#if you want to make high art (which no it doesn’t matter if the fans do want that if they want to make TV contact then that’s fine)

[fuckrealityfictionisbetter]

Incase anyone wasn’t aware I have a buzzfeed unsolved tattoo, it’s subtle and you wouldn’t know that it is a fan tat unless I told you, but I got it because their content basically got me through collage, I have brought their merch, I’ve watched basically everyone of their shows, but Im one of the millions of fans who just aren’t rich enough for them to actually care about, because they just don’t care about the majority of their fans, as others have said they only need about 5-10% of their fans for $6 and the rest of us can be dropped like we never mattered, that is what people are upset about, we never expected anything in return for our support, but we never expected to be rejected either

[keepingsecretstokeepyoutk]

This is going to be very long and sound a little crazy at first, and maybe a little mean but please hear me out…

I’m convinced that Taylor sometimes purposefully includes one line or multiple lines of poorly written or clunky lyrics in specific songs to make a point.

We all have seen some version of this with bearding songs like London Boy, a simple bop whose lyrics were immediately detected as sounding disingenuous, even with the general population (the locations she was signing about were the most touristy and too far away from each other to visit on the same day, etc, basically implying that she doesn’t actually have a long term local bf there that she spends a bunch of time with exploring the city with, etc).

But just like everything else on the album, I think she’s doing maybe a more in your face version of that. No holds barred.

So High School is an obvious example of this, with all of the early 2000’s hs imagery, she seems pretty blatantly to be mocking the idea the public has of her “living out every American girl’s high school fantasy” of dating the tall popular football player. With lyrics like “touch me while your friends play grand theft auto” (barf), etc, shes being clear enough that this is not a serious song.

This is the possibly controversial part, but I’m so curious to see what others think about this - I think another iteration of this on this album is the title track, The Tortured Poets Department. Hear me out.

(First, I want to reassure you that there are lines in this song that I really like and think are well written, like: “you’re in self-sabotage mode/throwing spikes down on the road” and “but you awaken with dread/pounding nails in your head/but I’ve read this one/where you come undone/I chose this cyclone with you”. And I fully agree with the idea that these sentiments are from Karlie’s perspective. Basically, when you take out the chunks I’m about to talk about this song makes way more sense and has a beautiful sentiment of undying love behind it - which makes the following parts stick out that much more!)

The first time I listened through the album, and this was the second song, I got terrified because I didn’t understand its place in the whole narrative and when I heard the first clunky line “scratch your head like a tattooed golden retriever” I got the ick. Then the bridge with no structure and no wit and no clever turns of phrase, no metaphor, just “you put my ring on the finger people put wedding rings on” and “that was the closest I’ve ever been to my heart exploding”. So over simplified and cheesy, and doesn’t sound anything like her writing, especially the caliber of her recent lyrics

I know art is largely subjective, but I insist there is no way that the same person who wrote Cowboy Like Me wrote these lines into her title track if she didn’t have a reason and a point to make. To make it clear that this isn’t a matter of genre personal taste, because I know CLM is a very specific sound and a style that music snobs often take more seriously - I love SO many of her candy pop bangers, they are infinitely more clever, articulate, and overall works of art by a true wordsmith than this. Karma, The Very First Night, etc are all a master classes in clever words and tight writing being tucked into an “unserious” pop song.

The lyrics I cited above to me sound like what haters believe her writing sounds like, even fans who make little jokey TikTok’s about her and make up a spoofy something to sing while in character - that’s what these lyrics sound like.

Im worried im being too harsh, but please stay with me because the more I think about the more genius I think it actually is.

In the context of the themes of rest of the album, (her being trapped, miserable, manipulated, ready to burn it all down, screaming to be seen) this theory became clear to me. I think she’s leaning into her public persona (in more ways than one, we’ve already seen it with the stunting), in a way setting a “trap” for her fans and the public, that will essentially call them all out on how they ignored the real her in favor of her pr narrative, making the album about paternity tests, etc, all of which I’m guessing will become very clear in retrospect, possibly after she comes out? (Of course it’s already clear to us now, which is another purpose of the beard songs including clunky writing - to signal to us that these are not serious and that she knows that we know that she knows (like Phoebe on friends lol))

Ultimately, this is (along with So Highschool) a classic beard song. When she writes in this voice, she embodies the most extreme versions of her public persona, not just the one she has cultivated on purpose, but also the one that people have of her that don’t know her (as she did in Blank Space), including those that don’t take her seriously - because her identity as a boy crazy psycho ex girlfriend is directly tied to people dismissing her art as vapid because, they’ve only ever heard her singles, they don’t know the full her.

That voice is the straightest, the most boy crazy, the most one note, and sometimes the most unsophisticated writer version of her that people have in their minds, including her fans - the fans that refuse to see her as a whole person, the real, that believe she is head over heals for big football boy, that believe “he knows how to ball, I know Aristotle” is a romantic line about how opposites attract, the fans that say they don’t “get” some of her most beautiful and well-written songs, the fans that don’t see her and haven’t been seeing her.

They didn’t see giant Taylor on the eras tour, they refuse to see all of her queer signaling, etc, and I think she’s making the bearding songs obvious to underscore the difference between her Taylor(TM) and Taylor(person) personas.

She knows that despite the fact that the lyrics don’t even come close to measuring up to the rest of the album, the public, and many of her fans, will make this song one of the most listened to simply because they are looking for evidence of her relationships from the past year. We’ve all commented on how insane it is that this layered, complex, devastating album is being reduced to the usual paternity tests. This is currently one of the top songs precisely because it is “about Matty”. And of course, So High School is one of the tops songs along with it because it’s “about Travis”.

The juxtaposition of the bearding songs alongside her beautifully written poetry of Prophecy, Peter, Whose Afraid of Little Old Me, Cassandra, How did it end, The Albatross, etc mirrors the juxtaposition of her two selves during the Midnights era.

She has proven the point that if they think she wrote every line of this song completely in earnest, then they see her largely no differently than her haters do, as a subpar writer who writes absurdly cheesy love songs praising trashy to mediocre, problematic men. By eating it up they tell her that’s what she’s good for, for being the subject of tabloids and warring fans who make this entire album about two (purposefully) mediocre songs and the men who “inspired” them.

She has proven her point - that a subset of her fans will be distracted by a lesser song simply because they think it’s about one of the greasy men that’s she been seen holding hands with. That they will ignore once again all of her pleas to be seen, that she’s in pain and caged, and has been driven insane by their willful ignorance. That they don’t appreciate her full potential and talent, that they don’t even see it, and just want to be confirmed in their ideation of her.

This song is essentially the “forget him(her)” pill at the beginning of the fortnight mv, but it’s a sedative for the fans, who are addicted to her straight narrative. Similar to Willow’s 13 chants of “that’s my man” that started off evermore, casting a spell of heteronormativity over everyone who wanted it, so that they could choose to just completely ignore the following 14 gayest songs ever written. Don’t pay no mind to her singing directly about women with zero male perspective - she said “that’s my man!” We’re good! She’s still straight!

Taylor in the fortnight mv had to a take a sedative to be able to go into the next room and write her bearding songs - ie she self medicates to deal with keeping up the straight persona and to get through having to release dumbed down songs to feed the masses. (I also see the pill as something forced on her, I think it represents both layers)

From the first time I watched the music video I thought the writing Taylor looked so miserable and the bearding songs are why.

In this room she’s trapped, churning out the songs that her fans expect of her, the songs that make her team money, the songs that make her money, but that she has to compromise her truth to create.

But when she frees herself she’ll burn the stories that weren’t true, the filler that doesn’t represent her.

I’m curious to hear other’s thoughts on this - have you ever felt like Taylor purposefully inserts off-sounding lyrics that are written in a different voice to make a point?

I want to reiterate that it’s not the entirety of either song that I think is terrible, I genuinely love bopping along to both So High School and TTPD (track). Like I said above, when you remove the clunky lines from ttpd (track), the song has another layer and likely gives voice to some Karlie insight that is beautiful and tragically profound. It’s the red herrings, the pieces specifically meant to tie this song to a bearding narrative, that I’m dissing, and the only reason they are suspicious in the first place is because I know how gifted Taylor is with the written word.

Taylor is such a skilled writer that she can embody the voice of the bad writer that dismissive ignorant idiots believe her to be, just to make a point!

I even wonder if maybe there is a second version of this song locked away in one of those drawers in the fortnight writing room that leaves out the red herrings and is a thousand times better than the bearding version we got.

I hope one day we get to hear it.

[desb3ar]

You’re Not Helping

Summary: Being funny at the wrong time.

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara and Co. x Spidervariant!Reader

A/N: PLATONIC READER!! You’re pretty much the life of the party <3. This is gonna be stupidly goofy because im in that mood LMFAO. This is veeeeeery low effort because it was a simple idea

——————

There had always been a dangerous flaw that seems to be unchecked. A problematic talent that will always leave your fellow colleagues in harms way with the commotion you’d cause with the insufferable antics you presented on the table. The thing that always happens during any mission, especially when things are quiet and dull. It was your way of keeping the energy and spirits high. What am I trying to say?

You are funny as FUCK.

You always had your way of making quips, like any other spider-being could, but something about your comedy always left people with hurting abs from the constant barrage of funny jokes you’d gunned them down with. It was a relentless attack, friendly fire if you will, because it always ended up with someone laughing too loud and compromising their position. As self-sabotaging as that may be, you wouldn’t do what you did if you couldn’t handle what came next.

Often times, you’ve received heavy critiques from the society’s leader, Miguel O’Hara, for putting people in danger because of your lack of professionalism. Jessica Drew would back him up, sometimes. However, she had never been happier when you joined, your jokes being a highlight of her day. You remembered when Jess and you were supposed to be doing a stakeout, scoping out for an anomaly. You had the villain’s file on hand and started to make the most ab shredding roasts that had Jess shed a tear.

“Lookin’ like a whole bottle of what the fuck.” You’d say.

Jess cuts you a lot of slack because of your high skill in the spider-arts. She takes great pleasure in being paired with you on missions because she always knew it was gonna be a successful and absolutely hilarious one.

You loved working with Jess too, because you yourself are a fan of her sense of humor. You hoped you’d be able to work with her more and more because of the amazing chemistry you two had.

Another person you love to hang out with was Peter B. You and him had busted each other’s guts before when you ate lunch together. Spoke about silly stories that had your food run cold from how engaged you two were. Which was absolutely crazy since Peter chows down given the chance.

Today is different. You were on a mission with Miguel. Before you both went to the dimension where the anomaly was located, he made it abundantly clear he didn’t want the jokes and quips today.

“This is a serious matter and I don’t want you to twist it around to be some joke.” He lectured.

You gave him a thumbs up and complied. However, like the snake you are, fingers had been crossed.

The two of you were in the middle of searching for the anomaly, staking out to be sure that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Miguel had told Lyla to scan the area, in which she did. She wouldn’t come back till it was done, which was odd for her. It never takes her long to do scans with how technically advanced she is.

