#and if they’re not an adult then I would like the storytelling to be adult

[menaceanon]

If you are recommending a book and the book is YA, you absolutely have to mention that. You have to. It’s a MAJOR part of the book. Failing to mention a book is YA is like promising someone a smoothie and then handing them a salad. Sure, the ingredients are mostly there, but we all know it’s not the same thing.

And I’m not shitting on YA. I just don’t personally enjoy it any more, and it’s extremely frustrating to open a book from a rec list and realize that nobody thought to mention it was written for kids. It happens constantly, and is only worsened by the fact that the YA market tends to be super homogeneous.

[babybluebanshee]

“Omg is Bluey actually for adults?” “MLP is REALLY for the adult fans!” “Holy shit this is so scary no WAY this is actually for kids!” No no no no no NO. Listen very carefully to the words I am about to say - children’s media can be good. It can be great. It can have an appeal across a wide demographic and emotionally resonate with people. It can even be made with the enjoyability of parents in mind because that’s who’s going to be watching it with the kids. No one is telling you that you can’t enjoy them, or trying to shame you for enjoying a children’s entertainment. But, at the end of the day, it is FOR CHILDREN. That’s who should be at the forefront when these shows are created, and trying to change that makes everything worse. This is how we get people calling Steven Universe Nazi apologia because Steven doesn’t summarily execute the Diamonds. This is how we get MLP toys that no longer have stylable hair because bronies don’t like that they’re not “show accurate”. This is how we get a complete lack of horror media for children that isn’t just trying to sell them plushies. The MINUTE older fans start saying a children’s shows is “really for grown ups”, I cringe because I’ve seen what that leads to. If you wanna enjoy that stuff, fine, no one is stopping you. If people make fun of you to the point you feel you have to justify your enjoyment of something, that’s their problem, not yours. But please don’t forget who these things were made for. Kids have it hard enough as it is, just let them have nuanced, entertaining media that’s made for them first JESUS.

(and no this isn’t some asinine attempt to preach purity politics, to “protect the children” or what the fuck ever, and if you try to accuse me of that, I’ll know you weren’t actually reading what I wrote and also probably block you. I don’t care how people enjoy things, what I care about is them taking over a thing that was not meant for them and proclaiming it was actually theirs all along.)

[cuteniaarts]

What if Suiren and Midori inherited their paternal grandmother’s curlier hair?

[emeraldcity1900]

the history of animation in a nutshell

Early 1900s: hey what if comic strips could like move?

Late 1910s early 1920s hey what if we mashed this up with live action people?

late 1920s: hey what if this thing had sound?

Early to mid 1930s: hey what if this had people actually talking and also color?

late 1930s: hey you know that super cool movie that one lady animated with paper cut out silhouettes? What if we did that with painted cells? Would people even pay to see that? Never mind it turns out the answer is yes.

1940s: ah shit most of our animators got drafted and/or hate us now cause we weren’t paying them. IT’S PROPAGANDA TIME BABY. Also haha hitler got hit with a mallet and also the most racist depictions of Japanese people ever.

1950s to 1960s : oh what’s this newfangled thing? Television? What if you could air cartoons on it? Oh fuck no I ain’t paying that much to get the charecters to have different backgrounds and for the charecters to like, move fluidly. Also manga and anime are steadily growing more popular.

1970s: (Ralph Bakshi walks into a comics store and finds a furry comic) X rated animated movie? *cue the screams of mothers and their unsuspecting children now being introduced to the revolutionary idea that cartoons don’t equal kids stuff? WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO?

1980s to 1990s: we can have full on animated Broadway musicals? Wait, what do you mean animated movies can count for the Oscar’s? What do you mean now they get their own catagory because the academy still thinks their for babies? Anime and manga are taking off in the west. SWEET JESUS WHAT DRUGS ARE THE JAPANESE ON SHOWING THIS SHIT TO KIDS. But also why is it so fucking good. Maybe some of these aren’t even meant for kids? Wait We can sell toys to kids with cartoons? Wait we can actually put effort into these cartoons on television? The fuck to you mean we can animate in 3D now? What do you mean we can have well animated, well written sitcom shows like the simpsons? What do you mean you can make cartoon charecters say fuck? What drugs are creators at Nickelodeon on? Do I even want to know?

2000s: oh my god, there is this one show that I really like cause it’s really well written and genuinely funny but I can’t talk about it because it’s animated and we all know cartoons are for babies right? Oh look it’s the transformers movie, look how far CGI has evolved so we can make the transformers in a movie.

2010s: holy shit I know these shows are for kids but they’re just well written and have so much meaningful things to say about the world. Wait, it’s cool to like cartoons now? They they have fandoms for this? Fuck yeah I’m in. (Enters one of the most notoriously toxic fandoms of all time) THEY HAVE GAY PEOPLE IN THESE SHOWS NOW? AND COMPLEX EMOTIONAL STORYTELLING? AND ADULT ANIMATED SHOWS CAN BE MORE THAN JUST SITCOMS WITH THE SAME JOKES AND STYLE? WHY IS IT THAT EVERY DISNEY CARTOON SINCE GRAVITY FALLS INCLUDE THINGS THAT GET MORE AND MORE FUCKED UP? WHY DO I FUCKING LOVE IT? WHY THE FUCK DID DISNEY DO THE OWL HOUSE DIRTY LIKE THAT?

2020s: I got this show I wanna pitch but it dosen’t fit into any box that the networks want and also I’m afraid that they’ll just randomly cancel it before I can finish the story I want to tell. Wait, I can just post the pilot on my YouTube channel, see if anybody actually likes this thing I made and just make the show independently? FUCK THE NETWORK! I AM THE NETWORK

[thatcatsalem]

Sorcerer!Sukuna NS*FW Alphabet

Sukuna x OC (Yuri)

For the posts that are in the format of headcanons and such, “you” will be used as a method of storytelling. Outside of those, the main story will revert back to third person.

A = Aftercare

Usually just grabs you and throws both of you in a shower to get clean. He doesn’t like the feeling of dried cum on his skin, but he will happily fool around in the shower as well.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He likes his back and arms, and often flexes his biceps. He also quite enjoys his thighs because you look so vulnerable between them, sucking his cock.

On you, it is your ass. He will constantly have his arms on your bottom, whether it just by grabbing it, stroking it or slapping it. He likes your stomach and hips, it is his favourite place to cum and he will grab onto your sides if you try and squiggle away.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

It tastes a bit tangy, with citrusy bitterness to it. He cums loads during the first round, and often doesn’t have much control on where it goes. He doesn’t like the feeling of dried cum on his skin so when he jerks off, he either aims away from himself or just does it in the shower.

As per you, he loves cumming on your ass or stomach, but also enjoys seeing you trying to swallow it all. He finds a weird sense of pride seeing his cum leaking from your cunt, and will always attempt to show it back.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He really enjoys being fingered during oral sex but would rather choke on his own tongue than confess that. You only discovered that because you decided to boss him around in bed and lapped on his ass with vigour whilst fisting his cock. Sukuna came so much that he had to deep clean the bed with a steamer; it soaked through covers and mattress protector.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

He had his fair share of hook ups and a couple of beneficial relationships. He has slept with a few of his sorcerer colleagues, both women and men, but never has been one for relationship.

Only with you did he get to truly experiment with his skills, and hone it out so well that he was now able to make you cum with a few flicks of his tongue if they mood is set right.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Mating press. It’s deep, it’s close, it’s fucking hot and he gets to look you in the eyes when he is rearranging your guts. He loves fucking you during your period because you are so much more sensitive and your cervix is practically weeping for him to soak it.

He likes the feeling of your ankles pressing against his shoulders and will growl so loud it will practically make you cum right there. His balls will smack against your skin, ass juggling with each trust, and your moans only will spiral him into madness. It’s difficult for you to concentrate on anything, pinned under him like an animal with a feral beast of a man mounting you, snaked protectively over your body with his cock buried as deep as possible.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

He doesn’t have much time for jokes but he will laugh if you get desperate and start begging him. He will tease and outright bully you playfully but won’t break the spell of intimate sex.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

He keeps himself well groomed, with dark happy trail and has piercing on his cock that he definitely regrets as an adult but doesn’t take off because it makes you feel absolutely otherworldly when it rubs against you g-spot. First time it happened, you squirted all over his hips and then some more.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…) 

Depends on the mood, really. Sometimes he will be quite intimate and sometimes it will be so urgent and rough that there will be no room for romance.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He doesn’t like the feeling of dried cum on his skin so when he jerks off, he either aims away from himself or just does it in the shower.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Choking. Choke him, let him choke you. Squeeze his windpipe, let him cover your mouth whilst you cumming and cut off your air supply.

