#theres no particular reason i do it i just like the way it looks

[sopping-wet-cat]

featuring: biblically accurate ragatha

i used this canvas for warmup doodles for two days then fell off doing doodles immediately after the page got filled :3

[capaldiera]

it was so not the point of mash and would have been jarring tbh but like rn i'm wishing father mulcahy had actually talked about religion in more than just little quips. girl what are your thoughts and what things do you like to focus on. btw

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[raymend]

Dear god i forget how media illiterate tumblr tags are. No venom snake is not a "Himbo" hes a war criminal. Just say you want to fuck him and go like its fine dude trust me you dont have to fandomize him by saying that he's kind and beefy and stupid like Dont lie

[tsxkkis]

omg omg can i request? pls ignore if you dont!

s3 of haikyuu will always be my favourite season, maybe due to the fact that tsukishima realizes his potential in playing volleyball? (him having his MOMENT is my favouriteee scene)

so could you write gf manager reader x tsukki, where reader witnesses him having his first moment (blocking ushijima's spike), injuring his hand etc etc up until they receive their throphy and medals in the end ?🥹🥹💕 shes a proudddd reader and literally just smooch smooch hug hug tsukki because hes the mvp of karasuno x shiratorizawa 🥰😤

i realized that theres nobody includes this scene in their fics and i wonder why? 🤔🧐

# tsukishima kei - mvp

a/n: i am terribly sorry anon bcs this took so long T-T i'm not quite sure about some parts of this fic but overall i really enjoyed writing this request!! tsukishima is my fav for many reasons, one of which being the fact that i see myself in him a lot, and the particular moment during the shiratorizawa vs karasuno match is also my fav from the entire series!! i hope u enjoy reading this fic^^ i feel like it's not exactly what you asked for, so i'm sorry if i went too far away from your idea....

summary: tsukishima finally regains his love for volleyball.

warnings: a few swear words here and there, the fic doesn't exactly portray what happened in the series (i switched it up a bit)

'are you stressed?'

'not even a bit.'

'you're lying. i can read you like a book.'

tsukishima kei let out a deep breath, rolling his eyes as he looked away from your face. you were obviously right; there was no way he wouldn't be stressed before the game that determined whether or not karasuno would go to nationals. as much as he hated to admit it, he was almost as stressed as others. he was just better at controlling which of his emotions are shown.

you squeezed his hand, his fingers instinctively intertwining with yours. all it took was a reassuring smile from you to help with his nerves, his muscles finally relaxing after being tensed up for the last twenty minutes or so. he still tried to get used to you being more than a friend. your relationship was quite awkward and fresh, so much so in fact that you never even had your first kiss yet.

'i'm sure you'll do great.' you stated calmly, trying to hide the fact that you were even more stressed about the match than him. 'in fact, i'm positive that you'll win.'

'even if we do, it won't be because of me.' he mumbled, letting out a silent laugh when he saw the angry look on your face. 'oh, come on. it's not like i'm the greatest player this team has.'

'you know i hate it when you talk down on yourself.' you said, the tone serious and sharp, rather unusual for you. it stayed like that for only a short while, taken over by a softer, understanding one. 'you're a vital part of this team, tsukishima. winning this match is not up to a single person. it's a team effort. your input is as important as that of kageyama or hinata.'

he opened his mouth to say something but was instantly stopped by the voice of his captain, daichi, calling the team up to quickly warm up as the match was about to start.

you smiled at the boy, letting go of his hand before lightly patting him on the back.

'do your best for me, alright?'

'i will.' a barely noticeable smile appeared on his face, his hand affectionately ruffling your hair. 'don't worry too much about it.'

you finally realized why tsukishima kei never tried more. why he would never stay longer like other karasuno players to polish his skills, why he didn't truly seem to love the sport he chose to play in high school.

'you're insufferable, you know?' his words sent shivers down your spine. 'why don't you leave it the fuck alone?'

opposite forces, some might say. no one really knew what drew you and tsukishima to eachother - both of you completely different from one another, and yet oh so similar at the same time. frustration took over you every time you looked at him, and now you knew why.

he was like a mirror in which you could see all your flaws, and it irritated you a great deal.

his outlook on life and the way he viewed himself made you furious. how can someone be so full of contradictions? so cocky and confident, and yet so vulnerable and self depreciating at the same time. so full of himself and yet so hateful towards the person he saw in the reflection of every window, every mirror.

how can someone so great at what they do, so intelligent and talented, be so critical?

'because i can't! i can't leave it alone, you absolute moron.' the thought of how loud you were didn't stop you from continuing to shout, a mixed look on your face that tsukishima couldn't quite decipher. were you angry or sad? and why the hell would it bug you so much to evoke such strong emotions within you?

'you're saying i'm insufferable? from the moment i laid my eyes on you, you've been nothing but insufferable. so much so, that i want to gouge them out every time they spot you.' you ignored your watery eyes and tsukishima's surprised face, almost as if he didn't expect you to blow up like this. 'it pains me to see you be so full of doubt and hatred and i- i can't understand why you would think so lowly of yourself, why you feel inferior to the other guys in every way possible, when you could be so much more than them. do you even realize your potential, tsukishima?'

he stayed silent. for the first time since knowing you, tsukishima kei did not have an answer to your words.

'your doubts are so irrational i don't know if it makes me angry or sad. you're truly incredible on the court. you're intelligent, you can read the opponents well, you have the physical predispositions for volleyball and a natural talent that you choose to ignore because-'

'but what is talent without passion?'

that singular sentence managed to catch you off guard so much you had no idea how to answer him. such a simple question, and yet such a philosophical, confusing one.

'why should i put my all into something i'm not even passionate about, huh?' tsukishima tried to keep his composed nature, but it was hard to stay intact after what you've said. as much as he did not want to admit it, your words hit him deeply. 'why waste my time and energy for something that does not give me any satisfaction at all? tell me that, because i have no fucking idea.'

'passion is not something that dissapears once and never shows up again, you idiot.' you took a step closer, as if that was going to help you get your point across. 'if your passion is genuine, it will always be there. whether small or big, it will always crawl around in the back of your mind. if you ever truly loved volleyball, the moment where you fall in love with it again will come sooner or later.'

your words were met with complete silence, but you didn't mind. tsukishima slowly processed your words, a focused look gracing his face, lips in a tight line. even though it was only a couple of minutes, for you it felt like hours - awaiting an answer, any answer at all.

tsukishima moved closer, his tall frame hovering over you as he wrapped his arms around you, catching you in a tight hug, much to your surprise.

