#this isn't related to any of those stories but that's where the dads are from

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Hey guess what it's Dad Squad brain rot

@nancyheart11 This is absolutely your fault lol

The building was vaguely familiar in an almost haunting way. Rusl had spent a fair amount of time in most parts of Hyrule, including its pilgrimage sites, so he was fairly convinced he'd seen this location before. Given the circumstances... well. This was a different Hyrule. It was possible that this wasn't the temple he was thinking of.

It certainly resonated with the other two, though.

The Fierce Deity stepped forward, his imposing figure towering over the rotting wooden pews, dirt scuffed up from the remains of the stone floor with each step. A massive statue that was unfamiliar to Rusl watched over all of them, pewter eyes somehow communicating with the strange man. Abel stood a few paces away, watching him.

"We should go," Abel slowly said, as if he were trying to be considerate but was just impatient enough to press.

The Fierce Deity quietly stood at the foot of the statue, suddenly looking so small. "This was the Temple of Time, wasn't it?"

Rusl blanched. He knew that temple. This ruined building was what was left of it?

Abel sighed, looking tired. "Once."

Fierce reached out, his hand brushing against the statue. Eventually he pulled his hand away towards his chest before letting it fall at his side.

"Are you okay?" Rusl asked, taking a step towards him.

"The mortality of your kind is... sometimes more distressing than other times," Fierce eventually answered. "I will be fine. Let's go."

[diamondcitydarlin]

Just fair warning- I said on my personal post about this that I wasn't going to talk about Neil Gaiman anymore, but as it's becoming clear that him and his publishers and anyone else who makes money off of him is circling the wagons and trying to bury these allegations, as well as some fans still defending and trying to 'rationalize' this information, I feel like, actually, we need to keep talking about him (as much as I cannot stand him and feel physically disgusted now when I so much as see his face somewhere). Specifically, the fact that he's a liar, master manipulator and should not, under any circumstances, be given access to his fans like he has in the past. At the very least. (And if you need to blacklist his name or even unfollow me so as to not be triggered, I completely understand, but I will always try to tag these posts accordingly and I think it's crucial right now that the truth be put where people can see)

This post specifically is in response to those 'rationalizations' I've seen, some that have gone as far as to blame the young fans/groupies that hooked up with him for being 'golddiggers' or just making a mountain out of a molehill for something they now regret. It's not that simple, yall. (And, again, this requires some amount of completely ignoring the story about him extorting his tenant for sex under threat of eviction of her and her three young children, I'm not sure how you 'rationalize' that under the best of circumstances)

So let's be clear here. What we know is that NG has routinely, for possibly an upwards of 30 years, pulled sexual 'partners' from his fan groups, most of whom are 18-22 year old young women (though possibly younger, accounts are coming forward of 16 year olds having allegedly been inappropriately touched/flirted/propositioned by him, which ig is the age of consent in the UK but still?? 16 year olds!!). This wasn't one or two times in the course of three decades, this was a constant pattern of behavior for him and for a very insidious reason.

This isn't to try to infantilize those fans or young women/young people in general or try to suggest that they couldn't have consented to sex with an older person or famous person. In fact, the onus isn't on them at all. This is about an older guy with a lot of fame, power and wealth choosing to sleep with people that he had already conditioned to idolize him and using that power imbalance to coerce them into doing things they didn't want to.

Regardless of one's age or gender identity, it can be difficult to impossible to say 'no' to someone like that. After all, you've been 'chosen' by the chosen one, you're special and not like everyone else, and if you don't do what the popular person everyone trusts is telling you to do you could end up ostracized. Alienated. Or worse. And you know what? Gaiman knew that! He knew it when he was crafting his 'approachable dad' persona on tumblr. He knew it when he was cultivating a fandom of personality. He knew it when he was having huge meetups to try to ensnare more victims. I hate to even think it, but I'm starting to believe he knew it when he was writing children's books too.

It's been talked about again and again in separate issues, but needless to say something not being strictly illegal does not make it inherently, morally okay. It does not erase the fact that this man has been essentially grooming his fandom to feel safe meeting/speaking with him so he can coerce those he can snare into sexual acts they're not comfortable with. That is predator behavior, whether strictly 'illegal' in the eyes of a court or not (but ofc I think he should be criminally punished even if I'm not naive enough to think he actually will be, because this IS rape and rape should be criminally punished)

I'm not personally advocating for anyone to give up being in his related fandoms, but what I am personally advocating for is that people don't forget who he is and what he's capable of, especially when he tries to crawl back to where he was (I'm almost certain he will eventually, as I've said).

Again, at the very least, we need to use what little influence we do have to keep him from infiltrating fan spaces again. He should not be on tumblr yukking it up with young people, he should not be at public appearances hitting on teenagers, he should not be given the unrestricted access to fans that he's 'enjoyed' for the past 30+ years because he is not a safe person. While I wish there was more in the way of restorative justice that could be done, I think at very, very least we should do what we can to limit his proximity to people he could hurt in the future. Make sure no one forgets, because sweeping this under the rug means Gaiman gets to hurt more people.

Lastly, no one is the wrong for having been manipulated by him. Let's make that very clear. What we're NOT gonna do is blame ourselves, each other, the victims, etc, for evil acts that Gaiman chose to do himself, time and time and time again. It doesn't help the situation and it certainly doesn't protect future potential victims. We were all duped because we're human and we attach and a lot of us want to believe there are good people out there, particularly those who make art that means so much to us.

And there are. But let's also use this a teaching/learning tool about how much faith we place in famous people in the future, regardless of how 'approachable' and 'safe' they might seem. Let's remember to have a healthy suspicion of creators/famous people that are oddly immersed in fandom spaces- yes, even the ones you still currently like that seem fine, as difficult as that may seem.

At the end of the day, we don't know them or what they're capable of doing or what they might be plotting to do to us. Support victims. Amplify their voices. Don't forget.

[mylight-png]

A while ago I was listening to Dara Horn's podcast relating to her book, People Love Dead Jews. Within this podcast she discussed the fact that Holocaust museums tend to center stories that highlight ways in which Jews were just like anyone else, putting secular Jews on a pedestal of sorts.

The podcast went on to make the point that we shouldn't have to be like them to be liked. A Jew in a kippah is just as worthy of being accepted as a Jew in a baseball cap, and to position one, the more assimilated one, as "better" is antisemitic.

This made me think of how movies and shows portray Jews, and I realized a similar pattern of idealizing assimilation is deeply prevalent.

There are two main ways Jews are portrayed in movies/shows that I've noticed that are problematic. (For a narrower scope I'll be discussing American media as I am more familiar with that than most other countries.)

The first kind of Jewish representation is the token Jew. This is the character that the viewer wouldn't even have known is Jewish had the show not casually mentioned them celebrating Hanukkah in passing. This is the character who is entirely the same as any other character. An example of this would be in Ginny and Georgia, where a few side characters are revealed to be Jewish. This reveal occurred only for the purpose of making a Hanukkah episode, and immediately one of the characters says the beginning words to most of our prayers, adding "bitch" at the end. This sort of absolutely blatant disrespect towards the words many of us wouldn't even speak fully in casual conversation is meant to indicate that it's okay to poke fun at our religion. (By the way, it isn't okay. Don't disrespect our religion, thanks.) (And no the actress wasn't Jewish.)

Then there's Ben Gross from Never Have I Ever, a similarly extremely assimilated Jewish character. Instead of making fun of Judaism, however, the show plays into Jewish stereotypes. Ben's dad is a wealthy influential lawyer who works with Hollywood. Come on, there's three in a row there. Ben himself is frequently made fun of for being very short (to an extent not befitting the actor's actual stature), and some of his mannerisms could be described as effeminate. All of these traits play into anti-Jewish stereotypes. The protagonist even says she wishes Ben was killed by Nazis and other than a scolding this isn't made to be the big deal that it is.

These sorts of characters are meant to show how Jews are "just like you!" and pokes cruel fun at the few remaining things that do occasionally set them apart. Yes, secular Jews exist, but the way these shows make fun of their Jewish identities is where the issue arises.

The second problematic representation is meant to make goyim feel good about being goyim. This is specifically done through how Judaism is portrayed in these movies.

