#BUT ALSO NOW I HAVE TO BECOME SKILLED AGAIN???

[f1girliefics]

Breaking News: A Love Beyond the Circuit

Lando Norris x Reader

Summary: Assigned to cover the Formula 1 season, you formed a friendly connection with Lando Norris through interviews and conversations. As the season continued, those friendly moments grew into something deeper.

The lights of the city distracted you as you closed your laptop, wrapping up another long day.

Covering the Formula 1 season was thrilling but exhausting at the same time.

Especially when it came to following the drivers, capturing their stories, and writing pieces that drew readers into the high-speed world of racing. Lando Norris has become one of your most frequent interviewees.

Not just because of his impressive skills on the track but because of his approachable, easy-going nature.

It also helped that the fans loved him.

Every conversation with him left you feeling lighter like you were speaking to an old friend rather than one of the sport’s brightest stars.

Your first interview with him was memorable.

He'd cracked jokes mid-answer, making you laugh despite your nervousness.

Over time, those interviews turned into casual chats in the paddock, he often brought you coffee or tea.

You couldn’t deny there was something special about him, but you kept things professional, convincing yourself it was just part of the job.

You tried your best to protect yourself.

That night, after the Monaco Grand Prix, Lando sent you a message: Dinner? No interviews. Just food and good company. I'm kinda lonely, Oscar is with his Miss.

You hesitated, your fingers hovering over the keyboard.

Was this crossing a line? Probably.

But curiosity got the better of you.

Sure, you typed back. Where?

An hour later, you found yourself sitting across from him at a quiet restaurant hidden away from the busy streets.

The atmosphere was cosy yet still elegant.

Lando looked relaxed, a rare sight given the pressure he was usually under during race weekends.

“You know,” he said, breaking the silence as you both waited for your dinners, “it’s nice to be around someone who doesn’t just see me as 'Lando Norris the F1 driver.'”

You tilted your head, surprised by his admission.

“Well, you’re more than that. You’re... Lando Norris, the guy who can make anyone laugh with a ridiculous joke.” He chuckled, his eyes meeting yours as they made your heart skip a beat.

“And you’re the only journalist who hasn’t tried to twist my words into some dramatic headline.” he said just as the waiter arrived.

The conversation flowed easily after that, weaving through topics of racing, travel, and life outside the circuit.

By the time dessert arrived, it felt less like a dinner with someone you were covering for work and more like a date.

“I have a confession,” Lando said, his voice quieter now. He leaned forward slightly, his fingers running around the edge of his glass. “I didn’t ask you to dinner just because I wanted to hang out. I like you. More than I probably should. I know your job makes this complicated, but... I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore.”

Your breath caught in your throat.

Your heart stopped beating.

“Lando... I’ve liked you too. I just didn’t think it was... possible. You’re you, and I’m just—”

“Someone who sees me for who I really am,” he interrupted gently. “And that means more to me than you can ever imagine.”

By the time he walked you back to your hotel, your heart felt full.

At the door, he hesitated, his usual confidence replaced by a quiet uncertainty.

“Can I see you again? Not as a journalist, but... as a date?”

“I’d like that.” you offered him a smile.

And as he leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips, you knew that this was just the beginning of something extraordinary.

A story not for headlines, but for your hearts.

[sapphicteadragon]

Link Click season 3 untranslated text

Hey yall! Since the subs on the new season of Link Click are ass (who would have thought) and also don't translate any of the on-screen text, I figured I'd just compile my translations of all of it in case anyone's curious.

These are all the texts from episode 1, as follows:

"Partner, let's play basketball together again tomorrow~" (the 啊 gives it a cutesy/friendly tone)

Top: But you do know

Bottom left: that once the contract is established, no matter whether you succeed, you will have no way of going any further into the future

Bottom right: After it is complete, your soul will dissipate, and regret will be to no avail.

Hmm... in order to do my utmost to save the things I treasure, what is there to regret!

Bilibili Message

"Ranxi Chronicles" The signing event will begin next Saturday at 15:00. Every person will have three minutes of interacting time, and must book a slot in advance to obtain a signature or drawing. The order is determined based on the on-site queueing order.

BILI SEARCH (these are the same characters as bilibili, which is a fun easter egg)

"How to become a comic artist" (search)

1: how do I become a comic artist? Suggestions from those in the profession

Not only must you have a grounding in basic skills, you must also unceasingly practice and learn. You can do this by drawing sketches, and practising tracing lines until your foundation in drawing skill improves.

2: How do I become a qualified comic artist?