'thank you.' he mumbled quietly, glad that in this very moment you couldn't see his face, and the stupid smile plastered to it.

the moment where you fall in love with it again will come sooner or later.

tsukishima's mind lingered over these words whenever he played, awaiting this moment to come almost eagerly. the match was particularly hard - with ushijima wakatoshi as their opponent, the chances of winning were incredibly slim. every spike of his went through the block, his serves were absolutely killer, and his teammates did everything to deliver the ball to him at all costs.

what a hassle.

you noticed that his demeanor on the court changed from what it used to be. tsukishima seemed more invested now - almost as if he was trying to impress you, to keep his word. as happy as it made you, you were still anxious about the match and it's final score, hand shaky and a bit sweaty as your eyes followed the ball flying around from one side of the net to another.

another spike from ushijima, it'll probably be another point for shiratoriza-

and that's when you realized.

you saw the ball hit the ground on shiratorizawa's side of the net surprised gasps from everyone watching the match. you saw the shocked look on ushijima's face, the horror in the eyes of his teammates as the ball bounced off of the floor for the second, third, fourth time.

silence took over the court for just a mere second, quickly interrupted by tsukishima's triumphant scream.

he looked more than content with his performance. he looked... happy.

the rest of the boys joined him, screaming in unison. it was just one point, right? but for some reason, for both you and tsukishima, this one was worth a thousand.

for the first time in years, tsukishima kei felt that his spark for volleyball came back.

you noticed that his eyes were now focused on you, a full, cheeky smile gracing his face, and it only made you tear up. a short moment, probably insignificant for people around, but for the two of you it was like a breath of fresh air, like getting rid of the shackles that once held you in place, enabling you from moving forward.

'y/n, are you... alright?' coach ukai looked with his brows slightly furrowed, confused by your teary eyes and big grin plastered to your face.

'yeah, yeah, i'm fine. sorry, coach.' you mumbled, bowing a little as your eyes focused on the court. 'actually, could kiyoko replace me here for the rest of the match? i'm not quite feeling well.'

'tsukishima is injured.'

'what?' akiteru spoke in unison with you, terrified voices mixing together as you looked down from the stands to see the boy walking off of the court and rushing to the medical office along with kiyoko. your instincts took over you - feet moving on their own as you quickly ran towards the same place.

the two blondes followed right behind you, stopping only when in front of the door to the medical office, gasping for air after such a short run. as athletic as your boyfriend was, you were quite the opposite; getting tired after a little to no physical activity at times.

tsukishima saw your head peeking through the doorframe, a small smile on his face the moment he laid eyes on you.before you opened your mouth to say something, he already gave you an answer.

'yes, i feel fine.' he stated quietly, sitting down on the edge of a chair. 'you don't need to worry.'

'are you going back on court?' he only gave you a small nod in response, seemingly feeling better already as he stood up, his hand taped up.

you looked up at him, taking in the expression on his face, just how focused he already was. he looked almost as if he already had a plan to defeat shiratorizawa in this match. seeing him so eager to go back and play almost made you laugh a little - you swore you never saw him get this invested into something ever.

'go and win then.' you mumbled, patting him on the shoulder as he headed towards the gym hall.

'oh don't worry. we will.'

you couldn't stop the tears rolling down your cheeks as you saw karasuno emerge victorious from the hardest volleyball match they had to play this year, hugging yachi tightly as both of you celebrated the win of your team.

the triumphant screams filled the gym hall, the team emotional after doing what many deemed impossible. as most of them enjoyed themselves, not planning on leaving the euphoric state for a long while, tsukishima could only think of doing one thing - going to you.

you were the only person he truly wanted to celebrate with.

after the ceremony of getting the medals, to everyone's utmost shock, considering your relationship wasn't exactly public, tsukishima went up to you almost immediately, a cocky smile on his face as he ruffled your hair, looking down at you from behind his glasses.

'you didn't exactly look quite as content with your performance before getting the prize.' you mumbled, looking at the blonde haired boy with your head tilted to the side.

'well, i could've blocked more of ushijima's spikes.' he started, rolling his eyes at the sole idea of not being able to do that during today's match. 'i only managed to block one and-'

you decided to use the only method that was for sure going to shut him up in that moment, lightly grabbing him by the tshirt and pulling him closer, lips clashing for a split second in a short, sweet kiss.

'no talking down on yourself today, kei.' you said, unconsciously smiling as you saw his face getting red at what you just did, cheeks covered by a tomato-like red colour. 'i'm proud of you no matter what you think about today's match.'

he stood still for a few seconds, as if processing what had just happened seconds ago, the redness on his face deepening with each passing moment. his hand was quick to grab yours, almost dragging you away from the team and to a more private, less occupied area of the building.

'do that again.' he mumbled, after he finally led you to a quiet hallway.

'huh?'

'it was... nice.'

your eyes lit up, a cheeky smile gracing your face as you finally realized what he was on about.

'ohh, you want another kiss?' you said teasingly, eyes quickly glancing from his face down to his lips. he rolled his eyes, unamused by your act of playing dumb.

'come on, don't make me repeat myself.' still somewhat embarrassed of what he was asking for, tsukishima stood in one place, awaiting your next action.

a sigh left your lips as you took a step towards your boyfriend, standing on your tippy toes to be able to reach his face.

'alright. i guess you deserve it, match mvp.'

your arms were wrapped around his neck in no time as your lips gently touched his, tsukishima immediately kissing you back, hands positioned on your waist as you felt a smile creeping up on his face. he let out a short laugh, seeing your face being just as red as his was moments ago, hand reaching to squeeze yours.

'what?' you mumbled, as he hasn't spoken a word since breaking the kiss.

'that's surely the best prize i got today.'

taglist: @moonswolfie @wyrcan @kitsune-kita

[solargeist]

you made a post explaining him becoming a watcher.. can we hear about him running away, the relapse, etc, pretty pretty please? :>

with a cherry on top? lol!

hmmm !! It might not be as long as the other post, but...

The body horror of changing into an angel isn't the sole reason Grian wanted to leave the Watchers, there was a brief moment in time where he wondered if it'd be worth it, but wings are the first to grow, the rest take much longer as they're not as needed as wings are. Despite how much it hurt, he's pretty proud of his wings, and he enjoys flying.

He sticks around long enough to learn how to fly, he gets rly good at it, flinging himself down the halls followed by a strong breeze, flying up high in the air outside and then dropping, he gets confident in this. (hes like rainbow dash to me-)

Along with that, he studies Watcher magic, he learns Portal magic, which is being able to open portals without the help of obsidian or rituals. This can also be used in fights, see: opening a portal where a person's head is, or a tiny strip shooting from his fingers like bullets, (like lasers, but those bits of flesh end up somewhere.) but the part he focuses most on is opening portals to other servers. He's always supervised, they always visit servers with him--but usually close it without going through anyway. The Watchers are more precise with it, knowing exactly where they want to go, Grian only opens random ones.

Other reasons he wants to leave is, being treated like a child, the lack of control, the lack of autonomy. They control his sleep, his food, where he goes, what he does, even what he says. Along with studying and training, hes exhausted, the resentment builds over time, any nice moment is buried by bad ones. He trains with Flora, another Watcher, whose idea of training is to just release mobs after him, creatures he's never seen before, he's unsure if they shoot fire, poison, or explode. Being pinned against the ground by a creature with its teeth bared around his sword is a sight he doesn't forget. If Flora feels like he rly can't do it, she'll kill the creature herself. Grian doesn't forget how the blood and gore feels dumped on his face and body, nor the disappointed look on her face.

This all, along with knowing his friends have left him--and they're not going to save him, has him plotting, desperate to think of how to get out of the void. He can't just run away while on a Watcher job on a random server, they will find him.

