#i kinda... word vomitted

[slavhew]

jakey + dirkjake sandwiched between my organic chem notes. a poem in there somewhere

[ivvyela]

thinking about that theory where peter parker is the mcu's anchor being. and like. the possibilities of it. imagine learning your entire universe's anchor being, the person who pretty much controls the fate of the universe, is some guy who just doesn't exist??? not even dropped off the face of the earth, but there is no proof of this person even existing in the first place???? and maybe strange or the fantastic four or whoever feels responsible for/is tasked with finding and protecting this anchor being but that's kinda hard to do when you have Absolutely Nothing to go off of.

or alternatively, peter himself learning that the entire universe is basically relying on him staying alive, and he already has a lot on his shoulders but this??? having lost everything and everyone and now learning that the weight of the world is literally on his shoulders and fuck!!! he just wanted to be a friendly neighborhood spider-man but that's parker luck for you!!

and like. there's so many ways to take it and i haven't seen anyone considering this and guys. guys. consider it. take it and run with it or what have you. fuck it and throw doctor doom in the mix for the irondad girlies because surely that will be fun.

and i know i know the theory doesn't fully go hand in hand with the mcu cannon but. fuck the cannon. let me scream into the void about this. let me shove it in your faces and hope someone does something with it. let me have my silly where's waldo peter parker anchor being au.

[surreal-duck]

master artist and his number one fan

guy who is being so normal about the new additions to their profiles. i think abt midoris initial infatuation with his art slowly developing into appreciating yuzuru himself as a person and idol to the point he worries about how he sees him (ex: a bit of home party and in workplace survival rules) sometimes thats a lie i think about it a lot. and yuzuru learning to enjoy art just for the sake of drawing!! seeing the lets try diy story where he doesnt even refute drawing on midoris desk and was only worried that his doodles might cover up the mascot design compared to how discouraged he usually would be in earlier ! stories. everything to me i adore their dynamic if that wasnt obvious by *gestures to basically everything*

and happy pride month 🏳‍🌈

[cherrirui-official]

Friendlocke Violet Gijinkas (Part 1/7)

Since the edited episodes are starting to come out, I figured that bc of that and the fact that I've been keeping this in the back burner for a loooong while now, might as well complete all my friendlocke violet gijinkas!! Some are gonna stay the same while others are gonna have slight/ complete redesigns, so please keep that in mind!

I plan on posting them in order by groups of three, so there's gonna be seven parts in total, all of which I'll be linking here when done vvv

(Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Five) (Part Six) (Part Seven)

!! These will contain personal headcanons I have for the cast, little fun facts, and also spoilers for Friendlocke Violet (for both the edited vids and the streams) !!

@saltydkart-reblogs

And that's pretty much it, designs under the cut!

LARK:

HUGE nerd. spent most of his time during the Uva Academy studying different kinds of pokemon as well as different fighting styles he can utilize once he is able to go out on his own journey with his very own trainer! Too bad that didn't really help in the long run...

His entire wardrobe consists of McDonald's related outfits. It's fucking insane. He even has some from long LONG ago that aren't available anywhere else.

The bubble pattern on his hair is able to move and change. Nobody knows how this is possible, not even Lark himself. All Lark knows is that his hair looks incredibly stylish!

Speaking of bubbles, he has the ability to blow bubbles whenever and wherever he pleases!

Often keeps himself extremely clean and gets upset if even a small speck of dirt gets on him, despite this he somehow smells like McDonald's food and axe body spray. Disgusting. He's so cool!

Even after death he still likes to hang around the other team members as a ghost, often getting to know the newer members as well as reuniting with the old ones. Sometimes they see him, sometimes they don't. It usually depends.

SARA:

Due to being a human in her past life, Sara is able to actually speak with the other humans in the pokemon world. However she usually doesn't due to it being seen as extremely weird and out of place. She did slip up once while talking in the presence of Arven, who thought it was the weed making him hear things.

Oinkologne are usually unable to do much with their hooves but Sara spent nights practicing how to knit with her new hooves and now she's able to do it flawlessly. I don't know how she managed to do that but go queen!

When first joining the team she'd often have the urge to eat her food related companions. It was a strange time for Sara, but she managed to overcome it.

When Peppy gets sick, she usually is the one who nurses him back to health. She was a human once so she often is able to figure out whatever sickness Peppy has and treat it properly. I suppose she's like a second mother to him.

The bag she carries with her is full of thread that she collected from various Tarountula she encountered on the journey, as well as little things she knits together in her spare time.

For the most part, Sara forgives... but NEVER forgets.

Did you guys know that Sara has a new YouTube channel? Check it out!

