Krystin | YourHonorTheyNeededToSuffer (YHTNTS)
AuDHD Author • DM • Game Dev • Artist • Professional Disaster
MHA fanfic like a full-time job & a controlled explosion.
Angst→comfort • found family • trauma recovery • messy growth • slow burns
Links
• AO3 | Wattpad
Discord
• Hangout (13+)
• Book Club (18+)
Start Here
• We Committed 1 Murder
• Can I Have My Body Back?!
• The Second Time Around
• Anatomy Of A Broken Thing
(More recs on AO3.)
LISTEN UP, MY BELOVED LITTLE CONGREGATION OF BOOK GOBLINS.
Welcome to my TED Talk, except I’m not wearing a mic pack — I’m wearing paper cuts, unresolved feelings, and the spiritual belief that a story should either change your brain chemistry or ruin you politely.
This is not a “favorites list.”
This is an autopsy considered as worship.
I like my classics sharp.
I like my romance feral.
I like my dystopias screaming.
I like my monsters as metaphors.
And I like my YA trauma with plot and not just vibes.
⚠️ Spoilers exist in the vicinity. Proceed with caution.
FULL RANKING — BEST → WORST (NO DETAILS YET)
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Pride and Prejudice
The Lord of the Rings
Dracula
Les Misérables
Anne of Green Gables
Speak
Dune
Twilight (Breaking Dawn is my fave, don’t @ me)
1984
The Giver (series)
Percy Jackson (series)
Wuthering Heights
Fahrenheit 451
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Republic (Plato)
Catch-22
Never Let Me Go
The Hobbit
Cirque du Freak (series)
Peeps (viral vampires, YES)
Midnighters (series)
House of Night (series)
The Silmarillion
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
The Great Gatsby
The Catcher in the Rye
The Grapes of Wrath
All the King’s Men
White Noise
The Crying of Lot 49
The Hunt for Red October
Romeo and Juliet
The Golden Notebook
A Handful of Dust
A Death in the Family
The Death of the Heart
An American Tragedy
Verity
Harry Potter (series — formative, but I’m not funding her)
Clan of the Cave Bear (series)
OKAY. NOW WE PREACH.
Because a list without thesis is just a grocery receipt, and I did not come here to be normal.
#1 — Frankenstein
Thesis: Humanity invents monsters and then acts shocked when they bleed.
This is THE template. The original “who’s the real monster” story that still dunks on people two centuries later. It’s grief. It’s abandonment. It’s obsession. It’s the horror of creating life and then refusing responsibility for it.
The creature isn’t a jump scare — the creature is a mirror. Which is worse.
#2 — Pride and Prejudice
Thesis: Love isn’t fate — it’s character, tested under pressure.
This is the blueprint for: “You were wrong about me,” “I was wrong about you,” and “we both need to grow up before we touch.” It’s funny. It’s sharp. It’s romantic without being stupid. It’s social critique wearing a ballroom gown.
And yes, I love the slow-burn arrogance getting humbled. Mind your business.
#3 — The Lord of the Rings
Thesis: Hope is a decision, made by small people carrying unbearable things.
Mythic, yes — but also intimate. Friendship as lifeline. Courage with shaking hands. “Keep walking even when you’re ruined.” Found family as oxygen. Loyalty as religion.
If you don’t get emotional about two exhausted little dudes choosing love over despair, you are stronger than me and I resent you.
#4 — Dracula
Thesis: Desire is terrifying when it’s hungry and entitled.
Not just “vampire spooky.” It’s invasion. Obsession. Control. People trying to understand something that does not care about consent.
Also I love the structure — everyone documenting the horror while it’s already inside the house. Like, babe… the monster is not waiting for you to finish your diary entry.
#5 — Les Misérables
Thesis: Mercy is revolutionary.
This book is enormous because the feelings are enormous. Poverty, systems, cruelty, survival, grace. One act of mercy can rewrite a whole life’s trajectory and the book commits to that like it’s sacred law.
This is not a novel. This is a hymn that punches you.
#6 — Anne of Green Gables
Thesis: Softness is not weakness — it’s survival with poetry.
Anne is “too much” in the way that only means: alive, imaginative, hungry for beauty, determined to make a home out of whatever scraps she’s given. Comfort without being shallow. Healing without being stupid.
#7 — Speak
Thesis: Silence isn’t safety. It’s a cage.
Necessary. Brutal in a quiet way. It doesn’t pretend recovery is linear or cute. It’s the slow crawl of reclaiming voice, selfhood, and dignity.
This is why I write aftermath. This book put the concept in my bones.
#8 — Dune
Thesis: Charisma is dangerous. Messiahs are worse.
Crunchy worldbuilding, yes, but the real gag is the warning label: prophecy is a weapon, power reshapes people, and “destiny” is often just politics wearing a halo.
It respects the reader’s intelligence and I eat that up like it’s protein.
#9 — Twilight (Breaking Dawn fave)
Thesis: Sometimes you just want the monster romance and you don’t owe anyone an apology.
Is it messy? Yes. Is it iconic? Also yes. This is imprint-era reading — the kind where you remember exactly what obsession felt like.
Breaking Dawn is my fave because it commits to its own insanity with its whole chest. I respect a story that doesn’t flinch from being itself.
#10 — 1984
Thesis: Control the truth and you control the people.
Cold shower of literature. Paranoia made structural. Fear turned into policy. Reality rewritten while you’re still standing in it.
Not fun. Extremely important. Unfortunately evergreen.
#11 — The Giver (series)
Thesis: A peaceful society built on forgetting is still a cage.
It’s gentle and horrifying at the same time — which is my favorite flavor of pain. Quiet dystopia hits different because it looks like safety until you realize what it cost.
#12 — Percy Jackson (series)
Thesis: Trauma doesn’t stop you from being a hero — it just makes you funnier about it.
Found family. Loyalty. Kids dealing with impossible things and still choosing love. Also it’s funny as hell, which is part of why it works — humor as survival mechanism, baby.
#13 — Wuthering Heights
Thesis: Love without healing becomes possession with a pulse.
This isn’t romance. This is rot. This is obsession. This is “we are both unwell and we will make it everyone’s problem.” It’s gothic toxicity served on a silver tray.
#14 — Fahrenheit 451
Thesis: Censorship doesn’t start with fire. It starts with comfort.
It’s not just “books banned.” It’s “people convinced not to care.” That’s the horror. The quiet slide into numbness. The way distraction becomes a leash.
#15 — To Kill a Mockingbird
Thesis: Morality is what you do when the town demands cruelty.
This one is foundational for a reason. It’s about the everyday violence of injustice — and the courage it takes to remain decent anyway.
#16 — The Republic (Plato)
Thesis: Philosophy is just society arguing with itself in formal wear.
This is “what is justice” and “who gets power” and “why do we keep making the same mistakes” — the ancient edition. Still annoyingly relevant.
#17 — Catch-22
Thesis: Bureaucracy is madness with paperwork.
The system is the villain. Logic is a trap. Survival becomes a joke the universe tells on you. If you’ve ever been crushed by “policy,” this book will feel like a psychic injury.
#18 — Never Let Me Go
Thesis: Sometimes the tragedy is how quietly people accept the inevitable.
This book hurts because it’s soft about it. It doesn’t scream. It just lets you watch people live inside an ending they can’t outrun.
#19 — The Hobbit
Thesis: Adventure is what happens when comfort gets interrupted by purpose.
Cozy and classic and still full of teeth. It’s the warm prelude to a world that becomes enormous.
#20 — Cirque du Freak (series)
Thesis: Growing up is terrifying when the world is actually dangerous.
This series is pure formative “oh, consequences exist” reading. Monsters, morality, identity, choices you can’t undo. YA that actually swings.
21–41 — Rapid-fire truth bullets (because I still respect you, but I’m not writing a dissertation on every single one… today)
#21 Peeps: Science made the vampire and now we’re all coping.
#22 Midnighters: The dark hour reveals who you really are.
