#based on the baku series

[commanderzack]

Zack's Bizarre Adventure Pages 35-41

[obsessive-dumpling]

If you don't mind, can I ask something from My Hero Academia? What do you think are Midoriya and Bakugou's greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic? Sorry if you've answered these questions before.....

Also, If you don't mind me asking (again), can I also ask your top fav characters and fav moments from the series (BNHA)...? Thanks if you want to answer....

Hello! I'm so sorry, I'm not sure how long this has been sitting in my asks because I don't know about y'all, but mine is a black hole. (For real, I checked today and it said I had 8 asks but I could only see 2 and one of them was one I have been trying to delete for like ten years but it won't budge. So if you send an ask and I don't answer, know that it's due to the black hole. It will give you back to me when the time is right. I hope.) But I am more than happy to answer!

What do /I/ think are Midoriya and Bakugo's greatest personality strengths and weaknesses... There really isn't enough time and space for me to cover all my thoughts but...

Let's start with Baku, shall we? I think that his greatest personality strength is actually his charisma. *Crickets* Wait! Hear me out! Baku throughout the series is often painted into a position of leadership. In the beginning, it is thought that, that is solely based on his strong quirk. But it's not. He exhibits having that leadership quality even before him and Izuku are supposed to get their quirks. During the Licensing Exam Arc (as well as the Kidnapping Arc) Aizawa gives a whole [2] monologue[s] about this. Katsuki is a natural born leader and hero though he presents prickly. And I think the reason why is because the charisma he exudes is authentic and honest to his character and others can see that. He might be perceived as mean but he is trustworthy and he has follow through. Any joint trainings or missions we've seen him in shows that. His teammates may complain, but they don't actually question him. They trust him and his assessment, judgement, and execution of resolving a situation. Though not traditionally "charismatic", we have to give it to the man who has won "favorite character" as many consecutive times as he.

For Deku, it's much less nuanced and much more straightforward. His biggest personality strength is without a doubt his unwaivering belief in people. He truly believes the best in every single person. I don't think I need to expound on that one as much, as it is shown *waves at entire show* countless times.

Before I get into the weaknesses, I would like to point out that these two characteristics put together start to answer one of your other questions: "Why do you love their dynamic?" I love their dynamic for many reasons but when you face these two characteristics in these two different characters (who start out at odds) and make them face each other, something beautiful happens.

Izuku's unwaivering belief in Katsuki to be better, to be THE BEST, and Katsuki's unwaivering resolve to always show up as he is WITH expectation calling him to new heights, and then watching that cycle motivate Izuku to be a better version of his own self is just so....inspiring? The word doesn't feel big enough. They are the personification of an infinity symbol. ♾️ Just constantly pouring back into one another and becoming stronger for it.

It really brings back the meaning of "rivals" and what they should be. I feel like the Shonen genre has a habit of getting caught in its own equation of what makes a Shonen a Shonen and loses the meaning of what the genre was originally created to promote: rising above it all. Bakudeku does a really great job of calling out the bad points of the genre and resetting them back to a worthy messaging. We're all continuously learning and trying and growing to be the very best we can be. And that progress is never supposed to end.

With that said, let's talk about weaknesses.

Baku's is obvious: his pride. The boy ends up having amazing amount of self reflection, but it comes at the cost of having a painful amount of time for self correction. And he's still trying. And I'm certain that it is Horikoshi's vision to have him always trying and learning and growing some more. None of us are perfect, not even Kacchan of the Bakugo's. And that's, again, how it should be. Katsuki is a great character for wearing his flaws so openly on his sleeves from start to finish.

Deku's is less obvious I think: his pride. Yes, I think they both have the same downfall. Izuku's pride and arrogance does not come from the same place as Baku's. His comes from a fearless pit that allows him to throw his body around like it means nothing. Self sacrificial without the awareness. Dangerous combo. Baku has him beat by miles on the self awareness train. A strategic brain without self awareness allows him to overcome virtually all his obstacles without any consideration for the consequences to himself or those who care for him. This is a repeated theme that we see illustrated time and time again by Inko and by the end, all of his friends and Kacchan himself. Izuku's pride is arguably bigger than Katsuki's, which therefore makes it harder to overcome. To be honest, I don't think we've actually really seen this have ANY concrete improvement throughout the series as he regularly reverts to self sacrificing throughout the entire series BUT I do think it will be addressed by the end. He is, as of now, at least aware of his shortcomings.

I could talk about these two for days so obviously they are included in my last answer to your questions: top favs. So these are my favorites outside of our wonder duo (for the record all of my fav moments are bkdk):

-Hawks: I love the duality he lends to the series in bringing the question: how do you form morals you can stand on in a corrupt society? Specifically in a transitional generation (a generation between two times in history like millennials and Gen Z's (in their own rights)) while the world falls apart around you.

-Shoto: As someone who comes from complicated, multigenerational trauma, I really did not want to like Shoto or his story. I tried to get away from being a fan but honestly the ultimate move he developes and the resolution he comes up with for his own families story killed me. A flame that doesn't destroy?! Come on! He literally became peace! I didn't stand a chance!

-Koji Koda & Mezo Shoji with Spinner: Tackling the complexities of racism in modern times where people try to say it doesn't still exist. Holding everyone accountable, as they should. There is so much here.

-Tenya Iida: Define justice for me really quick. This man is trying his ducking best.

-Fat Gum: I'm so glad you're not dead! Sunshine incarnate. He makes me WANT to believe in myself.

-Mount Lady: Turn around of the century for me as a character. I love a "came in shallow but stood firm when everyone else ran" queen.

-Virtually every character in MHA because they all give the same message:

Be.

Better.

Be.

Better!

Be!

Better!

Be Better!

God all of THIS is why I love MHA. Why I love bakudeku. I know I'm going off now and I'm sorry but, it's fucking scary outside right now.

Our world is crumbling.

And I can hear man,

named Kohei Horikoshi,

who had no superpower,

but was an artist,

and used the talent that he did have to create a series,

that allowed him to SHOUT at the world to:

BE BETTER!

He wanted to create a symbol of hope.

And he did it.

And that is my absolute favorite part of My Hero Academia. 💛❤️💙

@dnana-2809-blog thanks for the ask 💛🥟

[sargeantposting]

ARTICLE: The Florida Man of Formula 1 (2023)

Source: Michael M. Grynbaum, The New York Times Series: F1, 2023

Logan Sargeant, the only American driver in Formula 1, is zipping around the narrow streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, at roughly 200 miles an hour. His head bounces inside the cockpit as a wheel shudders over a rumble strip. It’s hard to hear over the banshee shriek of his V6 engine, carrying three times the horsepower of a run-of-the-mill Porsche Carrera.

Then the noise stops, and Baku vanishes. We’re inside a low-slung brick building nestled in the Oxfordshire countryside. The track, projected onto a CinemaScope-sized wraparound screen, was a mirage, part of a sophisticated training simulator. (F1 rules prohibit driving the real cars between races.) Mr. Sargeant climbs out of a replica driver’s seat wearing athletic pants. He won’t need a fireproof suit until later.

In three weeks’ time, Mr. Sargeant will do this for real: wind whipping his visor, G-forces of up to six times his body weight pressing on his neck, the ever-present threat of a catastrophic crash as he is watched by roughly 70 million people around the world. For now, it’s time for lunch. “Is chili bad for you?” he asks, digging into a bowl at his team’s commissary. “I don’t think it’s that bad.”