He is also incredibly proficient in art of Shibari, so he will not just tie you up, but will hang you upside down, spread and ready for him to feast on you.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

Balconies, roofs, windowsills - he likes the thrill of being in a public space yet too far away from prying eyes. He will press you against a window, fully dressed, and will finger you so tortuously that you will have to beg him to let you cum.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

He is a man, most things will turn him on. He does get particularly rowdy every time you will be fighting against someone, smooth and deadly, and will immediately will need to fuck you against nearest surface. Power turns him on.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Sukuna doesn’t share. Under no circumstances will he even entertain an idea of cuckholding or threesome, the only thought of it makes his blood boil. He will quite literally slice anyone who will look at you funny.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Either, really. He doesn’t think there needs to be a favourite between two, and will always happily partake in 69-ing. He will double his efforts in order to make you break first, and will buck his hips further down your throat to make you choke on his cock as you are cumming in his mouth.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Sukuna has to be in a peculiar mood to be slow and sensual, and usually prefers sex to be quite rough and fast. He doesn’t particularly like the idea of fucking for hours on end and finishes his rounds fairly fast, but is ready for another session not much later if not straight away.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

He likes them; but in his mind a quickie should be done in semi-public setting, like a car or utility closet. Otherwise, you might as well enjoy the experience.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Sukuna is all about experimenting; but he will need his partner enthusiastic consent or he ain’t doing it. He is not dealing with someone’s teats that aren’t from pleasure. He doesn’t find the idea of hysterics attractive, so he uses strict green, amber and red rule in the bedroom.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Doesn’t last very point but can go as many as physically possible rounds a day. His personal record with you is eight in a row, with only a small break for lunch.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He does have toys and enjoys using them on both himself and you. He will not be opposed of you using them on him, and he will demonstrate the variety of his collectibles that ranges between stunning crystal butt plugs and expensive ropes he uses to tie you up to his cat o’nine tails and collars for you to wear.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

You might as well just give up, because this man will tease you until your eyes are rolling, thighs are trembling, and until you can only choke on your own saliva instead of any witty comments.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He is not necessarily vocal, but he does moan and grunt in restrained manner, and you will do anything in your arsenal to make him whine. He does it so reluctantly and with defeated growl that it straight up makes your cunt clench.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

In this universe, Sukuna is bisexual. He tends to date and sleep with women, but he has had sex with men, even if he never dated any (he didn’t really date anyone other than you… no one had the patience…). It wasn’t a common occurrence in his life and it doesn’t really poses an opportunity due to his dating life, but he will never say no to you eating his ass out and making him cum from you pressing onto his prostrate.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

He is above average, but not incredibly long - it’s mostly his girth that makes you lose your shit. He will reach your cervix through a specific angle and make you whine and cry but it’s the stretch of your walls accommodating him each time that makes it truly unforgettable. He has a piercing on his cockhead and two rings of tattoos around his base. He is well groomed but doesn’t really shave that often.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Quite high but he can go for a week or so without much need for sex - to the point that it won’t even cross his mind to initiate anything unless he it is instigated; he is that constantly tired. Before you, his hook ups were mostly a weekly occurrence, but nowadays are a more frequent engagement.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Almost immediately - this man is tired and will need a short nap straight away. So it is either shower or sleep. Or both.

If you liked this, leave a comment 🩵

[mariacallous]

If you’re baffled by Skibidi Toilet, you’re not alone.

The bizarre animated YouTube series centers on an alien invasion: a swarm of singing heads, all popping out of toilets, has descended on a Los Angeles–like metropolis and triggered a surreal, cartoonish, apocalyptic war. That’s a more direct and clear explanation than you’ll find in the actual videos, since they’re all almost completely wordless. There’s no language barrier, which is a major reason why the videos have been viewed hundreds of millions of times, becoming a global cultural phenomenon among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Surprisingly for something so popular, Skibidi Toilet has garnered a reputation for being incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t a fan. Its impenetrable nature has raised serious concerns around the world. Some call it a moral outrage, foreign propaganda meant to prey on vulnerable young minds, or even a disease. In a cultural climate where it’s harder and harder to understand trends and popularity, people are searching for an explanation for how singing toilets conquered the world. On the May 22 episode of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert punched up a joke about the Biden campaign using Skibidi Toilet to attract the youth vote, saying that if anyone didn’t get the gag, their grandchildren could explain it “and you still won’t understand.”

As random as the videos can seem, their success isn’t. Skibidi Toilet deftly combines modern storytelling trends with nostalgic internet humor in a way that magnifies the outwardly confusing qualities of both. “It was initially appealing to young people for its utter weirdness,” says danah boyd, a partner researcher at Microsoft Research. “Parents (and many other adults) probably reacted with revulsion, as they’ve done many other times. That revulsion from adults makes it even more appealing to young people.”

That’s why the word “skibidi” has become a more general shibboleth for Gen Z and younger, in the same class as “rizz”, “gyat,” and “sigma.” Adults being shocked and confounded at kids having fun creates a feedback loop where kids want to make it even more distressing. The videos certainly have a lot of shock value, featuring surreal, disturbing, and violent imagery. In an interview with Forbes in February, Alexey Gerasimov, who creates the videos and uploads them under the name “DaFuq!?Boom!,” described the videos as being inspired by his own recurring nightmares.

In that light, it can be easy to see why the global success has been met with an equally global panic. Last August, several writers and journalists in Malaysia and Indonesia warned parents about the dangers of a “Skibidi toilet syndrome” that would cause children to refuse to stop imitating the toilet’s songs and dances. Earlier this year, Robbie Collin wrote in the Telegraph that the videos were a sign YouTube needed more strictly enforced age limits.

Other sources are going even farther, calling the surreal meme videos a threat to national security. In February, reporter Olga Sosnina claimed in a Swedish news outlet that Skibidi Toilet was Russian propaganda aimed at indoctrinating children. Russia was just as worried: In January, Moscow officials were called to investigate the videos. In April, Anna Mityanina, St. Petersburg’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, played the videos to the city’s legislative assembly as part of an annual report on risks to children. “There is no need to pretend that there are no standards of decency,” Mityanina said. “A character in the form of a toilet, to put it mildly, is not cultured enough.”

For all of the worry, there isn’t much to be concerned about within the Skibidi Toilet videos themselves. “I see these media as reflective of our societal obsessions,” says boyd. “As always, young people twist it slightly in a way that makes adults uncomfortable because they don’t want to reckon with their own passions.”

The videos, as uncanny as they can get, don’t contain anything particularly unsuitable for children. The violence is unrelenting and large in scope, but never goes beyond cartoonish explosions and punches. Characters who appear to be killed or turned to the villain’s side regularly return to fight alongside the heroes. The largely wordless storytelling, of course, puts a limit on mature themes. Ultimately, the most “indecent” element of the videos is the toilets themselves, which will always be a hit with the younger generation.

That’s not the only area where Skibidi Toilet follows a long tradition. Gerasimov (who didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment) animates the videos using the Source Filmmaker program, but he’s modified the animation interface to emulate the 2006 game Garry’s Mod. Garry’s Mod, true to its name, was initially a fanmade modification of the game Half-Life 2 that removed any structure or objective, leading to a purely creative sandbox years before Minecraft’s Creative Mode. The game was used to create thousands of machinima videos throughout the late 2000s, and Gerasimov calls these videos a primary inspiration for Skibidi Toilet.

Maddy Buxton, the head of YouTube’s culture and trends team, says this is a major factor in the videos’ success. “One thing we know about Gen Z viewers and creators is they’re interested in nostalgia. It’s hearkening back to this earlier time, even if they didn’t grow up in it themselves,” Buxton says. Skibidi Toilet was one of the top trending topics last year on YouTube, where at one point it garnered 2.8 billion views in 28 days.

Nostalgia and scatological humor can be eye-catching, but to build up the kind of sustained interest and devotion Gerasimov has, there needs to be a story in its own right. The narrative of Skibidi Toilet isn’t communicated directly, but that only adds to its intrigue for many viewers, especially younger ones who are used to having to put in extra work to get the full picture. “We’ve been looking into the role of lore in building these big fan communities,” says Buxton. “The ones that aren’t just passively watching, but digging into the backstory.”

That digging is so popular that it’s transcending traditional structures of fandom. There’s no shortage of ways to be a fan of something online, but Skibidi Toilet’s audience has spent most, if not all, of their lives on the internet, and their work comes out in extremely online forms. Acolytes flood YouTube with breakdown videos and expand on the worldbuilding with Roblox games. Then there’s the comment-section fiction: Wherever the videos are posted, the comments are filled with dozens or hundreds of people providing their own written narratives retelling the events of the video, filling the gap left by the storytelling with their own words. It’s a cross between a liveblogged reaction and fan fiction, creating lore where none existed.

The idea of lore is now fundamental to the way many people consume any fiction, but it started in the world of video games, especially games like Dark Souls that have virtually no direct storytelling. There are hundreds of unofficial Skibidi Toilet games that let players take part in the battles, but the videos themselves invite a similar degree of participation.