So now, you and Miguel are practically playing hide and seek to dig up anything about where the anomaly could be. This dimension was a strange one, it was filled with tunnels… Very echoey… Not good. You two were spilt up to cover more ground, but no luck.

“Damn.” You whined, arms crossed as you kicked a rock. “Where the fffu-. Bro oughta be a D1 camouflager. Where’s Lyla?”

“Dunno’. It doesn’t take Lyla this long to make a scan.” He grumbled with slight annoyance. “Gotta run another test…”

The two of you continued to look endlessly for the villain, but as expected, yet again, no luck. This was frustrating Miguel, everything he planned didn’t fall into line like it was supposed to and he hated that.

It was then that the two of you decided to regroup. Reunited, you took five and leaned against the wall.

“I’m getting the suspicion that the signal is messing with Lyla’s functions… How though…” Miguel muttered to himself trying to figure the dilemma out.

Then, in the silence, you blew a raspberry. The noise bounced off the walls.

This earned you a peeved look from Miguel.

“What?” You asked innocently, holding back a grin.

Miguel somehow managed to roll his eyes despite his mask being up, and turned away from you.

Your comedic side began to surface… This mission is just too stale.

“… Hey.” You spoke up, grabbing his attention with him slightly turning his head to you. “… Knock, knock.”

“Don’t.”

“C’mon… Knock knock…” You pressed. Miguel sighed.

“…. Who’s there.”

“To.”

“… To who.“

“No,” You snickered, “to whom.”

Miguel had the most disappointed head shake known to man when you were trying not to laugh. You gain composure, only by the slightest.

“Okay that was wack- Uh- Oo Oo- What do you-”

“No no- No more.” He said in a hushed yet loud tone.

“What do you call a spider with 10 eyes?” You asked blatantly.

“What-” He said annoyed.

“A spi-i-i-i-i-i-der.”

Okay, that was good.

Miguel sighed heavily… He sounds like he’s smiling, but you didn’t wanna believe it. “Alright alright.”

“One more one more.” You said quickly as you thought up another one. “What… Do you call two Mexicans that play basketball?”

Oh BROTHER.

“… WhAt…” Miguel had to look away.

“Juan on Juan.”

Miguel had to take a deeeeep breath with that one.

“… Okay.” There was a hint of laughter. “You done?”

“How does the moon cut his hair? Eclipse it!” You couldn’t help but laugh. Miguel snickered slightly…

“I… Stop stop we-“ He takes another deep breath, not wanting to laugh. “We need to focus and figure out-“

“Aye aye- I asked how much a roof cost… He said it was on the house-”

“(Y/N). Shut UP.” Miguel was trying to be serious but you were weakening his ability to keep composure, so he demanded with a slight laugh. “We can’t- We gotta mission and you’re-”

“Why was Mrs. Clause unsatisfied with Santa Clause? Because he only comes once a year.”

Miguel nearly lost it, he quietly shouted. “YOU’RE NOT HELPING.”

“ONE MORE… PROMISE….”

“Fine go go go.”

“How do you get a Mexican uncle’s attention?”

Miguel has a feeling he knows where this is going… “How?”

“Tapatio on the shoulder.”

Got him.

He nearly yelled before he covered his mouth. He gave you a playful punch on the arm and it caused the both of you to laugh together.

Hearing him laugh was something you’ve never thought you needed. He had the most goofy laugh you heard, he even snorted, which caused an echo in the tunnels.

“I can’t take you no where.” Miguel said as he was trying to calm down.

It was then Lyla FINALLY comes back with a scan. However, she was holding her oversized phone. She had recorded the whole exchange. You and Miguel looked at her with shocked faces.

“Saving that for memories.” Lyla said as she did just that.

“Lyla? Where have you been? What took you so long?” Miguel said with a clear smile on his face because he hasn’t winded down yet.

“It didn’t take me long to do the scan, I was just wanting to see if they could get you to crack.”

“… LYLA-“

“You got a cute snort too, like a lil piglet-“

“LY-“

“Also the guy is headed this way.” Lyla explained, pointing down the tunnel, causing the both of you to get yourselves together so you can take the anomaly down.

———————

an extension of the goofy head cannons? yes.

[muzzlemouths]

Part 1 of a oneshot based on @juicyyyboxxx's Valentine's Day art because it's lived in my head for months. so if this breaks your heart you have them to blame 💕

WC: 1400

The rejection is familiar. It bites like teeth on flesh, a deep and aching bruise, unseen, it offers no catharsis without the bitter taste of crimson beneath. Circuits sting and spark under plates of cold metal and a heart that tick tick ticks to a pre-programmed pulse. Alive by electric veins, each breath is painfully artificial. That's why they always leave, isn't it?

How silly it is to think this time might be different. Yes, silly, that’s what they always tell him. What a silly robot, with silly little feelings he himself doesn’t understand and a silly heart that goes 01100010 01100101 01100001 01110100 (beat) 01100010 01100101 01100001 01110100 (beat) 01100010 01100101 01100001 01110100 (beat).

He is exhausted by its rhythm. Disheartened each time a scraped knee leaks oil and not blood. It didn’t use to be this way, of course. This dysphoria of sorts is recent — a development which stems from not one rejection, not two, but a number that can’t be contained when counting on both hands. He is made to watch, not to keep. The children come and go. Their parents, too. His coworkers find him endearing, charming, amusing, silly silly silly silly silly.

But not worth staying for.

He tries writing letters, assuming (hoping) that it is his voice or maybe his face which scares them away. Maybe he can’t find the right words, and his hesitance is too ugly to bear. Maybe it’s a matter of not saying the right things, or not saying enough of them. Writing it down will fix this, he thinks, and so he gets to work.

The first letter isn’t good. No, no, it isn’t good at all. He tries it again. This one isn’t much better. That’s okay! He has plenty of paper, see, and all the time in the world to get this right.

Time swims through scribbled ink, his hours punctuated with each shake of his head and the crunching of paper, forced into a ball and tossed over the shoulder to be discarded at a later time. It’s terribly messy and goes against his very coding, but then again, so does this beating heart of his. So do these feelings.

It’s a bug, he thinks. A sickness. There must be something wrong with him, surely. He can’t think of another reason for this madness. There are butterflies where his wires ought to be, a warmth in his chest that no amount of fans can reckon with. He feels so strongly about this. About you. And this time, the letter is perfect.

It has to be.

If it results in that familiar sting once more, well, he doesn’t think he will have the strength to try again.

He spots your orange sneakers from across the room and makes towards them like a bee, high on hope, catching you by your name just as you reach the exit doors. Your heel turns to question him, and your smile is thin. Polite. You want to clock out and be home, already.

The paper in Sun’s hands is folded neatly, basic printer white. The adhesive of a red heart sticker keeps the letter in place. His fingers tap-tap-tap against it for one anxious minute before he works up the courage to hand it over.

“Seeing as it’s Valentine’s Day, a-and everything,” he sputters, “I thought– well, why don’t you just give it a look?”

For all the opinions Moon had to share over the hours that the letter was being written, he is decidedly quiet now, of all times, when his voice and companionship is arguably needed most. There is a shared stillness to the room that is perfect as much as it is daunting as the letter is extended.

His gears tense like a held breath when you raise an eyebrow in his direction. You take it with the patience one might expect from any other retail worker; which is to say, too much. Your breezy attitude has him fidgeting with twice the enthusiasm, and the reasoning behind his restlessness is lost on you.

A confession lies between folded paper, unbeknownst to you, ready to be heard if you will humor him and listen. Your eyes return to the letter with an inquisitive hum.

Taking little care in preserving it, you break his heart.

Sun watches on with quiet resolve as the sticker is ripped in two, and the paper unfolded. He dares not move or utter a word as your eyes look over the small poem written in crayola purple. Short and sweet, with the intention of making his feelings for you known without it becoming too cheesy, he thinks it gets the job done well enough. His best letter yet! This assumption is further bolstered when your mouth upturns into a lopsided smile, but he can’t quite read your face.

Then comes the laughter.

Short, curt, a quick exhale through your nostrils more than anything else, as though he’s just told a joke that you found particularly–

“Oh, Sun…”

The letter is returned to him with that same humoring expression on your face, and it is here where he realizes that the look in your eyes isn’t returned affection at all. It’s pity.

“This is very sweet,” you insist, nudging the paper forward a second time when he doesn’t immediately take it back, “but it’s not like that between us, right? I mean, we’re friends, but…you didn’t seriously think this would work out, did you?” Another laugh, and this one stings. “Don’t be silly.”

There is an echo of understanding between his code. Your words don’t offer him the kindness of sinking in slow, rather, they cascade through his audio processors like a slap to the face, one after the other.

There it is again. Silly, silly, silly. Yes, indeed, how silly it was of him to think he could ever be anything more than a hunk of metal in human clothes, pretending to be something he’s not. At the end of it all, it’s not his face, or his voice, or the words he is too scared to say. It’s him. Silly, silly him.

And he is not something that can be fixed with crayon words and sticker hearts.

“…Sun?”

“Of course!” He abruptly straightens with a vocal tick of metal on metal, swiping the letter from your hands as if it burned you. “Of course I wasn’t being serious,” he continues, “it was a joke — a joke! You know me, silly ol’ Sunny. Just thought I’d give you a laugh before you went home for the night, is all!”

Printer paper white folds neatly over shaking hands. You might have questioned it were you not in so much of a hurry to get home, but as it stands you have more important things to get to, and a subtle tremor isn’t too out of the ordinary for the animatronic, anyway. Old wires, if you had to guess. The company really ought to get that fixed.

“Good one,” you say, a third and final laugh spilling between your grimace. “Well, I should get out of here. Thanks for helping out today.” Your eyes flicker towards the exit, then back, again, to where he waits like a statue, unmoving and with that same ever-constant expression staring back. “See you tomorrow?”

Something clicks and buffers in his voicebox as he realizes you’re waiting for an answer, a thousand responses readying themselves between the silence, questions he’s never dared to ask. How is any of this fair? Is it in vain, all these hours and days and years spent toiling with words that go no where, and feelings he isn’t allowed to have? To run his circuits ragged chasing after a heart he can’t keep? Am I better off alone, he wonders.

“See you tomorrow!” He says instead.

You can’t help but feel a twinge of guilt rising in your chest as the door clicks shut behind you. He sounded so genuine, you might have actually believed it if he were in any way built to host those kinds of emotions. You assume that he’s just mimicking them, instead. Putting on a show like he used to do before the daycare became his new objective. And yet, the idea of an animatronic truly feeling anything in the way of love makes you smile just a little as you head for the parking lot.

“…What a silly robot.”

[eveistdiepommes]

Classes Start !

“World Academy is like… suuuuper prestigious! Everyone who goes there is either at the top of their class, or they had the money to get in! Either way, you’re surrounded by brilliance no matter which hallway you turn down!”