You first must set your mentality straight and clearly set your objectives. Your objectives must be established on the foundation of a strong mentality. If you want to become a comic artist, there is no harm in first asking yourself why you have this kind of goal.

3: How to become a comic artist? The state of comic artists in the profession

This specialisation is not as bright and pretty as it appears on the surface. The living and working conditions are also not as satisfying as you might imagine; right now they truly are frugal. (the word used here means skinny/sparse) So, listen to my advice:

SKY5690: There's no future in it, you won't earn any money in the first place

RAIN1352: Run away fast

CAT7931: Haven't slept in 3 days

Shen San Shui (lit. sink in three waters)

Today I went to a comic con, and joined a signing event for my favourite comic artist. I was inspired in no small measure, and from now on I plan to advance courageously on the path of becoming a comic artist! Fortunately a demon girl-jiejie (jiejie means sister, but is also used to refer to an older female friend/acquaintance) helped me find something very important, and if it weren't for her, I definitely wouldn't have been able to muster the courage. But this demon girl-jiejie left something of hers with me, and I have no way of finding her. If anyone knows this jiejie, please contact me anytime!

Description: wearing a demon girl cosplay, around 160cm tall, shoulder-length black hair

Top: My sister was hospitalised again today, the doctor said

Middle: My sister's treatment costs are accumulating. If the investment path is good, and you choose the right one, then the path will naturally be magnanimous

Bottom: Today's profits are in. I rarely do anything luxurious, can't forget to reward myself with food and drink while rushing about~

V: Xun-ge, the profits you entrusted me to handle before have arrived in the account <3

X: Heavens, you're impressive

V: Hehe, next time I can try investing a little more, and can earn even more <3

"Sorry I couldn't get there yesterday, can we meet up again? I want to chat with you"

That's all for episode 1, there weren't any in episode 2 that I saw. If I missed any please tell me and I'll add them, and I'll keep an eye out for any text in the upcoming episodes!

[couch-potato28]

Imagine being a Blue Lock manager! ⚽

Prologue

(a/n: Hey everybody! First time writing here, so please 🙏 excuse my poor looking posts and grammatical errors /let me know if u see any!!/ English is not my first language so pls take that into account O.O tyy ❤️) WARNING!-there's i think one swear word

wc: 2.8 k words im sry really, like i yap alot 😭

ALSO: please let me know if you're interested in the continuation

Imagine that in addition to your logical thinking, communicational skills and physical performance, Blue Lock also tests your mental health, because if you excel in these 4 areas, you might be worthy to become a manager of one of their players. However, competing with 199 other girls who are going through the same ordeal, let's admit, doesn't really calm your nerves. But how did you even end up in Blue Lock in the first place?

—————— Saturday morning, sitting in the corner of a nearby coffee shop, with your books open, laptop fully charged, your phone on silent mode with of course, a cup of caffeine on the side, you are ready to conquer those history notes. You had already started to memorize everything the previous week, so today was really about practicing and revising. After cracking your back and sipping some coffee, you began reading the first few lines on your laptop, occasionally peeking at the highlighted parts of your book in case you got stuck. Time passed quickly, and when you looked at the clock on your phone screen, it turned out that you had been revising ridiculously difficult names, dates, places and events which were described in an awful lot of detail for exactly 1 hour and 32 minutes. Seeing the time, you decided to take a well-deserved break, which actually just consisted of texting and watching funny cat videos.

Closing your laptop and books, you gave yourself exactly half an hour to rest, so that time wouldn't double leading to you procrastinating and forgetting everything you'd just revised. Reaching for your phone, you turned off the silent mode and started reading the messages that had come in during your study session. Most of them were from your best friend, briefly stating that she had fallen asleep and will probably stay up all night to cramp whatever material she can get into her head, hoping that she somehow manages to pass on Monday.

“Told ya to set an alarm >:( Well, you should have accepted my offer to study together HAHAHA good luck btw :D”-you wrote in response, feeling kinda sorry for her. Then you went straight to your emails after seeing a notification, where you found a recently received message with a strange title.

“BLUE LOCK INVITATION”

What the hell is Blue Lock? And why did you get an invitation? Your initial thought was that it’s a scam and were trying to delete the email if your stupid finger hadn’t slipped, making it press and open the email. Great, now your eyes were glued to the screen, trying to read whatever was on the message.

“Dear L/N Y/N!

We are honored to invite you to the Blue Lock Manager Training Program, where you will be granted the chance to work with one of our future star footballers. We hope you will consider the offer because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you are interested, please come to the following address and time.

Any further questions will be answered on-site!