#23 House of Night: Teen power + mythology + mess, served hot.
#24 The Silmarillion: Biblical grief-lore for the spiritually brave.
#25 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Wonder is dangerous when it becomes obsession.
#26 The Great Gatsby: Rich people are beautiful disasters in an empty house.
#27 The Catcher in the Rye: Pain disguised as arrogance is still pain.
#28 The Grapes of Wrath: Survival is political whether you want it to be or not.
#29 All the King’s Men: Power corrupts, and the lie sounds like hope.
#30 White Noise: Modern life is dread with brand names.
#31 The Crying of Lot 49: Paranoia is a maze that starts making sense.
#32 The Hunt for Red October: Tension is craft. Competence is hot.
#33 Romeo and Juliet: Teen love is a match thrown into gasoline.
#34 The Golden Notebook: The mind fractures when life demands compartments.
#35 A Handful of Dust: Civilization is a thin mask and it slips easily.
#36 A Death in the Family: Grief arrives like weather and changes everything.
#37 The Death of the Heart: Innocence isn’t weakness — it’s vulnerability without armor.
#38 An American Tragedy: The dream curdles when the system is the predator.
#40 Harry Potter: Childhood imprint, but I’m not paying tuition to her bigotry.
#41 Clan of the Cave Bear: Endurance as identity. Survival as saga.
FINAL CONFESSION
Here’s what this list confesses about me, loud and unashamed:
I like stories where the monster is never just a monster.
I like romance with teeth.
I like classics that actually stab.
I like dystopias that treat comfort like a drug.
And I love books that prove the same thing over and over:
People aren’t born evil — they’re shaped, cornered, starved, loved, abandoned, and then they become something.
That is why I write the way I write.
I write safehouses for wrecked people.
I write found family like oxygen.
I write consequences. I write aftermath.
I write the moment someone finally chooses mercy — and how it costs them anyway.
So yeah.
This isn’t a reading list.
It’s a map of how I became me.
LISTEN UP, MY BELOVED LITTLE CONGREGATION OF TELEVISION ADDICTS.
Welcome to my TED Talk, except I’m not wearing a mic pack — I’m wearing emotional body armor, and I will be throwing TV shows at your face like communion wafers.
This is not a “ranking.”
This is a manifesto.
I like my feelings weaponized.
I like my characters traumatized but not pointless.
I like found family like it’s oxygen.
I like doctors who should not have licenses.
And yes — sometimes I’m attracted to the worst possible character. Shut up.
⚠️ SPOILER WARNING:
This post discusses major themes, endings, and emotional damage.
Proceed with caution and snacks.
FULL RANKING — BEST → WORST (NO DETAILS YET)
Doctor Who
How I Met Your Mother
The Good Doctor
The Walking Dead
Hazbin Hotel
South Park
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Steven Universe
BoJack Horseman
F Is for Family
Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Reign
The Boys
Gen V
Torchwood
The Office
Parks and Recreation
Arrested Development
Rick and Morty
The Simpsons
Futurama
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
House
Scrubs
Invader Zim
Once Upon a Time
Seinfeld
Malcolm in the Middle
Big Mouth
Z Nation
The Last Man on Earth
X-Men (90s cartoon)
Sherlock
Weeds
The Big Bang Theory
Young Sheldon
Game of Thrones (you know why it’s down here)
Secret Life of the American Teenager
Switched at Birth
Carol & the End of the World
1–10 — TOP TEN HOLY TEXTS (BIG ENTRIES)
#1 — Doctor Who
Thesis: Kindness is a choice you keep making in a universe that keeps daring you to stop.
This is my all-time favorite show. Period.
Doctor Who taught me that intelligence without compassion is empty, that monsters aren’t always evil, and that running toward pain instead of away from it is sometimes the bravest thing you can do.
Found family. Regeneration as grief. Love across centuries.
This show hard-coded my morality.
#2 — How I Met Your Mother
Thesis: Love is messy, memory lies, and life doesn’t hit beats when you want it to.
This is my comfort show of all time.
I have watched it happy, devastated, numb, grieving, rebuilding.
People argue about the ending. I argue that the show is about time, not romance.
About how people change, drift, come back, and sometimes don’t.
#3 — The Good Doctor
Thesis: Being different is not a flaw — the world just refuses to meet you halfway.
Yes. I said it.
This show matters to me deeply.
It’s about competence, empathy, communication, and what it costs to exist in a system not built for you. Watching Shaun fight to be seen without being softened into palatability? That hit me in the ribs.
#4 — The Walking Dead
Thesis: Society doesn’t collapse — it reveals who people already were.
Yes, even with the suffering.
Yes, even with that many seasons.
This show is about found family under impossible pressure, leadership as burden, and what you’re willing to become to protect the people you love.
#5 — Hazbin Hotel
Thesis: Redemption doesn’t require purity — it requires effort.
Chaotic. Loud. Queer. Emotional. Messy.
This show understands that healing is not linear and that wanting to be better counts even if you keep fucking up.
Also the music slaps and I will not be taking notes.
#6 — South Park
Thesis: Satire is a weapon and everyone is a target.
South Park isn’t just crude — it’s surgical.
It says the quiet part out loud, then laughs at you for being uncomfortable.
It shaped my humor and my tolerance for dark jokes with actual intent.
#7 — Avatar: The Last Airbender
Thesis: Power without compassion is just abuse with better branding.
This show is perfect.
Redemption arcs. Trauma. War. Responsibility. Forgiveness.
Zuko alone could fill a dissertation.
#8 — Steven Universe
Thesis: Love is not weakness. It’s radical.
Steven Universe taught me that gentleness can be revolutionary, that empathy can dismantle empires, and that healing doesn’t mean erasing what hurt you.
Found family gospel.
#9 — BoJack Horseman
Thesis: Understanding your trauma does not absolve you of the harm you cause.
This show dragged me into adulthood by the throat.
Funny. Brutal. Honest.
It doesn’t let you hide behind “I’m damaged” — it asks what you’re doing about it.
#10 — F Is for Family
Thesis: Generational trauma is loud, ugly, and deeply human.
This show surprised the hell out of me.
It’s raw, uncomfortable, and painfully real about how families break — and sometimes try to fix themselves anyway.
11–20 — MID-SIZE ENTRIES (STILL IMPORTANT)
Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Thesis: Growing up means realizing the system itself is broken.
Reign
Thesis: Power is survival with better clothes.
The Boys
Thesis: Celebrity + power + capitalism = monsters.
Gen V
Thesis: Trauma doesn’t stop at graduation.
Torchwood
Thesis: Immortality is loneliness, not power.
The Office
Thesis: Love survives boredom.
Parks and Recreation
Thesis: Hope is bureaucratic and stubborn.
Arrested Development
Thesis: Money rots people creatively.
Rick and Morty
Thesis: Intelligence without empathy eats itself.
The Simpsons
Thesis: Culture critique disguised as yellow people.
21–40 — THESIS-ONLY (BREVITY FOR SANITY)
Futurama: Love outlives logic.
It’s Always Sunny: Awful people, perfect comedy.
House: Genius doesn’t excuse cruelty.
Scrubs: Grief hides behind humor.
Invader Zim: Childhood chaos as art.
Once Upon a Time: Trauma fairytales hit.
Seinfeld: Observational comedy for smart idiots.
Malcolm in the Middle: Family dysfunction done right.
Big Mouth: Puberty is body horror.
Z Nation: Camp apocalypse comfort.
The Last Man on Earth: Loneliness is funny until it isn’t.
X-Men (90s): Being hated for existing.
Sherlock: Intelligence without kindness again.
Weeds: Morality collapses slowly.
Big Bang Theory: Comfort, not depth.
Young Sheldon: Context matters.
Game of Thrones: Incredible betrayal — by the writers.
Secret Life: Messy teen reality.
Switched at Birth: Identity deserves respect.
Carol & the End of the World: Quiet apocalypse grief.