“People are coming at it from different entry points,” says Buxton. “Some people are coming in from the gaming world, some are coming just for the action storytelling, some like to unpack lore.” She describes these unusual fan works as “casual creation,” saying that “this idea of being a daily creator makes it much easier to be an active fan than it was five, 10, 15 years ago. Now you can engage in the subject of your fandom by creating it online.”

Of course, Skibidi Toilet itself could be categorized as a fan creation, containing numerous echoes of Garry’s Mod and the Half-Life games. Like many recent works that emerge online, from streetwear trends to unauthorized TikTok musicals, Skibidi Toilet blurs the line between fan work and original work. “Lots of the kids who got into Skibidi Toilet don’t know anything about where these characters and assets are sourced from,” says Phillip Hamilton, an associate editor at Know Your Meme.

Beyond the actual content of the videos, their release schedule is also a factor. “Skibidi Toilet is huge with people (namely kids) who always want more,” says Hamilton. “Each episode is about a minute long and they blast by so fast, with episodes coming out super frequently.”

During the first wave of the videos’ popularity in mid-2023, Gerasimov was uploading at least two videos each week for months, sometimes uploading a video every single day. Social media algorithms have prioritized more frequent uploaders for years, and Gerasimov had been animating in Source Filmmaker for more than a decade, giving him enough experience to crank out the videos fast enough to satisfy YouTube’s algorithm.

This isn’t the first time the algorithm has popularized content that adults find inappropriate for children. In 2017, YouTube faced a public outcry when it was found that the platform was promoting hundreds of disturbing videos, and allowing them to be viewed on its family-friendly YouTube Kids app. The controversy would be known as “Elsagate,” since the offending videos featured popular children’s characters like Elsa, Spider-Man, and Peppa Pig undergoing gory medical procedures, getting kidnapped, and more.

These videos were transparent attempts to game YouTube’s recommendation system for ad revenue. Many of them had hundreds of seemingly inauthentic comments to boost engagement metrics, and a report by the New York Times found one prominent channel was creating videos with a team of roughly 100 people.

YouTube made changes to its algorithm to disincentivize scammers from making these videos. They can’t do the same to flush away Skibidi Toilet, because it wasn’t made to satisfy the algorithm in the same way. It’s a much smaller operation, made with genuine craft and artistic intention. Gerasimov made the videos longer and more ambitious as the series grew in popularity, but that growth happened thanks to people actually enjoying the series, not for associations with popular characters.

Nonetheless, they’ve become even more of a hit among the younger generation, and for parents, this seems to be the real underlying fear. “I think Skibidi Toilet’s ‘negative effects’ on kids are mostly just the obsessive, seemingly addictive aspect,” says Hamilton. “It’s the same reason parents worry about short-form video platforms like TikTok.” The videos took off at the perfect time—after the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated a general shift away from in-person social interaction—for their weirdness to feed into paranoia about what a screen-mediated life might be doing to impressionable young minds.

When it comes to children’s browsing habits, there are many scarier things they might find online than Skibidi Toilet. As strange as the videos are, they wouldn’t do very well as propaganda or even advertising. There’s no agenda, for good or ill, besides the entertainment value. In the Washington Post, Taylor Lorenz compared Skibidi Toilet to “harmless entertainment” like Cocomelon and other children’s videos. Not everyone is happy about the popularity of Cocomelon, but that popularity hasn’t caused the same kind of panic.

[ebisul]

Sterile Mandalore and my issues with the New Mandalore we see

I want to preface this by saying a lot of what’s wrong with Mandalore and the Mandalorians is fully Filoni’s fault (among a variety of other people involved) for being a bad storyteller. Also between brain fog, ADHD, and a severe anxiety disorder, I’m brute forcing my way to coherency.

This is in no way a defense of Death Watch or the history of imperialism. I won’t tolerate anyone comparing me to a terrorist organization for not liking the depiction of Mandalore under New Mandalorian rule or any particular Mandalorian Character, yes that has happened before.

As an overview, I will be going over the setting of Mandalore we see visually, a few of the characters and what those characters say about Mandalorian culture visually, as well as briefly touching on the Clones, and finally how each of these contribute to the Mandalore we see in The Clone Wars.

Now I wanted to write this because I actually deeply enjoy the Mandalorians as a culture, I think everything from the language to the armor to the Resol’nare, uncertain if thats canon, is absolutely fascinating. However, what we see in The Clone Wars has next to none of that outside of Death Watch, the terrorist organization.

The Setting of Mandalore

Mandalore the planet is primarily composed of harsh, seemingly uninhabitable deserts created from centuries upon centuries of war. What we do see of the civilization on Mandalore is primarily within the domed capital city of Sundari. Now there are a few things I wanna touch on here, primarily certain locations, such as the schools, the palace, and the overall visuals of the city, and the people, as a whole as well as individuals.

Beginning with the Schools,

We see schools on Mandalore at least twice in TCW, once during the poisonings when we see a cafeteria and once during our stint with Korkie where we see classrooms and dorms, and i have always hated the way they look. I will say that you could very well interpret the Royal Academy of Government to be a sort of military school, though given the New Mandalorians are all about peace and pacifism it would be an odd choice to send your nephew there.

Visually speaking, the schools are beyond dull. In the classroom we see Ahsoka teaching in, the entire room is gray, with nothing but the desks and a projector. Look at the kid in the front row! Thats how I feel looking at this room!! These are presumably either teenagers or young adults at a boarding school. Im not expecting much for a classroom but a dull dark gray, empty room is not conducive to learning.

I also want to note that they wear uniforms. Its totally normal for a boarding school to require uniforms, that makes sense, however, these uniforms have one singular interesting component and thats the iron heart. I can’t find an exact meaning behind the symbol outside of reddit so im hesitant to define it here, however what we do know is that the symbol is absolutely ancient. A significant part of Mandalorian history.

The rest of the uniform is similarly a dull cool gray, or perhaps a dull blue. And there doesn’t seem to be much individuality in the uniforms, that is outside of hair and whatever gambit-style headwear those kids are wearing at least, but even then they’re mostly all very similar hairstyles.

Im also electing to ignore that there are seemingly two separate sets of triplets here. I know it’s an animation shortcut. Still, they are still there and I can’t ignore them now.

Now, on to what I’m presuming is either a dorm or some sort of recreation or break room, I don’t remember much of the context and frankly you can’t tell from looks alone. I’m leaning toward a dorm because that was my first interpretation.

Regardless of what this room serves as, be it dorm or break room, its still void of character. If this were a dorm, we would have no indication of whose it could possibly be.

It looks like the light behind Korkie is a map of some sort, or something similar its unclear, but that and the neon lights above Soniee are the only sources of color. The red and blue can mean a lot of things but I genuinely don’t think there is a major purpose behind it. We already saw the two sets of triplets.

However, lighting is meant to mean something. In particular, red can mean many things, but given the visual context it reads as stress inducing, as danger. Particularly surrounding Korkie as it does.

Now blue lighting needed a quick google search, but my results for the meaning of blue lighting where a little unexpected. Blue is a typical calming color, similar to green, though can also be interpreted as depressing and cold like grays, and blue lighting can be representative of isolation and passivity. Ironically, this scene is anything but passive. Again, im not putting much weight into it but I feel its worth noting.

Ultimately, its entirely impersonal, slightly stress-inducing, and only marginally better than the classroom only because it had color. Now onto my most egregious example from the schools we see and my most despised, the cafeteria.

Do you see this shit? Where do i even start? My best guess is that these are approximately middle schoolers. If i went to this school I would willingly drink the poison. Their lunch looks like three tomatoes, three mystery cubes, and debatably either a cracker or a slice of cheese. Horrendous lunch. How is this acceptable to feed to children for a whole meal? Enough complaining about their lunches, though.

The cafeteria itself is offputting to say the least. Pure white. The children, pale and blonde, all wearing the exact same gray uniforms with only variation for the girls, because girl = skirts. It’s the picture of uniformity. Its horrific. The only color outside of the pitiful lunch is the monstrous poison drink nearly all children have. Probably bc theyre lunches are terrible.

This scene has two interpretations in my mind. The first is that its meant to be creepy as all hell, which is unlikely because we’re supposed to support New Mandalore. The second interpretation is that it was meant to look like the epitome of peace and serenity and utterly fails because it takes more than an overuse of the color white to represent innocence, purity, and peace.

How do you manage to make an entire school look like a cloning facility? In fact, I’m certain the cloning facility has more diversity than all of mandalore.

Now the issue with all of these areas of the schools on Mandalore is that they look like no place to teach a child. There are certain things that are conducive to learning and color is one of them! So is fostering individuality! There are specific things that make an environment suitable for learning and these schools have very few of them.

Now onto the Palace,

This will be a shorter segment than the previous. Although I will be lightly critical of Satine here. So to begin, we primarily see the throne room. In fact, im not even sure we see much else in the Palace of Sundari. We do see Satine’s rooms or office but I can’t find a picture of it so i won’t use the example.