Pastey:

Before joining the team, Pastey was a nameless wanderer. He's been down every road in Paldea and knows almost the entire region (except for Area Zero) like the back of his hand.

He's gotten hurt pretty badly throughout the run (ie. the Mikey fight, the Atticus fight, and ESPECIALLY the final battle), however, he does not gain any (physical) scars from those fights. This is bc he's basically an axolotl, and axolotls are usually able to heal without scarring.

Pastey's "arms" are, to put it simply, mud prosthetics. More info here vvv

Pastey HAS met Mall Bingo once before the run, however, he doesn't recognize her. The only reason he does not recognize her is bc she wears glasses. (You know how people somehow aren't able to recognize Superman bc he wears glasses in his civilian attire even tho his face remains the same? It's basically like that lmao)

Unlike the lightbulbs he eats, the gasoline he drinks isn't really mandatory to his diet. Gasoline is like alcohol to him and he drinks it like an absolute CHAMP.

He goes fishing when there's nothing else to do or when he can't sleep at night. He doesn't do this bc he thinks it's fun or anything, only bc it's a "good time passer" or so he claims. Other members of the team will often sit with him and vent out anything that's troubling them at the moment, and Pastey is always there to listen to them.

And that's pretty much it. Next is Joe, Hannah Ü, and Mykyie!

[alohaasaloevera]

guys I’m honestly happy that klance didn’t become canon because I love how as a collective group of people we utilize our right to explore what could have been and create the most smoking hot scenarios ever and yes I obviously wanted more of their friendship growing into this bond stronger than anything else in the universe especially since Voltron has teamwork and family as one of their main lessons but that’s more of a development issue all around…ok besides that there’s something about klance where it provides this PERFECT environment for shippers to inhabit and FEAST upon. With klance, there’s a solid, engaging dynamic between the two set up, which is this weird one-sided rivalry that stems from Lance’s insecurity and his need to prove himself of his worth and Keith literally being one of the best pilots for his age but since they’re flung into space and chosen to become child soldiers in this 10,000 year old intergalactic war so they have to work as a team which surprise surprise forces them to put aside their differences and work as a team which is shown a bunch when Keith needs to become a leader and Lance steps up as his right hand and and they have some kinda tender moments that won’t definitely drive shippers into a shipping craze (or worse) SO YEAH you could see why people loved it with all the classic tropes and mutual growth all that schmooze (ALSO THEY KNEW EACHOTHER BEFORE THE MAIN PLOT??? Well maybe not like friends or even acquaintances probably BUT HELLO?????? EVEN MORE SHIT TO EXPAND ON????), and they share multiple scenes that could be interpreted as romantic but there’s no explicit romance. This environment is fucking dripping drenched flash flooded cornered by 1000ft tsunamis in all directions with potential for shipping, so when people saw this relationship between two bros with this sort of homoerotic (IM JOKING. Kinda.) unresolved tension towards each other and the POTENTIAL for a good slow burn rivals to friends to lovers, it was to no one’s surprise that they went APESHIT. Klancers made countless different ways where they get together whether it be pre-Kerberos, post-gettingthefuckoutofearth, the start of the show, the end of the show, after the end of the show, right smack in the middle, anywhere, anytime, for who the fuck knows why just ANY REASON DAMN IT it doesn’t really matter because people were pumping out fanfiction or fan art or any fan media of klance faster than I spit out a raw baby carrot after chewing it for one second and now we’re all wallowing about how it should have been KICK but the thing is that if VLD did KICK all the way to Altea, the production of these beautiful stories that so many people have and still are coming up with about klance kissing in midst of a battle, helping each other with their crippling nightmares, smiling for the stars or some other sad premise, and whatever is nestled in his pulse…just like uhhh the amount of fics like these that go into great detail about Keith and Lance in these random situations that end up with them getting together being produced would go down to some degree because of the fact that if the people’s beloved sharpshooter and samurai had ended up together like we had wanted, and the majority was satisfied with the ending the creators had given, people would have shifted from writing about “How could Lance and Keith get together?” to writing about “What could Lance and Keith do now that they’re together?” And like. There’s nothing wrong with that honestly I would be HYPED if klance was ever canon but there is profound beauty in the way the community is able to create more from less and turn a show that went to shit in the last few seasons shine even brighter than it did at its prime. Like I wouldn’t trade my favorite fics 4 anything.

—

Ok another little thing I’m going to put here: With Klance, all I wanted was for them to be great friends 😭😭😭. I tend to prefer klance becoming canon in later seasons or at the end or even an open ending with no confirmed romantic relationships because I am a sucker for character development and the idea of Keith and Lance both harboring these feelings that at first are just admiration and respect but then escalate to yearning for one another or becoming close friends at the end of the show and getting to imagine anything I want post canon is EVERYTHING if you give me S7 Garrison klance I’ll keel over and thank you like I was a second away from dying of thirst and your gift was a truck load of water

[ahlaway]

Okay, but real talk, if Tubbo goes Federation informant for real / hard manipulation, the other islander's will be at fault.

