#that I should have standards for. But I'm looser with stuff like this because the nature of it is more like

[eyivibyemi]

✧ I won’t really write descriptions for these, but see original post tags for explanation/commentary on the song snippet ✧

[imagine-a-sanctuary-like-this]

Some early thoughts on Arcane S2

Just a few thoughts on the 1st Act of the new season. No strong commitments or opinions just yet, it's still early on in the story. I'll start with what I especially liked, then cycle into things I'd have liked to see done differently.

Animation

Visually, this season's a step up from the last. I've especially enjoyed the differently-stylized into sequences to each episode (the charcoal-like funeral, the overlords' last supper and the Grey, respectively). I've read some complaints about the music-video-esque treatment of the fights, but I enjoyed that. The music's not my thing, but it fits the steampunk/sci-fi-fantasy aesthetic pretty well.

Vi/Cait

Good to see it become canon! I also like the tragedy they seem to be setting up, and I do like how they wrote their relationship. Again, have read complaints about them getting together and breaking up too quickly, but I think it makes sense - the kiss is a pay-off to almost a season's worth of build-up. The breakup is the result of the gap between the characters' beliefs, conditions and natures. There's always been tension between them, and they're not perfect for each other, so them getting together all at once would not have been believable. Also, since Act 1 sees basically everything uprooted and thrust into chaos, it makes sense for them to make impulsive decisions trying to find comfort. Sure, they're probably not deeply in love, they've known each other for a short time, but they've clearly liked each other for a while. I don't really get where the people that think it's rushed are coming from.

Cait's arc set-up

I really like where it's going! The arc they seem to be setting up looks like it'll be about the effects of grief on perpetuating hatred and violence, which fits right in with the story. I do wonder if they'll attempt to take Cait to the 'extreme' and then bring her back in a sort of redemption arc. It seems like that might be difficult to do after some point. But I'm excited to find out where it's going.

Jinx, Isha and Sevika

Not much to say here, I like how Jinx's family themes continue even after Silco's death. All kinds of nice parallels going on. I like it.

Alright, now for the stuff I'm not so positive on. There's quite a bit, but simply because it is easier to criticize than to praise, especially when S1 has set a very high standard.

Too many plotlines

I've seen people talk about pacing issues, and I do agree, but to me the more fundamental problem (which is the cause of the first) is that this season's juggling too many plotlines. Just the ones that come to mind:

(1) Zaun vs Piltover, undercity uprising (2) Mel and the Black Rose (3) Ambessa's Noxus interference (4) "The Arcane is waking up" (5) Vi, Jinx and Warwick family drama (6) Victor's becoming (7) Vi and Cait relationship drama (8) Singed

My hope is that these will be bettered by uniting some of the plotlines. Victor and the Arcane will probably end up one storyline, same with the Black Rose and Noxus. Still, the story feels over-loaded with STORIES, and not in a very water-tight writing kind of way, but rather in a 'there's too much going on' kind of way. I'm afraid that they will not have enough screentime to set up, develop and pay off all of these, while also doing justice to the character arcs. I might be wrong, we will see.

For now, I feel like they should have cut one of the plotlines above to make more space for the story to breathe. It's also a little thematically messy. There's usually at least a loose thematic connection (family, using magic/science for good/bad, dangers of the arcane, oppression), but sometimes it feels too loose. Again, I'm sure some of this will come with time as we get these 'looser' plots developed, like the Black Rose, Noxus's political interests, etc. Hopefully, they can pay it off right.

A consequence of so much going on is, yes, some moments are not given enough time. This was most evident for me in the Jayce/Viktor goodbye scene. Perhaps it is meant to be underwhelming and this will be relevant later, but as it stands, it's rushed. I've seen someone given another good example, Jayce and Heimer's reunion scene - it should have been tensed with residual conflict, but there's kind of... nothing.

Another consequence is that some characters screentime feels insufficient for their story importance (e.g., Jayce, Viktor, Ekko), while others', excessive (Maddie, the enforcer dudes). Isha's screentime is fine, since she works as a parallel to Powder, and Salo's is also alright because of politics plotline. I've seen some leaks about Maddie which I will not detail here, but I'm not sure that they justify her abundant screentime.