A major example of this is the show Unorthodox, in which the plot centers a young girl trying to escape her very observant community. This show directly demonized the Jewish religion, making it appear inherently oppressive and twisted.

While some may argue that the show was merely trying to portray the social issues within the community, there are better ways to achieve this.

The book An Unorthodox Match takes on a similar task with a vastly different tone. The book centers a protagonist joining an equally observant community, but not for a moment does the book, author, or protagonist blame Judaism. The book is very clearly written by a Jew who loves Judaism, and yet it manages to highlight similar social issues to the show without blaming Judaism. In fact, Jewish traditions have a fair share of appreciation in the book!

This sort of media is meant to make the goyishe viewers be grateful they aren't part of those communities, but as a Jewish viewer I felt deeply uncomfortable with the positioning of religious Jews as a negative part of society. This media makes the characters seem like they have nothing at all in common with the goyim around them or the goyim watching the show. It's the polar opposite of the previous example.

The first example is showing Jews as "just like anyone else" until they aren't, while the second example portrays Jews as entirely other. Never have I seen an Orthodox Jewish character side by side with the non-Jewish characters in any other context than the Jewish character envying their non-Jewish peers.

Why is the choice either to be assimilated or othered? Why can we not have an observant Jewish character remind their friends that they can't hang out on Saturday, or maybe they bring their own kosher snacks? Maybe a Jewish character muttering a bracha over their food? Why not make being Jewish an important part of their character without making them self-loathe because of it?

Media almost only ever shows two extremes and neither of those extremes has a positive impact on the perception of Jews.

(There is also a pattern I've noticed with Jews and goyim being cast in Jewish roles and how that corresponds to the character, but that's probably another post for another time.)

[all-pacas]

random and very specific chase headcanons i will insist on secretly working into all my stories:

chase and his sister don't look much alike. not in a "they're not related" way, just he takes after their mother and she takes after their dad, lookswise: there's not a deep symbolic meaning for this, they just… don't look alike.

chase never considered himself a Rich Kid growing up, because yes, the big huge house and dad's fancy cars, but he went to one of those very fancy private schools where like. his best friend's father owned oil fields. his friends had superyachts. he was the poor kid in that school, which in turn greatly skewed his own self perception of his family money.

the novelty did wear off but he enjoyed searching people's houses at first, because he'd get to creep on people's houses and belongings and learn about poor people and normal people hobbies and just observe. like an anthropologist. chase wants desperately to Be Normal and has the sinking suspicion he isn't, but also doesn't realize how boring he truly is. (he comes from a Mental Health Is For Other People family)

he has fucked men and he does consider himself heterosexual. his sexuality is a rotisserie chicken of repression and catholicism and "if i don't look at it it will go away." he knows what bisexuality is he just truly believes it doesn't apply.

the reason he worked NICU to earn extra money was a) he actually did kind of mean it when he said he needed a break, but for chase a break is overworking myself and not sleeping because then i simply have no energy to think, and also his sister needed money for rehab. again. and she was cut out of dad's will too.

they talk maybe once a year, but chase has a huge guilt complex about his sister and whenever she asks him for anything (money) he just throws it at her. to her credit, she has only done this once or twice ever. he actually wishes she'd do it more, because then she'd need him, and he could be useful to her (in a way that didn't involve talking to her).

he has a fairly high alcohol tolerance, but is also very good at coming off completely sober even when he's totally drunk, which makes it seem like he has a superhuman alcohol tolerance.

chase has very specific rules for himself and drinking, because children of alcoholics is a constant mantra in his head, but he does still drink. part of it is just a… cultural/social thing, part of it is absolute self flagellation. for a long time the rule was don't drink at home, never drink alone, but after his divorce he started to drink more - at home, alone, whatever - in a sort of rotating self flagellation sort of mess of: what if i did.

cameron was absolutely his first serious relationship.

he genuinely liked and was close with his priest, his teachers in catholic school, he has never had any brushes with Catholic Church scandals, it was the one place in his childhood chase genuinely did find adults who cared about him. however, he does not go to church as an adult. maybe once a year or if he's very, very stressed. it's almost more of a nostalgic thing than a prayer thing. he feels safe in church. he lights candles for his parents and dibala and tries to convince himself he believes in it.

he still believes in god and does absolutely believe he's going to hell. so why not enjoy his life and sleep around and do whatever while he's still alive, you know? enjoy the time you have left because all you can look forward to in death is eternal torment and suffering!!

he thinks, incorrectly, that he can do a pretty good american accent when he tries

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Might be a bit obscure but I was wondering if you have any HCs about Harmonia?

Harmonia, goddess of harmony!

I started with a couple of random ideas but ended up with a whole story for her lmao

When Harmonia was born, Ares would hold her in his arms and cry the whole night for how adorable she was.

As the only daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, Harmonia grew up with four bothers (Eros, Anteros, Phobos, Deimos) and a bunch of adoptive brothers (the Erotes). She was rarely seen without at least one brother accompanying her.

Harmonia and Hebe had a complicated relationship. Not in a bad way but in a "I'm your brother's daughter but I was born around the same time as you so uh..." way.

Harmonia was the referee/peace-keeper in the house. She was the one settling disputes among her siblings and make them hug each other out after their fights.

But don't mistake Harmonia's preference for peace for her being weak. Peace isn't always achieved in a peaceful way, and with a father who is a war god and siblings being literal embodiments of fear and terror, Harmonia can and will throw hands if you were to disrespect her. Even her siblings don't get it easy.

And you know the rule: when the most pacifist person got pissed, things will get ugly fast.

Harmonia and Eris don't interact much due to their domains being literal opposites. But they absolutely have the "Are you tired of being nice? Don't you wanna go ape shit?" dynamic.

When Cadmus came to serve Ares as atonement for slaying his serpent, Harmonia took one look at this mortal hero and got a big fat crush. But she only quietly admire Cadmus from afar and never dared to come close.

Why? Well in the godly society, apparently it's fine for gods to sleep with mortal women, but goddesses sleeping with mortal men is considered shameful (e.g. Clio chided Aphrodite for sleeping with Adonis and Merope hid in shame for marrying Sisyphus)

Ares knew about his daughter crushing on his servant but was too shy to approach him, so being the awesome father that he is, he became her wingman (or wing-dad)

Ares ordered Cadmus to run errands at places where Harmonia was often around so they would "accidentally" bump into each other. He'd nudged Cadmus like, "Hey, my little girl thought highly of you so I'll make this servitude easier for you. Also, what do you think about Harmonia?"

Aphrodite was also supportive of her daughter getting it on with Cadmus, giving her tips and tricks to win over the guy. "Goddesses being with mortal man is shameful my ass, you go get your man, dear daughter!"

Harmonia aso ried to flirt and court Cadmus with advices from Eros. Sometimes it works pretty well, other times... well, Eros got his ass beaten by his sister.

When Cadmus was done with his servitude and married Harmonia, you can imagine Ares being a shotgun father and the Erotes being shotgun brothers at the wedding.

As one of the beloved-by-all figure on Olympus, Harmonia received a lot of wedding gifts from the other gods. However, unbeknownst to all, Harmonia was given a cursed robe and necklace from Hephaestus (as revenge for her parents cheating when Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus)

It was believed that these cursed gifts were the reason why almost all children of Cadmus and Harmonia were doomed.

On an unrelated but also related note, because Hephaestus' gifts had caused Harmonia misery, Ares grew even more bitter and distant from his brother.

I'm not gonna go through all the things that happened with the House of Thebes. Let's just say all the horrors that took her children away take a toll on Harmonia. She fell into depression, beginning to doubt her own divinity and dreading over the fact that as a goddess herself, she couldn't protect all of her children from their demises.

But after everything, Harmonia held strong. She had her father's bravery and her mother's fierce love, and those two traits was what carried her through the darkest moments and made her the ever-faithful anchor for her husband.

Harmonia was the one advised Cadmus to leave the royalty life and settle for a more simpler but more peaceful one. She wouldn't mind having to live as a peasant if it meant this new life could bring peace of mind to her husband.