Blue Lock Assistant and Health Manager,

Anri Teieri”

Um, what the fuck. Yeah, doesn’t sound sketchy at aaall…as you read the letter over and over again, trying to make sense of it, not understanding how they even knew about your existence in the first place and more importantly…how did they get your email address? Although that wasn’t the point, it really piqued your interest. You had so many questions yet you could only get answers on the spot.

“Smart tactic.”-you said, before searching the internet to find something about this Blue Lock project. After about 20 minutes, you sighed in defeat as there was not a single thing about Blue Lock at all. You only had this quite fancy looking email. Finishing the rest of your coffee, you began to think about the offer and whether or not to go. Your current job wasn’t good neither was the payment, which is why you recently had to take on a second job. But from what you read about the program, if you were to actually work with an upcoming star football player, the pay would probably be high. Plus, how hard can it be to manage a person, right?

After thoroughly thinking about the offer, you decided to give it a chance. Finishing the rest of your work, you came home and talked to your parents somehow persuading them to agree. Later that day you also informed your best friend as well. After successfully passing your history exam on Monday, you headed straight to the so-called Blue Lock building the very next day. ——————

That's how you ended up in your current situation. On your first day there, they led you to a big waiting room where there were a lot of other people, to be specific, girls. Looking around for a bit, you realized that there were a lot of girls indeed, but no boys in sight. Finding it strange, but shrugging it off, you turned around to face a huge stage, where a pink-haired woman appeared, whose name you assumed and now know is Anri, introduced herself and greeted you from a big podium with a mic in her hand. Finishing the brief intro she then continued with a very thorough and detailed speech, where she revealed that if you agreed to the conditions of the program, you would technically be locked up in the building for at least 3 months and would participate in intensive training, where you potentially could be eliminated for poor results.

“There goes my money…”-you thought, since you never really cared about football in your life nor did you know anything about it. Which in retrospect, you should have done or researched a bit before coming here since you applied to be a football player's manager after all.

“Well, it doesn't matter now anyway.”-you told yourself for some comfort. After Anri had finished her monologue, she instructed everyone that:

“If you agree and ready to take on the challenge then please go through this door!”-pointing with her microphone at a huge dark blue door that was slowly opening.

Hesitating a bit, you thought about all the possible things that could go wrong, but after a not-so-long train of thoughts you managed to convince yourself, and that little push by a girl running towards the doors sealed the deal for you as you slowly started to walk towards the unknown.

“I mean, what can I lose, right? My sanity is gone already and even if I get eliminated, I'm just going to go back to my normal life again”-you whispered and with a small grin you officially entered Blue Lock.

To your surprise, the facility was quite clean and not to mention huge since most likely somewhere on the other side of the building, boys were kicking balls and running laps. Following the crowd, you arrived in, what you assumed was a large waiting room with multiple TV screens on the walls. After managing to squish yourself through the crowd, a sudden voice spoke from the speakers and an egg-headed guy with a strangely perfect bowl cut appeared on the screens, introducing himself.

“Hello, diamond grinders! My name is Jinpachi Ego, the coach of the players in Blue Lock and the overall boss of the facility. I guess you already know why you’re here so I won’t bother with that anymore. First, let’s start with a quick count, which is...currently 200 people.”-he said and you looked around with wide eyes. The fact is, there were indeed a lot of people besides you, but you didn't think such a large amount of people would participate.

'Pfft, no worries…'-you thought, encouraging yourself, realizing that you’d probably get kicked out on the second day, if not today. You looked up to the screens again, and bowl cut continued.

“Out of these 200 people, the best performers will be given the best athletes to work with. But! You have to know what you’re doing. From now on, every minute of your time will be spent, from morning to night according to a routine and the underperformers will be eliminated. Understand?”

You nodded unconsciously, following those around you. This was serious and there was no turning back now. Even so looking at that man’s gaze somehow made you shiver a little.

'What have I gotten myself into?'-the question suddenly popped into your head, making you doubt for a moment, if you being here was truly a good decision, but Ego's voice immediately made you get back on track.

“Great. Let’s start with a quick summary then. First, you will be divided into 20 teams, 10 people each. This division was based on your current abilities, but they can change over time while you’re here. Each week, the levels to pass are going rise and be harder and those who can't pass will automatically fail and get eliminated."-he said leaning back into his chair.-"Next, is the routine which the assistant will tell you about in detail later. The goal here in Blue Lock besides creating football players, is to produce ideal managers who have the skills to fit with the players, and to maintain their level, helping them until the end of their careers.-he suddenly raised his index finger and the screens showed what looked like an animation of whatever he was about to say.-"This includes, one: Strategic and logical thinking, two: A healthy and fit body and three: The highest levels of media and communication! If you perform well in these three main areas, then a job and the experience of a lifetime are guaranteed! Don't disappoint me! Now lock off and goodbye for now!”