Williams Racing, in Grove, England. It was founded in Oxfordshire in the 1970s, but it’s now an American subsidiary: a Manhattan private equity firm, Dorilton Capital, bought the company in 2020 for an estimated $200 million.

F1 teams employ hundreds of employees and spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing the world’s most sophisticated racecars.

Reaching Formula 1, the highest level of international motor sport, is a big step for Mr. Sargeant, 22, a South Florida native who began racing rudimentary cars known as karts at 6 years old and this year joined the Williams Racing team as the first full-time American F1 driver since 2007.

For Formula 1 itself, finding a hometown hero for American fans is a giant leap.

Although it is enormously popular in Europe, F1 struggled for decades to break into the United States. That began to change in 2016, when the sport was purchased for $4.4 billion by the Colorado-based Liberty Media, owned by the cable magnate John Malone. Liberty ramped up its social media — F1 had barely kept a YouTube page — and backed a popular Netflix documentary series, “Drive to Survive.” Once geared toward aging white men, F1 now has a younger and more diverse fan base. American TV viewership is up 220 percent from 2018, and the sport made $2.6 billion in revenue last year.

Still, a subset of F1 devotees complain about what they see as an overemphasis on entertainment and ginned-up drama. Under Liberty, they argue, pure racing is taking a back seat to cheap tricks to reel in casual viewers. And they often use a dirty word for it: Americanization. “It is becoming more and more like Formula Hollywood,” Bernie Ecclestone, the 92-year-old Briton who built F1 into a global business, griped last year. “F1 is being made more and more for the American market.”

The backlash reached a crescendo at last week’s Miami Grand Prix, which was added in 2022 as a showpiece for American fans. In a prizefight-style pre-race ceremony, the rapper LL Cool J introduced the 20 drivers one by one amid swirling smoke and a squad of cheerleaders. Nearby, Will.i.am conducted a live orchestra playing the rap song he recently recorded with Lil Wayne as part of a “global music collaboration” with Formula 1. (The lyrics rhyme “Max Verstappen,” the name of the sport’s top driver, with “your champion.”)

“Pandering to the American audience is killing @F1,” wrote one fan on Twitter, echoing criticism that bubbled up across numerous F1 websites. Even the racers complained: “None of the drivers like it,” groused Lando Norris, a Briton who drives for McLaren. Undeterred, Liberty announced that the bombastic pre-race sequence would be featured at several more grands prix this year.

In the United States, F1 has long been associated with a certain European mystique, most famously, the louche glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix.

In the United States, F1 has long been associated with a certain European mystique. Its drivers race across the Ardennes forest (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium), the plains of Lombardy (Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale di Monza) and, most famously, the louche glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix. The sport’s stateside image could be summed up by the 2006 comedy, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” which featured Sacha Baron Cohen as a pretentious French F1 driver named Jean Girard, a snooty Eurotrash foil to Will Ferrell’s macho NASCAR cowboy.

In 2023, F1 can feel a bit more Ricky Bobby than Jean Girard. In Miami, drivers circled a track built in the parking lot of the Dolphins football stadium, past an artificial Monaco-style “harbor”: blue-painted asphalt topped with ersatz yachts. A new Las Vegas race in November will have cars zooming down the Strip past Caesars Palace. Meanwhile, traditional races in France and Germany are gone.

Katy Fairman, a journalist based in Brighton, England, who runs the F1 podcast “Small Torque,” said she was surprised by the spectacle when she attended a race in Austin, Texas. “There were girls with pompoms,” she said. “I remember watching it and thinking, Oh my gosh, this is so different from anything I’d seen F1 do in a long time.”

Ms. Fairman conceded that some Europeans find the American hullabaloo “tacky.” But she added: “When it’s something to do with America, I think Europeans are quite judgmental. I think it’s just a bit of lighthearted fun. You guys like to have a party.”

The arrival of Mr. Sargeant, who grew up about an hour’s drive from the Miami racetrack, has spurred new interest, including a profile and photo shoot in GQ, and he’s happy to play the part. “What’s up America, let’s bring that energy!” he shouted to the cameras after LL Cool J introduced him as “the local boy done good.”

But as with F1, there are growing pains. In Miami, Mr. Sargeant finished last, his race ruined on the first lap when he damaged a front wing. After the checkered flag, he apologized to his team, his voice barely a whisper: “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe it.”

Weeks earlier, in an interview in England, Mr. Sargeant had demurred about the pressure of wearing the stars and stripes. “I try not to get too caught up in the talk of the role of ‘first American,’” he said. “It’s still very early for me, and I have a lot to learn still.”

If Mr. Sargeant doesn’t perform, there are dozens of drivers eager to take his spot. “At the moment,” he said, “I just have to worry about staying here.”

For a globe-trotting athlete, Mr. Sargeant can be soft-spoken and endearingly self-conscious. 

‘I just want to get back in the gym.’

Before his tough Miami weekend, Mr. Sargeant was asked how he would celebrate a top 10 finish. “Honestly, it might sound lame, but probably just go back to my house and get in my bed for another night before I go back to London,” he replied. “That’s all I want to do.”

For a wealthy, handsome, globe-trotting athlete, Mr. Sargeant can be soft-spoken and endearingly self-conscious. It’s not unusual for someone who, like a tennis prodigy or Olympian gymnast, has devoted their life since childhood to a sole pursuit.

Mr. Sargeant was 6 when he and his brother Dalton got a kart from their parents for Christmas. “No one in the family was really even that much into racing,” Logan said. “We just picked it up as a hobby, something to do on the weekend.” He began winning junior races around the country — too easily. To reach the next level and pursue Formula 1, he’d have to leave behind his friends and beloved fishing excursions for life on a different continent: “We just needed a higher level of competition, and at the end of the day, that was in Europe.”

Mr. Sargeant left Florida before his 13th birthday, bouncing between Italy, Switzerland and Britain as he raced on the European junior circuit; in 2015, he became the first American to win the Karting World Championship since 1978. “As a kid, it was tough,” he recalled. “Coming from Florida, being outdoors all the time on the water, great weather — it was literally vice versa.” He eventually settled in London, where he spends most days working out with a trainer. “I get away from a race weekend, and I just want to get back in the gym,” he said. “I hate that feeling of leaving slack on the table.”

It is incredibly difficult to nab a seat in Formula 1. Today’s drivers are physical dynamos trained to optimize their reflexes and performance levels down to how well they can withstand jet lag — critical in a sport that this year will include 23 grands prix spread over five continents. F1 teams employ hundreds of employees and spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing the world’s most sophisticated racecars. But it’s ultimately up to the driver to execute.

It also helps to have money. Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion and F1’s only Black driver, is an exception, having grown up on a London council estate. Many F1 competitors are the sons of multimillionaires (and some billionaires) who can bankroll pricey travel and high-tech cars.

Mr. Sargeant falls into the scion category. He hails from a wealthy Florida asphalt shipping family. His uncle, Harry Sargeant III, is a former fighter pilot and onetime finance chair of Florida’s Republican Party who has been sued by the brother-in-law of King Abdullah II of Jordan and whose name turned up, tangentially, in the 2020 impeachment of former President Donald J. Trump. (Harry was not accused of any wrongdoing.)