He doesn't pick a date--theres no sun anyway, he doesn't know what days or weeks are anymore. Its one particular breakdown that makes him act, he has no full plan, but what he does have is explosives he's been collecting from servers over time and stashing under his bed. He doesn't pack anything, all he does is set the explosives off and runs. I haven't thought abt this particular part fully, it happens so quickly for him, if he makes eye contact with his mum on his way out, he doesn't hesitate to take to the skies, before he can lose his nerve.

Shooting out into the void, he doesn't have a plan, but he keeps flying as fast as he can before regret can catch up with him. He opens portals in front of himself and dives through as they shatter behind him, he doesn't know where hes going. He pops out in random parts of the void, different islands he doesn't recognize, he comes across servers torn apart by war or genuinely not safe enough to land, so he keeps going.

Grian doesn't know how long he's been flying, his sense of time is completely fried, but hes tired, he's never flown for so long before. He hops through another portal into another world, dark and quiet, but lights shining from large buildings scattered about, there must be a lot of players here so he thinks he should leave quickly, but before he can do that, his foot snags a tree top and throws him off balance, his attempt to catch himself only propels himself forward, crashing through branches and sliding across the dirt below. He doesn't know if it was the trees or the ground, but his left wing snaps, he doesn't know if he screamed or not, but he lays in the dirt writhing for awhile, muscles aching and emotions finally grasping at him, pulling him apart.

But ! Still not time to think abt all that rn, bc Xisuma finds him. Grian's first thought isn't that this is a player, all he can see under that helmet is eyes, and his first thought is Watchers--they found him immediately--and he screams this time, flipping over and putting his hands in front of himself for any fighting, he can't hear whatever Xisuma's saying over his own shouting, angrily stating he won't go back. He calms down after a moment when he sees Xisuma has stepped back, hands up to show he's friendly. Grian doesn't care though, hes sliding backwards on his hands, his wings twitch and he winces in pain. I think it takes a little bit of persuading, but after Xisuma explains himself, that hes an admin and this is his server and people, Grian calms down a bit, the exhaustion helps with this too. He ends up accepting Xisuma's help in bracing his wing. Taking him back to his base to do so, Grian would've ran again if he could've. They both agree that Grian will leave as soon as he can, but he is safe here to wait until then.

Back at his base, Xisuma makes them both tea and sits in front of Grian, telling him he has to explain himself. Grian doesn't touch his tea, and after a long pause, he gives the shortest story with the least amount of details possible. Xisuma knows what Watchers are already, so he does feel some sympathy for him.. He would feel concern abt the Watchers finding his server, but hes confident enough in his code. Grian stays that night, he hides under a bed and cries, still never drinking the tea, but he falls asleep.

UH fast forward fast forward Grian is invited to the server, and he does join as s6 starts, his wing still in bandages but doing much better now. He still hasn't met any players or heard much abt them. He's shocked to see Pearl, but also very happy--his sister !! his sister ?!?!?! She looks happy too, so he rushes forward and they hug, shes gotten so tall. He promises to tell her what happened later, but he still leaves out a lot of details.

This is getting long again fast forward fast forward again

The relapsing happens throughout s6, Grian overworks himself, insecure and nervous in his building ability--it almost feels like Evo again, wishing he could do better, scared to disappoint Xisuma and be kicked out for not being worth the trouble.

Grian's gotten rly close with his neighbour Mumbo, he'll take a break for Mumbo, to hang out with him. Grian has a problem with hoarding food, he never had control over it with the Watchers, so now on his own, he can't bare to throw anything out, he keeps things despite the smell or mold. Good bits of food sat with the rotten, but he doesn't eat either anyway, he just wants to have it, safe, where he can get to it easily, and he doesn't have to ask anyone. It takes Mumbo awhile to talk him into cleaning that out, its dangerous ! Even during the conversation Grian is slowly closing the cabinet Mumbo is trying to look into it, holding eye contact and desperately trying to convince Mumbo its fine (it is NOT.) Mumbos taken to sharing his lunch with him most days, or bringing snacks he claims he made too much of--or he bought too much by mistake, just to make sure he eats something.

Grian has a hard time living alone, he loses track of time and doesn't eat, or doesn't get the right amount of sleep. He feels lonely in his large build. The Watchers' controlled his entire life, so he doesn't know what to do with it now that its his again. When he thinks about it too long, it starts to ache, that little part of him never went away, the guilt, regret, and remorse, builds every time he doubts himself, he misses his bed !--Back in the void, that bed, this still doesn't feel like home, in some sick twisted way he feels homesick. Mumbo finds him at his base one day with his head buried in his knees crying, but when Grian notices he immediately pretends he was not crying, despite the red puffy eyes and tear stained face, he smiles and asks: whats up !! Hello whats up ! Mumbo laughs in horrified confusion, asking what happened. Grian says Nothing. Mumbo sits next to him and says c'mon mate what is this. Grian sighs and sinks back into himself, face dropping and exposing how tired he is. Grian slowly explains himself--at first leaving out many details--he just says he ran away from home before joining Hermitcraft, but he still misses his family sometimes--even if they hurt him. Mumbo thinks this is much deeper than he thought it'd be, but he encourages Grian to continue, and he does. Grian ends up telling Mumbo everything, absolutely everything, every humiliating detail and embarrassment, every memory good or bad. At some point they start telling family stories to each other, and Grian isn't crying anymore, they're both laughing, sat right next to each other. Its a huge relief. Grian poured his soul out to Mumbo and he held it so carefully.

late s6 and s7 go pretty smoothly--Watcher wise, Grian adjusts to life on his own and within a new community. Grian learns to fly again, he makes his wings his own and dyes them parrot colours.

I can't fit the rest, but he gets possessed by an alternate version of himself in s8, i think the Watchers find him as well bc of this timeline chaos. And the moons falling. Its a lot for him to emotionally deal with !

[alien-til-i-stage]

so something i dont see much online is how similar hyuna and luka actually are.

When we meet Hyuna, we get introduced to how upbeat and her free spirited personality, both in how she acts and in the song.

This in particular speaks almost in entirely of freedom and the desire for it. She sings about living her life for her and “a bird set free”. As obvious from her being rebel, everything points to how she desires freedom from the aliens and control over how she lives her life. We can also see this in a comic where she says the reason she enjoys singing is because on the stage she’s the one in control.

Already from a young age, control is something she has wanted, over her own life and her performances. And for her saying this, I think its even more interesting if we look back at All In. The majority the song takes place both in a bar where Hyuna is singing or the mission both Hyuna and Mizi are doing.

We already know that Hyuna likes to sing to feel the control over the stage when she’s there but I find it interesting that, yet again, the entirety of the episode was her demonstrating her freedom and control. There were even moments with her on stage remembering Luka and Hyunwoo and continuing to frantically continue singing as if trying to run away from them.

This could mean that rather than her just singing out of enjoyment of her control, she’s on that stage for the control. Almost like she’s desperately clinging onto that feeling to remind herself that she’s not weak, to run away from her helplessness as a child. Another reason for her to be on as many missions as she was shown to be, maybe another way to prove to herself she has the control and power now, not the aliens.

we can continue to see mentions of her trying to escape her memories in the song “Drunk and Party” as she says “I don’t wanna go back, everybody listen.”

Essentially Hyuna uses her own stage as a way to regain her control as well as her missions. Which is where Luka comes in.

