#all of the kids in my family grew up on these

[rosefyrefyre]

I grew up in a very rich area of the US (Westchester County, NY) and went to a private Conservative Jewish school through 6th grade, then public school after (but a public school where a solid 50+ kids in my grade of 300 were Jewish). So I did see a lot of the "typical" rich kid bar/bat/b'nai mitzvahs.

But the truth is, a lot of it isn't necessarily as "fancy" as people think.

Like, my bat mitzvah party was in the gym of the synagogue, and that was extremely typical -- because you could do your party at your synagogue for *cheap*. Most of my friends and family had their parties in their synagogue gyms. And a lot of them weren't decorated at all other than the tablecloths.

*Everyone* knew who the one really rich family was, the one that spent way too much on each of the kids' b'nai mitzvah parties. It was too conspicuous consumption for most of us, though, and while people were somewhat jealous, it was also in a very "can you *believe* them?" sort of way.

On the opposite end, my friend Lindsay decided she didn't want the big party, so she had the service (including the Torah reading, etc.) and then...did something private with her parents, I forget the details (it was almost 30 years ago), instead of a party. She wasn't the only one either, just the one I remember best.

And as other people have said in the comments, pretty much all the money I got as gifts went straight into the savings account to pay for college, and then I spent two months writing thank you notes for all of them.

Also, the focus really is on the learning and on becoming a Jewish adult. I spent a solid year studying -- learning two aliyot of my Torah portion, my haftarah, a large portion of the service so I could lead it, and writing a speech. And that was on top of going to school.

And honestly, one of the most validating aspects of becoming bat mitzvah was that my dad's mother died four months after my bat mitzvah and I was able to go to synagogue with my father once a week and help make the minyan (quorum of ten Jewish adults needed in order to say certain prayers) because, even though I was 12, I counted as a Jewish adult. I have extremely fond memories of going to synagogue with my dad every Tuesday morning and then going to get bagels before he dropped me off at school.

The bat mitzvah ceremony and party were nice, but they didn't last. The other impacts did.

I'm just gonna say something, Bar/Bat/B'nai mitzvahs are a celebration, they often but not always come with an after party and depending on the means of the parents of the lucky 13 year old they can be over the top sometimes. Much like rich kids with sweet 16s or Quinceañera.

okay thats out of the way, what I wanted to say is, I'm SICK of every media depiction of a Bar/Bat Mitzvah as a 100 million dollar, biggest party on the planet celebration of conspicuous consumption. Almost ALWAYS missing the you know Bar Mitzvah itself, and again depicting Jews over and over again as INSANELY wealthy. Like not everyone, hell not MOST people's Bar Mitzvah was huge and expensive.

another thing, I know by definition no 13 year old is cool, by definition they are greasy and annoying and cringe. But EVERY depiction of a Bar/Bat Mitzvah where the boy or girl of the hour is both an awkward loser and (particularly the boys) sleazy little creeps who are trying WAY too hard to impressive with their garishly massive (and expensive) party (and how often they quote how much something costs as if a 13 year old would know or care) it just seem a little close to the old antisemitic stereotype of Jews as crass and uncouth social climbers desperately trying to use their money to buy their way into classy society and forever failing.

[adverbally]

Intention

Written for the @stmarchmm prompt “courting rituals” | wc: 913 | rated: T | cw: none | tags: Steddie, Steve & Wayne, omega Steve, alpha Eddie, alpha Wayne, early relationship, asking permission to court, non-traditional relationship dynamics

———

Steve hesitates on the Munsons’ front porch. The trailer is familiar and comforting with its worn screen door and peeling paint, the warm light and organized chaos he knows to be hidden inside. This place has become more of a home to him than the house he grew up in.

He doesn’t want to lose that now.

But he thinks about Eddie nervously asking him on their first real date, hiding his grin behind the lock of hair he tugged across his face when Steve said yes; the way Eddie’s eyes had sparkled in the glow of the streetlight outside Steve’s house when he dropped him off after dinner, just before he leaned in for the best first kiss Steve has ever had; how Eddie had carefully brushed his wrist along the cuff of Steve’s sweater so he could still smell Eddie’s smoky ginger scent for the rest of the evening.

Steve wants that, all of that and more. The promise of that has to outweigh the fear of screwing everything up.

He knocks on the door.

It feels like an eternity before Wayne answers, already dressed in his work clothes for that evening’s shift. He seems surprised to see Steve, but he pushes open the screen door between them and waves him inside anyway. “Did Ed not tell you he has band practice? He should be home soon but you’re welcome to wait.”

“No, I…” Steve takes a deep breath and stuffs his hands in his jeans pockets so he doesn’t start fidgeting with his jacket zipper. “I wanted to talk to you, actually, if you have a minute?”

Wayne looks even more baffled now but gestures for Steve to take a seat in one of the mismatched chairs surrounding the small dining table. He doesn’t join him immediately, instead going into the kitchen and silently filling two glasses with water from the tap. When he returns, he sits in the seat across from Steve and slides one of the cups over to him.

“Thanks.” Steve’s mouth is so dry that his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth, but he’s not sure he can take a drink without spilling or choking on it. Not until he says what he needs to say. Keeping his gaze on the scratched tabletop, he begins, “I think you probably know why I’m here.”

“I think so,” Wayne agrees. “And I think you know I need to hear you say it anyway.”

Steve nods, thinking of Eddie’s spicy warm scent to steel himself. “Eddie said you’re not very traditional. Your family, I mean. He offered to do this because he thought I wanted to do it, and I know he would’ve, but my dad…” He cuts off his rambling with a shake of his head. “Sorry, I’m nervous. Eddie said I shouldn’t be–”

“Steve. Take a breath.”

He does, then sips from his glass. Wayne doesn’t say anything while Steve gathers his thoughts for a long moment. Finally, he speaks again, deliberately. “Eddie is incredible. I care about him. I want to be with him.” It’s a gross understatement but if he starts elaborating, he might never stop. “I don’t give a shit what my dad thinks, but it matters to me what you think. Because it matters to Eddie. You’re the most important person in his life. He’s an adult and he can make his own decisions, so I’m not asking for permission, but… I wanted to inform you of my intention to court your nephew.”

Wayne nods, a slight tilt of his head acknowledging Steve’s declaration. “I accept it.”

“Okay.” He nods back, taps his fingers along the side of his water glass, listening to the quiet ping of his nails on its surface. “Thank you.” It’s almost disappointing how anticlimactic this was. He had stressed over it for days, and Wayne just… accepts him, just like that?

Like he can read Steve’s mind, Wayne leans closer. “You’re a good kid, Steve. You saved Ed’s life, you make him happy, you take care of that pack of kids. I think you’re good for him. Mellow him out some.”

“Yeah?” The compliment makes him warm from head to toe. Steve grins down at the table. “I think he’s good for me too.”