FINAL CONFESSION
I don’t like TV shows.
I like emotional architecture.
I like stories that ask:
Who are you when it hurts?
Who do you protect?
What do you choose to carry forward?
That’s why my writing looks the way it does.
That’s why my fanfics and novels are safehouses for wrecked people.
That’s why I never stop talking about found family.
LISTEN UP, MY BELOVED LITTLE CONGREGATION OF CARTOON ADDICTS.
Welcome to my TED Talk, except I’m not wearing a mic pack, I’m wearing emotional body armor and I WILL be throwing anime at your face like communion wafers.
BEFORE YOU READ ANYTHING: this post contains spoilers. I’m trying to be responsible.
This is not a “ranking.” This is a manifesto. This is me, YHTNTS, standing at the altar of Storytelling going:
I like my feelings weaponized.
I like my characters traumatized but not pointless.
I like my power systems crunchy and my love stories messier than my browser history.
I like found family like it’s oxygen.
And yes—sometimes I’m attracted to the villain. Shut up.
THE HOLY SCROLL — FULL RANKING (NO SPOILERS) BEST → WORST
My Hero Academia
Fruits Basket
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Violet Evergarden
Gurren Lagann
Made in Abyss
Ouran High School Host Club
Sailor Moon (Crystal favored; R & S movies are childhood scripture)
Hunter x Hunter
Wolf Children
Yu-Gi-Oh!
FLCL
Parasyte
Code Geass
Bleach
Naruto + Shippuden
Death Note
Uzumaki / Junji Ito horror
Elfen Lied
Clannad + After Story
Your Lie in April
Inuyasha
Chobits
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Howl’s Moving Castle
Demon Slayer
Dragon Ball (DB/DBZ/DBS; not vibing with Daima)
Spy x Family
Tenchi Muyo
The Way of the Househusband
Cowboy Bebop (unfinished, but revered like a relic)
Digimon + Tri
Tower of God
Zom 100
Komi Can’t Communicate
Food Wars
Highschool of the Dead
Dr. Stone
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (DanMachi)
Kill la Kill
Akame ga Kill
Higurashi When They Cry
Future Diary
Tokyo Ghoul
Kaiju No. 8
Dandadan
Beastars
The Devil Is a Part-Timer!
Rurouni Kenshin
Kodocha
Mushishi
Eden of the East
Pokémon
A Whisker Away
The Garden of Words
Vampire Knight
Ghost Stories (English dub)
Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning
READ MORE AT YOUR OWN FUCKING RISK BECAUSE THIS IS A LOOOOON ASS POST.
Spoilers below.
OKAY. NOW WE PREACH.
Because a list without thesis is just a grocery receipt, and I did not come here to be normal.
1–10 — TOP TEN HOLY TEXTS (BIG ENTRIES)
#1 — My Hero Academia
Thesis (blunt truth): Society manufactures villains and then clutches pearls when the product shows up.
Vibes: superhero spectacle + social rot + “why am I sobbing during a punch?”
Best mains: Izuku, Katsuki, Shouta, Denki… and yes, a suspicious amount of this cast can get it. Mind your business.
Ships: BakuDeku • TodoDeku • KiriBaku • EraserMic • plus “adoption paperwork but make it canon.”
Why it’s #1: Because it’s not just heroes vs villains — it’s systems vs people. The show is brave enough to admit the world is built wrong, then hands you hope anyway. I like my optimism earned through violence, apparently.
#2 — Fruits Basket
Thesis: Generational trauma is hereditary. Love is the loophole.
Vibes: warm shoujo hug hiding a blade in the sleeve.
Best mains: Tohru, Kyo, Yuki (a holy trinity of “I need a nap and therapy”).
Ships: Kyo/Tohru • and yes, my ancient teen imprint Kyo/Yuki.
Why it’s here: It doesn’t pretend healing is pretty. It shows the relapses. The cruelty. The staying anyway. Which is literally my whole writing brand: love with bruises.
#3 — Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Thesis: If you play god, you pay in blood. If you’re human, you pay in grief.
Vibes: airtight plot + moral philosophy + consequences that do not negotiate.
Best mains: Ed, Al, Mustang, Riza, Winry — stacked cast, zero wasted oxygen.
Ships: Ed/Winry • Royai • plus everyone holding hands in shared pain.
Why it’s here: Brotherhood is the chosen one because it refuses to cheat. It builds rules and forces you to respect them. And the depiction of “God” still keeps me up at night like a cosmic unpaid bill.
#4 — Violet Evergarden
Thesis: You can be rebuilt. But first, you have to admit you were destroyed.
Vibes: heartbreak in HD • letters as life support • grief opera with perfect posture.
Best mains: Violet. That’s the whole point.
Ships: Violet/Gilbert is complicated • Violet/BeingAlive is the real romance.
Why it’s here: Because it makes emotion physical. Healing isn’t a speech. It’s a thousand tiny behaviors. It’s watching someone learn they deserve warmth and then learning how to hold it.
#5 — Gurren Lagann
Thesis: Hope isn’t a vibe. It’s a decision you keep making while everything burns.
Vibes: mecha that turns into a religious experience • yelling as prayer • grief as fuel.
Best mains: Simon, Kamina, the whole ride-or-die chaos church.
Ships: Simon/Nia (pain included, non-refundable).
Why it’s here: It cured my “I hate mecha” rigidity like an exorcism. It taught me tropes don’t matter — heart does. I believe in the Simon that believes in himself. Amen.
#6 — Made in Abyss
Thesis: Curiosity is holy. The abyss does not care.
Vibes: wonder + horror + beauty that bites you for looking too long.
Best mains: Riko, Reg, Nanachi (pain mascot of the century).
Ships: not romance — survival-bond scripture.
Why it’s here: Because it’s a fairytale written by something ancient and hungry. It’s not edgy — it’s honest about the price of wanting to know.
#7 — Ouran High School Host Club
Thesis: Gender is a costume, class is a scam, and love is chaos—so laugh, babe.
Vibes: crack comedy + comfort + identity play.
Best mains: Haruhi, Tamaki, Kyoya.
Ships: I never really shipped anyone here — I’m here for VIBES. (But yes, Haruhi/Tamaki exists; fandom is a buffet.)
Why it’s here: Cozy chaos with actual themes. A hug with a wink.
#8 — Sailor Moon (Crystal favored)
Thesis: Gentleness can be a weapon so strong it becomes a god.
Vibes: glitter apocalypse • friendship as cosmic law • destiny with eyeliner.
Best mains: Usagi, Saturn, Pluto.
Ships: Usagi/Mamoru • Haruka/Michiru (ICONIC).
Why it’s here: People forget Sailor Moon is absurdly powerful until she reminds them. Also Crystal’s style is chef’s kiss, but R & S movies are childhood scripture.
#9 — Hunter x Hunter
Thesis: Power has rules. People don’t.
Vibes: adventure that reveals itself as ethical warfare.
Best mains: Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Hisoka (unfortunately iconic).
Ships: Gon/Killua (fandom forever).
Why it’s here: Nen changed my life. It’s the blueprint for “power system as personality.”
#10 — Wolf Children
Thesis: Love isn’t a moment. It’s work you do for years.
Vibes: raising kids against the odds • heartache with warm hands • rural survival tenderness.
Best mains: Hana.
Ships: not a ship show — it’s life.
Why it’s here: Quietly lethal. The old man “you won’t get anything done hoeing like that” line lives rent-free in my soul.
11–20 — MEDIUM ENTRIES (STILL HOLY)
#11 — Yu-Gi-Oh!
Thesis: Friendship is real. Ego is realer. Both will summon a dragon about it.
Vibes: camp destiny drama • Kaiba being a lifestyle choice.
Best mains: Kaiba, Yugi/Atem, Joey.
Ships: Kaiba/Yugi • Kaiba/Joey • Atem/Yugi.
Why it’s here: First love. Kaiba is “I will outlive God through spite” and I respect him carnally.
