#exceptions can occur!

[volixia669]

So bearing in mine crack ships and rare ships seem to be my bread and butter, especially if a fic can make a reasonable argument for them...

I both love and hate how as a quartet, Kurapika, Leorio, Hisoka, and Illumi somehow work? At the VERY least as some weird ass friendship that Killua & Gon just stare at going “???????” And like, when it comes to Hisoka, we know Kurapika has gotten into contact with him and I feel like still gets random texts. Even when Kurapika changes his number. Kurapika never responds, but while some of the texts are disturbing, others do get a snort out of him. (And sometimes it’s the disturbing texts that do that but he’s totally doing fine.)

Leorio has sadly been put on a bus for awhile, but we know that fucking serial murdering clown Hisoka decided that “Nah, this one I’m gonna keep alive” in the Hunter Exam. One could argue plot armor, but mysterious reasons that Hisoka refuses to give up no matter how many times Leorio presses him are even better. Also I feel like they’d relate to each other on the most random shit and every time Leorio has to do a double take.

HisoIllu is such a fave ship, I don’t really need to go into those two, nor do I really need to go into LeoPika.

Illumi is where things get interesting. Mainly because personally I think in order for him to get closer to Leorio and Kurapika, he needs a few reality checks. Now, I don’t believe he just mindlessly follows what his parents say. His actions are mostly in line with his parent’s views, though his desire for more power as well as his desire to protect Killua means he will sometimes take a few extra steps more in line with his own goals.

Basically an outside character, most likely keeping an eye out for Killua, needs to call Illumi out on, “You’re causing more harm than good.” and “Is this really the life you want?” and “No seriously, what you’re doing is just plain stupid you’re making Killua hate you, even if he does do what your parents want and become head of household he’d have every right to kill you for how you’ve hurt him don’t be fucking stupid.”

Anyways. Outside character. Leorio can work for this, or even Hisoka (though his concept of normal is...warped). But given how the Zoldycks seem to use similar uh, upbringing tactics as Evangelicals, I’d argue that an older character would be more effective in getting Illumi to wise up. (It’s the whole obedience thing) I don’t think the Zoldycks have the whole “men are superior to women” thing, so can be an older female character.

So, have someone like Bisky, Morel, even an OC start Illumi on some character development, and now we’re cooking.

For starters, Hisoka gets to be slightly less done with this dipshit.

Then, Illumi tries reaching out to Killua in ways that are awkward as fuck as far as everyone else is concerned.

Which means Leorio gets to stare at Illumi wondering why this is his fucking life and getting Illumi to try in...slightly more normal ways. Which can lead to some chats, especially as some here on tumblr have helped established that when not on the job, and talking to someone he trusts? Illumi can go on.

Kurapika is initially wary, but I think between being incredibly obvservant, and a very dark sense of humor that would have developed while neck deep in mafia bs (he’s totally doing fine btw) there’d be some uh. Gore-y convos? Also nen discussions. Leorio eventually drags Kurapika away so the dude can have a breakdown, but even if he gets therapy, I feel like Illumi and Kurapika would also connect on arguably random things.

Also I’d note, that not only are these characters more mature/older, but they are all intensely loyal in ways both obvious and subtle. Which as HxH loves to point out narratively, can be both a character trait and a character flaw.

[whaliiwatching]

he is so. to me

closeups of my favorites <3

[coquelicoq]

i still can't really have a conversation in french but i can read the french dictionary and i can translate 18th-century treatises on mollusks from french. that should count for something.

[aro-culture-is]

quick note - this blog is gonna be sparse again for at least this week. trying new medications and tbh initial side effects are not super pleasant + actual effects build up. as a result: currently as if unmedicated for mental health, with anxiety+ side effect, extra fatigue, dizziness, and fatigue. it's uh, sure something.

totally recognize that most of y'all know we're absent at times due to health things, just wanted to give a heads up that this one is at least anticipated.

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

So since all four of the ninja together from the tornado of creation what if only two of them try? Would it just be a more powerfull Spinjitzu from? Would it make a difference which ninja pairing would do it? Does something happen if the Ninja are in perfect Harmony witch each other? Other than the Tornado of creation. Like, I just HC maybe Cole and Zane just being silly and happy and comfortable then starting to dance around each other holding hands, starting to spin around each other and then BOOM!

