with her! He’s so lovestruck that the mere mention of her moving to London has his immediately making preparations so that he can be with her. It’s odd to think that Shirou could possibly find some way to work more than he already does, but that’s not stopping him. Shirou’s internal back and forth weighing his options, contrasting his reservations towards moving to London with his obvious preparedness to go there for Rin’s sake, is presented as barely even really being a proper conflict; the outcome was determined from the very start. There was simply no other way this could have been resolved—Shirou wants to be with his Tohsaka.

But why is this the conclusion to UBW? Why precisely was it so important to finish the route like this, with this particular scenario, with this particular character dynamic? It might seem like this is just the logical conclusion to how the story should be: it’s hardly in-character for Rin, someone who is portrayed as someone who loves magecraft and finds it fun, to not eventually go to Clock Tower, given that one of the themes of the route is her and Shirou’s learning to walk their chosen path out of their own love for it and on their own terms; it also helps reaffirm Shirou’s love for her. But how exactly does this help cap off Shirou’s character arc? How does this serve as a fitting conclusion to his character arc taken in its entirety, including his conflict with Archer? The essential element here is Shirou’s invocation of Kiritsugu, prefacing the rest of his comments elaborating on his opposition to the Association; Shirou’s refusal to move to London is symbolically associated with his ideal. The core question of UBW of course is “Will or will not Shirou become just like Archer?” He is after all walking on the same path, headed to the same direction. What makes him so different? This scene is meant to answer that: his love for Rin. The entire scenario is a microcosm of Rin and Shirou’s relationship, showing why he won’t become Archer: he loves Rin more than he wants to pursue his ideal. Of course Shirou wants to become a superhero—but he wants to be with Rin even more.  Shirou will always treasure the precious time he spends with Rin far more than he does his adventuring. Whatever corner of the world he may be in, whatever conflict is afoot, no matter how faraway he may be—he will always find his way back home, the place where he truly belongs: with Rin. The girl who loves him, and whom he loves back.

And I really cannot think of a more fitting poem to end that scene than...

The Ending in the Anime

In episode 25 of the 2014 UBW TV anime adaptation by Ufotable, we finally get to see Rin and Shirou’s life together in London.

It makes for incredible fanservice, to say the least.

He’s giving her a headpat—SHE’S SLEEPING ON HIS SHOULDER!!! Thanks for humouring my pic dump; now, onto the analysis.

Within the confines of the anime, the classroom conversation between Rin and Shirou is quite heavily abridged, positioned very deliberately so that it may be carefully instrumentalized for the specific narrative purposes of the broader narrative of the London epilogue it is situated in. It is in short repurposed. We will have to return to the specifics of that later. For now, let’s begin analyzing how the narrative unfolds.

The epilogue has a three act structure, divided over three in-universe days. The first day acts as the set-up; the second day as the elaboration; and the final day provides us with the conclusion. Now, the first day is mostly fanservice, and this is not without reason: while it lays the foundation for Shirou’s inner conflict that we see unfold over the next two days, it is a mostly laidback story that simply invites us to enjoy Rin and Shirou’s nearly idyllic life in London. It’s a way to frontload almost all of the pure, unadulterated fanservice so as to allow for more narratively relevant elements to be positioned at the very end, which is precision-focused to delivering a fitting conclusion to Emiya Shirou’s arc—which isn’t to say that the latter portions of the story lack fanservice, or that the frontloaded fanservice has no purpose whatsoever; rather, the later fanservice simply has more thematic depth to it. The early fanservice meanwhile serves mostly to establish what Rin and Shirou’s life in London is like; it’s purpose is to establish what is at stake. Many have lamented that Ufotable cut a lot of the elements which were included in Nasu’s original script (most likely rejected due to the Ufotable animation staff’s qualms with having to do another exhausting 45 min episode), but ultimately it was for the better in my estimation; it resulted in far more focus. Instead of wasting time on the total mediocrity of a character that is Luvia, the existing story utilizes her wisely for a specific purpose—to establish just how much Rin has changed over the narrative. I mean, the girl went from freaking out at the suggestion she might be fond of a certain redhead to being so openly enamoured with him that’s she willing to throw down with other girls for flirting with him! The idealized portrayal of Shirou’s new idealized life with the girl he loves is interspersed with discussion of his receiving an invitation to join the Association—and the implications of that. The day ends with Shirou’s mentioning that his heart lies elsewhere; in his pursuit of the ideal.

The next day is fairly laidback as well, but also a bit more... contemplative. Rin and Shirou’s ruminations on the Holy Grail War and what they learned from it during their visit to Glastonbury aren’t exactly directly connected to the central conflict of the narrative, but they nevertheless help portray just how much more mature these characters have gotten, how much they have changed since the events of HGW. It’s important to have Rin portrayed in a much more serious light; after all, the beginning of the episode had her used as comedic relief. Yes, it’s a perfectly fine way to establish just how much Rin truly loves Shirou, but the conclusion to the episode ultimately relies on her being both loving and mature; she’s always been the more intelligent, level-headed and wise of the two, so it stands to reason that it would be quite prudent remind the audience of that as it becomes important once again. Once more, we are treated to a dialectic; the hopelessly in love Rin of the first day meets her antithesis in the wise, contemplative Rin of the second day, ultimately resulting in the synthesis we encounter in the final resolution to the narrative. Having Rin portrayed as being both more mature yet also more fun than Shirou also reinforces just how much more at ease she is at Clock Tower than he is.

On the ride back home, Shirou has a flashback. And we suddenly find ourselves back in Fuyuki, two years prior.

Cute.

Anyway, we return to our repurposed classroom scene.

What exactly is the goal of this scene? Shirou’s monologues, so crucial to the scene in the VN, are wholly excised. We can see Shirou’s blushing like crazy (I can’t blame him...), but we are otherwise left clueless as to his considerations whether or not to follow Rin to London. The thematic relevance of the scene in the VN is gone; no-one, going based solely on the anime, could possibly have realized that this particular scene was meant to be a microcosm of their relationship, showing my Shirou will not become Archer. If anything, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that the scene is just there to fill in the gaps about what happened in the immediate aftermath of the events of Fifth HGW and act as more Rin/Shirou fanservice. It’s the final episode, so why not just give your audience diabetes ten times over? Just look at it!

God, I’m really sorry if this many images bothers anyone—but I just can’t help it, it’s too cute and amazing.

But yeah... good fanservice. Doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything thematically relevant or important to the characterization our heroes receive, right?

Well...

This... is what the episode is all about.

Shirou doesn’t want to betray Rin.

“Thanks for bringing me with you.“ Shirou is profoundly grateful to Rin for giving him this wonderful opportunity to be with her and spend time with her. He is so very happy to be able to cherish his time with the girl that he loves... but he can’t stay at Clock Tower. Rin is the only reason that he is happy there. He feels uncomfortable with the subject of his future there, too afraid to openly and honestly express his feelings to Rin, because he doesn’t want to break her heart. For all that Shirou has matured, he is still just a young man trying to find his place in the world, confused and scared; scared that he might have to abandon the girl he loves so dearly—scared of what she might say. He doesn’t want to spit all over her effort and hard work, all that she has ever done for him; fundamentally, Shirou’s conflict in this episode is about Rin. It’s about his struggling with the difficulties of maintaining the relationship that he has built with her, and his fears that it might not last. His fears that Rin wouldn’t understand what he’s going through, and reject him for it. And that in doing so... his fate will as Archer will be sealed.

But that’s not what happens. When he is finally forced to explain himself to her, he is surprised to hear that she isn’t mad at all. No, she’s wholly supportive of him! Encouraging, even! In fact... she’s the one reassuring him. Earlier in the narrative, Rin was Shirou’s foil as the down to the earth realist to his wide-eyed, idealism. Rin was the one with the self-esteem issues; Shirou was the one who kept charging at the impossible without a doubt in his mind about his chances of success. The confession was all about Shirou’s providing Rin with the necessary support to get back up due to his holding her in a higher regard than she did herself; to Shirou, she was always the amazing, incredible girl who never quits despite all the things weighing on her back. And now, in a beautiful symmetry... it’s her, the girl who didn’t think she had it in her to strive for the impossible, giving encouragement to him, the boy who never did quit, who now has doubts about his future... to never quit. Because she believes in him, just like he believed in her.

People tend to grievously misunderstand what Rin says in this episode—it’s responsible for like 90% of the stupid takes on this episode and the future of the Rin/Shirou pair. She never claims that she will always follow Shirou around; she quite openly states that she eventually wishes to settle down at Clock Tower, because pursuing magecraft is fun, it’s her dream, and it makes her happy. She just doesn’t think that is necessarily incompatible with her being with Shirou. Just like Shirou had made a temporary sacrifice coming to London to spend time with her, so too will Rin now make a slight detour from her path to accomplishing her dream to support the most precious person in her life. It’s why I find it somewhat regrettable that Shirou’s monologues were removed from the classroom scene; it would have been nice to have it be readily apparent within the show itself without recourse to the VN that there’s a symmetry between Shirou’s going to London with Rin and Rin’s going on adventures with Shirou. I understand the omission, given the excellent execution, but it was nonetheless an imperfection solution; perhaps the only one there was. But I can still lament, can’t I?