In the same comic where Hyuna speaks about control on the stage, we see Luka as an adult on the stage as well, most likely during the 49th season.

It looks almost like hes remembering Hyuna’s words from when they were both children, which indicates that Hyuna’s reponse effected him.

In an interview about round 5, someone asked why Luka imitated Sua, and here is the response that was given.

Its told that Luka does this, not to win, but to feel control and dominance. Unlike Hyuna, who has many ways to feel this way and demonstrates it in almost every way of her lifestyle, this is the only way for him to do so. He is literally a puppet except for when he’s on stage.

The reason for Hyuna’s response being so important to him is likely that Hyuna’s attitude about singing effected his own. In the comic, kid Luka seemed curious about Hyuna finding control on the stage, showing that at that point Luka didn’t view the stage the same, so its likely that after their talk, Luka began to view the stage as a way to control.

This is how the two of them are similar, yet opposites. They both desire control and dominance in their lives and dedicate themselves to it, yet while Hyuna lives a life where she can easily do that, she feels no need to hurt others in order to do so, rather able to choose to help them as a way to feel powerful, but Luka doesn’t have that same choice. He lives life as a puppet, with no other way for control. His only way to feel in control is on the stage, so he takes his chance to and hurts the other contestant, purposely trying to hurt them as much as possible just because he can.

I truly believe that had their situations been reversed, where Luka was instead the purpose who got to leave while Hyuna stayed behind, theres a chance they couldve had completely different lifestyles. I also believe that they also, in a way, represent each path Till could take. If he were to stay in alien stage for the next season, would he turn out like Luka, someone who hurt others to feel in control, or if he was able to run away and become a rebel would he distract himself from his pain and constantly chase after that feeling of finally being free?

idk i just really like hyuna and luka

[cyberdragoninfinity]

ms dana cyberdragoninfinity do you have any yugioh spinoff merch hunting tips 👉👈🥺

YESSSS WHIRLS AROUND IN MY BIG SPINNING CHAIR. i Love merch hunting and giving merch hunting tips, there's a whole beautiful world of often remarkably inexpensive yugioh merch out there and once you learn how to track it down a new chapter of your life can truly begin. I bestow onto you some of my advice gleaned from about two and a half years of Searching For Merch Like a Tuffle-Sniffing Hog:

(note: while im specifically focusing on ygo spinoff merch here, you can use this advice to find all kinds of cool japan-exclusive merch!! im constantly getting japanese pokemon merch via tips like these, for example.)

Anyway, MERCH HUNTING TIP NUMBER ONE:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DONT BUT JAPANESE EXCLUSIVE MERCH ON EBAY. DONT. SAVE YOUR MONEY.

HEAVY SIGH. ebay can be such a useful site but not for this. good god not for this. You might luck out with a stray deal here or there but stuff like japanese exclusive yugioh merch on ebay tends to more often than not be sold for OUTRAGEOUSLY high prices and maybe it's not technically a scam but well your wallet aint gonna be happy about it. Stuff like tiny Cospa keychains get sold for $30, $40, 80 FUCKING US AMERICAN DOLLARS. AND SHIPPING. LOOK AT THIS SHIT

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS??!??! NIGHTMARE. NIGHTMARE. do not buy spinoff merch from ebay!! INSTEAD....

TIP TWO: come with me. to proxy buying service ❤❤❤❤

I love proxy services SO much. Basically theyre sites that will buy stuff from Japanese shopping sites on your behalf, then hold the goodies in their warehouse until you're ready to ship them over to you! They RULE. THEY ARE LIFECHANGING, FOR THE HUMBLE MERCH HUNTER. And they're all pretty intuitive to learn how to use, theyve got pretty solid FAQs and they'll walk you through how to request items, and theyll often let you search for merch ON their website, making the buying process even easier!

(There's a whole bunch of 'em, though and they all have different fees and amounts of time they'll hold your stuff for free, so you have to do some poking around and figure out which one you like using the most! My favorite go-to is Neokyo, personally; they have some great discount sales, they hold your stuff for free for 45 days, and their item request fees are all really reasonable!! I LOVE THEM. BEEN USING EM FOR YEARS NOW <3)

Anyway the point here, re: proxy sites, not only do they give you easy access to japanese resale sites and all the merch being sold on 'em, it also gives you access to tWay, Way, Waaaaayyy Lower Prices for trinkets and goodies. Like. look at this listing from Mercari JPN (viewed on Neokyo's site,) of the $125 Jack Atlas Phone Charm from my first tip

yeah that is, um. the same charm. AND two other adorable charms. FOR 13 AMERICAN DOLLARS. THIRTEEN. THAT IS. LITERALLY LIKE 90% CHEAPER THAN THAT EBAY LISTING. AND YOURE GETTING MORE STUFF. there is SO much yugioh (and other anime) merch being sold on jpn shopping sites for like. $4-$10. it is ridiculous. and then when proxy sites have discount deals you can get stuff for even CHEAPER sometimes. (theres also, of course, expensive merch lots too, just like with anything, theres just. also listings for stuff sold for less than a fancy dinner for two yknow HHDFGS)

it basically opens a whole new avenue of sites to find goodies on... I like using proxy buyers especially for listings on more general ebay-type sites like JPN Mercari (there is so much good and sometimes really rare stuff on there) and Surugaya (lots of doujins on there if that's your thing,) but also for buying from the main sites New ygo merch drops happen on (Cospa, eeo store, and the official KaibaCorp store in particular are some of the best.)

Ok, so, ya got your proxy service of choice. How do you find the goodies you're looking for?

TIP THREE: GOTTA KNOW THE BEST KEYWORDS!!!

this isnt really a rocket science tip, but, still: search for stuff not just in japanese but use the kanji!! Sometimes i'll just c/p the base characters of a yugioh guy's japanese name off their yugipedia page and then pop that into the mercari search just to see what sorta treats are floating around with them on it. But if going and constantly copy/pasting kanji into the proxy service search is a pain in the neck a lot 'em will auto translate your English searches too! again, theyre all really user friendly, which is great

(the one thing i will say you SHOULD search in english, though, is spinoff names, actually--you pop GX, ZEXAL, ARC-V, etc. into the proxy search and youll get all sorts of stuff for whatever series it is)

OK ONE MORE TIP FOR YA. TIP FOUR: DO WHAT YOU CAN TO GET THE MOST OF SHIPPING COSTS

ok so that is. the one pain, with merch hunting on proxy buying sites: shipping will probably be Expensive. (unless you go for the cheapest seamail options and then get your box maybe 4-6 months from now 🥴 but hey, it's an option! it's there!) I usually end up paying around $30-$50 for my boxes from Neokyo.