Scale of conflict

I quite dislike the seeming shift away from the core Zaun vs Piltover conflict towards a more 'global' feel. Makes sense for S2 to have a bigger scope, but this is a little too big for my liking. Both the Arcane waking up and the Noxus stuff is very global, and since the show is more about Arcane than about world politics, I would've preferred to have seen the latter cut down in favour of more screentime to the former, as well as main characters from S1.

I also quite dislike the 'let's put aside our political differences to save the world' direction that this all seems to be winding up to, because it kind of puts the more interesting, interpersonal conflict on hold, and takes what I'd consider the 'easy way out' of the moral difficulties of the conflict. I do not know if this is what they will do this season, but it feels like they're edging towards that with the Jayce, Ekko, Heimer and Victor stuff (and possibly the Grey?).

Viktor and Agency

Once again, with so little screentime it's difficult to tell, but the set-up seems to suggest a certain direction here, which I can't say I like. It's unclear whether Viktor is controlled or mind-addled by the Hexcore, but I do dislike the seeming lack of emotion. If he's controlled, it kind of takes away from what S1 was building towards. I do like that Jayce is pushed to use the Hexcore on Viktor (he chooses to do it, despite promising to destroy it), but I feel like the fallout would have been more compelling, especially in terms of Viktor as a character, if he'd seemed more in-control.

They seem to have chosen to go with something else, and I don't doubt they have an idea for his arc, but I wish there'd been more of the original League concept in Arcane's Viktor. As it stands, all the desperation from S1, the anger and helplessness, have sort of... gone, without a good conclusion (I don't really consider Sky's death a good conclusion). Or at least, without one for now. I thought that S1 had been building up to the Machine Herald stuff. Maybe this is an intentional subversion. I've never found Viktor's character to be very compelling, but he was at his best when pushed to desperate measures by his dying body.

This is a matter of personal enjoyment, but I do genuinely hope they bring some emotions back for him, and I really hope he is not controlled by the Hexcore.

[cinoman]

the idea of "authentically black"

while im still on my tiktok rant grind i've been thinking about this for ages and i need to write it down so i can stop having this swimming around my head forever

i don't have receipts but blackness is categorized as a spectrum for a good number of people, but not in the way you think(?).

i remember this guy was being made fun of on tiktok because his nose was quite broad (same shit joke about how he takes up all the air in the room) and he basically made a video insinuating he's what the "original" and "most authentic" black person looks like

(he actually said something like "i was what your ancestors looked like, i look like a true african, i look like an ancient african statue" etcetc.)

i had a lot of mixed emotions about that post. it was painted as being very pro-black, and i supported his message for the simple fact he's up against the most intolerable type of black ppl (the one's who think it's appropriate to make fun of other black ppl's features). but i hated it as a stand alone video.

for a brief moment, there was a feud about the usage of afro wigs by black women who do not have type 4 hair. it started because of a well-known black tiktoker, who happened to be lightskin and have type 3 hair, wore an afro wig to some kind of event.

well, another semi well-known black tiktoker, who happened to be darkskin and have type 4 hair, made a very telling slip up when addressing the issue. if i remember correctly she asked her audience how they felt about "lightskin women with type 3 hair using our hair."

and to be completely fair, i think the argument originally was completely valid and interesting. the basis of the feud was that people put on afro-wigs but demean and look down upon people with 4c hair (who have the most accommodating texture for a nice afro). we see afros as a symbol of pro-blackness but tear down the people in our community for their afros by telling them to "get their hair done" and other demeaning shit like that. up until people feel pro-black again.

anyways, as you can imagine, lightskin women with 4c hair basically told her off. the issue was because of the term "our hair" and the link of "lightskin and 3c hair." the whole incident kind of reminded me of the guy i mentioned earlier. and then it clicked for me: people (no matter how conscious they are) think of blackness as a spectrum of features. and it's dumb as hell.