So since all four of the ninja together from the tornado of creation what if only two of them try? Would it just be a more powerfull Spinjitzu from?:

It would probably be closer to enhanced Spinjitzu. They wouldn’t be able to reach the power necessary to achieve equivalence to the Green Element with only two of them. But, if they’re in proper harmony, they might be able to give each other a little boost at least~

Would it make a difference which ninja pairing would do it? Does something happen if the Ninja are in perfect Harmony with each other? Other than the Tornado of creation.:

Technically no, but Cole+Zane and Kai+Jay might yield a higher potency with their Spinjitzu due to the similarities of their elements + personal feelings, but eh

Like, I just HC maybe Cole and Zane just being silly and happy and comfortable then starting to dance around each other holding hands, starting to spin around each other and then BOOM!:

…so like an Aftershock, but for Glacier? 👀

[floralovebot]

helia is obv meant to be androgynous and bishounen but I get why people would think he was designed to be a woman initially because his name is a woman's name actually. helia is a girls name. also, compared to avalon or other long haired characters, he's also somewhat more different.

I don't think it's too far fetched. some language groups like greek fans could have other pov. in latin american spanish his name was changed to helio for this very reason.

i know his name is feminine. that still means nothing tbh

sky is a popular girl's name in the west. does that mean he's automatically a girl? like no of course not. no one is arguing that sky is a woman just because of his name. griffin is a masculine latin name. don't see anyone questioning her. if his name is the Only proof people have that helia was meant to be a girl, that's weak when other characters also have feminine/masculine names that don't align with their canon gender.

also, you need to ask yourself, what is different about helia? like actually answer that question. what exactly makes helia different from characters like palladium, valtor, or avalon. it's not his body - helia has the same muscular body the other specialists have and he's one of the few male characters we see shirtless on screen. it can't be pacifism - he's not a pacifist and pacifism is not a feminine trait. it can't be art or poetry - neither of those things are feminine traits/hobbies. it can't be his fashion - he's just wearing a shirt and jeans. if anything his wardrobe would be considered more masculine compared to the crop tops the other specialists are wearing (even for the time). it can't be his personality - nabu is also wiser and gentler, timmy is also a simp, brandon is also caring.

so what exactly makes helia different from other long haired male characters?

nothing. that's your answer.

the only thing that makes helia So different is that other long haired male characters are often coded as white Or specifically have darker skin, so fans don't feel the need to question their masculinity (which is a Whole other discussion). helia is not coded as white. even fans who don't consciously realize it are still picking up on that coding. these white fans then feel comfortable questioning his masculinity because they've done that to men of color for decades. it's not just asian men either. white people love to question the masculinity of all men of color, regardless of race or skin color. that's how they demean them. how they separate them from white men. they uphold certain racial and gender stereotypes and then demean any man who "doesn't fit that". which in their eyes, is all men of color.

it's like this: man of color doesn't adhere to western/white/european cultural standards > white people realize, don't like, insult them, and try to make them feel like they need to adhere > white men prioritize the patriarchy and feel the need to glorify it > in order to insult men of color, they specifically call out and question their masculinity > white people around the world think this is genuinely innocent because it focuses on gender instead of race > white racists get away with it

listen, i know at first this seems like a really harmless and maybe even amusing topic. "oh helia is so pretty people think he's a girl ahahah". and for some fans it is genuinely harmless. they just think he's too pretty to be a man. and then they realize, laugh it off, and don't question it again.

unfortunately, that's not the case for a lot of other fans. it's not innocent. it's not harmless. it's white people picking up on racial coding and questioning his identity because of it. you guys don't do this to other characters. you don't do it to sky, who also has a "feminine" name. you don't do it to palladium, who is slimmer and has a gentler, nicer personality. you don't do it to saladin. or nabu. or ogron. or gantlos. or anagan. or tritannus. or nereus. or king neptune. or king teredor.

all of those names are male characters with long hair.

i know it's nice to assume that this is innocent and genuine. but unfortunately, that's not the case. this is an example of something that isn't innocent for a majority of adult, white fans. even if they're not doing it On Purpose. subconscious bias is called that for a reason.

[esoscreenshots]

It’s late and I have midterms tomorrow so I’m going to Stir Things so I can taste the discourse along with next morning’s breakfast of tears & stress. I don’t believe I’ve asked this before, so:

What is your most controversial elder scrolls opinion?