Hear me out:

From the beginning there has been this like. Really unfair view on Tubbo. His chat is scolded for metagaming (as it should be) but he's also talked down to a lot for not just accepting things.

He won't just accept they're trapped because the older islanders say they've tried and failed. He won't just trust islanders who've been trustworthy in the past (ex Bad) who are no longer acting trustworthy. He's trying the same methods other people have tried because he wasn't there for it.

Any nerfs happen? That's Tubbos fault. Never mind that they were bound to nerf create the moment another big create member joined because how they were using it to break puzzles instead of doing the puzzles.

People are constantly picking and blaming him for things and then saying his suspicious because the federation doesn't do anything about him. Despite the fact that the federation does not give that boy a moment of peace, and have not since he arrived.

Meanwhile people like Bad and Pierre have only just begun to experience the horrors, despite how long they've been breaking the rules and causing trouble.

Then you look at interactions he's had and BOI. From his POV alone I wouldn't blame him if he didn't trust any of these people.

(mandatory this is only referring to RP characters.)

Tubbo is an adult. However, he is BARELY and adult, and that is something that is important to note, and I don't mine saying with his "i'm minor coded" joke. Like, as someone approaching 30 I can't imagine interacting with a 19 year old the same way I would someone near my age. So keep that in mind for my thinking going forward.

He's pulled from the ice and a few days later he's approached by a crazy bear with a gun and the power of create that tells him he HAS to do a task. One that will betray someone he's made friends with and an egg. He tries to refuse and the bear starts shooting.

So he does it, thinking he has no choice.

Then two men, who are like, MVP, highly respected, defenders of the island, tell him he should have just died. In fact, he was selfish for not dying on that hill, and that the father of that egg is going to be FURIOUS with him.

To the point that Tubbo is freaking out when Fit catches him trying to fix what he had to break for his task, and make things right.

Is it any wonder he thought he was capital D dead when he "lost" one of these men's eggs?

Now jump cut.

Boy is pressured by men into spinning a wheel that, lets be honest, probably only had bad outcomes, and then is told it's his fault. HE killed the eggs.

Which leads to local teen burning in lava in a breakdown.

And don't even get me started on the drama that was two men who live in a different zip code losing their minds because local teen does yard renovations.

One of which being someone said teen is convinced kidnapped someone, and has tried to gaslight him about it.

Like, outside of the morning crew, Fred is kind of the best relationship Tubbo's got going for him at the moment.

[bluespiritshonour]

Mai does figure into Zuko's redemption in a very subtle way by being neutral.

If she were actively prowar he wouldn't have felt comfortable voicing his turmoil in front of her and working it out loud. The fact that he still did it despite her being Azula’s bestfriend says he knows her views.

If she were antiwar... The effect would have been the same as what Iroh had on Zuko. Only he could change himself, no one else was gonna do it for him: hence it was important that he was separated from Iroh so he could forge his own path.

And without Mai being the only person he sought comfort from when his bad choices were catching up with him—he’d never really have processed it in a safe space.

I always like to think that in Ba Sing Se he was too much in survival mode—being given a chance to return home and then leaving it all behind was important because he needed to get down from survival mode and actually evaluate everything.

In The Beach he says that he should be happy that Ozai supposedly talks to him and thinks him a hero—except, his sour mood throughout the episode has to do with Ozai having gotten them out of the way. It wasn't that he had everything and realised it was hollow: it was more like he went back and realised what he was longing for didn't exist.

That explains him telling Sokka that his only regret was breaking up with Mai. He had to give up something to show that the right choice was the difficult choice and it sure wasn't Ozai’s love (which wasn't there. He comes to terms with the fact that it wasn't there). It was Mai’s.

[whohasthecards]

Top Gun AU Idea -- Jake is Mav's son and grew up in foster care.

Jake only has a beat up picture of his dad and that his name was "Pete". He didn't know his mother at all, not even his birth certificate. He was abandoned and whoever abandoned him made sure that his lineage would never be traced.

He figured out who his father was during his first time in Top Gun.

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

He also found out that his father was married to the COMPACFLT.

He didn't need a father anymore, right? And he wouldn't want to break up a family in his desperate attempt to maybe gain one. His father probably didn't know he existed. Hell, his father could even be the one that abandoned him (although why he would leave the picture makes that theory unlikely).

However, he did want to meet the one of the Navy's top pilots. It's all professional curiousity.