With that, the egg-headed man finished his speech, disappearing from the screens and Anri, with a microphone in her hand, started to divide everyone up. You have been assigned to group number 10. That's not bad, but were your abilities really worth as much to be a team 10 member? So far you have only (tried) to manage your own life and your current football knowledge was equal to zero. But there was no time left for further thoughts, because after receiving the uniform you had to immediately start on the first task according to your assigned routine for the day.

—————— Okay. This was harder than you thought. Wiping off the sweat from your forehead, you started running your seventh lap around the damn track again.

"I’m gonna pass out.”-you muttered under your breath, as your newly made friend you’d just met a few ago appeared next to you.

“Same, I'm too tired to be running around!”-she replied, and after a few seconds the sound of a whistle was heard, signaling the end of the first part of the warm-up. Well, today was going to be long again.

Your new routine consisted of starting your mornings at exactly 7 am with physical exercises and then, you had a quick breakfast. After that you had to start on some brain work tasks for the day, followed by communication class and lunch. A 15 minute break later, media and IT started and before finishing the day with a small workout again, were language lessons waiting for you. Yes. You also had to learn languages. Unfortunately not just one, not two or three, but four fucking languages in which you had to reach a basic level. At least the variety was good, since now you knew how to say hello in French, German, Italian and Spanish. (multilingual queen slay) And then based on those you could decide which one you wanted to work on more and reach at least an intermediate level. In addition to that, the knowledge of English was also mandatory, but at an advanced level. Also for every other day there were talks, activities and tasks about basic football for those (like you ^_^) to have a grasp on the topic. So there you were, in full uniform everyday for the last two months, suffering through training.

It almost hurts to admit, but on some days you started to miss your simple, slightly boring school life. Thinking back to your friends and parents who you hadn't talked with in a while, to those boring classes and your warm bed. Training was hard since other than having to excel at the 3 fields, worrying that you could get eliminated at any moment, if you lacked behind was stressing you out even more than you already were. On top of that, seeing as some of the girls were slowly kicked out of the building was saddening, yet it worked like a charm to make you work even harder to survive till the end.

Well, it’s not like it wasn’t good here since you arrived. You quickly adapted to the new environment, getting used to the shared bathrooms, roommates, the extreme routines you had to follow and the canteen food. But the lack of 'fresh air'of the bustling Tokyo, the crowded places, the subways and the fact you could sleep in on the weekends certainly made a void in your heart. The mountains were a beautiful view, but you started to get bored of them after a while.

That's how you usually spent the rest of your days with. Time also flew a lot quicker with your new friends who you suffered with together until they finally announced the end of the program, ordering everyone to gather in the waiting room. Everybody arrived on time and just a few minutes later bowl cut finally appeared on the screens again. —————— “Yo, diamond grinders! Congrats on surviving till now. Looking at your data and statuses, I'm pretty much satisfied with everyone. Well, it doesn't matter now, since the results are already decided.”-Ego said in a voice that lacked emotions yet again. Still the boredom and lack of sleep were evident on his face, specially his eye bags and the empty cups of ramen in the background that he didn't even bother to clean up. He coughed a little before continuing.-“After analyzing every single one of you on each field, I have decided on which player to assign you, based on these factors and scores. Let's start now, shall we?"-he asked and a little icon of the first girl who was about to be assigned, appeared on the TV screens, showing her name and the team she belonged to.-"First of all, congratulations to Aiko Hashimoto…”-he said a girl's name that felt unfamiliar to you, and then went on with, what you assumed was the player's jersey number and the name of who she would be managing from now on. Meanwhile on the big screens the footballer's little icon made an appearance as well next to Aiko's.

Ego soon continued with announcing the girls by their rank and time seemed to slow down the moment he started speaking again. After a while, at least 20 minutes have passed, yet your name was nowhere to be heard. Even your closest friend was now assigned to some boy while you were still waiting for your turn. 'Did you do that well? Maybe they just forgot to kick you out.'-you assumed after another 5 minutes have passed. Listening to Ego as he was still announcing names, you glanced around at the remaining girls who seemed confident while standing and not hearing their names yet. They seemed certain that they were getting one of the top players you thought, while you, yourself were still unsure who you would get. Before any more thoughts could occupy your mind, you suddenly heard your name.