[the-physicality]

also: i didn't like the jerseys

[rohirric-hunter]

.

[clumsyclifford]

x

[mctreeleth]

Please tell me about number plates

*gasp* Of course. 

The number plates that I know about particularly are the ones in South Australia, although I know a bit about some of the other Australian states as well. But I will keep this to a brief overview of the structural configuration of standard issue SA plates along with a few points I am particularly passionate about. 

Standard issue number plates in South Australia currently are black characters on a white background, and are structured with an S at the start and then three numbers and then three letters. When the state started using that structure, (I will get to the old structure in a little bit) the three letters started with an A, but we are now up to ones that start with C as the first of the three letters, and as far as I am aware (from looking at every single number plate I see) we are now up to the letter R as the middle letter. This means that there is a naturally occurring S000CKS plate out there, which I think is very cool, and I hope its owner really really likes socks. Naturally occurring plates are my passion – custom plates are fine, I guess, but the emergent possibilities of words being created by the configurations are what I really love. More on this later. 

They started using the current structure of number plate in 2008, but before that number plates had three letters and then three numbers. When they first started using this old alpha-numeric structure in 1966 the letters started with the letter R, and then once they had used up all the Rs they started using the letter S at the start. At the same time as they were issuing these plates, they were issuing plates for bikes and trailers that had the same structure, but started with the letter T. This meant that after they had run out of configurations starting with the letter S they couldn't go onto the letter T for vehicle plates, so instead they went to the letter U, followed by the letter V and the letter W and then the letter X. Somewhere along the line they ran out of T plates for trailers and bikes and so they started using the letter Y for them. I don't know why they never used the letter Z at the start, but they didn't. When they ran out of these alphanumeric configurations is when they switched to the new 7-character structure with the S at the start. 

You still see plenty of cars with the old alpha-numeric structure. My car still has one of the old structure. But they get rarer and rarer as old cars are taken off the road, and also as cars are sold and in a lot of cases unregistered by the seller, which means a new number plate is issued for their new owner. This means that if you saw a car with an old alphanumeric number plate that starts with the letter R or the letter S, it would usually be on a very old car, and you could assume that the driver of that car had owned that car for a very long time, or that they had gone to some other lengths to acquire the ability to use an old number plate for their vehicle. In South Australia once a number plate has been surrendered back to the Department of Transport, which happens when a car is unregistered unless you specifically ask to keep the plate number, it is removed from circulation. The only way to get an old number plate would be to find an old car that had that number plate, acquire the number plate (often by just buying the vehicle) and transfer it to your car. 

Or at least that was the case until recently, when the Department of Transport decided to release for purchase, on request, what they call R&S series plates, which are any unused alphanumeric plates starting with the letters R or S. To get one all you have to do is go to the ezyplates website and enter in the one that you want, and if it is available you can purchase it outright and use it for whatever vehicle you want to. This means that now you see more and more R&S series plates, especially because it is a way for people to get a semi-custom plate that doesn't look like a custom plate. 

In South Australia, custom plates are not the same color as standard issue plates. The original custom number plates were all yellow with green text, and they had to be a six character alpha-numeric combination, but you could have 2 letters and 4 numbers, or 3 letters and 3 numbers, or 4 letters and 2 numbers, or 5 letters and 1 number. Now they come in just about any configuration - you can get up to 7 mixed characters on a whole heap of different colors - but they are very obviously custom plates. With the R&S series plates you can get something that looks like a normal number plate to the average passerby, so you don’t look like a knob with a custom plate, but which can still be personalised to an extent, because you can custom request any available plate that starts with the letters R or S and has three letters and three numbers. 

For instance, a good option for me might be SAR444, given that my name is Sara, or possibly SWI222, because I drive a Suzuki Swift, who I affectionately refer to as Swizz or Swizzy. People whose first names start with R or S could get their initials and then their favourite numbers, or, if you were an absolute madlad, you could request the plate SLU755, probably fully expecting someone at the Transport Department to turn down that request, only to have it successfully issued to you. If you or someone you know owns the black VE Commodore with the 5.8L V8 engine that that plate is attached to, please get in touch. You are either my enemy or my hero, and I need to find out which. 