When Cadmus was turned into a snake, Harmonia was offered by her family to a choice to leave Cadmus and return to Olympus. She chose to stay with him, even let herself be turned into a snake to join her beloved. He was all the she had left, and she decided: if they had to go, they will go together.

And when Cadmus finally died, even if she couldn't die herself, Harmonia followed him to Elysium.

But since Harmonia is still a goddess with duties, time and time again she would have to go back to the living world to fulfill them or visit her godly family. Those parting trips weren't as long as Persephone's because Harmonia is still a minor goddess.

Anyways, it was an overall happy ending for them.

[yuri-is-online]

c-could we have some crumbs of what Yuu and Yutu’s life was like before Yuu died? any particular moments that Yutu may remember fondly for example? 👉👈

Of course my friend, let me see if I can make this less angsty than some of the other posts (challenge impossible)

notes: they/them used for Yuu, this is part of the fyuuture kid au which can be found here and here

I want to leave exactly where in the world Yuu and Yutu are from up to the reader, but I sort of see them as having lived in a small town. They moved at least once to get away from the rumor mill of the place Yuu went missing from, Yutu doesn't have a lot of fond memories of Yuu's og hometown. He remembers it as a place where people were constantly talking about where they thought Yuu went for all the years they went missing.

Even after they moved Yuu and Yutu were considered to be weird and seen as outcasts, something I think Yuu was more upset about it than Yutu was. Until the game explains the rules of Yuu's world, in my mind it is sort of functioning off of Kingdom Hearts logic where when traveling to a different world, your form changes to reflect that one so no merfolk forms for the Octotrio's kids, no beastmen traits for the Savanaclaw kids, and no ability to use Twisted Wonderland like magic for anyone. Yutu can still tell he should have those things and it bothered him a lot.

It was a wild experience to be taken through the mirror and have his ears change or learn he was part fish.

I like to think that Yuu had a job working nights so they could spend more time with Yutu during the day, in what field I leave up to you but they were a really hard worker who saved all their pto and vacation days to attend Yutu's school events and any extracurricular stuff he decided to do. That meant a lot to Yutu, his feelings about his dad change depending on a few things but he never felt like he was lacking in support from Yuu.

Little Yutu really liked making crafts for Yuu. He was really into origami flowers for a while and still knows how to make them, though he's a bit embarrassed by it now.

Yutu genuinely likes Yuu's cooking even if it isn't good. I like the idea of Yutu and Yuu baking cakes together on birthdays, picking out a box mix and fun frosting so they can decorate it the exact way Yutu wants to. A bit before they died Yutu surprised them by baking a cake all on his own the day before their birthday, Yuu was very proud of him and Yutu was just a tiny bit smug about it.

I like to think Yuu subconsciously bought Yutu a stuffed animal that related to Twisted Wonderland in some way. A black cat, a white rabbit, a lion, or maybe even an octopus. Yutu isn't very creative with names so he just named his animals after himself, which is something Yuu would have been able to tease him about because he is very sensitive about it.

Any holidays that are significantly important to Yuu are important to Yutu as well. If you have family traditions that you passed on to him he will think of those fondly and will have told his friends, both in your world and Twisted Wonderland, about them. I like to think that Yuu might have come up with someones unique to them and Yutu since their memories of their past weren't great, so the new ones they made with their son were very important to them.

He especially liked Halloween. It's easily his favorite holiday and he used to get really excited to dress up with Yuu.

Yuu used to read Yutu bedtime stories, and he did like those, but he has really strong memories of times when they would work together to make up a story. He could still repeat some of those back to you... if you knew to ask him about them.

I am interested in hearing what sort of things you would think about Yuu doing with Yutu, or hobbies you think would be fun for specific Yutus to pursue.

[quantomeno]

Professor Layton and the Raiders of the Lost Legacy

aka "I've finally pinpointed exactly what's wrong with Azran Legacy and it's Indiana Jones"

(spoilers for all the layton games. Not many for Indiana Jones films but there are some mostly to do with the Last Crusade)

(also sorry this is such a long post I got carried away)

So, the other day I was rewatching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (it was new years eve and I had nothing better to do and it was on tv) and as a Layton fan I chuckled a little at the opening where Indy talks about how archaeology isn't about hunting for buried treasure etc because as we all know, Layton spends even less time being an archaeology professor than Indy and honestly even less time doing anything remotely related to archaeology.

And as the film progressed, I had Layton in the back of my mind. I was a massive Indiana Jones fan around the same time I was a massive Layton fan but since Layton in the original trilogy is hardly an archaeologist I don't think I ever really made the connection between the two series.

So, the problem I've always had with Azran Legacy is twofold. One is the story letting you do the different locations in any order, because it forces the overarching plot to stagnate and is what I think is a big factor in the rushed revelations at the ending (where we have like five different things going on and like everyone dies and comes back to life like woah, slow down). The other is that it just doesn't feel 'Laytonesque'. Now, Miracle Mask also has this issue, and in that case it's kind of the point because of the move to a new console and the new graphics and the series was getting repetitive by then. And some of the things I'll discuss later will be true of MM but I think they're more pronounced in AL.

The thing I realised watching the last crusade was that there's something else: AL is an 'Indiana Jones game' (in a sense).

OK there are a few key features of an IJ film for those who haven't seen them:

Indy meets someone who wants him to track down a valuable artefact that has some sort of mystical properties (e.g. the Holy Grail)

He discovers that some bad guys are after the treasure for evil purposes (it's often nazis)

What follows is an often violent chase across countries as he tries to piece together the mystery

In the end, Indy discovers the secret but just before he can get to the treasure, the bad guys get there first

He typically gets betrayed at a pivotal moment by someone he trusted

Indy has to help the bad guys under duress (e.g. his dad is shot and can only be saved by the Holy Grail)

The bad guys get the treasure but then do something stupid because of their greed/pride/ignorance and then they get killed by the magic power of the treasure (and the myths around it are thus proven true)

Indiana Jones rejects the allure of the treasure's power and either returns it to its rightful owners, leaves it alone or it ends up hidden away in a storage facility and forgotten (despite the fact much is made of his catchphrase 'it belongs in a museum', most of the major treasures don't actually end up in a museum)

Now, if we look at Azran Legacy:

Layton meets a guy (Sycamore) who has found a mysterious girl frozen in ice who is tied to some greater legend

He soon finds out Targent is after the girl and then they discover the second clue (the Azran eggs) and realise Targent want the 'Azran Legacy'

What follows is an occasionally violent chase around the world as Layton tries to piece together the mystery and find the eggs before Targent

Layton puts together the key from the Azran eggs but it gets stolen by Descole (his 'arch nemesis' who who was disguised as Sycamore)

Everyone chases Descole to the Azran sanctuary but then Layton gets betrayed by Emmy who was secretly working for Targent

Bronev (Targent's leader), in his desire to get the Azran legacy at all costs, sacrifices the frozen girl (Aurora) by stabbing her with the key

Laputa Castle in the Sky happens robots are unleashed on the world and to stop them everyone present must sacrifice themselves

Aurora (she got better) resurrects everyone with Azran magic science and then dies herself (she was a robot so she wasn't really alive anyway)

The Azran sanctuary and the robots crumble to dust and Layton, having rejected the allure of power and so on, returns home (after dealing with some family drama but that's a whole other story)

But you see the point? Azran Legacy is a stereotypical treasure hunting plot. Which is of course The Point, but it really shows just why it doesn't feel like a Layton game.

Compare Lost Future which is often the target of criticism for its over-the-top final act. Why is LF still a Layton game? Because we don't have the 'magic' elements Azrran Legacy has. Because the location is quite fixed and isolated. Because the evil guys aren't chasing us around the globe. Sure, they appear every time we go onto their turf, but 1) that's their turf and 2) they are no chase scenes. There isn't this final act where the villain wins the prize because there is no McGuffin.

And that is the other key thing: Layton games actually very rarely have McGuffins that are actual items.

CV's golden apple is really Flora.

PB has the box, obviously and that one I concede.

Last Specter has the flute? I guess. But the golden garden is the real treasure everyone's hunting for but that's not a 'thing'.

LF has the time machine? Maybe that counts?

Eternal Diva has Ambrosia/the secret to eternal life, but Ambrosia is again a place and the secret isn't a thing either.