Logan’s father, Daniel Sargeant, worked alongside Harry until the brothers had a falling out. In a 2013 lawsuit, Harry accused Daniel of misdirecting $6.5 million in corporate funds “for the purpose of advancing the international cart racing activities” of his sons, Logan and Dalton; that litigation was eventually settled.

In 2019, Daniel Sargeant pleaded guilty in federal court in New York to foreign bribery and money laundering charges related to his business dealings abroad. He is free on a $5 million bond and is awaiting sentencing. A Williams spokesman said that Logan Sargeant was not “in a position to comment” on any of the legal matters involving his family.

In F1, none of this particularly stands out. The mother of Mr. Sargeant’s Williams teammate, Alexander Albon, was jailed in Britain for swindling millions of pounds in fraudulent sales of high-end cars. A Russian racer, Nikita Mazepin, was booted from the sport after his oligarch father, a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin, was sanctioned following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

James Vowles, the Williams team principal, said in an interview that he hired Mr. Sargeant for his speed, not his U.S. passport. “I’m incredibly pleased that the sport is growing in America, but I think it would be anything but disingenuous to say that Logan’s here for any other reason than I think he’s got this pure talent,” he said.

In his F1 debut in Bahrain in March, Mr. Sargeant finished 12th, outpacing this year’s two other rookies. “He has this insatiable desire to be better, to want more,” Mr. Vowles said. “He’s a perfectionist, and I like that in him.”

Tooting around in a Vauxhall Astra

Britain, where Formula 1 originated in 1950, remains the sport’s spiritual home, where most of its 10 teams are based. Williams was founded in Oxfordshire in the 1970s, but it’s now an American subsidiary: a Manhattan private equity firm, Dorilton Capital, bought the company in 2020 for an estimated $200 million.

It was an important cash infusion for a team that had struggled to keep up with rivals. Manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz pour enormous resources into their F1 teams, which double as an elaborate global marketing campaign and an in-house innovation farm; tech developed for F1, like engines that recycle braking energy as an accelerant, can trickle into consumer vehicles.

Formula 1 car simulators at the Williams Racing factory.

Formula 1 drivers practice on sophisticated training simulators.

The Williams campus is a humdrum brick pile that could be mistaken for an office park — a far cry from McLaren’s space-age complex an hour’s drive away. Many F1 teams provide their drivers with a high-end sports car for personal use; Mr. Sargeant commutes in a Vauxhall Astra, a compact.

Even the team’s sponsors are relatively down-market; whereas the official watch of Ferrari is Richard Mille (starting price: $60,000), Williams has a deal with Bremont, whose timepieces retail for significantly less. (On a recent visit, a Williams press aide was quick to extract a spare Bremont watch from his pocket and ensure Mr. Sargeant was wearing it whenever a photographer hovered.)

Given the huge costs, corporate partnerships are crucial to F1, part of the reason the American market, with its abundance of affluent consumers and wealthy brands, has proved so tempting. Gerald Donaldson, a journalist who has covered F1 for 45 years, recalled how cars were gradually taken over by corporate logos starting in the late 1960s.

“Marlboro paid all the Ferrari bills, including the drivers, for many years,” he said in an interview. “There are eager companies who want the publicity.” Mr. Sargeant’s car features ads for Michelob Ultra beer and an American financial firm, Stephens. In Miami last weekend, beachgoers spotted an airborne banner reading “Go Logan!” alongside the image of a Duracell battery.

Last year, the Miami race was viewed on ABC by 2.6 million people, the biggest American audience for a live F1 telecast. Ratings for this year’s race fell about 25 percent, perhaps a result of a duller-than-usual season dominated by one team, Red Bull.

Still, viewing data show that F1 is expanding beyond affluent cities associated with elite sports: In 2022, its top five American TV markets included Asheville, N.C., and Tulsa, Okla. ESPN is clearly betting on more growth. When the sports network renewed its broadcast rights last year, it agreed to pay $90 million annually — up from the $5 million-a-year deal it signed in 2019.

Liam Parker, a former adviser to Boris Johnson who now leads communications at F1, said the sport was intent on rectifying past mistakes. “We were too arrogant,” he said. “We couldn’t understand why the American fan base wasn’t falling in love with us.” But he also pushed back on the complaints that Liberty’s efforts to raise the entertainment factor had stripped F1 of something essential.

“This whole argument of ‘Americanization,’ it’s a very crude way to describe things,” he said. “We shouldn’t ignore things that can improve things for new and core fans. It’s about giving people more choices in the modern era. It’s modernization of access to everyone.”

Mr. Hamilton, arguably the biggest celebrity of the current F1 lineup, has offered his own endorsement of Liberty’s approach. “I mean jeez, I grew up listening to LL Cool J,” he told reporters in Miami. “I thought it was cool, wasn’t an issue to me.”

For all the debates over elitism, good taste and corporate rap collaborations, the core appeal of F1, when you get right down to it, may be something simpler — something Mr. Sargeant got at when asked in the interview if he had loved cars as a kid.

“I absolutely love driving, as you can imagine,” he said. “But to be honest, I’m not one of those people who studies cars and, you know, likes to know every detail of every single car. It doesn’t really interest me.”

“The part that interests me,” he concluded, “is driving them as fast as I can go.”

Eliza Shapiro contributed reporting from Miami. Kitty Bennett contributed research. Michael M. Grynbaum is a media correspondent covering the intersection of business, culture and politics.  A version of this article appears in print on May 14, 2023, Section BU, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: The Florida Man Of Formula 1.

[mumusmarket]

Pinkumon Drowzee Hypno

Pinkumon Drowzee Hypno! This set and munna's evolution line were based off the Baku or a tapir so I made them both more tapir like :3 Pinkumon is my series where I redraw or redesign pokemon in my personal favorite aesthetics and colors!

Posted using PostyBirb

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Buddy Daddies Interviews with Ayase and DURDN:

This will just be the quick notes version, with bits of information that I personally found to be the most interesting, I’ll link to the full interviews below in the comments.

Ayase wasn’t given any specific orders about the song, but since it was an OP, he wanted to do a song that had some speed to it, instead of a quiet feeling.

Since Ayase knew that the plot would be about the main characters raising a child, he wanted to use the idea of them confronting their ideas of “love” and how, internally, they were constantly changing, as themes for the song. But, Ayase notes that he also wrote a bit about his own life and his own feelings towards the responsibility of loving others as additional themes that link to the work.

The title of the song, SHOCK, comes from the expressing the impact of the story in Buddy Daddies. The idea that, when you are so emotionally distraught and desolate that you turn away from personal feelings like love, and then you meet someone that has a huge impact on your way of thinking and feeling. That’s the SHOCK. And that’s how it links backs to both the story of the anime and the impression of said story.

Ayase also noted that the series is a bit of a dark comedy, and he found that to be interesting/amusing, and that the series has a bit of a foreign feel to it, and there were interesting points that he had not seen before. 

----

DURDN is a group made up three people: Baku, SHINTA, and yacco. When asked what their first impression of Buddy Daddies was, SHINTA answered “familial love.” the love for one’s family. Because of that, they wanted to write a soft, enveloping song. 