Rin and Shirou’s relationship is going to face a lot of issues. It’s not going to be easy. A clash of wants is inevitable. But Rin is willing to make it work. She is going to make it work. For both of their sakes. The beauty of Rin and Shirou’s relationship is in its striving towards an ideal; it can never be perfect, but it still comes close to being so. Its imperfections make it more than perfect. Theirs is a relationship just like any other—filled with ups and downs. The proof of their love is not in the absence of problems, but in their having the patience, understanding and mutual respect to overcome them, together. Many people when praising the Shirin pair like to adduce its being the most “realistic” of the three VN relationships in its favour. I think such people are doing it a massive disservice by doing so. Shirin is wonderful because it’s a highly idealized version of a normal relationship. Just look at the episode! Their love story is a like a fairy tale! The entire story is about Rin and Shirou, partners in crime; just the two of them against the whole world. Falling love in the midst of a conflict filled with strange mystic mages and legendary heroes from the past. And yet... it feels so down to earth. It feels like something that could occur in your own neighbourhood. What makes me love it so much is this careful but amazing balance between reality and fantasy; it’s just the story of a boy and a girl falling in love... but it feels like a grand epic. Both of them are strange and downright weird people... yet they are also just two regular teenagers, doing regular teenage things. Two regular people, stuck in extraordinary circumstances where they don’t belong... and making the best of it. Together. And nothing exemplifies that more for me that this one final scene at the end of episode 25, perfectly encapsulating why they are so great.

Many people lament the absence of more physical affection between Rin and Shirou, in both the VN and the anime. I sympathize with such people; I myself wish we had gotten many more hugs, kisses and cuddling than we did. And yet... I feel as though in decrying what is not there, they fail to appreciate what was there. Because frankly, few things have made me as emotional as this one handshake.

[givehimthemedicine]

why the mothergate opening and the demogorgon's entry could not have been virtually-simultaneous events

(putting this point out solo as background logic for some other gate stuff I'm working on)

so mostly this post is about when this very first scene actually occurs:

I think they want us to think it immediately follows the gate opening scene, but we have some clues that it does not.

Elevator Scientist

Elevator Scientist appears in both water tank flashback scenes.

here he is in the first tank flashback (seen throughout 1x05), the one where El is spying on the Russian and hears demogorgon noises. she screams and bangs on the tank wanting to be let out. we are not shown what goes on outside.

and here he is in the second tank flashback, the 1x06 one, the one where El actually finds the demogorgon, screams, and the mothergate opens.

based on those two guys having the same shirts and ties, these flashbacks would appear to be from the same day.

since we're shown the room full of scientists panicking and scurrying for the exits in this scene, it's easy to figure this is where the Elevator Scientist scene picks up. but let's look closer at:

Elevator Scientist's costume design

do you see my problem with the idea that these scenes happen in fairly rapid succession?

gate:

fleeing:

in his panic, he took the time to unclip his ID - not his keycard, but his ID, which plays no role in his ability to navigate the building - from his outer coat pocket and clip it instead to his shirt pocket? that doesn't make sense. I also am not sure I see the same pens in his pocket.

frustratingly, they don't let us see any more of him in flashback #1, so I can't know whether it matches then. (it doesn't make sense for it to have happened then, but still, I'd like to have seen it.)

the only reason I can think of for moving your ID is if you took your coat off and had to move your ID to your shirt.

time must've elapsed between these scenes, during which ES felt calm enough to still care where his ID was clipped when he removed his coat. he was not in a continuous state of panic from the cracking of the wall to his fleeing.

the different vibe in the tank room

when ES first bursts through the doorway, they let you see just a glimpse of the tank room behind him. it lacks the erratically flashing cold-blue lighting and crowded pandemonium of the gate opening scene, as well as...

the alarm

clips in video form below so you can hear what I mean.

the alarm sounds immediately when El screams and the wall starts cracking. (it's not super prominent in this scene's mixing but you can hear it.)

however, Elevator Scientist scene begins with a long shot of the HNL hallway in silence. only when he bursts out of the tank room door does the alarm begin.

unless that door was 100% soundproof and the alarm was sounding solely inside the tank room. which. I don't know what the point of that would be. the alarm persists all down the hallway to the elevator so I don't feel like that's the case. and according to the massacre, that alarm sounds all over the building.

my point here is that the alarm has not been going off continuously ever since the wall cracked. these are two separate soundings of the alarm, another indication that we are missing some time in between these events.

Brenner and Scientist #1's wardrobe

this guy, named Scientist #1 in the script (ha), is the other guy at Brenner's side during El's tank experiments.

the script says of Brenner: "loose tie, stubble, clearly hasn't slept in some time."

I can't say Brenner actually looks disheveled in the final product. and I also notice Scientist #1, who you'd think would be having a similarly hectic morning, is wearing a different shirt and tie than when the gate opened. Brenner is Steve Jobsing with his black ties in s1 so I can't tell if he changed.

what's that have to do with my proposed missing scene? I guess nothing. perhaps this script detail was truly discarded. perhaps the man simply took a shower the next morning. I'm just looking at this squinty in case this has timeline implications I'll revisit later.

Scientist #1's omitted lines

as they walked into the tank room, Scientist #1 originally had more lines that confirm we're missing a scene:

surely, in all his specificity about where each person was standing, Scientist #1 wouldn't fail to mention that Elevator Scientist was also right next to them. he doesn't, because he's not describing the gate opening scene.

their next dialogue is in regards to whether "it" came from the gate (which we assume to mean the demogorgon, because that's all we had going on in season 1 but hey, who knows). Scientist #1 is clearly referring to an unseen event that happened after the gate opened but before the Elevator Scientist fled.

the moment "it" entered.

this also indicates Brenner was there to see it.

what happened to the other scientists?

we know they didn't all die.

Brenner and #1 obviously survived in their observation chamber (I'm rolling in that sentence like a dog in poop)

@aemiron-main here's some name bullshit for you: I was gonna say that we know Elevator Scientist must be one of the doctors other than Shepherd, because that's the guy who goes into the gate later on:

but actually that guy's name is spelled "Shepard". to be exact he's "Test Pilot Shepard", according to the transcript (I can't find a legit 1x04 script, can anyone hook me up?)

why must we have a Shepherd and a Shepard in the mix. PLEASE can we have normal things. just for a minute. pleeease.

anyway Brenner tells Joyce at the end of 1 that "six people have been taken this week" and Will, Barb, Elevator Scientist, those two hunters, and Shepard make six. so I don't have any solid reason to think any other scientists died in addition to ES. I'm gonna say they fled through other exits and call it a day.

what happened to El?

obviously this didn't make it into the show but:

a shot of the water tank "filled with water but no one's in there" PLEASE BE FOR REAL. Duffers why would you exclude this.

so together with them wanting us to think Elevator Scientist is running from something immediately after the gate opens, the aim of that empty water tank shot would've been for us to wrongly assume El mysteriously vanished from her tank when the gate opened.

whereas really I think El was simply let out during the time they didn't want us to realize was missing.

my reconstruction:

experiment 1. El panics and is let out of the tank, and taken probably either to her room or the infirmary depending how shaken she is.

knowing they're onto something, Brenner summons a bunch more observers and convinces El to go back in the tank later the same day.

experiment 2. the wall cracks, the alarm sounds, everybody freaks, spectators flee. El is let out of the tank again. Brenner either personally escorts El to safety or orders her escorted by orderlies, depending whether El or monitoring the gate is his top priority. (probably the latter)

initial panic dies down, the alarm is cancelled. a core team of scientists remain in the tank room to keep an eye on that crack in the wall - Shepherd, Braun, Wilkins, and Manning in the outer tank room, and Brenner and Scientist #1 in the observation chamber.

they observe the crack - which may or may not already be spreading - for some time on the order of many minutes to some hours. at least enough time for Elevator Scientist to feel warm from the excitement, remove his coat and reclip his ID, then wait around long enough and calmly enough to get cold again, and put his coat back on.

eventually, Brenner and the others witness the demogorgon(?) enter through the gate. somebody sounds the alarm again. they scatter. Elevator Scientist flees and gets yoinked.

this chaos may equal a lack of supervision on El elsewhere in the building, and this could be when she makes her escape.

anyone see any glaring issues, before I build more theory on top of this?

and this is the SIMPLE (single El / single timeline) version mind you

[meat-wentz]

you are an mcr blogger stop posting about fob and leave it to the real fans

okay so i wanna actually talk about this because it’s something i’ve seen a lot recently and kinda came to a head last night with fob trending.

ya gotta understand that there was an obvious influx of bandom with the return of mcr. like myself, although i’ve had dedicated fan accounts on other platforms, made this account so i could actually *engage* with the tour in a way i couldn’t engage with it on other platforms. you gotta understand i’ve been on tumblr for 14 years (in a week it will be my main’s 14th birthday!) but i also haven’t been actively involved in tumblr fan spaces in a really really long time, like a decade probably. so this account came with some adjusting, especially considering how different of a space tumblr is (more suited for long posting, analysis, ongoing jokes and more stable friendships/relationships to mutuals). so yeah i came here for tour but stayed because it’s really one of the best online spaces for community i could recommend (not surprising, i’m still friends on facebook with a bunch of my mutuals from 2010).