(He was in the same profession as his father, aviation is in his blood.)

He will become the best.

Maybe he'd meet Maverick once he's on top.

During his first air combat kill, Iceman was the one to shake his hand. The admiral gave him a clap on his shoulder and congratulated him.

The mission occured.

As a person, Maverick was not who he expected him to be.

As a pilot, Maverick was the best.

He was numb when Maverick and Rooster were shot down.

He never felt more alive and scared when he pushed his jet to save them.

He turned and walked away when he saw Rooster and Maverick hug it out, confirming his suspicions during training.

Rooster was Maverick's son, in every way that matters.

Blood doesn't matter, heck there isn't even a blood test that proves that Jake was his son. Only a battered photo with scripted handwriting.

Jake should let go.

After the mission, Dagger squad becomes a permanent squadron with Maverick as team leader.

Maverick got along with every single Dagger just fine, but there was an awkwardness between Hangman and himself that neither knew how to bridge. Mav never did know how to act around people who was just like himself.

Maverick acts paternal and caring to everybody, especially Bradley, and Jake had to swallow the growing jealousy (I don't need him, I don't need him, I don't need--). Why did everyone get a family and a Mav that would look their way for more than 10 seconds?

Why did Rooster get everything he ever wanted?

What did he do or not do that made him deserve this crippling feeling of jealousy and loneliness?

[thatguywhodoesstuff]

A Small Thing I Noticed While Rewatching Murder Drones Training Video

Did anyone else notice that J seems to be playing with toys of N and Doll?

Does this mean that J canonically ships NxDoll in the rare off hours when she isn’t shilling JCJenson and its “notable” brands?/jk… Unless…

[mishy-mashy]

Do you think Banjo is the type of person who hides his problems behind a clown mask?

The guy acts like a bit of comedy relief, but I think he's the kind of person to face his problems head-on. I don't think he uses humor as a coping mechanism. We never see him do that for himself. He's just a loud guy

Look at how he first appears to Midoriya

He's loud, and it steals Midoriya's attention. But he's calling him out on why he's messing up

But as a character's debut, the first things he does are:

Call out Midoriya for trying to do things alone, when Yoichi's first message to him was that he wasn't

Tell him that if he can compose himself, things typically work out

Understands Midoriya's side of things, and tells him he knows (like lacking a mouth)

And once he says those two previous things, he exhales, and his eyes show their pupils properly

The parting advice he gives Midoriya is a reiteration of the second point: It's okay to be mad. What's important is controlling your heart.

Blackwhip is a Quirk that responds to the holder's emotions. Like other Quirks, but Blackwhip goes out of control when the user isn't able to get a grip on themselves

Banjo used his Quirk effectively. He'd have to live that advice to pass it on to Midoriya, back when Abilities were starting to become normal, but Japan was still wrecked. And we know that Quirks are influenced by, and influence, the holder's personality.

Banjo would have to be able to be honest with himself, understand his emotions, and has the maturity to say it's okay to be mad. Just control it.

When he said that for the first time, it actually surprised me. Everyone in fiction or reality says "Don't be mad", but a character on his debut and says it's okay to be that. I never heard anyone say that controlling your emotions and outputting them in a healthy manner is what matters. People just say not to he negative or annoying, because it's inconvenient; but Banjo went past that.

And when he fades, he tells Midoriya he's got this. He reminds him that they're all behind him.

Whenever he speaks, he doesn't make the receiver feel bad, or speak down to them. He understands them, and gives the next step in a familiar, friendly way.

On his debut, he told Midoriya to control his heart, and to remember he wasn't alone. Here, he tells him he should try understanding their Quirks better.

He's actually got a mature way of seeing things. He's an adult, and being the holder between Shinomori and En, he wouldn't be able to deal with either of them if he wasn't mature about himself. Shinomori probably wouldn't choose someone who can't be honest with himself upfront, after spending almost half his life for OFA. And En is young, prone to panic, and a guy who acts like his problems aren't there or funny wouldn't help that.

I can visualize Banjo sitting at a small fire with Shinomori, having an honest, calm talk about life (until Shinomori says the wrong thing and Banjo yells something about it). But not Banjo trying to push his problems down with a hearty laugh, and Shinomori being okay with that.

When Midoriya used his Quirk for the first time, Banjo did get loud at the start, but he did lecture him in a way that was kinda teacher-mentor-ish.

I actually like the way Banjo talks about his observances. He's got the demeanor of a good teacher, he's clear, and direct. He's light-hearted about serious things, but doesn't diminish them. He just approaches it in a way that you aren't feeling the pressure, and can feel like it's possible.

He seems to have this habit of being loud to get people's attention, and simmers down once he has it. He's never indirect or leaving the addressed to figure out the answer on their own, he gives it outright.