BUT you can at least make that shipping cost feel more reasonable if youre shipping A BUNCH OF STUFF. Shipping one (1) little $4 GX character can badge for $30 REALLY sucks, avoid this if you can--with proxies holding your stuff in their warehouse, you can get a bunch of little cheap goodies and just hold 'em until youre ready to get 'em packed and shipped. Then, whenever youre ready/have the money for the shipping cost, get all the stuff youve bought packed into one box, pay for the shipping, and (usually within two weeks--the one tradeoff of the high shipping price is you get that shit FAST) then get your stuff! It's like FUCKIN CHRISTMAS getting a box of proxy-obtained stuff including things from like two months ago i totally forgot i bought. Makes the $40 shipping sting a little less--like, hey, at least i got like 12 damn things in here and i didnt pay $125 for any of them!!!!

ok i think that's all i got. hopefully this is somewhat useful!! folks are always welcome to ask me stuff about merch hunting, like i said i really like helping people get a hold of stuff :3 it's really a lot easier than it seems at first!

[funlovinzara]

Yuji Itadori x Black! Fem! reader

Warnings: None/fluff

Intro: Your a new Jujutsu sorcerer, Gojo introduces you to everyone and you settle in with ease, someone in particular takes a special liking to you.

“Do you think you’re fit for this y/n?” Gojo asks you. You’ve always wanted to join Jujutsu high for the longest amount of time now, but there are so many risks. You could potentially end your own life. You wouldn’t say you’re different, because you weren’t. But people in these parts of japan would stare and it made you uncomfortable. It’s almost as if Gojo-Sensei was just like them. You had a feeling settling in would be difficult.

“Yeah, i think I’ll be okay! Im planning to train before my first mission, im hoping to do my best at least.” You responded to Gojo, him giving a grin back signaling that it was time. “Well i think it’s time to go don’t you think? I see alot of potential in you.” You had to take the test. This test was to show how strong you really were, this was the test you needed to enter jujutsu high once and for all.

You and Gojo strolled to the entrance of the large high school, it was way more beautiful than expected, the light of the blue sky shining through the tall trees hitting your face making your tan/brown/dark brown skin glisten. Gojo notices you enjoying yourself and smiled, he knew you would be an interesting ally to everyone. You look at Gojo who was looking at you, before you could speak a scream echoed through the environment.

“GOJO-SENSEI HELP ME!!-“ Gojo quickly turned to a boy with pink hair running across the campus being chased by a girl with a light brown bob. “Well would you look at that! Theres our first years for ya!” Gojo turned back to you to see you awkwardly standing, slightly concerned for the boy with pink hair. “Trust me, there stronger than they look.” Gojo pointed, “The boy with pink hair? Thats Yuji Itadori, the bob is Nobara Kugisaki, and the freak standing silently watching is Megumi Fushiguro.” Megumi must have heard because he glanced over glaring at Gojo, then looking at you.

Yuji began to run over to Gojo and you, panting out of breath. Nobara bonked him on the head when he slowed down and stopped. “Hey…Gojo whos that?” Nobara nodded her head towards you. “This is our new student, Y/n L/n. We were supposed to be headed to Masamichi so she can take the test.” Megumi walked over to state,

“Why call her a student if she hasn’t even passed the test yet?”

Gojo smiled once more and said calmly, “i know she’ll pass.” Megumi didn’t question any further, he knew Gojo-Sensei had his reasons. His phone began to ring, he picked up and answered to who knows, “Ugh really? Now? Right, ill be there..” He hung up. “I have to do a small task for Nanami and then take care of some cursed spirits, uhh itadori! Can you take y/n to Masamichi?”

Yuji lifted his head, still panting slightly. “Y-yeah…” He seemed to tired to do anything. “Follow me..” He waved his hand signaling to go. You walked with him slowly down the halls admiring every last bit of the high-school, it was really breath taking. (No pun intended)

Yuji speaks up finally catching his breath. “So…what made you want to come to Jujutsu high?” You tell him your backstory and what made you want to come here (or if you wanted to join just to help others). He nods his head understanding relating to you a bit, but he cant help but to always look at you. “Sorry to ask, has anyone ever told you you’re really pretty?” You turn to him surprised he hasn’t been the annoying type to ask to touch your hair or take a photo. “Well i think, but this is new.” You responded

“Since Gojo-sensei said he think you’ll pass, do you wanna hang out with me and the others when you’re done? You might be a little knocked out…the test was a struggle for me.”

He turned his head to face you even more stopping infront of a building, then continued “I don’t want you to feel left out, i mean a cutie shouldn’t!” He blushes at his own statement, not even giving you time to speak he shakes the blush off.

“Well this is Masamichi’s building!” You stood in-front of the building with and you gave him a very surprising look, “well, Yuji…id like to hangout! It would be a pain to be alone especially as a Jujutsu sorcerer.” Yuji smiled and glowed at your response and the way his name rolls off your tongue. “Ill see you later then!! I wish you luck…y/n~.” He sure does give off a-lot of playful energy, i think you’ll like him.

Towering over you is your one way ticket to Jujutsu high, you wouldn’t want to let them down so let’s give it your all!

Oh my gosh i will admit i kinda slacked with this, it is really short but trust mee i will get better bc i haven’t wrote in so long😭

I don’t like when black reader stories r super ghetto or y/n is super unrealistic so i tried making this just basic

Should i drop a part 2?🤔

[formulafics]

hi! congrats on 1k!! 🫶🏻

how about something with max and fem reader and date night during the winter break? <33

☆ snowflakes and ice skating dates | an mv1 blurb

thank you! i love this idea dearly and I LOVE MAX SO MUXH. this is so cute and fluffy im 🫠 i hope you enjoy!

bliss: noun — perfect happiness; great joy

it’s like a scene from a movie. snowflakes fall somehow perfectly from the sky, delicately landing on buildings, people, trees, and the ground. string lights decorate almost every surface from buildings to light poles, some even wrapped around the arms of benches. in front of you is your boyfriend, who holds your hand with a firm grasp as you both skate around the rink, enjoying the winter night.

christmas tunes play just loud enough, and chatter overlaps the lyrics as those on the rink talk to one another. it’s peaceful, but also lively. your eyes scan the floor, just watching the other skaters make their way around. one in particular catches your attention as his friends hype him up, a few others watching as the man in the spotlight performs a cool spin, one that you’d expect a figure skater to have mastered. max was amongst the small crowd watching, and his “pfft” catches your attention.

your eyes meet his when you look at him, the blonde looking over his shoulder at you. “i could so do that,” he says, and this is a moment where you can’t quite tell if he’s serious or not. usually, it’s obvious to you, but there are definitely moments - like this one - where he throws you off. “i’d love to see you try,” you muse in a playful tone, half expecting him to try, and half expecting him to laugh it off.

that being said, your eyes widen when he lets go of your hand, and takes off. he gains some speed, then, in a decent attempt to recreate what the other, likely more skilled, skater had done, ends up on the ground. it went just as you imagined it to, and for that reason, you laugh as you skate towards him. he’s laughing too, letting you know that he’s okay.

“see? i told you i could do it,” he says, making you roll your eyes. “you definitely did…something,” you hum, yelping when he grabs your hands and pulls you carefully to the ground with him. you glance around for a moment, making sure you aren’t in anyone’s way - you’re not. between the big rink and lack of a big crowd, theres plenty of room for you and max to spend a minute or two in your spots.

he lifts a gloved hand and cups your cheek, pulling you in for a gentle kiss, one that makes you smile against his lips. even now, after years of being together, me makes butterflies flutter in your stomach. “making you laugh was worth the fall,” he says as you pull away, and you only hum in response. “you could have gotten hurt, max.” “but i didnt, did i?”