but also something to consider is, for a lot of people, this is their first dive into bandom in any meaningful way. not only are they making connections in a generally positive environment, they’re also engaging with material in a way that you can’t really get on any other platform (analysis! parallels! deep dives! inside jokes that last more than three days when meme cycles run dry after 24 hours in other places! the ability to say fuck without punishment! a more open space for queerness to thrive! and most of the time, a general welcome to horny content) so there’s also an adjustment time for everyone else too, which is why we keep having to have the same conversation about bandom racism every few weeks, and now too why fob is coming up in reference to petekey, because mcr/fob crossover fans are noticing how the mcr fandom consistently reduces fob’s line of work down to a punchline (especially considering many of which do not engage with fob at all).

personally, now that tour is over, i started posting about fob because they are an equally important band to me and because they mean so so so much to my heart and wow! i finally have a space to talk about it with people who are interested in hearing my thoughts about it (or not, if i’m not for you, i’m not for you), AND i wanna hear about and engage with all the cool people on here about their thoughts too! and i think a lot of fans now have the brain space/dash space to actually talk about fob, or engage for the first time with fob, which is so awesome!!! the way i’ve always approached tumblr is as a personalized archive, so that’s why i’ve been posting things that may have been posted before, doing intro lore and jokes and dives, because i like having a place i know i can reference in the future.

i know this is an arduous process for people who are dedicated fob bloggers and have been for years, to see a lot of people blogging about fob solely in reference to a ship for months on end and then they get recognition on the trending page for the same damn thing but this time saying “stop doing that” i know it’s hard to see your favorite band only recognized not by their artistry or their members or their music or any of the cool things about them, but by their relationship to another band. i feel like right now it’s a transitional phase for a lot of people into bandom blogging just in general, i know a lot of blogs who have never been bandom blogs but now are dedicated bandom bloggers just in the past year! so there’s adjustments to be made, stuff to learn, annoying conversations to have, but don’t doubt for one second, i hold fob in my heart and always have and i am so so so grateful to have a space and community to express that love with. i’m sorry to all the fob bloggers out there that are seeing this awkward kinda messy transition, i know it’s annoying af and will continue to be but know there are bloggers out here who are genuinely in it for their love of fob and lots of new fans out there who will look to you to guide them into their new favorite band!!! for now there’s going to be a lot of rehashing of ground already beaten to death so apologies on behalf of the post-mcr wreckage.

to you, personally, anon, idk what you consider a real fan but i don’t have to prove my credentials to you, so sorry if that’s what you were looking for. like i mean this with all good intention, but if you don’t like seeing me around, you’re totally cool to block me! you deserve to experience your favorite band the way you want to and at the end of the day i’m just some guy, don’t let me be the person that makes you upset to come on tumblr and engage in a way that feels meaningful and positive for you.

[smalltownfae]

Hi! How are you? :)

5 and 9 for the fun asks, pls :3

Hello. I am fine and I hope you are doing well :D Thank you for the asks.

5. what made you start your blog?

This blog I started because I got addicted to a book series called Realm of the Elderlings and I had no one to talk to about so I came back to Tumblr. I found a fandom that was pretty dead, but there were a lot of old posts. I eventually even made a side blog just for that so I didn't annoy my non-RotE followers because I was so obsessed I was even annoying my irl friends that wanted nothing to do with it. The fandom slowly started to ressurrect and I am glad to see that it's quite active nowadays.

My first tumblr blog I created because all of my friends had one when it was popular in our teen years. It was a very different blog, mostly with reblogs about movies, anime and tv shows. Then when it lost popularity I got out too, but later I created another one with basically the same themes, but also astrology posts and random photos of people because one single irl friend still used tumblr and she is very much into movies and shows. So, I had two tumblr blogs before and I am the sole survivor here when it comes to irl friends and this so far has been the best experience. I found friends because I was finally creating posts instead of just reblogging stuff and because the fandoms were so tiny that eventually everyone found each other here and was glad someone else was into the same thing.

9. tell a story about your childhood

I already answered this one before, but I guess I can tell a different story. My memory is pretty bad, but I will try to remember something.

Okay, I remembered the one time I appeared on tv. I was in fourth grade or something and my class participated in a game show called Zig Zag. We needed 4 participants, but my class only had 3 because everyone was refusing to participate. I was peer-pressed into it because believe it or not I used to be a people pleaser (maybe that is exactly why I am the opposite nowadays, a people displeasurer). The other 3 (that used to bully me at times btw) picked me because I was one of the fastest kids in class. So, I went there and participated. I was the first of my class to be eliminated, but we ended up winning. I won a shitty cap, a pen and a shirt with the name of the show and I also won a computer videogame that was strategy with planes or wtv. I never played that, but one of my cousins liked it. One of my aunts was surprised to see me on tv and she videotaped it. She called my mom like "I saw your daughter on tv" and my mom was like "oh yeah, I didn't, but she did bring stuff home from that program". I also didn't see myself on tv because I already felt stupid enough jumping with the bouncing balls when I was participating. I didn't need to see it too.

That is the story of how I helped my bullies to win shitty gifts and I appeared on tv. I was never that dumb again.

[icejinlov3r]

Announcements

A few important announcements about my writing.

Bad news first - I’m sure anyone who’s read it has noticed I haven’t updated “Taboo Feelings” in awhile. This isn’t because I lost inspiration! Im still super into the concept! But….it’s one of the rare cases where the story isn’t coming out like I wanted.

There are some good moments, but for me, the pacing is completely uneven. Some moments feel like they drag on too long, and some feel rushed. Plus im unconsciously focusing more on Frieza/Frost less than Cell/Zamasu. It’s difficult to write two main ships for a story. “Dungeons and Dragon Balls” was different because I had their relationship completely planned out - not so much here. Overall, I’m not feeling happy with how it’s turning out.

I thought about scrapping it entirely, but I still LOVE the idea, so I’m not doing that. But I am going to rewrite it! When? No idea, when I have more of an idea what to do. It will be more focused as a Frieza/Frost story, with Cell/Zamasu as just a little side plot. I’ll leave the old version up, so people can still read that one. But a new, better version is to be expected - eventually.

Okay, now for the good news!

I will be starting a new story really soon! To anyone who liked the innocent children fluff in “The Emperor’s Reign”, you’ll probably like this - it’ll be called “Little Tykes”. It’ll be a simple story of Frieza, Frost, Zamasu, and Cell as adorable six year olds! Going on little adventures, learning lessons, and getting into trouble! I *did* draw some cute promotional art that I planned to show last night, but for whatever reason, I can’t save it on my phone or my computer, this I can’t post it on here. But anyway, I’ll try to have the first chapter of that up in a couple days or so.

And finally, I’m considering writing a new Dragon Ball Oneshots book - only it’d be solely for requests!

To anyone who’s read my other DBZ oneshots book, you know I didn’t accept ANY requests (except a couple I offered to my close friends). This is cause I only felt like writing specific things for awhile, AND I didn’t think anyone would care for my writing - specifically, how I wrote NSFW stuff.

But, considering it’s my most popular book on my account, and I’ve gotten several good comments about what I wrote, I think I’d be good at it. This isn’t solidified though, I could change my mind. Which is why I want your guy’s opinion - is this something you guys would be interested in?

That’s all I’ve got for now. I hope you guys continue to enjoy my writing! 😊😊

[sarifel-corrisafid-ilxhel]

My Opinion on AI Art

I am going to put this on my main blog where everyone can see it, because I have seen a lot of different takes about AI generated imagery and I wanted to share my take. Do what you will with this information, but keep in mind it is only in relation to the state of AI generated imagery in 2022. If you come back to this in 2025 and scream at me about some controversy that has occurred after this was posted, I will hit you with a brick.

Okay. First things first, is an AI generated image art? Well, let's look at it. As of this writing, there are no sentient AIs, and all pictures made by an AI are made at the behest of a human*. The human involvement in these images is significant: humans start the projects, come up with the ideas, run as many iterations as they want, make changes to the inputs as they need to, and decide what the final product is. Humans may take the images the AI generated and edit them, modify them, paint over them, etc. The AI, much like a spirograph or a bucket of paint dangling from a rope, is just an algorithm to create images with.

In this regard, because most of the conscious decisions are being made by a human and it's being done recreationally (as opposed to being a survival tool), it is art. Full stop. What kind of art it is, the quality of it due to visual artifacts, and whether it should be in its own category away from art created with more traditional tools are all separate questions from the intent that drives it, which is that a human wanted to make something for fun. That's the only criteria needed for it to be art.

*Human here is used to mean "Living thing that thinks", and can include H. sapiens, elephants, aliens, time travelers, crows, and members of the family Hominidae that don't belong to the species H. sapiens

Now, onto the second part. The way most of the AIs we have seen so far have been trained is just wrong for a product that's being released as an art tool. For our own reference, let's look at how websites use art. When an artist joins an art website, they give that website permission to store the image, distribute the image to other computers which request access to the image, and make alterations to the image (e.g. make tiny versions of it to use as a thumbnail). That's part of the Terms of Service for every art website, and if you didn't know that you should go read the TOS again. However, the artists did not give the same permission to the groups that run these AIs, and they did not give the website permission to transfer permissions. That means when the AI makers scraped the internet for images to train the AI with, they did so without getting anyone's permission. This is the part people should be upset about.