for example in the nose incident, broader noses are considered more "authentically" black. so wouldn't the logical conclusion to this be that if you're black with a nose that's any less broader, you're not as "authentically" black. your nose is a product of something non-black, and a broader nose can only be the product of something only black.

with hair/skin, darker skin is viewed as more authentically black. so is having 4c hair. therefore, it makes sense that someone who is "authentically" black by means of darker skin would also have 4c hair.

i'm not so sure why the link between hair and skin is so close in this case, but moving on.

so therefore, lighter skin people are automatically not "authentically" black and therefore "should" have features that match that: looser hair.

the conclusions to these statements is that anything not in complete opposite direction to the eurocentric beauty standard is "diluted," and "less black." there must be something there that is causing those things other than blackness.

i shouldnt have to explain why this dichotomy is asinine, and unhelpful to the way we view blackness. this dichotomy is what generates comments like "Oh, what are you mixed with?" when a black person has anything outside of "authentically black" features.

the actual answer here is all of it is black. all it is is caused by "authentic blackness." Hair that comes in looser textures is a product of? black people. no, not referring to the stupid anti-science eve gene stuff, it's simply a feature black people who are full black can have without there being some underlying "unauthentic" blackness in them. Same with lighter skin, etc.

brain dump over lol

[curioskitty]

THE・Rarest Bakugou

Given Bakugou-kun's description as a "juvenile delinquent" (Horikoshi sensei uses the term 不良少年, or furyou shounen, meaning juvenile delinquent boy), it's expected that he wouldn't conform to standard. So obviously, it's not possible to find Bakugou-kun wearing a tie properly................

What is up with this perfectly tied nonsense right here?!

Bakugou-kun, I thought I knew you!!! THE LIES! THE BETRAYAL!!!

But, it's probably just a fluke. You didn't mean it, right Horikoshi-sensei?

WTF?! WHY?!!! Horikoshi-sensei?!

Yep. Contrary to expectations, Bakugou-kun wearing a tie correctly only ranks at Ultra Rare status: difficult to find, but not impossible.

So, what's rarer than a tie-wearing Bakugou-kun? Go Beyond, Plus Ultra Rare Bakugou!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In fact, it's even harder to find Bakugou-kun wearing a tie improperly. Given proto-Bakugou's loose tie design, I would have expected that to be the likelier delinquent-esque tie option. But I've only seen Horikoshi-sensei draw him like this once:

(Horikoshi-sensei's one year celebration illustration. This is still fairly early in the publication.)

On top of that, Bakugou-kun consistently wears his uniform tie-less and with at least one button undone on his shirt collar. His pants are always slung low on his hips and legs bunching up at his feet (except when he had to wear jeans for Best Jeanist). You can even see panels where Horikoshi-sensei drew in the rips at the hems near the heel where they drag on the ground.

So why the inconsistency, Horikoshi-sensei? I see you over there, stop pretending you didn't notice. I know you're paying attention.

Horikoshi-sensei gave proto-Bakugou a loosened tie, so what is the reasoning for taking Bakugou-kun's tie away?

Some No-Tie Theories

Fan Theory #1: HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW

//Like Midoriya-kun, Bakugou-kun came from a middle school with gakuran uniforms. They never learned how to tie them. Midoriya-kun messes up his tie, while Bakugou-kun doesn't even bother to try.//

I actually think this is the least likely reason. Bakugou-kun was designed to be a naturally talented genius. I think this applies to anything he wants to do. If he does something, it's always perfectly done.

Bakugou-kun can (and does if you look above) tie it perfectly when necessary.

CONCLUSION: If Bakugou-kun doesn't do something, it's completely out of personal preference or because he doesn't see a reason to.

Fan Theory #2: REBELLIOUS NATURE

//Bakugou-kun is a delinquent and maintains that image because he thinks it looks cool. Or maybe he is rebelling against fashion designer parents. Either way, because of his family background he knows how to tie a tie, but wants to be a rebel.//

I'd give partial points for this one. I'm pretty sure he wears his pants loose at least partially because he thinks it looks cool. However, Bakugou-kun's parents were noted to be designers and not specifically fashion designers.

