#and then travel the world for a bit

[kimbapisnotsushi]

haikyuu is NOT realistic!!!! and it's not because of the underdog plotline or the insane athletic skill or funky character designs but because in the timeskip everyone gets a job that they are perfectly content with and more or less suits them to a tee and don't seem concerned for their futures whatsoever all before the age of thirty

[sysig]

How far did you get? (Patreon)

[qiinamii]

darkner Xiao, lightner lumine 👹✨

[cryptidlark]

Made for each other

[pinklotusemoji]

“She loved Zuko even after he was seen as a disgrace to the fire nation, she's the only person, aside from Iroh who loved Zuko with all his flaws.”

the thing is is that the audience doesn’t get the impression that she loves him (or that he loves her) until boiling rock. they got together after he “regained” his honor back and his nation thought he killed the avatar, so she didn’t love him when he was disgraced at all (until, again, boiling rock which i agree w op seemed weird)

“Mai has known Zuko since childhood. She knows Zuko and that's exactly why she calls him out on his shit while also giving him a chance to grow while also loving him and trying her best to make him happy.”

okay i’m really not sure where you got this from, the only reference we get of them being childhood friends is in the flashback where he saves her from the burning apple. but in that same flashback ursa had to scold zuko into playing with azula and her friends, zuko never really cared. it’s obvious that mai had a crush, but her and ty led were azula’s friends, not zuko’s

and mai doesn’t know zuko, zuko was banished when he was 13 and came back at 16, those are three important developmental years that they didn’t spend together, and zuko went through a lifetimes worth of growth that mai didn’t. zuko is a completely different person than what mai remembers. and when he does want to open up and tell her about his worries and what he went through, she just blows him off. so yea, they didn’t really know each other that well.

“Mai is a minor character, she was never meant to be as well written as Katara or Azula.”

while mai was a side character, not a minor one (that’s just semantics tho) i do agree that she was never meant to be as developed as katara or even azula, but her character growth didn’t seem to fit what we already knew of her. she joined azula without any protests or hesitation (unlike ty lee) bc she was bored of a nobel girls life, she was moody and sarcastic and didn’t want to get her hands dirty. she was fun to watch in book 2! and even in the first half of book 3 it made sense that her and zuko were a couple. mai was wanting zuko to be the boy she remembers, and zuko wants to feel like a normal teenager. and their breakup also makes sense! zuko realizes that he will never be happy trying to someone he’s not and fully understands that the fire nation needs to be stopped. mai is part of that decision bc she’s part of that life that he doesn’t fit into anymore. he can’t just sit around and order servants. and mai doesn’t understand that. mai never questions her nation or their propaganda. she doesn’t understand why zuko would turn traitor when he finally got what he wanted. mai was closer to ty lee than she was to anyone else. honestly if ty lee betrayed azula first and mai defended her, that would’ve made more sense bc as the audience we know that ty led doesn’t want to do this.

“So what if she was spoiled? She grew up rich, which isn't in her control…Toph was rich and spoiled. Zuko burned down villages to get his privileged title back. Do you also judge their character solely for their parents' financial status?”

you’re missing a huge point here, and that’s that mai never rejected her privileged life. in terms of character growth/motivation it makes sense that toph and zuko, while growing up rich, decided to do something good with that privilege. toph ran away to gain freedom and to teach aang, zuko was banished but learned about the horrors of war and turned his back on what he grew up with to join the avatar and stop said war. mai… never really did anything. she enjoyed ordering servants around and being rich and pampered, her betraying azula did put all of that into jeopardy, but not for any meaningful reason. she’s “loves” zuko and protects him, but she still doesn’t understand why he’s doing what he’s doing, she doesn’t get why the fire nation is in the wrong. she never has any convictions of her own or real motivation for anything, making her big moment seem dull.

ty lee, jet, and yue (all side/minor characters) had more depth than mai. their goals, desires, and motivations all make sense and follow a clear path. with mai, it seemed like the creators wanted her to play a bigger part last minute and threw things at the wall to see what stuck :/

Yeah, I’ve never really agreed with depictions of broken up mai/ko that shows Mai being friendly with Katara. I just think it isn’t realistic. Zuko was portrayed as the only thing Mai really cared about so seeing him fall for someone else and be with them isn’t something she would take lightly. I don’t think Mai would try to hurt or kill Katara, but I do think she would openly dislike her and never be her friend. I could see her eventually being at peace with Zuko no longer being with her but not instantly.

See, here's the thing. Until Boiling Rock, I don't get the vibe that Mai cares all that much about Zuko. Not as a person. And then Boiling Rock was just completely out of left field. I think she enjoyed dating him, but as a person, she didn't know him all that well, and didn't seem super interested in getting to know him. The vibe I get from Mai is that she is the type that doesn't want her ex back, but also doesn't want him to move on from her. The thing with Mai is that she was a spoiled brat until the plot needed her to have depth. She is the picture of the spoiled rich girl, who just so happens to have a thing for knives. If she existed in our universe, she would be Gretchen Weiners, but with more self-confidence and more of a hench for Regina (Azula, obvi) instead of a clique clinger.

