#why are they such MASSIVE IDIOTS

[summermimosas]

The Itoshi Brothers: And My Very Late Take On Them. (Part 1)

look, I've had very strong blue lock brainrot for a long time now. Rambled plenty to my dear partner-in-crime about it.

The reason this post exists is because I read almost all of the analysis posts by @/riririnnnn regarding the Itoshi brothers, and now I need to add my own two cents.

In particular, this was inspired by two posts: Rin and Sae by @/riririnnnn Rin's Ego and Aura by @/boinin

The core of this theory/analysis is: What exactly is the core of Rin's character, why it made Sae react the way he did, and why this entire mess exists in the first place.

If you think about it, from the very beginning Rin has had no basis of ambition or foundation for himself at all. His beginnings were really humble, wherein he just watched Sae play and thought his brother looked amazing as he did it. It was admiration, and the kind of younger sibling energy that makes you want to emulate your older sibling. It isn't just about playing alongside Sae, but it's about being like Sae.

It spurs him to read Sae better because he wants to learn. And eventually, it happens. He's reading a talented player, and he has the same(?) talent within him, so it's no surprise that he shocks just about everyone when he can keep up with Sae.

This? This is why Rin started playing football. To be like Sae, to play with Sae. Sae, sae, sae, sae- It was never of Rin's own volition. And it won't be, for a very long time.

He learns to emulate Sae, be the player Sae wanted on his team. That requires him to be precise, elegant and efficient. Sae hasn't changed fundamentally as a person even after Spain, the core remains the same. He passes to people worth passing to. And in their old team, nobody was worth passing to except Rin. So it worked out, that Rin kept associating his plays, his dreams, his ambitions, with Sae.

I think this is why he never had an "aura" of his own- or any sort of foundation of his own, at all.

And Sae knows this. That is exactly why this is one of the few times we see him genuinely curious (concerned?) about what Rin will do when Sae is gone. When it does have to require him thinking for himself, being his own person.

He's right to be worried.

Because, as expected, instead of Rin becoming his own person, he takes Sae's playstyle and makes it his own. He's very good at it, mind you. Nobody understood Sae quite like he did, all this time. But it's not Itoshi Rin anymore- it really is, just, Itoshi Sae's little brother.

And he doesn't realise it just yet- but that becomes a trend. From here on out, that is what people will see him as. After all, he's made his playstyle to be viewed as such. Those elegant kicks and precise analytics that Isagi observes the first few times he plays with Rin- they're not completely Rins' at all. They're adapted, taken from Sae. It's why the beginning of the U20 Arc feels like looking at a better, more midfielder focused Rin.

It's always been the other way round.

And so, when Sae comes back four years later, he is understandably disappointed. Nor has he ever been once to mince his words. Rin could never understand- of course he couldn't, he doesn't know what's wrong. He's not letting Sae explain. Sae isn't about to explain, either. They SUCK AT COMMUNICATING, THE PAIR OF IDIOTS.

Rin, if there's one thing you shouldn't have taken from Sae, it was his pathetic style of communication.

(Rin notices how tired and unwell Sae looks- that one's more explored in the post I linked as my inspo. Not getting into that- maybe some other day? If people care enough to listen.) Rin, above all, feels betrayal and shock at the change of Sae's ambition. If Sae changed his dream, and Rin has been emulating his older brother all this time, what happens now?! What is he supposed to do!? There's really no point, then, if he can't play with Sae. The way he's been envisioning for years now. It's brutal, and it's also pathetic because neither of them care to listen to the other speak.

Sae will never understand how Rin's ambitions and connections to other people for his own sense of self work. Rin will never understand what Sae went through and why he changed. He will never know why Sae was so upset with Rin constantly, constantly viewing himself from someone else's lens.

And Sae knows.

Oh, he knows.

But even after that- after ALL THAT, Rin will not think of himself as a separate entity. Nonono, now it's just- defeat Sae, instead of be with Sae. Sae, sae, sae, sae-

After Blue Lock, there's more labels that come in. He's Itoshi Sae's little brother, he's the Number 1 Striker in Blue Lock, he's Isagi's shadow, rival, partner, he's Shidou's foil, counter, the center piece for the Blue Lock 11 Team- (I remind you, again, of how his playstyle and moves are described. Beautiful. Elegant. Perfectly thought out. Now take those adjectives and use them for Sae. Don't they fit better?)

