#atla was pretty flawless

[whatmoredoyouwangfromme]

hey maybe instead of remaking the universally beloved atla, they should have tried to remake the notoriously less loved and darker Legend of Korra

[hayleysayshay]

I will say the Netflix ATLA adaptation made me call the original a masterpiece because truly it did not need to be fixed like that

[licorishh]

Welp. Binged the second half of the new ATLA show and finished it and I am still so incredibly impressed. Spoilers under the cut y'all know the drill

I freaking loved this adaptation. Slapped. Killed it. Nailed it. I'm gonna rewatch it over and over. Legitimately the only things I could really complain about are all related to Azula.

I really feel like Azula having screentime in season 1 served zero purpose here. I feel it would've been much more impactful to have her go entirely unmentioned until the finale when Zhao reveals to Zuko that Azula was behind everything (i.e. iy would've been cooler if Zhao were also revealing it to us, the audience, for the first time).

I also think it's a little odd how they're kind of totally changing the dynamic between Ozai and Azula (or at least the parts of the dynamic that we're supposed to believe is a representation of their relationship for the majority of the show). In the original show, Azula has no idea Ozai is simply manipulating her for the fun of it. She genuinely thinks he loves her, is proud of her, and is extremely impressed with her. It's not until almost the last episode that Ozai ever directly expresses his disdain for something she's done/said, unless I'm wrong. Ozai's expectations of her in the original show appear to be things she's easily capable of meeting, and she feels extremely confident in her abilities and is under the impression Ozai is equally confident in her. I find it strange that repeatedly in this adaptation Ozai is instead treating her pretty similarly to the way he treats Zuko. He doesn't appear to show her any kind of particular favor, doesn't expect anything but the most outrageously impossible from her, and regularly ridicules/undermines her and sows seeds of doubt in her mind that she's competent.

Azula doesn't show the slightest hint of cracking until the end of season 3 after Mai's and Ty Lee's betrayal. Sure, there are hints earlier on that she's a perfectionist and refuses to settle for anything less than the most flawless outcome, but she comes off as being incredibly confident and secure in her position. She doesn't doubt anything about her situation or her relationship with her father or brother. In other words, in the original show, the audience and Azula herself are never meant to realize until the very end that Ozai was pitting his children against each other. We (and her) are intended to believe that Ozai genuinely prefers Azula and is more pleased with her than he is with Zuko. In this version, there really doesn't seem to be much of that at all. It's just odd.

Smaller complaint, but I don't think that actress is necessarily just the most stellar choice for Azula, either. The casting for the show has been excellent so far, but this particular actress seems to be bringing out aspects of Azula's character that really weren't meant to be at the forefront until much later. Maybe it's the actress, maybe it's the writing, maybe it's both, but it doesn't feel like Azula. She doesn't feel like a substantial threat. Heck, Zhao is wayyy more compelling in this version than Azula is, and that's really not very good. She feels like just another competitor for Zuko.

Kind of branching off of that, and this one is a pretty small one, but Mai and Ty Lee are super boring. Granted, I don't really care about them at all in the original anyway (Mai has really no narrative reason to exist other than to be part of what causes Azula's spiral; I do like Ty Lee a little bit, but I could really take her or leave her), but they're just... so bland. There's no reason for them to be in those scenes other than to be cardboard boxes Azula can glare at. At least in the original, they serve as an excellent example of what's tethering Azula to reality and how she feels an incessant need to exert control over every aspect of her life. I reaaaaally wish they'd waited until later to bring them into the adaptation (it's also just reinforcing to me the fact that I simply cannot see Zuko with Mai at all in either version, but that's an issue for a different day).

Other than those things I wasn't too thrilled about, I really did love the show. The acting from the main cast was excellent, the stakes felt SO MUCH HIGHER and it was SUCH a nice tonal change, the bending looked incredible, the amount of effort put into accurately replicating the sets and the costumes was just astounding, and the pacing was excellent. I love how they were able to cut down on so much of the extraneous filler from the original season 1 by finding ways to compile them together in a way that still flowed excellently and allowed for a greater focus to be put on the main story. The main story in this adaptation never stops going, and for me, that makes it SO much easier and more fun to watch. It doesn't go off on forty-minute tangents that have zilch to do with the main point of the show.

Also Dallas Liu is literally the best possible pick for Zuko. He is capturing Zuko's miserable wet cat energy in a way no one but Dante Basco could do and that is saying something. He's also putting an excellent emphasis on how desperately obsessive Zuko is about catching Aang in season 1. He's completely blinded by his desire to find him, causing him to make completely illogical and irrational decisions driven purely by a desperate desire to measure up, and Dallas Liu is really doing an incredibly good job reinforcing that without having to actually say it.

Gordon Cormier is also absolutely killing it as Aang for me. I'm really not the biggest fan of Aang (I just don't usually like child characters; he's better in some parts of season 3 but he's just not really my favorite), but he's actually making Aang incredibly fun to watch. He's adorable and fun and silly without being painfully immature and difficult to be invested in. Yeah, I know, Aang's twelve and twelve year olds are immature, but that doesn't mean they're automatically fun to watch. He's really doing a great job there.

I also love this version of Zhao. I feel like he got way more screentime in this version than in the original, which was pretty cool. He turned out to be a much cooler and more dangerous villain than it felt like he was in the original.