Hiiiiiieeeee everyone!! Welcome to my newest AU! If you couldn’t tell, it’s a College AU! I’ve been struggling recently with making art, but yesterday something clicked and I started doodling tons and tons and this was the result! Safe to say, my art block is at bay for now!! I started doodling for this AU because I wanted to tweak my art style a bit and because I just wanted a universe where lighthearted, funny things might happen! And as I drew and drew, I started thinking up more lore, more character backstories, and just having a ball thinking of all the characters’ dynamics! So, welcome to World University!

(Character bios and info below!)

Feliciano is quite brilliant in his own unique way, as Lovino knows and as Ludwig will find out. Feliciano has the amazing ability to draw what he sees photorealistically, and his brain seems to be able to break down architecture to its finest detail. His paintings are breathtaking, his skills are unmatched, no wonder he earned a scholarship! Ludwig, who was so sure of who he was, starts to question everything after returning a blueprint the elusive Feliciano had dropped. Ludwig comes from a very prestigious family, a family of winners, a family of business. So of course, he is to follow in his father’s footsteps, just like his older brother is. But… What if he… doesn’t want to do that? What if he wanted to explore other ideas, other concepts, where nothing is concrete and everything is colorful? It’s scary… not being sure… But he is sure of one thing! Feliciano is quite beautiful.

It’s a hassle to deal with his brother though! Calloused and on guard, Lovino is always there to speak up on his younger sibling’s behalf, maybe a bit too much. Lovino just gets worried, as their family does not come from money. He doesn’t need some rich assholes picking on his brother like kids did in middle and high school! Working as a model, Lovino is starting to gain attention, which means more money to support him and his brother. And he is just fine with this. He never thought this would be his profession, but he can’t deny, it is a big confidence boost!

Arthur was never a fan of his parents. They pressured the hell out of his older brothers, and then they turned their sights on him. Their pressure was harder on him though, as it wasn’t just to do well, but to do well and be “ladylike.” Safe to say, as soon as Arthur escaped to college he completely abandoned what they had taught him, finally cutting his hair, finally dressing how he wanted, finally living how he wanted to live. And when they came to visit one year, and saw the changes he had made, they were furious. One thing led to another, and Arthur lashed out, declaring that he was dropping out of college to pursue what he wanted to pursue. And he soon learned that his parents had cut him off from their funds completely, leaving him stranded in the town.

Francis is idolized around the school, mostly by other fashion students. Many have confessed their crushes to him, only to be met with a chuckle and gentle rejection. No one understands him! In the years before, he hadn’t been so reserved, flirting freely with peers and what not. But something has changed, and sometimes, people have seen him at some grungy joint where the scene is way too sketchy and the music is way too loud. After Arthur got off stage, it was Francis’ cue to follow him. He heard something curious the other day, something he wanted to ask Arthur. So, meeting him out back, Arthur scolded him for sneaking up on him. And through a game of mental chess, Francis had learned that what he heard was true; Arthur had no safe place to sleep. He decided then and there, Arthur would be going back to his dorm, even if he had to sneak him and that obnoxious guitar case in.

Kiku could relate to being pressured. It was a hassle just for his family to let him choose illustration as his major. But once he was set, he was achieving what was expected of him, he excelled. That was, until two years in he got sick. See, Kiku has a very weak immune system, it had given him issues in his childhood, and now it seemed such conditions were back to haunt him. After taking a year off, he’s been struggling to get back to the top. His anxiety has risen, his focus seems to be dwindling. Arthur helps him study, and what a kind and noble thing to do. But some days, he just needs to let off steam and go to the arcade to set a new high score on one of the many rhythm games. What he was never expecting… was to be challenged by the human embodiment of the sun.

Ivan had lived a quite solitary life until now. Even when he started college, many did not seem interested in being his friend, maybe because of his intimidating stature, or his accidentally off color comments. But when he dances, he frees his mind from any troubles, completely absorbed in the music. One would never guess from his height and build how easily he can float through the air, and it’s quite exhilarating to watch! Well, according to Yao! The ever energetic Yao met Ivan in a class they shared, and for the first time in his life, Ivan had been approached with a beaming smile and sparkling eyes. Yao was innocently curious of Ivan’s diet and workout regiment, exclaiming how cool he looked unabashedly. This made Ivan’s face red! He had never been fussed over, his sisters didn’t count!

Alfred heard all about Ivan from Yao, becoming excited at the prospects of more friends! Alfred seemed like he was the polar opposite of Ivan in the friendship regards. Almost anyone at the university could easily find themselves talking to Alfred, he was just that personable! But Alfred didn’t have many close friends. He had his twin Matthew of course, and he had Yao and Ludwig, but that was it! No one really stuck around beyond small talk. Maybe that’s why he went out of the way to climb through a forming crowd in the arcade one day to see just who had all eyes on them? He wanted attention too, you know? To say he was surprised would be an understatement. The guy his eyes landed on playing the game was like expert level good! Being the cocky guy he is, he couldn’t help but offer a challenge, even if he was sure he’d lose. That guy was just too cool! He wanted to be closer!

Matthew has struggled in school in the past. It’s not that he doesn’t understand, it’s just that he could never get the words out to explain his understanding. Oral presentations were living hell, as was socializing and trying to fit in. But with his twin brother’s help, Matthew got through high school and made his way into college. The change of pace was rough at first, often resulting in meltdowns from not comprehending what he felt he should be comprehending. His grades were excellent, and his love for nature and the arctic were always very apparent… maybe even too apparent. See, that’s what he couldn’t comprehend still; he couldn’t socialize. Alfred talked to people so easily, but Matthew struggled greatly. He knew from a child he had selective mutism, but it seemed that even when he wanted to speak, he’d choke! His palms would get clammy, he’d start collapsing in on himself. And then the dreaded day came where he had to give an oral presentation… in college. If it weren’t for his white haired peer, he surely would have gotten a bad grade. But miraculously, with Gilbert, he started finding his voice.

Gilbert does not care what his parents expect from him. He doesn’t care what anyone expects from him, well, except for maybe one person… But either way, Gilbert is a completely free spirit, doing what he wants and making his own way! He’s a class clown, often cracking jokes at the expense of the professors, but when he heard that soft little giggle cut through the crowd, his interest was definitely piqued. He attempted to speak to Matthew after that, being met with a stumbling, awkward response, which was somehow even more endearing. Gilbert learned quickly through Ludwig, who was told by Alfred, of Matthew’s past, his struggles in socialization, and his lonely habits. How could anyone not love talking to him? He had a bear fact for every conversation! What is there not to like? Gilbert was quickly becoming attached.

[boyfriendgideon]

as yr favorite local jason todd fan sometimes i get so fed up with the apparent inability of most dc comic writers to write a class conscious narrative about him.

and yes, i know that comics are a very ephemeral and constantly evolving and self-conflicting medium.

and yes, i know they’re a profit-driven art medium created in a capitalistic society, so there are very few times where comics are going to be created solely out of the desire to authentically and carefully and deliberately represent a character and take them from one emotional narrative place to another, because dc cares about profit and sometimes playing it safe is what sells.

and yes, i know comics and other forms of art reflect and recreate the society within which they were conceived as ideas, and so the dominant societal ideas about gender and race and class and so on are going to be recreated within comics (and/or will be responded to, if the writer is particularly societally conscious).

but jesus christ. you (the writer/writers) have a working class character who has been homeless, who has lost multiple parents, who has been in close proximity to someone struggling with addiction, who has had to steal to survive, who may have (depending on your reading of several different moments across different comics created by different people) been a victim of csa, who has clearly (subtextually) struggled with his mental health, who was a victim of a violent murder, and who has an entirely distinct and unique perspective on justice that has evolved based on his lived experiences.

and instead of delving into any of that, or examining the myriad of ways that classism in the writers’ room and the editors’ room and the readers’ heads affected jason’s character to make sure you’re writing him responsibly, or giving him a plotline where his views on what justice looks like are challenged by another working class character, or allowing him to demonstrate actual autonomy and agency in deciding what relationships he wants to have with people who he loves but sees as having failed him in different ways, or thinking carefully about what his having chosen an alias that once belonged to his murderer says about his decision-making and motivations, you keep him stuck in a loop of going by the red hood, addressing crime by occupying a position of relative power that perpetuates crime & harm rather than ever getting at the root causes, and seesawing between a) agreeing with his adoptive family entirely about fighting nonlethally in ways that are often inconsistent with his apparent motivations or b) disagreeing and experiencing unnecessarily brutal and violent reactions from his adoptive father as if that kind of violence isn’t the kind of thing he experienced as a child and something bruce himself is trying to prevent jason from perpetuating. because a comic with red hood, quips, high stakes, and familial drama sells.

it doesn’t matter if it keeps jason trapped, torn between an unanswered moral and philosophical question, a collection of identities that no longer fit him, and a family that accepts him circumstantially. it doesn’t matter if jason’s characterization is so utterly inconsistent that the only way to mesh it together is to piece different aspects of different titles and plotlines together like a jigsaw. it doesn’t matter if you do a disservice to his character, because in the end you don’t want to transform him or even understand him deeply enough to identify what makes him compelling and focus on that.

and i love jason!!!!! i love him. and i think about the stories we could have, if quality and art and doing justice to the character were prioritized as much as selling a title and having a dark and brooding batfam member besides bruce just to be the black sheep character are prioritized. and i just get a little sad.

[herofics]

Yooo, remember a WHILE back when you made those Sloth HC’s for Mina and Kiri? (Took me a lot of scrolling, you make TONS of great stuff luv.)

Could you somehow transfer that to JJK with Todo and Maki? I just love the concept of it and how you’d incorporate that in their world.

A/N: Thank you, if you want to find posts easier, the masterlists are linked in the pinned post. The post/request can be found here and it was pretty fun to write back then. It was also pretty fun to write now too. These are based on how the characters are in the anime, rather than in the manga, because the manga is so much ahead. Did HCs since it’s the easier option, but I gotta admit I don’t have a particularly good grasp on Todo’s personality especially, but I hope these are fine

~Zenin Maki~

•Your cursed technique stockpiles cursed energy the more slothful you are

•It comes with your physical abilities strengthening and your cursed energy becoming more intense (Idk how the hell CTs or CE works)

•You do your daily things, you train with the others and stuff like that, but you always do it the easiest way possible, the way that requires the least effort

•Maki wasn’t a big fan of you when you first started in Jujutsu High, you started at the same time and she found you quite infuriating

•You never seemed to take anything seriously, most of the time you were just lounging around, yawning, looking generally tired and being lazy

•But when she saw you fight for the first time, actually fight against a curse when you were assigned on a mission together, she was stunned to silence, which is a pretty impressive feat for anyone when it comes to Maki

•You always liked her, you thought she was badass and no matter what anyone else thought, strong

•You and Maki actually end up becoming pretty close after you saved each other’s asses on the first mission you had together

•The dating thing just kind of happened without either of you really realizing it, until Panda made some off hand comment about you two dating and you were both like “We’re not dating!”