Now, we've all downloaded images to our hard drives, shared pictures we like with our friends, and even studied other artists to figure out how they do that fiddly thing we don't know how to do yet. Individually, that's okay. We're not claiming the picture is ours. But these groups are creating AIs that will regurgitate pictures they have been trained with and then people attribute those pictures to the AI, not to the original artist. That's basically the art version of money laundering. At this time, that means the only ethical AIs to use are the ones that were trained solely on public domain works or had permission from the original creators of the works being used. And as far as I can tell, no AI image generator that meets those criteria exists yet. The people who made these tools made them without any consideration for the people who may be impacted by these tools, and that's not cool.

Now, the third part. Some artists are freaking out because they think AI art will replace them. I personally do not share this opinion. As we have seen from various other industries, such as the jewelry industry or furniture industry, people will pay a premium for the artisanal stuff even though mass produced alternatives exist, even if the mass produced stuff is equal in quality. I believe that tendency will also occur in the art world, and there will always be a place for independent and professional artists as a result. Photography did not end the career of the landscape painter, nor did CGI destroy the job of the set designer. There were periods of upheaval, yes, but at the end of the day things settled into a new normal and those jobs continued to exist.

Furthermore, we already have hobbyist artists who do great work for next to nothing, and that hasn't driven independent or professional artists out of business either. One only needs to look at the sheer disparity of prices in the Furry Fandom to see that independent artists can compete even in a market saturated with low cost artwork.

So, that's my opinion, and I look forward to giving AI generated imagery another shot when they come out with an AI that was created with informed consent and input from artists.

[lancecharleson]

Well well well...

This one goes out to all the tumblr influencers who helped much of this site’s userbase migrate to Twitter.

I have a lot of things to say that I know some of you don’t want to hear.

But before I do, I want you to know that I am fully aware that Apple's policies and Tumblr (circa 2018)'s irrational decision making is what resulted in The Tumblr Exodus of 2018 happening. What I want to talk about is how many of you with more clout than most were ready to flock, nail and rivet yourself to the birdapp, let complacency run it's course, and why there needs to be accountability from those who influenced the direction of the Exodus. So...

Congratulations! You ended up wasting so much of people's precious time, forcing them to rebuild their audience again on a platform that was doomed from the start to be taken over by genuinely godawful people (thanks largely to how the site's algorithm works). If I were you, I wouldn't plan on sticking around to see it get worse with Lonnie Muskrat at the helm, who's planning to allow all the cultists and bullies who were banned 2 years ago (for PR reasons and not the constant breaking of community guidelines) back onto the platform, who continue to pretend having no semblance of an ethical compass is the same thing as having a "differing opinion." But no, you keep insisting: "OH but there are people on there who can't afford to start over again!"

"OH but it's the place where everyone and everything is (no it's not)!"

"OH but the alternative sites you recommend aren't the jack of all trades social media sites that twitter is!"

"OH but there are extensions to help you block out all the horrible stuff and curate the site in a way that makes twitter a more """comfy""" experience!"

"OH but-

OH SO WHAT?

Some of us were telling you for YEARS since The 2018 Exodus to seek alternate sites that aren't like Twitter, or at least diversify to multiple sites and use your influence on the birdapp, to spread the word around to help people connect with each other (if you're reading this right now and you're someone who's done any or all of these things, then disregard this rant).

Yet you didn't want to listen.

You made ZERO effort to plan in the long term how to keep your social presence on the internet known by alternate means, just in case a catastrophe like the twitsla merger happened. You had MONTHS in advance to make a good head start on just that, and you chose to stick to that hellsite. 

I don't care what you say to convince me there is no alternative to Twitter, I am never going back.

This is the final straw. I've had enough.

I have always hated Twitter, ever since I moved there.

4 years of experience on there has resulted in far too many painful memories to count than good, and I’m not staying to make more.

The first year I spent on there wasn’t so bad, but then 2019 was the year when I was given a glimpse of just how awful that particular side of site’s userbase can be.

Beyond that though, the site is dogshit when it comes to elevating artists, it’s limited word format has destroyed attention spans, there is no way to sort or archive posts, it has a genuinely triggering trend feed designed in such a way to solely generate clicks, and it has a heavily biased algorithm that does not favor voices who genuinely want to be a powerful force for good in this world.

But worst of all, I am disgusted to even occupy the same space as the billionaire worshippers who laugh, circlejerk, and delight in their insatiable desire to destroy democracy, society and human life. Bullying and harassment from those bad actors has always been a big problem on Twitter, a problem that, believe it or not, was actually getting close to being solved by the site’s software engineering team, who’ve been pushing for algorithmic transparency and choice, and inventing and building ethical AI tooling and methodologies to deal with the problem. Too fucking bad that’s been thrown away by a multi-billionaire manchild, who has signalled loud and clear he intends to exacerbate that problem, as he’s fired the team, without notice no less, along with another notable team that is vital to ensuring hate speech isn’t normalized on the platform.

Those bastards are coming en mass to harass and dox all your friends who either come from marginalized backgrounds or don't have the same level of clout as you do, and I highly recommend you start instructing them on where to branch out and ensure them you have their backs every step of the way right now.

Despite what happened, communities on Tumblr continue to thrive, and while it's nice that the site’s company is more lax about artistic nudity in the same vein as DeviantArt (to whatever extent that is), I still wish they did more by, at the very least, doing what Discord did and only restrict access to the nasty stuff to Apple users only, rather than the scorch-the-earth approach they did 4 years ago. 

There's also places like Pillowfort, Cohost, and if you're an artist specifically there's sites like DA, Newgrounds and Itaku. There are many more sites that I’m probably missing that some people know about (and can recommend in the replies), but they exist. The key is to spread the word around and let your friends know where you are. 

There’s also the spiritual successor to Twitter coming soon called BlueSky, being developed by jack and all the former employees that muskrat fired, which began right as lonnie announced his intentions to colonize Twitter. But who knows how that’ll turn out. Whether or not they’ll also take onboard the HR team and the software engineers to continue working on their ethical algorithm and AI projects, remains to be seen.   

I can already see coming from a mile away all the people coming to tell me “All those sites are shit because of one or two flaws” or “Barely anyone goes there forehead, it’s a ghost town.”

What is stopping you from trying anyway?

You want to stay on Twitter so badly? Fine, more power to you. 

But I promise you moving shop is better than being on a social media site that is quickly becoming an amalgamation of everything wrong with Youtube, 4Chan and Facebook.

If you made it this far into the post, thank you for reading, and welcome back.

[spanishskulduggery]

Hi! I'm studying B1.2/B2 level Spanish and I want to learn * words to express things more*...(recently I learned,, conectores del discurso,, and some ,,frases hechas,,)

I'm sorry if you already posted something like this, I'm a new follower and I just saw that you have this account since 2013! (P.S.between it's hard for me to study words for any language; I have to write 1 word 10 times to memorize it,and others just read it once)

Have a great day!🌸

So I'm going to attach some of the (what I call) academic connectors. They're just words that I find really helpful for explaining things or especially in oral exams or written exams to sound more coherent and link your sentences together.

I suppose the more correct term is something like particles of speech or something along those lines, but they're the kinds of phrases you will want to know if you have any intention of writing in Spanish and especially if it's in an academic setting:

de hecho = in fact, as a matter of fact

no obstante = nevertheless, regardless

de todas formas = in any event, regardless

sin embargo = however, nevertheless

con respecto a (algo/alguien) = regarding (something/someone), with regards to (something/someone)

en cuanto a (algo/alguien) = regarding, with regards to

por lo general = in general generalmente/normalmente = generally / normally

mayormente = for the most part, mostly, mainly en su mayoría = mainly, in its majority, for the most part

en realidad = actually, in reality

actualmente = currently, nowadays hoy en día = currently, nowadays, today

antiguamente = formerly, in the past, previously

por lo tanto = therefore, as such

a su paso = “in its wake”, “in its path”

a medida que = "as", "while (something is/was happening)"

ya que... = since, given that...

así = like that, that way

así que... = so..., that being the case...

pues... = then / since..., that being the case...

entonces = then [in a sequence of events] / then, consequently

por consiguiente / consiguientemente = consequently, as a consequence

de una vez = for once de una vez por todas = once and for all

por enésima vez = "for the umpteenth time", "for the hundredth/millionth time" [hyperbolic]

al principio = in the beginning, at the start

al fin = at the end, in the end, at last, finally

lo primero es lo primero = “first things first”

por último, finalmente = lastly, finally, ultimately

dicho eso... = that being said...

susodicho/a = aforementioned

de antemano = beforehand

a lo largo de (periodo de tiempo) = throughout (time period)

durante = during / for

últimamente = lately, recently

según (algo/alguien) = according to (something/someone) / as per

de acuerdo con (algo) = as per (something), in accordance with

por lo visto = apparently, "it would seem..."