MM has the mask (duh).

And AL has the eggs and later the key. The point being that there's an actual hunt for the eggs. Unlike in Last Specter where the flute never really changes hands.

The next point that then arises is why don't PB and MM suffer from this problem?

PB has only got Don Paolo as the 'villain' who wants the treasure. The other treasure seekers are either the real owner (Anton) or his brother who is kind of just hanging around grumpily and leaves after being told off by a hotel clerk. There's no 'chase' and the treasure doesn't physically appear until Don Paolo drops it and then leaves the plot entirely. Also its 'magic' is explained scientifically in a (somewhat) believable (or at least comprehensible) way.

MM avoids it because it is actually a Scooby Doo plot and not an Indiana Jones plot: the villain is a guy with a grudge in a costume, the magic item had no powers and was just a key to some weird contraption that lifts up the city (for reasons) and all the 'magic' was just circus tricks. The fact it mirrors the Last Crusade's "other hand" scene is hardly relevant. Even the ruins segment is decidedly not Indiana Jones since, again, there's no race against time aspect and there are no bad guys chasing them. MM definitely takes a lot of cues from IJ but overall the game is still Laytonesque. It is a character study more than an adventure.

And for people who complain about the weirdness of Last Specter. That's not that weird. Dinosaurs existed once it's not completely insane that a big aquatic animal was hiding in the town's reservoir.

I think this even ties into why I dislike the AL 'finger point' scene: all the other games build up to that moment because it answers an important mystery at the core of the story (or leads to it). Because a Layton game is a mystery game, but AL is hardly a mystery story, or it's really just a bunch of mini mysteries embedded in a treasure hunting chase story. Like, there is the 'what is the legacy' mystery, but that's not something you solve the same way you do the hallucinations of PB or the identity of LS's spectre. It just appears by itself at the end.

In trying to make a big, exciting, globe-trotting game, Level 5 overlooked the fundamental features of a Layton game, in particular the overarching mystery, and supplanted them with treasure-hunting tropes. AL is the least Laytonesque game of them all as a result and while this is not inherently a bad thing (we all know the original trilogy's twist was getting a little stale the fourth time they did it), it does change the flavour of the game to such a degree that I personally don't love it to the same degree as the other games.

Also the whole Layton I am your brother and also Bronev is our father bit was way too rushed and I can't forgive it for that. Honestly that's actually 75% of why AL is my lowest-ranked main series game but that's less fun to talk about than all this.

[spotlightlowlife]

Helluva boss hates parents - no exceptions

Mothers in particular

We had the powerful, business minded and exploitative Paimon, Crimson and self proclaimed parent/stepparent/grandparent Mammon who see their 'children' as assets. We have Cash Buckzo who is no different to any mention only minus the power.

Where are the mothers?

What in the Disney is this?

Out of this screwed over bunch we get some parents. Blitzø adopts Loona one week before her 18th birthday part of of pity, where he's maybe just 30 years old, becoming the cool dad who spoils her rotten and is in no real place to correct her.

Stolas and Stella actually become teenage parents and their daughter a child of divorce who doesn't feel seen, but Stella is to blame for this, dispite the same sob story as Stolas and being the wrong party.

Who knows who Fizz and Loona's real parents are? Clearly nobody of importance since their kind are at the bottom of society. The only example we have of someone lifting themselves upwards in the world is Moxxie's mafia dad who probably killed his mother.

Though the main characters range from mid 20s to mid 30s and all characters are for the most part out on their own, all their trauma comes from childhood and horrible or lack of parents and yes, I know this as a basis accounts for a lot of people but still, we have parents as the fall guys to explain away any dirt bag behaviour from someone we are supposed to like.

Now on to a character who the creator seems to believe has it easy and isn't relatable as a result. Millie.

Her parents suck too!

It's more discreet and I don't understand how the creator could be blind to it?

They come across bigoted and the clues are there. First being Millie introducing Loona as Blitzø hellhound.

Millie has parents who look forward to seeing her and welcome her with open arms, they live a humble life and have a trans daughter so how bad could they be?

The country life is a subliminal message in itself of people stereotyped to be hostile to outsiders, stubborn, uncultured and uneducated.

What we get in Millie's parents are people who don't respect their daughters choice to move away, don't see her job as a real job and arguably worse of all, don't respect her choice of partner and will show this in passive aggression, making things awkward for this young happy couple as Moxxie tries to win them over and Millie tries to discourage him from so much as making small talk.

Though they don't respect Millie's job they warm to Blitzø who unlike nervous thespian Moxxie, has the brash and animated ways of a commoner of stereotype.

Millie's accomplishments and lack of are bought to our attention and though many criticise this episode for being a Millie episode turned Moxxie episode, I honestly think there was no other direction to go with her when her own parents lack any interest in her, they're stereotypes and we learn nothing new at her home.

The last thing may be a big of a stretch but here it is. In the episode where Striker abducted both Blitzø and Fizz, Blitzø (who kills for a living and criticised those at the top this episode) would refer to Striker as a 'supremacist', yet what episode do we first meet Stiker?

Again we get too many things to be a coincidence.

Parents suck, and if they don't appear to, they do so.

[jentasticart]

ok but I'm actually starting to get pissed off and annoyed with this weird family dynamic stuff they're doing in mk1 just to try to stop the gay ships that's been around for a while now.

like subscorp (Kuai x Hanzo), bitomas, subsmoke (Kuai x Tomas. I'm not too much of a fan of this ship but I'll mention it anyway) and shaoko, idk if there's anything else but lmk if I missed anything I guess.

but Imma mainly talk about my main ship here; bitomas.

I would like to add that I'm not a proshipper in any way cus fuck that shit. so don't frame me as one.

this is the only recent game where they're both in it together but they make them step bros yet I've seen people make mk1 subscorp and no one is really complaining about it and it gets a bunch of likes, which is WORSE than mk1 bitomas because it's ACTUAL incest. mk1 bitomas isn't incest, they're not related to each other in any way. they're not even the same race.

but yk what's not fucking fair? THAT THE SUBSMOKE SHIP IS MORE ACCEPTED THAN BITOMAS THAT THE ACTUAL VOICE ACTORS SHIP IT FFS

BI FUCKING DISMISSES IT, HE DOESN'T SEE HIM AS A DAMN BROTHER

BUT IN SUBSMOKE THEY ACTUALLY DO ADDRESS EACH OTHER AS BROTHERS, HOW CAN ONE BE ACCEPTED MORE THAN THE OTHER WHEN IT'S THE SAME DAMN THING

this is literally how I'm feeling rn about this

two people who ARE NOT related to each other in any damn way is NOT incest, doesn't matter if they grew up together or not.

so if two people were dating before and their parents got together and married, then those two people shouldn't be together anymore cus they would be step siblings? that's fucking stupid and you guys know it.

in a way they're doing the stupid thing like how some people think liulao is, yk the whole "they're cousins/brothers" but they're not, it was confirmed they're not but people don't wanna do their damn research.

all nrs cares about is the straight pairings and lesbian ones cus they don't get as much backlash as two men being together.

===.._ _..===.._ _..===

so I got a little hc/story for y'all:

sometime after the brothers' dad takes Tomas in, Tomas falls for Bi and his whole idolization for Bi is a coverup to try to hide his crush on him from Bi and Kuai. yes he gets close with Kuai as in best friends but he feels this is something he should keep to himself for now.

Bi wasn't actually always mean to Tomas, at some points he might have been cold to him sometimes but that's just Bi, just cus he was cold to him, doesn't mean he didn't care for him.

but then at some point Bi-Han fell for Tomas, probably starting in his teen years, but since he didn't know how to express it or deal with it, he acts how he acts towards him like how he does in mk1. it's because he never felt this way before towards anyone, let alone a guy. so he pretty much acts kinda like a tsundere in a way. keep in mind, even before this, Bi still didn't see Tomas as his brother and Tomas obviously didn't see him that way either cus of his crush on him.

all those years their feelings for each other got stronger and stronger, which made Bi more cold to Tomas, which was the time he told him that line in that one scene in mk1 about him not being brothers or Lin Kuei.

but after the betrayal of Bi-Han, while Kuai and Tomas were making the Shirai Ryu, Tomas snuck back to the Lin Kuei at night to see Bi-Han.

they fought because Bi started it, he did think Tomas was there to kill him or was there for some revenge but all Tomas wanted to do was talk. after the fight, Tomas managed to get Bi to stop.

they talked for awhile, Tomas asking the question as to why Bi-Han did all of this in the first place, why he was cold to him, why he got so much colder after all the years. Bi was hesitant to tell him, especially now since he thinks its too late to let him know the truth, he probably ruined all chances he had with him now.

but he did tell him anyway, he told him the truth, everything. from the very beginning to now. Tomas wasn't expecting this, he didn't think Bi felt the same way towards him but was he really telling the truth about the other stuff?

