#gonna go watch Batman in a sec just wanted to check in on this post

[pa-pa-plasma]

okay so for those out of the loop, tiktok decided to do a Goncharov copycat called Zepotha, except really, really badly. it started as a marketing ploy for some singer who is now holding an art contest, the kind that older artists warn younger artists not to get involved in because they're scams. no one is paying attention to (or even making) lore & just commenting "you look like Zepotha" in people's comments. it's basically big shitshow. they're also claiming Goncharov started on tiktok so i'm not even gonna be nice about it after that shit

okay look, the real reason that zepotha shit is never gonna be Goncharov (besides it being a marketing ploy) is because Goncharov was treated like a fandom (collaborative including celebrities, built upon over time, openly fictional) & zepotha is treated like a tiktok trend (no collaboration, dies fast, treated like reality recklessly). it doesn't matter if it's interesting or cool or what, they've been built on completely different foundations. you're comparing Spiderverse to Endgame here. hydrogen bomb VS coughing baby. zepotha will never have Lynda Carter & Martin Scorsese's approval.

[cherrysweather]

Claudeleth Week, Day 2: Modern/School

[Pairing: Claude von Riegan x F!Byleth]

[Genre: Fluff, Sfw]

“By! Byleth!” The girl turned her as she heard a voice calling her from outside the window

“Claude! What are you doing on that tree?” She tried to keep her voice down as she climbed the chest under the window to see his friend better

“I found a very interesting book at the school library and I wanted to show it to you! Come with me!” He came near the end of the branch that held his tiny body, extending his hand towards her

“I-I don’t know how to stay on a branch Claude” She watched him and then the ground below them

“I’ll help you! I won’t let you fall, come on!” He squeezed both her tiny hands when she sat on the edge of the window, pulling her to his body and hold her tight as she laid her feet on the branch “Come! It’s something unbelievable!”

He helped the girl to come down from the tree but kept one of her hands in his, pulling her to their secret place in the small wood near the girl’s house

“Look! It’s a history book from I don’t know what century that talks about princesses and princes, wars, wyverns and more! It also has a lot of images!” He gave her that yellow paged, ruined and dusty book, showing her everything that got his eyes before “It said that in the past, Fòdlan was split into three big territories: the Holy Kingdom of Fareghus, guided by the Blaiddyd family; The Adrestian Empire, guided by the Hresvelg family and then the Leicester Alliance, guided by the Riegan family, they had my same last name!”

“Maybe you descend from them? This is so beautiful..” her eyes were shining from all they were seeing, trying to read what she could “Do you think that if we keep it, they’ll notice at school?” she looked at him in the eyes, smiling in the way that Claude did when he proposes his fantastic ideas to get into trouble

“Oh, well, if they ask’bout it, we’ll just run and give it back to the library, what do you say?”

“It’s ok for me!” She hugged the book and opened again once she was beside him, resting one extreme on his thighs and the other on his to see the book together.

-

“Claude, you’re still on that book?” Byleth said, passing her fingers in the boy’s head who was resting on her lap

“Yes! Do you remember the other two families who guided Fòdlan apart the Riegan? In this middle school, there are a boy and a girl who have the same last names as them! A lot of names who are in the book are also in this school! Fraldarius, Gautier, Vestra, Aegir and many many others! This can’t be a coincidence right?” he turned his face towards her that was checking something on her phone

“Well, it is strange, yes, but I think that it’s just a coincidence, or maybe you all descend from these people”

“I have to find more ancient books to understand the picture; I still have to find someone named Eisner you know!” he laughed taking the phone from the girl’s hands, starting then to touch her cheeks

“What would you like to find?” she moved her gaze on her boy’s beautiful, green eyes

“I don’t know, maybe you were some kind of goddess in your previous life” he took her soft and tiny hand on his cheek, cuddling it with his thumbs

“Yeah, goddess of patience if already knew you” She hit him in the forehead as she got up from the ground “Come on, class is about to begin”

“Okok senpai or whatever” he followed her back in their classroom, keeping the book in his arms as some of their new friends added themselves to the duo.

--

Byleth was studying for her last test with her books on the window and the moonlight as her lamp, noticing in every page a tiny sketch of what Claude called “Crests”, some symbols he found on that book he kept with him since childhood and that was still with him in high school.

“Byleth!” the sudden call of her name and a figure that appeared right out of her window, trying to climb it, made the girl jump and fall from the chest where she was sitting

“For fuck’s sake, Claude!” She touched the areas that had hit the ground and barely held back from screaming at that boy

“Good evening beautiful” he hung from the window and watched her from there “Can I come in?”