After a break up, depending on what story is going on, I either see her going full antagonist to Katara and Zuko, or disappearing from Zuko's life forever. I don't think in that second case she would be bitter forever, but she would be bitter for a while. In either case, she and Zuko wouldn't be friends afterwards. Especially not after he starts dating (well, not after he starts dating Katara. I fully think she would try to steal him back from a casual girlfriend).

[kanonavi]

Spoilers for Simulanka Day 3

There's a conversation that I've had with friends from time to time about the fact that the world of Teyvat is, at its core, incredibly kind. Shockingly so, even for most fictional stories that aren't directed towards children. Even though the traveler has faced many antagonists on their journey, the people around them have always banded together to overcome those challenges. Even when people are hurt it's very rare for anyone to die, and many of the antagonists in question aren't pure evil and have their own reasons for taking the actions they take. They may not always operate on the same morality as the traveler or the player, and they might not be "good people", but they still believe that what they have to do is right, or at the very least necessary.

To put it more simply, Genshin is filled with characters that are made to be liked. Not every player will like every character, but very few of them are actively trying to work against you, and even when they do there's still something there to like. Except for like, Il Dottore, but he's likable for how unlikable he is (I have to say that or my Dottore enjoying friend will be sad lmao).

I got to thinking about this when playing the last part of Simulanka because it was a reminder of how, despite the kindness that they've been shown by Teyvat for the past three and a half years, the traveler's morality is still shockingly black and white in many situations.

We see this the most in how they interact with the Fatui. The Fatui, particularly the Harbingers, have cause a lot of damage in the past, but a lot of the grunts are just ordinary people following orders. the commission line in Mondstadt with Viktor, Golden Apple Archipelago 2 and The Chasm come to mind for times when we've interacted with Fatui grunts in a way that really humanizes them and shows that a lot of them really are just people doing a job. Some of them have just been surveyors or low-level guards, but the traveler and Paimon treat them like they're cartoon villains until proven otherwise (and sometimes even after proven otherwise).

The way that they acted towards Simulanka Durin before the party gave him their blessings also seemed to reflect this, especially in comparison to the other party members. Wanderer was obviously the most sympathetic to Durin, since his memories were like looking into a mirror for him, but Nilou, Navia, and Kirara all stepped forward to give Durin their support while the traveler was still showing doubts. They were thinking about how the residents of Simulanka might not forgive Durin, or how his form was too big and scary to coexist with everyone, which was an incredibly unsympathetic outlook even though they were ultimately able to change Durin's form.

It honestly reminds me a lot of how the traveler treated Scaramouche/Wanderer in Inversion of Genesis, like he was a person to be kept the company of only out of necessity as a means to keep him under control, even after Nahida said that she trusted him. Even though something did go wrong at the time, it still showed that the traveler's suspicion and distrust of Scaramouche was strong enough to outweigh their trust of Nahida, despite Nahida having proved herself many times to be wise and worthy of trust in the past. That mistrust and even disdain for him even carried over into when he reappeared with no memories, as the traveler was forcefully adamant that he needed to reclaim his memories and atone, to the point that it seemed like they were being a little bit mean about it.

It's arguable that Scaramouche deserved that treatment, since he was kind of a little shithead who caused a lot of harm in the past, but the traveler was also witness to how deeply he was hurt and manipulated in the past, and therefore would have some kind of understanding of why he turned out the way that he did.

Despite the traveler's usual helpfulness in Simulanka, Nilou, Navia, and Kirara all feel like contrasts to them. Nilou's whimsical outlook and positive mindset allowed her to grasp the magic of creation and even gave her the initiative to try and change Durin's form with magic in the first place. Navia is used to taking care of "the little guy", as it were, through the Spina, and was therefore willing to listen and empathize with the toy people who didn't want to undo the power of prophecy. (With those guys also being called "conservatives" or a "conservative radical" in English, that doesn't really have a good connotation depending on your political leaning, but Navia listened to them anyway). And with Kirara, while I haven't played her little sidequest yet, the description of her outfit described how the little cat burglar stole and returned the emotions of the cats that they hadn't been given when they were created, casting her in the role of someone who can understand the balance that anger, sadness, and pain bring to happiness.

The three of them, as well as the Wanderer, all carry Teyvat's fundamental kindness with them, and it was then coaxed out of the traveler only when all of them had already stepped forward.