“Next up is L/N Y/N.”-you heard from the speakers and finally your little icon also turned up on the screens. Oh my gosh, it’s you! Wait who was before you again? What numbered player are we even at now?!

Blinking twice, you looked up to the main screen, staring at the miniature doddle of you, while Ego was about to announce, the lucky guy's name you were going to work with. A sudden rush of excitement and worry began to overwhelm you, anxiously waiting to hear the fruit of your 3 months of suffering. Sure, you did do well in all areas required and even gained some knowledge about football in general, but was it enough? Every girl here was doing their best, trying equally hard afraid of missing the opportunity of a lifetime and getting kicked out of the facility.

You gulped ready to hear whatever and whoever was waiting for you on the other side of Blue Lock. Ego’s voice rang through the waiting room as he said the following:

“Congratulations L/N Y/N! Based on your results, you've earned your place in Blue Lock as the manager of player number…”

(Oh my gosh, this was a long one, hope you guys enjoyed it ^^; i wasn't sure about this story since it's my first one, so pls let me know if you are interested in a continuation and tell me, who you think will get u as their manager? (★‿★) tyy

[dollya-robinprotector]

I’d still like to know what you consider copying if you’re willing to answer! ^_^

I just look back and realize you asked about "artstyle", which I don't really have an answer for. I believe artstyles are meant to be "adapted" and "improved" and there's nothing too definite to be called "copy artstyle" for those who genuinely want to learn. Ah, but there are still some shitty examples, so follow me down on this...

For example: Rei17, is known for being an absolutely massive A-hole and treating people like shit, but also a legend for having the most magical use of colors, lighting and composition, along with a perfect dynamic for anatomy.

That is to say: an "Artsyle" is made up of many elements. One cannot copy an artstyle if one can't copy everything that artstyle is made of, and that's a LOT of work, especially to copy a master of masters like Rei17. Instead, they mimic some fractions, that make things easier. But then that's not "copy artstyle" anymore, that's "copy concept", "copy color", "copy composition", etc... and suddenly it's not really very "copy" anymore because when we break it down, those fractions becomes "knowledge" that's really "learn-able":

For example: Turn out Rei17's color skill is a very clever use of color theory and by learning about it, many and many other artists can also use it so vividly, without even looking remotely like Rei17's "artsyle"

Taro-K from TamoTaro

Or you can have some cases who tried to mimic everything - the entire artstyle, and fail miserably. For example, this artist I know from some time ago:

left: copy works from that artist and right: original works from Rei17

above: copy works from that artist and below: original works from Rei17

Now, this is called traight-up copy too, I think you can see why:

left: copy work from that artist and right: original work from Rei17

this artist also copied Azling

and once again failed miserably because he lacked the knowledge and didn't understand the fundamentals behind the drawing :)

Now that I saw those messy lines without a horizon line or focal points again it indeed reminded me of something.... ah!

Now, joke aside, I honestly cannot give more insight into this problem since I'm not exactly too keen on just one artstyle myself. BUT I know it when someone learned from my "concept", "paneling", or shits like that, and especially my "designs".

I remember one time there was an artist, who appeared on tumblr dot com one day, and drew their Whitney with the exact choker tattoo I gave my Whitney, with the exact 4 little triangles on the side too. And when I reached out to them and said I was more than happy to let them use my design, but they needed to know the "lore" behind it, they admitted that they saw my drawings on the top tag and just thought it was a common thing, and despite my efforts to communicate, they never reply again, and then fade away with all their drawings......

Mystery...

Recently, I reached out to some artists I've noticed were kinda of copying or referencing my works, and to my relief, they all admitted their wrongs and were willing to make up for it. For example, when I put a drawing that references my work, side-by-side with my drawings like this, do you see the issue?

This case is not the only one, but it is the mildest of the conversations I have had in the past few days addressing almost the same issues. I've asked the artist for permission to use this drawing as an example of obvious referencing.

yup, they admitted they learned from my work but did not ask because they were "shy and afraid of asking because that would bother" me.

And to that, I say: "ALWAYS REACH OUT AND ASK FOR CONSENT FIRST". If you can ask, just ask. If given permission, wonderful! And if not, oh wew I just avoided upsetting my fav artist any further! Or if the artist doesn't respond: oh I should still be respectful and give them the credit. Do it, be respectful, and give credit to your source of learning because confrontation is never a nice thing to face.

And if you want to ask about copy and heavy ref in Designing, especially Character design, I think that'll have to be for another day because I'm so tired now U_U) I hope this post can clear up something and give someone who needs it some insights

And remember: ALWAYS ASK FOR CONSENT AND GIVE CREDIT!