Bi-Han backed away after he told him, he understood that he might not believe his words anymore. Tomas stayed silent on Bi's bed, thinking, before he spoke and told him that he should tell Kuai this truth even if Kuai might not believe it.

he paused for a moment before he spoke, agreeing with Tomas. he then called him to Bi's bed, Bi was hesitant because he wasn't sure of it, he didn't know if he should.

after a few minutes, Bi joined him in bed and Tomas held him, confessing his love to him too, even after everything, he still has the same love for him like the first time he fell for him.

they wind up being together in secret for months as Tomas helped Kuai with the clan. during that time, Bi did told the truth to Kuai too and apologized for it. Kuai is a bit hesitant to forgive him right now but he will consider it. he will still work on his own clan as it still feels like the right thing to do.

===.._ _..===.._ _..===

so ye if you don't like it, plz just block me, cus Imma ship them since others are shipping mk1 subsmoke with little problems, I'm starting to not care at this point because of it but I will put tags you can block in those posts to not see it

[indireneedofanap]

As a literal half Chinese, half white girl I cannot express to y'all just how upsetting it is to see how this fandom treats the fact that Marinette is mixed. Homegirl is not a "whitewashed asian", shes literally half white.

"She can't even speak the Mandarin!" So? I can't speak Cantonese. My father is an immigrant, but I was born and raised in America similar to how Marinette was born and raised in France. Growing up I wasn't taught how to speak Cantonese because the only language my parents shared (and therefore communicated in) was English. That doesn't change the fact that I'm half.

"She looks too white!" No she doesn't? She might be (debatably) white passing, but many wasian people are, myself included. People seem to like to ignore the fact that when a kid is mixed, they may end up looking more or less like either parent. My father has dark tan skin and my mom is white. My older brother is the same skin tone as my father, possibly darker, while the rest of my siblings are more pale than my mom. Genetics just work like that, and Marinette does come off visually as being a mix of her mom and her dad.

"it's impossible for her eyes to be blue!" Not really. I babysit 3 kids, their mom is white with blue eyes and their dad is black with dark eyes. 2 of the 3 kids ended up with lighter eye colors like their mom.

"We don't see her experience her culture!" And what, exactly, is her culture in your eyes? She's mixed with Chinese, but she grew up in France. They never make a point to hide the fact that Marinette is mixed or that her mom is Chinese. There's little traces that really sell the fact that it's a mixed household all over their apartment: my personal favorite being the Chinese wall scroll art they casually have hanging up in their western style apartment, which is practically identical to my sister's house. There's nothing screaming "IM CHINESE LOOK AT HOW CHINESE I AM!", it's just casually shown throughout the show, which is the case for most mixed kids. Marinette's race isn't treated poorly, it's just treated casually, and I love that. You don't need to prove anything to anyone simply because of your race. People claiming that she's "not Chinese enough" are, in my eyes, hypocritical. I'm half Chinese, I'm half white, so what? I'd never deny it, but it also doesn't change the fact that I grew up in the American Suburbs, just like how Marinette's race doesn't change the fact that she grew up in Paris around predominantly French culture. Treating a character as if they need to look or speak a certain way simply because of their racial identity with disregard for their nationality and experience is ignorant in its own right.

You know who else is Teenage, Half Asian Superhero raised in a western society? Mark Grayson from Invincible (the show, not the comic). His Mom, Debbie, is Korean while his father (who's technically a Viltrumite Alien) appears white. His racial identity (in regards to being half Asian) is also never something that's shown to be of any importance to the story, but is also never swept under the rug. It's just there because that's how mixed families are in reality. The same energy applies to Marinette.

Her representation may not be accurate to everyone, but its accurate to me and many of the other half-Chinese people I've encountered :)

Note: I'm not speaking on Miraculous' depiction of Chinese culture via Sabine or her Uncle, just the depiction of a mixed Chinese/white kid via Marinette .

Also want to add that many people feel her character is "whitewashed" because the original concepts of her as a comic character made her appear more obviously Asian, where her on screen 3D counterpart is less so. Im not sure what happened during the creative process and if the decision to make her mixed was added later on, but the discussion above is simply in regards to those that claim her depiction in the show is inaccurate to actual mixed kids and not in relation to how her character changed during conceptualization.

[redphlox]

I noticed the ask about why you like Toya's character, I love edgelords with a heart of gold too.

I also love that he's petty, like he didn't have to reveal Hawk's family lineage. He did that out of spite because the video of him killing Hawk's would have been enough as well as him exposing his dad's ass in the middle of the war while on top of Gigantomachia.

My boy Dabi is petty and I love it.

What was your favorite thing about Dabi's dance?

Mine was how he planted seeds of doubt onto the heroes and single handedly broke hero society psychologically.

I mean, he didn't only do it just to be petty. Hawks's lineage was the piece that tied everything together. He exposed Hawks's roots with the intention of pointing out that Heroes can and do lie. They can be as corrupt as villains. He was trying to use to his advantage the fact that Japanese society extends capability to family members of criminals in a "birds of a feather flock together" type of way. "Endeavor is fundamentally a bad person, and he's a hero. Hawk is so drawn to him because he's also a bad person... and it makes sense because his dad is a villain, too" type of way. This information was supposed to completely tear down people's belief and trust in heroes.

Except, nothing came of this reveal because the narrative has a double standard that only applies to certain characters. For example, the Todoroki family, with well-to-do members of society like a medical welfare student and a teacher and a future hero, is being drug through the mud and living through hell because they're related to a criminal. Fuyumi felt forced to quit her job, and Shouto felt like he couldn't be around the rest of his classmates while UA was being used as a shelter because of who his father and brother were. The story tells us that the public does not view them favorably. And while many readers explain this away with cultural context that Japanese society tends to ostracize family members of criminals and praises the story for being realistic, then isn't it unrealistic that Hawks doesn't face any skepticism or fall from grace for being related to villains? It makes no sense that he wouldn't face at least a little bit of backlash. This is where the themes and messages of BNHA fall flat and we end up right where we started at the beginning of the story - people are not all born equal.

The revelation about Hawks's father - and even Dabi's reveal - all amounted to nothing because Horikoshi set up a double standard in the story that favors the Heroes. You have a license to kill and act in criminal ways if you have a hero license. Even Endeavor benefited from this to a certain extent because the narrative shows us a few civilians stating that they don't care what Endeavor has done in his private life as long as he does his job as a hero. Yes, the majority of the public hates him, but he still has his supporters - Hawks, his sidekicks. And yes, My Hero Academia is a story about giving people second chances, so I'm not saying the support is inherently bad. But the fact that only Endeavor is being supported and not Touya only reinforces the fact that certain people get second chances. People are not all equal.

What do I mean by this? Well, it's like when you have a friend whose family you haven't met. Your friend tells you that their aunt is dying in the hospital. So you're like, "hey I'm here if you need me." You're supporting your friend, and technically not the aunt. That response makes sense because you don't know the aunt and you are nurturing your relationship with your friend. But in the Todoroki situation, society does have an obligation to Touya because he is a part of society. Turning our backs to criminals AKA villains only exacerbates social problems and forces people to turn to crime in the first place.

Anyway. In the end, yes, the reveal video planted seeds of doubt, but those seeds did not come to fruition, and the status quo did not change. But I did enjoy Dabi's dance immensely. It's one of my favorite moments not only in the story but also in any media I've consumed. The video reveal was fascinating, but I really enjoyed that he had the chance to speak his truth to his abuser.