desde luego (que) = of course, surely

en absoluto = absolutely not, in no way

a pesar de (algo/alguien) = despite, in spite of (something/someone) pese a (algo/alguien), despite, in spite of (something/someone)

a partir de = starting (at a point), since, from a partir de hoy = starting today, from today on a partir de aquí = from here on out a partir de ahora = starting now, from now on a partir de entonces = from that point on, from then on a partir de mañana = as of tomorrow, starting tomorrow

de ahora/hoy en adelante = from now on, from this point on

en tal caso... = in that case...

por defecto = by default

principalmente = for the most part, mainly, mostly

además = furthermore, in addition

por casualidad = by chance, coincidentally

al azar = at random, randomly

al menos / por lo menos = at least

al contrario = on the contrary

por el contrario = by contrast

en cambio = in contrast, by contrast, conversely

al revés = upside-down, inside-out, topsy-turvy

(todo) patas arriba = “upside-down”, “everything in chaos”, “turned on its ear/head”

de igual manera = in the same way de igual forma = in the same way del mismo modo = in the same way igualmente = likewise, in the same way

de manera diferente = differently de otra manera = differently, in a different way de otro modo = differently

tal y como = just like, exactly tal y como es = exactly how it is

de/en cierto modo = in some way / in a sense de cierta manera = in some way / in a sense

en algún sentido = in a sense en cierto sentido = in a sense

de una manera u otra = one way or another de una forma u otra = one way or another

apenas = hardly, barely a duras penas = hardly, barely

a secas = plainly, simply

en lugar de, en vez de = instead (of) [you’d phrase this as en lugar de algo “instead of something”, or en su lugar “in its stead” or “in its place”; it takes some getting used to]

por accidente, accidentalmente = accidentally, by mistake

todavía = still

de vez en cuando = “from time to time”

a la vez = at the same time, simultaneously

en promedio, como media = on average

por las buenas = “the easy way”

por las malas = “the hard way”

de corto plazo = short-term

de largo plazo = long-term

a cambio (de) = in exchange (for)

a propósito = on purpose, not an accident

por cierto = by the way

a/en todos los efectos = for all intents and purposes en todo sentido = for all intents and purposes

mientras tanto = meanwhile

hasta = until, up to / even, including hasta que + subjuntivo = until (something happens; subjunctive)

incluso = even, including

al pie de la letra = “to a T”, exactly, precisely, “by the book” tomar al pie de la letra = to be very precise and methodical

(tomar algo) a la ligera = (to take something) lightly

por dondequiera / por doquier = “everywhere”, “every which way”, “all over the place”

de cabo a rabo = completely, through and through

al fin y al cabo = “at the end of the day”

por (el) otro lado = “on the other hand”

que yo sepa = as far as I know que tú sepas = as far as you know que nosotros sepamos = as far as we know [follows conjugation rules for subjunctive saber]

es decir (que)... = that is to say..., in other words...

o sea... = in other words...

And obviously por and para which are their own issue but they come up a lot. Which is understandable but they’re a big hurdle even for people in the C levels

There are others that are better understood with examples because it’s not enough to just write it. So:

aun vs. aún -aun with no accent is “even” and is synonymous with hasta or incluso -aún with the accent is “yet” and is synonymous with todavía

o sea -The expression o sea is used as “in other words”; do not confuse it with óseo/a which is “osseous” or “bone-related”, an adjectival form of hueso “bone”. Some people do write it as one word “osea” but it really should be separate... and sea is technically subjunctive ser

certain expressions with femenino de indeterminación -a solas “one-on-one” or “privately” -a sabiendas “knowing full well” -a ciegas “blindly” or “in the dark” -a escondidas “secretly”  And many others, some of which were in the longer vocab list above

subjunctive phrases [use with care] -There are many phrases with subjunctive that you eventually need to know and they can be helpful in essays, though again this is its own topic. Things like para que “so that (something will happen)” or con tal (de) que “as long as (something happens)” are sort of subjunctive phrases of unmet conditions... things like “unless” or “until” things happen are subjunctive in many cases. Some like aunque become “although” with indicative and “even though / even if” in subjunctive... I say use with care because this is more of a functional vocab list not a grammar lesson.

solo, sólo, y solamente -solo/a as an adjective means “only/single/a single person” or it means “alone” -solo as an adverb is synonymous with sólo. The accent mark there is a vocal inflection so it’s like “ONLY”. You use either as “only” or “just”. Since it’s an adverb, solo will not change for gender/plural -solamente is “solely” and is synonymous with solo/sólo

pero vs. sino -pero is “but” when you’re changing the topic or providing different information; no es de Alemania pero habla alemán “he’s not German but he speaks German” -sino is “but rather” when you’re correcting someone’s statement; no es alemán sino francés “he’s not German (but rather), he’s French”

I would also say it’s worth understanding how ya works because it’s got a lot of uses

I’m also going to attach some links to my tags that will help you navigate and find more of what you might be interested in:

Vocabulary

Idiomatic Expressions (especially the older entries tend to be more universal; the newer ones are expressions I tend to find and am interested in sharing so if you go into my archive and look for the tag “idiomatic expressions” or “expresiones idiomaticas”

Grammar ...which is probably not what you need right at this moment, but in case you want to peruse my stuff on different grammatical concepts I have everything from present tense to imperfect subjunctive

[mcmansionhell]

Coronagrifting: A Design Phenomenon

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled content to bring you a critical essay on the design world. I promise you that this will also be funny. 

This morning, the design website Dezeen tweeted a link to one of its articles, depicting a plexiglass coronavirus shield that could be suspended above dining areas, with the caption “Reader comment: ‘Dezeen, please stop promoting this stupidity.’”

This, of course, filled many design people, including myself, with a kind of malicious glee. The tweet seemed to show that the website’s editorial (or at least social media) staff retained within themselves a scintilla of self-awareness regarding the spread a new kind of virus in its own right: cheap mockups of COVID-related design “solutions” filling the endlessly scrollable feeds of PR-beholden design websites such as Dezeen, ArchDaily, and designboom. I call this phenomenon: Coronagrifting. 

I’ll go into detail about what I mean by this, but first, I would like to presenet some (highly condensed) history. 

From Paper Architecture to PR-chitecture

Back in the headier days of architecture in the 1960s and 70s, a number of architectural avant gardes (such as Superstudio and Archizoom in Italy and Archigram in the UK) ceased producing, well, buildings, in favor of what critics came to regard as “paper architecture.” This “paper architecture” included everything from sprawling diagrams of megastructures, including cities that “walked” or “never stopped” - to playfully erotic collages involving Chicago’s Marina City. Occasionally, these theoretical and aesthetic explorations were accompanied by real-world productions of “anti-design” furniture that may or may not have involved foam fingers. 

Archigram’s Walking City (1964). Source.

Paper architecture, of course, still exists, but its original radical, critical, playful, (and, yes, even erotic) elements were shed when the last of the ultra-modernists were swallowed up by the emerging aesthetic hegemony of Postmodernism (which was much less invested in theoretical and aesthetic futurism) in the early 1980s. What remained were merely images, the production and consumption of which has only increased as the design world shifted away from print and towards the rapidly produced, easily digestible content of the internet and social media. 

Architect Bjarke Ingels’s “Oceanix” - a mockup of an ecomodernist, luxury city designed in response to rising sea levels from climate change. The city will never be built, and its critical interrogation amounts only to “city with solar panels that floats bc climate change is Serious”  - but it did get Ingels and his firm, BIG, a TED talk and circulation on all of the hottest blogs and websites. Meanwhile, Ingels has been in business talks with the right-wing climate change denialist president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. (Image via designboom) 

Design websites are increasingly dominated by text and mockups from the desks of a firm’s public relations departments, facilitating a transition from the paper-architecture-imaginary to what I have begun calling “PR-chitecture.” In short, PR-chitecture is architecture and design content that has been dreamed up from scratch to look good on instagram feeds or, more simply, for clicks.  It is only within this substance-less, critically lapsed media landscape that Coronagrifting can prosper.

Coronagrifting: An Evolution

As of this writing, the two greatest offenders of Coronagrifting are Dezeen, which has devoted an entire section of its website to the virus (itself offering twelve pages of content since February alone) and designboom, whose coronavirus tag contains no fewer than 159 articles. 

Certainly, a small handful of these stories demonstrate useful solutions to COVID-related problems (such as this one from designboom about a student who created a mask prototype that would allow D/deaf and hard of hearing people to read lips) most of the prototypes and the articles about them are, for a lack of a better word, insipid. 

But where, you may ask, did it all start?

One of the easiest (and, therefore, one of the earliest) Coronagrifts involves “new innovative, health-centric designs tackling problems at the intersection of wearables and personal mobility,” which is PR-chitecture speak for “body shields and masks.” 

Wearables and Post-ables

The first example came from Chinese architect Sun Dayong, back at the end of February 2020, when the virus was still isolated in China. Dayong submitted to Dezeen a prototype of a full mask and body-shield that “would protect a wearer during a coronavirus outbreak by using UV light to sterilise itself.” The project was titled “Be a Bat Man.” No, I am not making this up. 