#12 — FLCL
Thesis: Puberty is confusing. Growing up is worse. Rewatching makes it make sense and that’s suspicious.
Vibes: acid trip fever dream • meaning hiding under noise.
Best mains: Naota, Haruko.
Why it’s here: I watched it six times and learned something new every time. That’s art. That’s a haunted puzzle box.
#13 — Parasyte
Thesis: Humanity isn’t a species. It’s a choice you make under pressure.
Vibes: gorgeous grotesque existential dread.
Best mains: Shinichi, Migi.
Why it’s here: It’s gross, it’s beautiful, it commits. And by the end the protagonist can GET IT.
#14 — Code Geass
Thesis: Revolution is messy. Genius isn’t morality. Consequences don’t care about your intentions.
Vibes: chessboard melodrama • hubris with style.
Best mains: Lelouch, Suzaku, C.C.
Why it’s here: Mandatory. Also Landan hasn’t watched it and I’m choosing violence about that.
#15 — Bleach
Thesis: Identity has layers. Style is a weapon. Grief makes fighters.
Vibes: drip + devastation.
Best mains: Ichigo, Rukia, Byakuya, Urahara.
Why it’s here: One of my first big completions. Finished it as it aired. That’s service.
#16 — Naruto + Shippuden
Thesis: Loneliness turns kids into weapons. Bonds turn weapons back into people.
#17 — Death Note
Thesis: “I’m right” is the most dangerous sentence a person can say.
#18 — Uzumaki / Junji Ito horror
Thesis: Obsession is a spiral you don’t notice until you’re already inside it.
#19 — Elfen Lied
Thesis: Trauma doesn’t excuse violence, but it sure explains it.
#20 — Clannad + After Story
Thesis: Love builds a life. Life still hits you with a truck emotionally.
21–60 — THESIS-ONLY (QUICK STABS)
#21 Your Lie in April — Beauty is a goodbye in disguise.
#22 Inuyasha — Destiny tastes better at midnight with romantic violence.
#23 Chobits — If it can love, it deserves rights—and the implications will haunt you.
#24 Princess Mononoke — Nobody is purely villain. Everyone bleeds.
#25 Spirited Away — Growing up is bravery with shaking hands.
#26 Howl’s Moving Castle — Love transforms; cowardice curses.
#27 Demon Slayer — Kindness survives violence.
#28 Dragon Ball — Self-improvement is religion; screaming is prayer.
#29 Spy x Family — A fake family becomes real anyway.
#30 Tenchi Muyo — Foundational chaos deserves respect.
#31 Househusband — Domestic menace is hot.
#32 Cowboy Bebop — Cool doesn’t save you; it just styles the tragedy.
#33 Digimon + Tri — Growing up doesn’t delete your team.
#34 Tower of God — Systems don’t make you moral, they make you measurable.
#35 Zom 100 — The apocalypse is sometimes your first chance to live.
#36 Komi — Kindness is accessibility.
#37 Food Wars — Craft obsession is hot, actually.
#38 HOTD — Anime physics are scarier than zombies.
#39 Dr. Stone — Hope, but with receipts.
#40 Slime — Cozy power trip + community building.
#41 DanMachi — Dungeon grind comfort food with feelings.
#42 Kill la Kill — Liberation via chaos at volume 11.
#43 Akame ga Kill — Injustice doesn’t ask permission.
#44 Higurashi — The loop knows the truth is worse.
#45 Future Diary — Love as a threat.
#46 Tokyo Ghoul — Monstrosity changes your moral math.
#47 Kaiju No. 8 — You’re not too late; you’re just tired.
#48 Dandadan — Paranormal sprint with feelings flying loose.
#49 Beastars — Desire is animal; morality is choice; society is hypocrisy.
#50 Devil is a Part-Timer — Capitalism wins even when evil goes domestic.
#51 Kenshin — Redemption is restraint.
#52 Kodocha — Childhood chaos can still have teeth.
#53 Mushishi — Nature isn’t evil; it’s haunted and indifferent and quietly merciful.
#54 Eden of the East — Nostalgia makes mystery immortal.
#55 Pokémon — Childhood canon event.
#56 A Whisker Away — Escapism isn’t home.
#57 Garden of Words — Gentle loneliness is still dangerous.
#58 Vampire Knight — Goth drama hits, grooming-adjacent vibes don’t.
#59 Ghost Stories dub — A bad dub became performance art.
#60 Spiral — Nostalgia mystery lives in my attic.
GRAND FINALE — WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT ME (AND MY WRITING)
I don’t like “stories.” I like EMOTIONAL ENGINEERING.
I like fiction that grabs me by the collar and goes: “Okay. Who are you really when it hurts?”
So here’s what this ranking confesses about me:
1) Found family is my oxygen.
If the cast is a bunch of damaged idiots who choose each other anyway, I am seated, I am foaming, I am drafting 200k like it’s cardio. MHA is my altar. Spy x Family is my comfort blanket. Digimon is my childhood blueprint. Yu-Gi-Oh is friendship as destiny, and I’m weak for destiny.
2) I’m the “society makes villains” choir director.
I don’t want cartoon evil. I want the machine. I want systems that grind people into monsters and then act shocked when the monster turns around and bites. That’s why MHA, Parasyte, Tokyo Ghoul, Code Geass hit so hard: they’re not just stories, they’re indictments.
3) I like pain with purpose.
Shock value can pack its bags. I want suffering that changes people, forces consequence, forces repair, forces growth. Fruits Basket doesn’t heal you with magic — it heals you with staying. Violet doesn’t get better in one speech — she gets better in a thousand behaviors. Wolf Children doesn’t romanticize hardship — it shows the labor.
4) I’m obsessed with identity and masks coming off.
Who are you when you’re not performing? When your body changes? When your role is taken? When the lie can’t hold? I eat that up like it’s a coping mechanism (because it is).
5) I love power systems because I love emotional systems.
Nen. Alchemy. Hero society rules. Abyss physics of consequence. If the world has structure, choices matter. If choices matter, love means something. Give me rules that make sacrifice real.
6) Yes, I’m horny for competence.
Sometimes it’s heroic. Sometimes it’s villainous. Sometimes it’s emotionally constipated but reliable. I will not be explaining myself.
7) My ships aren’t just romance — they’re proof of survival.
I ship like I’m building shelter. I don’t ship because “cute.” I ship because “if they can be loved, maybe anyone can.” See me. Stay anyway. That’s the whole spell.
So when I call myself the safehouse sad boy trauma healing found family queen of AO3, that’s not a joke. That’s the thesis.
My writing is a safehouse for wrecked people who still choose love.
Not perfect love. Not clean love. Not therapy-voice love.
Love that shows up. Love that backslides. Love that fucks up and tries again.
Love that builds a home out of scraps, spite, and late-night loyalty.
That’s what this post is.
Not “anime I like.”
A map of how I became me.
Elysian Eclipse is a Sandbox Evolution Simulator, letting you evolve from an amoeba into a space traveling sentient being. Create your own creatures, buildings and vehicles to conquer procedural planets.
Turn the galaxy into your personal playground!
Sandbox Evolution Simulator
The website includes FAQ and Wiki, aswell as a free early access version of the game! You can also find links to STEAM and KO-FI there, if you want to support the development financially.
If you want to chat with our community, suggest freatures and ask questions, our Discord is the best place for that!
Hey Internet. People Of Tumblr. I Require The Fics You’re Ferally Obsessed With. It’s A Medical Necessity. 💥
So Here’s What’s Happening:
Me + My Discord Community Are Building A Massive, Organized Fic Vault Together Using Archivemate (Aka: “Stop Losing Fics To The Void Forever”). It’s A Shared Master List Where We Collect:
Title + Link
Rating
Ship (Or “No Main Ship”)
Word Count (Rough Is Fine)
Status (Complete/WIP)
Tropes
A One-Line Pitch That Makes Someone Go “Oh No. I Have To Read That Immediately.”
