#i just know some people might not be a fan of the SUPER flashy gifs

[hoforwonho]

posting this again by itself - it's what he deserves.

[hiatuswhore]

Mainlander

Out of all the glitz and glam that came with your family’s wealth there was always one event you went to annually that you were excited for.  Since a baby, your family had been attending the Midsummer Party.  This event brought all the wealthy families that owned property on the expensive side of the island together.  It was not exactly the event itself you were excited about but the boy with the funny name you had seen every year since you were a girl there.  While your parents rub elbows with other pretentious people you would explore with the fisherman’s son, Pope.  This was the only time the two of you would interact as when the night was over you would return to your kook life and him back to the pogues.   Walking through the party you could see him standing with his dad, his back was facing the area you were. 

“(Y/n)? My have you grown,” Looking over Ward Cameron was stopping you in your tracks as he smiled.  Offering a kind smile, you had mastered how to make it reach your eyes so it was believable.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cameron,” You greeted, shaking both their hands hoping it would be a quick hello in passing.  

“Please call me Ward.  You remember Sarah, Louisa, and Rafe right?” Ward asked, signaling both his children over.  Fighting the urge to roll your eyes as they strolled over you had no interest in any of them.  Sarah was out of touch with real-world issues and Rafe had the tendency to be a prick constantly.  Louisa just being a child you could only assume she’d follow in the rest of her families footsteps.

“Of course I do,” You said smiling at them Rafe’s eyes traveled down your body slowly.  Not only did it feel invading but somewhat predatory, Sarah offered a kind smile as well but as she looked around it was apparent she was distracted.

“Nice dress,” Rafe said, taking your hand he brought the back of it to his lips.  Fighting the urge to rip your hand away you only smiled explaining your mother had it made for you.  It was not too over the top but the beige silk complimented your skin perfectly.  While everyone wore long gowns your dress reached a reasonable and yet still questionable length.  Leaving a lot and a little to one’s imagination.  Your father was not the biggest fan of the vexing dress, mellowing them out with nude scandals there was little to nothing really done with your hair.  Leaving it natural you looked beautiful.  Showing no care to being flashy or done up for others. Excusing yourself Pope still had yet to turn around and his father had walked off somewhere. Pressing yourself to his back you poked your finger into his side imitating a gun.

“Listen closely Islander I need information on a Pope Heyward.  One wrong move and I’ll have to kill you,” You whispered and at first you felt him tense but as you spoke you could feel his entire body relax.

“Easy Mainlander I’ll tell you whatever you want to know but I ask for one thing in return,” He said, playing into your on-spot concocted fantasy just like you would both do as children.

“What might that be?” You asked jokingly stepping back as you holstered your ‘weapon.’

“A hug,” Pope said turning around seeing you standing there a quiet gasp left his lips.  Every year it felt like he was seeing you for the very first time.  Each time more beautiful than the last. 

“I think I can arrange that,” You joked, pulling him into a hug and the two of you laughed as you embraced each other.  Back on the mainland most of your friends assumed the Islander named Pope that you were infatuated with was not real.  This was always the best part of the summer for you.

“You look amazing like always,” Pope complimented, smiling sheepishly a grin crept onto your face.

“Still super smart I see,” You joked, jokingly pressing a hand to his chest in shock you rolled your eyes as your giggled.

“Was there ever a doubt?” He asked, shaking your head you were sure Pope was the smartest guy your age you had met.  You attend Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, one of the best private schools in the country.   Asking him what was new he explained his scholarship interview coming up.

“You know my Mom could write you a recommendation letter.  She has a lot of notoriety just in case you’re nervous.” You offered but you knew he would decline the offer.  Talking for another few minutes as you were pulled away from Pope by your parents you had to smile and pretend to care about the other guests. Excusing yourself to the bathroom on your way there you slammed into a blonde boy in a hurry, more so he slammed into you.

“I’m so sorry are you okay?” He asked, looking past you quickly he looked panicked as he helped you up.  

“Are you okay?” You asked looking in the direction he kept watching as Rafe Cameron and his idiot friends came into view you quickly realized what was happening, “Go that way those doors will lead you back to the party.”

“Than—” He began but you quickly pushed him toward the doors as Rafe’s eyes landed on you.

“Rafe, Topper, boys,” You said, dusting yourself off from the fall they were all watching you carefully.

