#anyway thanks for coming to my TED talk

[tides-that-bind-us]

The Zorca Clans

One of the many cool things I learned about orca are all the eco-types! At first glance I thought they were all the same but turns out there are tons of differences in each pod, making them unique in their own way. And I wanted to incorporate that into my zorca ✊

The Zorca are split into four clans. Originally I was trying to give them names based on musical terms to follow the theme with Sidon and his family. Later it dawned on me to name them after the various whale/fish deities from the games.

Clan Levias (Skyward Sword)

Clan Marin (Link's Awakening. She's not a whale, but she does sing Ballad of the Wind Fish)

Clan Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)

Clan Jabun (Wind Waker)

This is gonna get long so the rest will be under a cut!

*suplexes you with more orca facts* YOU FELL INTO MY TRAP!!!

The Levias Zorca are based on resident killer whales, their diet is primarily fish and they have what's called an open saddle patch! (which gives them a hook like shape) Resident orca tend to stay in defined areas where their fish prey stick to. Levias zorca use echolocation and team coordination when hunting, with everyone taking on specific roles!

Marin Zorca are based on Bigg's killer whales also known as transients! They eat a wider variety of marine life, from seals, to sharks, and other cetaceans👀 Like the Bigg's orca, Marin Zorca migrate as they search for food. While they use echolocation as well, they have a number or hunting techniques ranging from stealth tactics, blunt force trauma, and coordinated chases to wear down their prey!

Clan Oshus are based on B-type orca (which is split into two sub types, B1 and B2) These guys are so fascinating! They live up in the waters of Antarctica and they're often a brown yellowish color, which is caused by cold water algae called diatoms. They have a stripe that connects the saddle patch to the eye patch called a dorsal cape. And every so often they travel to areas to clean off the algae. SPA TRIP! Being close neighbors, they hunt with Jabun zorca from time to time. Seals in particular are a tasty but hard-to-reach treat on the ice, so they developed a unique way to fix that!

Clan Jabun are based on D-type orca! Another artic/sub arctic dwelling eco-type. They have bulbous heads and very small eyepatches, sometimes no eye patch at all. They're also super secluded which makes it difficult for researchers to study them. But they have found these orca are one of the most inbred mammals in the world. Something the Jabun Zorca are doing their best to avoid!

Phantom Zorca! Not an eco-type but they're based on sightings of white orca seen throughout the years. Frosty and Tl'uk inspired Kaska (even though I started leaning towards a cream color than grey now), and there is Iceberg who was first sighted back in 2010 in Russia. And there have been several sightings in Japan! It was said there were reports of melanistic orca in the past but no photos of any so far! Phantom zorcas are not too common, but they're not treated any differently from their black and white cousins meaning theyre not seen as bad omens and such. But if you happen to see one, then for certain one of their parents must be from Clan Oshus!

The relationship with their zora neighbors is tenuous at best. Oshus and Jabun are rarely seen, which means any encounters hylian's have are with Levias and Marin zorca. The Zorca absolutely do NOT see any of the hylian races as food, but their elusiveness, size, and unfortunate encounters have only worsened their reputation for being demons of the sea.

Diplomats, like Kaska, have tried to establish contact with other zora territories to help waylay these fears, but the zorca still struggle since they are so hard to keep in contact with. They have no kingdom of their own, and have been considered vagrants and mindless eaters thanks to baseless rumors.

The ironic thing is zorcas are extremely generous to those who show them kindness. Befriend one individual and you befriend the entire pod (and the same is true if someone is cruel!) All one has to do is be brave give them a chance!

[vvanillavveins]

Is she Lucy Westenra, or is she just a vessel for the writer's barely disguised fantasy of a women being punished for her promiscuity? Is she really"Bram Stoker's" Lucy Westenra: a naive, innocent 19 year old, with a cheery personality and a bright future ahead of her? Or has the writer instead just slapped her name on an OC that behaves nothing like her, and- with none of the grace or decorum that Lucy's tragically short story deserves- sexualized her slow and agonising death as much as possible, whilst very unsubtly doing their best to blame her for being murdered, so that we won't object to her being killed again later in an even more gruesome and sexual manner?

[markscherz]

You are everything I aspire to be

If parenting has taught me anything, it is the importance of getting down on your hands and knees and teaching not just facts, but love and enthusiasm for the natural world.

This is my son Q and me. I have dozens of photos like this by now, even though he is just two years old.

Every chance I get, I will kneel down with him and show him the little creatures all around us. Especially when they are frogs. He loves frogs for some reason. No idea why.