•Which led to the conversation of “Are we dating?” and ended with the conclusion of “I guess we are”

•When you overexert yourself, you fall asleep very soon after, therefore you have to be good at distributing your cursed energy evenly so you don’t run out

•You also have to sleep for a pretty long while after to get your cursed energy back to a normal level

•Maki doesn’t really care if you’re lazy, since you still put effort into the relationship and you can hold your own and you’ve got her back in a fight

~Todo Aoi~

•Todo used to not have a very high opinion of you, because of how lazy you were

•He felt like you never put any effort into anything, especially physical training, which was very much the case but he didn’t yet understand why

•You never really talked about your cursed technique, because you didn’t see a reason to

•So Todo didn’t know about how it worked or that your lifestyle was very good for your cursed technique

•When you finally got annoyed at his attitude and the constant chastising, you told him about your cursed technique

•Now he can just complain to you about your martial arts and close combat technique, which he does

•Todo actually starts helping you with honing your technique, which includes a lot of sparring and you getting beat because you don’t want to use your cursed energy on him

•He wouldn’t kill you, and getting at least a bit beat up was a pretty daily thing for you as a jujutsu sorcerer

•Todo has had to carry you back from missions a few times when it got tough and you over exerted yourself, because you fell asleep

•He doesn’t mind, and he’s much gentler with you now that you’ve started dating

•Before he just threw you over his shoulder and carried you kind of carelessly

•When you need to recharge, you like to sleep in his bed

[sharptoothed-gaze]

Rant about qsmp management below:

After reading the testimony of the ex-head writer of the qsmp and other past admins I’m so confused. Like,, who the fuck was the one making calls saying “this specific task has to be done within a day” out of nowhere???

For what purpose?? It makes zero sense to me how you could require /any/ team to come up with so many assets so quickly when the head writer, designers, social media accounts, AND translators all had no clue what they were ultimately going to be used for. Where the fuck was the crunch coming from? There isn’t a rule saying mc servers must have a rushed event every specific number of days, so nothing /had/ to be done this way.

I’m just so fascinated by the short sightedness of this system?? Especially because these dates and deadlines were made up entirely internally. Fans didn’t make up when Purgatory /must/ go live. The social media accounts were only told about the event a bit before us, much to their panic and confusion. Then, that sudden announcement results in fans getting excited for a new event, all while the head writer was being told they had a day to write scripts for everything. I’m so confused how a project could so consitantly create its own issue. Workers were clearly suffering this way and for no reason. A basic level of scheduling, a simple calendar, would fix this. Hell just put dates on the discord server in a shared channel only used for announcements so people can see.

This entire failure is something so solvable too which is probably what gets me! Like wtf, person at the top of the pyramid, you’re the one making the rules?? The dates are what you make them to be higher ups! Nothing was stopping the decision makers from pushing their expectations back a bit and giving people even just a week to work.

This entire thing reads like a non-creative with zero management experience being in charge of the project. That’s the only way I can wrap my head around someone thinking script writing, modeling, and website design could happen /consistently/ within a few hours notice.

That’s the kind of opinion my mom would have about anything art or creativity related. It’s disheartening as fuck when someone essentially thinks you press a button and then you just instantly spit out work. It shows that they don’t understand the time and effort required to make something good.

Such a blatant lack of understanding or appreciation like that grinds my gears. No matter how you cut the cake, after a certain point it shows an unwillingness to care and a lack of respect. WHICH SUCKS BECAUSE THIS IS A CREATIVE PROJECT!!! The qsmp /required/ a high level of care about these fields if they wanted to maintain the image they had.

—-

Anyway, I know this is a negatively skewed rant and it’s very frustrating, but I want it to be clear that Creatives will always deserve better. Everyone deserves better than a manager who doesn’t understand/give a shit about their craft. If that is the case, they at the very least, need to hire someone who does.

[aurora-daily]

How Aurora awed Billie Eilish, met Leonard Cohen’s lover and sang her way out of the Norwegian woods

The secret star of Frozen II on why she chose music over molecular science – and the reason ‘art without politics is a bit boring’

AURORA for The Telegraph, interviewed by Neil McCormick (May 26th, 2024)

“I’ve always known how to sing,” says Aurora Aksnes, in her soft, clear Norwegian accent. “I never really get tired. I can sing for 12 hours. And have a pint of Guinness. And still sing!”

There is something very special about the 27-year-old singer, songwriter and producer known simply as Aurora. Her music is extraordinary, but in person she is enchanting too: warm, witty, intense and slightly unearthly. She dresses with colourfully eccentric flair, and her wide eyes lock on to yours as if she is trying to peer into your soul, or let you see into hers.

The youngest of three sisters, she was raised by her mother, a midwife, and father, a salesman, in remote western Norway as a “person of the forest”, as she puts it, playing piano, writing songs and dancing from an early age. Her intimate and original compositions soon found an audience online and, at 18, she was given a record deal by Decca. Her breakthrough 2015 single, Runaway, has had more than 870 million streams on Spotify (where she has more than 12 million monthly listeners) and in excess of 640 million views on YouTube. Among her early fans was a young Billie Eilish, who has since said “When I saw Aurora, something inside me clicked, like, that is what I want to do.” 

While Aurora tends not to trouble the weekly singles charts, her atmospheric music has appeared on the soundtracks to countless video games, TV series and films – and that’s her you can hear singing Into the Unknown, the most irresistible earworm in Frozen II, alongside Idina Menzel. Or you might know her from the 2015 John Lewis Christmas ad, for which she invested an interpretation of Oasis’s Half the World Away with her signature gentle intensity.

Yet her true talent is most evident in her own poetic songs that range from the intimate to the epic and provide a showcase for a clear, high, expressive voice that seems able to go anywhere she wants it to, in productions that blend folk, classical, techno and pop. Enya, Björk and Kate Bush are clear influences, but you could throw into that mix the world-funk blend of Peter Gabriel, the shiny electronic dance spirit of Robyn and the synth psychedelia of The Chemical Brothers. “It’s very hard when people ask what kind of music I do,” she says. “I just like to say I make good music. It’s something I bring from within, like a human organ. I’m an organ donor!”

Released next month, Aurora’s fourth album What Happened to the Heart? is her strongest yet – a vividly emotional set grappling with loss, grief and recovery that somehow shines with a spirit of positivity. “It is not a breakup album,” she insists. “Well, not in the traditional sense of breaking up with a lover. But it has a lot of the same sentiments: saying goodbye, accepting change. It’s about the healing process, and how we deal with pain.” Although she has previously claimed that she doesn’t write from autobiographical experience, she acknowledges that, on this occasion, personal upset (about which she doesn’t wish to go into detail) was involved.

“Usually, I don’t write when I’m sad,” she says. “I don’t want to write in a way that worships the pain; I feel I should heal first, and then I can put light and wisdom in there. But this time it was very urgent. I really felt the need to pour out a lot.”

Yet if the new album draws on individual sadness, it also taps into Aurora’s sense that “something is seriously wrong in the world. While I was writing and recording, wars were breaking out. I could not contain this anger and rage on behalf of the underdog. The music got quite wild and dark.” 

As her audience grows, Aurora considers it her responsibility to speak out about the issues that matter to her, whether the state of the environment or LGBTQ+ rights. “It’s not the 1940s any more, a modern star should be in touch with the world,” she says, adding, “Art without politics is a bit boring.”

When Aurora was young, she wanted to be a scientist, perhaps in the field of “molecular technology”, she says – “I still might; life is long!” – but then music took over. “I listened to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, because that’s all the music we had in my childhood home, in the forest countryside in Norway. So when I started writing, I thought that music should say something big.”

She notes that during the 1980s when Cohen’s career was failing in the rest of the world, he was sustained by his popularity in Norway. “He had something otherworldly, that felt like an ancient reminder of kindness and grace in a world that can be very ungraceful and unkind.” Aurora tells me with delight that she knew Marianne Ihlen – Cohen’s lover and the subject of his classic 1967 song, So Long Marianne – who died in 2016, aged 81. “She was from the same village as my grandparents. She was so beautiful.”

There is something discernibly Norwegian about Aurora’s own music, full of allusions to long, dark winter days and the return of the light brought by spring. “It’s funny how deeply the sadness is rooted in the darkness,” she says. “You hear it from way back in our history, in every children’s song; they are all super sad, with heavy melodies, a dead mother, a dead child, a troll in the mountains that’s lonely. When the darkness comes, we hibernate. I read and sleep and cook and light candles, I ask of myself nothing. When everything blossoms, I write a lot; from February to October is [when I’m at] my most creative. Even though the winter months are hard, it’s worth it, because spring is just bliss.”

She believes that music is the ideal medium not only to express that bliss, but to inspire it, too. “I think it reminds people that they have power and hope and potential,” she says. “There’s so much fear in the media, and it makes us very easy to control, because any animal or human in fear makes bad decisions. Music can speak about the same things, but it’s fuelled by love.”

When I point out that images of death and mortality haunt the new album, Aurora laughs – “Well, I am Norwegian!” – before insisting that, ultimately, she won’t allow the gloomy state of the planet to crush her positive spirit. “I’m not pessimistic, but I can sound like it,” she says. “It’s an odd world, that’s all I really want to say. I find it very strange, but also very beautiful.”

[jiveyuncle]

Hi omg!!!!! I just saw the book you posted for TNAHP and I am dying! It looks GLORIOUS!!!!! Turned out so beautiful binded like that! And the art is absolutely stunning, may I ask what company printed it? Like what shop did you use? I’ve wanted to print certain stories just for myself so badly over the years but there are so many places and I can’t decide and this is exactly what I’ve been looking for!!!!! 😍😍😍 thank you so much for sharing!

Hi, anon! Thank you! 💕 I was so happy getting to hold it and put it up on my shelf! Look!!! 😭💕

I want to preface everything I’m about to say with this: if you use a third party service to print any material (fics, art, art in fics, etc.) please, please, please reach out to the author/artist and get permission to use the service before printing! It doesn’t matter if someone else already has permission, make sure *you* have permission. Also consider if the art in the fic belongs to someone other than the writer (like if the work was a collaborative piece or if it features fanart of the fic) and get permission from them, too! You may have to wait for a response, or you may never get one (in which case, don’t print without permission), but it really is worth it to make sure the authors/artists feel comfortable and confident that they keep control over their own work.

This is the first service I’ve used, and I have no experience binding, so I’m just sharing what I did and what I noticed with my untrained eye.

First, the service I used is Barnes and Noble Press. Here’s a link:

You can make books publicly for sale or books strictly private for personal use. If printing fanfic, be certain that you are creating a “personal” print. It will appear like this in your projects section (note the “PERSONAL” banner above the cover art):

As you can see - the price is pretty decent as far as books go! After tax, shipping, and handling costs, this book turned out to be $21.82.

You can choose how you want to customize the materials your book is made up of. Different materials cost different amounts (i.e. printing color pages inside is going to increase your price a lot). If you don’t know where to start, here’s the preference settings I selected for my copy:

Now, understand that they are not editing your book for you - you’re still going to have to do all the formatting and arranging in a document yourself and designing your own cover (so be prepared to still spend a lot of time on this project). They simply print and physically put all the pieces together for you.