Both of these images share a few things in common. First is the dramatic lighting, the otherwise empty throne room save for the chairs that seem to have been brought in, and the only color present outside of gray is Satine and/or her throne. Even Padme, notable fashion icon, is or appears to be wearing gray in these scenes.

The dramatic lighting in the first image is an obvious “Hey! These are the good guys!” and I can’t piece out a relevent meaning behind the second image so Im choosing to move forward because I think it is just that, lighting.

Now the throne room being utterly void will be clearer in the next image I attach. The issue with it being so empty is that it feels almost lifeless, cold. It doesn’t feel like a throne room visually speaking. This ties into the last thing these images have in common. Satine and her throne.

Within the gray permeating what seems to be most of Mandalore at this rate, Satine is the only source of actual color. Her clothes are these vibrant, beautiful blues and greens and purples. Her throne is a glowing beacon above everyone.

What does that say, when every one of her people is dressed in grays, beiges, and pale blues? Or when they all dress the same?

This is a better view of just how empty the throne room is. Theres more of the iron heart design, though still no real idea of the meaning further than it is significant, as well as the portrait of Satine. The only things in this image with color other than gray or biege are indications of Satine. But the throne room itself is almost entirely barren.

Whether or not you think this is any indication of her character one way or another thats up to you. My read on what this shows of her is that she is blinded by her own ideals, she doesnt truly see her people as they are, be that through ignorance or arrogance, and that allows the corruption to seep.

I wanted to show the hospital because I think thats a Good environment design for mandalore but i lost the picture. It is ironic that my example of good design is the one thats meant to be clinical.

Therefore, I’m moving on to the city at large

The city itself is incredibly industrial. I’m torn because I know it has to be like that to a degree but it also doesnt have to be like that. That’s a choice the designers made. The city of Sundari exists within a dome due to the uninhabitable deserts from years of war, that doesnt mean it must look so cold.

It just feels so lifeless. Colorless even. Ive noticed by now, and you probably have too, that my main issue seems to be coloring. Well, I wouldn’t say its my main issue but it’s definitely up there.

We’re supposed to think that Satine’s New Mandalore is Good. That it’s this vision of peace and prosperity. But where do we see that visually? Through industrialization? Thats not good!

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Satine’s peace is a clear facade for all of the shady bullshit going on behind her back, but we should be able to see that in the enviroment.

We should be able to see the idyllic peacefulness and people’s enjoyment of their city. We should see that face and the shady underside. We shouldn’t just see drab gray with a splash of corruption. It just makes Satine look like a bad ruler.

Characters and What They’re Telling Us

I’m actually not starting this with a particular character. I’m going to begin with the Mandalorian people as a whole.

What a surprise! Theyre all blond white people! See I have a huge issue with the lack of diversity among humans on Mandalore for a few reasons. The first reason is the obvious, it’s fucking WEIRD. The second reason is that we know there are people of color who are mandalorian.

And on the one hand this really demonstrates my point. Everyone looks the same, everything is dull and empty. This isn’t prosperity.

The first example they look like theyre dressed in uniform. Every single one of them is wearing the exact same color. Thats not normal. In the second image, while they aren’t dressed uniformly, they are all dressed in grays and beiges. These people are Satine’s governing council. They’re supposed to high standing officials.

And that brings us back to The Duchess herself

I’m choosing to use her main outfit design for this. There will be no more images from here onwards because there is no space but I’m trusting you all to know what these characters look like.

Satine’s Dress can only truly be described as opulent. She dresses in shades of blue, purple, and green and elaborate headwear and accessories. Her hair is styled in a way characteristic of Kalevala, similarly to Korkie’s friend Lagos but more extravagant. The colors she wears are chosen to appear soothing and to honor the history of Mandalore’s forests and lakes.

But this isn’t something you might pick up on naturally. Remember this is a show for children. You would have to do the research to learn that. Without that information you could interpret her appearance any number of ways.

Between her headress and the color scheme, I would have confidently said she was peacock-like, had I not known the nuances. Character design needs to be something people can infer from. Something that lines up with the environment to tell a story.

That being said what her design is meant to tell us is that she greatly values the less violent aspects of Mandalore’s past. That she is trying to preserve and honor their history and Mandalore’s beauty.

The issue is that (from memory at least) the honoring forests and lakes never really is relevant? We see Peace Park but we’re never shown much about any restoration or preservation efforts of the planet itself. Did they just give up because its a “wasteland”? Were there no other alternatives? We were never given enough context, explicitly or implicitly.

And without the knowledge of what her design is supposed to mean, what is stopping anyone from misinterpreting it. What is stopping anyone from thinking she is just this haughty, holier than thou politician? Especially when you put her next to civilians or even her own council when she is already sat above them on her throne?

Satine’s design is essentially meant to show us her value to peace and progression but we arent really shown much progressing. We’re meant to just believe what we’re told rather than showing us the progress in, yknow, progress.

Now, Bo Katan

I chose specifically to include the sisters in this because I wanted to compare them, also bc obviously they are the most relevant. Bo’s design also demonstrates her values, admittedly way clearer than Satine’s.

She’s a traditionalist, someone who values the warrior ways, and yes also a terrorist. Thats not super relevant. Because she’s a traditionalist, it makes sense that her character design is rather simple in comparison to her sister, but they both honor the history of Mandalore all the same.

Mandalorian armor is equally as historical and significant as the iron heart itself, even so far as to have the two intrinsically intertwined, having the Iron Heart as part of the armor. I think most Mandalorian fans know this already.

Now, I want to take the armor paint color meanings with a grain of salt. Im not certain how canon any of it actually is even if the meanings do seem to hold up withon canon. However, the thing about the armor paint is that it sets the mandalorians apart as individuals while simultaneously tying them together as Mandalorians.

Bo’s armor is painted primarily blue and gray with white detailing and owl imagery to signify her Nite-Owls. Now in the EU the colors have meaning. Blue and gray mean reliabilty and mourning respectively. I think it would be in the Mandalorian culture’s best interests to keep this canon and even expand upon this.

This is because these unique paint schemes allow for individuality, community, and notable artistic expression. I mean, just look at Sabine. This contrasts with the uniformity of New Mandalore which just makes New Mandalore look really bad. Like really, really bad.

Next I want to look at Almec

So, Almec has two designs I want to look at. First is his usual outfit as Satine’s right hand and the second is his own armor.

Pre-betrayal, Almec wears an almost solidly white outfit, with gray, beige, and a dash of gold detailing. This design actually has two iron heart designs, one in his clothes and one in his hair. Outside of the iron heart, the design is very plain. The overuse of white is likely meant to give an illusion of purity and peace again. It doesn’t really work when he looks so clinical, though.

In his armor, Almec’s design is a stark contrast to the previous. He wears a light green, maybe gray, flight suit with black and gold armor. The reason I wanted to include this design for a number of reasons but specifically, the shoulder cord.

The gold shoulder cord gives Almec a more militaristic appearance, even in comparison to other armored mandalorians. This is actually a design detail I really enjoy because the gold shoulder cord essentially means “service to another” in the US military.

The colors black and gold in mandalorian armor represent justice and vengeance. Again, take that with a grain of salt, but I think more importantly this change actually makes Almec a more recognizable character. The armor is more personal than his prior outfit working under Satine as a New Mandalorian. It tells us more about who he is as a person.

On to Jango

Yes he is Mandalorian. I will not debate this I dont give a shit what George Lucas intended with him. I don’t even care what was said in TCW. Jango was canonically a mandalorian foundling. And yes I know they never show up really in relation to Mandalore, but Its important I mention them, I think.

So, we know in TCW, Jango isn’t considered a mandalorian by the New Mandalorians. They insist that he must have stolen the armor, that there’s no conceivable way he could be mandalorian. Except that we now have canonical confirmation that he was in fact a foundling.

See, here’s the issue with this, because in retrospect they’re basically denying a dead man his own identity and creed.

Jangos armor isnt really what I wanted to talk about in relation to Jango himself. Mostly I wanted to talk about what his character means for the New Mandalorians. Jango amd Boba are quite literally The Blueprint for Mandalorians. Except now we get more Mandalorians and they fully deny Jango his Mando-ness.

What, because he doesn’t align with their ideology? Jango wasn’t a great person by any means but being Mandalorian isn’t just a nationality. It’s something you’re taught.

Again this isn’t about the armor, it’s about the fact that he’s played by a Maori man. The first Mandalorian face we see is a brown man and that gives a real bad impression when you have a planet of White People claiming he isn’t even Mandalorian, why? Because he’s adopted? Because he was a bounty hunter?

The Clones

This section isn’t totally relevant so feel free to skip to the next, but i can only go so long without talking about them.

The clones themselves don’t have a strong tie to Mandalore, narratively speaking. However, they do have ties built into their appearances. More than just being clones of Jango.