Screenshot of Dayong’s “Be a Batman” as seen on the Dezeen website. 

Soon after, every artist, architect, designer, and sharp-eyed PR rep at firms and companies only tangentially related to design realized that, with the small investment of a Photoshop mockup and some B-minus marketing text, they too could end up on the front page of these websites boasting a large social media following and an air of legitimacy in the field. 

By April, companies like Apple and Nike were promising the use of existing facilities for producing or supplying an arms race’s worth of slick-tech face coverings. Starchitecture’s perennial PR-churners like Foster + Partners and Bjarke Ingels were repping “3D-printed face shields”, while other, lesser firms promised wearable vaporware like “grapheme filters,” branded “skincare LED masks for encouraging self-development” and “solar powered bubble shields.” 

While the mask Coronagrift continues to this day, the Coronagrifting phenomenon had, by early March, moved to other domains of design. 

Consider the barrage of asinine PR fluff that is the “Public Service Announcement” and by Public Service Announcement, I mean “A Designer Has Done Something Cute to Capitalize on Information Meant to Save Lives.” 

Some of the earliest offenders include cutesy posters featuring flags in the shape of houses, ostensibly encouraging people to “stay home;” a designer building a pyramid out of pillows ostensibly encouraging people to “stay home”; and Banksy making “lockdown artwork” that involved covering his bathroom in images of rats ostensibly encouraging people to “stay home.” 

Lol. Screenshot from Dezeen. 

You may be asking, “What’s the harm in all this, really, if it projects a good message?” And the answer is that people are plenty well encouraged to stay home due to the rampant spread of a deadly virus at the urging of the world’s health authorities, and that these tone-deaf art world creeps are using such a crisis for shameless self promotion and the generation of clicks and income, while providing little to no material benefit to those at risk and on the frontlines.

Of course, like the mask coronagrift, the Public Service Announcement coronagrift continues to this very day. 

The final iteration of Post-able and Wearable Coronagrifting genres are what I call “Passive Aggressive Social Distancing Initiatives” or PASDIs. Many of the first PASDIs were themselves PSAs and art grifts, my favorite of which being the designboom post titled “social distancing applied to iconic album covers like the beatle’s abbey road.” As you can see, we’re dealing with extremely deep stuff here. 

However, an even earlier and, in many ways more prescient and lucrative grift involves “social distancing wearables.” This can easily be summarized by the first example of this phenomenon, published March 19th, 2020 on designboom: 

Never wasting a single moment to capitalize on collective despair, all manner of brands have seized on the social distancing wearable trend, which, again, can best be seen in the last example of the phenomenon, published May 22nd, 2020 on designboom:

We truly, truly live in Hell. 

Which brings us, of course, to living. 

“Architectural Interventions” for a “Post-COVID World”

As soon as it became clear around late March and early April that the coronavirus (and its implications) would be sticking around longer than a few months, the architectural solutions to the problem came pouring in. These, like the virus itself, started at the scale of the individual and have since grown to the scale of the city. (Whether or not they will soon encompass the entire world remains to be seen.) 

The architectural Coronagrift began with accessories (like the designboom article about 3D-printed door-openers that enable one to open a door with one’s elbow, and the Dezeen article about a different 3D-printed door-opener that enables one to open a door with one’s elbow) which, in turn, evolved into “work from home” furniture (”Stykka designs cardboard #StayTheF***Home Desk for people working from home during self-isolation”) which, in turn, evolved into pop-up vaporware architecture for first responders (”opposite office proposes to turn berlin's brandenburg airport into COVID-19 'superhospital'”), which, in turn evolved into proposals for entire buildings (”studio prototype designs prefabricated 'vital house' to combat COVID-19″); which, finally, in turn evolved into “urban solutions” aimed at changing the city itself (a great article summarizing and criticizing said urban solutions was recently written by Curbed’s Alissa Walker).

There is something truly chilling about an architecture firm, in order to profit from attention seized by a global pandemic, logging on to their computers, opening photoshop, and drafting up some lazy, ineffectual, unsanitary mockup featuring figures in hazmat suits carrying a dying patient (macabrely set in an unfinished airport construction site) as a real, tangible solution to the problem of overcrowded hospitals; submitting it to their PR desk for copy, and sending it out to blogs and websites for clicks, knowing full well that the sole purpose of doing so consists of the hope that maybe someone with lots of money looking to commission health-related interiors will remember that one time there was a glossy airport hospital rendering on designboom and hire them. 

Enough, already. 

Frankly, after an endless barrage of cyberpunk mask designs, social distancing burger king crowns, foot-triggered crosswalk beg buttons that completely ignore accessibility concerns such as those of wheelchair users, cutesy “stay home uwu” projects from well-to-do art celebrities (who are certainly not suffering too greatly from the economic ramifications of this pandemic), I, like the reader featured in the Dezeen Tweet at the beginning of this post, have simply had enough of this bullshit. 

What’s most astounding to me about all of this (but especially about #brand crap like the burger king crowns) is that it is taken completely seriously by design establishments that, despite being under the purview of PR firms, should frankly know better. I’m sure that Bjarke Ingels and Burger King aren’t nearly as affected by the pandemic as those who have lost money, jobs, stability, homes, and even their lives at the hands of COVID-19 and the criminally inept national and international response to it. On the other hand, I’m sure that architects and designers are hard up for cash at a time when nobody is building and buying anything, and, as a result, many see resulting to PR-chitecture as one of the only solutions to financial problems. 

However, I’m also extremely sure that there are interventions that can be made at the social, political, and organizational level, such as campaigning for paid sick leave, organizing against layoffs and for decent severance or an expansion of public assistance, or generally fighting the rapidly accelerating encroachment of work into all aspects of everyday life – that would bring much more good and, dare I say, progress into the world than a cardboard desk captioned with the hashtag #StaytheF***Home. 

Hence, I’ve spent most of my Saturday penning this article on my blog, McMansion Hell. I’ve chosen to run this here because I myself have lost work as a freelance writer, and the gutting of publications down to a handful of editors means that, were I to publish this story on another platform, it would have resulted in at least a few more weeks worth of inflatable, wearable, plexiglass-laden Coronagrifting, something my sanity simply can no longer withstand. 

So please, Dezeen, designboom, others – I love that you keep daily tabs on what architects and designers are up to, a resource myself and other critics and design writers find invaluable – however, I am begging, begging you to start having some discretion with regards to the proposals submitted to you as “news” or “solutions” by brands and firms, and the cynical, ulterior motives behind them. If you’re looking for a guide on how to screen such content, please scroll up to the beginning of this page. 

----

If you enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to my Patreon, as I didn’t get paid to write it.  

[greenhappyseed]

Things are getting dark in the BNHA manga, so I wanted to return to brighter times and do a post on Inko Midoriya and her many parallels with All Might. Their interactions are some of my favorites in BNHA, not as a ship (although I am multi-ship friendly) but as two adult humans with little in common and no overlapping life experiences that nonetheless become co-parents because of deep empathy and one determined kid with a knack for bringing people together. The canon Inko-All Might interactions are short, but they occur at critical points in the story and touch on almost all major themes of the series.

The main chapter where All Might and Inko meet starts with them depicted as adversaries, facing off for a fight. #1 hero vs mama bear! Except...they don’t actually fight. They talk through what they each want for Izuku and come to a mutual understanding. These characters really see and trust each other in a way that contrasts with the Todoroki “watch me” story. Before I dive deep, check out the difference between the beginning and the end of Chapter 97, because this art is everything:

Ok, now for the good stuff.

1. In a story about succession and what we owe future generations, Inko is All Might’s predecessor with respect to Izuku. If Nana Shimura gave him OFA and made him a hero, Inko gives him a second life and unofficially-but-actually-officially makes him a “dad.”

2. Much like how All Might can’t be the sole pillar supporting society, Inko can’t be the sole pillar supporting Izuku. The difference is that we watch Inko arrive at this conclusion in the span of one chapter while All Might and, uh, society, aren’t there yet. When Inko truly sees how much Izuku is driven to become a hero, and how much he NEEDS something she can’t give, she starts to back down. Unlike Endeavor, she knows her son’s future is not about her.

Izuku wants this so much he won’t stay with Inko and will “go wherever”.... and it’s almost like All Might will follow to help Izuku be that hero...

3. Speaking of, allowing Izuku to move out at 15 and having All Might “raise” him is an incredible sacrifice on Inko’s part. She’s unexpectedly “retiring” as an active day-to-day parent and letting go of the one thing she spent her life building and protecting. Trusting your life’s work in someone else’s hands is really, really hard, but she does it. (Can All Might?)

After the Overhaul arc, we see Inko acknowledging the progress Izuku has made, which includes All Might by extension (because she’s clearly thinking about him too). Seeing how Izuku can grow without her, Inko is slowly getting comfortable with her decision to “retire.” (Can All Might?)

4. Inko’s weight gain parallels All Might’s weight loss in that both characters neglect themselves to help others (parenting and hero-ing) and they PARTICULARLY ignore themselves when worrying about Izuku.