“No you can’t!” she growled at him and got up “What do you want?” she said while sighing and sitting back on the chest

“I finally found it; your name! In the book!”

“........” She stared at him in silence, and nearly closed the window in his face

“Say something! I had to tell you what you were in the past!” He tried to make her smile again “..Sorry, I thought coming to visit would ease your anxiety for tomorrow” he looked mortified for what he did “So, I’ll just go bac-”

“What did you find?” She said, not being able to do anything to further hide her curiosity

“Do you care? Come with me then” he happily said seeing a tiny smile again on her lips

“You really can’t say it now?” She had to follow him out the window when he disappeared from the edge of it

“You can jump; I’ll catch you” She tried to get close to the ground by hanging herself at the edge of the window before leaving the grip and be caught by Claude

“You’re heavyy..” He laughed as she hit his back before being dragged to what remained of their secret place in the wood

“Does this place still exist?” She sat on the soft weed and invited Claude next to her

“Hear this: there was this girl named exactly like you who was a professor at the monastery where all the people with the same last names as our classmates studied and lived for a year; it is said that she helped the head of House Riegan to bring peace in Fòdlan and unify every state into one peaceful continent”

“Oh wow, so I was your Robin and you were my Batman? Something like that?” she took his hand and watched the book as Claude indicated the lines he was summarizing

“Yeah but, at the end of the war, the two of them got married and lived together until their last days; I found this tiny painting on this piece of paper representing the two on their wedding, look” he gave her the ruined painting, a lot of details have been eliminated by the time, but their happy faces were still there

“They... look a lot like us” he searched a comparison between the image and what she had in front of her, blushing just by thinking of her and his Claude during their possible future wedding

“ So? When are we gonna marry like them?” as she hid her face in his neck, he blushed too, resting one hand on her back to hug her “The first time I showed you this book we were just two kids no higher than a metre and a mentos, but here we are, same place, same people, maybe a little bit higher than before but still. It seems like this book tied our fates”

“Yes... we should rewrite all of this in a new book before this one consumes completely” she still watched that picture, searching in every angle details or other people “You know.... this Claude is reeeally hot; I might be more in love with him than with you” she poked his cheek smiling innocently

“.....EXcuSe ME?” he became red from jealously, taking back the picture and throw it away with the book before attacking her, laying her on the ground and keeping her wrists in his hands “Did you say something?”

“M-Maybe yes orrr, maybe not?” the blush on her face got brighter and brighter as he came near her neck with his lips

“You sure?” he started to tease her skin by licking it and squeezing some parts with his lips

“I-In facts I said that I have to go study f-for tomorrow!” She barely got out of his grip, trying to get back to her window, but Claude literally bumped into her and threw her on the ground again, this time with her belly toward the ground and his body on her back

“Uh-uh. Weren’t we talking about marriage? And didn’t you just dare tell me right to my face that you prefer another man to me, probably dead for 100 years? Such a pervert, poor dead man...”

“CLAUDE!”

----------------

LISTEN FOR A SEC

I just saw that one of my FE favorite artist that I followed on Twitter has also tumblr anD SHE JUST LIKED MY PREVIOUS POST I’M- so happy ;^;

So, thank her because I was close to giving up for this week but magically I got the desire to write this shit back ;D

[She’s /tatabanchou , go follow her on both twitter and tumblr (don’t be like me that I didn’t know she had a tumblr account ;-;) because she deserves it uwu]

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 27 “Bizarre! Gran Torino Appears!”

mysterylover123

The Internship arc starts off with a bang! Let’s see that Full Cowl, Deku! 

SORA NI UTAEBA! While the song in this intro is kinda meh to me, the visuals are amazing. I love the symbolism for all the events of the ep - tho not gonna lie, this core’s ED is better than the OP. Anyway tho, go punch that wall Deku!

We start with Gran Torino pretending to be crazy. I’ll admit, I’m kinda eh on this bit, though I love  Gran. It’s probably because I found it annoying when Yoda did it, so I find it annoying here as well. (It’s really just my inner fangirl talking. Nobody makes Deku unhappy except Kacchan. Who can get away with it.)

But actually, this sets up an interesting difference between Deku and Luke, though admittedly situation isn’t the same because Deku knows Gran is Gran. But Deku’s response to this is to call All Might to tell him Gran’s gone senile. He’s so empathetic Deku why aren’t you real? (no shade at Luke there,e I love him too. Just not as much).

“I don’t have time to mess around.” Deku did not come to play.

New costume! It’s incredible how much better it is than the old one. Like, not even funny how much better. Day-um, Deku. 