[hikakaomybeloveds]

little ouran high school host club rant

i DO NOT like the fact that ohshc is marketed as a reverse harem anime.

like. this anime is an incredibly profound exploration of the power of found family and how it impacts those who find it, with the storylines of every single main character being directly related to how this found family changed them.

more yap below the cut bc this got rlly long and i don't wanna clog ppl's dashes with my rants

kyoya learned to break away from his father's expectations of him, and his set role (as he percieved it) as the "third son". the twins finally left their little bubble and learned how not to push people away. honey found a space where he was allowed to be himself in all his many facets (and mori followed him, because he always does). haruhi got a group of genuine friends who care about and love them. tamaki got a group of people to love and care for and a way to make his dreams a reality (and find joy in a truly abysmal circumstance).

and they market it like the point is... that they're all in love with haruhi??

there's barely any actual chemistry between haruhi and any of the members of the host club, much less romance. she and tamaki are the closest to having the potential for romance, i think, but they're so dad-daughter coded in the show (in a strangely not weird way??) that a romantic relationship between them would just feel... weird, at least to me.

the show puts almost zero actual effort into developing the potential for romance between haruhi and any of the boys. and honestly, i like that. i feel the anime is better because of it. i enjoy ohshc because it has a genuinely good story, with well-developed characters and a lack of the gratuitous romance i feel so often bogs down anime.

and yet i keep seeing it marketed like romance is the point?? or even a selling factor at all?? which it really isn't, at least in my mind. and i feel like it's reductive to frame it that way.

anyways yeah. that's all. thanks for listening

[creepy-crowleys]

Similar to the Cŵn Annwn, most Black Dog... variants? Don't seem to typically involve direct attacks by the dogs on humans. More often it seems that just their appearance or the sounds they make are enough to grip those that encounter them in a terror deep enough to cause permanent injury or death, or they seem to be primarily a harbinger - a warning, but not a direct cause of any harm.

In a handful of cases, we actually see the reverse: The approached human strikes at the Dog in fear, the Dog is unphased or vanishes when struck, and in some instances, the human suffers the consequences for the attack.

Which isn't accurate to my family's case. The dogs from my encounter appeared and had my dad on the ground before we had any idea what was happening. There were some similarities to the accounts I'm reading - I remember hearing chains immediately before but...

There are also some amount of regional differences to account for. Quite a lot of Black Dog stories originate from the English Isles, across the ocean from where I'm living. Over here...

Many of the stories I'm more familiar with relate to truck drivers, like the long-distance transport type. There's a sort of folkloric belief among some of them that suggests that seeing a Black Dog on the road is a sign that they need to pull over because a serious accident is imminent.

(The less supernatural interpretation is that the 'Black Dog' in these cases is fatigue. Tired eyes and a tired brain lead to dull spots in vision that the brain then fumbles into identifying as a 'dog'. And if you're tired to the point of hallucinating, you obviously should pull over because you're likely to make dangerous mistakes if you keep going. And the story is reinforced.)

[snkts]

I'm thinking about how every Howlett's 'auxiliary' mutation is so telling of their personality. I'm not talking about claw formation, that's a different thing I haven't thought about. I'm not talking about the hot claws, either, because those are powers Logan acquired, he wasn't born with them - and the adamantium isn't a mutation.

So I'm only going to talk about the 616 relations, since I know those ones best, but I love when you guys chime in with your own headcanons so add in other kids in the replies ❤️

When it comes to Canon Snikts, we have John Jr, Logan's older brother (maybe half brother, unconfirmed); Logan himself; Akihiro, Logan's son; Laura, Logan's daughter; and Gabby, Logan's daughter who is also his daughter's clone. (There's also the rest of Gabby's sisters, but we don't have a lot of Intel on them.)

John Jr. was technically killed before Logan/James ever got to meet him in 616, but going by his multiverse adult appearance, he had the claws, the healing factor, and the power to turn both intangible and invisible. This fits his story really well, because whether it's the multiverse story where he was shipped off to an asylum and essentially forgotten, or the canon story where he died before his little brother knew him, John gets erased. He's completely forgotten. He disappears.

Logan has two powers he was born with, aside from his claws and factor. He has the famous berserker rage, and the lesser known connection with animals. When Logan rages, he doesn't lose his strategic thinking - he just loses his inhibitions, going after anything that moves with 100% intensity, ignoring pain, and becoming a killing machine. Everyone knows that one. The one some people forget is how he can connect with animals on an empathic level - he can understand and get them to understand his emotions and basic wants and intentions. It's partly how he was able to live with so many wolf packs over the years. And this dichotomy makes me think of this quote I read once, when I read a psychologist breaking down Logan and PTSD - I don't remember the exact wording, but they were talking about how the anger was the trauma, and the kindness was the person under it. And I think that's a really good way of thinking of it. James wasn't a fighter. He was a sweet, almost shy little boy who liked art and playing with his friends and his dad. The first time we see him rage is when his father is killed and Thomas and Dog are trying to take Elizabeth and Rose away - aka the first major trauma he experiences. Logan's berserker/empathy is a great show of the dichotomy that is his personality; you've got the jaded, cynical, aggressive soldier who charges head first into every fight, but you also have the warm-hearted conscious of the team who fusses over all the kids, comforts his friends through their trauma, and once felt bad about fighting a bear that was trying to kill him because he knew the bear had been conditioned to hate humans. Logan is both of those things, so he has both of those powers.

Then we have his kids. Daken/Akihiro spent a good chunk of his life without any genuine love, used and abused by Romulus to make him a weapon to use against Logan. Any approval or affection was as false as it was fleeting, and he became a ruthless manipulator - especially during his time in Madripoor. Daken's 'extra' power is manipulating other peoples' emotions through pheromones. This is also interesting, because learning to predict and work around other people's emotions is a common habit in abuse victims.

Then there's Laura. The next Wolverine and the only other one to have truly gone through the Weapon X program - she inherited his trauma, and so she inherited the berserker rage. Laura is his legacy and his mini me. She's on the same path Logan went on long before her, learning how to be a person instead of just a weapon.

And her clone - the youngest of the three - Gabby. The one who feels like she isn't a real Wolverine. She's the only one of her siblings who hadn't killed anyone (at least in the first issue(s) with her in it), even though she's great in a fight; her sisters sheltered her from it. She's the one of all of them who smiles most, who seems to enjoy life - she's the emotional glue that holds the family together and lifts their spirits. She makes them happy. While they haven't confirmed anything, I think her relationship with Jonathan hints that she got Logan's animal affinity. Laura inherited his rage, Gabby inherited his kindness.

Anyway I love the snikt family if you can't tell

[bibibbon]

Hey, since we all agree AM, in canon, never gave any indication Izu is his heir and any "special treatment" (if we can even say am gave anything to Izu) is more bc people think am is Izu's dad (well shoto did and that makes sense) the scene of am saying you are next....lose a bit of its impact. I guess.

We the readers know who am is thinking.

The rest of the world don't.

So BK jump to the conclusion am was taking about Izu was...ass.

On besties, people are shocked bc the idea of am being Izu's father and a abusive one( for those who don't know my au. Am never abused Izu! But to the public...the story of a girl who breaks bones and has going to the hospital a lot is Sus) gives a reaction out of people.

And is this what is missing in their dynamic. No one reacts, hell, Shoto thought Izu is a love child but...never does anything. No one seems to care.

Am is incompetent mentor. Courtesy of Hori.

In Besties, people do react to that and his popularity takes a toll even when is proved he never hurt Izumi...he is a bad mentor and missed many red flags. Now, am will react to the obvious.

I know people like to defend am saying he is a novice teacher and I get, I do. But am is still an idiot in my eyes, he shouldn't really waste time with the others students and focus on his heir WHO IS STRUGGLING WITH THIS QUIRK.

"that would be favoritism" not really, that would be an being sensible. Even if it is favoritism...no one in UA can say anything as Aizawa has favorites

So my ask here is:

How can I make the whole heir thing matter in besties?

In canon, bk had no reason to think Izu is the chosen one of anything yet...still goes out of his way to hurt him...and we are supposed to be on his side! (Hori please!)