[angelgendered]

ATTN, authors of the GO fandom!

Hello, yall! I want to get back into making graphics and doing design-y fandom-y things again.

Good Omens fandom specifically as its my ever present hyperfxation:

Would any fic writers like to collaborate? I'd love to make some fic 'covers' and banners for authors to use!!

... but I'm shy and joining Discord servers scares me, so I'm reaching out to authors here instead. We can follow up on Discord if you prefer of course, or you can just add and DM me anyway at angelgendered on there.

This is all because I wanna get a portfolio together and maybe start charging a few quid for little things I make in the long term to help fund my transition and my teeth getting pulled/getting dental implants someday. But for now it's all gratis, just an exchange of my art for you providing fic for the community!

I have studied graphic design in the past, though it's been a few years since I used my skills. So your patience would be lovely also. I'd love especially to work on some things for longer-term fics - a main banner, chapter banners, and maybe a book cover style image? And even maybe an author 'signature' for you to put at the end of your authors notes, if you fancy!!

Maybe we can also become tumblr moots and friends, too? 👉👈

Please hit me up here or on Discord if you write and want to collaborate on something nice!

[theheirofthesharingan]

"i will always thrash itachi haters and madara and obito fans because hypocrisy"

"Also, yes, there is a divide between their fans. But I've never Itachi fans being aggressive towards others. Being defensive of him, yes, but hateful and aggressive, no. At least not to the degree it's become a norm."

maybe dial down the violence a few notches? anyone can be a fan of whoever they want and hate whoever they want it's fiction. threatening violence on fans of a particular subset right after making a post saying you haven't seen itachi fans be as aggressive as other fans is what is hypocritical. maybe you need to accept that not everyone has to think like you do. i don't know how old you are but younger naruto viewers don't need to see you threatening them just because they don't worship itachi, and a large number of anime fans are kids. fandom shouldn't be so violent over opinions. 

Whoa, calm the hell down. Okay?

In the same post you're quoting, you also read: People with zero reading comprehension skills and media literacy rotting in the depths of Mariana Trench keep attacking Itachi and Itachitards, and still came here to type ALL of this and pressed the send button as if to prove my point? Duh.

Why are you so upset? Even if I alone am going to "thrash" Itachi haters, which, for some reason you associated with physical violence (or internet harassment), Itachi's fans in general don't do it. How the hell was that your only takeaway from my words. Never mind, I'm not an Itachi gatekeeper (although I do wish I were. sighs! things we can never have). xD

So maybe, try to understand the context and that not everyone on the internet means words they say literally. I don't need physical violence to upset Madara and obito fans anyway. They get offended when you show them Manga panels.

Or maybe you meant to send this ask as a ragebait and I took it (good for you - you got 2 minutes' attention, but also I'm feeling terribly violent these days, lmao, so thrashing you here).

Now, before sending another rude ask try to calm down a bit and understand that manipulating someone's words or putting them into someone's mouth and trying to gaslight them into thinking something they neither intended nor said is a LAME and DISGUSTING thing to do.

Did you feel this offended when some people were using garbage vocabulary for Itachi and his fans too? Proving my point again and again, honey?

Although, now that you mentioned it, I will actually be doing it. As an Itachi fan, I want everyone to love him. And they have to think like I do. They have to worship him just because I love him. I will never accept that some people don't like him.

They. Have. To. Love. Him. Just. Because. I. Do.

Period.

And to make that happen, I will be thrashing all those who don't. For some, I'm going to hire assassins, kids or adults, I don't care. To some, I'm going to whip with barbed wires. And I will make this world love Itachi.

All while laughing like this.

Now in the gentlest way I can say: Get out of my blog, you repltie. Or you're going to be my first victim.

[camcat1320]

Good opportunity for me to brainstorm for my fanfic.

I'm going to expand on Iroh's and Ozai's childhood. Ozai is 10 years younger so his brother casts a large shadow. With Iroh being the first born and a prodigy firebender, Ozai has a lot of competition. Iroh was very different in his younger years. He was ruthless and a jerk older brother. Ozai struggled at firebending, the pressure on him weighing him down. But he wanted to earn his father's love and attention, the same love Iroh had. He trained night and day, working hard to become the best firebender. However, he was still looked over, his older brother favored simply because he was the first born.