“You see a blonde guy run through here? Dressed like waiter and has couple bruises?” Topper asked, hating yourself for what you had to do next it was the only way to convince them you were telling the truth.

“Ugh yeah, that idiot ran into me and then kept running toward the bathrooms.  I’m getting security what is wrong with these people,” You scoffed, imitating most of your peers as well as you could.

“Don’t worry about that (Y/n) we’ll handle him from here okay,” Rafe said, brushing his hands against your own.  Wanting to gag you kept it to yourself as you smiled at his flirtation.  Walking toward the ladies’ restroom there you took a moment to check your phone. There were only Instagram notifications and a few snaps from friends at school. All on lavish vacation the destinations varied but the poses for pictures did not.

Rejoining the party as you stepped outside Rafe and the guys were back outside, so was the guy who had run into you.  Only this time he was with accompanied a security guard. 

“Look man I can walk myself I got legs,” the boy said, drawing attention from the guests of the party the boy was becoming the main attraction.  As he walked past you he smiled holding his hand up for a high five and you returned it, “Thanks for the save beautiful. You look amazing.”

“Alright move it,” The security guard said, pushing the problematic boy ahead before you could even get a word out.

“I really appreciate what you did back there also Mr. Security guard sir—let me just walk out. Oh Mr. Dunleavy I see you got your drink.  Good, that’s really nice of you I’m actually gonna down that,” The boy said taking Mr. Dunleavy’s drink he through it back without issue.  Walking over to your parents as you heard them mumbling complaints about the boy you found him rather entertaining, “Whoo! I really appreciate the discretion Daryl, you know? It’s okay, everybody! Do not panic. Leave it to the men and women in uniform, huh! Let’s hear it for them. Rose! You look like Lady Liberty. It’s good to see you again.”

Watching him slowly being dragged out of the party you wanted to help him but you knew nothing of him.  You didn’t even know his name.

“Let go of him! You can’t just boot him!” Looking over Kiara Carrera was yelling from the porch.  You knew of her but the two of you never really interacted despite your parents and hers both being in the same social circles.  As children, you would play but beyond that, the two of you were practically strangers to the other, “I invited him here. I’m a member of this club.”

As her parents tried to stop her everything soon spiraled out of control.  While the security guard was distracted the boy used it as his opportunity to push the man away from him. 

“Oh sorry about that. Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon’s, Kie. Pope you as well right?” As the boy addressed Pope you looked over realizing these were his friends.  Despite the commotion watching them a small smile was fighting to break the surface of your face, “Rixon’s Cove. Let’s roll. All right Kie come on.  Workers of the world unite. Throw off your chains!”

Despite the boys’ recklessness, his words were oddly inspiring, you were not a part of the workers of the world but there were chains you wished to free yourself from. Looking at Pope he was watching Kiara with hesitation. She was first to walk from her parents and began running through the party. Pope followed suite as his father was shaking his head, he removed his apron.  Scanning the room as his eyes landed on you, you could see he was inviting you.  Watching as Kiara ran into the blonde boys’ arms and Pope embraced another dark-haired boy there was a big part of you that wanted to go with them.  Pope looked back one more time watching you as he ignored his father’s yelling.  Slowly lifting your foot taking your scandals into your hand one shoe at a time Pope smiled holding out his hand.  Your parents followed Pope’s gaze onto you but before they could try to stop you it was too late.  Running over taking Pope’s hand you giggled as the two of you ran after his friends into the part of the island not well lit.  

The rush of adrenaline coming to an end as you all finally came to a halt you felt a bit awkward as you were surrounded by unfamiliar people.  As the blonde boy started a fire and the brown-haired boy pulled out some beers while you stayed at Pope’s side. The silence made it apparent they had wanted to discuss something just between them.  As the silence continued a knot twisted in your belly.

“I’m sorry for intruding I just—uh wanted to throw off the chains like he said,” You said, breaking the silence and they were all unsure of what to say.  The fire reflecting off of your face looked beautiful as your earrings sparkled from the moonlight.

“Guys this is (Y/n). (Y/n) this is Kiara, JJ and John B,” Pope introduced, smiling at them they all looked puzzled.  Watching all of them Kiara was the first to go from puzzled to shocked.

“Oh my god, you’re Mainlander. How have I never connected those dots!” Kiara explained, making relief wash over you.  

“You talk about me?” You muttered to Pope with a smile as he sheepishly stumbled over his words.