Lastly, I want to address quality. While this is far better quality than I could manage on my own, it’s still not 100% up to quality of most books I can purchase in a store. For comparison, I’ll show a couple side-by-side images of the fic print next to my favorite published book, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.

Dust jacket: Feels great! Literally no complaints.

The hard cover: A bit cheaper feeling. Definitely noticeable difference with a printed visual texture instead of real texture. The printed texture creased and wore away to reveal the white beneath. It’s visible here after just a few openings of the book. Also, unfortunately, you cannot customize the hardcover under the dust jacket, so no spine labels and you’re stuck with this color blue:

Finally, my biggest concern, the binding of the pages: looks a lot more like a paperback that had its cover glued onto a hardcover than an actual standard hardcover. Again, I’m no expert and idk if that’s normal, what anything is called, or how this affects the lifespan of the book, but you can even see where the spine kinda hovers away from the hardcover casing and how that compares to the The Raven Boys.

Anyway, the service isn’t perfect, no, but it works for what I wanted, looks nice, is user friendly, and allows me to hold a fic I otherwise never would have had the opportunity to. I appreciate it for that.

Hope this was helpful! Print responsibly 😊

[patrochillesvibes]

38 & 39?

I do have some thoughts on these topics...

38. If/when they have kids, what is their parenting style (or pets-who does what)?

Ah, so this is their one problem. Achilles is cat coded and Patroclus is a dog person. Achilles hates dogs, so can’t be pet parents. They’re just going to have to have babies, then.

Achilles is THE embarrassing (cringe) parent. He is a very active parent, involved in EVERYTHING. He does a lot of hovering, wanting to make sure his babies are okay and get everything they need. He cries about everything, first time baby walks, first loose tooth, first day of school, graduation, recital etc. For the first day of Uni, Achilles will act like his baby is abandoning him. He requires lots of hugs and kisses from his babies. And very sentimental too, he will frame every piece of art baby draws. I guess you could say that his life will revolve around his babies. He has too much separation anxiety to ever be one of those working parents.

Patroclus is a normal parent, or at least Achilles makes him look normal. He’s usually the one who says no mostly bcs someone in the family has to say no. He gives the best advice. If baby had any problems, Pat would know how to fix it. Pat is always proud of his babies, no matter what grades they get etc.

39. Do they get along with the other's family? If not, how do they deal with the other's family?

I don’t actually think Thetis dislikes Patroclus. It’s all in his head that his MIL is out to get him. She can be a bit tough on him, true, but she only wants what’s best for her son. She’s a little easier on him once she gets some grandbabies. I think Thetis would visit regularly once there’s grandbabies.

Peleus isn’t very good with kids. He doesn’t know what to do with them. Or he at least never knew what to do with Achilles and all his energy. He always let Achilles have or do whatever he wanted as it was easier than dealing with a 4-yo having a screaming tantrum so bad he passes out.

Peleus is old country club money friends with Menoetius, so the match with Patroclus is alright with him. Perhaps if Patroclus was more into cigars and old scotch and was a member at the club, then they’d get along grand. But he doesn’t, so Peleus doesn’t really know how to bond with him. They are very polite with each other. It used to stress Pat out that he needed to get Peleus’ approval, but he’s come to terms with who Peleus is. Whenever he’s around grandbabies he gives them money and a pat on the head. He visits for birthdays and holidays.

The Menoetius situation could be best described as a ticking time bomb.

Menoetius thinks there’s something wrong with Achilles and is not marriage material. He usually keeps his distance. He liked that his son and Achilles were friends, it’s a good connection, but Achilles is more fuck buddy material than anything more serious. Menoetius was a BIG fan of Pat’s ex-girlfriend (more about that in a sec). Each time they broke up he would try to set Pat up with some nice, normal girls to help him get back in the game and steer clear of Achilles.

Achilles is always very polite and nice to his FIL, despite the uneasiness. He is completely obvious to Menoetius’ feelings.

Okay, so about the “ex-girlfriend”… Well. There are days when Achilles feels rather femme. On these days, which are random, she prefers to be called Pyrrha. Now Pyrrha could best be described as High Femme. Think of the girliest girl you know, Pyrrha is girlier.

There were four occasions where Menoetius met Pyrrha. The first was an absolute nightmare. Pat was like ‘haha take off the disguise and get serious we’re about to have lunch with my father.’ Pyrrha was insulted. Frustrated Pat was like ‘Stop it you’re doing this for the bit’ and Pyrrha screamed ‘This is not a bit this is who I am.’ And it just crumbled into their first real argument. After a lot of tears, Pyrrha won. And so, Menoetius got to meet Pyrrha. Pat can’t bring himself to tell his father the truth.

Since no two sources can agree on who Pat’s mom was, I think it’s better we go with the hc she’s dead.

[lordkingsmith]

Zack Taylor known canon children and au children

Man I love Zack. When I was a kid I loved that Zack was a dancer, and was so cool. I loved how NICE he was. He’s a friggin sweetie. In comics I like how this is really focused on; he’s sweet, he’s popular, he’s a nice guy who’s doing his best. He’s not perfect but he’s trying. He can be serious, but he’s never straight up mean unless he has to be, and you can tell he hates it. Should have said so with Trini XD she’s the same way. I just ship her and Richie and got carried away, apologies.

If I’ve forgotten anyone you want to see or I think of them as I go, I’ll add 😁😁

Zack Taylor’s Canon Children;

I do like he didn’t end up with any of his high school sweethearts. Cute as the trope is, doesn’t work for everyone and that’s not a bad thing. Zack's a very fun character, and very charming, but it's cool it wasn't a sweetheart, and I do like thinking he and Billy are together. And I love the chemistry of Zack and Billy in once and always. There's something so sweet about those two bonding when in the first season, Zack had to keep asking Trini for help understanding Billy.

Minh Kwan. He is a great dad to Minh lol. I love how you can see the dawning “oh grid this is what ‘teenager with attitude’ means. I was just like this and this is not good”. Darling I see your pain but you’re doing a good job! She loves you very much! You and Billy are her dads!

My OC’s for Zack Taylor’s Non Canon Children;

Angela (last name unknown);

-props face in hand- seems she was another "had a larger plot relevance that got rewritten and thus wrote the character out of the show" character. That makes three I've run across. Sharkie, Richie, Angela. You could almost make an entire team of their own with these written out of the show characters. I won't say anything more about that, it is what it is. I will say while I wasn't the biggest fan of Angela's episodes, she seemed okay, and Zack was smitten. Which was definitely cute to watch, he was adorable in love with her. But I do have ideas for their kids, and I am quite taken with these two if I do say so myself.

Zack had a long love affair with Angela and they had two kids once he completely retired from being a ranger. She’s a senator’s wife, and they’re a senator’s kids. This has the predictable outcome of the two, Neveah, aged 21 and Bernard Taylor, aged 19, being a bit rebellious.

Neveah is a wild child, though not malicious in the slightest. Trickster type, very mischievous, she's definitely the class clown type. Prefers lightening the mood or getting back at people in the most prankster chaos way possible. She's aware of the rangers, and helps as a senator's child with all the perks that comes with it. She's going into business with the interest of owning a coffeeshop and gallery, so that the community can come and display and possibly sell art, and have a safe place to talk and decompress. Her brother included. They're not especially close, but she does want him to have a place to just be a person. Neveah is also not super close to her dad or mom, though it's more over their work than anything.

Bernard Taylor has absolutely no idea what he wants to do with his life, and works as a preschool dance teacher at the library. He also volunteers for arts and crafts classes. A huge lover of kids, and little kids adore his cheeky personality and his creative problem solving solutions. distraction and dancing, mostly. He's been dating Selena Bulkmeier-Skullovitch for two years, only recently found out Selena was Rita and Zedd's daughter. Upset she didn't tell him sooner, though can't argue he probably would not have taken this revelation well, and it's not like it matters. She was raised by Bulk and Skull, right? He's a bit corny in his romance, and is hoping if she is secretly evil, every time he makes her laugh it's another way to convince her not to follow in her biological parents' footsteps

Melissa (last name unknown);

Zack and Kim were the two who encouraged Melissa to join a disability inclusive dance class, and while it didn't click at first, Zack was the most delighted when she got the hang of the dancing. She told Zack she knew he was the black ranger, and managed to stick close enough by in school and in general people thought they were dating. It was easy to play along, and she was able to act as a great lookout. They have one daughter, Lila Taylor. Aged sixteen.

Lila is not deaf, and she's blunt and strong willed. People tend to underestimate her, and she's fairly quick to correct them. Some people think she's too strong willed, she thinks she's as loud as she needs to be. Lila is a dance teacher and volunteers at the library. She wants to go into library sciences, and is considering perhaps working at the Library of Congress. It's very difficult to get the position, but Lila is willing. She loves music, she loves dancing, and she loves knowledge. Everyone deserves it. not associated with a Color.

Violet Arias;

Zack and Violet are a lot like the sun and moon or moon and sea; there's an equal push and pull with them that can't be ignored. High school sweethearts in the greatest sense, though things hit a rocky patch when she figured out he was a power ranger-not that he'd made it particularly hard. They got engaged when he wrote her a poem cipher asking her to marry him. With help from Billy, of course. The two run a music shop together, with Violet running the area that has the retro music devices and Zack in charge of the CD's and vinyls. Violet and Zack have twins, Elodie and Mona, aged 16.

Elodie is very mellow, and smart. She's curious about a lot of things, and enjoys music based philosophy. Wants to be a song writer, wants to write music for bands from the other side of the galaxy. Just because it'd be a fun, cool challenge. Relatively popular, very forgiving, but not stupid. She's got her limits. Has opinions on a variety of subjects but it's extremely weird what things she's got an enyclopedic knowledge of and what she doesn't. She's often hyped and made brave by her sister, who is the opposite of her in every way. not associated with a color

Mona is going to be a music based power ranger, she is going to be a green ranger. And she is everything her parents and Elodie are not. Brash, loud, vengeful, crass, wild, but her sister keeps her calm and she in turn boosts her sister and gets her able to do things. Mona's somehow managed to be the most popular girl at school, but more than a few people are hoping for the day when this hot headed queen bee gets her comeuppance and gets knocked down a couple pegs.

Trini Kwan;

They started dating in space, and it was nice. When Trini became red, it got more serious, and being with each other was always so safe, emotionally. They don’t spent a lot of time on earth, but they do have two kids. The two don’t see their kids much, Jethro, age 16 and Avery, age 15 are on earth and do school on earth. They see their parents on holidays when they can, but mostly live with Kim. They have very distant relationships with their parents, even if they wish their parents would retire. They partially retired until both of them were in Junior High, which makes it extra tough. It feels a little like an abandonment, even if it isn’t.

Jethro is not really open to his parents, and has a better relationship with Kim. He wants to be a DJ, and does DJ’ing stuff for school dances and parties. Annoyed by his parents, has a ton of friends, prefers his friends. He likes Kim just fine, and everyone else. He just thinks his parents are using their duties as an excuse to get out of raising their kids. Jethro tries to avoid talking about his parents and what they do. He’s got his own things to do, they have theirs.