Wayne drains the last of the water in his glass. “I’d’ve given my permission, too, if you’d asked. Not that you need it.” He rises from his chair with a groan. “I gotta head to work now, but you’re welcome to wait for Ed. Make yourself at home.”

Steve stands as well, accepting the handshake Wayne offers him. “Thanks again, sir, I appreciate it.”

“Call me Wayne, son.” His mouth twists in a wry smile. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” He claps a hand on Steve’s shoulder, then shrugs on his coat. “Make sure you’re being safe, now. I’m not ready to be a granddad yet.”

Wayne can surely see him blushing as Steve stammers, “No, we— I mean, we haven’t, I’m not—” When he realizes Wayne is fighting back his smile, he sighs, embarrassed but relieved to be in on the joke. “Okay, laugh it up.”

He waves to Wayne from the doorstep, watches the beat-up old truck kick up dust until it turns onto the asphalt outside the trailer park. The alpha’s scent lingers in the trailer, more woodsy than Eddie’s but still warm. Familiar.

Steve thinks he could get used to it.

[sapphiresaphics]

Severance: my best guess.

This will contain spoilers from season 1 to season 2 Episode 7.

I’ve not tried to do any theory crafting for Severance yet, so I’m gonna try now based on all the available information we have.

So the Eagan family is a bit of a cult. It started in the late 1800’s with a guy who worked in an Ether factory. Ether is used by doctors as an anesthetic and is primarily used in surgeries. Ether can also cause hallucinations and distorted thinking.

Which brings me to Kier Eagan and his 4 tempers and his 9 principals. Kier supposedly conquered the 4 tempers (Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice). These would be emotions that he feels were detrimental to life. And he created the 9 principals (Vision, Verve, Wit, Cheer, Humility, Benevolence, Nimbleness, Probity, Wiles) as emotional virtues that he cherished.

It would not surprise me that this old man working in an ether factory frequently had hallucinations and visions and wrote down his stories as a distorted Bible of sorts. “These are the things that hold you back, these are the things that make you strong” sort of thing. And because this was a business and he was the CEO (a crazy CEO but a CEO nevertheless) these principals and tenants were passed down through the generations.

And for our immediate purposes it seems to have worked. The Lumon company grew from a small Ether factory that made topical salves, to a giant tech company that has their hands in many pies all over the world. Kinda like how Google went from an internet search browser to basically owning everything we interact with today.

And over the years that cult like devotion to Keir Eagan and his mantras has resulted in the corporation of Lumon wanting to impose Keri’s wisdom and will on the rest of humanity, as most religions often want to do.

Fast forward and they’ve developed a technology that can separate your consciousness into two beings. Memories for each consciousness only exist for that consciousness and cannot transfer over to the other. The severance procedure.

This procedure allows people to go to work, but never actually deal with work because their innie is the one doing all the unpleasant tasks for them. Great on the surface, but there’s a twist. That other consciousness of yours that is created… well it’s another person. With its own wants and dreams and desires. And as this procedure is being tested Lumon discovers that these innies are increasingly resistant to having their entire lives be reduced to working forever until they die.

So Lumon has a problem. I believe they think the reason these innies are so unhappy is because they have the 4 tempers in them. It’s not because they’re people with wants and dreams, it’s because they also have Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice in them. That’s why the innies keep fighting back.

Stepping back for a minute we are also aware that Lumon raises kids through various programs. Harmony Cobel was raised through some sort of “girls for Lumon” program. As most likely was Milchek and Miss Wong. And these programs seem to focus heavily on removing emotion from your essence. Cobel was praying to keep her emotions under control, Milchek was practicing in a mirror to adhere to Lumon’s desires for him. And Wong can’t graduate from her fellowship until she is deemed worthy.

I think what the Macro Data Refiners are doing is finding these components and providing data for the severance chips to suppress these emotions. To ensure that they aren’t being preferable to any of the data, it’s all sent to them encoded and jumbled up. But some numbers “feel” a certain way. And the MDR members are able to basically sense these emotions and bin them. “You feel the hurt down there too, you just don’t know what it is.”

Remember this is a corporation and they are pushing a product they want everyone in the world to get. So if the goal of this product is to push the idea that you can get this medial procedure and then ever again have to experience anything negative ever, they need to ensure that when outies return to consciousness that no negative side effects linger.

And Gemma is their test subject for this procedure. They are using her by placing her into various different stressful environments and situations, adjusting the chips, and seeing when she comes out of them if she feels or recalls anything negative.

I don’t know if the point of the chips will be to control the innies as well, removing all will to resist or something along those lines. They’ve shown surprisingly little care into the lives of the innies. But they do seem to at least be aware that controlling the innies is a problem. That’s why they lean so heavily on the cult stuff. That’s why they isolate departments and keep everyone fearful of one another.

I think that’s also why Bert is different. He seems to RELISH in the vices. A “scoundrel” as he calls himself. He seems to believe that innies deserve to experience pleasure. He is the snake to Lumon’s garden of Eden if you will. Since he’s a partner with Lumon, it’s possible that he views the innies as a source of allowing people to express those carnal desires and thoughts free from the guilt of having them as an outie.

And we’ve seen at least with the waffle party that Lumon has this belief in mastering and overcoming those same vices and pleasures. Why else would the waffle party have the 4 tempers dancing erotically while the “founder” sits in the bed and does nothing, whip in hand ready to strike if they rustle their emotions?

So this is Lumon’s pitch to the world. Imagine you never have to worry about doing anything negative you don’t want ever again. Get this wonderful medical procedure and you’ll be able to, at the push of a button, skip over your entire work day and just come home refreshed and happy to continue to live your life. If you want to have a baby and don’t want to deal with the pain of childbirth, just use the severance chip to skip over that! Don’t want to do a boring repetitive task like writing Christmas thank you notes? Don’t want to fly on an airplane? Don’t want to go to the dentist? Just use our chip and skip over that moment and get on with your life.

And of course this has extreemly dangerous implications for the rest of the world. What if you want to go to war but don’t want to deal with the fear of dying? What if you want an army of people who can perform manual labor all day without rest? What if you want to have sex but don’t want the shame or fear you might have a kid? Any Vice or fear or labor you need… Severance will be there to take care of it.

And for Lumon’s part… well that’s potentially even more sinister. We don’t know what their goal is, but good god can you imagine if Google had access to your brain and at a moment’s notice they could just switch you off??? We’ve seen that the Overtime Contingency works outside of the Lumon building. Giving a CULT access to EVERYONE in the world that they can manipulate at any time would be… horrific.

“They will all be Kier’s children”

So I think that’s the plan. Perfect this technology so they can market it as a way to bypass your negative feelings, but it’s a Trojan horse. You’re actually surrendering your will and personhood to this cult. A cult who can use you to do anything they want. Make anything they need. Do any task they want. And you’d never know it, because you’re no longer the outie.