When Midoriya used Blackwhip for the first time, Banjo was all "You got it all wrong!" and then explained things. Since he felt himself fading, he could've been talking louder to compensate himself past the daze he felt. To make sure he was talking, heard, and to keep himself awake

When the first Three made the void silent because Kudo and Bruce didn't want to help, Banjo broke it with what Midoriya should do next

When Shinomori got yoinked, the first thing Banjo did was report it in a panic to Midoriya. This just tells Midoriya he really has to be careful now, because OFA can really be stolen. Even if Banjo just panics and doesn't say that aloud

Every time Banjo is facing some kind of problem, he doesn't let others panic too hard. He's not pressuring about problems, and steps back to let Midoriya figure things out.

When Midoriya was running himself into the ground, Banjo was one of the vestiges that didn't show up to tell him to rest. He already understood how Midoriya saw things, and was doing them his own way

Rather than trying to be a clown, I think Banjo is just a friendly person. He's honest with others and with himself, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to utilize Blackwhip right, or be the holder between a sagey hermit and young, scared adult.

[deathnguts]

Selkie! Regulus and Fisherman! Remus... they live rent free in my head. Like Regulus just has such selkie beauty, yknow? Otherworldly and something you’ll never truly, fully tame or own despite wedding but still delicate and perfect. And Remus is just so creaky little village folklore protagonist it’s honestly hilarious, yes this man lives in a routine until he’s gray and literally can’t anymore with his air of mystery and calloused hands but distinctly kind eyes. Match made in stories told under the stars around campfires if you ask me.

Ok so I think this au could be imagined two ways. 1, Remus meets human regulus first and 2, Remus meets seal regulus first. Both go differently but are both very fun.

So number 1 would be classic tumblr fantasy. Regulus is a beautiful stranger who keeps to himself and showed up almost out of thin air in the misty fishing town in Wales that Remus lives in. Regulus is so new and beautiful he can’t help but catch the eye. I imagine Remus sees him for the first time when Regulus is out on the beach, just watching the water, and Remus is coming down the dock to go home for the night. It’s late and quiet besides the waves of the sea, dark besides the light of the moon, and this stranger could almost be mistaken for a ghost with how the pale rays bounce off their skin and perfectly white coat they have draped just past their shoulders. He leaves them be because it’s late and he’s not creepy. He sees them again at the only local bookstore, sat at one of the only desks in the small shop with a few books piled next to them and their manicured fingers turning the aged pages of the book they had open. Again, Remus just can’t look away. Their curls are loose around their face and they keep having to tuck them behind their ears, which are pierced with shiny pearl earrings. Their eyes are intently focused and strikingly pale blue and Remus only realizes he’s been staring when he realizes those eyes are on him now. He flushes and stumbles over his words to try and apologize but the stranger doesn’t seem perturbed, they say it’s alright and they were leaving anyway. Remus wonders how long he’d really been just watching them because they seem farther in their book when they close it and they knock the coat he remembers them wearing the other night off the back of the chair they were sitting on when they reach for a bookmark. Remus picks it up for them, since it’s the least he can do, and hands it back while they gather their things. Except they’ve stopped gathering their things because now their entrancing eyes are wide and staring at him with blown pupils and awe. Remus doesn’t understand and is still embarrassed from before, so he gets them to take their coat and rushes off. He meets them again when they appear at his door a few days later with a ring and a fierce blush as they explain that it’s unfair to only be married the human way, and oh dear god what has Remus gotten himself into.

Very silly, much shenanigans, very cute I think.

The second is more whimsical. Remus is out late fishing, maybe fell asleep earlier that night out of sheer exhaustion from work or other and is now waking up far past his usual docking time. He’s groggy and delirious when he sees a glowing white light in the water. He thinks he’s dreaming when it’s head pokes out and it’s a seal. Remus doesn’t know if seals should be in this water but he does know they shouldn’t be glowing. The seal coos and swims for a little before disappearing and leaving Remus wondering if it was even real as he sails back to the docks. But he’s assured it was when he sees the seal more and more over the next few months. He becomes more and more familiar with it, more delighted to see it. He talks to his mother about it one day and she immediately tells him he’s seen a selkie, because she’s superstitious like that, and he doesn’t really believe her at first but it becomes undeniable as the weeks turn to months and the seal gets more and more friendly with him. Eventually culminating in Remus probably hearing his selkie’s song from human tongue for the first time, and seeing that form to boot.

Man falling for a folktale and a folktale falling for a man. Very fairytale, very wondrous, very ‘true loves kiss’ vibe.

But also I lied and there’s a third option that’s sort of an off shoot of two. Werewolf Remus meets seal regulus first.