But he's never Rin. Heck, he's never ever ITOSHI Rin. Why would anyone see him as Rin alone? Part 2- Explores U20 and further.

[cubbihue]

In the aftermath of Peri's tantrum, the Leisure Court Fairies discovered that nearly every Pixie within close proximity of Poof were completely drained of magic.

Fairies are presumed incapable of stealing magic-- not unless they are a bonded pair, where magic is shared. Therefore, the underlying reasons remain uncertain to this day. Cosmo had been the only Fairy to remain conscious during the blast, but researchers were unable to extract much information from him.

Thankfully, all Pixies, including Timmy, made a full recovery- with all their magic intact.

Bitties Series: [Start] > [Previous] > [Next]

Instability: [Start] > [Previous] > [Next]

[sacchiri]

Hellsing 2002 calendar illustration.

Ein wunderliche und erschröckliche Hystori von einem großen Wüttrich genant Dracole wayda Der do so ganz unkristenliche marrter hat angelegt die mensche, als mit spissen als auch die leut zu Tod geslyffen

A wondrous and frightening story about a great berserk called Dracula the voivode who inflicted such unchristian tortures such as with stakes and also dragged people to death

[moongothic]

(Frankenstein'd two asks together for the sake of previty)

I've been pretty torn between answering this ask and just doing a deep dive re-analysis post about Marineford as a whole (from Crocodile's perspective) because I feel like rereading it now as a Crocodad Truther, I could probably make a whole lot of new observations and/or read into things differently than I did last time I read it (when I was rereading for the purpose of studying the viability of Crocodad) Like there's so much to say about the whole arc and I'd include this line of thought in there anyways... But also, do I really feel like writing a giant essay like that........

I am going to start this by refering to this mini-essay I wrote like a month ago, about how Crocodile seems to have this attitude of "no crying over spilt milk". What's happened has happened, what's done is done, it's your own fault things turned out the way they did, there's no undoing any of it and you just have to continue on. And I do think that attitude would be key here to understanding Crocodile's actions in Marineford re:Crocodad

(Sidenote because this is not relevant to the rest of the post, but the reason this is about Crocodad and not CrocoUncle etc is because if Crocodile was only loosely related to Luffy it would not have the same kind of impact emotionally (for Crocodile; like there is a difference between a nephew and a son). Additionally a part of Crocodad is that it ties into Crocodile's connection with Ivankov in a really important way. If Crocodile was only loosely related to Luffy, him also being trans would kind of be like a random sidenote without being relevant to the two being family, but suddenly if Crocodile is Luffy's other biological parent, him being trans matters a lot more. Also if he's not Luffy's other dad then we'd be still stuck asking who the fuck birthed Luffy to begin with)

While Sengoku's announcement here would make for a horrific revelation to Crocodile in this situation (a revelation we never see his immidiate reaction to, which continues to be deeply sus), what would it change, really?

The little idiot child who Crocodile had attempted to murder multiple times was his own son. Sure, he might've insantly lost whatever grudge he might've held against Luffy, then what? That feeling would be one-sided, because at this point in the story Luffy hated Crocodile's guts and he knew that too. Luffy has no idea about them being related, and even if Crocodile literally walked up the kid right that second and told him the truth, what would it change? He'd still be the man who nearly nuked a million people off the face of the earth, took over a country and killed Luffy and his friends while laughing about it. Being Luffy's other dad wouldn't make him any less of a horrible asshole (if anything it might make it slightly worse 'cause you get to add shit like "child abandonment" onto his list of crimes).

Luffy came to Marineford to save Ace. Crocodile came to Marineford to kill Whitebeard. He had no reason to interfere with Luffy's quest, and with the help Luffy already was recieving from the prison escapees, the Newkama and the Whitebeard Pirates, what would Crocodile's assistance add to the mix? Would Luffy even welcome him in helping save his brother?