It is important that we all see this together. It is beautiful. It is magnificent. We are here. It is improbable to the highest degree. It is fleeting, but it is everything we get. And we can get so, so much of it. If we just get our faces into it and really absorb it.

So that's what l'm trying to do here, I guess. Get all of you to join me in the reeds. And I am so happy to have so many of you along for the journey.

[hilsonamore]

i don’t get people who don’t ship hilson because like- what more evidence would you want to convince you that they were in love with each other? Seriously, apart form the kiss and the canonical sex etc etc, what more is there? Love confessions? Done. Over-protectiveness? Done. Self-sacrifice? Done. Longing, loving stares? Done. Everyone else being aware of the tension between them? Done. Taking care of each other during difficult times? Done. Being silly and cute only around each other? Done. Always, even after the worst of scenarios have taken place, coming back together? Done. Literally not being able to function normally if the other is unwell/ there’s a rift in their relationship? Done. Being protective of each other when someone dares insult them? Done. Giving up their EVERYTHING just to be together? Done.

Like, WHAT MORE IS THERE?

[blairaptor]

Crosshair and Echo acting like me with my brother

[curioussubjects]

my take on mel's level of sexual experience is that she's kissed people before but never had sex. 1. because she has trouble connecting with people, and i think it'd be hard for her to get close enough to someone that sex would a possibility (if she did have a partner at any point though i think it's likely college before her parents died) and 2. with med school and taking care of becca where would she find the time to meet someone and build up to that point (even in a fwb type situation). and that's not even considering any potential asexuality at play (ymmv on that one).

her solo play game is insane though. you know how much sensory fun an autistic girl can have with a modest trove of sex toys? you're gonna tell me she didn't go on a rabbit hole researching kink just for fun? the smut she's been reading on the bus? you're telling me she doesn't have a favorite brand of lube? sex is so weird and fun and fascinating as part of the human condition but also the science of it!

and does her practical inexperience motivate her to learn all she can about sex in theory to make up for it? (in terms of medical practice, i mean).

but also mel who craves connecting with other people and is deeply curious about sexual intimacy, personally

which is all to say that if anybody is blushing is frank when he reads through mel's non-comprehensive list of all the stuff she couldn't do by herself that she wants to do with him. she even taught him a couple things

[coladaminx]

It's such a shame grizzly teacher isn't alive because after years of not seeing Ron THIS IS WHAT HE HEARS! I would have a lot of questions lol and even after asking toto what they are to each other even he doesn't seem to believe it

[sleepyistinky]

Mexican Jason Todd save me Mexican Jason Todd

Ik this was his ass after he got out of the manor and actually managed to get his hands on one of these bad boys.

HC that people think he's white from a distance but then he starts speaking fluently in Spanish and suddenly all the Mexican Gothamite grandma's are surrounding him talking about 'ay mijo you're so tall and big you better be eating enough I'll feed you how do you feel about some tortillas, sopa, maybe some enchiladas, orange rice and beans?' and some other mexican food idk I'm a no sabo kid

Jason is regularly invited to parties at Mexican households especially around Christmas and new years and when he gets there he gets forced into the assembly line. They love him because he does it like a professional. Also he will fuck up a bowl of Pozole and menudo

Someone draw him as this, that elote will be gone in an hour

[that-really-dungeons-my-dragons]

I can not explain how obsessed I am with Chip's first subclass feature being Fancy Footwork and how it ties into his character. I've talked about it before, but just...

It fits him so well. He's a character who survives by compartmentalizing a lot. If something is hard to deal with, or inconvenient, or scary to him, he just puts it in a box and leaves it there. He evades. He avoids.

The reality of his appearance now as an undead? Don't want to think about that too seriously. Stick a magic bandana on that shit and cover it up!

The likelihood of Arlin being either dead or Worse? He literally can't process that thought. Stick it in a box and bury it with false optimism and hope that even he's not sure he really believes.

Accidental marriage he doesn't want to be a part of? He will be faking his death and fleeing and then denying it being real at every opportunity.

Best friend gives him the best kiss of his life? He will be shutting down any subsequent attempt to talk about it and pretending it never happened, thank you!

Like this is just a handful of examples, there are many more. He has to be really pushed, either by other characters or the circumstances, to confront things like this. So the concept of his go-to move being about getting out of Situations like that is just so... it fits him. Like yeah, that's Chip. I want to tear my own hair out at how well he's been crafted to blend his mechanics with his roleplay flavor.