Btw in besties, dabi is repulsed by the idea am is a bad teacher and father. Yes, am never hurt Izumi but he, as a powerful man, never tried to help....how angry and dissapointed would dabi be?

Hi @mikeellee 👋

That's the point, even in the narrative it was pointed out that only izuku midoriya understood the implications and the true meaning of that message whereas society just interpreted it as all might fulfilling his role as the symbol of peace and decaring that any villain who act out of line will face a fate of AFO's harsh beating.

Personally, I disagree bakugo never necessarily jumped to the conclusion that all might was talking about izuku but he did connect the dots and wildly jump to the conclusion that Izuku got his quirk from all might. Those are two different things and izuku in the beginning of the story dropped a hint that he got his quirk from someone, then bakugo saw all might and izuku interacting (which isn't weird but like I said it is a bit strange from Japan's social norms and the issue of nepotism), bakugo then saw all mights last fight, he also asked all might Personally what that was all about and all might refused to answer. All of these factors as well as bakugo losing it over what happend to him made him go and make a wild conclusion which resulted in a huge fight and all might and izuku telling him the truth.

I think rereading the chapter where bakugo confronts izuku would help show how he came to the conclusion.

Now while you have characters like shoto who don't know izuku since childhood think that all might is izukus dad you have bakugo who already knows that it isn't possible and simply resorts to another theory.

Personally, my main question is how and where the idea of all might being izukus dad came to play. Sure you can argue that it's because they have very similar quirks but at the same time I just don't really see it and I wish we got more of izuku and all might since yes all might is a bad mentor and their relationship is incredibly shallow with izuku and all might never developing since the moment they meet.

I think it's interesting and a good thing that you're going to deleve into both fan culture within mha, how infuelntial of a person all might is and the public relations of all of this. Having theories around all might the top hero in Japan but also a very secretive person whom people don't understand the nature of his quirk or know his full name it would be hella interesting to have a freshly retired all might get all of this bar reputation and how that particularly would effect the hero society.

Would this theory of all might being an abuser have people come up and show their solidarity for izuku whom they think is an abuse victim, would the endeavour agency try and use this to their advantage and prop up their number one hero? Or what would happen to the market? The all might products, merchandise and maybe all might having to deal with future lawsuits?

Japan is a country that takes honour, pride and reputation as a big deal so all might going through a huge public scandal like this would definitely effect him and I hope you explore that way more in depth.

[sunny-reis]

hcs - enha as college students

notes: this isn't even an x reader (it may be in the future 👀) lmao, this is all lighthearted and i by no means intend to insult or deface any of the enhas or see them fr fr this way

heeseung: comp sci major w/a music minor

deep down would definitely want his degrees to be the other way around

but he would probs realize cs just leads to more of a stable job (not with ai on the rise tho 😍 we love going into a doomed field of study)

(as a cs kid i’m ABSOLUTELY projecting onto my little headcanons about him)

i think..he’d be a NORMAL person that enjoys programming more than learning abt computer hardware or theory

seeing as he’s normal he’d HATEEEEE object-oriented programming (the complex part of programming OUGHGG)

he’d probably know exactly what to minor in for his dream job: music production

he’d DEFINITELYYY be in the school orchestra as a piano

he’s not mysterious enough for a bass, annoying enough for a violin or trumpet, or quirky enough for a cello

he’s an attention whore he wouldn’t even LOOK at the violas 💀

but yeah overall i think he’d know his plans for the future down to a T

probs has an internship at microsoft (derogatory)

now for the most important question

would he be a tech bro?

absolutely NOT

for those that aren’t as familiar with tech bros

just imagine a redditor alpha male with horribly gelled hair that brings the LOUDEST gaming pc to class with a horribly oiled, light-up keyboard, and makes sleazy comments about the one or two girls in every comp sci class

in other words: a woman in cs’ worst nightmare (send help i’m one of TWO girls in a class full of tech bros.)

but yeah he wouldn’t be like that at all

he’d definitely suck at rizzing up women (bro plays LoL in 2023, the year of our lord, need i elaborate?)

i can easily imagine him coming into class with gray sweatpants, a white t-shirt and flannel over, and a double-shot coffee from starbucks every day

he’d probably be the most decent-looking dude in every cs-related class i can’t even lie

for the dudes reading this: if you ever need an ego boost, do basic self-care and dress well (maybe even put on basic makeup), and join a cs class

the amount of mid ass incels with no concept of self-care will immediately make you the most attractive man in the class i kid you not

neways enough of me projecting 💀

as a music student

i could absolutely see him eat up every composition assignment (where you compose your own piece of music)

although i feel like he’d have a teacher that prefers classical music that’d be PISSED every time he submits something non-conventional

omg imagine him composing a whole dubstep instrumental for class

if the music production thing doesn’t work out he’d start a band with a bunch of losers in his dad’s garage and make horrible music that’d still get a decent amount of listens and attention bc he’s hot

it’s giving fallout boy but not emo

maybe shitty indie at best

more utc !

jay: english major w/a philosophy minor

first of all

his ass would NOT know philosophy is mostly math before signing up

i don’t think he’d be bad at math at all but he’d fs be regretting it all

but then he’d debate dropping out until whoop there’s only a semester left until it’s over. too late.

he’d dress up for every class for SUREEE

one word: beige.

he IS light academia pinterest

studyblr WISHES it was him fr

macbook user. i don’t need to explain.

he’d probably have his life together on the outside

bullet journal and aesthetic notion and all

i feel like he’d prefer discussions and deep thought (hence the philosophy) and debates over analysis

he’d LOVE discussing his thoughts abt different texts in class

he would NOT like writing out analyses abt random ass stories tho (hs english was a NIGHTMARE)

argumentative essays are his BITCH fr

i think he’d lose points for focusing more on broader concepts and going just a tad too off-topic in analytical essays, instead of focusing on details and cause-effect relationships and all that

now for the important part: his life outside of college

ik for a FACT he’d be the most likely to have a thriving social life outside of school out of all of enha

don’t @ me it’s not my fault the rest of them are MAIDENLESS – heeseung plays LEAGUE for crying out loud !!

probably goes out to the mall or new attractions like museums every weekend

even tho he minors in arguably one of the hardest fields of study ??

bro would finish up calc III homework in less than an hour 🤯

i bet he’d be there on a scholarship too 😒lucky ass

jake: international relations (global politics) major, no minor

note: ik the average writer would probs make him a physics major but that’s BOOOORING and overdone, plus i just don’t see it 🤷

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE !!! IR ≠ political science !!! IR focuses on politics around the world, pol sci is more of how internal governments work

(i’m also heavily projecting here bc i’m a politics student send your prayers please and thank you)

i pity IR majors

this boy is TIRED 25/8

tbh the thing with IR isn’t that the content’s hard

a (paraphrased) quote from my IR teacher: “political scientists are lazy, all they do is come up with generic concepts and slap an ‘-ism’ at the end”

it’s moreso the reading and writing.

god the reading.

politics textbooks are so big and expensive it hurts my wallet just to look at the library-issued textbook i have

he’d be running on caffeine and a prayer, no sleep we die like men

not that he’d be a bad student !!

i could definitely see him being that one student that asks the teacher the silent questions no one asks bc they think it’ll make them look stupid (ie. asking them to repeat what they just said or explain a not-so-complex theory)

would definitely word vomit about politics, current and past, to the rest of the enhas (but just to make sure he remembers it all, you gotta respect the grind man)

none of them would understand a thing

jake: “yeah so it’s stupid how there are a whole bunch of states fighting over the south china sea when it’s technically international waters [please don’t quote me on this it’s like 2 am and i’m pulling stuff out of my ass] and therefore has no legal ‘owner’ haha isn’t that stupid?”