Avery loves her parents. She misses them dearly and wants them to come home. She’s become a bit of a people pleaser, swallowing down anxiety or unhappiness so nobody worries. She worries about them, a lot, and wishes they’d just stay home with their kids, who love them. While she doesn’t get why her parents are always in space, she knows they are doing important work saving people, and thus, tries to be understanding and patient and not worry anyone. Not associated with a color.

Kimberly Hart;

Tommy had a lot going on, and Kim realized she couldn't keep spending all her energy on him if he wasn't going to notice she cared. They went into a close friendship, and Kim and Zack stumbled very gradually from close friends to dating to married. Kim's a famous singer now, and Zack helps her make her music. Their dynamic duo for creativity continues evolving their music. They also employ animators for all their music videos. They have one son, aged sixteen. Joshua Taylor-Hart

Joshua's tone deaf, but loves playing violin. He has great technical skill, though struggles with the frustration that with being tone deaf, the six sounds most people can hear that would allow him to elevate his music are deeply absent. He likes his music, he loves music. It's hard not to be jealous of his parents, though, sometimes. Dancing's easier, so's cross country running. He's a hard worker, he's smart, and he's used to looking at things outside the box. Is not associated with a color.

Matthew Cook;

During everything Zack and Matt were friends with benefits, though Matt tended to use Zack as an emotional scapegoat as well. Zack finally had enough after a bit, and told Matt either he got his head out of his ass or they weren’t continuing. He was serious, too, and Matt got left in the lurch for a little while before actually looking at himself long and hard and deciding whether or not his grudge was worth losing Zack again. It wasn’t. His parents loved Zack, Kira loved Zack, and most importantly he loved Zack. He came out to his parents and family, and then put in the effort to get over himself to get Zack back. One daughter by surrogate parent, and Matt owes Kim big time. She’s made it clear though. This was for Zack. He gets this, and accepts he and Kim are probably never even going to be friends. His and Zack’s daughter is Layla Cook-Taylor. Layla is sixteen, tiny firecracker of positivity. She has her low moments, but she’s never down for long. She likes swimming and playing guitar. She dances with Zack in dance classes and Matt adores her so so much. She’s frank and earnest and tries her best. She doesn’t give up easily if ever. White ranger. Saba loves her, too. Yes Matt has gotten in arguments with the uppity dagger why do you ask?

Jason Lee Scott;

There really wasn't anyone else, honestly. They got each other. Blue and red is fine, and red and pink, but red and black? when it works it works and honestly they work. For obvious reasons, while they started dating in space, they didn't make it public when they came back to earth until Jason's dad died. At that point, there was nothing holding them back, and Zack understood the reason Jason waited. There was never going to be a relationship with his dad if he came out, and he was the sole caretaker. He had a responsibility. Zack respected that.

They have two kids, by surrogate. Kristen of the dark rangers, actually, offered. They didn't talk to the five much, but knew them well enough, after everything. When she offered it was actually a surprise, but they were willing if she was. When they decided they wanted a second kid, she was still willing. They're half siblings. Cleo, aged 24, is Jason and Kristen's daughter. Valeria, aged 18, is Kristen and Zack's daughter. Through this they became better friends with Kristen as well and that was really nice, especially for Kristen.

Cleo's more dramatic and adventurous than her younger sister. She will try anything once, do anything once. The whole world's a stage and she's one of the leads. Not afraid to take life by the horns and ride for all it's worth. A little bit of a mean girl, especially to anyone who dares hurt her sister or sister's friends. Was a queen bee in high school. She designs outfits for athletes. Sportswear is a passion of hers. How to make it fashionable and nice to work out in. Everyone deserves to look their best. She, herself, has an almost boho goth mix as a style. it was a mistake to let her watch incredibles; Edna Mode is her hero and role model. is not associated with a color. However, she'd be Fuchsia if she did. Unusual, and wouldn't have it any other way.

Valeria is 18 and in awe of her family and their legacies. She feels like she won't be able to be able to match any of them, but is trying not to let that bother her. She's captain of a breakdancing team, and mixes it with hard shoe Irish step-dance, which she's been taking classes for since she was four. It's something new, something fun, something her, and while she doesn't see the value in it, Zack and Jason do. Cleo's first experimental skort (skirt/short combo) was for Valeria to better be able to mix both dance styles. It's sometimes difficult for the sisters to talk to each other or show affection, but when they do its usually through things made for the other for their hobbies. Valeria also likes doing basic build type things, such as building sewing machines or computers. She only does this for family, but Cleo loves the custom machine she got. So does uncle Adam.

Currently working at a pizzeria, the tips are good and she likes being able to think while in high stress situations. It's where she thrives. Valeria is not associated with a color. however if she was, it'd be coral or black.

Tommy Oliver;

Tommy is an airhead, and very hard to convince he’s being flirted with. Kimberly, for months, tried to flirt with her new teammate, and eventually moved on because it just didn’t connect in Tommy’s head. He misunderstood Zack trying to explain it to him as Zack flirting, which made a little bit of a mess, but once it was sorted out Kimberly was dating someone else, and Tommy and Zack realized they did like each other. So they started dating, although there was some hurt feelings between themselves and Kim for a long while. Unfortunately, shortly after they successfully adopted a four year old, Tommy disappeared.

Eighteen years later, Landon Taylor works at Promethea as a systems programmer intern. It’s the closest to Tommy and Zack’s old work that Landon can get. Zack doesn’t want him any closer, and Billy, now CEO of Promethea, takes care of his old friends’ son. Landon admires Promethea and power rangers immensely. He wants to help them by any means he possibly can, and he does so to the best of his ability.

Nothing has come of years of searching for Tommy, and vice president Zack Taylor has proposed several amendments to help protect the teenagers that become rangers. He knows better than to make it illegal for teens and young adults to be rangers like some propose, but he also knows there needs to be suitable protective safety nets just in case. He’s proud of Landon, who’s helping program these safety nets, and he’s proud of the current rangers.

Billy Cranston;

They adopted Minh together basically. But in an alternate reality they got married and have two adopted kids, Harlow, aged 19, Selena, aged 17, and one kid by surrogate, Dylan, aged 9.

Harlow was adopted by Zack and Billy when he was seven, and is the first kid they adopted. He and the senator bonded over a shared love of music, and breakdancing. He bonded with Billy a little bit later over Billy mentioning that like Harlow, he used to have a fear of fish and water, and it was fine feeling irrational fear. Harlow tries really hard to make both his dads proud. He's got a lot of pressure he puts on himself. He's a perfectionist. Everything has to be perfect all the time. Billy's the first to try to get him to see the beauty in sometimes things just...not...being...perfect, and it's okay if he's not immediately good at things. Tommy Oliver is his favorite honorary uncle, and is a huge help with how he feels and living in a family. Is the blue ranger, alongside Selena, who is the orange ranger (there is no pink on their team).

Dylan was born a couple years before Selena was adopted. rambunctious kid. Gives his dads a heart attack all the time. His mom was Aisha, and his dad was Billy. There were long talks about it, but it was actually decided by a coin flip because Aisha could see they were psyching themselves out, and were going to talk themselves out of a choice they very much wanted. So she took charge for them. They love Dylan, and Dylan loves his dads, and his brother, and his sister. He likes music and playing pirates. He's one of the smartest kids in his grade school class, but Billy and Zack want him to make friends, so he's not allowed to jump a year. He does get supplemental lessons by both of them, though, so he doesn't stop being curious. Not associated with a color.

Selena has a lot of self doubt about being in this family, and doesn't get why Billy and Zack keep going to bat for her. They go to bat for her because they see in her a lot of themselves, and a lot of Tommy. She's a cheerleader at their school, and does baby sitting as a side job. She struggles to feel worthy of being the orange ranger, but she likes her new brothers, and she likes her dads, and she likes being able to show some of how grateful she feels back to them.

In a small variation, Minh would come live with all three of them as their sister and yellow ranger.

Farkas Bulkmeier;

Zack realized he was crushing on Bulk when Bulk explained his plan to be homecoming king. Zack loved his tenacity and how genuinely excited Bulk actually was over this. Overhearing Marleau’s threat and Bulk backing down, Zack backed him, and got the rest of the rangers and their dates to back him, because Marleau might think she rules the school but she really didn’t.

He completely fell in love with him seeing him crowned homecoming king. However nothing happened in school, and they fell out of touch for several years. Later, they met again when Zack went to a bar with friends, and found the bartender and owner was a familiar face. Farkas was happy to see him, and Zack was extremely happy to see him. He stayed over that night, and then never left. They work well together and have two kids via genetic splicing courtesy of Billy and Aquitar technology. Brianna, aged thirteen, and Devin, aged ten.

Brianna goes to dance classes twice a week, is as friendly and strong in her sense of Justice as her dad Zack was when he was a teenager. He is so proud of her. Her sense of Justice is perhaps a little too strong, and Zack is watching his thirteen year old like a hawk. Power rangering is fine, but he is not letting his baby girl do it before she’s sixteen. Out of personal experience. She often has a group of kids around her, as a sort of social butterfly nexus; and their house is apparently the “safe house”. Polite, energetic, friendly, everyone’s her friend and she’s everyone else’s friend. Bulk and Zack have had to tell her more than once she needs to know her limits. Not associated with a color; but she’ll be silver the second she’s old enough.

Devin wants to go to Mirinoi when he’s grown up and explore everything there. He likes being everywhere, and doing things with his dads. Happy learning how to bake and cook, is fascinated by sewing and Bulk’s hand sewn jackets. Interested in his sister’s dance recital outfits and often borrows them to study. Bulk’s happy to help him in all his interests. Not associated with a color, but he’d be pink if old enough and chosen.

Eugene Skullovitch;

Zack's always tried to give Bulk and Skull the benefit of the doubt and never felt any true antagonistic feelings to them. Annoyance sure, but he doesn't hate them. Eugene took a while to warm up to Zack though, because nice doesn't mean trustworthy, and the two eventually started dating when Eugene realized no, Zack really is just that sweet. They run an ice cream parlor together and have two adopted kids. Achibald "Archie" Taylor and Marigold "Mari" Taylor.

Archie was adopted in his teens, and while this means he doesn't get to have as much time growing up with Zack and Skull as his dads, he's got the rest of his life with them as his parents, and that's the best thing he's ever heard. He was adopted out of the foster care system at thirteen, and is nineteen. He loves botany and magic tricks. Being a stage magician or professional botanist would be really really cool. He doesn't play piano or dance but he loves watching Zack and loves listening to Eugene practice at night. Is unsure what he wants to do with his life, but inheriting the ice cream parlor would be nice, if the botany or the stage magician thing doesn't work out. is not associated with a color.

Mari was adopted last year. She's fourteen and getting used to living with her brother and her dads. They're kinda weird, but she likes them. It is weird going to a new school in a new town, with a new last name. She doesn't really know what she likes, she's still figuring it out, but she knows she likes it here and that's good enough. She does miss her old friends and home a little, but she is making new friends. Zack and Eugene give her space and understanding, and Archie's been great with advice and settling in. not associated with a color.