The Community Master Sheet (Archivemate) Is Here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14WinVufT0kb6hyKabh6Jb5c5oezmxiL2nwN5qnb4MKo/edit?usp=sharing
How You Can Help Me (And The Class):
Drop One MHA Fic You’d Recommend With Your Whole Chest And Add It To The Sheet — Or Comment It And I’ll Add It For You.
I Want The Ones That:
Rewired Your Brain
Made You Stare At A Wall
Ruined You Respectfully
Healed You A Little
Made You Whisper “This Author Is INSANE” At 2AM
And Since I’m Not About To Ask For Yours Without Declaring Mine—
My Favorite MHA Fic Of All Time (That I Didn’t Write Myself):
The Way You Used To Do (TWYUTD) By edema_ruh
(The Image On This Post Is TWYUTD’s Summary Page.)
It’s Long. It’s A Slow Burn. It’s Emotionally Nuclear In The Best Way. It’s The Kind Of Fic That Raises Your Standards For What Writing Can Do. I’ve Reread It Multiple Times And It Still Hits Different Every Single Time.
Now, If You Want To Come Yell About Fics With Actual Humans (And Help Build The Vault), I Run Two Servers:
Smash Reads Hero Course Hangout (13+)
The All-Ages U.A. Common Room For Fic Recs, Writing Hype, Headcanons, And Fandom Chaos:
https://discord.gg/hvbEvZKF3Q
✨Smash Reads Explosive Book Club✨ (18+)
Same Obsession, Adult-Only Lanes. Deeper/Darker/Spicier Fic Talk Stays Over There So The 13+ Hub Stays Safe:
https://discord.gg/3FRxrFt5W6
Drop Your Rec. Feed The Vault. Save A Life (Mine).
No fandom would be complete without its fanfic. We can’t not mention it—not least because of the sheer volume of it on Tumblr: You created over 1 million posts tagged #fanfic, which garnered over 40 million notes.
So, here’s to the fic writers who sustain us all through the lulls between seasons and in the aftermath of the big movie moments. And a special shout-out to those fic writers so committed, that they’re writing their OTP or rarepair long—sometimes for decades—after their show has been canceled.
We…won’t be sharing any of that here, but we see you, and your vast numbers certainly became incredibly apparent when we got engaged to Ao3. We love your commitment to your craft <3
How was your 2025 on Tumblr? What were your fandom highlights? Add your voice to Year in Review by using #tumblr 2025.
Hey Internet. People Of Tumblr. I Require The Fics You’re Ferally Obsessed With. It’s A Medical Necessity. 💥
So Here’s What’s Happening:
Me + My Discord Community Are Building A Massive, Organized Fic Vault Together Using Archivemate (Aka: “Stop Losing Fics To The Void Forever”). It’s A Shared Master List Where We Collect:
Title + Link
Rating
Ship (Or “No Main Ship”)
Word Count (Rough Is Fine)
Status (Complete/WIP)
Tropes
A One-Line Pitch That Makes Someone Go “Oh No. I Have To Read That Immediately.”
The Community Master Sheet (Archivemate) Is Here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14WinVufT0kb6hyKabh6Jb5c5oezmxiL2nwN5qnb4MKo/edit?usp=sharing
How You Can Help Me (And The Class):
Drop One MHA Fic You’d Recommend With Your Whole Chest And Add It To The Sheet — Or Comment It And I’ll Add It For You.
I Want The Ones That:
Rewired Your Brain
Made You Stare At A Wall
Ruined You Respectfully
Healed You A Little
Made You Whisper “This Author Is INSANE” At 2AM
And Since I’m Not About To Ask For Yours Without Declaring Mine—
My Favorite MHA Fic Of All Time (That I Didn’t Write Myself):
The Way You Used To Do (TWYUTD) By edema_ruh
(The Image On This Post Is TWYUTD’s Summary Page.)
It’s Long. It’s A Slow Burn. It’s Emotionally Nuclear In The Best Way. It’s The Kind Of Fic That Raises Your Standards For What Writing Can Do. I’ve Reread It Multiple Times And It Still Hits Different Every Single Time.
Now, If You Want To Come Yell About Fics With Actual Humans (And Help Build The Vault), I Run Two Servers:
Smash Reads Hero Course Hangout (13+)
The All-Ages U.A. Common Room For Fic Recs, Writing Hype, Headcanons, And Fandom Chaos:
https://discord.gg/hvbEvZKF3Q
✨Smash Reads Explosive Book Club✨ (18+)
Same Obsession, Adult-Only Lanes. Deeper/Darker/Spicier Fic Talk Stays Over There So The 13+ Hub Stays Safe:
https://discord.gg/3FRxrFt5W6
Drop Your Rec. Feed The Vault. Save A Life (Mine).
Bakugo here. You like My Hero Academia? You like yelling about fanfics until your throat’s raw? Then quit standing around like idiots and join the Smash Reads: Explosive Book Club Discord.
We’ve got:
💥 Fic discussions louder than my explosions
💥 Monthly writing and voting events (fight me if you don’t participate)
💥 Fanart showcases that’ll blow your eyeballs out
💥 Safe place for chaos, screaming, and actual book club reads (yeah, we read, shut up)
So what the hell are you waiting for? Get in here before I blast you myself.
Smash Reads is an 18+ My Hero Academia fanfic book club that actually functions like a community instead of a dead invite link. We read together, we scream together, we recover together, and we keep things organized enough that you can find what you came for without digging through 900 messages.
What we do
Monthly fic reads with dedicated discussion threads (live reactions, favorite quotes, theories, headcanons, emotional damage support group, etc.)
Fic recs by vibe/trope + “I need something specific, help” request posts
Writing prompts (monthly) for anyone who wants a reason to create
WIP Med Bay for works in progress
Beta Station for feedback / editing / “please help me untangle this scene”
Share your own fics + brainstorming channels
Crossover Corner + an Original Works space
Favorite fic quotes (because sometimes a single line rearranges your organs)
General chat / MHA brainrot / headcanon hoard
Dedicated Season 8 spoiler zone (so nobody gets sniped by a random comment)
We’re kind, grown-up, and slightly feral. Ship freedom, clear labels, no drama farming, no ship wars. Just a bunch of nerds reading with our whole chests.
Smash Reads is growing, and I need a small team of people who care about the overall health of the server as much as I do.
If you’re someone who:
can enforce rules calmly and consistently,
keeps things organized,
doesn’t love power trips,
and wants to help keep a community safe + functional…
…please reach out.
How to apply: DM me with your timezone, general availability, and (briefly) why you’d be a good fit. If you’ve got mod experience, cool — if you don’t but you’ve got good judgment and steady vibes, still apply.
Want an invite link?
Reply / DM and I’ll send it. (Or check my pinned post if it’s there.)
Nothing is built yet. This is the plan. I’m making an expansion-scale crossover that feels like it grew out of Pelican Town’s soil: a hero college on the edge of town, cozy first, feral second, fully playable.
What this is
Stardust Institute adds a living campus to Stardew Valley. Twelve romanceable, college‑aged Class 1‑A students. Five teachers. Four roaming villains who cause trouble without wrecking saves. The Farmer stays quirkless. Power comes from Titles — Hero, Villain, Civilian — and from support gear you earn by doing things, not by breaking balance. Day loops stay Stardew. Nights get weird.
Why I’m serious
I’m self‑taught and proud of it. I’ve coded for years. I built ArchiveMate, a 24,854‑line Discord bot, by hand. It parses AO3 links, generates embeds, stores searchable metadata, and keeps multi‑server fandom spaces sane. It’s my magnum opus so far.
I write longform on AO3: ~2,937,611 words, 51,305 hits, 1,951 kudos, 1,167 bookmarks, 524 comment threads, 108 user subs, 271 work subs. I run Smash Reads: Explosive Book Club and DM UA Next Gen, a home‑brewed D&D campaign with custom Roll20 sheets and assets I built myself. I’ve been learning pixel art, sprite work, and animation for two weeks and I’m obsessed. I finish what I start.