Luffy had his own life, a life Crocodile had not been a part of. He had no right to try to insert himself into it at this point, after all he had done to Luffy. There's no crying over spilled milk. What's done is done, you just have to move on. He should just focus on what he came to do; get his revenge and take Whitebeard's head, as planned.

Deep breaths

...Only to realize that Whitebeard is a dying old man and not worth even killing anymore, because he's not the same Primebeard whom once beat Crocodile and crushed all his dreams. Defeating Whitebeard would not give him the catharsis he came for.

And at that point, the fuck was Crocodile going to do? The revenge he wants isn't there anymore 'cause it went bad a few decades ago. And between the raging war and Doflamingo on his ass it's not like he could just sneak out without anybody noticing. He doesn't have allies (aside from Daz under him) to worry about. He only has his hatred to the World Government.

At that point, he might as well be a nuisance to the Government and assist Luffy. Even if the help wasn't welcomed, even if Luffy hated him and regardless if he knew the truth or not, helping Luffy right then and there would still be better than letting the Government have their way and kill his son right in front of him

[countlessofvoids]

Annoying thing RTTE did to the fandom was having the "Hiccup looks very skinny but he's actually really strong" joke and with that making people think Hiccup could do the impossible. No, Hiccup could never kill Drago on his own. It doesn't matter that he knocked out Snotlout one time

[whoblewboobear]

Still thinking about this bc being a shitty teacher isn't the same as being evil and yet- *gets shot*

[cator99]

I always get detained at da border because PROFUNC never ended but basically I'm like if a targeted individual didn't even care

[ailius-suffers-through-art]

again, too lazy to draw a whole comic so plot summary here:

rpg au kinda inspired by that one animation meme on youtube by Mintartem

as always, please note that the twins are aged up to 18 in this

So basically, towards the end of weirdmaggedon bill is facing down the pines family in the fearamid when too much weirdness leaks through the rift and everyone gets dragged into a different dimension. This dimension just so happens to be a D&D themed one.

Everyone wakes up to find themself stuck as a different race and class, including bill.

Dipper and Mabel end up as half elves; Dipper being a Wizard and Mabel being a Bard who only sings cheesy boyband songs.

Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford find out they've become wood elves; Ford being an Artificer and Stanley a Rogue.

Lastly, Bill comes to as a regular old human sorcerer.

Bill, for once, has to play by this dimensions rules, as the god who governs it (the DM) is stronger than he is. Of course, this doesn't mean he can't have fun where he is, though, so he charismas himself an army and makes himself the big bad evil guy™ of the campaign.

Ford and Dipper share a nerd bonding moment about where they are before getting serious again and trying to figure out how to escape this place.

The party immediately splits (much to the chagrin of both nerds) as Mabel sprints after the nearest hot fantasy guy and Stan heads to the market to scam people out of their gold. Dipper ends up getting left with Stanley since Ford immediately takes off after Mabel to look after her.

Cue cute Grunkle bonding for both siblings.

After a couple days and a lvl up to multiclass ranger, Dipper is thrown a bone by a deity and told that if he manages to defeat the BBEG™ they might be able to leave. Once he has that, he manages to scrounge up a bit of info from tavern gossips about who the BBEG is and sets off for the ominous castle behind the town.

He tries to get Stan to come with him, but the man is having too much fun getting rich. So, alone but overconfident, he busts down Bill's door and tries to burn his face off. This obviously does not work and dip gets put straight into bills mini prison.

They bicker for a while and Dipper nearly escapes by tricking a guard into giving him lunch in his cell and taking his keys and making a run for it, but he gets caught after setting around half the castle on fire.

He gets brought to Bill, who is fed up with him and is about to execute him, when one of Bill's minions lets him know about an attack on his forces somewhere in the middle of the forest. Badabing badaboom guess who is suddenly useful again?

So Bill switches his tune real fast and tries to coerce Dip into leading him to the location using his nature navigation skills, and Dip reluctantly agrees so he has a chance to gtfo of there.

Blah blah blah they find the monster and end up having to hide somewhere and slowly start to bond because Bill finds Dip annoyingly endearing and realizes he's decently competent, and Dip comes to appreciate Bill's chaos and comes to enjoy their butting of heads.