Fucking TERRIFYING.

[horoscope1078]

:)

Lando had been grinning all morning, and that was never a good sign. You squinted at him as you both strolled through the charming streets of Spa, your hand tucked into the pocket of your hoodie to shield it from the crisp Belgian breeze. It was the weekend of the Belgian Grand Prix, but for now, Lando seemed more focused on mischief than on racing.

“What’s with the face?” you asked, narrowing your eyes.

“This” he said, pulling a small blue and white package out of his hoodie pocket. “This is going to change your life.”

You stared at the package, recognising the name printed on it, stroopwafels.

“Oh, I’ve heard of these” you said, intrigued. “They’re like caramel waffles, right?”

Lando gasped, pressing a dramatic hand to his chest. “Like caramel waffles? That’s like calling a formula 1 car just ‘a fast vehicle.’”

You snorted as he tore the package open, handing you one of the thin, circular treats. “Alright alright. What’s the proper way to eat them, Mr. Dutch Heritage?”

He beamed proudly. “I’m so glad you asked.”

Lando grabbed your wrist and dragged you toward a nearby café. The place was small but cosy, with warm lights glowing behind the counter and the scent of fresh coffee filling the air. He ordered two hot drinks and then pointed at your stroopwafel. “Now, this is the trick. You don’t just eat it straight away like some amateur. You place it on top of your cup and let the steam soften the caramel inside. It’s an art, really.”

You raised an eyebrow. “An art?”

“Yes, an art” he said smugly. “Passed down through generations. My mum grew up in the Netherlands, remember? She taught me all the important things in life, like how to properly consume a stroopwafel.”

You chuckled but did as he instructed, setting the waffle on top of your steaming drink. Lando did the same and then leaned forward, resting his chin on his palm as he watched you expectantly.

“So, what’s it like?” you asked, trying to distract him from his obvious amusement at your inexperience.

“What’s what like?”

“Having a mum who grew up in the Netherlands.”

Lando’s expression softened, his grin turning into something fonder. “It’s cool. We used to visit all the time when I was a kid. The food is obviously great, stroopwafels, poffertjes, all that stuff. But also, my mum’s side of the family is really chill. And the country is just… nice. The people are friendly, the cities are beautiful, and I got to ride bikes everywhere, which was fun. Maybe that’s why I like racing so much.”

You smiled, picturing a tiny Lando zooming around on a bicycle, probably crashing into things. “That actually makes sense.”

“Of course it does. I’m full of wisdom.”

You rolled your eyes, but before you could tease him, he suddenly gasped. “It’s time!”

“Time for what?”

“The stroopwafel. It should be perfectly softened now.” he lifted his off his drink and took a dramatic bite, closing his eyes in exaggerated bliss. “Mmm... perfection.”

You snorted but picked up your own, taking a cautious bite. The moment the warm caramel melted onto your tongue, your eyes widened. “Oh my god.”

Lando grinned. “Told you.”

“This is amazing.” you quickly took another bite, savouring the way the caramel oozed between the layers of waffle. “Why have I never had one of these before?”

“Because you had a sad, stroopwafel-less existence until I saved you.” he leaned back smugly, sipping his drink. “You’re welcome.”

You shook your head, but you couldn’t argue. “Fine. I’ll admit it. You were right.”

“Oh, say that again?”

You rolled your eyes, finishing off your stroopwafel. “Don’t get used to it.”

Lando chuckled and nudged your foot under the table. “See? Now Belgium isn’t just about racing for you. Now it’s also about experiencing life-changing snacks.”

You sighed dramatically. “I feel so enlightened.”

“As you should.”

The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a moment, sipping your drinks as the world buzzed around you. The café was warm, the stroopwafels were sweet, and Lando, well, Lando was being his usual goofy self, but with that undeniable charm that made your heart squeeze a little.

After a moment, he tapped his fingers on the table. “Alright, next up, frites with mayo.”

You groaned. “Lando, how much food are you planning to make me eat today?”

He gave you an innocent look. “It’s called cultural appreciation.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Fine. But if I can’t fit into my jeans tomorrow, I’m blaming you.”

“I’ll buy you new ones” he said, smirking. “Consider it an investment in our adventure.”

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t stop smiling. Somehow, even a simple afternoon of snacks and stories with Lando turned into an adventure. And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[uas-art]

'Sumer is icumen en' is an actual medieval song, sometimes called the Summer Canon. The oldest musical notation we have for it dates to about 1260, but the song is probably older. Here it is preformed in flute and here it is preformed by a choir. It's pretty catchy!

Also, those 3 are Leshy's main friend group. I draw them in the background and with Leshy from time to time in comics so it's about time I made a little ref sheet for them.

Rambles on what are more or less OCs at this point below:

Amdusias is the only one who knew Leshy as a god. He's been with the Lamb long enough that he no longer reveres Leshy as a divine being, but always enjoyed his company as a follower. He's also the father to the shrew with horns girl I've drawn in a few comics before. (the kids name is Lena Jr.! She goes by Len though) his wife in all but name is a shrew disciple named Lena. She met him as a ghost during the blood moon festival and fell head over heels.

Otta is my interpretation of the otter from the kitchen nightmares short! She and Cor grew closes while imprisoned and waiting to be scarficed. Since she doesn't believe she as a mortal can judge a god for what they do, she doesn't really hold a grunge agianst Leshy for the attempted scarfice by his remaining followers who still think he's alive somewhere. However... She doesn't really like high energy people or entitled people, and Leshy ticks both those boxes,but since Cor, for reasons she cannot fathom, likes smooching on that bush, she tolerates Leshy's presence.

Cornelius, or just Cor, is the yellow cat from the kitchen nightmare short. He was a rambunctious kid who grew into a rambunctious teenager. This caused a riff between him and his family, so one day he decided to just up and leave. He traveled around a little before joining up with the Darkwood cult more or less on a whim. Leshy was long since dead, but his power still remained in the land, so his followers believed he would come back one day. Cor enjoyed the partying, chaos causing, and pillaging, but he got himself in a bit of trouble that ticked off the higher ups. He managed to escape and get back to his village, but his village was abdanoned. He was then captured. While imprisoned he met Otta and they became close and remained good friends after The Lamb saved them. He'd heard tales of Leshy being a fun guy to party with and be around, so he started to seek his friendship to find out if that was true. (cats and curiosity, ya know?)

[girlfailureboylosercom]

Ex-literature Student Hyperfixates on Haikyuu Characters and launches off their rocker

the title says everything.

i got too silly trying to plan a hrhs yuri au fic and ended up deciding to do an analysis on the Kamomedai team (its mostly hrhs. my bad guys)

I'll be analysing volumes 38-41 in this post!! If I miss out on certain panels or misinterpret moments, that's my bad. Most of the panels I'll be putting here are taken irl, so they might not be that easy to read 😞🙇

This is also an opportunity for me to dissect my brain and figure out why I took a liking to these characters. I LOVE ANALYSIS and genuinely wish there was more over Haikyuu, especially on themes and characters and their philosophies!

so, what will I be focusing on in this analysis?