The vibe (you can hear Bakugou yelling already)
Cozy mornings. Parsnips. Class at noon. Hawks heckles you from a balcony. Evening training. Open‑mic nights with Jirō. Late‑night mines run where a villain pops a dramatic monologue and then drops a reward chest because this is Pelican Town and we clean up after ourselves. Plus Ultra, but wholesome.
The plan
This is the build path. No hand‑waving. We ship in clean slices.
Tech stack
• Stardew 1.6 / SMAPI 4.x as the base.
• Content Patcher for data and maps.
• Json Assets for rings, hats, boots, and props.
• SpaceCore as a shared lib.
• GMCM for toggles and options.
• Expanded Preconditions Utility for event gating.
• Mail Framework Mod for letters and rewards.
• Farm Type Manager for night/mines encounters that don’t break maps.
• Tiled for map authoring. CP patches inject everything. Use 1.6 native shop data.
Repo layout
/StardustInstitute
/[SMAPI]StardustInstitute.Core — C# mod: title system, CP tokens, hooks, GMCM
/[CP]StardustInstitute.Base — campus maps, warps, base shops, map patches
/[CP]StardustInstitute.Events — events, Special Orders, festival injections
/[JA]StardustInstitute.Items — JA items and gear
/[MFM]StardustInstitute.Mail — letters and rewards
/[CP]Stardust_NPC_ — one pack per NPC: dialogue, schedules, portraits, sprites
/_art — portrait and sprite specs, palettes, style bible
Content specs
• Portraits: 64×64, vanilla‑friendly palette, 8–12 emotions to start.
• Sprites: 16×32, light walk frames, seasonal outfits later.
• Hagakure: invisible world sprite gag with shoes/scarf hints; normal portraits.
• Dialogue cadence: seasonals, festivals, marriage, schedule lines.
• Heart events: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 hearts. Confession at 10 with item unlock.
• Titles token: {{Stardust.Title}} and helpers like {{Stardust.IsHero}}, {{Stardust.IsVillain}}.
• Title flips via Special Orders, choices, and tiny prank chains.
• Shops and scenes shift with Title and hearts.
Quirks — design, balance, and implementation (the real plan)
Philosophy: quirks are flavorful constraints and small powers, not save‑breaking abilities. Canon students get canon‑coded quirks; townies get "everyday" micro‑quirks (cute, safe, loreful). The Farmer stays quirkless to keep the story grounded and the code sane—your power fantasy is Titles + support gear.
How quirks show up in gameplay
• Buffs: We use Stardew’s native Buff system (1.6) for timed, stack‑safe bonuses. Think +1 Speed for 5m, +Luck at night, tiny Defense when raining. No custom VFX engines.
• Support gear: Quirk‑adjacent rings/boots/hats via Json Assets. Gear grants small stats or conditional procs; earned through events or Special Orders.
• Events & gags: Short CP/Events scenes that demonstrate the quirk (e.g., Kaminari frying a lamppost; Todoroki’s cold side frosting a puddle tile art). Purely cosmetic map tiles swap in/out with CP tokens.
Implementation stack
• Data: Each NPC gets quirkId, quirkTags (e.g., elemental, support, mobility), and a list of buff recipes { when, duration, effect }.
• Tokens: Core exposes {{Stardust.QuirkActive:<Name>}}, {{Stardust.TimeOfDay}}, and reads weather/season to let CP branch dialogue and tiles.
• Triggers:
– Dialogue triggers (keyword choices),
– Event steps (successful prompt → grant timed buff),
– FTM encounter hooks (night/mine nodes give a short quirk demo + reward).
• Safety: Buff magnitudes are Stardew‑small; most < +2. Durations short (2–10 in‑game minutes). Hard caps prevent stacking exploits.
Townie micro‑quirks (examples)
• Evelyn – Green Thumb: watering flowers in view grants the player a tiny +Luck for 3m (flavor only).
• Clint – Warm Hands: near Clint at the furnace in winter → brief +1 Mining.
• Gus – Hospitality: eating at Saloon grants a mild +Energy regen for the walk home.
(These are map- or schedule‑conditioned, not global.)
Canon student quirks (MVP behavior)
• Bakugou – Explosion: training event → short Adrenaline buff (+Atk/+Knockback); gear = Blast Gauntlets ring.
• Midoriya – Analysis: after battle talk → Insight buff (+Luck/+Defense); gear = Analysis Notebook hat.
• Todoroki – Half‑Cold Half‑Hot: weather‑aware micro‑shifts: hot days → slight -Energy drain; cold days → slight +Defense; gear band toggles the edge cases.
• Kaminari – Electrification: night mine node → Overcharge (+Glow/+Magnetism) with optional funny "brain‑fog" cosmetic debuff on overuse.
• Iida – Engine: dash emote at 10h event; boots grant +Speed within safe bounds.
• Jirō – Earphone Jack: evening Resonance buff at jams (+Luck/+Speed); gear = Amp Wristband.
Player Titles interplay
Titles modify thresholds and text, not raw quirk power. Example: Hero title unlocks extra training scenes; Villain title unlocks mischief chains; Civilian title keeps cozy routes. Shops and mail rotate stock with Title.
Balance & accessibility
GMCM sliders: Quirk Intensity (Off / Light / Standard), Encounter Frequency, Visual FX (On/Off). Defaults are Light + Friendly. All effects are reversible and time‑limited. Save safety first.
Performance rules
No per‑tick scanning. We hang buffs on event steps, dialogue choices, daily start/end hooks, and FTM triggers. Tile swaps are CP‑token gated and unload when off‑screen. Profiling happens every milestone.
• Portraits: 64×64, vanilla‑friendly palette, 8–12 emotions to start.
• Sprites: 16×32, light walk frames, seasonal outfits later.
• Hagakure: invisible world sprite gag with shoes/scarf hints; normal portraits.
• Dialogue cadence: seasonals, festivals, marriage, schedule lines.
• Heart events: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 hearts. Confession at 10 with item unlock.
• Titles token: {{Stardust.Title}} and helpers like {{Stardust.IsHero}}, {{Stardust.IsVillain}}.
• Title flips via Special Orders, choices, and tiny prank chains.
• Shops and scenes shift with Title and hearts.
Roster
Students: Bakugou, Midoriya, Todoroki, Kaminari, Iida, Tokoyami, Ashido, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, Kyōka Jirō, plus one more slot held for balance testing that locks to Jirō for v0.1.
Teachers: Aizawa, Present Mic, Toshinori, Nezu, Hawks.
Roamers: Tomura, Himiko, Dabi, All For One.
Gear mapping (MVP feel)
• Bakugou — Blast Gauntlets ring: small Atk/Knockback, short Adrenaline buff from training.
• Midoriya — Analysis Notebook hat: Luck/Defense bump, flavor popups for enemy hints.
• Todoroki — Thermoregulator band: tiny stat shifts on hot/cold days.
• Kaminari — Overcharge clip: Glow/Magnet, cosmetic brain‑fog if stacked too high.
• Iida — Engine greaves: Speed bump, dash emote cutscene at 10h.
• Tokoyami — Shadow cloak: Defense at night.
• Ashido — Acid‑proof gloves: faster mining.
• Uraraka — Weightless charm: lower stamina drain.
• Yaoyorozu — Creator’s satchel: occasional bonus craft yield via mail perk.
• Hagakure — Surprise sash: stealthy interaction gags.
• Jirō — Amp wristband: small magnetism and an evening Resonance buff.
Map placement
Campus entrance sits on the Pelican edge for v0.1 to keep dependencies low. Later, GMCM can move the entrance near East Scarp or Ridgeside. Interiors ship minimal first, expand with milestones.
Event philosophy
Short, flavorful, safe. Events respect day flow and save integrity. Nothing permanent gets bricked. Villain encounters arrive via FTM in specific spots at night or deep in mines and end with a neat bow and a lootbox because this town recycles drama.