Their past songs have been “not so bright” and usually have a “shadowy” side to them, but they didn’t want those aspects to appear in My Plan. Since it was about an anime, they want a cheerful sound to it.

yacco was the one in charge of writing the lyrics, and they admit to being confused and worried at some points, because they wanted to write a song that was positive and filled with happiness, but they had never written something like that before. It seems they also didn’t have a very happy family life (they didn’t experience that “family love” found in Buddy Daddies), so they wrote the song more from the POV of “this is the kind of family that would make me happy.”

SHINTA was in charge of the tracks and arrangements, so they wanted to give Buddy Daddies a 90s feel. So the song is arranged with an eye towards Japanese City Pop and pop songs based in that era.

They were able to see the full-version of the show, that was not yet completed, so they feel that they were able to get a general idea of the story from that, and write a song that captured the worldview of Buddy Daddies. They also apparently entered the song as the OP too, they really wanted their song to get picked, lol. 

They’ve noticed an increase in overseas fans and English comments, leading Baku to realize that anime really is quite popular overseas. 

[wreckingtickles]

I'm getting addicted to the engagement (and is there anything more pitiful), so I'll ask: after the NSFW lee!Kiri story, which of the following would you like to read first?

Inspiration is super fickle and I may want to finish the Auction series before starting a ne wone, so do not take this poll to mean that the winner will be the next story I write, especially as I like the idea of alternating SFW and NSFW, I'm just curious.

[pastelsalmonsworld]

My personal timeline as a multi shipper

Here’s my controversial MHA (I know I know) ship timeline. I see a pattern of simply liking a ship because the two characters had an interesting interaction or exclusive to Izuocha, where Ochako can only likes Izuku. This is in order by timeline. I want to to spread this to show people that you are not hated by 100% of a group of anybody. We are all multi-faceted beings. My ships are based on interesting dynamics not canon-ness thereby superiority. This list is based on a timeline, not my interest.

‘Shipping’ in my case is simply enjoying the characters in a fanart or fa fiction outside of canon which is deemed more than is needed to understand the charcters. Support romantic or otherwise fanart with mainly two characters basically. It doesn’t even mean I see how they would be together in canon. Before bakudeku, I read most of these at the same time. I felt I had to have one ship only at some points too which isn’t true.

Maybe shipping for me is just liking an aspect of a story.

Izuocha. I liked this ship because it seemed like it was going to be obviously canon. I enjoy a lot of canon-ships like NaruHina, KanaTanjiro or just about any of my favorite shoujo and boys love pairings. Also a few spare girls love comics too; cute! I just thought that’s how it was. First friend and supportive and obvious.

Kacchako. I enjoyed their fight in the Sports Festival arc of mha because Katsuki didn’t hold back. I agreed with most of the crowd, he’s /kind of/ insane in how he acts at his point in the series. I fully believed he would go Sasuke or Villain route in this part of the series. I liked that he didn’t treat her differently because she’s a girl despite his intentions. Ochako put up her best fight and found something new in herself that she hadn’t before; the wit and quick thinking to fight back against a super strong unrestrained Enemy. I ended up seeing a BEAUTIFUL fanart of him sitting at a desk and Ochako sitting at a wind that was amazingly rendered. I read a lot of— let’s just say extremely out of pocket fan fiction about this rare pair. I felt insecure about this ship because it got made fun of online. Also Bakugo’s ‘nothing frail about her’ comments in the relationship connection extras. Regardless, interesting, fun, imaginative, unexpected.

KiriBaku. This seems to be the mostly widely /accepted/ ship in my opinion. I feel like it has the most support in the American fandom. Kiri was super popular at the time I joined my hero and I was deep in the weeb-tok era of 2019 through 2021(anyone else miss the “Iwa-Chan, kageyama!/ I know that I’m gonna slaughter dis” sound? And OH the cosplays). MAN I miss it it was so fun and less dodgy than boring-ass takes and blind fighting on twitter. I was a bakudeku hater at this time because I blindly believed the death threats were true. I didn’t hate the ship personally feel deep down but I thought actual death threats would’ve been too far. I often dumped mean and repetitive comments on anti-bakudeku tiktoks. I really enjoyed an actor au where the author switched the moha characters to playing their Japanese voice actors. Baku go/okamoto really wanted to play a canon gay character in the drama they were actors in but Izuku got it first which caused his continued resentment of izuku because he assumed he was not gay. It was really fun and some of the fics were very memorable and wholesome. Good times! At the transition between these two ships the fandom was all happy and the fanfics were funny and Bakugou was being supportive of his friends in his own way at this point.

Bakudeku. The plot twist of the century. But, not really. See, I hated bakudeku mostly because I wanted to fit in with the popular opinion and simple “they hate each other!!”. In order to seem normal and not insane since it was so hated. Again, I already thought bakugo’s character because it humanizes a bully in a realistic way. I usually live for those crazy ass villains anyway; it’s just anime. Death Note??? But obviously, I never would have put Bakugou in Izuku together. Rewatching season 1 that shot was terrible as fuck and heart wrenching and I feel so bad again after watching and I can see why I absolutely hated Katsuki when I watched mha. I can see why people still hate him. Again, I started looking at the fanart out of spite and saw a lot of fanart with one of them looking at the other back and watching them from behind. It’s really true to the series. It is so heart wrenching to watch and read. That’s why I like reading it. I’ve read SOO many fics where either of them die mostly Izuku, because of the suicide comment, but eventually with the event of black whip, mostly Katsuki for obvious reasons. There’s a deep theme of saving and winning and even the horror of death when you love someone so obviously I was captivated. Some fics, and I mean A LOT, basically predicted word for word the hospital scenes. I don’t like ‘I know your secret power’ tropes, but it’s there. There’s just so much between them it’s crazy. The way /The Way You Used To by: edema ruh/ has like the exact hospital scenes that LATER!!!! Happened in the manga… the death, the emotional power-ups, the connection of a separate soulmate ( ‘nother person in your body thing like the vestiges) quirk, PLUS ofa transactions inspired by two heros that canonically seem like they’re about to happen. You’ve got the Volume cover and everything to show for it too. Themes of almost Spider-Man and Gwen???? I rewatched Spider-Man 2 and it’s like huh??? And also Izuku is inspired by spider-man as well? Oh SHIT, is bakugo Izuku’s failed save? I’m gonna be SO FUCKINNG MAD if that happens, but I’m one of those people who enjoys angst a lot at the same time and I will appreciate it. I’m so everything for this ship for this ship platonic friendship or not I may just ship their friendship

TodoIIda. Usually, I don’t find a lot of my ships seeming canon except for this one. I already know that any important relationship or friendship between characters can be shipped but since they aren’t seen interacting on screen much next to the scene where iida saves him instead of going ahead, it really stuck. That must have been Horikoshi’s intention because he came back to them recently like they matter to each other. I JUST remembered the stain arc and how IIda and Shouto’s can relate on wanting revenge. Iida’s motto to help someone anywhere any time relates to Todoroki’s helplessness as a child. They’re important to each other. Friends, family.