I also liked this version of Yue WAYYYY more even though she was only in one episode because man!! She has a personality holy cow!! She's actually fun!! And entertaining!! Not just Phantom Menace Natalie Portman-levels of "Well she's a very nice person :)"

Also also, I loved the vibe of uhh episode 5, I think it was-?. Both of the Koh jumpscares legitimately startled me which I was not expecting 😭 normally I can eat simple jumpscares for lunch but they made him so frickin creepy which is honestly good because hE IS FRICKIN CREEPY

And I cried. Like three times. First time when frickin Leaves From the Vine played at Lu Ten's funeral (that one had me weeping as usual), I think a second time when Katara is remembering being a little girl and is hiding and she sees her mom being killed (that was honestly so much more impactful that we actually got to SEE such things instead of just hearing about it), and then I think again in Zuko's Agni Kai because my gosh he's been through it :((( the flashback parts before then though were so nice 😭 I lived long enough to see happy smiling Zuko in 4k which means I can die peacefully now

All of this is coming from someone who first watched the show as a young kid, was never really a huge Aang fan, and really doesn't care for the original season 1 and tends to skip it every time I watch the show. I have pretty unusual opinions about the original, so my opinions here may vary massively from the general consensus, and that's fine. I really loved this adaptation and I will be so heartbroken if they don't make a season 2 MAAAANNNN I NEED MORE 😭😭😭

Also the writers are goated for replacing Aang with Sokka in the Cave of Two Lovers and having Katara reinforce their family bond instead of pushing a self-insert crush a little boy has on a teenage girl who treats him like her son. And also that scarf scene which I think I will perhaps never not be thinking about. I will be forever indebted to them for that but again that's a topic for uhh not right now 👍

[princess-of-the-corner]

One thing to note about RWBY is that it REALLY "grew the beard" over the course of its runtime.

Volumes 1-3 were animated in Poser (software that wasn't intended for use in animation), with rougher backgrounds and more simplistic writing related to complex themes. They were also only ever intended to be an extended prologue to the ACTUAL show, with the Big Twist of the Volume 3 finale being that the climax was actually just the inciting incident to the show's ACTUAL conflict.

Starting from Volume 4, the crew switched to Maya (software that's intended for use in animation), got better at writing more complex topics (the White Fang is treated more sympathetically than in the "Beacon Arc"), and Jaune was actually an interesting character for the entirety of the "Anima Arc" that lasted from Volumes 4-6.

Volume 7 is probably the best season of the show (I don't have a Crunchyroll account and so I haven't had the chance to watch Volume 9 in its entirety yet, even if I know what happens there). It deconstructs the whole "America Saves the World" trope with Atlas, and has some pretty good political satire that wound up being eerily prophetic. Also, Robyn Hill is one of the best characters the show has ever introduced.

Volume 8 contains both the best and worst moments of the series. V8C1-V8C11 features some of the best storytelling and most tense action from the franchise ever, but V8C12 has the overall message of "Okay but, the people who dehumanized Penny over her mechanical body KINDA had a point, let's fix what isn't broken!", V8C13 is a pretty descent villain episode, and V8C14 is by far the most offensive piece of media I've ever been subjected to. But still, up until those last three episodes, it was basically flawless.

I've heard Volume 9 is pretty good, but I'm side-eying everything involving Jaune because I honestly DESPISE the direction they took his arc in. But if we ignore EVERYTHING related to Jaune's role in the Volume, I like basically everything I've heard about it.

RWBY: After the Fall is a very good spin-off novel focused on popular side characters Team CFVY and shows what they've been up to since the Fall of Beacon in Volume 3. it also has a really interesting gimmick, as every other chapter is a flashback to something that happened in Team CFVY's past, further fleshing out their minor roles in the show.

RWBY: Before the Dawn is actual garbage. Sun's character arc (wherein his hypocrisy from the show is actually acknowledged and challenged) and Coco's and Velvet's shiptease are probably the only redeeming qualities. Taking this book into account actually makes Ironwood's reluctance to call Vacuo for help look REASONABLE. 2/10.

RWBY: Roman Holiday is a prequel novel focused on Roman and Neo, but Neo is the true protagonist here. The first few chapters leading up to their first meeting alternate between their perspectives, with the book being largely Neo focused after they finally meet.

RWBY: Fairy Tales of Remnant is an anthology of in-universe fairy tales. You can read it at any point in the series, but the further into the series you are when you read it, the more hints to RWBY's overarching plot you'll notice. While all of the Fairy Tales are works of fiction, some of them are dramatizations of actual events in the shadow war that RWBY's plot revolves around.

RWBY x JL: Super Heroes and Huntsmen is a 2-part film series wherein Team RWBY teams up with the Justice League. Part 1 features the Justice League visiting Remnant (kinda) during the events of Volume 7, and Part 2 features Team RWBY visiting DC Earth after the events of Volume 9.

There's also some ambiguously canonical comics published by DC, as well as 2 explicitly non-canon RWBY/DC crossover comic series. One features alternate versions of the Justice League cast who were born on Remnant, another features Remnant and DC Earth fusing due to Salem tricking Lex Luthor into helping her by playing off of his hatred of Superman. Neither of these crossovers are in continuity with the crossover movies.

Fascinating actually

[marvelousgameofdisneythrones]

Point of order - Kentuckians actually used to be pretty close to communists, or at least socialists. Rednecks used to be all about solidarity and worker's rights and protecting people - because some of them grew up in 'company towns' where people didn't really own anything.

As for that wonderful response that forcefully threw me back into my childhood - Yes, that is approximately how things worked in the Times Before. You had an atlas in every vehicle - Rand McNally was one of the BEST - for every state in the US, if you got the REALLY expensive one it included at least parts of Canada. Sometimes you had a County Map Book for your home state and at least some of the surrounding ones (we did, anyway) so you could find all the little back roads that would let you get around nasty accidents.

Even with all that, we would still get at least a little lost from time to time. If we were lost ENOUGH, we would stop, get out, put the maps on the hood of the truck, and start figuring out where we were and what we could figure out. Usually a pair of road names were enough. It wasn't a flawless system, but because of it I can pretty much find my way anywhere in my home state WITHOUT a map or GPS.

But it's still nice to have.

[avatarfandompolice]

Victim shaming is apparently cool, everyone

According to our friends @wish-i-was-fiction and @salixj , it’s really hip and fun to call a victim of long-term psychological, emotional, and physical abuse a “whiny 10 year old” and laugh at their insecurities. What fun!