[kingofanemptyworld]

Rin, identity issues, and the complications of being an isolated, alienated teenager

It feels sort of weird to say but I generally don’t head canon characters as having particular sexualities. Whatever people go for in fics is usually fine with me - gay, lesbian, bi, pan, something more general like queer. As long as it makes sense for the story they’ve built and the character they’ve shaped to fit it, I’m good. Unless you’re ignoring a canon LGBTQ+ sexuality, in which case, yeah, I’ll take issue with that.

But anyway. Rin.

I’ve got my personal ship for him (BonRin my beloved), but regardless of the pairing I see him as bisexual. He’s so open with his infatuation with Shiemi, and okay, sure, fandom likes to ignore the love interest in shounen for the most part because we’ve got gay ships to peddle. But I don’t see the point in that unless it really reads like it’s a front, or a result of a character suppressing themselves for one reason or another. And with Rin, I think it’s pretty clear his affection for Shiemi is sincere. You technically have the in-universe evidence of the demon that brought out his true desires to back that up, but even without it, Rin likes her. It’s complicated because of Yukio and Shiemi’s own inexperience with romance, and yet I never once doubt he really likes her.

That being said… he’s very appreciative of the guys in his life, too. (Peddling my gay ship here) Bon in particular, considering he’s often admiring how cool he thinks Bon is, that his haircut suits him whether it’s the blonde rooster look or the undercut. If you don’t want to see it as romantic interest, that’s your prerogative, but to me Rin comes across as seeing cool and cute as different traits he finds attractive (in Bon and Shiemi respectively).

I also think his bisexuality would fit neatly into his narrative struggles to “pass” throughout the early parts of the series. Rin has grown up as the neighborhood problem child, ostracized for being violent, and eventually he decides he’s fine with just his brother and his father — and the rest of the monastery, presumably — for company. (Except that’s absolutely not true and clearly he’s starved for friendship and support.) People looked at him and saw a monster, even before his demonic heritage made an appearance; why would he bother giving them even more ammunition when it comes to reasons to hate him? So no matter when he figured out his attraction to guys, he’s not going to lean into it, because he also likes girls, right? (Ignoring for a moment that bisexuality is a lot more nuanced than that.)

Rin likes girls, Rin is human — that’s what’s going to get people to like him, or at the very least tolerate him. That he likes guys, that he’s half demon, he can shove that shit down and pretend it doesn’t exist. Lock up any stray thoughts and keep the sword sheathed around anyone who doesn’t already know.

(Excuse me for being amused by Rin wielding his humanity and supposed heterosexuality as a sword and shield.)

The problem, of course, is that he can’t keep up the facade forever. The narrative won’t let him. Rin has to embrace his demonic side, because it’s the only way to move forward and to continue to help his loved ones. And once he’s moved past the issue of his friends being upset over the deception, when they understand he’s still Rin despite what he’d hidden from them, Rin is finally allowed to be himself. He uses his flames, he lets his tail move freely in the open around the Cram School kids. Rin still doesn’t like this side of himself — it’s inextricably tied to every moment of pain and isolation he’s dealt with his entire life, including the death of Father Fujimoto (and, y’know, his mom). But he is moving forward, he’s trying to adapt.

And isn’t that some great fucking subtext for his bisexuality, too?

[skylendra]

Luffy, Dragon and Freedom

I see people being like “Dragon really made the revolutionary army without including his son, the reincarnation of the god of liberation.” And yes, he did, and it was a good thing for One Piece as a story and for the world of One Piece. Because if he didn’t then Luffy would probably not have become the reincarnation of Nika. Luffy wasn’t born into being the embodiment of freedom, he was made into it.

Luffy is shaped by his experiences, the people he met and globally his childhood. Like almost everyone in One Piece. It is one of the core themes that we are not defined by blood but by our choice. That without being alienated by our past, it led us to where we are.  

Dragon couldn’t be the next Joy Boy, even though the timeline match, because he isn’t free in the way Luffy is. Dragon is the epitome of duty. He is leading the revolution. He has responsibilities towards his people but also the world, at least in his mind. And not to say that Luffy doesn’t have responsibility, but it’s different. The Straw Hat are a family, the Revolutionary Army are an organization.

For Dragon, it is all about the greater good.

He seemed to be sad to have taken this decision. But he will do it again. Because it is a sacrifice he is willing to make. And probably something necessary for the cause.

And this is why he is not the next Joy Boy.

But Luffy is not the same. He doesn’t do something for the greater good. He does things because he wants to or because he thinks it is the right thing to do. Like on Saboady, when he punched Charlos. It was selfish, immature and caused hardship on his crew and others. But that’s not something he regrets, as he said in ch 521. And yes it comes from a deep faith in his crewmates. But still.

If Luffy had been raised as the son of Dragon and under the hypothesis that his desire for freedom was inborn, then his take on it would be different.