Pfh Gran knows exactly how to piss off Deku: Insult All Might. You clever little scoundrel.

So onto Deku’s character flaws: 1. He’s overly analytical. Deku doesn’t know how to act quickly, partially due to circumstance, but partially that’s just how he is. Hesitant. Over-cautious, over-thinks things. He needs to learn how to take action - and in this arc, he does indeed do so without hesitation, and saves Iida’s life by so-doing. Box 1 checked off.

2. Deku admires All Might too much. Like every MC in BNHA, his Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Tragedy (insert me telling you to read that essay again). It’s a problem because he doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn not to imitate All Might and be his own hero. That one doesn’t really sink in until the PLE arc. But check.

3. Deku is insecure. He has a massive inferiority complex (which fits nicely into his foil’s inf-sup complex,  wouldn’t-cha-know) and doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn to be more confident. (Is it wrong that I want this to end with him breaking through Instrumentality to a chorus of his friends saying ‘Congratulations’?)

Gran is my favorite Teacher, as a teacher, in BNHA. I’m a teaching-major, and I kinda aspire to his techniques. What I love the most is helping students figure it out themselves. Just telling someone the answer doesn’t help them. It’s so satisfying seeing a student make that breakthrough thanks to your guidance.

Now we’re cutting away to Iida’s internship to remind you Iida Wants Revenge. This is a little exposition-y, let’s cut somewhere else.

OK good, the villains! Right off the bat, we’ve got some great Parallels with the Heroes, as Tomura decides to basically Intern with a Pro-Villain. He even calls Stain a pro. Tho Tomura really needs to work on his recruitment strategy. “Stain join us. Cause.” “Bakugou. Join us. Cause”.

I want Deku and Tomura to build a grand Hero-Villain rivalry. Tomura basically hates him for no real reason right now, and I want there to be a good reason. Other than “He’s All Might’s successor”. I want them to be the Joker and Batman of BNHA with a real complex hero-villain rivalry, where one reflects the other. They’re getting there but I want more.

“Bloodlust without conviction is meaningless.” Ooh I love me some Stain. He really elevated this series’ philosophical side with his ramblings on heroism and villainy.

OK am I creeped out by the fact that All for One just said the same thing I did about learning? A little.

Deku is so brilliant and such a fast learner tho. It doesn’t take him long to put it all together. And Gran actually really admires him for that - I enjoy their mentor dynamic a lot, since Gran has some real respect for Midoriya in a different way from All Might.

Bakugou with Best Jeanist! OMG the comedy gold of this. Though I just want to take a sec to gripe about a change from the manga to the anime: Manga! Bakugou does not charge at Best Jeanist and yell at him. He’s not dumb enough to try that on the #4 Pro Hero and his teacher. He sits still and listens to Jeanist’s lecture. The only Bakugo line here that’s from the manga is “Didn’t you make an offer for me?” This completely changes the way we perceive Bakugo in this scene, and in general. Bad change.

 But in Good Storytelling-ville, I like the continuing parallels between the Wonder duo this creates: Izuku interns in a rundown neighborhood with an unlisted hero, Bakugo in Tokyo with a top pro. Izuku needs to learn to control his power and believe in himself. Katsuki needs to learn to be kinder and more humble. Izuku learns his lesson her, Katsuki doesn’t. Parallels!

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu again! 4th kind is ok. He’s probably the least memorable of the internship pros, since his gimmick is simple and his design kinda dull.

Uraraka and Gunhead! I love how well they get along. He’s kawaii and she’s a hardcore badass. Don’t you forget it!

Now for more of Momo’s arc. The Uwabami internship is usually dismissed by fans as Just Fanservice, but think about it in context, and it becomes really interesting. One, the Hero Killer arc is about Stain protesting the commercialization of heroism, so we do need to have a Pro-Hero demonstrate the problematic nature of that commercialism. Uwabami does just that. Two, we need to have Momo’s internship be unfulfilling to her, to complete her downward trajectory (before the Final Exam arc can bring her back up), so it’s useful for further embarrassing and developing her character. 3, it sets up Momo and Kendo’s future rivalry.

I’ll take more about it in future eps where it appears.

Izuku practicing and constantly hitting his face on the wall is one of those things that makes me wonder if either a) he has a secret endurance quirk or b) OFA just naturally ups your durability. How does he still have a face after that.

Here’s a hot take: Izuku with his face smashed up from spending a night with no sleep training in garbage all night is still prettier than any other guy in this series.