Remus spends his moons as a werewolf by the water, near rocky caves where no one dare venture at night. The waves calm the monster and he doesn’t out anyone in danger out here. He’s used to coming here with not much to remember the next morning but then one day he remembers almost a dreamlike memory of his wolf padding down to the water and meeting a glowing... fish? Hm, strange. But Moony remembers it perfectly every moon and starts to view the magical seal as its friend, chasing it along the shoreline and bumping snouts with it and stuff. As moony grows fond of the ‘fish’ Remus remembers its existence more, and since he’s literally a werewolf in this idea he stomaches the idea of selkies pretty easily and realizes he’s probably visiting a selkie every moon and goes back on nights it’s not the moon to maybe see it with human eyes. The seal is wary of the human form since it doesn’t know if only the wolf means no harm but quickly learns Remus is nice too and reveals itself as human too rather easily. The human forms connect just as quickly as the animal forms did and their love is so much more intimate since they understand like literally no one else what it’s like to be an adjacent human with animal needs and such.

Literally their most primal halves meeting and falling first, folklore on folklore romance, ‘lets be otherworldly together’ type of vibe. Immaculate, adorable, also I just like including Moony in moonwater fics.

[solradguy]

Do you think one could attain decent-ish ability to read Japanese just by studying kanji? Specifically asking because the kanji learnin' service "wanikani" is the single Japanese resource that works best with my brain, but then there are separate resources for grammar and vocab and and and.....

You will get REAAAALLLLLYYY far knowing only the kanji but you're going to have to know hiragana and katakana at some point too. Tofugu, the company that did Wanikani, has two mnemonics-based guides for the kana that are basically Wanikani Lite. They're how I learned the kana and I swear by them.

Here's hiragana: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/learn-hiragana/

And katakana: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/learn-katakana/

Hiragana are especially vital to learning kanji; you won't be able to use 99% of Japanese-English dictionaries without them. BUT they're pretty easy and the rules for using them are consistent. You won't have to remember any irregular exceptions for any of them.

I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard really good things about the Crystal Hunters manga series as a fun/low stress way to learning Japanese vocab and grammar. It eases the reader into new concepts and then repeats them throughout the chapter so you remember them. There are free vocab and study guides/lists for each chapter too. Might be worth checking out once you get some kanji and the kana under your belt? The first book is also free.

Official site: https://crystalhuntersmanga.com/

Good luck!!

[wolfnesta]

I’ve always entertained the idea of Nesta going full on evil because she already has a compelling backstory that makes a villain relatable, understandable, these things could push her to extremes to fight for change but not without questionable choices, I mean, she has the cold, unflinching, cunning attitude down, bonus sexy points. She fights for humans, fights for women. But why not make her evil in the process.

And then there’s Feyre with her own backstory but she has that innate compassion, both are fighting for change, have a common enemy, but Feyre has lost faith in Nesta, wants to see her nurturing future come to fruition without burning everything to the ground.

Hmmm I’m just compelled

[clownsalot]

im very normal about fuuta in general but i dont think im ever going to emotionally recover from his fire motif and what it represents for his character and how he reflects the greater theme of justice so that means i must rant about it

(more under the cut because this got longer than i expected whoopsies)

so anyway fire is pretty obviously supposed to be symbolic of his passion for justice right? that fire is all over the place in bring it on. he's wielding it to take down enemies, his signature weapon is a flaming sword. it's what he uses to lead the campaign against the people he's after, the people he's deemed in the wrong.

it's a fucking flaming sword, it's badass as hell!!!! it's what a hero of justice, a knight, would use!!!! it's cool as shit, it's his symbol of justice.

that's how he sees his justice in trial 1.

he's righteous, he wants so badly to believe he was a hero, he was doing it all for a good cause, for justice. his passion for justice was a tool he used to meet those ends, to be a hero, to wave it valiantly in the face of enemies.

the fire, however, is conspicuously absent once he's noticed the blood on his hands

interestingly, despite backdraft as a song title being much more related to his fire motif than bring it on, fire is actually surprisingly absent from the mv's visuals. fire, as in actual orange burning fire, doesn't show up much at all in backdraft except for when both fuuta and his victim begin turning to ashes, and a short bit near the end right after the last chorus when the spraycan explodes in fuuta's face. you know what the mv does show a lot of though?

smoke. and ash. the byproducts of a fire, the byproducts of fuuta's passion for justice.

bringing it back to firefighting for a moment: as many people have already pointed out, backdraft as a firefighting term refers to when a fire that has consumed all available oxygen suddenly explodes when more oxygen is made available, such as when a window or door breaks. the thing about fire hazards, though, is if the fire and the heat don't do someone in, usually it's the smoke. the smoke inhalation causes breathing difficulties and suffocation, making it even more difficult for a person to escape the fire.