5. Izuku, Inko, and All Might all seem to know when people need a little saving. Starting with Inko...when All Might flexes into his iconic muscle form and performs dogeza (and then poofs down to his true form), he’s not merely apologizing — he’s showing deference to Inko. She has power over All Might AND she’s not sold on the bloody reality of her son becoming a hero, even if she supports his dream. From here, she could block the next symbol of peace. She could take away the child All Might loves. She could extract whatever she wanted from the longtime #1 hero. Just think about what some other, less charitable characters might do.

But Inko doesn’t take anything from All Might. Instead, Inko sees how much Izuku and All Might need each other (I mean, LOOK AT THEIR FACES when they think she’s saying no!!!). She moves to reassure All Might that Izuku needs him, that she doesn’t hate UA (even though she railed against the school minutes earlier), and that she doesn’t want an big, heroic sacrifice. Inko trusts he will help Izuku “walk a path” different from his bloody one. She just wants a happy child, and All Might is integral to that because these 2 boys are a bonded pair. Izuku lives for All Might and All Might lives for Izuku. All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall. Inko sees how deeply All Might respects and cares for Izuku, to the point that the next symbol of peace is secondary (unlike Endeavor, who is invested in Shoto carrying on his legacy above all else).

Oh hey, 200 chapters later, it turns out All Might IS willing to follow Izuku anywhere, because he just can’t be apart from his boy. And, after Inko and All Might built mutual respect in Chapter 97, we see in Chapter 309 that All Might is not afraid to cry in front of Inko and show his real concern about Izuku. (He doesn’t cry in Chapter 97, but he readily lets the waterworks flow in Chapter 309.)

Now, we don’t see Inko’s reaction to All Might beyond the second panel below, but we know she previously decided to trust the boys despite her own fears. It’s not out of character for her to trust them again. In fact, it’s kinda sweet to see them both reassure her [while still clinging to their dumb plans, sigh]. Izuku makes clear he’s not intending to sacrifice his life, and All Might won’t let Izuku go alone. Of course, both of these promises will be...challenged...in chapters 310+, but the intent is there and that’s all Inko can ask for (I mean, that was all she originally asked of All Might in exchange for her consent — no sacrifice + “look after” Izuku.)

Finally, note how All Might stands throughout the scene, projecting a large, protective presence because it’s his turn to give back. Izuku extends his hand to his mother; All Might extends his height above them both. For all of 309 he’s high above Inko and Izuku; in 97, he’s shown equal to or below Inko except the brief moment he looms over them just before kneeling to the floor.

6. Inko and All Might only interact twice in the manga, but both times are critical turning points between acts AND both times are shortly after encounters with villains — Shigaraki/AFO in particular. The first is in the immediate aftermath of Kamino and All Might’s retirement (literally, All Might retires at the beginning of Chapter 96 and he meets Inko at the end). The second Inko-All Might interaction is in the immediate aftermath of the war and jailbreak (Chapter 309). At a meta-level, Inko’s character page is at the end of Chapter 94, right after we see Izuku & Shigaraki with AFO saying “it’s your turn.”

Interestingly there are TWO earlier near-interactions in canon. The first is in the School Briefs light novel, taking place just after the internships/Stain arc and before final exams. TL;DR: There’s a Parents Day at UA that involves a villain kidnapping 1A’s parents (spoiler: it’s really a rational deception by Aizawa and the parents are in on it). But things go awry and Inko nearly falls into a fire pit for real. A playing-the-villain-but-actually-in-his-true-form All Might swoops in to save her, of course! Afterwards, Inko runs over to thank him, thinking she’s talking to a local theater actor. :)

Lastly, in Chapter 70, right after Izuku runs into Shigaraki at the mall, Inko and All Might are both near Izuku at the police station. However, neither one speaks to or acknowledges the other, and the art doesn’t even show them together. The closest we get is the bottom right panel:

Despite both All Might and Izuku knowing about these two near-meetings, neither one tells Inko. My head canon is that they do this to avoid embarrassing her — she’s obviously terrified when All Might visits her home, so All Might saying, “we’ve met but you didn’t know” would be impolite. Likewise, if she at all remembered All Might from the police station, she doesn’t say so. Kindness all around!

I don’t know if it’s likely, but I’m really hopeful that a “found family” with most (all?) of these characters will happen in the end (maybe with Shigaraki too??)....I enjoy them way too much!!

[sulphuryasecretcloset]

I love Corin and all your ocs so much- you’re awesome and your writings amazing! How did you come up with Corin in the frost place and are you constantly imagining different aus or scenes where he could fit? Like what if Corin and Din met when they were teenagers and somehow Corin was saved and now stays with the covert? Or what if when Dulcy dies when he’s young Macero decides to cut his losses and start over with a new family and so Corin is sent to some orphanage- where at some point whether he’s a teenager or adult he comes in contact with the mandalorians? I have so much trouble with my ocs cause I can’t seem to make a concrete story cause I’m constantly changing it lol all these possibilities how do you do it?!

I am beyond happy to hear you approve of Corin and the other characters and thank you so much for the superkind words on my writing! <3 <3 I'm always so grateful when someone are willing to give him and the others a chance!

Corin's origin was planned, but him staying alive and the story turning into this massive monster that it is? Yeah, that's because of the kind readers who commented on the fic and willed him back to life to have the life he never got to live. Originally, CT-113 was only meant to appear in Ice and Luck, as it was meant to be one out of four one-shots linked through Din and Grogu's eyes. He caught the attention of some kind reviewers on AO3 who declared they'd like to read more about him and so I decided to do Rescue and Regret, where he would be coming back to redeem himself fully and die a heroes death. And, yeah, this is where the power of feedback comes into the picture xD

Corin was dead. I was about to move on with my story. What I didn't expect was the firm 'No' I got from the readers. 'No, he's not dead. He's fine.' xD To my surprise, he was an OC after all, Corin had finally found kind souls in real life that came to his rescue after all the fictional characters had failed to do so. The readers made it clear; he was not allowed to die. And what is a writer but a humble servant of the readers? Never underestimate the power of a message/a comment/a review, because that was what brought Corin back to life and created this entire saga. I may have created him, but the readers gave him life.

As for AUs... Oh, I have so many. Sooooo many. You wouldn't believe how many AUs I have! I don't think I exaggerate when I say I spin about five or six a day, often more. It takes a lot of willpower not to follow each and every one, but I carved out the path I wanted to go with all the main events with milestones and core moments that needed to happen and after that I try to keep my focus solely on the main story. I only slipped once and created the What If-AU, but that wasn't my fault. I was writer-baited by experts! (You know who you are!) My problem is that the AUs can easily be more fun to write if I have to get through an action scene or something complicated in the main story. How do I avoid the AUs when I say I keep spinning them? I keep them only in my head, play with them when I don't have access to my laptop, but I don't write on anything but stuff related to the main story. I have no willpower, so I must keep the temptations out of reach...

I heartily apologize for this long rambling post xD You asked some simple questions and I write an entire saga. I hope you can forgive me <3 And once again; thank you so much for brightening my day with your superkind words! <3

[mintugiyuu]

> here’s the final part of your request @kyojoroo ! I’m so sorry it’s in two different parts, but I learned for the first time that these text boxes have a limit lmao, again I hope you enjoy and have a great day/night! <3

༄ we have to stop meeting like this - continued

sfw one-shot

➥ pairing || rengoku kyojurou x reader

➥ au || modern day; college

➥ warnings || cheesy, tooth-rotting fluff with extra cheese

➥ synopsis || the reader keeps bumping into the one and only rengoku kyojurou; only instead of just casually seeing him over and over again, they quite literally bump into him in the most inconvenient ways possible. (cont.)

➥ part one || click here!

༄ the mediterranean sea collection - masterlist

Today had to be one of the worst days in your life. Freezing, drenched, and newly homeless, you tucked yourself onto the bus stop bench. Lucky you, this one didn't even have an awning to protect you from the elements.

The rain had no pity for your predicament as it pelted your body, the light clothing doing close to nothing for you. Summer had just come, yet the night rainfall seemed to have brought an unexpected chill.

Not to mention the suitcase and duffle bag you had with you were now also getting soaked.

You could only hope nothing was too waterlogged.

Your hand did little to protect your dying phone from getting wet as you tried to search for the nearest place to stay. Motel, hotel, air B'N'B; anything in range to get you off the streets for the night.

You had a feeling this would happen, and boy were kicking yourself for not seeing the red flags and preparing sooner.

Not having enough savings for a dorm, you had signed a contract with the residents of an apartment to rent out one of the rooms for cheap.

The agreement only lasted for two semesters, but they had promised that you'd be able to renew it once summer rolled around.

"Promise my ass." You grumbled, remembering how the original owner had gotten a partner. In return, they refused to let you sign another contract so they would have space for the "love of their life".

You saw the signs; you saw how their stuff slowly moved into the apartment and all the time they were spending there.

You just didn't think they'd be shitty enough people to kick you out the moment your contract ended.

A gust of icy wind rolled through, causing another shudder to rack your body. The closest place wasn't in walking distance, and it was far to late for the buses to be running. Sighing, you shut off your phone and closed your eyes.