Despite appearances, this is the kid that sleeps at 8:30pm, doesn't break school rules, and yells at his friends for smoking.

He zips up the collar on his gym track suit all the way. Both the summer and winter versions get the same treatment. He doesn't feel the need to "make a statement" by wearing his track uniform incorrectly. Outside of class, he can and does sometimes wear his track jacket unzipped, but during class he always wears it properly.

So then why does Bakugou-kun refuse to wear the band T-shirt and Christmas party Santa outfit? Because he isn't cooperative. In Ultra Analysis, his Cooperativeness Stat was the lowest rank: E.

CONCLUSION: Bakugou-kun may be non-conformist and uncooperative, but he isn't a rebel.

Fan Theory #3: TRAUMA/PTSD

//This is one of the more popular theories. Between Dabi grabbing his neck, the Sludge Villain and being restrained at the School Festival, our boy has been through the wringer. As a result, he just doesn't like stuff around his neck because it gives him anxiety.//

The Western Fandom is definitely concerned about the mental health of the kids. But I don't actually think this is the reason. Not that I don't think they all need some therapy and self care, especially right now, but there just isn't evidence for this specific trauma in Bakugou-kun.

He wears scarves and even turtle necks without a problem.

On top of that, Bakugou-kun ALSO unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and gakuran in middle school; even from before the Sludge Villain incident. There isn't any evidence Bakugou-kun changed his dressing habits due to trauma. He wore a scarf to the entrance exam for UA, too.

CONCLUSION: Bakugou-kun has ALWAYS worn his shirts with the top button unbuttoned.

These 3 theories are inadequate, too. Even if they did explain the reasons Bakugou-kun doesn't wear a uniform tie, they don't factor in the reasoning for why he DOES wear his other ties properly sometimes.

HC#1: Bakugou-kun's preference

Bakugou-kun doesn't seem to care about his image and how "extras" see him. Even during the press interviews after his hero debut, he wore the same style of open collar look. He's not shy about being nude or taking his shirt off.

But what he hates is being uncomfortable.

He is "explosively brawny". Just look at how thick Bakugou-kun's neck is when compared to Midoriya-kun's. It isn't just that Midoriya-kun is supposed to be scrawny, but also that Bakugou-kun has a thicker than average neck.

Bakugou-kun doesn't like to button up his shirts all the way because it's uncomfortable. It's reasonable that he zips his track suit and everything else up because those are looser at the neck or made of stretchier materials.

As for why he doesn't wear the uniform tie at all... Don't forget Bakugou-kun is a perfectionist and a bit of a neat freak.

He always tucks his shirt in. For the band performance he wore a collared black dress shirt. From what we saw of his room, it's minimalist and clean. I don't see him wanting to look like a slob.

A sloppy loose tie would probably irritate him more than just not wearing it (which is even funnier when you think about Midoriya-kun's chonk tie. It probably makes him want to strangle Midoriya-kun, or maybe just tie it himself...)

Bakugou-kun has difficulties compromising when it comes to his high standards. So if he has to wear it, it's going to be either 0% or 100%.

HC#2: Explosiveness

Why draw Bakugou-kun with either 0% tie or 100% tie? If Horikoshi-sensei is going for a delinquent image, wouldn't the 50% tie option make more sense?

Taking a look again at Bakugou-kun's profile page, Horikoshi-sensei describes him to be explosive in every way. That includes his whole body being "explosively brawny", but also adds a note that he looks slender in clothes.

Horikoshi-sensei put an effort to make every element of Bakugou-kun's character in some state of either fully compressed or explosive.

His slimming clothes, general appearance and even his speech patterns are highly compressed (blunt/terse) and loud. The extremes of his attitude are compressed too; if Bakugou-kun is not loudly raging, then he's quietly observing.

This contrast is key to his character. You can't explode if you aren't compressed first. It's supposed to be shocking to see how brawny he actually is under his slenderizing clothes. And I always feel shocked whenever I see this kid compressed into a tie.