“you’re so annoying,” you joke, placing your hands on his shoulders to push yourself up. he places his hands beneath your arms to help you, then - in an unintentionally chaotic manner - you help him up. like you’d been before he attempted the trick, he takes your hand, and you both join the line, skating around the rink.

“how about after this we go buy gingerbread house kits?” you suggest, smiling to yourself when you see maxs eyes crinkle as he smiles. “that sounds lovely.”

💌 | @renarots (shoutout to her for the vibes 🙌🏻) @jsjcue @treehouse-mouse @arkhammaid @harrysdimple05 @lovstappen @illicitverstappen @motorsp0rt @minkyungseokie @vellicora @leclercvsx @spidersophie @lokietro @topguncultleader @stopeatread @cixrosie @vroomvroomverstappen @sadieurlady @kortneej81 @fastcarsandshit @i-love-ptv @elliegrey2803 @pretty-little-bunny382728

[martyrbat]

seriously though i know im mostly a comics blog so complaining is expected and is second nature and there is a LOT to complain on (from disgusting writers to character developments being nuked) thats justified but also i love comics so so much.... i love this medium and how unique it is and the story opportunities it gives. i love seeing so many different art styles and writers and how comics can be dialogue or visual heavy (or a balance of both) and how theyre equally important or emotionally moving. i love how many stories and arcs these characters can have. i love when you can tell something is a passion project and when you can tell someone truly loves these characters. i love how long theyve been around and seeing the development of them and the way they been empowering or something to look forward to and bring hope or laughter or excitement since the 1930s. i love that i can not like something in a specific story but still enjoy the character or medium because theres so many different factors in that one story alone but also because theres so many different writers and stories and spin offs and solos and everything to still read and enjoy if that particular one isn't for me. i love how their timelines can be complete bullshit and how sometimes an event is important and sometimes theres no consequences and the only way to find out is to keep reading. i love the melodramas, i love the cheesiness, i love the camp, i love the passion projects, i love the dark themes, i love the slow and developing timelines and arcs, i love the tragedy and humor and horror and action and how many different genres it can have while still in this one medium and still about this one character. i love how any character, no matter how minor, can have a person that loves them and gets excited to see them. i love the community aspect of them (sometimes) and i love how so many different people can enjoy the same comic for different reasons and have their own community of mutuals that enjoy it the way they do. i just love comics so so much.

[official-darkforest]

i am SOOO unbelievably thrilled by your anthro au omg. do you have fashion ideas for the characters? like their favorite outfits, fabrics, etc? imo one of the best parts of anthro characters is deciding how they'd express themselves through their clothing :]

I HAVE A FEW ALREADY!!!! i dont have many specifics because theres so many characters ahd i havent drawn them all yet LOL but i'll share the ones i do have at least SOMETHING for

im also trying to keep these reasonable for the time period and location, as in my au the clan cats are mostly rural and in small towns set (mostly) before the 2000s so most may dress more modest and conservative (especially if theyre older and very religious)

squirrelflight - the best i can describe her sense of fashion is that it ranged from tomboy as a younger girl and is currently closer to a working class butch. im not sure if masc would be a more appropriate term since i dont hc her as a lesbian (shes bi) but she dresses "like a man" and owns a lot of jeans, slacks, and button-up shirts of all kinds of fabrics and patterns. she also enjoys bright colors as well, but as she got older her fashuon sense got a little more sensible and less "loud" like it was in the 60s and 70s. she also has glasses like her daddy once shes like 35 or so. she and firestar dressed very similarly, and a lot of her shirts and neckties are things she stole from his closet

feathertail - very feminine. hippie adjacent, lots of loose and flowing garments and jingly pieces. breatheable clothes and open toed shoes. her favorite swimsuit had some little frilly bits on it i think. often combines neutral earthy tones with blues and whites

crowfeather - lots of handmedowns from his father. clothes you can do farmwork in like jeans, overalls, hardy flannel/denim shirts and boots. never grew out of this and still dresses this way and he likes it

jayfeather - he looks like a modernized (as far as the 80s goes) version of his father - same hairstyle snd way of dress. he isnt too formal but does have some more preppiness to his clothing style (polo shirts and sweaters). he avoids full button downs since buttoning them himself jjust gets frustrating since he cant match them up every time. new wave band shirts. he also wears orange tinted glasses to protect his eyes (in this au i wrote that hes able to perceive shadows and light pretty okay, but not much else beyond that) And Kinda As A Fashion Statement cuz it goes well with his facial structure and hairstyle i think

lionblaze - hes like if the stereotypical jock and stereotypical 80s rock+metal enthusiast had a baby. muscle tees and bandanas, ripped jeans, those absurdly short shorts, crop tops, etc. he's a drummer i think if that matters LOL

ivypool - punk, also sorta like joan jett to an extent. very homemade, tho sometimes she gets lazy and doesnt really commit to the outfits all the way (but definitely has the mindset, dint get me wrong). one of those girls with a chest small enough to go braless 99% of the time; wears a lot of tank tops and sleeveless shirts LOL

bone/brick/scourge - just google "the outsiders movie" or "greaser" and you'll get the idea. tho i imagine these three in particular also have some kind of bare minimum formalwear scraped together from their escapades. theyre kinda like the jetts/sharks from west side story if that helps at all

daisy - she combines flowing, pretty dresses with a sunhat and work boots. she also teaches horseback riding and owns a few (its a business she runs w smokey and floss. i think its be funny if they were polyam ITS MY AU I CAN CHANGE WHAT I WANT) and she has horseback-appropriate clothing as well

poppyfrost - THEE preppy girl of the 80s. big hair, perm and all. dresses with pastel colors. her sisters cinderheart and honeyfern are pretty similar, tho i imagine honeyfern is a little more sporty and cinderheart takes inspiration from madonna once shes trying to court lionblaze

hazeltail - long haired country girl butch. enough said

spottedleaf snd cinderpelt are nuns lol

[send-up-my-heart-to-you]

tips for writing muslim characters

except im a muslim, born and raised

dont mix it up with arab characters, yes a muslim can be arab and muslim but theres a difference. the link to my post abt writing arabs is here

first and foremost, not all muslims are arabs, and not all arabs are muslims. yes, most terminology and the holy book is in arabic, but that doesnt mean its exclusively arabs

indonesia (not an arab country) has the highest population of muslims worldwide

the arab country with the most christians is egypt, but the arab country with the highest population of christians is lebanon 

not all practicing muslim women wear hijab (some extremely religious women might not wear a hijab)

five prayers a day: fajr (before sunrise), zuhr (midday), asr (afternoon), maghreb/maghrib (sunset), ishaa (nighttime)

call to prayer is known as 'azan', you can listen to it on youtube

muslims use the lunar calendar (known as the hijri calendar), which also has 12 months but its around two weeks shorter than the gregorian calendar. most people only remember the ninth month: ramadan

fasting consists of not eating/drinking from fajr until maghrib. you stop as soon as the azan for fajr sounds, and you can start again as soon as the azan for maghrib sounds. you fast for the entire month of ramadan, but its also encouraged to fast on mondays, thursdays, and the 14th/15th/16th days of each month of the hijri calendar