You had resigned yourself to walk the several blocks to the nearest 24/7 fast food place to at least get out of the rain.

That was until the rain fall suddenly stopped beating down on you. The rain couldn't have stopped though, you could still hear it. You blinked your eyes open and looked up, surprised to what - or more accurately, who - you saw.

"...Kyojurou?"

Standing there in all his warmth and glory, Kyojurou looked down at you with concern, holding a bright red umbrella over your soaked form.

He couldn't seem to help the small smile that graced his lips at the sound of his first name.

"I'd be happier that you finally used my name if you didn't look so sad and drenched."

A humorless snort escaped your lips as you hugged yourself, shivering slightly. "Timing always has my side doesn't it? I'm just about to head to the closest food place to get out of the rain, so don't worry about it."

"Why?"

"I got kicked out," you shrugged, looking to the ground.

"This late at night?"

"It surprised me too. They found a new roommate and wouldn't let me renew my contract for the next school year, and it just so happens it ended tonight." There was a hint of bitterness in your tone, one that was completely understandable.

Kyojurou's brows furrowed. "They didn't give you a heads up? A two week notice?"

"I'm just lucky they let me pack all of my stuff before I had to leave." You continued to look down at the ground, not seeing the way Kyojurou's face contorted ever so slightly.

He didn't get mad often, but whoever your old roommates are were now on his shit list

"Well that's a shitty thing to do," he stated bluntly, causing you to sputter and blink dumbly at him.

It's been almost a year since you've met the blonde, and in all that time you never once heard him say a single bad word.

"Did you just curse??"

He pretended not to hear, pulling out his own phone to see the time as you mulled over the fact that this sweet ray of sunshine just called someone shitty.

Expression neutralizing as he schemed, he turned back to you. "You don't have to stay in a fast food place for the night."

"Huh?? Are you suggesting I sleep in a box?"

The man smiled, resting a reassuring hand on top of your shoulder, frustration forgotten for now. "You can stay with me!"

"What now?"

Chuckling, he passed the umbrella off to you to hold, beginning to slip his arms out of the jacket he wore. "You can stay with me for the time being until you get back on your feet! Well, us. If you wanted to of course! Sanemi just moved out, so we're looking for a new one regardless."

Baffled at the sudden offer, you started to shake your head, forming the words to decline him. It was too big of a favor, how could you accept that?

He was one step ahead of you, as he always is.

"Before you say anything, no, it would not be any trouble, you're a joy to have around! We can settle the nitty gritty later, let's just get you out of the cold."

"Wait, Kyojurou," you were silenced by a heavy warmth that suddenly engulfed your upper body, including your sight. Moving the fabric from your eyes, you realized it was his jacket.

His once dry clothes was slowly becoming just as soaked as you were as he took back the umbrella, insistently keeping it solely above you.

The gentle way he smiled in combination with the light post that shined behind his head had you convinced he was your guardian angel in disguise.

You hesitantly pulled the jacket closer to your body, not being able to deny how relieving the warmth felt. "But, won't you be cold?"

"My insides are practically pocket heaters, it takes a lot for me to be cold. A little wind and rain won't do anything to me, I promise! Now come on, before you get sick," he insisted as he grabbed your bag, throwing them over his shoulder.

"Little" was an understatement, but you didn't have the energy to argue. It was the middle of the night and you could feel your eyes starting to droop.

Grabbing your luggage to role behind, you let the other wrap his free arm around your form, hand resting on your arm. "Thank you, truly I don't know where to start showing how grateful I am. I owe you big time."

"Never refer to me as Rengoku-san again and I'll call it even!"

A wobbly smile tugged at your lips as you leaned into his side, letting him guide you down the route to his apartment. "You have a deal then, Kyojurou."

The weather broadcasters warned everyone about heavy snowfall, but you couldn’t help but think they could’ve prepared everyone a bit more as you stared out your window and could only see the shadow of snow.

Thank the gods above it was winter break or they’d have to cancel classes, which would just be tuition money flushed down the shitter.

Your train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door of the bedroom you were in, which was odd because the door was open.

Low and behold, it was your sweetheart of a boyfriend, holding two mugs and using his foot to knock. “I brought hot coco!”

"You don't have to knock, this is your room you dork."

"Our room technically, my dear." He responded smoothly, shutting the door with his foot behind him as he made his way to you.

"Careful not to spill it," he winked, laughing slightly as he handed you your mug.

"Just for that I should," you scoffed playfully, sticking your tongue out at him as you took the drink. The smile on his face was nothing but adoring, finding you to be adorable. You had to look away to dismiss the butterflies that swarmed in your tummy. “Looks like we’re snowed in for a bit. The snow is above the windows.”

Kyojurou hummed in agreement. “I still don’t understand how tiny snowflakes can become so damaging so fast!”

“You’re funny,” you chuckled, taking a sip of the hot beverage. Kyojurou always made the best hot chocolate.

“... UME! I’m glad I can be amusing!” You couldn't hold down the snort at the realization that he wasn't joking, swallowing and shaking your head. You granted him mercy and switched the subject.

“What are the others up to?”

Kyojurou leaned against the sill next to you, shoulder bumping yours affectionately. “Tengen is in the living room playing video games with his girlfriends, Mitsuri is watching a movie in her room and Obanai is watching with her. I think she's also painting his nails from the conversation I overheard while passing by."

“I see.”

The both of you were leaning against the window sill, basking in the comfortable silence. It wasn't common in an apartment full of unique roommates.

Even now you both could hear the loud victory cheer of Suma as Tengen groaned in defeat.

Taking another sip of your drink, you hummed, lifting your head to face Kyojurou. You were going to say something, but that was forgotten as you covered your mouth with your fingers as to not laugh suddenly.

"Hm? Is something wrong?" Your poor oblivious lover had a whipped cream mustache. He tilted his head at you - not unlike an owl - seemingly confused to your sudden shift in expression. You swallowed your laughter down as you placed your drink onto the sill, stepping closer to the blonde.

"No, nothing's wrong. You just have a little something rigghtt..." you reached out to grip his chin gently, swiping your thumb across his top lip to collect the whipped cream. "-there, all gone!"

A pretty, bright red color spread across Kyojurou’s face, wide eyes blinking owlishly at you with his mouth slightly agape. Laughing quietly at his reaction, you licked the cream off your thumb, patting the side of his cheek teasingly.

"You'll catch flies, hun." A click of teeth could be heard as he closed his mouth.

"RIGHT!" He stopped himself to clear his throat, turning to face the window as his usual smile reappeared, though a bit wobbly. "Thank you!"

All you did was hum, a slight mischievous smirk settling onto your face. You were set to happily go back to your drink when you shivered, the chill of the room finally reaching you through your clothes.

Kyojurou caught it from the corner of his eye, turning back to you. “Are you cold?”

You waved him off, shaking your head. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, you'll just get another sweatshirt.

“I’ll be ok. The hot coco will warm me up in- WOAH!” That plan was thrown out the window when he suddenly scooped you up into his broad arms, smiling determinedly.

"You're not allowed to just continue on being cold, not if I can help it!" The firey man plopped you down onto your shared bed, quickly gathering the collection of fluffy blankets you have accumulated over time.

In the blink of an eye, you were neatly swaddled in said blankets and being held gently to your boyfriend's warm chest. He settled underneath the main blanket, wrapping his strong arms around your body.

“Is that better?” He beamed at you, looking oh so proud of himself.

What did you do to deserve him?

"Much," you all but groaned, snuggling your face into the warmth of his chest. It was like cuddling a big warm marshmallow. “I still can’t understand how you’re so warm.”

“I’m a living-breathing heater, my dear. I’ve explained this before, I’m sure of it.”

You snorted, leaning into his hand as he began to run his fingers through your hair. “I’m not complaining, you’re good to keep around for whenever my hands freeze.”

“I wouldn’t mind one bit," his voice came out softly, planting a warm kiss to onto your forehead. This in turn caused you to melt even further into him, burying your face into his shirt.

Kyojurou laughed with amusement as he turned on the television, looking for something for the two of you to watch for the rest of the evening. You eventually peaked your head out to look at him, wrapping your arms around his middle.

“Hey, Kyojurou?”

“Yes?”

All of his attention was on you. Even in these small moments he looks at you as though you're the most precious human being in the world. And to him, you were.

You hummed, placing a kiss onto his chin. “I’m happy I spilled my drink all over you.”

The small peck had similar effects from the whipped cream incident earlier, though he seemed to snap out of it quicker this time. He smiled brighter, cupping your cheek with his large, warm hand.

“That's an odd way of saying I love you."

This made you pause, the 'L-word' not being used between the two of you yet. “Wait, what?"

He gave you no time to question further as he placed a kiss onto your lips in return, his other hand finding the small of your back to pull you closer.

The initial shock of being kissed faded quickly, your arms finding their way around his neck as you pulled yourself closer. The kiss was short and sweet, yet the passion that Kyojurou lived by was always present.

The kiss came to a pause with you laying on top of his chest, remote forgotten and blankets wrapped around you as you steadied your breathing.

Kyojurou's eyes crinkled slightly with his smile, brushing the back of his hand across your cheek.

"I love you too."