#i think about the festival all the time

[nelkenbabe]

there was this african book festival in berlin last summer, and i still think about it every few days, checking to see if there is a 2023 date. there were so many fantastic things there, but something that stayed with me is the panel with the author of The First Woman, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

she talked about the protagonist of the novel, and especially how it took years and years to publish it. how Kirabo, the mc, had been with her for decades (?) before the manuscript was accepted. how she would do mundane tasks, like swimming in a pool, and ask herself: would Kirabo enjoy this? what kind of bathing suit would she wear? how she knew Kirabo inside and out, almost like a friend

as somebody who has had their own characters live in their brain since they were a child, this was so validating. my character Risa is the only thing that can lull me to sleep. it always felt silly, i still feel silly, bursting with all this information about this person that isn’t real. the intense adoration for a figment of my imagination, knowing dialogue that was never written down by heart

it was validating as a writer (-ish) to hear such an accomplished, impressive author talk excitedly about her character and nodding eagerly when a question about Kirabo was asked

it was just such a good day. i hadn’t even read the book yet, but i bought it there on the spot and asked her to sign it, and she was so nice about it

[arom-antix]

Happy birthday to the man, the myth, the legend, trophy husband of Yuuri Katsuki, Viktor Nikiforov!

[hamable]

Hey I just finished Hilda season 3 and I am forever changed.

I joke that I could write a thesis about some media but I could really truly talk for hours about how fucking good Hilda is.

It’s core strength, which tears at my heart and soul so earnestly, is that it is not just a story about child adventurer, but equally a story about the MOTHER of a child adventurer and it’s just so beautiful. So impactful.

I think Johanna may be one of my favorite characters… ever. I think she is Absolutey Incredible.

Season three was just so amazing, the whole series is. I beg y’all to watch it because it’s so so good and deserves all the love it can get.

[doodlebloo]

Nothing will ever rewire my brain like c!Schlatt screaming "Make it hurt!" at c!Tubbo's execution

[redrobin-detective]

Iruma is an invasive species within the Netherworld, and like many invasive species he will conquer if left unchecked.

We know at some point, humans and demons interacted though, at some point, they each became each other’s myths. I propose that the separation was intentional on the demon side, relegating humans to bedtime stories. They did this because they knew a single human could elevate or devastate the Netherworld. Humans are weaker in demons in most ways physically but their real strength lies in their cooperativeness and desire for community, adaptability  and perseverance despite adversity.

Right from the start, Iruma has unnaturally succeeded in a world that incredibly hostile to him. And yet from the start be began building relationships. We’ve seen demons don’t have much of a concept of ‘friends’ the closest being ‘allies’. The Misfits individually were lazy and self-centered which is what got them sent to troublemakers class. Only when Iruma reached out and formed positive relationships, created a foreign system of giving and receiving help did they really flourish. With each arc, we see the class cooperating and relying with each other more and more, even in individual events. Its helped them grow exponentially in power and personality and only occurred because Iruma planted the notion that they are stronger together.

Iruma is also extremely adaptable not only from his hectic upbringing but his innate humanity. Despite not knowing the context of what is happening during most of his day, he adapts extremely well. He uses what skills he gained in the human world by tweaking them to suit his needs and picked up new demonic skills (such as using Ali-san’s stored magic) very quickly. Part of the ‘special training’ leading up to the Harvest Festival was forcing the kids to break out of just using their bloodline abilities. Iruma has no power himself and thus isn’t limited in what he uses to complete a task. We’ve seen on a few occasions he wins simply because his opponent is too stuck in a particular way of fighting and thinking. Being able to think on his feet and not just stick to the familiar is what makes him such a fierce opponent.

Finally, we’ve observed that demons on the whole are self-centered and lazy. This is not always the case but overall many lack the ability to pursue or accept change. Even the Six Fingers is all about returning to origins and reviving Delkira, in other words, moving backwards. But since he arrived in the Netherworld Iruma has boldly moved forward. He integrated well into a completely alien environment and not only became popular but powerful very quickly. He worked hard to unlearn an ingrained skill (dodging) to win a contest going head to head with the most powerful student. Even when his fellows wanted to give up, his dedication and well known compassion helped win them the Royal One. He became an expert archer even when his master said most demons gave up, refusing to put in the effort. Challenges that most demons backed down from, Iruma charged on ahead.

Iruma used his ability to bring people together, to adapt to any situation no matter how strange and to see his ambitions through to go from someone who should’ve been eaten on day one to a stand out demon. Iruma himself is a kind, extraordinary young man but he also has a natural advantage in an environment he is unknowingly adapted to. It’s one of the reasons why he will eventually be demon king because who else deserves to stand at the very top than the creature who can outnumber, out-think and outlast any demonic opponent?