Togachako. I didn’t consider this a ‘ship’ per se until recently, but I was obsessed with how Toga wanted become Ochako and the people she loves also how they like the same boy I guess?? Izuku seems oblivious and somehow even unrelated to their relationship even though it started it. There was this one cosplay tiktok with a poppy sound on it and I was OB- SESSED. I told you I love me some crazy simpy villains and Toga is just that. Unexpected was how Ochako starts to focus on her specifically and want to save her. I was NOTTT expecting her to say she was jealous of her smile. I was so sad when Himi said she didn’t want to talk to Chako anymore so I was PUMPED to hear people spreading the misleading togacjako canon on twitter. Toga biromantic/sapphic vampire whose blood-sucking is like kissing, is getting blood from ochsko for the rest of her life. I don’t know if toga really cares anymore. I also enjoy their possible relationship to Yuki-onna. Would love if something came out of them in canon, though I just realized toga explicated said she wanted to go out with Izuku so why can’t she do it for ochako?

dabihawks. I was SO confused why people shipped this when they barely showed their interactions. I only realized when a mostly canon style fan manga dubbed did a dabihawks comic. I then realized they are are almost the same childhood reflections of each other, neglected, abused by their parents

As an end note, I learned that every ship dynamic has to be romantic, but usually it is because of recent fan culture. I’m 15 but I know a lot about older fandom because I was an avid Kaichou Wa Maid Sama fan and used the less popular fan fiction.net. People are a lot nicer on fanfixtion sites than on social media sites, I’ve learned also older fandoms didn’t get massively hated on like MHA does. There’s just more people in the world who watch now. Remember to be yourself because there’s always someone feeling just like you out there, I promise. Chaio;3

[offbrand-deltatraveler]

Everyone I’ve seen insists that all Sanrio characters are children way too often, so here’s a reminder that:

-Everyone in Supercute Adventures is an adult

-All Jewelpets (excluding Labra) are old enough to drink in every season except Unlabeled & Sunshine

-The Beatcats are mentally all young adults

-Baku is an adult no matter what series he’s in

-Gureco is either a young adult or older teen, and her brother is an adult

-I.CINNAMOROLL is a teenager

-Wish Me Mell was designed with 15-20 year old women in mind (Ciel refers to Mell and her friends as children but she’s billions of years old and is the one watching over them during their time in Merci Hills)

-Maimai, JOCHUM, and yoshikitty are based on real-life adults, so…

-This year, a handful of official artworks of Hello Kitty have given off more adult vibes, likely to match the fact that she “canonically” turned 50 this month (Furthermore, she’s had collabs with less SFW things like Playboy and Hooters in the past)

Remember: You don’t have to be cold and bitter and demotivated and running on ten cups of coffee per hour to be an adult. We, of all people, should know that

[darkmaga-retard]

https://www.globalresearch.ca/belarus-azerbaijan-brics-russia-gains-weight-eurasia/5866210

With Belarus and Azerbaijan Becoming BRICS Members, Russia Gains Weight in Eurasia

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

Global Research, August 26, 2024

Russia today is taking another pivotal moment in its history, (with a series of many landmark issues) under its presidency of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), referred to as informal association, consistently forging collaborative relations with developing countries. With geopolitical situation heightening, spotifying challenges predominately remain on the association’s track. But the evolving developments are positive and promising, particularly increasing number of countries expressing the desire to join BRICS. It shows an interesting and indelible sign which reflects the necessity for the world’s re-configuration. This factor indicates the urgent yawning action for a multifaceted change, a new global architecture embracing geopolitics, the economy and security as well as socio-cultural and humanitarian spheres. 

Noticeably, Latin American countries and also in Asian and African regions are carving to join BRICS. There are many reasons including the sovereign desire by like-minded countries to deepen their cooperation with BRICS with a proper sense of respect. In addition, BRICS follows an open-door vision, and stronly committed to the fact that the principles governing this format – mutual respect, balance of interests and a consensus-based approach – are very appealing. In the former Soviet space, Belarus and Azerbaijan have recently expressed their sanonymized interest to leverage unto BRICS platform. 

“Azerbaijan has filed an official application for joining BRICS,” Azerbaijan’s news agency quoted Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Aykhan Hajizada. Baku’s intention to join BRICS was reflected in a joint declaration on strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and China, which was signed on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana in early July.

Apart from that, Azerbaijani parliament speaker, Sakhiba Gafarova, said at a plenary session of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in St. Petersburg on July 11 that her country wanted to be a full-fledged BRICS member. 

[formulatrash]

Hello Hazel!

Everyone on twitter is talking about the 4 races in 5 weeks/6 races in 8 weeks thing and I saw that thread by Joe Pompliano about how teams are jumping to and from all these continents (i.e. Baku then Miami, only to go to the US again later) and so was wondering about how F1 said they were trying to arrange a region based calendar for next year since the current calendar isn’t sustainable.

So I was thinking, are the travel/hotel costs of the teams part of the cost cap? Because if they are, wouldn’t F1/the teams just decide to have a triple headers all around so that they don’t have to pay the costs that come with flying their employees back or paying for hotels for the extra week when there isn’t a race if it’s overseas? Sorry, I feel like I can’t articulate what I mean that well but I hope my point is coming across.

I know they’re still doing double and triple headers even if the races aren’t in the same continent but the frequency of them would be waaay more and I feel like that still wouldn’t be a sustainable way of living for the people working in this industry, even if it is more sustainable for the planet that they aren’t having to go back the same continent 2-3 times and only having to go there once.

Thanks!

F1 sort of mumbled about a regionalised calendar but it doesn't seem to be happening. there's feeling that having a European or say, North American leg of the calendar would create a situation where less popular races lost out to more popular ones and the event bosses are keen not to have direct geographic competition next to their event.

that is, of course, rubbish. F1 traditionally had a European chunk of the calendar and despite the exorbitant price of events, people often do chain them together as a road trip, when they can. home crowds will go to 'their' race regardless - and in the Americas, Montreal and Sao Paulo are a pretty goddamned long way away from each other, while Vegas and Miami only exist as premium events that dont share a market with the others.

teams do pay for their logistics and freight out of the cost cap; last year when the price of freight quadrupled there was a cost cap increase to reflect the fact it was impossible to have allowed the right amount, under massive price hikes. this didn't just affect F1, it was all global logistics; some freight was up as much as 800% and logistics costs remain sky-high, as well as very unreliable, I wrote a load about it here if you're interested.

so: human and freight logistics are one of the hardest puzzles to solve in F1 generally and made harder by the complicated calendar. would untangling it somewhat help? yeah, probably; it's not totally straightforward because there are times when events need to be held because of weather (like, good luck moving Silverstone and expecting anything other than freezing sleet and Jeddah clearly can't be held in summer) but there are definitely efficiencies that can be made.

proportional to freight, people movement is relatively less of a problem. F1 uses charter jets most of the time so the costs are pretty different to just putting everyone on a British Airways flight and honestly, the finances of it aren't the issue.

the problem, both for trackside and factory staff, is that it's not possible to perform at an F1 level 30 weeks a year. a grand prix isn't the Sunday race, it's prep work that starts months in advance, it's hours of programming an computer development, tooling, parts coordination and design, it's running a garage and fluid lab and IT operation trackside and the operations and simulator back at the factory for five days straight for each event. it's just not possible to make that work to a high enough level for the sport for that much of the year.

F1 isn't a spec series, it is a development race and it is ludicrous but there's also a reason it's so popular whereas the series with objectively better racing that are more spec, running on lower budgets and with less setup time and resources across a weekend, just aren't. I'm the last person to buy into the mythology about F1's pinnacle of technology - it's the pinnacle of the sport of F1, not automotive tech - but the reason people like it is because it does what it does at an unbelievable, impossibly high level.

you can't do that if either no one wants to work in it because it's basically a hotel jail sentence or there's no time to do the development that lets F1 teams play the game as well as they do.