When Ozai had his children, he made it a point to not do what his father had done to him. His (conditional) love for his children would not be simply given based on order of birth, but rather by their skill and loyalty. So when Zuko struggled with firebending, Ozai saw himself in Zuko. From Ozai's raising, he learned the best thing to push Zuko to become a better firebender is tough love. Ozai disliked Ursa coddling Zuko, going into direct conflict with Ozai's parenting strategy.

Ozai didn't want to ever kill Zuko. When Ozai asked for Iroh's birthright on the count of Lu Ten's death (Ozai ordered the hit), Azulon became enraged. For the throne, Ozai must kill his first born. Chasing and catching up to Iroh has made him power hungry, willing to do anything. So killing Zuko was just another task he must do to achieve his goals. I'll skip over my analysis of Azula and her actions for another post. Ursa pleads for Zuko and the two make a deal. She will assassinate Azulon in exchange for Zuko's life, but will also result in her banishment so she could not assassinate Ozai. They agreed and parted ways.

The comics show that Ursa gave the poison to Ozai and so he did it. However, in my rendition, it'd be Ursa who pours the evening tea with an assassin's tea pot. She will be the one to kill Azulon personally. This will add complexity to her character, doing morally bad things but having justified reasons for it. This aligns with the philosophy of yin and yang, or at least my understanding. The wheel turns, there will always be times of peace and war. There is no progress without struggle. Good things stem from the bad, but so do bad things stem from the good. Morality isn't as simple as altruistic pure good and villainous pure evil as Bryke writes in the comics and Legend of Korra.

Anyways, after Ursa leaves, Ozai now has no external pressure to kill Zuko. Ozai now gives Zuko chances to prove his skills and loyalty, something that Ozai was not afforded with his own father. When Zuko speaks out of turn at the war meeting, Ozai views it as dishonorable and disrespectful. Again, Ozai believes the key to unlocking Zuko's potential is tough love. Burning his son's face, banishing and sending Zuko on a hunt for the Avatar was his version of tough love, but still an opportunity. Ozai will not banish his son with nothing, assigning a small crew, ship and money.

As someone who has a narcissistic father, I know he uses vehicles and money as a means to keep puppet strings on me. If I were to stand up against him, that so-called "help" will be taken away from me. The same applies to Ozai and Zuko.

Ozai views himself as merciful and does this to show his "love", but it is conditional, coming with strings attached. After the siege of the north fails and the blame is placed on Iroh and Zuko, Ozai sends Azula to arrest the two. This is Ozai pulling on those strings, taking away the support he had given, deeming his son and brother as traitors.

It isn't until Zuko returns, supposedly having killed the Avatar and arrested Iroh, does Ozai restore his "love" and support for Zuko. Only when Zuko's loyalty was tested and proved to be in Ozai's favor did Zuko earn his father's "love".

During the Day of Black Sun, Zuko stands up against his father, something narcissists detest. By doing so, Ozai had his final straw, losing all conditional love for his son in an instant. He was done with giving Zuko chances.

With this, Ozai gives Azula permission to kill Zuko. This could also be a test for Azula to prove her loyalty to her father. Azula then tries to kill Zuko 3 times in the last half of Book 3, none of which were successful due to Zuko's friends. Zuko falling off the airship, saved by his friends. Boiling rock, saved by Mai. The Agni Kai, saved by Katara. But Azula is alone, only relying on herself.

That's my analysis and interpretation on why Ozai didn't kill Zuko after Ursa was banished. Not some semblance of having love for Ursa and keeping a promise because they had a good relationship at one point. Rather, it's a narcissist parent seeing himself in his son and giving his son opportunities which he himself was not granted with his own father. Narcissists only think of themselves so Ozai not killing Zuko had to come from a place of selfishness, not a place of genuine love.

Thanks for reading!

Taking those awful comics into account, I have zero clue why Ozai simply didn't kill Zuko after Ursa left. It's clear at this point Zuko is a 'disappointment' and Azula is passing expectations with flying colors. If anything Ozai should've been looking at Zuko sideways when he realized Zuko isn't catching up like he wants and trying to get rid of him so Azula can take his spot as she is more useful. Just wait a few months when Azulon's death dies down, let Zuko have a totally not staged 'accident' and boom, Azula is heir, problem child out of the way, Ozai gets what he wants with zero drawback.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense for a comics Ozai to keep Zuko alive, other than that Ozai probably still wanted to keep his only male heir.

In the show, though, there are more explanations to this.

The thing is, this would be a logical thing to do IF Ozai wanted to get rid of Zuko. Interestingly, though, in the show, Ozai actually wanted to make Zuko his heir. Yes, Zuko didn't meet his expectations, but when Ozai found out that Zuko supposedly killed the avatar and helped Azula take Ba Sing Se, he immediately accepted him as his heir and during the meeting, Zuko was at Ozai's right hand.