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Hmm

[petorahs]

personal opinion i dont think akechi's a tsundere i feel like he's just inexperienced in receiving genuine deep intimate affection from someone he values. his first response was to turn away and run you'd be kinda hard pressed to see him flustered in any capacity actually. bro would literally rather die than be seen vulnerable 😭

[plusultraetc]

Saw the tags on the Toshinori post and do you have more to share?? Any insights? If so I’d welcome hearing them 😭 He really is so self-sacrificial and it hurts but it’s truly at the core of who he is

This has been sitting in my inbox for almost a week because I needed to make a futile effort at organizing my thoughts into something coherent--but this is as organized as they're going to get for now! Thank you so so much for the ask though bc I do love to yell about MHA <3

(Obligatory reminder that I'm watching this show in such a confusing order so if what I'm about to rant about has been addressed before and I'm harping on it unnecessarily I Am Sorry.)

(For anyone curious, this is the post btw)

SO. It feels relevant to mention that my sister and I were talking about All Might in the first place because we were talking about MHA Moments That Haunt Us. For me, it's the 'I am not here' sign hanging around the neck of the All Might statue in Kamino Ward after the Paranormal Liberation War. It literally lives in my brain rent-free 24/7 365 days a year, especially with the AM vs AFO fight being relatively fresh in my mind. The reversal of All Might's catchphrase and all it represents hurts, but to display it at the site of his 'last stand' in Kamino? That's brutal.

All Might vs All For One and how that rematch plays out is so so important to the story for so many reasons, but one of them is that the fight itself is a sacrifice. Toshinori gives everything he has, short of his life, to defeat All For One. He gives up his physical strength, his public image as the unbeatable Symbol of Peace, and, effectively his Quirk ("Goodbye, All For One. Goodbye, One For All" haunts my every waking moment, still!)

This battle is also the culmination of years of All Might's life and heroic philosophy (because Toshinori has been both practicing AND preaching self-sacrifice in the name of the greater good since we met him. It's what he thinks a hero does). Kamino is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, if you will. Yes, he does get to walk away from the fight with AFO, but he walks away irrevocably different, almost unrecognizable. He's forced to totally change his focus and his mindset and his life. Everything he has given up is made literally visible in the deterioration of his body.

But most most importantly, All Might's sacrifice at Kamino was... all for nothing. Even if AM defeated him in that moment, All For One is free less than a year later. The world is in shambles. People are afraid, and their faith in heroes is crumbling. Heroes are afraid, and this time, they have no idealized symbol to rally behind. When Dostoevsky wrote "Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing," he was talking about All Might btw.

Toshinori gave this fight (and his career, and being All Might) everything he had, and it still wasn't enough. He sacrificed so much of himself, and so much of how he perceived himself and his purpose, and he didn't even save the world. He just bought them time--and not much of it. I think that's why he's so desperate to keep fighting, no matter the cost, no matter what condition he's in--even 'quite literally half-dead.' He can't let Kamino be the Symbol of Peace's final stand, because Kamino was ultimately for nothing. Instead of saving the world, it has been reframed through the sign on the statue as All Might abandoning the world. And ever since then, he's been scrambling to prove that he is still here.

(There's also probably something here about Sir Nighteye telling him that he was going to die. Since Nighteye used his Quirk on him, Toshinori has been anticipating sacrificing his life for good. Knowing that his entire hero career is effectively a fight to the death has probably maximized his self-sacrificial tendencies.)

[frozenartscapes]

Now that we’ve gotten more Christmas Three Houses characters I really hope Christmas Hubert is either extremely Christmasy (like full on Santa’s top elf kinda deal) or like…the same. But with a sprig of holly on his lapel. A Christmas vampire.

[captain-mozzarella]

Ok consider different star wars aliens' beauty standards mixed with ours????

Like im thinking a twi'lek with body glitter on their lekku or a wookie with hairjewels all over their fur.

A zabrak with nail polish on their horns.

Like wouldn't that be fun???

[chappellrroan]

i worship god in a way they talk about him in songs as someone who exists and is absolutely of no help like a neglectful parent like they're someone i keep wishing to help me somehow but they won't he refuses to but he watches me i don't even hate him i am just hurt

[bmpmp3]

2129 unidolized yoshiko <3

[skibasyndrome]

I'm about to throw all my academic values overboard to get this fucking article done

[stairset]

Love the idea here that the other rebels' problem with Saw is just that he blows shit up and not the whole "torturing prisoners and endangering civilians" thing

[bobmckenzie]

OKAY LAST LOUIS POST FOR TONIGHT I PROMISE (PROBABLY) (I MIGHT BE LYING)

I keep thinking about how cute Louis is in the TRGB episode with his nephew, and how the two of us would probably babysit for him SO often, to the point where he starts to see us more as parental figures than his own parents since they hardly pay any attention to him. but I'm ALSO thinking about how Lawrence probably wouldn't like me at first and would lash out when Louis starts seeing me, bc he's so used to people not paying attention to him and he thinks I'm gonna steal all of Louis' time and attention away 😭😭😭

(this ofc is resolved as he slowly realizes "OHHH this means I'm getting attention from TWO PEOPLE??" and that I care about him :'))

[whimsyprinx]

a new attempt at me trying to sketch out ideas for my porcelain (faerie) royalty outfit that I’m putting together, all I have so far is the shirt, earring (it’s not even finished) and bracelet