in backdraft, instead of fire itself, what we're shown is these byproducts of a fire. the smoke is damaging to human health, and the ash shows that the fire has burned things up and caused destruction, in this case killing someone. all we're shown is the negative results of a fire, in sharp contrast to its badass, positive portrayal in bring it on.

hell, even fuuta himself starts turning to ashes and the spraycan explodes in his face, showing how even he is experiencing the negative results of a fire that has gotten out of his control, how even he has gotten burned by his passion for justice. or, is it es' desire for justice?

translation of fuuta's t2 vd by onigiriico

Me, too! I was like that, too! I also didn't think it'd turn out that way!

You and I are exactly the same breed! The only difference between us is the clothes we're wearing.

fuuta's justice and es' justice, it's all the same in his head now, he directly tells es that they're the same, that we're the same. it's all the same hunger for justice that ends up causing harm even if that wasn't the intention.

you know that saying that fire is a good servant but a bad master? i think that's pretty applicable to fuuta's situation. his passion for the pursuit of justice was great when it was still a tool, a sword he could wield, after all he did manage to shed light on some people's wrongs and bring them to justice. but once it exploded, when it became a backdraft that even he could no longer control, it did more damage than he intended.

it burned even him, it killed a middle schooler. and he recognizes that in backdraft. he only shows us the ways fire that becomes a hazard can go wrong.

translation of fuuta's t2 vd by onigiriico

What did I do? All I did was say that what's wrong is wrong! I was just going off at a bad person online!

I didn't think they would die! I just thought that wrong things are wrong, and that a crime is a crime! You get that, don't you? See? Aren't we the same?

it's just. fire is such a good metaphor for the message of fuuta's character and his arc. it's an amazing illustration of how dangerous it is when you feed a desire for justice too much, when you forget to put a boundary on how you handle that fire. eventually the fire spreads just like how passion for justice becomes zealotry, until more and more things fall under what you consider to be 'punishable' by your standards and goes out of control to hurt people that probably didn't deserve it. it's a warning to set proper boundaries on our own definition and desire for justice and what's 'right' so the good intentions doesn't spiral into harm. it's a reflection of our attitudes towards milgram as the audience responsible for their justice and forgiveness. it's amazing i love it i love fuuta's fire symbolism i love fuuta's character arc and i love milgram's writing so so so much

[rorimoon9597]

"I hate being the captain," Shiro whined.

"No you don't," Adam replied. Shiro pouted and rested his head on the bed next to Adam.

"Sometimes I do, though. I can understand why I was the best person to command an entire warship, but at the same time I can't understand the reason why." Adam snorted.

"I thought that it would be obvious. You're the only one that the Paladins will listen to," he said.

"Sometimes they don't listen," Shiro rebuts.

"They still have a lot of respect for you. It's admirable, how much they care about you."

Shiro can't argue against that. His team has always cared about him, even when he was just a guy who they all looked up to. They'd all come to know him for himself, not for his achievements, and he's glad for that.

"Anyway, the medics say that I'll be free to leave soon. Where will I be sleeping?" Shiro lifted his head to look at Adam better.

"Well... I was wondering if... if you'd like to share a room with me." He didn't expect an answer. He wouldn't be upset at Adam if he declined.

"I'd like that," Adam admitted. Shiro nodded.

"Okay. I'll get spare clothes for you, then," Shiro said. He smiled. "I'm being so awkward right now."

"You are," Adam agreed.

"You love me though."

"I hate it when you're right." Shiro smiled even wider.

"Sure," he said. His comm beeped. He pulled it out and checked it. "I have to go. Something about the Paladin's mission has come up."

"Go. I'll still be here when you get back."

"Alright. If it takes longer than expected then I'll get someone to come with a uniform. Sorry, but you're going to have to wear an orange one."

"It's fine, Takashi. Now go, I'll be fine." There's a fond exasperation in Adam's voice. Shiro stood up and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Adam's forehead.

"Alright. I'll see you later." He left, heading for the meeting room to see what he was needed for.

It's not until dinner time that he's free. He walked to the ship cafeteria, feeling the weight of the day on his shoulders. All he wanted to do was curl up in bed with Adam.

"You look like shit," Adam commented. Shiro looked at him.

"I feel like it," he admitted. Adam smiled at him.

"Come on, you'll feel better after some food, a shower, and some sleep." Adam pulled him into the cafeteria. They grabbed their dinner and sat together to eat.

The crew didn't bother them through out dinner. It was just the two of them, talking and eating. The tension from the day leaked out of Shiro slowly, almost unnoticeable.