“All the time and I quote the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen,” John B said, earning a nudge from Pope but they were relentless.

“Well, we’ve heard great things about you Mainlander.  Not only are you a beauty and kook but you saved me from Rafe and those idiots.  So if we pogues are all in agreement I JJ Maybank representing the pogue delegation doth you honorary pogue,” Touching your left shoulder and then your right. 

Clearing your throat preparing your best British accent you stood up in front of JJ, “Why thank you, kind sir. I am honored but before I accept this first I want to express my utmost gratitude.”

“Alright Pope she’s a keeper,” JJ said laughing at your response, sitting back down you all drank and enjoyed the campfire.  It would have been nice for the night to last forever.  As everyone went into separate side conversations you nudged Pope signaling him to take a walk with you.  

“I like your friends they’re very,” Pausing for a second trying to find the right word for his fun but peculiar friends, “Eccentric.”

“Yeah, they’re something,” Pope said walking the shoreline as the water reached your feet you jumped.  

“Tonight has been fun,” You said, stopping as you looked at him, you wanted him to kiss you.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Pope said, avoiding your gaze for a few seconds as he finally looked at you.  Staring at each other you leaned in a bit but stopped waiting for him to meet you the rest of the way but he didn’t.  

“We should head back,” Pope said, nodding your head slowly you said nothing as you both walked back to the others. During the walk though as you were caught up in your head, Pope pulled you out of it as he interlaced his hand in your own.

Outer Banks Masterlist

[fluffyferalkacchan]

Kacchan & Deku: Win to Save and Save to Win - A circular path of parallels (part 1)

Okay so it had probably already been talked to death by now, but i'd like to write a detailed list of how Midoriya and Bakugou's respective paths are and had always been paralleled since the beginning. And it's not just with the whole "save to win and win to save" thing, which is the most obvious textual part of it, but there are a lot of more subtle hints along the way too. I mean in nearly every single arcs, for each of Midoriya development, Bakugou had one too (albeit in a completely opposite direction).

This post is also partly in response to some anime-only fans who complained about Bakugou's development in the Joint Training Arc coming from the left field... Which actually isn't? Like Kirishima said it had never been as obvious before but there were definite hints about it and I'll try to show them as thoroughly as possible in this post.

Warning ! This post will be quite long and will contain Manga Spoilers up to chapter 317 in part 3!

¤ From the Pre-UA era To Deku vs Kacchan: their starting lines

(more under the cut)

When I said that the parallel started early, I really meant early. In fact, it started as early as the very first panel they were in.

I think it is very telling that the first time we saw them, Midoriya is trying to defend another kid, while Bakugou is seen using his quirk (and actually introducing the reader/viewer to the whole concept of quirk in the first place). It tells us right here, right then on the very first second, that Midoriya Izuku is physically weak but a savior at heart and Bakugou Katsuki has a strong quirk but is a bully asserting his dominance.

This of course led to diametrical beliefs on what a hero is and should be and we've got those two very iconic moments to illustrate:

And of course it reflected into their behaviors, even as kids.

What I find really interesting in the way those flashbacks were presented is that Midoriya's saving moment was told through Bakugou's POV, while Bakugou's winning side was seen through Midoriya's eyes.

Those moments were deemed important because they deeply impacted the witnessing party and not actually the "wining/saving" one.

(I think someone commented once that while the river scene was highly pivotal for Bakugou, Midoriya probably doesn't even remember it. And likewise Bakugou probably doesn't remember fighting and winning against some random older kids, but Midoriya definitively does. And I totally agree!)

At those moment both Bakugou and Midoriya saw in the other something that they were clearly lacking and their reactions to this realization were wildly different as well.

"He doesn't take himself into account, you know. Something doesn't feel right. It makes me wanna keep him at arm's length. Back then, I ignored my own weakness, so I ended up bullying him" - Bakugou Katsuki

"You who had so many things I didn't have... To me, you were an amazing person much closer than All Might! That's why I keep chasing after you!!" - Midoriya Izuku

Midoriya saw this amazing kid kicking ass with his strong quirks and his first reaction was admiration and wanting to get as close as possible to this person, because he was all too aware of his own weakness and shortcoming.

Bakugou saw this selfless kid trying to help him and displaying qualities that he didn't have and his first reaction was to lash out and push that kid as far away as possible because he didn't want to recognize his own weaknesses and shortcomings.