[notyourprof]

F1 Explains – 2 November 2023 – Notes/Summary

Another round of Qs and As with Bernie & Lawrence! This one is somewhat technical, so read on if you want to learn about racing lines, tracks gaining grip, what the Paddock Club is (and how much it costs to get access), car design philosophies, and, most importantly for our little corner of the internet, the similarities between F1 drivers and pregnant people...

As before, feel free to use this information when writing fic, but also remember that you don’t have to have all of your facts absolutely perfectly correct! It’s called fiction for a reason!

F1 Explains – 2 November 2023 Quick-fire questions with Bernie Collins & Lawrence Barretto

Q: What is the racing line? How do the drivers know what it is? Is there more than one [on a given track]? Does it change at all? How important is it that the drivers stick to it? 

A: Essentially, the racing line is the fastest route around a track. You can often see it develop as rubber is laid down during practices etc. because it will look darker than the surrounding asphalt. There can be slight variations in the race line based on if drivers take corners with more of a U shape or more of a V shape, and drivers will often purposely leave the race line to set up for an overtake. Usually it’s best to stick to the race line, except during wet conditions because then the rubber that has already been laid down is pretty slippery.

Q: How do race courses gain grip throughout practice sessions and during a race? Are the courses swept or otherwise cleaned before race weekend and between sessions during a weekend?

A: This varies a lot depending on the track. Street circuits like Monaco don’t have any inherent grip levels built up, they’re cleaned throughout the year by road sweepers, sometimes they are even opened back up during the race weekend for civilian traffic. Depending on the weekend, if there are other race series happening (e.g. F2, F1 Academy, etc.) that can help build up the grip on the roads. A little bit of discussion in here about what “laying rubber down” means. Some tracks are just swept of major debris, some are cleaned more abrasively. Some dedicated race tracks host many types of races throughout the year (e.g. COTA) whereas others (e.g. Baku) only ever have the F1 race weekend each year.

Q: Why do the drivers drink from the long bendy straws?

A: The long bendy straws are necessary for the drivers to be able to drink when they have their helmets on, and it’s more efficient to just use the same drinks container the whole time. This also helps the trainers monitor exactly how much of the hydration drinks the drivers are drinking without worrying about evaporation or spills, and helps keep the drinks at the correct temperatures. There is also an actual discussion of how these are very similar to the large water jugs with long straws that hospitals (at least in the US) give to folks who are about to/have just given birth. One of the co-hosts says, of the drivers, “so it’s easier for them to drink with those bendy straws, and they might be pregnant,” and “there are more similarities, when you think about it, between Formula 1 drivers and pregnant people, than you might think…” DO WITH THAT AS YOU WISH, FIC WRITERS.

Q: What actually goes on in the hospitality suites? What is the food like? How do you pay? Who’s in there?

A: The F1 Paddock Club is the highest-end suite and entry costs between $5000 - $9000 per person. There’s another level below that which is slightly cheaper. Each team also has their own hospitality suite. In all of them, there’s an endless supply of very nice food and drinks (sometimes even dedicated pastry chefs), and you don’t pay per item, it’s all covered by your entry. There are lots of special guests as well as clients, potential future partners/sponsors, etc. Sometimes press are invited in as well. The catering teams also look after the crew of their team, most of whom eat all of their meals at the track all weekend.

Q: How can one get a job as an F1 Strategist? Do teams offer internships?

 A: Most strategists have done a mathematics- or engineering-related degree. All of the teams do internships and a lot of them have graduate schemes for folks who have just graduated. Most teams have 50-60 people working on strategy.

Q: What’s the deal with #1 and #2 drivers?

A: Teams often don’t like to admit they have a #1 and #2 driver unless it’s the best strategy to win races or the championships, by having the second driver help out the first driver. A lot of times it is just a matter of which driver performs better over the season. Usually, the best way to get the best out of both drivers is to let them try to outrace their teammate. Whichever driver is ahead after qualifying or the first stint in the race will usually get priority for pit stops, etc. The teams are fundamentally only concerned with team points, not individual driver points. Drivers have agreed to the team’s rules about priorities in advance, even if they do end up arguing about strategy on the radio during the race.

Q: How does the extra point for fastest lap work?

A: A driver can only get that extra point for the fastest lap if they finish in the top ten of the race. There can be some strategy in this as well, e.g. if a driver wants to show their team they do in fact have good pace and should be allowed to pass their teammate. Or, if two drivers are in a close battle for the WDC, and one driver knows they aren’t going to finish in the top ten, they might still pit for fresh tires right at the end of the race and attempt to set the fastest lap, knowing that even though they won’t get the point for it, they will keep their competition from getting that extra point.

Q: How much technology/research from one year’s car can be brought from one year to the next?

A: Even if there are no major regulation changes, teams spend a lot of the year (not just the off-season) working on improving their car. A lot of work is done over the off-season break, though, and sometimes one team will make a massive leap forward in just that off-season development, whereas other teams have to spend the first half of the season still working and bringing upgrades to attempt to catch up. Also, there are often changes from year to year, especially when it comes to the tire compounds that Pirelli provides for that year. (And sometimes there are major regulation changes that must be incorporated into the next year’s car.) Teams can also choose different philosophies in how they design their cars, e.g. whether they want them to be more “slippery” and better on long straights vs. have more downforce which makes them better (faster) at circuits with a lot of corners.

[commanderzack]

Zack's Bizarre Adventure Pages 28-34

Oh dear? Who is this interesting fellow? And WHAT is "triggernometry"?

[trax2115]

A SHOW IDEA THAT I WANT TO MAKE REAL ONE DAY (really long post)

this is gonna be a HUGE little rant thing because i love talking about my ideas, future ideas, concepts. etc etc

i just realized i never said anything about this but uhh, for months ive been dreaming on wanting to make this string (I've always had in mind) come true

at first it was going to be a joke play with the huge inspiration of gumball. hes based on this joke episode i made called "Lil H". a baku inspired series (by sethical)

at the first point, he was literally gonna be called Lil h, LITERALLY. but I thought of a different name for him, and i named him "douglas dinget". it was a stupid name. the first image is the first concept idea i had for him if i actually wanted to take his design seriously . (its uhm... pretty old!). second image is the actual concept drawing when i thought of him having his own show (not a serious design take obviously LOL)

for 2nd image, he's just sonic but with a square cap hat, long gloves, basically a frickin recolor/edit LOL. it was funny when I imagined how he would look if I animated him and the background is just a realistic school. and then i thought of making his name "douglas tucker". i think him having that name is pretty cool and funny

his inspiration is a mixture of a chibi figure (like gumball) and his animations would be peanuts esque. like the way how he would walk, run, slip, etc etc. BASICALLY how peanuts characters are animated. i really loved imagining that as a test animation for this design, never really did it tho. im still learning animation

now this is where i suddenly had a new idea. i imagined "what if douglas had a girlfriend and she was a cactus? because cactuses and hedgehogs are spiky.." and this is where the design comes in

her name is KATHERINE STERLING!!!!! OMLLLL!!! (also a HALF redesign on Douglas)

this was the third character i thought of tho. second character is a "My melody" rip off LOL. (which she WILL be redesigned soon)

and also heres a joke ass image i drew a while ago LOL (it says LIL H in japanese)

you see the mario right there? yea that was literally gonna be his design until i remembered nintendo going to everyone "uhm. FUCK YOU you arent allowed to use this character named "mario" or any other mario characters anymore! make up your own design or make your own creations!" and thats what i legit did (not rlly LMAO)

heavily inspired by the chowder mario (definitely changing his design somewhere later)

stupid name for him, it was on purpose too sense uh... JOKE SHOOWWW!!! this is still gonna be a joke show, and the first episode were legit pngs (like i said, baku inspiration.) and if i all of a sudden make episode 2 a huge gumball inspiration and have these art styles like THIS? oohhhhhooo that would be a huge glow up.