Kamomedai's philosophy, importance + message

Hirugami Sāchiro and

Hoshiumi Kōrai's significance in the story of Haikyuu

Coach Murphy's connection to HRHS' philosophies

If there are any topics I've failed to list here but have explored in this analysis, please understand that I was simply too excited to write and may have forgotten to list them here!

Word Count (excluding titles): 4838

Hirugami Sachiro

His Backstory

of course, whenever Sachiro is brought up, his backstory is the first thing that automatically pops into mind. It's tragic but even worse, it's realistic. It stuck with me the first time I read the entire manga, but I couldn't figure out why. I knew it resonated with me, reminding me of the several burnouts I witnessed in multiple kids around me at school, but that reasoning wasn't enough. So I supposed that pushed me to write this analysis haha!

From these panels, it's safe to say that Sachiro did have love and passion for the sport. He practically grew up with it- his parents and siblings played it, and they eventually went down the path of going pro. It would be no surprise that he was bound to follow in their footsteps. It was natural. There's no confirmation and this is more like a theory/headcanon, yet I believe that his family did have these expectations for him or placed pressure on Sachiro to play volleyball, whether or not they intentionally meant to. When you grow up with a family of star athletes who all did the same sport, why would you do something different? In the manga, Hirugami states that if he just 'straight up quit' volleyball there and then, there would be a whole set of problems. We could assume that maybe their coach would be upset, but this could be another hint that his family would not take the news that well. Perhaps his parents would be the more judging ones. Since he has all of these expectations and the pressure to improve and earn respect and acknowledgement from his family, it wasn't a surprise that this mindset would eventually turn sour and cause Sachiro to crash. We even have some supporting evidence for this, and it (strangely) comes from Atsumu.

Atsumu states that he knew Hirugami was always this good, but the way he played was 'like a man possessed', and watching him gave Atsumu the impression that he was on edge at all times. In the panel that displays Atsumu's recollection of his original impression of (middle school) Hirugami, we can see that the Miya Twins are completely fine compared to Hirugami who is panting like a dog, tired out and not looking in top shape. I don't think it's a far-fetched assumption to say that Hirugami was just forcing himself to play the sport, to keep on going and giving his all despite his body protesting, trying to tell him that he's reached his limit. But the mind can be stubborn and Hirugami's mind was also dead set on goalless/vague improvement; He wants to build more muscle, not let anyone outdo him, and not get left behind- all these goals don't have a proper end and that's harmful. Of course he's going to force himself to continue whether or not his body gets the rest it deserves. To him, there's no such thing as a rest day. Hirugami doesn't believe he gets to rest until he finally achieves or stops chasing the improvement he desires. But there's no end to the goals he wants to achieve. If Hoshiumi didn't stop him, how long would've Hirugami been aimlessly chasing his own demise?

Hoshiumi & Hirugami's Middle School Relationship (sub-category of Hirugami's backstory)

I think that Hoshiumi and Hirugami have quite similar philosophies! Both are centered around hard work and the need to improve, to become better. However, here's the difference: Hoshiumi's more accepting, acknowledging the harsh reality that he's weak. There are stronger people out there, which is why he NEEDS to be competitive and strive for improvement in order to avoid lagging behind his competition. If Hoshiumi makes any mistakes, he most likely would take it as a learning opportunity and eventually shrug it off. He already knows he gives everything his all, so any mistakes he encounters are not an outcome of laziness or lack of effort. On the other hand, Hirugami's is more degrading. It's harsher, taking any mistake he makes and echoing it back at him in a harmful manner, telling him that he could've- should've done better, that there were ways Hirugami could've gotten that last point, that the smallest mistake he made would affect the way he and his team played. There's no room for error because if there is, then there's something wrong with him. And because of their difference in philosophies, I believe that led them to interact when Sachiro finally crumbles and hurts himself.

While re-reading Sachiro's backstory, I got the impression that he and Hoshiumi barely interacted during their middle school days, so I asked myself: why would Sachiro tell Hoshiumi, an all-time bench warmer, that he doesn't like volleyball? The few times we've seen middle school Hoshiumi and Hirugami interact besides the self-harm scene were they only getting brief glimpses of one another. The panel above shows Hirugami briefly noticing Hoshiumi, acknowledging that he's still practising this late at night, then shrugging it off and walking back to the canteen. Well, Hoshiumi just helped him out of a daze during a difficult moment. Hirugami's head is now above the deep, dark water called his thoughts, so he's most likely disorientated. He's shaken up by the pain in his knuckles that are finally alerting his senses and at the same time, he's settled on a simple conclusion: He doesn't like volleyball anymore. And in that moment of silent anguish, who else could he let out this confession to? Any walls Hirugami has put up during this time are now knocked down by raw vulnerability. He needs to speak and ground himself, to let his mind finally acknowledge that he doesn't want to continue playing volleyball like this. And it just so happens that Hoshiumi is also there to hear this statement. There is no hesitation in Hoshiumi, not when he offers a tissue for Sachiro to clean up his bloodied hands, not when he listens to Hirugami's sudden, sensitive confession and simply asks, "Okay. Why don't you quit?", a question that Hirugami didn't consider nor thought possible before. He doesn't coddle but offers Sachiro advice that he could take or leave behind. Korai doesn't forcefully press the tissue packet into Sachiro's hands, nor continues to show his discomfort at the sight of the other boy's wounds despite the response being natural. His steadiness and composure are reassuring, allowing Hirugami to take his time to calm down and process his thoughts and the advice that Hoshiumi has given him. Also, Hoshiumi's advice is structured more like a conversation, if that makes sense. Hoshiumi is straightforward and honest and his words hold no flattery when he points out Hirugami's strengths, something that he can't achieve as easily as the other could. He's not making a big deal out of the situation and is staying calm yet helpful, which is essential. Because of his approach and advice, Hoshiumi unknowingly helps to give Hirugami an entirely new perspective, when he probably intended to only stop him from harming himself even further. (I also believe that Hirugami revealed this thought to Hoshiumi because sometimes, people find it easier to talk to strangers than the family or friends that they are close to.)

Little note: I love how supportive HiruHoshi are of one another!! Throughout the manga, we can see how close they are; Hoshiumi has always been there for Hirugami, ever since they first properly interacted in middle school until the end of their high school days. And of course, during adulthood. Hirugami visibly reciprocates this by taking the time to understand Hoshiumi, learning his story and other things like his thought process and quirks in volleyball.