allah isnt the name of god. allah is the arabic word for 'god'

women dont have to cover up completely until puberty, athough some girls cover up before then and other women dont cover up at all

women can be religious and not cover up

the word 'hijab' doesnt show up in the quran, its 'khimar'. hijab is to cover up completely, not just hair. you cant wear a headscarf with a short sleeved shirt

men have to cover up too. from their navel to their knees absolutely has to be covered up, and (in most islamic cultures, not necessarily exactly religious) they cover up their chests as well 

also men are told to avert their gazes from women more than women are told to cover up. youd find a lot of men in muslim countries not looking up from the floor when walking, especially in areas w a lot of women

kids by the age of eight can usually recite at least four chapters from the quran (the first one and the last three, mostly. it doesnt matter if theyre not arab)

if you want to use verses from the quran for whatever reason, i recommend quran.com

theres only one version of the quran. the same copy thats existed for 1400 years and millions of people have memorized it

on that note, people who memorize the quran are called hafiz, and there isnt a particular age. theres a three year old hafiz and a woman who didnt memorize it until age eighty three

there are two different sources for islamic law: the quran (holy book), and hadith (quotes of the prophet). dua' is completely different, its a prayer used to ask help from god, but unlike the five prayers, it doesnt really require a specific ritual. you just sit, face the direction of mecca, and say the dua'

superstitions are haram, but muslims do believe in black magic (its sihr in arabic and its one of the biggest sins) and djinn (there are djinn muslims but theyre widely regarded somewhat like monsters who encourage/help you to do black magic)

allahu akbar means "god is greater" or "god is the greatest". it isnt used as a signal to blow people up, and it isnt a term used purely by islam extremists

assalamu aleikum / waaleikum assalam mean, respectively, "peace be upon you" and "and peace be upon you too" basically just our way of just saying "hi" along with the reply

subhanallah means "glory be to god" usually when witnessing a miracle or when amazed

mashaallah - there arent any exact english equivalents but it means "what god wills". usually for compliments or to protect someone from evil eye

insha'allah - simply "god willing" but we use this when talking about the future (like "will you come to school?" "insha'allah" or "we'll get the gift, right?" "insha'allah"). can be replaced by the lesser used "bi'ithn illah"

alhamdu lillah - "praise be to god" or "thanks be to god. used in the way you might imagine, but also as a way to express that youre doing fine. "how are you doing today, sister?" "alhamdu lillah" (also when finishing a meal / finishing drinking water)

astaghfir ullah - "i seek forgiveness from god" whenever we see someone do something haram or when we ourselves do something haram and wish to repent

bismillah - "in the name of god" we use this whenever we begin something. a lot of arab literature starts with this. every chapter im the quran starts with this. every meal starts with saying this before eating

you can submit asks if you have any questions, but try to be a lil specific !!

feel free to rb with more info :)

[v1leblood]

putting microphone to your mouth. explain lisa wilbourn to me

these posts are the most important lisa images on the internet

i don't know how to explain lisa. she's a normal girl who has something wrong with her. her life before triggering was mundanely miserable and her life since triggering has been defined by trying to prevent the circumstances of her trigger over and over and over and over and coming out of it a 'better person' but in many ways a much sadder one. i don't think saying any parahumans character 'gets over' their trauma but lisa's someone who like. not even in the most charitable definition has in any way gotten over her trauma. outside of a few She Would Not Fucking Say That moments ward is pretty good with lisa and it's fucking tragic bc she's Still mourning taylor, she's trying to take care of aiden so he won't turn out like taylor, and she ends up getting similarly attached to victoria when she sees in just how low of a low victoria's around halfway through the story.( her rl w victoria is much healthier than her attachment to taylor bc she doesn't consider vicky a Full rex but those caring instincts still come out. )

something about lisa is that being lisa and interacting with lisa are both horrifying. lisa's power doesn't let her not know the best or worst way to talk to you. every time you're having an interaction with lisa, every time she's having an interaction with you, there has to be a conscious choice as to whether she's going to play into the informational power imbalance or whether she's going to try not to -- except, the information is still there, isn't it? unless she actively focused on something else or actively switched her attention around quickly so her power can't go into detail on things, she Knows things she shouldn't, and even if she doesn't act on that information, what you'll get out of her still isn't going to be her 'natural reaction' to what you're doing or saying. it can be the closest thing, but by having the information and not using it, the reaction she gives will still be one filtered through having the information and trying to Act as though she didn't. her power taints any social interaction. and sometimes its not a big deal, and of all her troubles i don't think this particular thing bothers her that much, but its kind of existentially horrifying that any interaction she has is imbalanced in her favor as far as knowing things about each other goes. whatever your or anyone's opinion on lisa's aromanticism, what she gave as her reason for why dating is hard/impossible for her rings true: she meets people and there's no mystery, they're almost immediately laid bare, and that changes things about the way she interacts with them and how she's willing to mentally categorize them in pretty much every context, not just dating. she took a single look at alec and immediately knew he was emotionally numbed and 'sociopathic', she immediately knew grue was concerned about putting up a tough front and about being Professional, she Immediately Knew taylor was basically on the brink of either suicide or something much like it. it taints everything. even when lisa's not being manipulative (which she often is on purpose) you can't Know that she's not just feeding you the right line or the next best thing as per her encylopedic knowledge of You. its fucked up!

and like ive mentioned other times i think this aspect of her power, having people laid bare before her, often their worst selves laid bare before her, really contributes to her cynicism and the arrogant front she puts up, because she may have flaws, but she knows that everyone else fucking sucks, too

theres more Stuff about her including the way in which shes manipulative her little neuroses and how her morality evolves throughout worm but im just rambling w/o a specific Point so idt i can share my thots on those and make them cohere in this specific post

[loving-n0t-heyting]

Hello loving not heyting do you have any recommendations on learning about anti-psych position/movement? For someone who really wants to understand the position does anti-psych also go in fields such as psychology and psychoanalysis? Does it propose reforms or abolition?

i have not read much anti psych "theory" tbh, and when ive tried reading any of it it often comes across with the same pitfalls common to a lot of leftist "theory" anyway: high on abstract speculation about the social role of psychiatry, low on concrete details; keen on pinning all our hopes on the abolition of capitalism or the state in such a way as to demoralise rather than inspire. i have looked a bit into more focused activist organisations like akathisia alliance that have been helpful. i also found, way back and diffusely in a way hard to either clearly recall or recommend central cases of, some autism self advocacy work that helped set me on a saner path generally; lydia xz brown, mel baggs, other internet activist microcelebs. there was more wheat with them i think than "mad liberation" and "anti psych" stuff generally (common autist w) but also still a fair amount of chaff. he is definitely NOT antipsych, but scott alexander had some helpfully sober assessments of the efficacy and drawbacks of ssris in particular (tho this example feeds into the next genre)