Which, you know, probably describes their entire childhood dynamics haha...

... and then the sludge villain happened.

And it brought with it the iconic "My legs moved on their own" and "Your eyes were begging for help" moments which we all know about of course, but this scene also had another more immediate parallel that I'd like to talk about.

Bakugou tried to fight the sludge villain on his own but ultimately failed to win.

Midoriya tried to rescue Bakugou on his own from the sludge villain but ultimately failed to save him.

The sludge villain was a reality check for both of them, in a "Nope kiddos, you might aspire to be heroes, but you still have a very long way to go. Here let's insert an All Might to show you just how far away your goal is," kind of way?

Anyway fast-forward 10 months of intense training to prepare for the UA entrance exam.... and really do I even have to mention this?

I mean the only way it could have been even more textually obvious is if Midoriya had been ranked sixth instead of seventh so that his name would be right next to Bakugou's... like there's even this panel explicitly pointing everything out.

So yeah... nothing to add there, *shrugs*

After that came the Quirk Assessment Test:

I'm going to come back to this later on in a more detailed way, but regarding their personal development; Midoriya's development is external while Bakugou's is internal. And I don't quite consider the quirk assessment test as "progress" for any of them yet because both of them sort of completely miss the point.

Aizawa told Midoriya "How can you save anyone if you can't move after one hit?" which had the underlying message of "It's not okay to hurt yourself"... But Midoriya totally went like, "Okay then I'll just hurt myself in a way in which I can still move afterward!" So yeah he is just sidestepping the problem here, but well there probably wasn't anything else he could do here.

As for Bakugou, he had always feel threatened by Midoriya's presence, but not in a fighting skills context. They are not really competing on the same field and it had never occurred to Bakugou that Midoriya could really beat him in a one-to-one fight.

As hilarious as the thought of Bakugou truly believing that somehow Deku had managed to take head on building-high robots quirkless is, I think what really happened is... Bakugou saw his own 0 rescue points and thought "Oh... so that's how Deku got in. Damn nerd probably went and save shitty extras left and right!". Which is a more realistic feat to manage quirkless. Anyway my point is, Bakugou realizing Midoriya isn't quirkless should have been a "Shit! He's leveling the field and standing on my playground now!" moment...

But no, what overpowered him here is the thought that the whole time Midoriya had been hiding his quirk from him and went like "What? Am I not good enough for you to use your quirk on me?! STOP LOOKING DOWN ON ME!!! EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT THE FUCK NOW, SHITTY DEKU!!"

So yeah... kind of missing the point too.

Which is why the quirk assessment test wasn't really their starting point but more like them trying to look for it but missing it?

Speaking of starting lines... Let's move on to the Deku vs. Kacchan first round.

B"From watching the match, it appears Bakugou acted n to surpass Bakugou, All Might pointed that those were the first passionate emotions Midoriya had shown other than "I want to be a hero!". This was the very first moment where Midoriya's desire to win was stronger than his desire to save.

As for Bakugou, this was the moment where he truly he realized that Deku is a threat and not just through his natural heroic/saving disposition like before but on the battlefield which used to be 100% Bakugou's area of expertise. And if even with his non-existent control of quirk Deku had managed to win to such extent, what would happen when Deku managed to truly master his own quirk? Total defeat?! Bakugou is self-aware enough to realize that while his own fighting skills and quirk mastery could still progress, they were already near the top with a not wide enough margin for improvement.

This was the moment where Bakugou realized where he truly stood compared to everyone else around him and that if he wanted to reach the very top again, then only relying on his fighting skills and his quirk control would never be enough. This is what prompted out his feelings of "I have to change or I'll be left in the dust".

And since Deku went and encroached on Bakugou's playground and beat him in the process, there's no way in hell Mr Complete and Irrefutable Win over there wouldn't aim to do exactly the same at some point.

Anyway the two gifs above showed us their motivation to reach their respective Win/Save side of the spectrum, but they both have big issues they need to work on in order to do so.

"From watching the match, it appears Bakugou-san acted on his own because of an obviously personal grudge. As as All Might-sensei said previously, it is foolish to launch a large-scale attack indoors.