[alberivh]

happy birthday, by the way

a headcannon of genshin men celebrating your most sincere birthday celebration at your last resting place

ilness, angst, slight fluff, comfort/hurt, implied death

kaeya, diluc x gn!reader

a/n ; @mikachuchu AS WE TOLD ONE ANOTHER ABOUT THIS IDEA, I DECIDED TO MAKE IT FOR MY OWN BIRTHDAY AND SO YEAH, ANYWAYS THANK YOU MIKA FOR HALF OD THE IDEAS AND BRAINROTS MUAH ILY

Kaeya

woohoo, it’s finally your birthday! It’s been a while since he prepared so much for his lover. Cakes, gifts, birthday card and many more! He was so excited!

he wasn’t so sure how many hours have passed when you weren’t with him, when you weren’t present in his arm or when you were unable to say i love you for the last time. Tonight was the same, you weren’t here. But your birthday..wouldn’t it still worth celebrating even if you’re not here? He wasn’t sure again.

anxiety crawls up to his tongue as soon as he realized how many pressure he had given to himself. Birthdays huh..a corpse birthday, would that bothered me..or would that make me an asshole for not letting go?…he thought about it once more. Kaeya doesn’t seem so bothered by the fact you weren’t here any longer, but the thing that scrolled through his lies and his fright the most is the fact he couldn’t see you smiling once more.

How last year, he prepared your candles, cakes, and those gifts which were made just for you. How you would smiled so brightly while thanking him and kissed his lips with an upmost adoration. How you shift yourself in your death bed, waiting for kaeya to feed you the cake he bakes just for you. It’s delicious, kaeya! You’re talented at this! Those words flustered his heart out. He was blushing, the colors are out of control; it makes the chuckle from your mouth sounds so bright at the moment he saw you again. you are the only one who could make him feel this way. he was so convinced to love you till the end..But Can he return to the time where it’s just you and him loving one another?

The taste of your warm was an addiction. A pure sincere affection. How you make his name special than ever, how you make the matching ring he bought seems perfect to fit into a sinner fingertips. He was so in love to ever let go, he wasn’t ready to found another person to bound. so when you finally closed your eyes atlas, those whimpers of ‘wake up’ would never make his dream came true. The ring you worn wouldn’t gloss in perfection. the owner have died, who are they to shine?

He likes that feeling where you were at least happy to bound together with him or with life itselves. You were enjoying it and you were in love with the idea of living for your own will; to made kaeya feel enough..and appreciated. It was selfish for kaeya to never let go of those will, although if some-day he would forget those statements. He’ll still be clinging into your tombstone again, to an only remembrance he had of you. He is not ready, he will never be. How could he been in love someone who wasn’t you..?

so here he is, under the moonlight, he ought your presence. The cecilias he bought yesterday were starting to dry out, the wind was so strong, it made the leaves which flew through your way disappear to thin dust. He prepared the candles and the cakes he bake just for you. A strawberry cake you ate when he still could linger through your warmth. To remember an innocent soul, Beloved partner of life, (Name) Alberich. The candles he light for you started to surround your name with peace, the small claps he make while humming the rhythm soothes into eclipse. The tears in his eyes were fond, the anxiety left him now. He was here to celebrate your birthday, your short age and his lost home.

“happy birthday to you…my love”

Diluc

diluc stares endlessly at the picture of you and him in his office. How’d you look so bright while his arm lingers to your waist, how your smile potrayed its emotion through your face. across his mind, he wasn’t thinking of nothing but you, beautiful he thought. The star was so beautiful tonight..it’s empathizing...and It’s your birthday, tonight. how can he forgot about your special ocassion? There’s no way isn’t it?

he hasn’t prepared any single shits for your birthday. Cakes? Not even a single crumble. Birthday card? The papers in his inventory, are all for his works. Present? None, there’s no such a thing as gift in his lonely-mansion. he was there thinking of you, the corridor was so quite when you’re not around, it chilled his bones. and the fact he wasn’t so sure if it’s right to celebrate someone’s birthday for his own sake, he felt as if he was holding his own grudge to be told.

he count the stars, every each of the stars that went through his sight. While the clock ticks through the timeline, he was focusing and counting how many pieces of you the star has left. He wanted to celebrate your birthday by remembering you. He doesn’t want to say goodbye, he wants to remembered. you are his star, diluc was once your moon. The brightest moon in disguise of the star; in love with the purity of the starlight.

there are 400 dust of you, beneath the star, he thought he found you again. One of them has the brightest light…one of them has the darkest cries. The wavering feel of numbness turned into a void of longing. He remembered so many thing…when you asked him to count the stars for you, how you asked him to blew the candle for you, how you hold his arm waiting for goodnight kisses to linger onto your flawless lips.

“you’re not going anywhere, would you..?” “t-that’s a..stupid question..” , he hold your palm to his chest. Making sure you could feel the beating of his heart. The melody which could only be heard by you, the warm that always search for you. Your hands were so cold, your eyes were too dull now. You weren’t blind, just dying. Although, he wasn’t ready to accept you were fading. Seeing diluc always hugging your hand as if he was trying to deny it was a harsh view in front of him, makes something inside you break. and truth to be told, you just want him to live up with the reality. I’m dying, please let go.

At the same night, you blew your candle. Your last candle. Thanking him in a hoarse tone, spoiling pecks of lovely kisses all over his face; making the once pale unbearable face look more alive than before. you were so weak now, and atlas the only thing you could do was to appreciate your last birthday, which was all prepared by diluc. The cake was so tasty..the candles are very pretty…even his face look more happier than usual. But..I think, it was almost the time to say goodbye.

he woke up to a certain alarm. it was an unfamiliar one. A hazy one at that. in your arms, he found himself to be in deep confusion..why is it so cold? Why is it so blurry..? And why don’t your instinct move to his movements. And why is it so quiet..? He asked himself. Waking you up was an option, but he never picked it up. Until he lost the option to wait..because why does your body letting diluc go? That have never happen. “…wake up..” , he whisper the cries. “sunshine…c’mon we promised to eat together again..” , he repeat. “…(name)..c’mon, aren’t we supposed to stay together..?”, he gave up.

he seek his palm once more. He remembers how bitter goodbye’s taste. But this time, that time…why is it so merciless? Cold body, warm memories of candles and cakes. The last thing you ought was to celebrate your birthday. The last thing you ought for diluc is for him to be freed from his expectation….so he did. He fractured that plea. Diluc once again found himself to crumbled in piece, 400 pieces of you he found, the candles which blew from the wind by the stars..here he is staring at your picture, kissing a small goodbye to a wander of the dead.