They don’t speak Mando’a in canon and we aren’t totally sure who exactly trained them before Jango died, but we do have little hints from their character designs that indicate some connection to Mandalore or the Mandalorian culture.

Rex specifically is one of the few with jaig eyes. Jaig eyes are a Mandalorian honor symbol. And he’s not the only clone with this symbol, Blackout also has Jaig eyes on his helmet. Which leads me to believe this symbol is fairly common for troopers since its not terribly common we see clones sharing symbols without a personal connection to eachother.

Further than just that, clone trooper armor, phase 1 at least and presumably onward, is also based on Mandalorian armor. This is primarily because of the armor jango wears, naturally his clones would be fitted with similar. But the clones have also picked up the armor painting. Could this simply be a coincidence? Sure if you wanna believe that. I don’t think I do though because its so significant to both cultures as a means of individuality.

What does all of this say about Mandalore?

And I mean that as what is this telling us visually. What conclusions can you draw from this with just images. Because it doesn’t look great for New Mandalore. And maybe that was the intent. I know my first impression of Satine was just how unprofessional she was acting.

Except we’re supposed to see New Mandalore as the good guys, essentially, right? Riddled with corruption but still Good. That doesn’t translate when the setting is dystopian-esque at best. Its cold and empty and clinical.

When you see an entire planet of people who all look almost exactly the same, wearing the same clothes, the same hair, the same face, the same color skin, it gets unsettling. Its a weird design choice because it’s an American cartoon and America is characteristically individualistic.

The Bad Guy, the literal terrorist organization, caters more towards that visual individuality than the peaceful, progressive Good Guys. It visually reads as a Safety vs Freedom story but thats not the story that they need to be telling. You can’t go telling people freedom is evil.

It makes it incredibly easy to misconstrue what New Mandalore is trying to do because the visuals aren’t supporting them. There’s a reason so many people genuinely think Satine has comitted some sort of cultural genocide against her people because we aren’t seeing any of the culture and when we do see it, its not supported by the narrative. They may have Mandalorian writing but they never speak Mando’a on screen outside of Death Watch. We dont really know what the iron heart means and its everywhere. They may talk about prosperity and progress but they aren’t showing us that.

What I Would Do To Improve

This is the last segment, I promise.

I want to start with what could improve the background. Because a lot of the issue stem from it being dull and lifeless, I think giving it some sort of life would really fix a lot of the issues. Namely, I would say to put more trees, real, lush trees not the tiny ones you’d find in a city. It would help give context to Satine’s homage to the forests of mandalore if we had a visual clue from Mandalore itself. This would also bring in some more color and take away from the industrial appearance. This is more of a personal thing because I grew up around farms, but I think we should have seen a farm or some sort of clue as to how Mandalore is feeding itself. How is it sustaining itself, if not for import?

Another thing I would change would be the overall coloring. Generally, I would push for more color but I’m mostly referring to the color of the buildings. I would replace the cold gray and blues with more of a bronze and maybe a warm orange or even just changed the undertone of the blue could add so much. I would also give the lighting more warmth. Overall I would just add more warmth.

Adding onto this, I would also bring in more color by adding more public art. More murals and statues and the like. We know they have murals and paintings in the Palace at least. We should see them in the city, too. Having more art around the city would also connect it to the same cultural roots that have the mandalorians painting their armor.

In the schools, the main issue is that there’s no color. That these spaces dont have anything that would bring a sense of comfort to a kid. The stark white of the cafeteria is more stress inducing than calming and it would be good to replace some of that with a splash of color to break it up, as well as with some background decorations. Slap a poster on them there walls.

The classroom we see could also use just more decoration, make it look like a classroom. Have posters of diagrams and models. The room is dark so I won’t say much of the coloring except just make it look less cold. The back of the room has a wide, empty space and I think if that space were filled with something it would change a lot of the energy it gives off.

As for the dorm, if that is a dorm, give is an idea of whose room it is. Make it look like someone lives there. If it’s not a dorm, why are these kids sitting in a dark room? The room itself shouldn’t exude this uncomfortable feeling, that should be the undertone.

Overall, I think the Palace is generally fine if only it werent so empty, and again, if there were more color. The detailing and the lighting both look nice but it just needs to feel more like a throne room.

As for the people of Mandalore, for fuck’s sake, diversity is not going to kill you. Again its insane that all of the mandalorians of color we see are either A.) terrorists B.) deemed not mandalorian or C.) future cultists. We should see more black, brown, and Asian mandalorians. Hell, we should see alien mandalorians too.

Furthermore, they should have more variety in their clothes. What society wears all of three colors when they definitely have access to others? On top of that we should see Mandalorians who still wear pieces of armor. Armor is defensive, it’s not inherently violent to protect yourself and it honors the history of Mandalore while still moving forward with progress.

This is of course just my personal vision. These visuals can be interpreted in a number of ways, if you want to think the designs are good and exhibit peacefulness more power to you, I simply can’t see it. I tried my best to keep it to the Clone Wars series with a strict focus on the appearance, though that was a difficult challenge for me.

Anyways, I hope this was somewhat coherent and enjoyable. I’ve likely missed some details but this took me multiple days to organize my thoughts properly so im not pressed about it. Let me know your thoughts! Just be kind and don’t call me a terrorist :)

[heyclickadee]

Saw another “why would Tech even be interested in Phee” take out in the wild, so here’s a partial list of Phee’s many attractive qualities, because the double standard of every other character vs Phee is exhausting:

(Quick disclaimer—this isn’t me saying anyone has to like the ship. You don’t. It’s fine. Don’t ship things you don’t want to ship. Dislike the way it’s been written in the show if you want. Ship these two with other people or with no one if you want. I don’t care. This is just me being tired of people being weird about Phee):

1. She’s smart. She can improv her way through dealing with death traps and she’s got an area (areas) of expertise that Tech knows relatively little about. That makes her interesting. Also hot.

2. She’s gorgeous. Look at her. She’s ridiculously pretty.

3. She’s a great storyteller. Yeah, she changes her stories every time, but that’s at least part of why Tech is paying attention, because he notices that.

4. She’s a stone cold badass. And she’s a FUN stone cold badass. Disarmingly charming stone cold badass.

5. She’s a remarkably good person. She steals artifacts so that refugees can hang on to a bit of their culture in diaspora. This seems to be what pushes Tech from, “Oh, she’s interesting,” to, “OH. SHE’S BRILLIANT AND I MIGHT BE IN LOVE.”

6. She’s not nice, but she is kind, and that’s honestly a quality that she and Tech share. Phee isn’t soft, she’s not going to talk in therapy speak, she’ll push a little hard sometimes, but gosh darnit if she isn’t the person who would always stop to help someone with a flat tire (or respond to finding out some friends are broke, jobless, and on the run by immediately taking them back to her secret refuge so they can rest and recoup).

7. She’s incredibly direct and unafraid to speak her mind and…okay. This is going to get long. And I know some people will disagree with this, and that’s fine because everyone is different, and wants different things. But. Speaking personally from my point of view. The fact that Phee gives as good as she gets would be a really reassuring quality to have in a partner. I see a lot of myself reflected in Tech, but one of the many, many ways in which we’re very different is that I’m a consummate people pleaser, and Tech is very much not. At all. I don’t think he has a people-pleasing bone in his body.

But, here’s the thing—about half of my people pleasing comes from being terrified that I’ll say or do something that inadvertently hurts someone, and that person won’t just tell me or give me the chance to explain or make things right. And for how that relates to dating, I had people—friends and family—keep trying to set me up with incredibly shy men through most of my early twenties, no matter how many times I objected, because they had this perception that I was soft, wishy-washy, and needed to be treated with kid gloves. And…no. I’m opinionated as hell. I’m relatively confident about certain things. I just shut down my ability to project any of that because I was terrified of running roughshod over people without meaning to. But when I’m around someone who I know is willing to disagree with me, who I know will explain why, and who I know will push back if I take something too far? About 90% percent of my people pleasing and social anxiety evaporates. I know I don’t have to walk on eggshells around them—and that they aren’t going to walk on eggshells around me, either. They’re going to be direct about their issues and treat me like a freaking adult.

And, honestly, the fact that Phee doesn’t walk on eggshells around Tech (who also gives as good as he gets—Tech isn’t soft, nice, or shy and retiring; he’s confident as hell and he should be, because hot damn)—is. I don’t know. I like that she’s direct, and that she will recognize and pull back if she’s gone too far. This is projecting a bit, but, speaking personally, I would rather be with someone who treats me like an adult and tells me what’s up even if it’s uncomfortable than someone who never, ever tells me when they’re upset because they’re afraid of hurting my feelings and just lets me stew in social confusion all the time.