Sachiro's View on Volleyball

One of the special arts that included Hirugami called him 'dispassionate' and I found that very interesting. It highlights his whole stance on volleyball; He likes it, but after all that he's been through, Hirugami would rather leave it behind and watch from the sidelines. He likes it, but he's not going to get overwhelmed by it again, unlike the other Kamomedai members or characters in Haikyuu. This time, Hirugami has set the goal of playing volleyball only until the end of high school. Knowing that he will get to quit after all these years, that these long periods of burnout will finally come to an end, its a relief to him. Hirugami still has a love for volleyball, but he understands that his relationship with the sport will not go back to the original, passionate state that it was before. And he's accepted that. He wants to play the sport without getting drowned in those overwhelming thoughts, he wants to have fun and not let volleyball take over his life. It doesn't matter if his talent in volleyball gets wasted. So what if it does? Hirugami knows what he wants in life now and wants to pursue it.

Dispassion can come off as someone having no passion, but that's not true; it's simply another meaning for being calm and not letting emotion take over logic.

Parallels with Asahi

Also noted that he and Asahi have some parallels! Not as much or obvious as Hinata and Hoshiumi, but it's there! Even the summary for Volume 40 acknowledges this!

Both characters have had a past with or are currently experiencing overthinking, along with how it affects their attitude and behaviour during games and or in general. Their arcs are connected to their mental health/well-being and how volleyball, the sport they play, are closely intertwined. However, Asahi's character does seem to be more centred around anxiety and how it can affect his gameplay and social life. Meanwhile, Sachiro's character has a more intense focus on the depression that can come from burnout and the effects it can develop. Yet both of these characters share the pressure of needing to be better, the need to live up to certain expectations that have been placed on them consciously or not. For Asahi, it's being the ace. And for Sachiro, it used to be, well, being good at volleyball.

Throughout the entire story of Haikyuu, we can note that Asahi is still trying to get over the overthinking that his anxiety has given him- he's struggling with the thoughts, which have been shown to affect his plays and his relationships. Asahi is learning to have more faith in his abilities, to go easier on himself and stop wallowing in his negativity. Meanwhile, Sachiro is shown to have already gotten past that. Has he made a full recovery? I don't think so. But he's shown to have not been affected by expectations anymore; He's over that burden and he knows that even if things get tough, volleyball is just a game. If he makes a mistake, Sachiro knows he won't die. It's a sport he enjoys, but there are simply other things in life that he has more passion for. He's just currently focusing on having fun with volleyball and trying his best.

Hoshiumi Kōrai

The Little Giant Legacy

If you care about either Hinata or Hoshiumi, you would know that the cause of their rivalry is the pursuit of the 'Little Giant' title. It makes sense after all! Both players are considered astoundingly short for their sport, have great jumping lengths and are considered amazing players by their team, just like the original Little Giant, Udai (who changed his mind on the pursuit of volleyball and went on to do manga instead). Personally, I believe that the moment their rivalry was officially solidified was actually at the end of Chapter 361 and the beginning of Chapter 362!

This panel was when Hoshiumi started to develop some respect for Hinata, recognising him as a potential rival he wanted to go against. But before it, when Hinata jumps and manages to spike the ball against Kamomedai's defence, Hoshiumi recalls a statement he made earlier, one he gave to the interviewer: "Yes, being short is a disadvantage...but it isn't a sign of incompetence."

And this panel establishes just how similar they are. They haven't heard one another's philosophies, yet they share it already. Gao acknowledges it with an expression of unease, and even Sachiro thinks, "He's just like Korai-kun." For this part, I will focus on these four people due to their connection with one another: Hinata, Hoshiumi, Udai and Coach Washijo. These four characters have experienced how height can be an extreme hurdle to overcome in sports.

According to Udai, the original 'Little Giant', he talks about how he knew he was the ace back in the day and how he deserved to feel confident over it. However, as Udai grew up, it is implied that the pressuring competition experienced at nationals most likely got to him. Udai assumed that if he trained himself even more, and focused on improving his skills and technique, it would be enough to keep up. But there was one thing he forgot to factor in: mentality. In fact, I think Udai does acknowledge this as well! It's why he politely shoots down Akiteru's comparison compliment of his and Hoshiumi's playstyle. Udai points out during the match that if he was in one of the situations that Hoshiumi was in, he would've failed at scoring as he would've spiked the ball down instead of back, a sign that the block intimidated him and made him retreat. "Hoshiumi has far better skill and decision-making than I ever did." Referring to Volume 41, Udai gives this mental narration while watching Hoshiumi set the ball to Hirugami: 'Know your weaknesses. Accept them. Forget the weapons you can't wield. Find all the ones you can...and carefully, persistently hone them all to a wicked point. That is what it means...to be a Little Giant.' Between these two pages, we can note that Udai is also eagerly watching Hoshiumi's play, with a determination that we can conclude from that if Udai had to pass down the title personally to anyone, he would most definitely choose Hoshiumi. If Hinata has Coach Washijo rooting for him, then Udai is the one who is silently applauding for Hoshiumi from the sidelines. (Fun fact! In Volume 45, in a small panel that features Udai, we can see him drawing his second manga series and the main character looks reallyyyy similar to Hoshiumi,,,)

All four characters know that they are weak when it comes to volleyball. However, Udai and Washijo are the ones to have been shown to crumble under that knowledge, accompanied by other factors that have made them resign from the court and pursue another path. Yet, that other path is still connected to volleyball. For Udai, it was making a manga based on it; For Coach Washijo, it was becoming a coach and only cultivating those with strong potential.

Coach Washijo has been burdened by the knowledge that his height restricted his ability to play so severely that it's firmly become a staple of his philosophy, that he'll only take in the strongest and biggest, keeping that mindset for 40 years. He only starts to change his mind when Hinata enters the scene; Not when Udai started playing and became Karasuno's ace years ago. Yet, Coach Washijo remains resistant to the idea that a player like Hinata or Hoshiumi can make it. (We don't see what he thinks about Hoshiumi, but I think his view would be similar to how he views Hinata, but not as personal 🤷) Over the time of Haikyuu- and by the time we reach the Kamomedai vs Karasuno match, Washijo's mindset has already begun shifting into a more positive view. He's started becoming more open and eager to the idea of a 'Little Giant', finally accepting that the harsh reality he faced back then is now possible to overcome. I believe that the match and the development of the fun rivalry between Hoshiumi and Hinata contribute to it, even if it isn't hinted at that often.