“goodbye..sunshine”

a/n ; the number 4 is a symbol of death in japanese culture. And thats the reason why i put (4)00 pieces of ‘you’ in diluc’s part.

TAGLIST : @mikachuchu , @zierx, @childeluv @urujiako , @chichikoi , @noirkkat , @aphrodicts-imagination , @icecappa , @abyssheart , @yeetmeoffjueyunkarst , @almondto-fu @shxnosuke

[carebohe]

organizing my brain re: literary references in ted lasso episode 2: 

there were 3-  (actually 4 but the first shakespeare one is kind of a toss away joke- the ‘perchance to dream’ bit)

1. the prince of tides reference is pretty clear cut- the novel is about troubled childhoods (understatement), coaching and complex family relationships as well as therapy, and some romance etc. 

it makes total sense that sharon, a sports psychologist, would have that as a favorite book.

2. ‘heavy is the head that wears the visor’

it’s a pretty clear cut jokey reference to henry iv part 2

and i encourage you to go read the whole soliloquy because it's good stuff, but here’s the essential part:

“Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose

To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude,

And in the calmest and most stillest night,

With all appliances and means to boot,

Deny it to a king? Then happy low, lie down!

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

this is such an incredibly incisive quote for sharon to use, because it’s not only about anxieties messing up sleep which we know ted struggles with--

it’s also the fact that henry iv was a usurper with no god given right to the throne. he is portrayed as an indecisive ruler in the play with his doubt and uncertainty resulting partially from his own belief that he did not deserve the ‘crown’, even though in the previous play he’s in (richard ii) he is portrayed as ambitious and capable.

(i.e. sharon has this man’s NUMBER. she KNOWS.) (this is also what we call good fucking writing)

3. THE GODDAMN FOUNTAINHEAD? TED.

christ boy i want the explanation we were denied before i make any conclusions but imma give you one (1) yikes right off the bat.

so i am a person who has read that whole book- because rory gilmore did, obviously. i also chose rand as my author one year in high school (she had the longest books and i was a pretentious prick) so i have read just about everything she ever wrote and i’ve gotta say- that woman is absolutely mad. and she can absolutely write. and she needed a better editor, but i imagine if some bloke had come along and tried to edit her goddamn 75 page monologues i’m pretty sure she would have set him on fire.  

(howard roark blows up a building because someone fucks with his architectural plans in the fountainhead, but the longest monologues are in atlas shrugged which no one should ever feel like they need to read)

anyway, i do see how this happened, and i can *kind of* see a reason or two why ted says this. so he started high school in the late 80′s when ‘greed was good’ and books like the fountainhead that have extreme examples of individualism were very popular- so he probably first read it as a school related thing. 

and honestly, when you read that book as a teen it is quite appealing- this character who gives absolutely no fucks and follows his own ideas to the very letter at the expense of absolutely everything else. roark is unaffected by setbacks, by shitty people he works with, the woman he loves (WHOLE OTHER CONVO BTW) going off and marrying several dweebs because she's not quite at his level yet. he has absolute courage of his convictions.

it’s also just a fucking remarkable novel- like as long as you know that the philosophy in it is absolutely bonkers. all the characters are incredibly flawed- including the ‘flawless hero’- there’s just something about it.

maybe the ted lasso connection is that the fundamental quality the characters share is real no-holds-barred-belief.

for roark it’s belief in ego and the self, for ted- he believes in belief itself, the power of the human mind to be curious and entirely leave aside judgement

and deep down both of them really do believe that they are the best at what they do and that anyone else’s interference makes the whole endeavor tainted- for ted though, he may get over that. IN THERAPY. WE HOPE.

anyways there’s a bit in there that reminds me of ted during the darts scene- it’s in the fountainhead just before the ‘they killed the guy who invented fire’ speech that every dumb rand loving asshole you���ve ever known quotes. 

“Roark stood before them as each man stands in the innocence of his own mind. But Roark stood like that before a hostile crowd--and they knew suddenly that no hatred was possible to him. For the flash of an instant, they grasped the manner of his consciousness. Each asked himself: do I need anyone’s approval?--does it matter?--am I tied? And for that instant, each man was free--free enough to feel benevolence for every other man in the room.“

tldr; ted was a weird kid, and so was i, but he needs to read more books

[scriptmedic]

Flawless as ever from @howtofightwrite !

For some extra goodness....

Keep in mind, when someone tries this, they're looking to overcome some of the strongest muscles in the body (the strap muscles, AKA SCM or sternocleidomastoid, and the trapezius muscles where they connect to the skull, AND levator scapulae), break the vertebrae, and then also break the spinal cord itself.

Also, the first two vertebrae (C1 and C2, Axis and Atlas) are literally designed for rotation. There's a limit, but the neck turns pretty far just fine.

For reference, when someone is being executed by hanging, a good hangman will make the drop up to 3 meters (9 feet+) to make sure enough force is applied to break the neck and sever the spinal cord. Generally it takes 1,000 - 1,250 foot-lbs of torque to do this - an amount of force it's almost impossible to generate by hand.

Every movie makes it look so easy to snap someone's neck by twisting their head really fast and hard, and it's used all the time, but it can't possibly be that easy or effective can it? It's not like every Joe Schmoe on the street can start going around snapping necks can they? They also love to have people snap necks between their thighs, I imagine that's even harder and less likely to work.

So, breaking someone's neck with your bare hands basicallyisn't a thing. Actually breaking your neck doesn't take a lot of force, but the whole neck snap thing takes an absolutely comical amount of force to work, and even if it did, it wouldn't necessarily be lethal. The idea is that it severs the spinal column or the brain stem, but in practice, all you'd be able to do is abuse some dense muscles and ligatures.

This is a real risk in auto accidents, particularly if the victim isn't properly belted, but the version you see in films is pure fiction.