Ford and Mabel eventually end up rejoining Stan and they go on a quest to find Dipper. In the meantime, Dipper and Bill annoy eachother in various wacky ways whilst trying to solve the mystery of who keeps threating Bill's BBEG status.

NOW that i've caught you guys up to speed, here's a moment that came to me in the middle of the night that compelled me to draw it. Takes place after these dorks officially get together.

[thelastspeecher]

it's always the guys in the biggest trucks who have the thinnest skins

[phosphoresccent]

currently enjoying writing xephos as the clingiest soggiest guy when he's sick, because he's only like that because he trusts honeydew/lalna So Much!!! otherwise he would slink off into the woods and die in a cave like a dog, or run around like everything was fine right up until he died.

[bobfloydsbabe]

Finally did that thing I've been dreading and putting off for months even though I really shouldn't, and it took all of 20 minutes to do. Why am I like this.

[celepeace]

Genuinely with the death of nintendo handheld low-cost games that came with the switch, as every continuing handheld series became a switch series and thus had a price increase, a lot of their most kid-friendly franchises have become more and more inaccessible to children, especially now that nintendo has decided to follow every other major console and has started pricing new games even higher.

And now that a lot of these series are so old and thus a lot of their fanbase has aged into adulthood, a lot of these series would benefit greatly from making some of the new entries more adult-oriented. But nintendo very stubbornly wants to keep their main franchises as kid-friendly as possible, sometimes severely restricting the potential of these series by not allowing them to explore things like more complex mechanics, higher difficulty, or darker topics that past entries have brushed over in favor of keeping the age rating low. Pokemon's core battle engine has been in want of an overhaul for years now, and Legends Arceus kind of did that but not wholly, for example.

This would be pretty understandable in the interest of keeping every entry of these series accessible to all age groups, but with inflating prices, who are these games even for anymore? A normal kid with your average allowance from their parents isn't going to be able to afford tears of the kingdom or even $60 pokemon games more often than not. Back when these games were $30-$40, sure, if they saved up, but now many families have even tighter budgets than ever due to the rising cost of living. Nintendo is pricing themselves out of their target audience while simultaneously leaving their adult fans who have been with them since childhood to feel neglected in favor of exclusively making games for today's children.

Obviously nintendo will always make sales because even though they make children's games, they're still fun as hell for a person of any age, and many kids will be able to afford their games once in a while, but it does feel like they're kind of... making their games for an audience that barely exists.

[girlitfeelsgood]

I had so much time, wasn't in a rush at all, and told myself a hundred times to remember to pack my meds and somehow I still forgot

[superfruitland]

the next post will be my entire stash of unfinished family doodles because i said so :3c

[asexual-levia-tan]

oh speaking of tumblr dreams last night i dreamt jade leech discovered tumblr polls and started making a whole bunch of them like he was SO interested in them

[livemedown]

To whine into the void a little, I hate that I have to constantly doubt myself. Some people around me pushed me to be in a relationship when I was having significant doubts about my own feelings (I knew I wasn't feeling romantic attraction, even the other person knew, but it seemed like no one considered how I felt about it). The relationship existed out of misguided hope and the idea of it being a sort of exposure therapy or something. I openly expressed I wanted something queerplatonic, but was pressured into something romantic instead.

I hate feeling like I'm broken, that just "finding the one" will fix me. I hate the idea of marriages. I immediately distrust anyone who expresses romantic feelings for me, I usually feel outright disgusted. I want to be able to be close to someone without these weird romantic obligations.

I know I'm traumatized and I know I'm autistic. My life story is a massive trigger list I can't begin to talk about. But I also know that, from an early age, every "crush" I ever had? I just really wanted to be that person's friend. I didn't think about dating or whatever romantic fantasies people have - I just liked them, and liked how they made me feel. Unfortunately I tend to latch onto people who do not have the best intentions.

It is no wonder I constantly think, "Am I just aroace? Or is my trauma so bad and so deeply wired into my soul that I'll never find value in building relationships again?"

"it's ok for labels to change as you learn more about yourself" and "i hope with every fiber of my being that I'm right about being aroace and nobody will come along to change my mind because I hate the idea of being in a romantic relationship or conforming to gender roles or heteronormativity" are two sentences that can and should coexist.