One of the reviewers I follow made the comparison between All Might vs Deku’s using of OFA and Korra vs Aang’s role as the Avatar. You know, All Might and Korra, both master the power pretty quickly so they get to be strong fast but lose out on the spiritual connection a bit, while Deku and Aang take their time learning ofa/the four elements, but get as a tradeoff more of the spirit-y side...(ATLA & BNHA. My 2 favorite shows, alongside FMA. I swear these are like, three sides of the same show).

While I’m watching in the Sub this time around, i wanted to note a dub-ism in this scene: it’s localized to ‘hot pastries’ instead of taiyaki. There’s a lot of bits like that, where they take Japanese food and translate it for us dumb Americans. But well, maybe that made sense in the 90s, when there maybe wasn’t as much cultural crossover, but...even I knew what mochi were before watching BNHA (Uraraka’s fave, and the dub always localizes it to ‘sweets’) and everyone has google if they’re confused so why not just say ‘Taiyaki?’ Ah well, it’s a stupid nitpick but still.

Gran’s metaphor here is so great. As a teacher I aspire to learn from this man. Teach me your teaching ways.

“THIS TAIYAKI IS ME!!!!!” Another dub-ism has him say “I’m not really a dessert” I saw a reactor once comment on this ‘Yeah, but you are a snacc, Deku.’ I wholeheartedly agree.

FULL COWLLLLLLL!!!!!!! FYEAH!!!!!

OK so there are a lot of reasons I love Full Cowl. it’s one of the series’ finest moments, emblematic of what makes it cool. And what makes Deku cool. He’s smart, and has to work his way around problems, and this solution was just...it was there, for us and Izuku the whole time, to finally sit up and take notice of. It’s about applying power in a different way. About taking what you can do and doing the best you can with what you’ve got. A big central theme for the series.  

Also dayum that slow pan up Deku’s entire body as he activates it...he just looks good in this arc. Actually, post-cavalry battle Deku in the sports festival arc always looks weird and odd (because he’s beat up and in pain, duh) and prior to that he was mainly just adorable...this arc, however, is his official transition into Best Boy for Reals. He’s just...swoony. and also really cool, smart, and all sorts of great fangirl-y things. 

We end on a confident Deku smile and Daiki’s adorable ‘hai.’ Basically, i really enjoy this episode. A little slow at the beginning, maybe. But that conclusion is amazing and so worth the payoff. It’s even got this amazing rhyme and rhythm to it, cutting back and forth between the different students and teachers and just having themes echo between each other like poetry. It love it.

To close off: ED4, AKA BEST ED EVER!!!! This is seriously, no sarcasm, best ED. So for those of you who don’t know, the story behind ED4 Datte Atashi no Hero is, 1: The Fantasy AU theme comes from the second popularity poll, which came out around Chapter 120/Episode 61 (yes, THAT one) and for which Horikoshi drew the top 10 in fantasy garb. 2: The Song was written by LiSa and was explicitly stated by her to be effectively about Izuku’s feelings towards Kacchan. I wrote a post analyzing it. It is, basically, the anthem for...

BKDK CORNER

“Loose…” Guess who the first person Deku thinks of to create Full Cowling is? If you sad Kacchan, ding-ding-ding!

On an analytical note, I think it’s very, very significant that the first real breakthrough Deku makes in handling his power comes by observing Kacchan and imitating him. This is one of my Top 20 Favorite BKDK moments, even though it’s completely indirect, because of how important that is in the long-run. But what about the Imitation theme? Why is it OK for Izuku to imitate Katsuki, but not All Might? Well, first of all, he does use Gran Torino’s moves as well, but mainly, I think the series is saying with this distinction that it’s OK to imitate someone if you see their flaws and acknowledge them, but if you hero-worship them and see them as perfect, you’re only going to screw yourself over.  This is why Iida imitating Ingenium, Shoto imitating his mom, Deku and Kacchan imitating All Might, and yes, Uraraka imitating Deku, are all so bad for them. If you see someone as perfect, and want to imitate them, you’ll never achieve that in your mind, because you already view yourself as imperfect. So Deku can imitate Katsuki because he thinks he’s a jerk, but also an amazing fighter, and Gran because he thinks he’s weird, but tough.

Also Deku just automatically thinking of Kacchan first is so damn shippy.

BEST GIRL OF THE EPISODE: Uwabami!

RANKER: Ranking the Internship Pros, least helpful to most.

10. Uwabami

9. Mt. Lady

8. 4th Kind

7. Endeavor

6. Death Arms

5. Manual

4. Selkie and Sirius (anime only)

3. Gunhead

2. Best Jeanist

1. Gran Torino! (Deku lucked out)