Choking someone out is a lot more viable. This can either come from asphyxiation, or from obstructing blood flow to the brain. The former is slow, and is likely to cause the victim to panic while they slowly lose consciousness. The latter (sometimes called a blood choke, or triangle choke) can quickly lead to death, as you starve the brain of oxygen by cutting it off after it's been absorbed by the body. You do sometimes see these in film, though the amount of time needed to subdue someone is hilariously abbreviated. If you're just choking someone, that will take minutes before they'll lose consciousness, and they're going to seriously start to freak out once they realize they can't breath. Blood chokes, as mentioned earlier, are faster, but you're still looking at a long time in a fight.

Neck snapping with the thighs is about as plausible as the neck twist. Choking someone out with the thighs is slightly more credible. Legs can be used in submission holds while grappling. But, if we're being honest, I think we all know that this isn't used because it's realistic, it's the sex appeal. Without speaking from personal experience, I suspect thigh chokes are harder to get out of, simply because your legs are significantly stronger than your arms, but I'm speculating.

Also, importantly, suffering a broken neck isn't (usually) going to be immediately lethal. As mentioned earlier, unless the spinal chord is severed or the brain stem is damaged, they'll survive. This may result in a life altering injury, but it's not going to be an, “oh, they're instantly, and quietly, dead.”

I remember running across a news report, when we last covered this, where a couple of teens had decided to kill someone by snapping their neck. The victim ended up with some soreness in their neck, and the teens went away for attempted murder. Moral of the story, this doesn't work.

-Starke

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[iholli]

Look, okay... No one is gonna like this lmao but I'm going to say it.

Just because "they paved the way," does not mean "we have to forgive everything they did wrong because that's all we have."

Everyone, I mean EVERYONE, is saying this because Lumity is canon now. btw, haven't watched it yet, it's not on Disney+ and that's what I have, and I don't mind TOH spoilers. Anyway.

And Lumity isn't *just* canon-- both characters are well developed, it's pretty healthy, it's really cute, and it's right in the middle of the series-- so we get to see it develop!

But. *but.*

"Steven Universe made this possible! LOK made this possible! She-Ra made this possible! We have to accept all these as perfect because they made representation on screen possible!"

No. We don't. And if you thought, with constructive criticism, about it, you'd know that we do not, actually, have to just roll over and accept the terrible excuses for predecessors Lumity had. Okay?

I'll start with LOK. god. where do I start. I watched ATLA and LOK back to back for the first time. I guess that was a mistake because after the series I just could not put down, LOK was like a slap in the face. Uninteresting male characters there to be the love interests for Korra to go back and forth with. Even more uninteresting female side character that I would, frankly, rather have been the star. And the main character...oh god. Korra is literally the worst, most hated character troupe I have. She's already perfect, a complete overconfident jackass, and gives no shits about anyone as long as she gets to do what she wants. Sorry. Someone had to say it. It's why I can't stand Captain Marvel either. And she's the Avatar, in fact, the worst one ever. She *loses the connection to all the past Avatars,* for crying out loud. And when she's thrown in the dirt, powerless, helpless, she does... Absolutely nothing to change. Cuts her hair, I guess. Saves the world, I guess, but she's still just *so. unlikeable.* And after this constant back and forth between the two guys [I barely remember the names, but I do like Bolin] she's... Suddenly dating Asami? I mean-- there was some hints and stuff leading up to it, so I can't really say I have a problem with the ship. In fact, the ship itself is fine. But literally everything else about the trainwreck that was LOK-- not fine.

Moving on. Steven Universe. Which I have not seen, definitely do not care to. I could barely finish the first episode. To get to the point, everyone worships this show for all the representation and how awesome it is. But... What about all the issues? The racism? The abusive relationships? The racism? "But they had the wlw wedding on screen!" Okay, that's great! As far as I can tell, the ship is fine! I mean, it's a little sus that the couple spend the entire show save five minutes fused into one person, but the ship is fine. But you can't just ignore everything else that happened, considering-- again, the racism, the abusive stuff or whatever the deal is with Lapis, the literal Nazi redemption thing ["but they had a bad day" is not an excuse, sorry]... One ship in this whole mess doesn't make the rest of the series flawless. And, apparently, the wedding wasn't the scandal everyone tries to claim. Considering there's like, four seasons, a movie, and another series after that episode.

Anyway. Finally. She-Ra. We all know how this goes. Because, obviously, this is C*tradora we're talking about. Do I have to say it? We got four well made seasons of the cat being mentally and physically abusive towards the person she claims to love, her victim finally choosing to stand up for herself and be her own person, and that person then ends up with her abuser in the last shitty season. Not to mention throwing the disabled, poc characters under the bus, or ignoring literally everything else the cat did before that moment of confession. which was gross in and of itself. "But my wlw rep!" my dudes, Glimmer was right fucking there. End of story.

The point is, you can't just hero worship these shows because "they paved the way for Lumity." It's fine to say something like, well, these couples happened, so we could have something like this now. Something good. Something that wasn't forced, that didn't involve one or both characters being boring or, worse, toxic, that didn't involve the rest of the show being awful in one way or another. TOH is an all around awesome series. It deals with all kinds of issues, without being racist, or ableist, or apologetic to any number of problematic characters.

Do you really want parents to see something like LOK, where the main character solves everything with aggression, or SU, which forgives actual Nazis for no reason, or She-Ra, which pairs a victim with her abuser-- is that what you want representation to look like? Because if I saw that, and saw that this is what the LGBT+ wants to say is good...well. hopefully you can do the math.

It's fine to acknowledge where the fight started. But don't pretend like the origins were flawless. Don't just roll over and accept whatever comes your way. Be critical. Demand better. You deserve better. You deserve healthy, developed relationships, without forgiving the problematic for no reason.

Update;; so this is like well over a year old and keeps getting notes for some reason, I still hate all the above series. That's not really the point of the post. Y'all still need to recognize that these are big issue series, that there are way better things out there to point to for representation, and that's all I was going for. We deserve better. Stop accepting shit that barely passes as showing representation at all just because it was the starting point. Or at least stop holding it on such a damn pedestal.