I both love and hate the fact that the R&S series plates are available for custom request. It means that there are more configurations out there that are almost naturally occurring - obviously somebody has had to request them, but it isn't like requesting a regular custom number plate. People have to think about these. And that's good! I love that people are thinking about number plates! But on the other hand, it has removed some of the specialness of seeing an alphanumeric plate beginning with R or S in the wild. It used to be that when I saw one I knew that I was seeing something special - a car that had been loved for a long time, or a number plate that somebody had put a lot of work into acquiring. Now it is just another kind of custom plate, albeit one that most people don't notice. 

There is one very sneaky trick to it though – newer issues (although this includes when an old plate is damaged and replaced) say South Australia in little letters at the bottom.  

A few other brief facts that I don't have time to go into in depth right now:  

The letter Q does not appear in standard issue plates – instead, all government plates (which are blue characters on a white background) feature the letter Q. This is ostensibly to honor the queen, but realistically is probably because Qs and Os look confusingly similar. No one has been able to tell me what will happen with regards to this particular convention when the queen dies.  

Back when the standard issue was three letters three numbers, all ambulances used the configuration AMB and then the number of the ambulance, but now they just use regular government plates. This means that there are boring old cars out there with plates that have the letters AMB on them, and it infuriates me every time I see one.

In contrast, I will also regularly see number plates have naturally occurred to say BUS or CAR on them, and when they are on a vehicle that is not that (such as a ute that says CAR, or a car that says BUS) I will laugh affectionately and say "no you're not!", as if the vehicle traveling opposite me at 60+kph can hear me.

The Transport Department will occasionally skip some plates, for a variety of reasons, including that they are inappropriate. Sadly, S###ASS plates were not issued.

Heavy vehicle plates used to start with the letters SB and then have two numbers and then two more letters, while heavy vehicle trailers used to start with the letters SY and then two numbers and then two letters, meaning that somewhere out there, there was probably a truck trailer with the number plate SY57EM. But now most of the states in Australia have switched to a new shared interstate registration for heavy vehicles, which is less fun, because it starts with the letter X and then the letter S, V, N or Q, depending on the state of first registration, so there is a lot less opportunity for fun naturally occurring plates. 

There are some options for premium non-standard plates that are not custom, for if you want a fancy plate but have no imagination. These include what were formerly the XX or AA plates, which featured a double letter, three numbers and then another letter, but which now have progressed to having any second letter, and what are known as “Euro style” plates, which mimic European plates and therefore supposedly look better on European cars. They start with an S, then two more letters, then 2 numbers, then another letter. A co-worker of mine has the naturally occurring SED44N on her Mercedes coupe, which I think is hilarious. 

In the last two weeks I have seen both the custom plate AAAA and AAAHHHH which, frankly, big moods. 

[luimagines]

hello i stumbled upon your works and i just wanted to say i love them so much!! your posts brighten up my day <33 and also apologies if this question may sound stupid but: can you specify which game is which on the link fanfics you write? i tend to get confused trying to recall every game ^^"

Oh! Thank you so much!

Forgive me if I've misinterpreted your question, but to help you can look at Jojo's work here, where it explains the boys a bit more. I thought there was a post where it had a list of where they're from but I can't find it.

Time/ Old Man- Ocarina of Time

Twilight/Rancher- Twilight Princess

Sky- Skyward Sword

Wild/The Champion- Breath of the Wild

Warrior/Warriors/The Captain- Hyrule Warriors

Hyrule/The Traveler- Legend of Zelda, Adventure of Link

Wind/Sailor/Pirate- Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass (Spirit Tracks depending no who you ask- I know nothing of it so it's not necessarily applicable here)

Four/The Blacksmith- Minish Cap, Four Swords Adventure (and the other four sword game that escapes me at the moment- with a hint of inspiration from the manga as well)

Legend/The Veteran/Vet- (Can I even try to remember all of them?) Link Between Worlds, Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Sages

I think I got most of them. I hope this answers your questions!

[shortmexicangirl]

sweet nothing is so painfully adrienette's song and i am so extremely normal about this fghjmnjhDKHSGJKDH

[enwie]

I keep forgetting you can just get some games from the library!

[musical-chick-13]

Girl help, I talked myself out of writing a fic because I was worried about being Harassed™

[boylebingo]

i’m sorry but i have read The Bear discourse and it’s driving me nuts! to say that there is no chemistry between sydney and carmy other than as friends is just simply Not Based in Reality and whether a relationship is narratively Plausible in our collectively Imagined Future is not (nor does it need to be!) the same as whether you think it would be like a good narrative Choice