Richie (last name unknown);

Richie was Zack's best friend, and while Zack was at first really interested in Trini, and then in Tommy, he and Zack eventually fell into a natural relationship. It was as simple as anything for them. It is a source of curiosity for when they actually started dating, it was so gradual. Even they aren't really sure. Tommy was chosen to go to the peace convention instead of Zack, and this certainly helped the budding relationship, especially when Tommy gave Richie Saba. Richie was a great ranger, and it was nice for Zack having him with him in battle. They flowed so naturally. While they've never gotten married, everyone agrees they're basically as good as. They've adopted two kids, and have a magic baby Zedd made, a clone that through the bumbling of Goldar and Squatt, was a perfect mix of both of them. They managed to get this teenager reverted to a child, and were just glad this happened in their 20's and not their teens. Their kids are Keller, aged 29, Coda, aged 17, and Ethel, aged 15.

Keller, while intended to be Richie's evil clone, ended up being a child when the dna of Zack and Richie got mixed. How it happened they're not entirely sure, just that Squatt was involved. He's certainly an odd mix of the two, but with their more negative traits more prominent. However, despite this, he was given help and support and love to be able to have a chance at a normal life. Richie named Squatt as his godfather as a joke, but when Squatt heard he took the position extremely seriously and reformed for Keller. Squatt’s been almost more helpful with raising someone like Keller, and Richie and Zack were definitely grateful for the help. He's currently going to school to be a councilor, with monster and power ranger related trauma as his primary focus. There's certainly a lot of people who would benefit from a therapist like him. He's definitely the oldest sibling with the personality and self expectations that entails, and is used to picking the younger two up and out of bad situations at the drop of a hat. not associated with a color though if he was it'd likely be white or pink

Coda's working at the juice bar, mainly saving up for a proper car instead of borrowing the family car whenever he needs to be somewhere. He likes living with his dads and siblings, and thinks Keller's one of the more interesting people to come out of power ranger stuff. Coda wants to be a journalist, and is interested in interviewing Colors themselves. Though only Saba has ever talked to him, and when he did Coda didn't learn much. He wants to be a power ranger specifically to get an interview with his color. A strange motivation, but it will pay off. He will eventually be a silver ranger.

Ethel's not very outgoing, and is extremely shy. She is actually Billy's daughter, but Billy and his partner died when she was very small, and Zack of course adopted her without a second thought. He blames himself for Billy's death and does his best to make it up to Ethel every day. She's shy, quiet, and rather small for her age. Thankfully she's not the target of bullies and is on the school's robotics team. Richie and Zack do worry for her, but she seems to be doing ok. she will be on a team with Coda in a few years as the blue ranger.

Justin (last name unknown);

Justin was the red ranger leader of the Dark team, and Jason's more dark counterpart. Zack didn't really like Jason at first, but he did respect his devotion to his friends. They were dark mirrors for a reason, after all. Once they saved them, Justin and Zack had several classes together and just got close from revolving each other's orbit for so long. Justin got a job as a janitor, Zack as a gym teacher, and they had one kid via a surrogate. Patricia, aged 11.

Patricia is into the concept of vaulting, and likes sports. Serious, dramatic, a huge collector of beetleborgs, and a fan of action movies. She's got a lot of energy, has decided she doesn't like the taste of meat and gone vegan (which has if anything given her even more strength boost). She knows her own mind and her own heart. Her loyalty is rock solid and so is her stubborness. not associated with a color though if she was it'd be violet.

Tina (last name unknown);

Zack was a candidate for the Dragon Coin, and while it was close; he won. Essentially, he and Tommy swapped places. He became Rita's champion, and Tommy took on mighty morphin Black. The whole team tried, but couldn't break Rita's hold on Zack. However; Zack didn't have loyalty to Rita, and when Zedd showed up Zack swapped sides. When he kept losing to the good rangers and later to their sixth, the white ranger Richie, Zack convinced Zedd he needed a team to help him. So, Zedd created the Dark Rangers out of the new group of bullies that had just showed up at the school. Zack settling in nicely as their sixth. Before he'd gone bad he'd been close to Trini, and when he met Tina they hit it off quickly. Together the Dark Team forced the mighty morphin group underground. Zack and Tina have been off and on for several years at this point, and they have a daughter. Suki, aged eleven.

Suki is a belligerant though intelligent child. If you tell her the sky is blue she'll say the sky is gold. Rita and Zedd made good with each other, and Selena is practically an older sister to Suki. They're basically villainous comedic duo, with the added problem of Suki and Selena being perfectly willing to pose as Trini's daughters for the sole purpose of drawing out the hidden mighty morphin. Thrax is actually on the ranger's side, here, a forgotten little brother of Selena and trying very hard to reign in his sister and the little girl who idolizes her. Suki wants to be just like her parents, and her parents are villains. But, she is eleven. Olivia, current mighty morphin black, is trying to gently convince Selena and Suki to go against their parents. It's been slow going. There's time, it's just frustrating.

Marleau Eskin;

Zack was the only one that ever managed to get through to Marleau, for any reason. He was nice, but nice has it's limits and sometimes the nicest thing you can do is just be a little mean. He made her question herself, got her tongue tied, self conscious, and suddenly she was chasing after him, in a completely different manner than she'd ever expressed interest in anyone before. They went to a dance school together, after high school, by complete coincidence. He for contemporary dance, her for classical. She avoided him for a year just because she didn't know what to do with how he made her feel. They finally got stuck in a class as partners for a project together and had a very long conversation about many things, past and present and beyond. Things progressed got serious, and she got pregnant. Her parents had hoped she'd marry someone better than a professional dance choreographer for hollywood musicals, and disinherited her when she eloped. She runs a dance studio and he works for mucical movies as a dance choreographer. They have one daughter, Priscilla, aged 14.

She has two left feet, which is a running joke in the family. Instead she's kind of a brilliant budding politician. When she's old enough she wants to run for class president. Very friendly, very good at problem solving and defusing situations, she's popular and open minded. She wants to be the youngest governor in their state, and she's got the temerity to actually make it happen.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group A Round 4: Do It Yourself!! vs RIN-NE

#A2: Do It Yourself!!

Girls do DIY together, but after a new industrial revolution

#A3: RIN-NE (Kyoukai no Rinne)

Girl who sees ghosts meets poor shinigami. Comedy ensues.

Details and poll under the cut!

#A2: Do it Yourself!!

Summary:

This series takes place after the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Serufu and her childhood friend Miku/“Purin” both applied to an elite school, where advanced technologies are incorporated into the curriculum. The tech-savvy Purin is accepted into the school, but accident-prone Serufu is rejected and enters a traditional school instead, driving a wedge into their friendship.

On her way to class one day, Serufu encounters Rei, who has a passion for old-fashioned crafts and is the head of the school’s Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Club—which is in danger of closing due to a lack of members. Realizing that this may be her chance to repair her relationship with Purin, Serufu joins the club in hopes of creating projects that could bring them together once more.

Propaganda:

It’s just a really feel-good series with some great characters. I adore all of them and their dynamics with each other, especially the main dynamic between Serufu and Purin as it develops. I’m a really big fan of the show’s angle on stuff such as do-it-yourself crafts following another industrial revolution, just because it does frequently bring up the question of “What’s the point of DIY if in a year or two/maybe even now a robot could recreate the exact same result?” through characters like Purin (who is the major character with the lowest opinion on these kinds of crafts at the start, since she’s in the technologically advanced school and has beliefs more in line with the efficacy of technology rather than the joy of human creation), with the short answer largely being because it’s just fun!

I first watched this show before I saw a lot of AI stuff intruding upon art and rewatching it after sure was fun, because I love its ideas on the worth of doing stuff that machinery could do much faster. It’s not super complex or emotional, but that largely goes in its favor, because it really doesn’t need to be those. It’s just a fun little anime about a bunch of girls having fun together through one shared hobby that some of them had from the start and some of them adopted. I also love the opening, and the ending is a massive comfort song for me. The series can also be very funny at points, and is usually super heartwarming.

Trigger Warnings: None.

#A3: RIN-NE (Kyoukai no Rinne)

Summary:

Rinne Rokudou has bigger problems than going to school—namely, helping spirits pass over to the next life. Because of this responsibility, he often finds himself short on money and struggles to buy his necessities: food, clothes, and exorcism tools.

Sakura Mamiya has been able to see ghosts since she was little. She hoped she would outgrow it, but even after starting high school, nothing has changed. To make matters worse, the first time her ever-absent classmate, Rinne, shows up for school, only Sakura can see him. She assumes, as anyone would, that he is a ghost. However, to Sakura's surprise, Rinne proceeds to attend school like normal the next day.

Propaganda:

This is one of Rumiko Takahashi’s underrated works (mostly getting overshadowed by Inuyasha due to her releasing this series after the fact), and I don’t see a lot of people talk about it often. While it’s not my favorite of her works, it’s one that I still like because of the way she portrays the characters. Plus, it still has that classic Rumic comedy and feel to it and I really love the animation with her artstyle. Anyways, if you like supernatural comedies (with a hint of romance) then vote for Rin-ne!

Trigger Warnings: None.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form with your revisions, and I’ll consider adapting those changes.

New: Starting round 5, screenshots will be included in the poll post. You can submit screenshots through the form linked above, or through here, via ask or dm.

Guidelines in submitting screenshots:

No NSFW or spoilery images.

Pick some good images please. Don’t send any blurry or pixelated ones.

You may send up to 9 screenshots, but not all may be used.

[pinkykats-place]

chubby!Deku x Baku [no quirks au]

AO3 Fanfic Recommendations

Disclaimers!

None of the stories linked in titles are mine.

Some contain mature content. Read tags.

Credit to @somesprucetrees for the fan art.

Note: If you read any of these stories and like them please let the author know with a kudos and/or comment!

A Call Away by @mikacrispy

Summary: It doesn't matter that the astronaut Bakugou Katsuki is miles and miles from Earth because he knows his favorite NASA engineer is always just a call away.

Complete | 2 Chapters | NASA AU

Rated - Explicit

Tasty by Mikacrispy

Summary: Chef Bakugou Katsuki meets a regular in his restaurant that is the cutest and sexiest man he's ever seen.Cue for Katsuki pining for his patron every time Izuku comes around for some comfort food.

One Shot | Restaurant AU

Rated - Explicit

Fight Me by Mikacrispy

Summary: Izuku loves dancing. It's his stress relief and hobby. It's too bad his body type isn't one people would generally assume a dancer should have, which brings him a lot of self-consciousness. The fact this annoying Karate fighter decided to make him the target of his bullying doesn't help at all. And yet, Izuku is always rising to Bakugou's taunts about his ass.

Complete | 5 Chapters

Rated - Explicit

The Obeisant Vine by Morpheel

Summary: Izuku was terribly insecure about his body.