[razorblade180]

Veronica:Moooooooom! Emergency!

Blake:*looks at Yang*

Yang:She said “mom” not “ma”

Blake:*sigh* I hate this system we’ve created. Yes Vee!?

Veronica:*walks in with a box* You’ve betrayed me. Both of you.

Blake:What?

Yang:Oh boy. Is this about eating some of your boxed lunches?

Veronica:N...no. You’ve been doing- forget that! More pressing matters! I want to design clothes.

Blake:Yes, that’s why I pay for design school.

Veronica:I pride myself on my craft. I pride myself on having super gorgeous parents who consistently look amazing not just because of looks, but because they’re functionally fashionable. Turns out, that wasn’t always the case.

Blake:What? We were always pretty functional.

Yang:And definitely fash-

Veronica:*dumps box of V7 photos*

Blake and Yang:......

Veronica:No words? Nothing to say about the one unzipped leg or the belts wrapped around zippers!? Half of them are even good pockets!

Blake:Listen....it was a phase.

Yang:I looked awesome.

Veronica:Ma, this is way too much brown. You looked like a potato bag.

Yang:Hey!

Blake:*snickering* It was weird you had a leg out when we were in the freezing snow.

Veronica:Exactly! But at least her hair was flawless.

Blake:My bob was perfectly fine!

Veronica:So why is your hair long again?

Blake:*crosses arms* I didn’t say the bob was the best! Listen, you had to be there. It was meaningful.

Veronica:.....

Blake:Don’t judge me with my own judgmental look! I taught you that look! At least my shoulders weren’t poofy like Weiss’s.

Yang:Yeah! Looked blocky!

[Atlas]

Weiss*chopping carrots*.........Hmmmm.

Jaune:*stiring pot* What’s wrong?

Weiss:I don’t know, but I know someone is talking shit. *chops harder* I gonna yell at Yang later.

Jaune:Why would Y...well, yeah it’s a safe bet.

[zutara]

Aang X On Ji ? 👀

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

During my recent ATLA rewatch, I remember thinking-- "See how different the dynamic is when Aang is placed next to a kid the same age as him?!" I thought they were cute together, and Aang liked the attention, and honesty, it would've been a great experience for him. Also, it doesn't make Aang obsessive, like it does with Katara.

Honestly, it was more relaxed and cute than the ship they were trying to highlight with the unhealthy teenage jealousy. Which is a pretty cheap trick to use, if you ask me.

[aquaaquila]

Glad to hear that, because the "demanding for the better writing" certainly just throws me back to all those people bashing TOH about how badly written it is, and like. Look, TOH isn't flawless alright, while it can come close to ATLA, it's still rather inferior-writing-wise for example and there's nothing wrong with that. TOH however provided better writing than any shows nowadays and in spite of its flaws that hardly are fault of actual writers but rather circumstances, they still did pretty well, so in general don't like the idea of being extremist about "TOH is way too overrated" as TOH deserves it praised, even if exaggerated at times. I'd say that the "criticism of the writing" is more directed to the following reblog, rather than you.

And look, I absolutely agree they should've delved into the psychological damage of the possession itself, but even the circumstances of the final episodes just wouldn't allow this. And what do you know, perhaps there will be a continuation that will actually touch upon this (I admit, I'm manifesting hard Hunter Sequel).

Also didn't mention this before, as this is more directed towards the anon, but Hunter literally was always very tall and the possession in fact didn't make him taller or muscular. Only the hair was affected along with scarred tissues. I mean, realistically Belos wouldn't make Hunter taller if he was eating him alive.

Hunter later down the years: Yeah belos may have torn my body internally and scared me badly when he possessed me but on the plus side I got 6 inches taller

Ok one of my mutuals said this a little bit back and I know this is probably not the response you’re looking for but I need to get this off my chest wrt my thoughts on s3

I think there’s something to be said about that whole plot point that goes unsaid most of the time. They could’ve done more with talking about how traumatic that must’ve been for Hunter, but instead they chose to only make it about Flapjack. Don’t get me wrong I love that bird, but so much of Thanks to Them was about Hunter reclaiming himself as a person and being a kid and finding out what he likes and having autonomy, and then they never touch on it ever again after so much of it is ripped away? They really could’ve done something with recovering from an event like that and how he felt about being quite frankly Violated, but the only thing they ever mention is losing Flapjack. I get it, it’s a grief metaphor, but if you’re gonna include a plotline with an adult taking physical advantage of a child’s body that leaves them scarred, feeling and looking older, and that adult treating them as a thing to have power over and not a person… not touching on the after effects of it and connecting that metaphor just makes said trauma seem gratuitous and there for shock value. Yes I know I’m probably looking too much into it, but with Everything Else it’s something that just makes me go. Hm.

Maybe I should fill in the gaps myself with a comic or smth?

[reidology]

💜 700 follower celebration!!! 💜

Hellooo so I (not so) recently hit 700 followers (that’s very cool thanks) and since I’ve never done a follower celebration I thought it would be cool to try it <3

I’ve been in an artsy mood lately and so to practice my skillz and say thank you to all of you I thought it would be fun to draw things for you!

anyone (including anons) can ask for:

👻 a doodle of any character/ship from CM or Marvel doing anything you want (no nsfw requests pls)

🖤 a handwritten message from a character (CM or Marvel)

🌙 a blog rate (bc remember those? I’m a 2013 Tumblr fangirl at heart) ((format under the cut)) (((anons can’t do this obviously)))

😈 tell me your deepest darkest secret pretty please get me in on the gossip (I did this a while ago and it was super fun!)

for mutuals: (maybe u can introduce yourself first like hi i'm __ and i like __ 🥺)

🦇 a 5 song playlist about any character/theme/ship you want

💀 a 5 song playlist based on you/your blog

🥀 a little poem for you <3

🧚🏽‍♂️ a mini hc for any CM or marvel ship. no jeid, rossi, gideon, reader inserts, or underage/non-con/abuse.