anyways im cutting to the main part. heres the main cast idea

i dont really got anything to say about claire, other than being a ocho rip off LMAO

well not really a rip off but like, she could overreact a lot. she doesnt do stuff harmful or anything, like causing damage and other stuff like that. shes not THAT aggressive basically. she MIGHT become a scrapped character. (unless if a team is formed for this show and someone knows how to put a 8 bit pixel character in a high resolution show, just like ocho)

okay now i want to show you the months that went by with DT's design, i just cant type any longer to show this i geniunely wanted to say all of that just so you can get on the path before i, PROBABLY, make this show a real thing

Huge glow up a little bit, right? hopefully you think the same as me with this design

constructive criticism is allowed btw. i would LOVE to hear more ideas from you guys if youre interested.

now heres his new design in line with the main cast

now i wanna talk about the

PERSONALITIES!!!

DOUGLAS: Douglas is normal about almost everything. it would be VERY rare to see douglas scared. he is extremely calm about stuff. he is tough. he doesnt take his rage out on anyone. even if some people would try to start a fight with him. he's a strong teen and he KNOWS he would knock someone out with one punch. its rare for him to get angry because he knows how strong he is. Lets just say hes kind of the opposite of gumball. Gumball can sometimes get scared when someone is raging at him (mostly people he knows who are STRONGER than him.) hes basically a wimp LOL. douglas is the opposite of that basically. douglas just does his own without meeting any new kid unless if they want to meet him (its best for him to wait if someone wants to be friends with him first)

KATHERINE: Katherine Is a very nice and polite person. but she can overreact sometimes and get mad at douglas if he says or does something that she doesnt like at all, especially if douglas makes a joke compliment to her. she basically hits douglas multiple times on the head. usually when she does that to her friends it hurts them but douglas barely feels anything when she does it to him LMAO

HADIZA: She trys to act tough like douglas despite the fact that douglas doesnt even try to act tough at all. she basically has the personality of gumball a little bit. she trys to stand up and be a more "scarier" person, trying to scare the big character. but when the big character makes a furious noise back at her, she would bunny hop away from them fast

CLAIRE: like i said earlier, "She could overreact a lot. she doesnt do stuff harmful or anything, like causing damage and other stuff like that. shes not THAT aggressive basically."

JACKSON: Jackson Is, to put it in short, a bit of a asshole. LMAO. basically jackson is always tired and can sometimes have aggresive tones. its very common for him. douglas has gotten use to his aggressiveness because theyve being friends ever since they were in kindergarten. Jackson has been getting tired of the world throughout the years.but luckily douglas and jackson are always staying communicated everyday. they never missed a single day not communicating. they are basically BEST best friends.

THE CLASSMATES & TEACHER (W.I.P.)

dont really have that much to say about the classmates. i got 5 more designs to create till the number of students is completed. i dont have that much to say about the teacher either. but i do know its gonna be REALLY HARD figuring out how to animate her. but i REALLY want this show to be good whenever the next episode comes out. i REALLY want these guys to be animated in the style i want them to be animated in

and here are douglas parents!!!

heres some old concepts, ideas, and just some shit for fun LOL

i really love showing my stuff

welp uh. THATS BASICALLY IT! i really love ranting about my

concept ideas and stuff when i think it would be awesome if it was a real thing

if you actually read through this whole entire post THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING IT! it took me like 2 or 3 hours to make this whole entire post. hope i used good grammar and wording on this post

woohoo!!!

[chkn-kit]

10 more songs I want in proseka + groups that would fit them

I'M MAKING THE SECOND PART NOW. Here's the previous post.

Again, there units chosen for each song is very much based off vibes and my own interpretations so feel free to switch them around!

And just to make sure everyone's on the same page:

SPOILERS FOR THE JP VERSION

Kisaragi attention - JIN

Unit: MORE MORE JUMP! Singers: MMJ + Rin

First of all, I gotta say that if I COULD add all kagepro songs in the game, I would. The fact that we have an idol character in the series but no MMJ covers is a crime and that's why I'm adding this song.

Haruka, Shizuku, and Airi have all shown hesitation toward being an idol in the main story. One because of the public attention not being what they wanted out of it (Airi), and another because they don't feel like they deserve to be called an idol anymore (Haruka and Shizuku). To be fair, at this point Kisaragi attention seems a little out of character, but the three of them all experienced a lot of hesitation toward their occupations and got over it. I also think Minori (and MMJ Rin) embody the clumsy and insecure nature of the MC in the song.

Dream-eating monochrome baku - Nem

Unit: Wonderlands x Showtime Singers: Rui, Tsukasa, Len

Hmm remember what I said last time about not wanting to repeat the same pairings over and over again-

I couldn't NOT give this song to these three. I think the vibe of the song fits them so well and Rui especially would sound good in the chorus. Also I want to hear the little 'oh!'s in the song LMAO. They already added it's a wonderful cat life so... I vote for this one too :D

A happy death - Kikuo

Unit: Nightcord at 25:00 Singers: Kanade, Mafuyu, (+ Miku)

I think people forget how pretty this song is since it gets overshadowed by Kikuo's other works, but I think it deserves a spot on here. (Not that it isn't a popular song of course but it's just not the first song people think of when they think of Kikuo.)

Kanade's character and her whole 'wanting to save people with her music' somewhat falls into place with the song. 'Saving' is being represented by killing the 'you' in the song, which is definitely not what we're trying to do-

But if we really want to go into the nitty gritty, we can say that we are saving Mafuyu by killing the 'good girl' persona she is putting up. Let's not take the song too literally haha.

(+ Kanade would sound nice singing this song.)

Sugar Guitar - Police Piccadilly

Unit: Leo/Need Singers: L/N + Len

The sound fits well since its instrumental is pretty straightforward for bands. The theme of 'trying to find what you want to do in the future and going for it' fits well since L/N is still trying to find their sound and identity and what they want their band to be (I mean, 'resonating with you' was literally all about what they wanted to do in the future).

Also, it's a bop.

What else can you ask for?

Shinitai Juudai, Koroshitai Nijuudai - Nashimoto-P

(I must add that there is no official translation of the title but I think most people know the song as 'Wanting To Die In My Teens, Wanting To Kill In My Twenties') Unit: Nightcord at 25:00 Singers: Mizuki, Mafuyu, KAITO

I wanted to add in a Nashimoto-P song but I think most of them fall in a genre that don't line up with the game. It was either this one or AaAaAaAAaAaAAa, but after Mafuyu's character development on JP, I think this one fits better.

The N25 crew have all grown to a point where they can do a little reflection on themselves. And as we all know

"you must fight your mother, Mafuyu"

LOL

Kire carry on - Police Piccadilly

Unit: Leo/Need Singers: L/N + MEIKO

I can't believe I repeated the same producer in the same list with the same unit.