HC#3: Deku & Kacchan

These two are set apart from the class by design and very much on purpose. Horikoshi-sensei designed them to be at opposite ends of the same spectrum.

If Bakugou-kun has muscular arms, then Midoriya-kun needs muscular legs. If Midoriya-kun buttons up his shirt all the way to the collar, then Bakugou-kun's collar has to be loose. Their designs reflect their connection.

So if Midoriya-kun has a poorly tied tie, the opposite of that is either non-existant or perfectly tied. If it's perfectly tied, he'd just blend in with the class.

The no-tie option just makes more sense.

Plus Ultra Rare Bakugou

Horikoshi-sensei only ever draws Bakugou-kun with a tie in specific scenarios. Costume events that require the neck tie as part of the costume or "fancy" events where everyone is in formal wear. And even in those, Bakugou-kun manages to not wear his tie 90% of the time.

So, I just imagine that when Horikoshi-sensei makes Bakugou-kun wear his tie, he's super grumpy! Just look at his face in every illustration he's wearing a tie in. He's probably hot, uncomfortable, and really not enjoying himself at all.

Ultimately, the "Plus Ultra Rare Bakugou" is a Bakugou-kun who wears the tie and SMILES while doing it.

(Yes, I know that's NOT actually a tie. Shut up Bakugou-kun. You're only smirking in this one because you won the Popularity Poll for the 5th time in a row...)

(Well that's random, you say? Welcome to my blog. Considering the stuff going down on canon, I figured I should give fans, and myself, a break from angst to talk about something silly.

Please note that this applies only to the manga. I've found that the anime isn't quite so strict about how Bakugou-kun looks.

Regarding the headcanons, I just want to clarify that everyone is free to think whatever they like. I enjoy all headcanons and support your right to have them.

I wrote this a while ago and then debated posting it because it's such a huge meta about... Bakugou-kun's tie. I had regrets. But now it's become my new years post. Regrets were for 2020, it's already 2021!

Demons out, fortune in!!! I know it's not setsubun for another month, but 2020 was such a demon.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!)

[punchthewallplease]

compulsive coolness

That's what i call it. So basically its when you see other people do stuff any you’re like „I’m the same age as them should i be doing that stuff too?“ And it doesn’t have anything to do with coolness tbh but it can. It could also be stuff like smoking or drinking. So you just see people doing this stuff and you think that there’s something wrong with you because you aren’t like them. And there isn’t and i know that but that feeling doesn’t go away. Its especially hard for people who we’re kind of slow while growing up. Ive been feeling this way for as long as i can remember. And it’s difficult because you can’t really do anything against it. Because you know that you shouldn’t do things just because other people do it. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t feel left out or weird because you don’t do that stuff. You might feel like a looser because you don’t go out every night to parties or you don’t have that many friends. And of course there is also the misrepresentation in media where every teen does stuff like that. Thinking you have to be something you’re not. Trying to be like everyone else. Asking yourself why you’re different. And if so many people struggle with this then why is it still a problem? It’s because we as a society can’t decide what anyone does. There will still be people who do what they want and thats good. But we shouldn’t have to live up to that standard. That standard that media tells us to be like. You shouldn’t get punished for not being like anyone else. Especially you shouldn’t feel bad about it. But i still do and as i said i've always felt this way. I remember when i was in 4th grade or something the girls in my class started drinking energy drinks. And at that point i have never even had one. That might be because i grew up as an only child and didn’t have an older sibling. But of course i didn't think of that i was bothered by it and so i started stealing energy drinks from my mom. I didn’t like them at all but i felt like i had to do it anyways. If i didn’t i would be lame or a bad person or boring or idk what. And i think it shouldn’t be like that. I'm pretty sure there's 4th graders now who struggle with the same problem. Or other problems there are so many examples for this kind of thing. The same goes for looks. You see someone your age on the internet and think „wow they’re so pretty“ and you feel like you did something wrong because you don’t look like that.