When they finished, Adam forced him away from work.

"You need to rest," he insisted. Shiro didn't try to stop him, only asked Curtis to clear the rest of his schedule and to tell the crew that he didn't want to be disturbed.

They made it to their room. Adam pulled Shiro into the bathroom.

"Wait- you don't need to help me here," Shiro said. Adam raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to listen to that, and you know it." Shiro sighed.

"I do," he agreed. Adam let go of his hand, only to place his hands on either side of Shiro's face. Adam studied him for a few moments.

"You need some down time, Takashi. Let me take care of you." Shiro leaned into Adam's hands, eyes closed. He held one of Adam's wrists and turned his head to kiss the palm of his hand.

"Alright," he agreed. "I'll let you take care of me."

"Good," Adam said. He removed his hands from Shiro's face and reached into the shower, turning on the water.

Adam was careful in his movements, caring, even. He helped Shiro out of his uniform, chucking parts of it to the side. His fingers traced the scars on his skin. Scars from fights in the gladiator pit and from his Paladin work alike. Adam traced over them with gentle fingers, never lingering too long.

He moved Shiro to stand under the spray of the shower. There was movement outside of the shower, and then Adam was joining him. Shiro was reminded of the times when the pain from his illness was too much for him to move very far, or stand for long. Adam had always helped him shower then, and each time it was with the same gentleness and care.

He wrapped his arms around Adam and buried his face into his shoulder. Adam traced circles onto his skin. It really was comforting, standing here in the shower with the person he loved the most after a relatively stressful day, after being deprived of something like this for so long.

Adam gently pushed Shiro's head away from his shoulder and grabbed the shampoo. Shiro let him massage it into his scalp, practically turning into goo with the motions. When Adam was done, he tilted his head back to wash out the suds. Adam repeated the motions with the conditioner, taking his time to comb out any knots in Shiro's hair. Not that there really was anything, just in his floof. It gave Adam an excuse to spend longer than necessary on Shiro's hair.

When he was finished with that, he moved to washing Shiro's body. He didn't have the energy to be embarrassed by it. Why should he, when they'd done stuff like this before? And Adam was so gentle, it made Shiro want to cry.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked. Shiro nodded.

"Yeah. I just- I've never realised just how much I missed you," he replied. Adam smiled gently. He pulled Shiro into a hug.

"At least we're here, now," Adam said. Shiro pressed a kiss into Adam's shoulder in reply. He decided that it wasn't enough, so He pulled away to press a kiss to Adam's lips. They were just as soft as he remembered.

Funny, how I was able to remember how it feels to kiss him but not how much I love to make him laugh, he thought to himself. He let himself get wrapped up in Adam. The feeling of his skin, his lips, the warmth he brought Shiro. The love that they still had for each other.

"I love you," he whispered when they pulled apart, noses touching.

"I love you too, Takashi," Adam replied. He pressed another kiss to Shiro's lips, then reached out to turn off the water.

Adam dried him off and helped him into clean clothes before he dried himself off and pulled on his own clothes. They climbed into bed together and laid there, facing each other. They just laid there like that. Shiro was still taking in the fact that they were together again.

"What are we?" Shiro asked. He hated how small his voice sounded, how insecure it was.

Adam was silent for a while before he answered.

"I don't know." It was an honest answer, one that was true through and through. Neither of them knew what their relationship status was anymore. All they knew was that they were lovers.

"What do you want us to be?" He wanted Adam to call the shots. It's all he could do, after going off to Kerberos despite Adam's protests.

"I..." Adam trailed off. In the darkness, Shiro could make out the shape of Adam's face. He knew that the other man was thinking. "I know for a fact that I love you, Takashi. I still want to be with you for the rest of my life."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." They went silent again. "What about you, Takashi?"

"I want that too," he admitted. There was the soft sound of movement, and then Adam's hand was cupping his cheek.

"Then let's have that. We don't have to get married now, but I want to do that at some point."

"I want to marry you, too. I was the one who proposed, right?" Shiro said. Adam laughed.

"Yeah. You were a mess."

"Hey!" Shiro pouted. "You said yes anyway." Adam's laughter died down. Shiro could see the smile on his face, even though it was pitch black at that point. The lights had turned off a while ago.

"And I'd say it again. But... it might take a bit for us to get back to that point." Adam was right. Shiro sighed. He moved his head so that his forehead was touching Adam's forehead.

"So... back to boyfriends?" He asked.

"Yeah. At least we're together." Shiro hummed in response.

"That's all that matters now," he agreed.

Shiro wrapped his arms around Adam and tucked himself under his chin.

"Goodnight, Takashi."

"Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too."

[k-atsukibakugou]

fellow gays…. does it feel like anything to you?