Ozai hated Zuko, because he wasn't a capable heir in his eyes, but deep down, he wanted Zuko to be one. And as soon as Zuko "became" the prince Ozai would approve of, Ozai instantly gave him his approval and support, even if it was purely conditional.

Azula was likely a last resort for Ozai, if Zuko would prove himself as completely untrustworthy. And it shows, given that he named Azula Fire Lord only after Zuko betrayed the FN and Azula herself is rather surprised that Ozai gave her this title.

Also, another reason why I think Ozai didn't kill Zuko in the show, is that it was hinted that Ursa and Ozai had a good early relationship. He didn't kill Zuko after she left, bacause he had likely promised Ursa that Zuko won't die and maybe he kept this promise out of some feelings he still had left for Ursa.

[bumblebeehug]

i’m so nervous about uni but i low-key have no reason to be bc im in a very non-nervous situation compared to my friend who moved across the country to study. she moved into her new place today (?!) and she got friends and all that fun stuff and i have to wait over a week to even register my course so it just feels like everything is taking so long shajdhjed im feeling messy and odd. also i gotta start taking walks so i can strut around in the city without sweating like a pig. also i want to whiten my teeth, but i’ve wanted that for years (i should just do it, im stressing ms out by just running around wanting things)

[crybaby-bkg]

new dad Bakugou who’s going back to work full time almost a full year after his daughter his born and he now has to grapple with the fact that….goddamn, he’s spoiled the shit outta her.

well, he doesn’t think it was spoiling her. in actuality, he just created a routine with her, gave her every bit of his attention, held her when she cried, scolded her (yes just at eight months) whenever she’d babble for more puffs even though she’s had enough already. it wasn’t spoiling, it wasn’t. he vowed to never be that dad, to raise a snot nosed brat, one similar to himself.

but here he is, on a Tuesday morning three weeks after her first birthday. he’s standing halfway between the front door and the living room in full uniform, with his still sleepy baby and her even sleepier mama. she’s gripping his neck like he promised to abandon her, wailing and crying so loud and dramatically, that you can’t help but chuckle at her antics and how he wavers ever so slightly.

“You promised you’d go back to work,” you scold him gently, rubbing at your daughters quivering back when she whines again the moment he acts like he’s gonna pull her off. Bakugou frowns at you, and you shrug, smoothing her unruly blond curls away from her sticky forehead.

“But you guys need me.” He pouts, eyebrows downturned as he pulls her away enough to wipe at her wet face. she blubbers again, whimpering out a small dadaaaa noooo, that absolutely breaks his heart.

“And so does the world.” You smile at him, gently pulling your daughter away from the matching glassy red eyes who watch her go. “We’ll be fine, my love. Promise.”

Bakugou looks unconvinced, especially since your daughter reaches for him with another cry of his name. you don’t say anything when he sniffles discreetly, quickly reaching down to the coffee table to snatch up his utility belt that he dropped when she waddled out of her room in tears. he snaps it on wordlessly, and you go to turn to the kitchen when he wraps you both up in his arms.

“Love you,” he whispers against your forehead before pecking it, leaning down to kiss your lips next, and then your daughter’s fat little cheeks. He whispers another love you to her, and wipes away at her rosy cheeks when she pouts at him.

“Rub you.” your daughter pouts, the both of you freezing in shock.

“Oh my god,” you whisper, grinning. “She said I love you back!” Bakugou matches your grin, laughing under his breath as he presses another torrent of kisses all of her face. for the first time since she’s opened her eyes today, she laughs, loud and joyous and familiar. he thinks that maybe going back in today won’t be so bad after all. not if this is what he’ll be coming home to.

[greatgoddyke]

some bobbles (+ two unfinished things)

[la-galaxie-langblr]

what is going on w my brain

[jrueships]

who would you most like to read jrue being paired with in a fic?

Me .

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

rewatching 13s era for me is not so much diminishing returns as it is something opposite and eviler...............increasing losses? increasing losses

[lem-argentum]

it took me until dt to change rudy's hairstyle, but i ACTUALLY think he would've cut it back in post-stb when he became a reaper. the trope of "character cuts hair to feel more in control of their life" is cliché but REAL. and also the visual of him cutting it with his scythe is fun

[eddis-not-eeddis]

.

[cobra-creampuff]

why are they laughing at him as he gets straight up killed??? he doesn't deserve this! he's a sweet kid at heart! he literally just needs one (1) real friend!!