PSA: don't expect a masterpiece

I'll keep this open until September 8th!

blog rate format:

url: okay | good | great | amazing | flawless | asdfghjkl;

icon: okay | good | great | amazing | flawless | asdfghjkl;

theme: okay | good | great | amazing | flawless | asdfghjkl;

posts: okay | good | great | amazing | flawless | asdfghjkl;

overall: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

I’m gonna tag a few peeps (ok I genuinely don’t know who all my mutuals are??? so I’m tagging people I recognize, but if you know we're mutuals you can request these maybe I’ll get to know u better bc idk many people hehe):

@miabelley @bus-kids @ssa-atlas-hoodrat @tobias-hankel @ssa-sarahsunshine @garciasbau @onlyspencer @katytheinspiredworkaholic @unmitigatedsuperiority @foxtrot91 @hearteyedhotch @softhairedhotch @thefandomlesbian @hotchscotchh @physics-magic @hotch-aaron @brillianthijinx @dudeitiskarev @ssa-noa @sadspencer@thelukealvez @strippersenseii @spencers-renaissance @davidrossiismydad @idmakeitbehave

(if you want to be untagged lmk)

[missmorosis]

here’s our bus route map for my bus ride! (masterlist!)

here’s the original event post :)

HI EVERYONE!! i just wanted to thank you all for your participation BECAUSE AAAAAA YOU GUYS DELIVERED AND UGH I WAS LITERALLY SO WORRIED NOBODY WAS GONNA WRITE ANYTHING BUTSJFLKFASDF

ALL OF YOU ARE SO TALENTED OKAY??? LIKE BYE I WAS BLOWN AWAY

I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THIS EVENT HEHEHE I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO SO MUCH!! AND THE FACT THAT YOU SPENT TIME ON THIS EVENT 😭😭MWAH MWAHH

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR 400!! MUCH LOVE AND HUGS AND KISSES :D

ALSO SORRY AHHA THIS WAS POSTED SO LATE

WE IGNORE HOW IT’S PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET FROM LA TO LONDON VIA BUS JKDFJKFJK

here’s how i formatted it!

title- author’s @!

pairing genre warnings word count their summary that they made

-> my review!

let’s take a look at our map...

starting from LA, heading to bilbao! we’ll stop along the bus stops on our way! 

and yes im aware that the route is going in a weird, illogical way if bilbao is our last stop, shush i wasnt thinking when i made bilbao our last city KJDFJKS

masterlist under the cut!!

now arriving at... los angeles, California!

-> write an AU!! the AU can be literally anything: royalty AU? road trip AU? GO FOR IT!! just as long as it’s not in the canon era hehehe

first stop... “something only the stars know” - @luvoratomi​ 

pairing: suna rintarou x gn!reader genre: secret relationship au, royal au, crown prince!suna, knight!reader, established relationship, fluff, angst  word count: 544 their summary: in which you and crown prince, suna rintarou, find comfort in each other’s arms underneath the moonlight, where only the stars are witnesses of your love.

-> my review: um. nayru. OKAY IM CONSTANTLY BLOWN AWAY BY YOUR TALENT AND THIS IS NO EXCEPTION. i dont even KNOW who rintarou is but im in love with him. ALSO I DONT THINK IVE EVER READ A ROYAL AU BUT KLASDFJ THIS WAS SO?? WELL?? WRITTEN?? ive reread it at LEAST 5 times.   

next stop... an untitled zombie au from @eunoianthia

pairing: yamaguchi tadashi x female!reader genre: zombie au, angst :) warnings: a lot of angst, death, a bit of gore? word count: 1.1k their summary: going to Los Angeles was a dream, and you were finally achieving it. It’s like a dream come true, going to Los Angeles and your boyfriend tagging along? What could go wrong?

-> my review: OKAY WAIT THIS IS THE FIRST ZOMBIE AU IVE EVER READ. like EVER. AND WHAT I DIDNT EXPECT IT TO HURT THIS MUCH. i- the ending- PLEASE I- i dont even know what to say. how COULD YOU.

now arriving at... 3:38 am from @arquitecturadelanada​​

pairing: zuko x fem!reader genre: roommates au, i would say fluff! warnings: none! word count: 1.1k their summary: As sokka’s best man zuko has to write a heartfelt speech for the wedding day, the only issue? he doesn’t believe in love, but maybe his roommate can change his perception on the matter.

-> my review: so youre saying this whole time youve been supporting my writing when YOU WRITE BETTER THAN I DO?? ugh you’re so talented this isn’t funny, and this fic ALMOST MAKES ME WANT TO BECOME AN ATLA BLOG AGAIN BAHHA- “he noticed he was considerably less stressed just by hearing his roommate’s voice” IM GONNA CRY​​

last stop... “what are the odds” from @hikariakaashi​ 

pairing: kuroo x fem!reader genre: roommates au, i would say fluff! warnings: none! word count: 3.2k their summary: it was an act of desperation, to say the least, downloading the app lev recommended for him. but he was in dire need of a wedding date. so when kuroo opened up the brightly colored app titled rent a girlfriend, he knew he was in for an interesting evening.

-> my review: so uh 1) i remember writing a review for this and i have no idea where it went IM SO SORRY DSKJFJ and 2) i would do anything for kuroo to be my bf even if it was just my job 😩😩 and 3) um ??? YOURE SO TALENTED?? MISS MA’AM??

now arriving at... london, england!

-> breakup fic time </3 you can make it an angsty breakup, or a fluffy exes to lovers!

first stop... “i love(d) you”- @floralkawa​

pairing: tsukishima x reader! genre: angst! warnings: none! word count: 300 their summary: one where tsukishima never showed his love. making it onesided, leading poor f/n on in a bitter relationship. of course, no one can handle it forever, can they ?

-> my review: this is the reason why i dont like angst. i felt this IN MY HEART, OKAY? NOELLE YOU LIED & SAID YOU COULDN’T WRITE FEELINGS. i hate it I HATE IT I HATE IT. but ugh youre talented enough to pull anything off and your angst is PROBABLY the only ones ill read willingly :( 

next stop... “i should have seen the signs”- @kirishimas-manly-eyeliner

pairing: oikawa x reader! genre: angst! warnings: none! word count: 2k their summary: going to the city of love and london was supposed to be an exhilarating vacation after a long week of exams. as it seems, love is fake and so is toru oikawa.