more illuminating than anything to me has been reading from "the enemy:" actual literature by psychiatrists and their partisans. actually looking thru the existing medical literature on antipsychotics (efficacy, side effects, etc), in particular, did more to radicalise me on the topic than any antipsych propaganda. partly in terms of laying out the problems with the medications, partly by exposing how fundamentally unrigorous a lot of this research is. (i remember once looking into a taxonomy of extrapyramidal conditions, then into i think parkinsonism in particular, and seeing the list of symptoms include... "extrapyramidal symptoms".) i used to binge read the neurodivergence-unfriendly spectrum news and you could just regularly see them report the stupidest or most degrading bullshit without an ounce of incredulity, like this piece which makes me almost too angry to articulate the retardation involved (moral luck is an open philosophical problem, not a settled fact about "theory of mind") or this piece hailing the coercive implantation of mind control chips in an adult womans brain in order to curb her excessive hand washing. academic research on the subject inspires in me similar sentiments. the dsm itself, current and past editions, can be an extremely instructive read. i could go on, theres a lot to look into here

i get the impression that ppl styling themselves as anti psych or psych critical tend to go soft on a lot of more "analytic" (freudian) approaches; here are two examples of this brand of shameful dereliction of reason. which is the opposite of helpful to me bc i was made to see freudians from ages 4 to 25, and coming to grips with the truly rank pseudoscience of freudian theory was an important step in my self devt

sorry this answer is sort of all over the place. my feelings about the psychiatric system were not really forged by reading a couple of big thought provoking books, sadly

[lovelyrotter]

okay but i actually kinda wanna know ur take on stridercest being canon compliant O_O <- autism stare

oh hey i am also hitting you with the autism stare. ill try to get my thoughts down in a way that makes sense to more than just me hahaha

bear in mind that im an epilogue lover and i think Meat/Candy are really valuable pieces that further all of the characters and are also hard canon in the sense that we're looking at just 2 post-game universe outcomes out of an uncountable number (the book in the picnic basket representing post-canon fanfic). i think the characters actions in the epilogues make sense and are satisfying to me. yes even jane (i love alpha jane and i will not do her the disservice of 'cleaning her up' w/o showing her work for it. thats not how you depict a character who grew up with fascist programming). i could totally go on a whole tangent about this specifically but thats another post lol we'd be here forever and its also not stridercest

but okay. canon stridercest. under the cut cause it got kinda long

basically it has to do with the cherubs and how their relationships and mating rituals are pretty obviously incestuous leaning even though cherubs dont have the human concept of Siblings or blood family. the cherub who predominates will search across paradox space to mate with another cherub who closely resembles the cherub they predominated which is like textbook Freudian sexuality. theres a lot of Freud and Jungian stuff in HS imo even if im kinda [wobbly hand gesture] at the validity of these theories applied to real life and real people. but theyre super fun tools and lenses to use in fiction and i mean. gestures at all of dave

so the incest aliens cherubs. the whole reason why im talkin about them is bc Caliborn is so incredibly interested and invested in the Striders in particular. caliborn as both Lord English and Lil Cal shapes earth NOT OVERTLY but more so embeds himself in earth society, but again, the Striders lives in particular. dave is full of incest jokes. hes even apparently got a list of his friends arranged in order of how likely theyd incest-elope with each other (thank you epilogues for this amazing factoid). he seems to think about it often enough to, yknow, Do That. have a good solid think about that and construct an organized list about it. bearing in mind dave makes jokes about stuff thats a) bothering him, or b) generally camping out in his brain. hes not even really aware of it most of the time (as we see in one of the openbounds where hes all 'why am i thinking about puppets???' after seeing dirk for the first time in that dream bubble. he is thinking nonstop about dirk at that point and going off his only frame of reference for ANY dirk, which is his bro. his bro who was most likely deeply warped by Lil Cal)

sorry for the long blocky paragraph lol. but now onto the next thing

Caliborn as Lil Cal is the centerpiece in the beta strider apartment. dave cant escape him and beta dirk grew up with him. what the fuck do you do when youre childhood comfort item is also the most evil creature across all of paradox space? if youre a dirk you try to fight it. but how long can you keep fighting something like that. its safe to say that bro was affected by Caliborns particular brand of perversion and sfw kink. i dont think i have to say how insidious abusive and toxic he is about those things. and looking at the truth of beta bro (16yo alpha dirk) you can start to see just how warped beta bro became. beta bro is a false dirk (still a very Real dirk but not the Truth of dirk. beta bro has been toxified and made infinitely worse by an absolute evil influence over decades of life. in 80s fuckin texas. presumably in the system. anyone would be fucked up after that)

so for this analysis/theory im stating beta bro as a false persona. using jungian terms he is apha dirk's shadow

both dave and dirk live with a fake, carefully manicured version of their bros. they live with personas (or shadows of their guardians on the walls. hello platos allegory of the cave). they dont actually know e/o and they dont until the striunion

alpha dirk especially grows up embedded in the Public Persona Of Dave Strider 400 years post mortem and completely alone with unlimited internet access. hes a self admitted expert on his bro and we dont get to see a lot if any of his early childhood but i can hazard a guess at how much he clung to that persona of his bro. he fuckin idolizes dave. he LOVES dave. right off the bat he is in some kind of love with dave and i think if you try to argue against that then thats you slippin. i think youre a fool and have to reread homestuck because i wholeheartedly believe the striders loving eachother is part of the win state

once again this is speculation cause we get barely anything about alpha dave, but from what we already know about him im guessing this bro-persona is

achingly effortlessly cool

oozing masculinity (toxic or not, not really interested in categorizing that although toxic coolboy masculinity IS something the striders contend with & is an important facet in their lives)

a skilled fighter

a dedicated moviegoer (hes a director need i say more. this one is probably the only genuine thing about his on-screen persona)

and now lets look at jake. someone whos grown up on pretty much nothing but movies, whos doubtlessly been influenced by hollywood and its idea of gritty 'main character' masculinity through that, and who also clings to more old-school ideas of manliness (think victorian/edwardian era gentlemanly-but-loves-a-good-scrum kinda manly. moustache twirly with a monocle kinda manly. basically everything that grandpa harley is)

but okay lets look at what jake wants to be. lets take a look at his teenager persona

achingly effortlessly cool (his own 'hollywood star' kind of cool also def influenced by his favourite characters like lara croft who is indeed achingly cool. you see him succeed in inhabiting this hollywood star persona on earth c)

oozing masculinity (the old school manly mans-man kind)

a skilled fighter (two pistoles always. harder to aim cause you cant use a free hand to make up for kickback. that takes skill)

a dedicated moviegoer (again one of the only genuine parts about his persona. his questionable-to-wretched tastes aside. but bearing in mind that the SBaHJ movies are intentionally bad which is what makes them loop around to good. such is the nature of intentionally 'bad' art. jake fuckin lives in this perpetual bad-good art loop. okay enough with the art tangent keep focused man cmon)

because dirk has obviously way more contact with jake i dont doubt he sees through jakes own (admittedly way more flimsy) coolboy persona but the point still stands i think. different flavours but the same kinda guy. dirk has a type and i dont think its a stretch to say that hes looking for aspects of the bro-persona he grew up looking at in other boys, much like the winning cherub looking for the one they lost in the cherub theyll mate with

also wtf is with dirks obvious boner for dave chasing him across paradox space to decapitate him huh?? the last few sentences in Meat are about that very thing. he wants to fuc fight dave sooo bad. haha remember how the cherubic mating ritual is one of the most violent and long running spectacles in paradox space? i sure do