8. She can more than hold her own in a fight and she carries a sword around. That’s hot, I’m sorry.

9. Phee’s fantastic with Omega. She talks to her like she’s a person, she doesn’t ever shut Omega down, she’ll tell her stories, she’ll joke around with her, and she’s generally very respectful while also not holding her to the same standard she would if Omega were an adult. She’s even a little protective of Omega, even though Omega isn’t at all her responsibility. I think the moment that took Phee from ‘cool’ to ‘fantastic’ for me was towards the end of ‘Entombed’ while the Deadly Giraffe of Death was collapsing; Phee’s right there trying to shield Omega alongside Hunter. And. Like. Omega is Tech’s baby sister, he’s probably going to notice that how Phee treats her. Massive points in her favor for this.

[proshippers-against-censorship]

I’m gonna be completely honest I’m a little baked so apologies if I make no sense

I would just like to start with I am a very big fan of dark fiction. My favorite movies are Silence of the Lambs and Midsommar. My favorite fanfiction at one time contained a violent rape scene. I have no issues with murder, torture, brainwashing, rape, or any flavor of violent/sexual depravity in my fiction, fan-created or otherwise. But the thing is, there’s a reason for it to occur within the narrative the writer is trying to tell. Characters don’t kill and die for no narrative reason, that’s just bad writing. If there is a torture scene, or a rape scene, or incest or pedophilia or whatever depraved shit you wanna put here, you can analyze that piece of fiction as a whole and deduce why the writer might’ve put it there. Media analysis. There is media to analyze. It’s a huge leap in logic to assume that the director included Buffalo Bill’s obsession with skinning women because they had fantasies about skinning women. It is also a huge leap in logic to assume that Vladimir Nabokov wrote Lolita because he is a pedophile. When you read the book or watch the movie and think about it critically for more than ten seconds, it becomes very evident that that isn’t true, even with an unreliable narrator like in Lolita.

However, the (fan)fiction I take issue with isn’t like that. There isn’t much to analyze when the only part being posted (or written at all) IS the rape scene, or the incest scene, or the necrophilia scene, especially when that particular author/artist exclusively posts about that one thing. Fetish content is pretty easy to spot in my opinion, and if you aren’t turned on by that particular fetish, it doesn’t provide you much in the way of storytelling. That kind of fiction was created to feed someone’s fetish, whether that’s the author’s themselves, a friend’s, or a random requester who asked them to write it. (You can also only deduce what is and is not fetish content via media analysis).

The issue isn’t that the writer had the gall to include these topics in their fiction, the issue is that someone is way too into those crimes they’re writing about and it shows. People who are also way too into violent fantasies are just as big of an issue. The comparison shouldn’t be Adult/Child PWP Oneshot Fanfic to Call of Duty, it should be Adult/Child PWP Oneshot Fanfic to that kid in the back of class scribbling in his notebook about school shootings but with different names than his real teachers and classmates. Compare Call of Duty to Lolita (example), and compare sexual fantasy fodder to violent fantasy fodder.

I think it is immoral to fantasize about harming another person. Whether that harm would be sexual in nature or not is completely irrelevant. If someone believes that having certain fantasies is morally objectionable, the fiction they create to stroke that fantasy is also morally objectionable. Obviously I can’t stop anyone from creating whatever kind of fiction they want for whatever reasons they want, even if I find them immoral. That’s censorship. But I don’t think anyone, antis or proshippers, have been taking into account the full nuance of the topic at hand.

TL;DR: You can portray acts of violent or sexual crime in your fiction with all the gorey details you want, without it feeding into a fetish or a fantasy. The fantasy is the thing I take issue with, not the fiction. This is true of both violent and sexual fantasies. Everyone oversimplifies it as “good/okay in fiction” or “bad/wrong in fiction” and that isn’t a conducive discussion to be having.

Anyway. I have the munchies, I’m gonna order a pizza now I think

-🐜👔

Fair enough.

There's still nothing wrong with finding fetish/fantasy/for-fun content gross or highly immoral.

So long as you just block the creator and move on with your day.

[ncfan-1]

I have a few wants for Mae’s story next season, with the hope that she gets her memory back relatively quickly being a pretty important one, but it’s not the only want I have for the way things go for Mae that I consider important. There’s something else that feels even more important: namely, that Mae find people in her life that deeply love and prioritize her.

There’s something very pointed going on in Season 1. “Everyone seems to want you,” Qimir says to Osha, but by comparison, nobody ever seems to want Mae. When they’re children, Sol professes a connection to Osha, and Mae is little more than an afterthought; as an adult, Sol ultimately leaves nothing for her but the worst parts of himself. Qimir is visibly fascinated with Osha from first sight, and ultimately doesn’t seem to have thought much of Mae even before she attempted to desert his side; he seems to brush her off the way you’d brush a speck of dust off of you.

And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that Osha should have chosen to stay with Mae in Episode 8. It doesn’t make sense from a storytelling standpoint, not at this juncture. This is the culmination of Mae’s character arc this season, where she is finally able to stop clinging to Osha, to accept that what she wants more than anything is for Osha to be happy, even if she isn’t with her. For Osha to choose to stay with Mae at that point would feel wrong, for Mae has to prove to the audience that she has reached this kind of peace regarding her relationship with her sister by accepting that Osha doesn’t want to stay with her without bitterness. As for Osha, this is the culmination of her character arc this season, which has been about taking her life and her power into her own hands, and it would be strange for her to stay with Mae when Qimir has offered to help her do what she wants. It wouldn’t feel right from a storytelling standpoint; for things to make sense, they have to part ways at the end of Season 1.

But even if Osha frames it as making sure that Mae is safe from any reprisals on Qimir’s part, and even if it’s what make sense from a storytelling perspective, what it ultimately amounts to is that Osha doesn’t choose Mae, either. Nobody ever chooses Mae.

And it’s so uneven. I’m not saying I want Osha to be this alone, too—I don’t. But it’s wrenching to watch this woman who has nothing and no one at the beginning of the season still have nothing and no one at the end of the season, because even the memory of Osha forgiving her and loving her again has been taken away from her. Even her memory of the one person she had left who actually loved her has been taken away from her. She had nothing then, and she has nothing now.

Like I said, it feels pointed, the way Mae is never chosen, and what I’m hoping is that this means that it won’t be the case anymore in Season 2. Vernestra, you say, and yeah, I have high hopes for that dynamic, but no matter how things shake out between Mae and Vernestra, that is never going to be a relationship of equals, and I don’t think it’s ultimately going to be the kind of relationship where Vernestra would choose Mae, not meaningfully. Not over every other option.

That’s what I want for Mae, really. Someone who will love her deeply and choose her over everyone else, every time. With her memories and without. Knowing what she’s done, the good and the bad, knowing what she’s capable of, the good and the bad, knowing her past, knowing her faults and knowing that those faults aren’t all of who she is. Someone who would choose her without a second thought.

Because I feel like there’s going to be a scene like the one in Episode 8, where this time, it’s Mae who chooses. But Osha had more than one option. Either Qimir or Mae were viable options. Osha had a solid foundation to rely on, whatever she decided to do. But as it stands, Mae only has Osha. Osha is all Mae has. And if we do get a moment like that in Season 2, where this time it’s Osha asking Mae what she wants, if she wants to go with her or not, if Mae’s options are still “Osha” or “be completely alone,” then it's not the meaningful choice that Osha had, is it? My point is, I want Mae, whatever she decides, to have actually had a meaningful choice. To not be completely dependent on Osha for love and acceptance. To have someone else she could turn to if she decided that she didn’t want to go with Osha. To not have her choices be: Osha—or no one.

[sainzfilm]

charles leclerc x bookstore owner!reader pls? :)

pairing: charles leclerc x bookstore owner!reader

a/n: god….this trope is just the cutest thing and idk i love it and it’s such an adorable meet cute 🤭 hope you like this, lovely!! :)

taglist: @svechyaho @squderia @idkiwantchocolatee @koufaxx @melonunicornbby @myescapefromthislife @leclerclvr @slut-era @pachiibatt @nicolesainz @cosmicleclerc @sidcrosbyspuck @barzysreputation

join my taglist here!

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

Charles took a sip of his coffee, waiting for his change from the cashier at the café he decided to spend his afternoon in. Breezy afternoon, kids and teenagers roaming around Monaco, the smell of pastries at the nearby bakery – it was a pretty perfect day.

Although, curiosity sparked inside Charles as he looked out the window to see children running across the street to what looked like a quaint little bookstore.

“Hey, uh,” Charles looked at the cashier momentarily before pointing at that store, “La librairie là-bas est-elle neuve?” Is that bookstore over there new?

“Ouais c'est ça,” The cashier nodded, handing the change and receipt to Charles, “Les enfants, les adolescents et les adultes l'adorent. J'ai entendu dire que le propriétaire est une gentille fille.” Yeah it is. Kids, teenagers, and adults love it. I heard the owner is a nice girl.

Charles shoved the change in his pocket, thanking the cashier with a smile and walking out the café and towards the bookstore.