Milestones
M0 — Skeleton
• Create repo.
• Implement Core tokens and GMCM.
• Campus shell in Tiled.
• Pelican warp and base shop with 1.6 shop data.
• Items pack with two rings and one hat.
M1 — Vertical slice: Bakugou
• Portrait set and sprite.
• Spring schedule, base dialogue.
• 2h and 4h events.
• Special Order unlocks Blast Gauntlets.
• Festival flavor lines.
• QA: pathing, token sanity, Title flip.
M2 — Template + Midoriya
• Clone NPC pack template.
• Add one teacher with minimal route.
• First villain encounter in mines.
M3 — Jirō + Systems polish
• Jirō full pass with music nights.
• Resonance buff wiring.
• Campus commons polish.
M4 — Roster and festivals
• Expand remaining students.
• Add more Special Orders and festival routes.
M5 — Entrances + compat
• GMCM entrance toggles.
• Light compat passes for popular location mods.
QA and packaging
Test clean on a fresh save with only deps. Zip packs independently. README covers load order and deps. Include GMCM screenshots and a troubleshooting section that tells players how to post SMAPI logs without crying.
What I want
Collaborators. Pixel artists. Portrait painters. Writers who live for banter and event beats. SMAPI/CP/JA coders. Playtesters who like breaking things kindly and writing good repro steps. Modders who want to learn together. This project is big and absolutely doable if we move in slices.
Open questions I want to solve together
How far can we push event density without stutter. Where Titles should influence festivals. How many romance arcs ship in v0.1 without drowning. Best visual balance between MHA style and Stardew tone. Whether villains get relationship meters or stay as encounter flags. The heart‑event cadence that feels right inside a Stardew day.
Final yell
I love Stardew. I love MHA. I want Bakugou yelling about watering schedules while Haley pretends not to hear him. I want Jirō running open‑mic nights at the Saloon. I want the mines to sparkle with villain drama that ends with a tidy chest and a polite “good night.” I want a crossover that plays like it belongs here.
If this makes your brain light up, come build it with me. I’ll bring the code and the spreadsheets. You bring your weird, your art, your words, your tests. We’ll make Pelican Town go Plus Ultra and still be home when the day ends.
Nothing is built yet. This is the plan. I’m making an expansion-scale crossover that feels like it grew out of Pelican Town’s soil: a hero college on the edge of town, cozy first, feral second, fully playable.
What this is
Stardust Institute adds a living campus to Stardew Valley. Twelve romanceable, college‑aged Class 1‑A students. Five teachers. Four roaming villains who cause trouble without wrecking saves. The Farmer stays quirkless. Power comes from Titles — Hero, Villain, Civilian — and from support gear you earn by doing things, not by breaking balance. Day loops stay Stardew. Nights get weird.
Why I’m serious
I’m self‑taught and proud of it. I’ve coded for years. I built ArchiveMate, a 24,854‑line Discord bot, by hand. It parses AO3 links, generates embeds, stores searchable metadata, and keeps multi‑server fandom spaces sane. It’s my magnum opus so far.
I write longform on AO3: ~2,937,611 words, 51,305 hits, 1,951 kudos, 1,167 bookmarks, 524 comment threads, 108 user subs, 271 work subs. I run Smash Reads: Explosive Book Club and DM UA Next Gen, a home‑brewed D&D campaign with custom Roll20 sheets and assets I built myself. I’ve been learning pixel art, sprite work, and animation for two weeks and I’m obsessed. I finish what I start.
The vibe (you can hear Bakugou yelling already)
Cozy mornings. Parsnips. Class at noon. Hawks heckles you from a balcony. Evening training. Open‑mic nights with Jirō. Late‑night mines run where a villain pops a dramatic monologue and then drops a reward chest because this is Pelican Town and we clean up after ourselves. Plus Ultra, but wholesome.
The plan
This is the build path. No hand‑waving. We ship in clean slices.
Tech stack
• Stardew 1.6 / SMAPI 4.x as the base.
• Content Patcher for data and maps.
• Json Assets for rings, hats, boots, and props.
• SpaceCore as a shared lib.
• GMCM for toggles and options.
• Expanded Preconditions Utility for event gating.
• Mail Framework Mod for letters and rewards.
• Farm Type Manager for night/mines encounters that don’t break maps.
• Tiled for map authoring. CP patches inject everything. Use 1.6 native shop data.
Repo layout
/StardustInstitute
/[SMAPI]StardustInstitute.Core — C# mod: title system, CP tokens, hooks, GMCM
/[CP]StardustInstitute.Base — campus maps, warps, base shops, map patches
/[CP]StardustInstitute.Events — events, Special Orders, festival injections
/[JA]StardustInstitute.Items — JA items and gear
/[MFM]StardustInstitute.Mail — letters and rewards
/[CP]Stardust_NPC_ — one pack per NPC: dialogue, schedules, portraits, sprites
/_art — portrait and sprite specs, palettes, style bible
Content specs
• Portraits: 64×64, vanilla‑friendly palette, 8–12 emotions to start.
• Sprites: 16×32, light walk frames, seasonal outfits later.
• Hagakure: invisible world sprite gag with shoes/scarf hints; normal portraits.
• Dialogue cadence: seasonals, festivals, marriage, schedule lines.
• Heart events: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 hearts. Confession at 10 with item unlock.
• Titles token: {{Stardust.Title}} and helpers like {{Stardust.IsHero}}, {{Stardust.IsVillain}}.
• Title flips via Special Orders, choices, and tiny prank chains.
• Shops and scenes shift with Title and hearts.
Quirks — design, balance, and implementation (the real plan)
Philosophy: quirks are flavorful constraints and small powers, not save‑breaking abilities. Canon students get canon‑coded quirks; townies get "everyday" micro‑quirks (cute, safe, loreful). The Farmer stays quirkless to keep the story grounded and the code sane—your power fantasy is Titles + support gear.
How quirks show up in gameplay
• Buffs: We use Stardew’s native Buff system (1.6) for timed, stack‑safe bonuses. Think +1 Speed for 5m, +Luck at night, tiny Defense when raining. No custom VFX engines.
• Support gear: Quirk‑adjacent rings/boots/hats via Json Assets. Gear grants small stats or conditional procs; earned through events or Special Orders.
• Events & gags: Short CP/Events scenes that demonstrate the quirk (e.g., Kaminari frying a lamppost; Todoroki’s cold side frosting a puddle tile art). Purely cosmetic map tiles swap in/out with CP tokens.
Implementation stack
• Data: Each NPC gets quirkId, quirkTags (e.g., elemental, support, mobility), and a list of buff recipes { when, duration, effect }.
• Tokens: Core exposes {{Stardust.QuirkActive:<Name>}}, {{Stardust.TimeOfDay}}, and reads weather/season to let CP branch dialogue and tiles.
• Triggers:
– Dialogue triggers (keyword choices),
– Event steps (successful prompt → grant timed buff),
– FTM encounter hooks (night/mine nodes give a short quirk demo + reward).
• Safety: Buff magnitudes are Stardew‑small; most < +2. Durations short (2–10 in‑game minutes). Hard caps prevent stacking exploits.
Townie micro‑quirks (examples)
• Evelyn – Green Thumb: watering flowers in view grants the player a tiny +Luck for 3m (flavor only).
• Clint – Warm Hands: near Clint at the furnace in winter → brief +1 Mining.
• Gus – Hospitality: eating at Saloon grants a mild +Energy regen for the walk home.
(These are map- or schedule‑conditioned, not global.)
Canon student quirks (MVP behavior)
• Bakugou – Explosion: training event → short Adrenaline buff (+Atk/+Knockback); gear = Blast Gauntlets ring.
• Midoriya – Analysis: after battle talk → Insight buff (+Luck/+Defense); gear = Analysis Notebook hat.