Turning back the focus onto Hoshiumi and Hinata, their rivalry is simply a beautiful thing to witness, especially considering the legacy both these players are chasing and discovering the respect they have for one another despite being one another's biggest competition. (also something something about the monster generation players on the Adlers team being the people who are the top three rivals Hinata has experienced in the entirety of the story,,,,yeah)

Referring to a panel from Volume 41 (again), Hoshiumi confesses to Hirugami that compared to other competitor teams, where he states that he simply wants to go through them no matter how good they were, Karasuno is one that he truly wants to beat. This intimidating statement sends a shiver up Hirugami's spine, which is something considering the handful of panels we get of him making a sadistic expression throughout this match. From this interaction between the two, we can interpret that up until this point, Hoshiumi did give his all to help his team win against several other teams to get to Nationals, but most likely didn't experience much competitive thrill during those matches and had to hype himself up by beating opponents who would underestimate him due to his smaller stature. Yet now, he finally gets the competition he desires. In Nationals, every team has been proven to be good. No one's planning to overestimate or underestimate anyone, there's simply no time for that. The time on the court is precious, meant to be used to win against whichever team is on the other side of the net. And like a cherry on top, there is someone like him. Someone gunning for the same thing he desired- Hoshiumi and Hinata's relationship can be classified under 'mirror characters'. Or in a more literary viewpoint, parallels. Typically, this trope is used to give the protagonist a rival, which is one of the reasons why Hoshiumi was created. Hoshiumi's role in the story is necessary as considering the other two main 'rivals' Hinata faces in the story (Ushijima as the Privileged Rival and Kageyama as the Main Rival, referring to TV Tropes), both of them seem to have more of the upper hand due to their height and long experience with getting the chance to play on the court consistently. With the presence of Hoshiumi, his character further drives the message that whether or not you have been given blessings from the start or have access to certain opportunities, working hard & smart along with having passion are also essential elements that you require in order to achieve the success you want.

"They come to us with solid, undeniable strength, and make us choose them."

The Need For Competition

Disclaimer: I do NOT have any siblings. So if I do accidentally miss-analyse anything in this section, I sincerely apologize 🙇 But yeah. Akitomo. Although we BARELY see him for the rest of the manga, he still has an essential role- if not, why do we need him in the first place? Furudante gives every character a purpose, whether or not they're major or minor. From Kōrai's backstory, we can see that he and his brother have your usual competitive sibling rivalry and whatnot. Akitomo bullies him and Kōrai retorts. But I think that this manga panel solidified Kōrai's need to be competitive and the desire to drive himself to improve in every area of volleyball possible (besides his mother's helpful advice that also plays a huge role in his philosophy).

This was the utter devastating realisation that he was so much weaker than Akitomo, despite Akitomo not knowing how the fuck to play volleyball. Kōrai learned that sport, dedicated and invested himself into it, yet here comes his brother, easily taking away the spotlight and spiking the ball without breaking a sweat. Just a jump and a hit, and boom. He could be replaced like that. Akitomo has always teased Kōrai over his height, yet this moment was most likely one of several that Hoshiumi experienced and solidified his understanding of how weak he was, and there were some things that he simply couldn't change from just effort and hard work alone. But with Asa's advice, Kōrai also understood that just because some doors were shut to him didn't mean the rest were. Some doors required a bit of prying to open, while some were already waiting to be discovered, and all Kōrai needed was to find and sharpen the required tools. Throughout the manga, there is a theme of competitiveness and how it affects the lives of the high school players on the court. We see how it affects them for the better and also the worse. We see how regardless of its positive or negative effects, these teenagers strive for improvement, to learn how to work with others as a team, and the list goes on. Hoshiumi is an example of a character who has a good balance of competitiveness and passion, which keeps him going in his pursuit of being good at volleyball. But in a moment of vulnerability (not defeat), he suddenly turns to Gao during the match and admits that there were times when he'd given up a little, starting to feel there were limits to the height he could reach. I believe that this statement was essential for Hoshiumi to admit out loud, as it further shows us that even a character as confident and competitive as him can eventually start to feel the pressure of keeping up and even almost let it get to him. But it seems that by the end of the manga, all the effort Hoshiumi has put into his own improvement in both body and mind, along with letting his competitiveness drive his passion instead of control him, he manages to achieve not only a spot on one of the best V1 League teams in Japan but also becomes a player on the Japan National Team for the Olympics. The seeds he's sown have finally grown and now Hoshiumi can reap his rewards as he rightfully deserves.

Someone once told me that competition was simply part of human nature. It can come in forms we never thought possible, but it's still there. Sports, academics, collections, status, and so on. It doesn't matter what form this competitiveness comes in, but it does matter how we use it in our lives. Do we let it control us and our desires in turn? Or do we use it as fuel to strive for improvement, to make a positive change in our lives and for others as well?

Kamomedai's Message

The Importance Of A Coach

Aaron Murphy is the coach for Kamomedai and according to the manga, his background and qualifications make him stand out amongst the range of other coaches we've seen in the story. He's a coach for one of Italy's Pro Series A leagues for years, took a Japan V2 League team and made them V1, and many kids on the volleyball team purely attended Kamomedai High just to play for him. He's a pro through and through- you'd expect him to be harsh, to have multiple well-detailed training schedules for his team, to push the limits of his players- similar to Coach Washijo, who's also a coach for a powerhouse school that is amazing at volleyball and set up to be one of the biggest antagonists Karasuno will ever face. But he's not! He seems to be a far cry from that. According to an onlooker (and referencing the manga again), people view him as a coach who doesn't seem to stand out too much, despite knowing he has an incredible record of being one. Meanwhile, Coach Washijo only looks for players with raw strength and power, the ability to intimidate and rule the court with their impressive height and skill and he will cut them off from their position if they refuse to listen to him. He's painfully harsh and it's evident in the way we've seen how his players react when he merely calls their names. Coach Washjio is intimidating and fierce, something you'd expect from a coach who has cultivated a team that's produced some of the most impressive players in the history of Haikyuu. Yet this treatment stems from his background, where Washijo was not allowed to play volleyball because of his height. We don't know a lick of Coach Murphy's backstory, but that's okay! It's unrequired to dissect his importance and why someone like him fits perfectly with Kamomedai's message and significance in the story, along with implied effects on Hirugami and Hoshiumi's philosophies.

Earlier, I stated that Udai gave up on volleyball because the pressure of intense competition got to him. It was good that he knew that improving his skills and technique could help him make up for his height, but Udai forgot about improving one thing that Coach Murphy had emphasised when training the Kamomedai team: Mindset. (Or more accurately, mental toughness) Through short moments in Volume 41, we can see that Coach Murphy focuses on mental training. Furudante could've shown us how intensely he trains Kamomedai, as he does mention that serving and blocking are the other two skills that he wants to train the team in (and Kamomedai is well-known for those two aspects), but we only get a brief panel showing us how sweaty and exhausted the whole team is. Yet, during that moment, the focus is on Coach Murphy talking about mindset, before directing the team to scenario practice. In the same volume, Akaashi recognizes that not one, not two, but the whole Kamomedai team is capable of doing task focus throughout the game, something that he barely managed to do in Volume 38. Akaashi is a character that is typically perceived as someone who is very calm and collected due to his analytical nature, but in Fukurodani matches we get to see that he doesn't have a good view of himself and tends to have negative thoughts that are similar to Asahi. A character like Akaashi noticing and making this connection further emphasizes how the players on Kamomedai are exceptional at their way of thinking, besides their serves and blocking.