But the vibes on this one just *chefs kiss* immaculate.

Corruption - Parsley Onuma

(I put Onuma's self-cover in the post because the Miku version has some gore/body horror in the thumbnail/video in case people don't want to see that.

If you want the original you can just click here instead. The tuning is really nice!)

Unit: VIVID BAD SQUAD Singers: Akito & Toya

Hmmm I love this song sm. The main reason I put this song with VBS is because of how it sounds. I noticed a lot of VBS' songs are more rhythmic...? In nature? I'm not sure how to describe it because I never took music classes (all the terminology is above me).

The themes in the song are what lead me to giving it to the good ol' BAD DOGS with no vocaloids added into the mix. From what I'm getting, the MC despises the life they've been living and they feel like they're stuck in a loop of breaking, fixing, and masking themselves. They start to hate the person they're becoming. I think they end up leading a life of anger and spite, but instead find their salvation (the 'you' in the song) which is probably what the 'corruption' in the title refers to.

The song is pretty hard to interpret considering that the story is told from the MC's perspective, but nevertheless, I think it has enough tie-ins with Akito and Toya that I gave it to them.

Toya needed an escape from his home-life which stemmed from spite and in turn brought him to Akito. Akito needed something to help fulfill his desire to be worth something more which brought him to music (and to Toya).

Now sidenote: the themes are also N25 themes, but I don't know how many other people have noticed this but Toya's and Mafuyu's stories are incredibly similar. They would literally be in the same position storywise if it wasn't for the fact that Toya had the Tenmas to open his eyes earlier on in his life.

But that's a whole different tangent for a different day OOP

Yuukei Yesterday - JIN

Unit: MORE MORE JUMP! Singers: Minori, Haruka, Miku

FINE. ANOTHER KAGEPRO SONG FOR MMJ. SUE ME! (Don't)

Yuukei yesterday is just so upbeat and wholesome. I think it fits with Minori's awkwardness when interacting with Haruka even if she isn't a tsundere like the MC of the song. I think her vocals would be really cute in the chorus ueueue

Common world domination - Pinocchio-P

Unit: Wonderlands x Showtime Singers: WxS + Rin

I had to double check if this song was in the game or not. I think it could work nicely as a WxS cover since the song is so nonsensical and upbeat. I think any of the WxS members could sound great taking the lead in this song.

But despite that I also think they could also just add the original in the game as a VIRTUAL SINGER song instead of a unit cover :0

My discovery - Seeeeecun

Unit: VIVID BAD SQUAD Singers: VBS + KAITO

With 'Light up the fire' being... a thing... and Taiga essentially saying all their efforts are going to waste since it's impossible for them to surpass RAD WEEKEND I think adding this song could be interesting.

From what I'm getting, the MC is reflecting on how useless they've become with their future amounting to nothing despite their best efforts. They see themselves as a failure and see their past confidence as nothing but a falsely inflated ego.

I really wanted to add this producer to the list because I think their music is very interesting. I think the word for what they add is 'dissonance'? Anyway, go take a look if you've got time :D

~~~

If you read this entire thing I APPLAUD YOU. Especially if you listened to the songs as well. Please discuss the choices or songs with me, I love talking about this stuff! I'd love to hear about suggestions from other people as well.

[aworldforastage]

latest obsession: demon-hunting "best buddies" from tenth century Japanese aristocracy

(poster from the Chinese audiodrama)

I'm talking about the Onmyōji stories by Baku Yumemakura, which is about on Abe no Seimei, a famous master of onmyōdō who lived during the Heian era in Japan. In Baku Yumemakura's short stories, he is a handsome but eccentric young man who solves mysteries involving ghosts, demons, and other evil occultists. Accompanying him is his friend Minamoto no Hiromasa, a nobleman and musician. The series started in 1988 and has spun manga, movie, and video game adaptations.

As with most of my entertainment, I discovered this franchise because earlier this year a Chinese audiodrama based the series was released. The main voice actors, 袁铭喆/Yuan Mingzhe (Seimei) and 赵成晨/Zhao Chengchen (Hiromasa), are familiar names for the danmei AD crowd, but the story is technically not romantic and not BL, so the play count is rather low despite raving reviews for the production and performance.

(Posters from the audiodrama)

Although there is no explicit romance in the original stories or the adaptations, Baku Yumemakura apparently confirmed that Seimei and Hiromasa love each other but do not know it. In the AD, they really nailed that sense of adoration hovering between the boundaries of friendship and something more.

There are also two live-action Japanese films, Onmyōji released in 2001 and Onmyōji 2 in 2003, which have attracted some English-speaking fans to the franchise. Since I never read the original novels, I only know the characters' personalities from the adaptions, which already vary between versions. Hiromasa has very intense himbo vibes from the movies, while Seimei feels a more overpowered and other-worldly in the AD.

I have been happily indulging in the fanfics while I take a break from reading original novels. I'm super happy and grateful that a seemingly small fandom has such so many prolific writers!

[indigo-flightly-falls]

ATTENTION HERMITBLR

If you see this you are obligated to reblog and put your niche AUs in either the tags or as text.

And by 'niche' I mean something like a show many people don't watch or a random book from the library or something. Basically something that as far as you can tell, hasn't been created before.

I have hand selected three of my personal collection, but I have many more rattling around the brain. Under the cut because I love to ramble :)

Jinxed: This is based off the book 'Jinxed', which is set in a world where little animal robots replace phones called bakus. There are at least 4 tiers to these robots, although there might be more because I haven't read the second book yet- The current idea I have is that the Hermits are a friend group from one of the schools, and the traffic gang are sneaking out to take part in illegal baku fighting. That's it I haven't fleshed this out but robot animals and cool technology and maybe some angst. The angst comes in the form of the Watchers who run the fights slowly manipulating the kids.

Children of Stardust: This is based off a random book I grabbed off the library shelf. It's so good. It takes part in a galaxy that gives away powers in the from of kobastickers. The reason it's on the list is because the Saba guild the main character belongs to gives off Hermitcraft energy. The kids gathered so many lawsuits and the one in charge of them just does not care. There's also this place called the City of Children, where all the adults just vanished and now it's run by kids. Idk cool space adventures filled with chaos.

Skyborn: This one is based off the book series Skyborn! It's a three part series that takes place in a universe where everyone is a bird hybrid. Fellow bird/avian likers come get your dream universe. This one you could pretty much either just use the given universe or filled in the canon characters! If we're going with filling in canon characters here's some ideas: Ellie - Gem. A sparrow who wants to join the elite guard and when she doesn't she joins a band of thieves? I feel like Gem would be a great Ellie :) Gussie - Mumbo. I have nothing to say except vibes. And also the fact that Gussie was from the high clans but then ran away to work on inventions. This role was made for Mumbo. Twig is Bdubs I will not explain. It is simply the vibes. Nox... is harder to place. Etho might work, but that interferes with another idea I had. Basically to get a Nox grab a traumatized guy who would be a crow hybrid and is bad at feelings. Scar and Grian are that that prince and guard that might be in love. You can take this a /r or /p but they'd be great. Anyone else I'd say are background characters or cameos! There are a lot of possibilities! This universe is filled with potential angst and fluff, with so much cool world building! I'd also recommend checking out the books if you don't mind them being targeted for kids!