The tiny bell attached above the door softly rang as Charles entered, making his presence known to the not-so-quiet bookstore. Children of different ages were gathered on the floor, seated on pillows, while they listened to what he thought could have been the most soothing voice he’s heard.

“And in the end, Goldilocks made sure that she will user her own chair, bed, and eat her own porridge,” You read to the children, closing the book and smiling at them, “As-tu aimé?” Did you like it?

As the children eagerly expressed their agreement to your question, you looked up to give the Monégasque a small smile before redirecting your attention to the children in front of you.

Charles figured out that you must’ve been the nice girl the cashier was talking about – he would definitely agree from how the children fawned over you. As he walked down the aisle of shelves, he hummed to himself and skimmed his fingers through the spines lined up.

“Bonjour! Tu dois être nouveau,” You smiled as you stood beside him, taking off your storytelling hat, “Vous cherchez un livre en particulier?” Hello! You must be new here, are you looking for a specific book?

It would be an understatement if Charles were to say he was…enamored. Maybe more of like ‘Oh my god, you have the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen and perhaps you’re the most beautiful woman I laid my eyes on.’

“Bonjour, oui, je suis nouveau ici,” Charles chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, “No no, I just wanted to see if anything…catches my eye.” Hello, yeah, I’m new here.

“Well, we do have a few books of the month right by the counter,” You replied, pointing towards the table, “Most people would make a beeline for it if they’re undecided.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” He nodded with a smile, “So, are you new here? Around Monaco?”

Before you could reply, a little girl ran over and started tugging at your coat, “Mademoiselle Y/N! J'ai choisi ces livres de princesse pour que je les achète aujourd'hui!” Miss Y/N! I picked these princess books out for me to buy today.

“Claire, calme-toi,” You laughed, patting her head gently and turning back to Charles, “Sorry, my favorite customer seems to be eager today. I’ll be at the counter if you need anything.” Claire, calm down.

As Claire held onto your hand and dragged you to the counter, Charles laughed softly before following you to the counter and checking out the books lined up for the month.

“Il semble que vous ayez économisé beaucoup d'argent, Claire,” You grinned, scanning the books and looking down at the little girl, “Have you finished the other books you bought yesterday?” It looks like you saved a lot of money, Claire.

“Bien sur, Mademoiselle! Maman me récompense pour faire des corvées,” Claire giggled and tiptoed over the counter, “All done! Will I get a new bookmark?” Of course, Miss! Mama rewards me for doing chores.

“That’s good to hear, Claire,” You smiled and reached over to ruffle up her hair, “Of course, you will. In fact, get another book, my gift for you.”

Claire squealed in delight before running off back to the aisles, giving Charles an opening for him to approach you once more, “That’s actually real nice of you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Claire’s a delight to have here in the bookstore,” You smiled fondly, putting the bookmarks in between the books, “And to answer you, I moved here a few years back.”

“I guess I don’t end up on this side of the street often,” Charles laughed, “Odd that I’ve missed out on it.”

“Well, I guess things come in your life when you need it,” You shrugged with a smile, leaning over the counter to welcome back a smiling Claire, “What’s that you picked out?”

“It’s about a prince meeting this princess, mademoiselle!” Claire exclaimed, pushing the book up on the counter, “I read the back and it said, après avoir longtemps cherché l'amour, le prince l'a finalement trouvé au moment où il s'y attendait le moins.” After looking for love for the longest time, the prince finally found it when he least expected it.

“Maybe you’ll get your own prince, Claire,” You tapped her nose and packed the remaining book inside the bag, “Before you leave, quel est notre mot du jour?” What’s our word of the day?

“Notre mot du jour est le destin!” The little girl giggled, grabbing the paper bag from you, “See you on Thursday, mademoiselle!” Our word of the day is destiny!

Charles looked up from the book he was reading. Destiny. Would stumbling upon your bookstore and what you had just discussed with Claire be completely coincidental?

“So, what reeled you in here today?” You smiled and turned your attention back to him, “If you’ve said that you never crossed this side of the street.”

“Well, maybe destiny,” He nonchalantly replied with a small smile on his face, “It definitely won’t be the last time I’m crossing this side of the street.”

Leaning over the counter and holding your hand out, you smiled, “My name’s Y/N.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Charles smiled, shaking your hand and feeling a bit of butterflies erupting in his stomach, “I’m Charles.”

Who knew that an impulsive decision to visit your bookstore could lead to something magical – such as possible love? Charles mentally thanked himself and whatever Gods existed out there because he definitely believes in destiny now.

bonus scene!

Charles whistled as he leaned against the wall, rubbing his hands together and checking his watch. 7:48 am. You were supposed to arrive 18 minutes ago.

“I’m here! I’m here,” You exclaimed, panting and leaning over your knees as you caught your breath, “Why are you here so early?”

“The question is why are you late?” Charles chuckled, handing your morning coffee, “I told you, I’m helping out.”

“Overslept. I was looking at books to order online,” You grumbled, unlocking the door and taking off your coat, “Is this your way to get me to say yes?”

“Oh please,” Charles scoffed, flipping the sign to signify the store was open, “I know you already will.”

“Can’t believe I’m dating a guy with a big ego,” You laughed, setting up the register, “What makes you think so?”

Grinning as he leaned over the counter, Charles replied, “No reason. A certain misdial could say so.”

Freezing in your place, your eyes widened as you groaned and covered your face in your hands, “Oh mon dieu. You jerk! You could’ve ended the call!”

“It was cute, you rambling about how you thought I was such a dashing prince,” He chuckled, reaching over to squish your cheeks and kissing your nose, “Nice to hear you call me your boyfriend though.”

Mumbling with a pout, you rolled your eyes and sighed in defeat, “I hate you.”

Charles shrugged, scrunching his nose and grabbing the feather duster to wander off to the aisles, “The more you hate, the more you love!”

[twitteringthings]

Yoneda-Sensei

Just some thoughts…

In order to craft a story as rich and as layered as saezuru, you have to be a person who really gets humans. You know? And in order to make characters this realistic and this tragic, you truly have to understand the motivations and deeply rooted traumas that drive the human spirit. Along with the truths they bury so that they may move forward. In order to create a story like this, these primal and honest human traits must imbue every action and thought process of each character. And at this, Yoneda is a genius.

Many other stories or manga that I’ve read present the reader with a characture of what a person is. Their ideals too manufactured, and understating of life too naive. I find this leads to stagnant protagonists, cliche character archetypes, pseudo-conflicts, and a predictable/flat storyline. This is especially why I love how the characters are actual adults and not some cliche teenagers. They’ve lived through much and are aware of the true nature of the world they live in.

Saezuru is unlike anything I’ve read if I’m being honest. The core of what makes this story so successful and passionately loved is that Yoneda-Sensei allows these characters - these people - to control their own narrative. It’s their love story after all. Do you know how easy it would be to say “okay, it’s been 12 years, I think it’s time to wrap this up and give the people what they want. I’m tired.” This is the very idea she rejects. I know she is probably wanting to work on a new series and that we are nearing the rising action/climax, but I am so glad she isn’t rushing it. She simply refuses to - that sex scene could have been five pages, but they needed to do what THEY NEEDED TO DO! It is so cool to see an author allow her characters to develop at their own pace. She’s spent all these years truly getting to know them herself and so, she tells their story with integrity.

It is their own motivations, flaws, and decisions that drive the story, Yoneda doesn’t impose her own will onto them. She doesn’t allow her own idea of what the plot should be control the characters actions (if that makes sense - this is getting kinda meta lol). The story purely responds to the decisions of the men who it follows, whether they are born from greed, jealousy, lust, anger, Yashiro’s explosive temper tantrums, or love. Sometimes the characters don’t even know why they do the things they do - because that is real life! And I cannot express how well it allows the story to flow. I’ve also noticed that this allows for the story to mimic real life under the context of “Nothing is truly black or white.” In traditional storytellings, there is obvious right and wrong, blatant heroes and villains. But in Saezuru these lines are sometimes blurred, what can I say…true art mimics life. And that is why you must pay attention to every nuance or you’ll miss a core theme.

The topics of childhood trauma, rape, assault, sexual abuse, being thrown into a world of ruthless men, parentless children, homosexuality amongst wolves, fearing one’s own feminity, self-hatred, lovelessness, hopelessness, shame, grief, guilt, being hurt by and hurting the ones you love, and the true nature of love as paradox are all topics needing to be dealt with using the highest sensitivity and empathy. And Yoneda-Sensei has proved that she is an author who can handle these nuanced and difficult topics with grace. And it’s so cool that she trusts us readers to empathetically understand these characters as well!

As Yashiro says, “People are full of contradictions. They’re lonely and then they’re not, they’re missed and then they’re not.” So simply put. This very understanding of the human condition is what makes Yoneda-Sensei an amazing storyteller in my book.

This story could play out for another five years and I wouldn’t mind.

Thanks for reading!