Because he wouldn’t have been inspired by the free spirit that is Shanks. He wouldn’t have been left on his own with bandits and some dude he would later call his brother. He wouldn’t just live in the forest doing whatever he wants, without any worries, because they are strong kids. Even though the latter are important for Luffy as a character and also his conception of freedom, at least I think so, it's negligible. Because at this point, the Hito Hito no mi Model: Nika already chose him. Because of Shanks and how he shaped some parts of Luffy (and that's his tragedy, he will only ever be the one who set change in motion like Roger wanted him to, never the change he wanted to be for Roger. And he accepted his fate. He was going to follow his mentor's will and give the fruit to his son. So yeah. He drinks. Because if Roger didn't think he was the guy, than he can't be, he won't be. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. Even though he had the fruit, he won't allow himself to eat it. He won't betray his captain like that. But he still nudges thing a bit, and bet on Luffy. A way to change the course of the fate his captain doomed him to be a spectator, a way to have an impact. And that's a part why Luffy matters so much to him. Because he is the last mission of his late captain. But he also was the one who set him free).

One of Luffy's very strengths and an important part of his take on freedom is his simple-mindedness. He is incredibly emotionally intelligent. He doesn’t embarrass himself with what he considers to be frivolities, he doesn’t care about the reason, he just sees injustice and try to help. An approach that is not shared with the Revolutionary Army. They observe and weigh the stakes and debate and plan and so on.

Because compromises are necessary sometimes. But that’s not what Luffy does. And that’s great. Because Luffy embodies freedom, that’s his whole thing. That’s why the Hito Hito no Mi Model: Nika chose him.

Dragon and Luffy are very different, and have distinct take on freedom. But the one piece’s world needs both. And they need each other in order to succeed.

The Revolutionary Army are the big picture guys. The ones that see the patterns and identify the problem at its roots. The World Government, the Nobles, the Statu quo. They are the ones with the plans and the resources.

Overall, the Straw Hats are not relevant for the marine. They don’t threat the very establishment of the world in the same way. They don’t want to. Yes, Robin wants to discover what happened during the void century and maybe wants to spread the knowledge but she doesn't necessarily want to bring the world government down. Yes Franky had the plan to replicate Pluto but he destroyed it. Yes Luffy had the power of their sworn enemy, but he doesn't know what that means nor does he care. It's just his fruit now. Because they are just the straw hat. They are silly guys who tried to fulfill their dreams and help the ones they care about. They don’t give a fuck about the big picture. They care about the neglected, the people that don’t matter. It's never to end an oppressive regime, it's always to help people who had been kind to them. Everything about it is personal. That why they are different.

We need multiple approaches to get social progress.

So yeah. Dragon and Luffy are different. But that’s what make them complementary.  

[wander-wren]

bothers me in trc fandom when people refer to “ronan’s suicide attempt” because it was pretty importantly NOT a suicide attempt. gansey, noah, adam, they all assumed it was, which is why gansey freaks out when ronan goes missing overnight at the beginning of trb, but it is not. it was a dream creature he brought back that had clawed him up.

i’m sure you could argue that that’s just an indirect suicide attempt, ronan’s subconscious, etc (opal tells him the night horrors are him), but i don’t see it that way. ronan is angry and grieving and violent in the wake of niall’s death. the night horrors, to my knowledge, don’t target ronan so much as they target any soft, living thing they can destroy. we don’t see this scene happen. we don’t see the day or the nightmare that comes before. we just have ronan’s word, and ronan says it wasn’t a suicide attempt, so it wasn’t.

and we can talk in circles then about whether ronan is suicidal actually—personally i think he has a sort of reckless disregard for his own life (see: drag racing, dream drugs) and has internalized a lot of the ideas about him being a “bad kid,” but i don’t think he’s actively suicidal. and that’s important to me. it’s important that ronan doesn’t actually want to die. i think he’s struggling to see the point of what everyone wants him to do (school), and struggling to envision a future for himself.

if ANYTHING was going to make ronan suicidal, truly, it should have been the dreamer trilogy. he’s isolated from all of his loved ones, literally starts dying if he’s not careful with the ley lines, and also the world is ending. we can see his same thought patterns repeating (“you’re always the car crash, ronan”) and we see him struggling with reality and identity (every conversation with bryde, who remember is part of ronan’s psyche, and also the looping dream with the mirror). and he’s not suicidal in the dreamer trilogy.

we talk a lot in this fandom about “gansey kind of wanted to live.” i think we should talk about how, despite everything, so did ronan.