• Todoroki – Half‑Cold Half‑Hot: weather‑aware micro‑shifts: hot days → slight -Energy drain; cold days → slight +Defense; gear band toggles the edge cases.
• Kaminari – Electrification: night mine node → Overcharge (+Glow/+Magnetism) with optional funny "brain‑fog" cosmetic debuff on overuse.
• Iida – Engine: dash emote at 10h event; boots grant +Speed within safe bounds.
• Jirō – Earphone Jack: evening Resonance buff at jams (+Luck/+Speed); gear = Amp Wristband.
Player Titles interplay
Titles modify thresholds and text, not raw quirk power. Example: Hero title unlocks extra training scenes; Villain title unlocks mischief chains; Civilian title keeps cozy routes. Shops and mail rotate stock with Title.
Balance & accessibility
GMCM sliders: Quirk Intensity (Off / Light / Standard), Encounter Frequency, Visual FX (On/Off). Defaults are Light + Friendly. All effects are reversible and time‑limited. Save safety first.
Performance rules
No per‑tick scanning. We hang buffs on event steps, dialogue choices, daily start/end hooks, and FTM triggers. Tile swaps are CP‑token gated and unload when off‑screen. Profiling happens every milestone.
• Portraits: 64×64, vanilla‑friendly palette, 8–12 emotions to start.
• Sprites: 16×32, light walk frames, seasonal outfits later.
• Hagakure: invisible world sprite gag with shoes/scarf hints; normal portraits.
• Dialogue cadence: seasonals, festivals, marriage, schedule lines.
• Heart events: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 hearts. Confession at 10 with item unlock.
• Titles token: {{Stardust.Title}} and helpers like {{Stardust.IsHero}}, {{Stardust.IsVillain}}.
• Title flips via Special Orders, choices, and tiny prank chains.
• Shops and scenes shift with Title and hearts.
Roster
Students: Bakugou, Midoriya, Todoroki, Kaminari, Iida, Tokoyami, Ashido, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, Kyōka Jirō, plus one more slot held for balance testing that locks to Jirō for v0.1.
Teachers: Aizawa, Present Mic, Toshinori, Nezu, Hawks.
Roamers: Tomura, Himiko, Dabi, All For One.
Gear mapping (MVP feel)
• Bakugou — Blast Gauntlets ring: small Atk/Knockback, short Adrenaline buff from training.
• Midoriya — Analysis Notebook hat: Luck/Defense bump, flavor popups for enemy hints.
• Todoroki — Thermoregulator band: tiny stat shifts on hot/cold days.
• Kaminari — Overcharge clip: Glow/Magnet, cosmetic brain‑fog if stacked too high.
• Iida — Engine greaves: Speed bump, dash emote cutscene at 10h.
• Tokoyami — Shadow cloak: Defense at night.
• Ashido — Acid‑proof gloves: faster mining.
• Uraraka — Weightless charm: lower stamina drain.
• Yaoyorozu — Creator’s satchel: occasional bonus craft yield via mail perk.
• Hagakure — Surprise sash: stealthy interaction gags.
• Jirō — Amp wristband: small magnetism and an evening Resonance buff.
Map placement
Campus entrance sits on the Pelican edge for v0.1 to keep dependencies low. Later, GMCM can move the entrance near East Scarp or Ridgeside. Interiors ship minimal first, expand with milestones.
Event philosophy
Short, flavorful, safe. Events respect day flow and save integrity. Nothing permanent gets bricked. Villain encounters arrive via FTM in specific spots at night or deep in mines and end with a neat bow and a lootbox because this town recycles drama.
Milestones
M0 — Skeleton
• Create repo.
• Implement Core tokens and GMCM.
• Campus shell in Tiled.
• Pelican warp and base shop with 1.6 shop data.
• Items pack with two rings and one hat.
M1 — Vertical slice: Bakugou
• Portrait set and sprite.
• Spring schedule, base dialogue.
• 2h and 4h events.
• Special Order unlocks Blast Gauntlets.
• Festival flavor lines.
• QA: pathing, token sanity, Title flip.
M2 — Template + Midoriya
• Clone NPC pack template.
• Add one teacher with minimal route.
• First villain encounter in mines.
M3 — Jirō + Systems polish
• Jirō full pass with music nights.
• Resonance buff wiring.
• Campus commons polish.
M4 — Roster and festivals
• Expand remaining students.
• Add more Special Orders and festival routes.
M5 — Entrances + compat
• GMCM entrance toggles.
• Light compat passes for popular location mods.
QA and packaging
Test clean on a fresh save with only deps. Zip packs independently. README covers load order and deps. Include GMCM screenshots and a troubleshooting section that tells players how to post SMAPI logs without crying.
What I want
Collaborators. Pixel artists. Portrait painters. Writers who live for banter and event beats. SMAPI/CP/JA coders. Playtesters who like breaking things kindly and writing good repro steps. Modders who want to learn together. This project is big and absolutely doable if we move in slices.
Open questions I want to solve together
How far can we push event density without stutter. Where Titles should influence festivals. How many romance arcs ship in v0.1 without drowning. Best visual balance between MHA style and Stardew tone. Whether villains get relationship meters or stay as encounter flags. The heart‑event cadence that feels right inside a Stardew day.
Final yell
I love Stardew. I love MHA. I want Bakugou yelling about watering schedules while Haley pretends not to hear him. I want Jirō running open‑mic nights at the Saloon. I want the mines to sparkle with villain drama that ends with a tidy chest and a polite “good night.” I want a crossover that plays like it belongs here.
If this makes your brain light up, come build it with me. I’ll bring the code and the spreadsheets. You bring your weird, your art, your words, your tests. We’ll make Pelican Town go Plus Ultra and still be home when the day ends.
Bakugo here. You like My Hero Academia? You like yelling about fanfics until your throat’s raw? Then quit standing around like idiots and join the Smash Reads: Explosive Book Club Discord.
We’ve got:
💥 Fic discussions louder than my explosions
💥 Monthly writing and voting events (fight me if you don’t participate)
💥 Fanart showcases that’ll blow your eyeballs out
💥 Safe place for chaos, screaming, and actual book club reads (yeah, we read, shut up)
So what the hell are you waiting for? Get in here before I blast you myself.
how active is ao3? I used to post on wattpad, but its totally dead right now T^T
ao3 is insanely alive, bro. like night-market at 3am alive. people binge, kudos, bookmark with essays, scream in the tags, make rec lists, run fests, the whole circus. it’s literally where the best longfics live and the community is weirdly wholesome for a site that routinely ruins my sleep schedule lol
wattpad feels like yelling into a hallway. ao3 is a library with a mosh pit. discoverability actually works because tags matter. series linking is clean. collections exist. people leave real comments and come back for updates.
if you hop over, you’ll thrive fast:
— tag like a menace with clarity first
— write a sharp summary with a hook and vibe words
— post on a consistent cadence
— make it a series if it’s multi-part
— crosspost the update to tumblr with a snippet and a tiny tag dump
— answer comments and pin bookmarks you love
short answer: ao3 is not just active, it’s feral. come post. we’ll read.
how active is ao3? I used to post on wattpad, but its totally dead right now T^T
ao3 is insanely alive, bro. like night-market at 3am alive. people binge, kudos, bookmark with essays, scream in the tags, make rec lists, run fests, the whole circus. it’s literally where the best longfics live and the community is weirdly wholesome for a site that routinely ruins my sleep schedule lol
wattpad feels like yelling into a hallway. ao3 is a library with a mosh pit. discoverability actually works because tags matter. series linking is clean. collections exist. people leave real comments and come back for updates.
if you hop over, you’ll thrive fast:
— tag like a menace with clarity first
— write a sharp summary with a hook and vibe words
— post on a consistent cadence
— make it a series if it’s multi-part
— crosspost the update to tumblr with a snippet and a tiny tag dump
— answer comments and pin bookmarks you love
short answer: ao3 is not just active, it’s feral. come post. we’ll read.