I would love to tell you that you shouldn't feel that way but that's not my thing to decide. It's yours. These are your thoughts. Your feelings. And only you can control them. So at least try to tell yourself that this is only in your head and there's nothing wrong with you.

-ptwp

[theultravioletcatastrophe]

I'm too lazy to make this ask really difficult, so I'll make it tedious and time consuming instead! All even numbered questions without a 4 in the ones place greater than or equal to 5 words, do not contain double consonants, not prime numbered, has letters that do not contain an A or B in hexadecimal form, does not contain a typo, and does not have a number as part of the question. I think that's 17 questions total.

I am 100% sure I’m going to misunderstand some portion of your instructions, so my apologies if I don’t answer some of the questions I’m supposed to, or answer ones I’m not supposed to. On the other hand, you should have expected this when you made the question so tedious and time consuming. :P (Also I have more than 17 questions so either I misinterpreted something or perhaps my definition of “typo” is a bit looser than yours)

38:The reason I joined TumblrMy wife, actually. I can’t remember why she signed up originally but she said there was lots of cool anime stuff on here and so I was like “yeah sure, why not” and here I am.

40:Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?Not terribly often. The only person who would do that on a regular basis is my wife, and 99.99% of the time I fall asleep and wake up next to her anyway, so we say “good morning” and “good night” in person.

46:If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?My wife, probably (gosh these questions are boring when you’re married lol)

48:Do I live with my Mom and Dad?Nope, I moved out of my mom’s house probably around 10 years ago.

56:If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?All of my online friends! Y’all are so cool and awesome and I would love to hang out with you in person and have coffee or tea or whatever and just chat. And then give you gigantic hugs after. :3

60:Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?Behind it, for sure. It’s not that I don’t like having my picture taken, I just feel that it’s unnecessary most of the time.

66:What’s the weather like right now?I got home about an hour ago and it was raining, so I presume it’s still doing the same thing now. (I’m in the basement and not really near a window, and I don’t feel like getting up to check, haha)

70:What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?Probably the time I was cutting excess wax off a candle with a utility knife; the knife slipped and went right into the tip of my index finger, slicing it almost to the bone. I nearly passed out from how badly it hurt; I couldn’t get to the hospital until the next day, at which point the doctor looked at it and basically said “well if you had come in sooner we would have put stitches in, but it’s too late now” and just put a bandage on it and sent me home. I lost all feeling in that fingertip for about six months. I still have the scar, which is apparently a permanent part of my fingerprints now.

76:What do I think is Satan’s last name is?What the hell kind of question is this lol

78:How can you win my heart?Pretty much just don’t be a dick. My standards are not especially high.

80:What is my favorite word?I don’t think I have one, to be honest. I’ve never really thought about it too much.

82:If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?“Listen, y’all, we really have to do something about this whole climate change business, or we’re all totally fucked.”

98:Played on a sports team?No, unless you count being forced to play sports in gym class.

118:Had a crush on someone of the same sex?Does Idris Elba count? Because goddamn.

128:Stalked someone on a social network?Nope.

132:Been rejected by a crush?At least 4 times that I can think of.

136:Was I named after anyone?I was named after Earl Scruggs, my dad’s favourite banjo player.

140:Where do I want to live when older?Somewhere that’s warm all year round. Well, okay, maybe not necessarily warm; my preferred temperature range is between -10 and 20 Celsius.

142:One of my scars, how did I get it?I told you about the one on my fingertip, but the same finger also has a scar on the other side, just below my fingernail. I was reaching blindly into a box full of junk looking for something, and there was a razor blade that had come unwrapped and was poking precariously out. I sliced off a good piece of skin and I now have a matchhead-sized scar where it grew back oddly.

146:Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?Uh, probably? I was usually pretty good about not getting caught though. :P

150:The meanest thing somebody has ever said to meUhhh… I don’t… really know. Most people aren’t mean to me, and anyone who is usually gets forgotten about pretty quickly.

152:What do I like about myselfLots of things, really! I like my inquisitiveness, and my dedication to find out something when I set my mind to it.

Whew, this was a long one! Thanks for asking! :D(original post here)