It made me wonder if this is some kind of lesson that the traveler has to learn before reuniting with their sibling, that they need to be more willing to put their trust in people, or at least be more understanding of others. While the abyss twin hasn't divulged too much of what they've learned yet, they've made it clear that there are lessons that the traveler needs to learn about the world before they reunite. While that likely has a lot to do with various truths about Celestia and the sky being fake and all that, perhaps they're hoping for their sibling to learn that at least in Teyvat, sometimes people who cause harm to others are simply trying (or have tried and failed and lost hope) to find a path towards co-existing with others.

Since the abyss twin is supposedly born of Teyvat as well, perhaps they've already understood that part of this world from the very beginning and are waiting for their sibling to catch up.

[ash-and-starlight]

Do you have any really specific and/or personal Zukka headcanons that you’d be okay with sharing? I eat up every hc you put into your drawings like they’re candy, I was wondering if you had any others :D :D

OH boii i sure have,,, nothing coherent is coming to mind atm so ill just expose my Extensive backstories of zukka bethrotal armbands that idk if i will find a way to sneak into art.

sokka’s armband for zuko is forged back at Piandao’s mansion, and it's one of the most fine stunning pieces of jewelry ever crafted. it’s not the usual southern ivory but metal, more similar to the armbands worn as an accessory in the fire nation. it’s made of intertwining bands of gold and black meteor metal, with patterns of waves and dragon scales that seem to ripple and move when the light catches on them just right. and the pendant is a traditional blue stone from the swt.

There are no particular engagement gifts traditions in the fn, so zuko goes on a deep dive into southern water tribe ones, asking sokka’s family and friends about jewelry making and learning to engrave over the course of several trips to the swt. He makes sokka’s armband with ivory from his own first (successful) solo hunt. i’m not sure abt the material of the pendant lmao maybe gold? but amber would also be cool methinks

as for the pendant engraving they display a unique single braincell moment (untrue i just want them to match). love the fact that both of them are sea savvy navigators, love to think that in their pining era they spent a lot of time watching the stars and showing each other the different constellations and navigation pointers of their nations, so in both of their armbands’ stones are depicted the constellation used to guide sailors back home, sokka engraving the swt’s one on zuko’s armband and vice versa.

if they were sun’s out guns out kinda guys before this only gets worse during the first weeks of their engagement. shirts are banned. everyone look at the bethrotal armbands NOW.

[lyss-butterscotch]

I think spearmaster instead of shedding they just leave behind spears all over suns can, like suns walk into spearmasters den and there's just like 300 needles laying around and 50 more pinned into the wall

Imagine this is one of those shelters within the can that spearmaster just claimed as their den. Even though there isn't 300 spears laying around in the den, there's definitely 300 in suns chamber ����

[anxiousapplepie]

I absolutely ADORE housemaiden Sif, as I’m sure you’ve heard before (and you should because the au and your art are AMAZING), but before I forget it I wanna toss my HC about them at you, or at least an angsty idea!

I with how much of a little shit they can be, I can imagine that even with the memory issues, they can hold and release grudges at the most devastating moments. Not like abandoning someone, but reciting words said to him to bite someone in the ass with it.

Ex: Him and Mira are arguing and it’s heated and Sif, again, suggests that she doesn’t have to come along. Even if she’s upset though, she doesn’t want to leave him to die or anything, and he’s just like “Well, that’d be a perfect ending for the worst housemaiden ever seen, wouldn’t it?!”

Like I said, just an angst HC I thought was interesting, hopefully you find it cool too! ^_^

D'AW mate y'all way too sweet!! And absolutely: Housemaiden!Siffrin usually wears the "worst housemaiden" joke with pride, but it would secretly weigh him down and feed into his insecurities and how he perceives himself, and if it all came out in a big fight with Mira it'd be SO angsty for the mask to break into a thousand pieces also Sif IS just like that. anything you say to him WILL stick, even if wasn't meant to be hurtful

We love a good angst HC and it is something that can buzz the brain real good

[brucewaynehater101]

Bart can be the neurodivergent angst analogy of realizing the world isn't built for you.

No matter how much you shove yourself into the constraints of the modern world, you weren't made for it. You constantly have to change yourself for mere survival. It's exhausting, but what else are you supposed to do? You're stuck here.

[esilher]

New stop in Klaine’s trip around the world: Greenacre Park in New-York for @daisyishedwig! A peaceful little pause for Kurt and Blaine in the big city.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Some fantasy traveler inventory details (like what they would carry in their bags), based on two of the recent costumes I did.. love finding random little scraps and items and putting them together lol

[avnasace]

( 5.1 archon quest spoilers )

so it was really up there right on his helmet this whole time huh... big fuckin abyssal star... for like 2 years...

[ghospectr]

i just think itd be silly if they matched

[andr0nap]

sunshine boy and emo enemy of the state

+some adult nart redesign doodles

[psmith73]

Every time.

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