<3

[wesleysniperking]

Usopp and the story of his beloved pet lamb is akin to a classic novel

Usopp will always be multifaceted and complex given what he represents and encompasses. I still haven’t figured him out myself. Yet, I always give him grace and want to further my understanding of him because I care. Therefore, I’d like to communicate another connection that’s been on my mind lately.

So, I want to revisit certain facets of Usopp that make me wonder if Oda intended his storytelling to be even more significant than it appears at face value. Many have discussed this and offered excellent interpretations. Yet, what I’m trying to say is that Usopp and storytelling represent the childlike wonder in all of us. What some may see as immaturity in Usopp isn’t necessarily that.

For instance, with the Going Merry, Usopp was like the protagonist in old books like "The Yearling" and "Old Yeller," where they’re forced to shoot their beloved animal because it keeps eating their family’s crops or has been infected with rabies—situations that are devastatingly inevitable. This is a representation of Usopp up to that point pre-time skip. He had to be that protagonist.

Although "The Yearling" and "Old Yeller" deal with themes of facing reality and a loss of innocence, the act of shooting the animals represents handling it on their own terms. Later, as adults, these protagonists can deal with similar situations with the care they needed when they were younger and faced such paralyzing decisions.

I thought that Water 7 and Enies Lobby was Usopp’s "Old Yeller" and "The Yearling" moment. He had to part with his dear pet lamb because he had to face reality. If people treated Usopp’s letting go of the Going Merry in this way, instead of just seeing it as a guy crying over a ship, the humanist approach would be much more prevalent.

I thought that might have been intentional on Oda’s end, but I can’t read his mind. So, yeah, the Going Merry was like "Old Yeller" and "The Yearling," (or Flag), and Usopp was the boy.

usopp community (it is still a wip but you can post anything)

[natlacentral]

Avatar Netflix Season 2 Will 'Condense' Original Storyline (Exclusive)

Season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender will follow in the footsteps of the first season's storytelling "condensing." 

Each season of the animated Avatar series had twenty episodes, most of which followed their own adventures. When it came to the live-action show, the first season only had eight hour-long installments.

This led to many elements of the original storyline getting condensed, such as the combination and relocation of a handful of plot threads to the team’s stay in Omashu—meeting the Mechanist, Jet, Bumi, and venturing into the Secret Tunnel.

As one might imagine, these types of changes did not always land well with audiences.

Season 2 Will Condense Original Avatar Storyline

Speaking with The Direct at Paleyfest 2024, Avatar: The Last Airbender Seasons 2 and 3 executive producer Jabbar Raisani confirmed that they will need to condense some of the original story as the Netflix show moves forward.

Raisani pointed out how their handling of Seasons 2 and 3  which will conclude the live-action series - will be "a lot like Season 1," which also means "some condensing" has "to take place:"

"I think it's a lot like season 1. There's a lot of content in the animated series. And we will be looking at all that content. But we don't have the number of episodes that we have in the animated series. So, certainly, there will be some condensing that has to take place."

While speaking to The Direct about the possibility of more original moments in Season 2 for his character, Uncle Iroh actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee shared that he "[does not] know how they’re going to remix the stories" going forward:

"I wish I could; I have no idea what they have planned for us... I know we're getting an opportunity to finish telling the story. Obviously, the animated series is going to be the template for us. But other than that, I don't know how they're going to remix the stories. Nobody tells me nothing. So I'm just gonna show up. And yeah, hopefully, we get a better, clearer sense of where we're going with that in the future. But right now, I have no idea what's going to happen."

While the original animated series has been finished for nearly two decades, the story of those characters will continue in a new animated film called Aang: The Last Airbender.

Currently, not many details are known about the project, but fans do know it will follow team Avatar as they are older following the events Avatar.

As for whether its story will have any influence on future episodes of Netflix’s The Last Airbender, Raisani admitted it will not, at least "not at this point:"

"No, not at this point. We are really looking at the animated series at what came before and less of sort of what they're currently doing on the new movies."

As for whether or not he would be interested in potentially adapting Legend of Korra for live-action, he firmly responded:

"Certainly, I'd be interested in anything that is in this universe."

[ Avatar 2025 Movie: Last Airbender Release, Cast & Everything We Know About Adult Aang Film ]

Remixing Season 2 Episodes Was Inevitable

When it comes to adapting the source material, condensing is unavoidable. Avatar: The Last Airbender fans shouldn't be surprised the same will be happening for Seasons 2 and 3.

Simply put, 20-minute bite-size adventures do not work well for the more extended episode structures of the Netflix show. If the original episode is a self-contained, isolated story, odds are it may not make the cut—or be weaved in with other plot threads.

Hopefully, at the very least, fan-favorite episodes such as the desert spirit library and how Appa got stolen can see the light of day in live action.

One thing that will make it notably more difficult to stick to the original episodes, though, is how behind on Aang’s bending lessons he is. Book 2 is all about him learning earthbending from Toph—however, in the live-action Last Airbender series, he hasn't even started lessons for waterbending.

The show is ahead of the game when it comes to Azula’s storyline, however, as she doesn’t originally appear until Season 2. That alone could save some episodes from the chopping block.

[gogandmagog]

I really hope you’ll write Peter Pan in Rainbow Valley! You’re the most qualified to match Barrie’s and Montgomery’s respective tones, all your fics are very whimsical and funny. I’d LOVE to read it.

Lol! Oh, thank youuu. That’s so nice! 🥹 And just so you know, I’m really happy to have another J.M. Barrie mutual, I feel like we’re kind of thin on the ground on tumblr. I follow all his tags here, and they’re so rarely added to.

I like half drafted an outline on this, and will keep it in the future-maybe-someday file for ‘fics that want to be written,’ but it’s a real purgatory over there, if I’m being honest. But outlining it has admittedly taken zero effort, because these two stories almost seem meant to be joined. We know Maud was a huge fan of J.M. Barrie, and by extension of Peter and Wendy… and I’ve long personally thought that it was beyond pure coincidence that ‘James Matthew Blythe’ is so similar in name to ‘James Matthew Barrie’… but even Rainbow Valley (place not book), which is kind of this liminal space between fairyland and reality, sacred to childhood and play, has some existing Neverlandness about it already built in. And then there’s these compelling similarities between Mrs. Darling and Mrs. Anne Blythe as well; both charming mothers, both adult advocates for/in/of imagination, and both wonderful storytellers (Peter lingers around the eaves of the Darlings Bloomsbury home to hear her stories) that are devotedly loved by their husbands and children. But for me, I think it's a huge (the hugest) point of interest to loop in Walter, who saw the Piper, like really really saw him, in Rainbow Valley. How easy it would be to kick out the German Pied Piper and drawn in Peter Pan and his flute, instead… two characters who are already deeply linked by folklore. Elsewhere, if the Jolly Roger, did take a wrong star and run aground in the Rainbow Valley brook, it’s just asking to have the suspended-in-time Neverland pirates be familiar with Captain Jim and maybe Lost Margaret, from bygone Life-Book days. I’d even give Shirley a boyish thimble-passing romance with Tiger Lily, the same way I’ve always wanted to see him paired off with a Mi’kmaq girl. Aunt Mary Maria’s hand also shoots right up for the doubling Hook-ish authoritarian/‘grow up already’/take-all-the-fun-away role (Gilbert would never suit it the way Mr. Darling did). But anyway! With all this low hanging fruit, it’d seriously be so simple to neatly tuck these two books into each other at every corner. It’s really all right there.

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

also, here’s the recreational activities i think each clan would have!

shadowclan: it’s common for cats of all ages to play games similar to tag, or to hide and seek. it’s considered a good way to train stealth, and is also just a lot of fun. shadowclan cats, suprisingly to most, also have a rich tradition of poetry (which, in cat language, focuses around descriptors that match or influence the subject in some way, literally or metaphorically)

thunderclan: playfighting remains a common activity here even after kithood- it’s seen as a little immature in the other clans, but here it’s highly respected. thunderclan has a rich history of storytellers, though they’re known to embellish the truth.

riverclan: they swim, obviously! you can catch a lot of riverclan cats just swimming laps in the water. apprentices often dare each other to dive under the water as far as they can, but this dangerous game is heavily discouraged by adults. riverclan is a very aesthetically minded clan, and has many artists- traditionally, weaving things found beautiful into the dens, but a few daring young warriors have started a trend of wearing them in their pelts, something that spread from clan to clan during gatherings.

windclan: windclan cats love more cerebral forms of recreation. riddles are a common hobby among them, often built around describing strange twoleg things (those are always the hardest to guess). this isn’t to say they don’t have physical forms of play- you’ll never find a windclan cat ashamed to have zoomies whenever they feel pent up!

skyclan: skyclan cats love to climb, unsurprisingly, but they’re also a fan of using their claws to carve designs into the ground or stones. they’ve developed a primitive form of writing with this, with unique markings to represent some basic concepts, but they usually just like making pretty shapes.