We can see that his teachings have effects on his players and that's great! Reflecting on my earlier comparison between him and Coach Washijo, his methods are tough and intensive, but they're not excessive and seem to value both physical and mental health equally. Although Coach Murphy and Coach Washijo have years of experience training volleyball players, only one of them has experience looking over a professional team of athletes. Coach Murphy focuses on taking the players he has and helping them to hone their skills, instead of filtering through them and only picking ones who have the most potential. He looks at the cards he's dealt with and figures out how to make the best use of them. There's an air of professionalism with the way he handles and talks to his players, in my opinion- he's playful at times, but Coach Murphy's words are also grounding and firm. In a way, his method is very similar to gentle parenting (if that makes sense haha). His healthy way of teaching has affected his players, assisting them on their journey of improving their thinking in both their games and outside of the court. In Volume 41 and on the same page that the players of Kamomedai are briefly shown to be undergoing training, Coach Murphy's advice clearly addresses potential physical or mental obstacles players can face during a match- 'What happened was either a failure of your skill...or a failure of your decision-making process and mental control'. Murphy also states that they should make success a larger habit, before following up that a thought along the lines of "Oh, I'm having an off day today" isn't an excuse, unless the player themselves are sick or hurt. From this, it's implied that Coach Murphy is advising his players to pursue success but not let a negative mindset prevent them from doing so. Coach Murphy's second statement also supports the point that his training is gentle but firm by implying that he guides his players on how to properly reflect on their mistakes and spot areas of improvement before making the next step (which is solving the issue). Kamomedai's slogan is 'Habit Becomes Second Nature', which further supports the purpose and message of the team in the story of Haikyuu. Combined with Coach Murphy's teachings, it's no surprise that Kamomedai will not only grow as a team, but their players will also become people who persist despite undergoing harsh conditions. It's why they're closely linked to seagulls (and also why Hoshiumi resembles and is heavily based on one); To quote Coach Murphy, Kamome means 'seagull'. Seagulls can handle sea or sky, fair weather or foul, no matter what.

So, what is Kamomedai's purpose and message in the manga? From all the evidence I've gathered, I believe that the team exists to show the viewers and other characters in the story the importance of mindset besides skill, to carefully train yourself to persist in doing or achieving something despite obstacles in your way and that if something bad happens, it's not good to beat yourself up. Instead, careful reflection is required if you wish to improve and avoid making the same mistake again. Take care of yourself, both physically and mentally.

But then again, this analysis might be a bit biased as Kamomedai is one of my favourite teams and I've typed a crap-ton of words for this, phewwwwww. My brain is dry now. So if you have any other views on them, feel free to reply to this! I'm all up for discussion :3

[universal-casey]

I think ... we need some Soviet facts / headcanons .. We may all hate his ass but let's hear some stuff abt that man -🌠🌪

Hmmmm well…

He used to be a bar brawler. And he also fought in an underground boxing ring. You can imagine just how crazy those matches would get, considering that not just the Prince, but the Prince of the *Country* Royal family, was beating the shit out of people in a boxing ring.

His fear of rats came from when he woke up after being knocked out in a match in an alley with his kidney missing and rats gnawing at the stitches. He still only has one kidney. Never lost a match again.

He met Mother Russia in a bar. He’d actually heard of her before: a Country with no land and raised by humans, the people. She fascinated him. She thought he was a pompous prince who didn’t understand real struggle and just thought it was a game. I love my tropey romance <3

Mother Russia’s favorite animals were chickens. The chickens Soviet keeps currently are all descended from her original flock.

He has SEVERE back issues. He was a bean sprout as a kid (Russia’s stockiness actually comes from Mama Rus), and skyrocketed from 5’11 to 7’0 in his teen years. Already had back issues from that. And then he grew again at the height of the pre-1991 USSR. And AGAIN from post-1991 events. His full height is 8 feet, but his slouch reduces him to around 7’9.

His eyesight is shit. Genuinely it is a wonder he is able to get around. (He uses reading glasses— reading glass lol)

Actively crumbling and falling apart. He can FEEL how the inner workings of the USSR is beginning to crumble faster and faster as his own exterior deteriorates. It drives him mad.

America was once someone he looked up to.

He secretly misses American barbecue sauce.

(And just to clarify, he never had a crush on America. He was more an inspiration)

[charyou-tree]

Buckle up, I have a whole rant locked and loaded about this one:

For people born before that demographic, computers weren't around when they were growing up, so its understandable that they're playing catch-up.

People in that demographic grew up with desktop/laptop computers that worked pretty much the same as you would expect from a general office PC or school computer, so the skills they learned playing/modding games or messaging their friends through a web browser directly translated to useful office skills later. Even basic things like using Word, installing programs, navigating folders, using a keyboard, were all taught implicitly by self-motivated kids messing around with the family computer, and often teaching their friends to play together. I remember the assumption being that kids would always be better at tech than their parents because they were "digital natives" who learned how best to use it young. This may have caused a kind of complacency about teaching kids how to use technology, which I'll come back to later.

For people born after that demographic, we enter the era of smart-devices being most people's primary computing appliance, and the era of "the app". It doesn't make sense for many families to buy a multiple-hundred-dollar minimum PC/laptop when they're probably already paying that much for everybody to have a phone that does "nearly as much".

Through a deliberate effort by major software enterprises, consumers were deliberately kept in the dark about how the software they used actually worked. App stores are walled gardens of proprietary software that can't be modified or even verified that it does what it says. Sure, any toddler can semi-use an ipad, but the trade off is that even skilled users are inherently limited in what they're able to accomplish on such a system. And none of the skills of navigating between game/social media apps on a touchscreen really translate to practical skills that will help in any sort of academic or professional environment.

When I was a TA for undergraduate physics courses, getting the adult students to download and install a piece of free software was like pulling teeth, but it was hardly the student's fault. Half of them were using locked-down chromebooks that defaulted to saving everything somewhere in the cloud, so even getting a file downloaded, much less installed and executable, was made deliberately near-impossible.

Meanwhile, in the ~30, arguably 40 years since Personal Computers have revolutionized home life and office tasks, hardly anywhere have those skills been added to school curricula! We're still operating as though the internet is a neat fad that might pass any day now. Although really, its because schools are barely able to offer what they presently do being chronically starved of funding by a society that doesn't value educating their children.

So, the net result of this is there's a narrow window of people who grew up after computers were affordable but before they became enshittified and deliberately less-capable app-based devices became the default that actually learned non-trivial PC skills en masse.

That's not to say nobody outside that demographic knows anything about computers! My maternal grandfather is 85 and he built his own last 3 PCs! And there are still plenty of kids cooking up their own Minecraft mods with their friends, but the younger-millennial older-gen-z demographic had some unique advantages when it came to learning about technology.