In the same way, taking into consideration the damage he received, Midoriya-san's plan was also rash." - Yaoyorozu Momo

Yaoyorozu's analysis was super spot on and hit straight where their weaknesses lie: Bakugou needs to stop acting on his own and learn to cooperate with/trust his teammates and Midoriya needs to stop hurting himself/self-sacrifice and learn to properly control his quirk.

Both of them also have these super heavy shackles that keep pulling them down and impeding their progress at every turn:

Bakugou's complex feelings and emotionally explosive baggage towards Midoriya that makes him go feral and irrational at the drop of a hat and clearly prevents him from properly considering Midoriya as the rival that would keep pulling him up

Midoriya's total and utter idolization of All Might that gives him a tendency to imitate his idol and clearly prevents him from properly realizing and unlocking the potential of his own quirk

And at that point, they clearly don't realize how cumbersome those shackles could be if left unaddressed too long.

Anyway... this episode/chapter was called "Bakugou Katsuki: Starting line", but I think it can be considered both their starting lines, because this is when they were made aware of what they are lacking and showed their resolve to change.

Midoriya's progress and development is intrinsically linked to his quirk mastery and fighting style, which are inherently physical skills (which is where Bakugou's excels in). It stands to reason then that his progress would therefore be very flashy, hard to miss, and highly praised due to the external aspect of his development.

On the other hand Bakugou's progress and development hinges on him properly getting in touch with his emotions and connecting to other people in healthy way, which are inherently inner-strength qualities (which Midoriya has no shortage of) . It stands to reason then that his progress would therefore be very subtle, mostly unnoticed, and hardly taken into account due to the internal aspect of his development. (Like it'd probably only takes him having a full meltdown or throwing himself in front of someone else for other people to notice how far he had gone!)

[kdramaxoxo]

Have any recs for college/high school romance dramas?

I answered this ask a while back but I’m glad I got it again so that I could add Extraordinary You to it! Heads up that I don’t watch a lot of high school dramas because of bullying themes and other tropes, so I might not be the best person to ask this to?

High School & College K-Dramas

Extraordinary You/ A Day Found By Chance: This magical k-drama has my heart. It plays with all of the predictable tropes and then just goes crazy! While not perfect towards the end, I give this show bonus points for being super creative AND inspiring me to read a LOT of fan fic. I think about this drama more than any other.

Bok Soo’s Back / My Strange Hero: This k-drama is fun and endearing, heartbreaking and sweet. I love how the story is not just about the kids, but the teachers as well. The leads are total OTP material though for some reason not many people watched it. 

Mini High School K-Dramas

Page Turner: This mini drama feature a musically gifted blind girl and a friendship with an aspiring pianist (Ji Soo). It’s short and really well done.

Splash Splash Love: Ok, I know that this doesn’t exactly take place IN a high school but it starts there, featuring a girl struggling with her studies and magically ends up in an ancient land working for a king! It’s awesome!

I am not a robot (the web drama, not the major network drama): A very short and serviceable mini drama about a shy high school girl who befriends her housekeeping robot. He attends school to be with her and together they bring out the best in each other. Almost nothing happens really, but I didn’t mind and it was super easy to watch.

Good College K-Dramas

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo: Super cute and fluffy drama featuring a female weightlifter lacking confidence, and a popular and good looking swimmer. Romance & great friendships!

Age of Youth / Hello My Twenties 1: Really awesome slice of life drama centering around five college students. It’s funny but also tackles serious issues like sexual harassment and social anxiety.

Go Back Couple: This creative go-back-in-time show is heartwarming and fun. It’s about a couple who has fallen out of love wish they could go back in time to choose a different path…and wake up 20 years younger and back in college. The husband kinda drove me nuts if I’m honest. But…Chang Ki Young!

Trash High School K-Dramas:

I’m not saying I recommend these two dramas BUT as flawed as they are, I do think everyone should see at least a little bit fo them because I feel like they are part of the K-Drama history if that makes sense?

Boys Over Flowers: Trope-y trash that made lee min ho super famous. The gateway drug into K-Dramas.The Heirs: Basically Boys Over Flowers again but more school oriented and a little less flashy?? I dunno…Park Shin Hye has said she enjoyed working on this dramas the best so…

Shows I know are well received and loved but have not watched for…reasons

Sky Castle

School 2017

My ID is Gangnam Beauty

Shut Up Flower Boy Band

Reply 1997, 1988 (on my list)

To the Beautiful You (on my list)

Love Alarm (waiting for the second half to air…thx netflix!)