the rest of enha, maybe except for jay: 👁️👄👁️

jay: “ermmm akshully 🤓👆it’s in the name, china has legal rights over the south CHINA sea bc it borders it”

i can picture it vividly

imma be honest this man would be a MESS

he’d probably make (futile) attempts to get his shit together like a notion pro subscription, trying to sleep on time, a gym membership, you name it

sadly that’s just the life of a politics student

it’s so hectic it’d be hard to keep up with, but it’s jake, he’d somehow stay afloat

he’d probably come to his minimum wage job after class half-dead but his manager and coworkers would take pity on him and let him sleep in the janitor’s closet

would probably be clinging to the whole “just get through tomorrow and it’ll get better” mentality

it does not. sigh

sunghoon: undeclared until sophomnore (second) year, kinesiology (bio?) major

man honestly

this mf would be irrelevant

probs has a generic major and says absolutely nothing in class

if you blink he’d probs disappear

i feel like he’d initially wanna go for med but then he’d hear about the whole you’re-gonna-sacrifice-the-best-years-of-your-life-for-this-field-of-study thing and said NOPE lmao

which is reasonable

with the amount of ppl doing med in the world he wouldn’t think it’d make a difference if he decided to switch

i feel like he’d just be there for the ride 💀smth abt wanting to “experience all life has to offer” (not in a rich, just here for the business degree way, but more of an “i don’t need a degree to get a job but it might make it easier” way)

so yeah he decides to major in kinesiology, the study of movement according to google

disclaimer i’m not a bio person at ALL so any misinformation is completely unintentional and i will NOT be held at gunpoint to do research about a college major for HEADCANONS at ass o’clock in the morning

neways

he has a decently light workload and therefore a healthy amount of free time

on the occasional he does get a painful assignment he’d procrastinate until he’d staying up and cussing out his past self for not doing it earlier

tbh i don’t think he’d be a horrible OR amazing student

he’s truly MID mid

maybe an average of like … 75% which really isn’t bad tbh the american education system has conditioned us into thinking it is but let’s be fr other than philly cheese steaks what exactly have we ever gotten right.

….neways again

he’d be something like a jack of all trades, master of none

overall a chill guy 9/10 would be fun to hang out with

now for the best part

frat boy sunghoon

idk anything abt frat or sorority life – i’m asian the only thing close to a sorority i’d be in would be like … the school orchestra or book club 💀my parents would kill me – so don’t take everything i say for gospel

you bet your ass he’d be at every party

100% for the booze and vibes he wouldn’t even be there to flirt or rizz ppl up (he’s a self-aware man he knows he has negative rizz but that’s what makes him so ALLURING)

wouldn’t get high or anything tho he’s not all abt that life (that life being running away from the popo)

i’d trust him to walk me home tbh

he wouldn’t hurt a fly the most he’d do is like … attempt to verbally abuse jay

sunoo: art major, english lit. minor

you saw it coming don’t lie

NEWAYS

he’d be amazing at art honestly

making a portfolio would be his Thing yk

yk those big artists that are all about “working on the impulse” and not doing anything until they do ridiculous shit to get over art block

that’s him

but he slays every time he gets over it

god i feel like he’d be the perfect college friend after jay

he definitely has his shit together

i’m talking he does his assignments on time, probably has a half-paid merit scholarship, works a decent job at a taco bell just off of campus, and somehow has a will to live and time to go to the mall every weekend

the thing is, he’s not the most perfect college friend bc he’s slightly more fun-focused and free-spirited than jay, who’s a perfect mix of both

neways no more talking abt other enhas it’s sunoo’s time to shine 😠

i bet his dorm would be the most organized and decorated too oughhgh

he’d be the lucky mf that gets the biggest dorm on the first floor (with like two other roommates but they respect his privacy and all that)

he’d probably be able to get away with dorm policy violations (ie. cooking with an iron or something Not meant for cooking in his dorm instead of the nasty ass moldy ass communal kitchen) by batting his eyelashes and sweet-talking to the woman that oversees the dorms or smth (i’m blanking and i completely forgot what it’s called)

overall the luckiest bitch ever

we should all aspire to be sunoo tbh

if you’re a man and you’re not sunoo … thin fucking ice. do better. /hj

jungwon: biochem major, going for med (specifically oncology, the study of cancer?)

sorry in advance to any ppl in medical 🫶i’m gonna get every part of this wrong lmao

he’s one of Those Guys that’s known exactly what they’re doing since like … middle school

important question: would it be bc he gave into the classic asian parent pressure into becoming a doctor?

they might've played a tiny role in it but i think he'd genuinely wanna go into medical bc he's insane

definitely gets the best scores out of everyone in his class (idk if they use bell curves in med but if not he’d get solid 90s on everything)

i could see him with his life together tbh

homework always done a week before, healthy lunches he makes himself, clear skin, all that jazz

definitely has a merit-based scholarship

probably got a 1560 on the SAT too 😒 lucky ass bitch

i hate to say it

i really do

but he'd be the mf that reminds the teacher abt homework

“ermmmm mr. kim you said we had a pop quiz at the end of class” followed by him being beaten to a pulp

(w reaction/lh)

really cares about getting into a good med school

would DEFINITELY have like two internships every summer

so to recap: basically every asian med student ever (i’m friends with far too many rip med kids)

at least they won't be replaced with ai …

heeseung crying in the distance

NEWAYS

for a med student i feel like he’d be busy 24/7 but he wouldn’t Look like it?

like if you’ve seen a med student, even in hs, they look like they lost a fight to a rabid raccoon

but for some reason jungwon has his shit together like the neurotypical know-it-all he is 😒/lh please don’t kill me

seeing as he’s known what he wants to do since like … middle school in this au, i think he’d fs be on top of all the content he’s learned, if not ahead of everyone else

i’d trust him to be my doctor 🫡

actually no i wouldn’t

riki: theater major w/a visual art minor (get it bc he’s a minor) (i’m hilarious LAUGH)

he’s a quiet little guy, definitely sits in the back of the lecture hall

would milk the SHIT out of being a minority for scholarships and applications

i'm talking his common app essay abt being socially isolated and politically aware, i'm talking abt using any and all minority scholarships possible – in the eyes of the law (and the college board), riki is now half hispanic

i’d say his grades would be pretty decent, not much in the A+ zone (96-100) but at the very least, B+’s

really not that bad tbh

he’d SO be a theater kid in hs

tell me he wouldn't be those mfs that have the whole hamilton soundtrack memorized and break out into random song and dance at inappropriate times

i bet he’d ship hamilton and laurens 💀

neways

i feel like he'd like art as a class but suck at meeting deadlines and portfolio assignments n stuff

which is valid tbh i don’t think any kind of teacher of the arts (not just visual) should be too strict abt that

classes with him and sunoo would make him INSUFFERABLE omg

if you put them next to e/o they won't shut up

which is cute don't get me wrong

but makes trying to work IMPOSSIBLE

but when they're separated he’d be dead silent

you wouldn't even notice he's there tbh

overall a dedicated student with the occasional tendency to be silly and goofy

i feel like his resume would be pretty to make up for the lack of content actually on it

i'm talking canva pro graphics, fancy fonts, graphic design is his passion (not literally)

logically the best career path for him based on his degrees would be a set designer …

but obv he’s either an actor or the manager

probably an actor being a stage manager SUCKS

(don’t get me wrong it’s fun i’ve done it before but oh my GOD. if you ever wanna lose hair really fast become a backstage manager it’ll work 100%)

bonus: best-dressed in class

sunoo - you’ll never catch him slipping tbh 🤷 he’d have the most free time out of the others and would probably spend his time going out and putting together silly little outfits and being cute and adorable bc it’s kim sunoo That’s Just How He Is

jay - light academia light academia light academia light academia light academia

sunghoon (unintentionally) - his sense of style in college would be mid, truly meh, nothing special to look at but his looks make up for the boring attire (hubba hubba 😍) – the type to wear a white t-shirt, timbs, and jeans to class every day (get it 2017 jungkook 😍), maybe even a jacket. his sense of style would be as spicy as salt so not spicy at all, it’s giving unseasoned, boiled chicken

riki - he just Doesn’t Care but thankfully all the items in his closet would be usable (thanks to sunoo, that man would NOT let riki leave the house without running his outfits by him. his logic is that no best friend of his should look like a dumpsterfire !!)

jungwon - similar to jake, no time !! matching sweatshirts and sweatpants ftw

jake - politics majors have no sanity or connection to the real world bc it drives you INSANE after a month, cut him some slack :(

heeseung - the venn diagram of ppl with no sense of fashion and cs majors is a circle.