Bakugou couldn't imagine the reason why; not when the Omega had a perfectly healthy weight clinging to his more than attractive figure. With all of the surplus food that the warm spring brought fourth, Bakugou definitely noticed when his mate declined the meals he'd brought back. He was determined to prove to Izuku that he was still attracted to him.

What they didn't expect, though, was a surprise along the way.

One Shot | OmegaVerse

Rated - Explicit

One Snowy Night by silentsongbird

Summary: On the night of Christmas Eve, chubby elf Izuku Midoriya is walking home during the beginning of a blizzard. On his journey to the warmth and safety of his cottage, he runs into an injured Krampus. Unable to resist helping the beast, Izuku invites him into his home to tend to his wounds. The two end up snowed in and the poor little elf ends up trapped with the beast who just wants to show his thanks.

One Shot | Fantasy AU | North Pole

Rated - Explicit

Indulgence by silentsongbird

Summary: Katsuki is annoyed that even in his second year of art school, he still has to take classes with stupid Deku. He had hoped to be rid of him after high school, but of course, Deku just had to get accepted into the same college as him. At least it's only one class. Unfortunately for him, it seems Deku has a bit of a reputation and his team mate, Denki, is very fond of him. Katsuki overhears a conversation he really wishes he hadn't because now he can't stop thinking about it. He has to see what Deku's videos are all about.

Incomplete | 8/? Chapters

CamBoy Izuku | College AU

Rated - Explicit

Chair Sex Would Be Hot by thoughtssvt_j

Summary: Chubby "Personal Assistant" Izuku isn't sure that he'd be able to fit into CEO Katsuki's office chair, but Katsuki proves him wrong by showing him all the lovin'.

One Shot | Office AU

Rated - Explicit

A Date With A Vampire by artindistress

Summary: Izuku and her vampire boyfriend go out on a date, and it doesn’t go as planned.

One Shot | Fem Deku | Vampire AU

Rated - Teen & Up

Series: Schizophrenic Bakugou by masteremeraldholder

Summary: Bakugou Katsuki has schizophrenia, and this is how he deals with it in everyday life with the help of chubby Midoriya Izuku.

Complete | 3 Works | SFW

My love for you is bigger than your fears. by aviii_coffee

Summary: When insecurity hit Izuku like a train, suddenly invading his mind and blocking all the happy, lovely feelings he was just feeling a mere second ago...

Good thing Kacchan is there to help him.

One Shot | SFW

[newtthetranswriter]

Hello!

How are you doing?

Can I request a matchup for Haikyuu!, Tokyo Revengers and JJK, please? (Male characters)

I'm an introvert and I prefer staying in my room to draw and listen to music. My hobbies are mostly in the domain of arts and crafts! I'd like to do something related to arts in the future. I'm good at analyzing texts and I enjoy writing. I also like doing improvisation because it requires quick thinking. Other than that I love rhythm games! I also pick up languages pretty quick.

I'm tall but I like wearing heels! Sometimes I have anxiety problems but overall I am confident in my abilities and looks. Not in an arrogant type of way, more like ''not taking unwanted opinions'' about my style or the art I make. Because of that I also like to encourage people around me to follow their own way of life (as long as it doesn't harm anyone!). I dislike when somebody is bossy and dictates how somebody else should live their life, it really doesn't affect the outsider that comments. I believe that unique styles are what makes the world prettier.

I have a short temper but I prefer ''forgiving and forgetting'' solely because:

I am too tired to argue, it takes too much effort to talk

I would rather not allow myself to yell because I really dislike that

I am sensitive to loud sounds and I might get a panic attack mid argument and that would be VERY embarrassing for me. I'd think about it for years.

I'm absolutely bad with expressing my emotions so I show love through giving gifts or writing what I feel. I get shy mid-sentence when I try telling someone I care for them, even if they are my family.

I like to learn! Trying out new things or food is very cool to me and recently I got into drawing whatever I can't draw so I can improve, I like challenges. I tend to push myself to test my limits. I also eat a lot. Which is bad.

I love seeing sunrises/sunsets, snow, flowers in bloom and I adore when it rains! Walking during rain helps me relax. I also like shiny things and all animals!

I am so sorry that it turned out this long!

I hope you'll have a great day 😊🧡

A/n: Hello, thank you so much for being patient. I hope you enjoy and have a great day. And as always remember to hydrate or diedrate

Haikyuu: Kenma Kozume

Dating Kenma is relaxing

Date nights can be going out to eat or just relaxing together with music playing while you draw and he games

He loves that you encourage him to do what he wants and don’t pressure him to put down his video games

He may be on the short side but he doesn't care if you want to go around in high heels, he thinks you’re beautiful no matter what

Kenma also isn’t a big fan of fights or loud noises so if you guys do get in a disagreement it’s going to be a day or two of silent treatment and then cuddles 

He will also try out rhythm games for you so you guys have another thing to do together

All around just a chill time with the beautiful gamer

Tokyo Revengers: Takashi Mitsuya

Takashi is supportive in what ever you want to do

Loves that you are confident and don’t focus on what others think of you

Enjoys having dates that are just the two of you being creative and enjoying each other’s presence

He definitely already plays rhythm games so if you want to do that with him, he’s more than happy to make it a date

Taka understands that even with your short temper you prefer to just move on, so in disagreements he tries to just talk it out and if it looks like talking isn’t working will suggest taking a step back

He doesn't like to leave things unresolved so if something he did upset you just let him know and he will work on it

Now if you get upset with a member of Toman, he will deal with them for you. Just tell him who and he will pull them away and have a chat, tries to keep it on the down low so it doesn’t cause a seen

He’s all about respect, so he will do whatever he can to make sure you feel respected and welcome

Jujutsu Kaisen: Yuji Itadori

While Yuji is very outgoing and loud I feel that you guys would balance each other out

You encourage him to take breaks and relax, while he works to bring you out of your comfort zone

He loves Improve because it lets him just be him, so make that a date, go have fun being silly

Yuji will always be down for walks in the rain

He will bring you random little things he sees that makes him think of you, basically he also has crow brain so lots of ‘oooo shiny s/o would love that’

[tetrakys]

MCL Alternate Life review

Now that the three 4-episodes routes have been fully released, I’m ready to spend some final words on AL in general and the three boys specifically.

Plot

The plot is quite simple: AL was created to mostly address the break up, it is the canonical ending to Lysander, Kentin and Armin’s routes (while UL and LL are the canon continuation of Cas’ and Nath’s routes). The general plot is meeting your old boyfriend again, reconnect, solidify the relationship and resolve the long-distance issue. Quite simple, it’s the con of having only 4 episodes, but it does its job well, for years we asked for something that would fix the break up and we got it. Also I liked that the main structure was the same for all three boys, it provides a sense of continuity and a main theme for the season.

System

Same as the other seasons, 2AP x line of dialogue, however there is one main difference. Episodes 2 and 3 have choices which lead to different illustrations and scenes, meaning that they should be replayed twice if all illus with the crush want to be obtained. I personally quite like this system because the episodes are short and cheap, rarely over 1000 AP and this gives me a reason to play twice and extend my gaming experience. Plus replaying doesn’t bore me since the scenes are different as well so it’s almost like having two episodes in one.

The Art

I’m generally always happy about the quality of MCL’s illustrations, and I think AL keeps up with the high standard. As a con, I’d say that the poses might be a bit repetitive, hugging and kissing tend to be quite similar among the three routes, but other than that I’m happy. Backgrounds and sprites are also very good imo, but I’ll get to that soon.

Now, a closer look at the three:

Lysander

My Victorian prince was perfect as a teen and remained perfect in adulthood. Personally I think he looks even more beautiful, if possible, and his personality didn’t change at all, only slightly more mature due to being an adult with adult responsibilities. If on one hand this means that we got exactly what we lost 4 years ago, it also means that he’s the crush that remained the most static, didn’t have a real evolution like all the others did. Like a fae prince who remained frozen in time. It might make his journey a bit less interesting that’s true, but on the other hand can you improve perfection? I don’t think so.

In fact he’s the only crush we didn’t break up with. At first I was a bit surprised “for sure it must be Kentin the one we don’t break up with, right?” but afterward it made so much sense. His AL is one of rediscovery of someone who we never really lost, and despite me not liking farm life it makes perfect sense for him and Candy to have ended up there. His story is soothing, and calm, just like him. Finding him again is like feeling you finally found your place and your home.

Kentin

Kentin grew up a lot since high school. Not only physically as he got taller and bulkier (and hotter) but also mentally. When we meet him again we find someone who has completed a personal journey, a new person who knows his worth and who they are. These years spent travelling the world alone made him grew up and now he’s able to love Candy in a healthy way because he can also love himself. 

His AL is one of getting to know the new mature person he’s become but also finding out that what really matters, his feelings and good heart, are always the same. Its route is full fluff with 5 minutes of drama which only serve to learn how different being with him is going to be now but also how his love didn’t change. His story is about personal growth and the work you have to put on yourself before being able to be in a relationship. 

Armin

Armin is still the same jokester as before, but he’s not a boy anymore, it’s clear that the break up made him grow up as well. His new looks are similar to what he used to wear before (without Alexy’s terrible involvement), I’m not a big fan of the yellow but it compensate with the haircut which imo makes so much more sense than that octopus-looking one he had before. I also love that he kept a smirking teasing expression which is so him. 

His route, while remains similar to the other two in its basic structure, is completely different in the sense that while he did grow up and became more mature, his story isn’t as much as getting to know him while getting to know who Candy and him are together and if they can build something solid and long-lasting. With Lys and Kentin we get a finished product, with Armin we get a work in progress, that makes his route more eventful and dynamic. We start with a fight in episode 1, get a whole journey and end with a final declaration which address all the issues and uncertainties. We see both Candy and Armin grow during the story. 

Personal considerations

I think all 3 routes are really well done so preference becomes a matter of personal taste. On my side, Armin’s is above the other two for the simple fact that I enjoy the drama and the enemies-to-lovers vibe. I also love Candy in this route, and the teasing relationship the both have. I loved following their journey, for me this route is pretty much perfect and I can only hope Beemoov keeps up this amazing writing. 

The other two routes are also really great. Kentin’s route is perfect for people who like fluff above all and just want to live a sweet love story. Lys’ is for people who want to play something soothing and with a more fairy tail vibe. 

I’m happy we finally got a happy ending with the three of them and these endings make so much sense: with Lys we could only join him in his farm life, not my thing as I said, but I never saw Lys as someone who could enjoy the rockstar lifestyle, his choices don’t have to work for me, they have to work for him and I’m happy they do. With Kentin it wouldn’t have felt right if he gave up his lifestyle and stayed in town for us, it would’ve been a complete step back from his personal journey to see him give up everything and chase Candy once again, so I’m happy it’s Candy the one joining him this time. And with Armin, with all the times Candy was the one to follow him in his passions and hobbies (plus the whole long-distance and Disney debacle) it had to end with him staying, and I’m so glad it did.

So now that we got our happy endings, what’s left?

I guess we’ll see 😏