[haventacluewhatimdoing]

Okay, okay, so hear me out: asexual Wilson.

He's not repulsed by sex, clearly, as seen in canon. But is he ever ACTUALLY sexually attracted to someone? From what we can tell (and what House keeps pushing), Wilson accidentally falls into relationships with people he has some form of emotional connection with. And then the sex follows, because that's what you do in a relationship, right?

Bonnie said that he was an amazing partner in bed because he always pleased the other person. Now, this could just be a continuation of Wilson's 'I would give a kidney to a stranger' level of people-pleasing, but I think it's more than that. I think that, while he doesn't MIND having sex, he mainly does it to please his partner, rather than from any attraction to them himself.

And I think that's why he has so many affairs as well. Because he sees someone, has some emotional connection with them, and goes 'well this must be that sexual attraction that everyone is talking about'. And he thinks that maybe THIS time, he will get something out of it too, because it's got to happen eventually. Doesn't it?

And then I think this all comes to a head in that episode with the asexual couple (which I am still seething about btw). He reads an article on asexuality. Then another. Then he searches for every single blog post, article, tweet, ANYTHING, on asexuality, because 'hey, isn't that just what everyone feels like though?'. He discovers the difference between aethestic, sensual and sexual attraction, and that asexual people may still have sex, and...

Oh. Oh shit. He's asexual.

[arthurfoxy]

Rachel Elizabeth Dare the woman that you are

[angstydisaster02]

An analysis about why Bakudeku is one of the most inspirational relationships. (Manga spoilers)

First part : my thoughts

Tbh, I really have this impression the manga is coming to an end very soon, which breaks my heart because I don’t know what I’ll do without my daily leaks. However, I trust Horikoshi about the rest of the story and I do think he’ll make an open ending about which “ship” is canon, even if we all know that the biggest and most developed relationship in the manga is bkdk.

It would be interesting to see the “after” of this war, the hospital beds, the tears because they lost people, the relief because it’s over and the final conversation beg the ending. Knowing Horikoshi until now, never made things randomly because everyone is thinking in advance, including the conversation between Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo.

You can’t tell me the author of this manga who always did things with a smart brain will put aside such an important detail about the dynamic between his characters.

A part of me hopes we’ll have the bkdk talk at the hospital or somewhere else because there’s no way these two idiots keep living their lives as if nothing happened. I have high expectations due to the fanfics, but I’m pretty sure I’ll never be the same once the chapter with the bkdk talk comes.

Second part : the analysis feat manga panels

looking forward, it’s incredible how Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki’s relationship started in the worst way (I’m not including the childhood memories) and…Ended up being something like that.

I’m emotional when I think about everything they’ve been through, the many realizations about losing each other, the development of their relationship after an emotional scene such as Deku Vs Kacchan 2, the way they need to push each other’s up to be the best version of themselves in any situation.

It’s not a surprise if these two are mean to be canon (in a platonic or romantic to way, depends about your opinion !) and each little moment highlights this statement.

Think about it : they all learned one of few important things with the other’s presence by their side, on purpose or not. Their dynamic is something unique you can’t find in others shonen or mangas, because they have this specific bond, the one getting stronger though the years because their mistakes became a reason to improve and be a better person for this childhood friend they knew since the early days.

Izuku Midoriya needs Katsuki Bakugo like Katsuki Bakugo needs Izuku Midoriya.

You can’t take away this part of their soul, and even when people like AFO tried, they ended up paying the price by revealing how much they care about each other.

Don’t startd with the Heroees rising thing because I can write an entire novel about them, but this is another proof of how they’re made for each other. Their relationship improve though the years and it’s only the beginning, I can’t help but imagine how future bkdk will have an amazing relationship once they figured out everything and untold truths.

They’re each other’s pillars, holding the other up to do the best and watch from afar their other’s improvement.

That’s why the hospital conversation might be the peak of their relationship: the moment when they’ll both break their shield, welcoming the tears and listening how life is a fragile line on a thread.

None of them refuse to break this meaningful thread, because this is something they’ve built for years, and it’s their biggest strength (and biggest weakness like Shigaraki pulled out)

In conclusion: they’re driving me crazy and I have no regrets following their journey because it’s probably one of the best relationships I’ve seen (and I watched a lot of anime/manga, read a lot of books and they’re still superior !)

Thanks for reading my analysis because it’s one of my guilty pleasures when I’m passionate about something, especially my comfort ship ! Take care of yourself <3

[anonimea1y]

since we're in 2025 now and the most popular crk ship rn is toxic yaoi and one of the newest cookies is from the st. pastry order can we pleaaaase talk about pastryvelvet now?