Technological literacy only exists in a very slim age demographic of people born from roughly 1980 to roughly 2007

[stil-lindigo]

ashes to ashes.

a short comic about the day Ash was born.

Ash's story

Red and Wolf's story

notes:

--

all my other comics

store

[qprpbj]

everything that happens in the outsiders - on the greasers side - is foundationally because of poverty. like literally everything comes back to the fact that these kids come from absolutely nothing and have to fight and steal and scavenge and indulge in recklessness and violence to live. nobody in the story is inherently violent or vicious. conflating being violent because of your surroundings & where you were born with violent aggressive tendencies being something you’re just like born with and can’t help as if it’s in your bones or your blood solely because they’re poor ppl who have to fight to survive is demonizes poverty!!!

also like the outsiders was written by a fifteen year old who wrote the bare bones but frankly glosses over SO much - it’s a kids book to be fair - that realistically would’ve been ever present in these kids lives. realistically, people who grow up in circumstances similar to them are born in environments chock full of addiction, self harm, mental illness, physical illness, suicide, murder, neglect, domestic violence, rape, gangs, organized crime, not having any healthy or safe food to eat, food stamps, welfare, not having water at home, utilities being shut off, dangerous unsafe houses, no houses, people selling their bodies for money, child labour, teen pregnancy, foster care, having little or no proper education, no healthy role models, few/unsafe job opportunities, being taken advantage of for your work, being underpaid, deeply foundational systemic racism, not having accessible trustworthy healthcare, issues with the court, cps, biased legal systems. the list literally goes on forever. these are all interconnected symptoms of poverty! and they are not things that are inherent to anybody’s existence!! people who are born into these severe types of situations are never given a chance to thrive and all of the greasers know this. they don’t get the luxury of indulging in most things the middle or upper class kids do, and even then, the curtis brothers are some of the LUCKY ones. they had two loving stable present parents and food on the table and lights on and extra curriculars!!! they get opportunities even others in their own gang don’t get!!!

all of this is literally WHY darry fought as hard as he did to get out and why he came home the minute he knew he needed to, why he gave up his whole future of breaking cycles to stay stuck in the poor life he grew up in, because he’s inherently nurturing and caring, and he fights both generally and for his brothers because he has to, not because he wants to. dally is proud of his record because he doesn’t have anything else to be proud of bc he’s been a victim of circumstance his whole entire life. johnny knows he’s never gonna be able to fight hard enough to get out of the cycle he was born into. & the greasers being as cavalier as they are about these kind of things happens when people are so desensitized that they don’t notice it occurring around them anymore, and generally the gang sticks to their own and tries not to cause shit with other people. they don’t fight because they want to, they fight out of necessity. even darry. even dally!!!! & i’d be remiss to mention that breaking poverty cycles and intergenerational trauma and abuse when you’re given nothing to work with is truly one of the toughest things someone can do for themselves

tbh idek where i was even going with all this but i just rly want ppl to know that as obvious as it all might sound these are very very real things and not just like book fiction trauma porn plots nor do people wrapped up in systemic issues like these make them inherently bad or inherently violent or inherently aggressive. both these kids and real life people deserve research and care and careful choices of words and observing internal biases and to be talked about, but talked about correctly!!!

[kinokoshoujoart]

the coolest kids in forgotten valley!!☆

(…it seems there may have been a stretch of time where rock and lumina were the only kids in forgotten valley…🥲)

poseref

[milolunde]

We all know Timmy is Wanda’s mama’s boy but we need to keep in mind he’s still Cosmo’s kid too and that Cosmo would love him just as vehemently as Wanda

[no27-chilis-honda]

ahead of saturday's bruins v panthers game hello hockeyblr trent frederic is a st. louis boy and im legally obligated to make fun of all stl guys like this

[katsdynam1ght]

i need you all to understand and remember that mha takes place like 200 years in the future and there are people with literal windex bottles and guns for heads. queerness is probably the last concern of most parents these days. quirks and mutations are a much bigger issue

“kats what do you mean touya’s the reason natsuo’s homophobic” because he and his boyfriend-then-husband keigo can’t keep their hands off each other and natsuo thinks it’s gross. (for any aftg fans out there it’s like aaron with nicky ok)

“aren’t rei and enji more likely to be—” no. i don’t care how traditionally they were raised. enji is obsessed with all might and while it is fine for a man to be obsessed with another man without having feelings for him, there is an inherent layer of homoeroticism there (not necessarily queerness, but definitely homoeroticism) and even subconsciously i think enji can understand there’s something to all of that. he just doesn’t ever process it consciously. i genuinely do not think this man has it in him to be homophobic he has too much else to worry about (and he loves his family. if they’re happy who cares who they’re into)

rei, on the other hand, though she grew up with a certain set of standards, i believe works very hard to break away from all of those biases. again, she loves her family. as long as everyone’s happy, that’s really all she wants to see. she can’t control her children’s lives and she wouldn’t want to—that sort of behavior is what got them into all of this mess to begin with

“okay well why is natsuo—” i told you already also he canonically has a girlfriend (future wife? idk i haven’t read the manga i’ve just seen the panel) and he’s too much like my brother (i.e. the only straight person out of four kids) for me to ignore his blatant heterosexuality. also if you ask me i think he’s far more prone to repeating the abuse cycle than anyone in the family but that’s a topic for another day

“fuyumi?” lesbian. if anything deals with comphet. but i think by default she feels more secure and free around other women. even though she loves her father there are still impacts of bearing witness to his abusive behavior over the years and i think that is imprinted into every interaction she has with men her age and older throughout her life. she deserves a woman/women who will love and cherish her better than a man could

i will take no criticisms about touya as we should all be well aware by now that dabihawks is the only ship i can put him in. anything else and he loses his opportunities to be a better person and i am morally obligated to hate him. also sorry touya but keigo is the only person who can genuinely love you as you are. nobody else would be so attuned to your mood swings and so patient with your tantrums. also he wants to bite you a little bit but you’ll enjoy that

and finally

shouto: poly class A is all i’ll say about him

let the record show i do not care at all what anyone else’s opinions are about these characters. you will not change my mind. as far as i’m concerned everything i say is canon and i have the writing skill to back it up. i will be writing fic with all of this eventually

thank you and goodnight

sorry but i’m convinced natsuo is the only straight person in the todoroki family. he’s only homophobic because of touya though. (he would be more homophobic if he knew about his dad but i don’t think enji even processes his own sexuality so none of them know)

[laugtherhyena]

3:23AM, time to post Hatamori fankid and retreat back into my hiding hole

[zafiro-anyejo]

very few 'parenting' things frustrate me more than parents who give their screaming kids an ipad, but I think "emotionally neglectful for 20 years and then wondering why their kid isn't thriving/adjusting to adulthood well, so they try to make up for it by being an overbearing helicopter parent" might take the cake.