-> my review: um. this kinda hurted me tho. how am i even allowed to be friends with you like ?? miss ma’am? YOURE SO TALENTED??? i hate angst and ill say it again: I HATE ANGST. IT HURTS IT HUUUURRTSS. OIKAWA MY BABY WOULD NEVER DO THAT BUT HE DID. I CANSTEALK I CANT DEAL WITH THIS 

now arriving at... berlin, germany!

first stop... “Spring Chills”- @wesokkasimp

pairing: oikawa x reader! genre: fluff! warnings: none! word count: 447 their summary: you and Oikawa go for a walk on a chilly spring day. beware: banter ahead

-> my review: 😐😑😐 my heart wasn’t prepared for this. AND!! I BET Y/N LOOKED GREAT IN THAT TANK TOP; OIKAWA BETTER HAVE GIVEN HIS JACKET TO HER AFTERWARDS. jacket + tank top = cute outfit smh

next up... “warm and fuzzy”- @oikawaplssteponme​

pairing: kuroo x reader! genre:  fluff, a hint of angst, childhood friends to lovers, ‘boy next door’ warnings: one swear word, kuroo calls the reader ‘pretty’ however no gender pronouns are used, mini make out word count: 1.4k their summary: n/a but a quote: "The lights in your room were dim. Their golden-yellow tone shone above you, though you paid little attention to what was going on inside your room. You were much more interested in what was happening outside.”

-> my review: wait this actually reminds me of me and my front door neighbor GOODBYE AKLSJDF I MISS HIM :( ANYWAYS BAHHAHA- see you never miss 😐 i think awkward tetsu is underrated BYEALKSF THIS WAS SO CUTE I CANTASEKL

last stop... “ice cold”- @kyotarou​

pairing: tsukishima x reader genre:  fluff! warnings: bit of fanon tsukki, mutual pining, smidge of angst, fluff word count: 700+ their summary: n/a but a quote: “Asshole was the best word to describe Tsukishima Kei. He was an asshole to his peers, and it didn’t change towards you, his best friend.”

-> my review: mY TSUKISHIMA HEART OMG- okay OKAY I THOUGHT I GREW OUT OF MY LOVE FOR HIM BUT ITS ALL COMING BACK ASLKJFDL- oh to share a jacket and be vulnerable with tsukishima ✋😩 once again bestie youre so talented it isnt funny

now arriving at... bilbao, spain!

our only stop in this city... "break-in”- @kohi-zeri​​

pairing: iwazumi x reader! genre:  fluff!! warnings: mentions of food and common illnesses, use of “darling” and “brat” word count: 1.4k their summary: n/a but a quote: “there’s something so… infuriating about having a migraine. especially when it’s uncalled for.”

-> my review: i cant express to you how much i love sickfics. like JLSDFLJKFSALJ SADFL I CANT- ALSO I READ THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN I HAD THE WORST HEADACHE SO WHENEVER MY HEAD HURTS I COME REREAD THIS BAHAHHA-

here’s what some of our passengers are saying...

one passenger says “Wait. Stand right there, I want to take a picture of you.”

“pretty petals, pretty pictures”- @shxyo-sho​​​

pairing: iwazumi x reader! genre: fluff, mutual pining, just two best friends crushing on each other warnings: none! word count: 590 their summary: If you could describe your best friend, Kiyoko, in one word; what would it be? I would pick the word, flawless.

-> my review: repeat after me: kiyoko is a queen. and YOU DO HER JUSTICE I ASFDLKJ PLEASE- in all honesty i would be blushing if kiyoko said a word to me too- y/n you arent alone ✋😩

another passenger asks “Why aren’t you asleep?”

"night owl”- @atlabeth​​​​

pairing: sokka x reader! genre: fluff! warnings: stress over school and one (1) curse, but other than that it’s pure fluff word count: 907 their summary: If you could describe your best friend, Kiyoko, in one word; what would it be? I would pick the word, flawless.

-> my review: alright this isnt fair where is my irl sokka 😐 YOURE BRINGING ME BACK INTO MY ATLA DAYSDF LKSJA- not complaining tho I LOVE SOKKA SO MUCH. and “But for a “fairly smart person”, you made a lot of bad decisions.” THATS TOO RELATABLE STOP IT RIGHT NOW SFKDJK

HEHEHEHEH THANK YOU AGAIN!! SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG GOOD BYE

[rays-animorphs]

I’ve noticed a general pattern on this hellsite that drives me up the wall, which is a tendency to discuss pieces of media as either just the most woke, most revolutionary, perfectest visions of truth and beauty to ever exist, or else the exact opposite.

You see it whenever JK Rowling says something new and then there’s endless threads of every single problematic element of the books and no mention of anything anyone might like or appreciate in them, you see it when someone points out that Wanda’s story in the Sandman has some non-ideal elements by contemporary standards and 20 people rush to defend Neil Gaiman as a paragon of queer representation. You see it in posts about the Discworld novels that hype up the positive aspects and conspicuously fail to mention anything Pratchett could have done better.

And don’t get me wrong, I think some authors are definitely more progressive than others. Obviously! But the extreme black and white splitting bothers me.

Avatar the Last Airbender is a great show, and also took a season to figure out how to do female characters well (and also is a lot more traditionalist in its value system than a lot of progressives or radicals are inclined to acknowledge.) The Discworld novels are a great deal of fun and have some meaningful social commentary, and also were written by a white guy who was actually coming from a pretty similar worldview to Rowlings at the time that she wrote HP, as far as I can tell: Azkaban could have been written by Pratchett, Jingo could have been written by Rowlings. Neil Gaiman is amazing and I love him to pieces, and good grief is his writing not above criticism, nobody’s is!

And the Animorphs have some good, indeed groundbreaking, elements, and some elements that are very product of its time/location/whatever.

And so yeah, when I see a post that’s doing the bright eyed fan-person “this work is the bestest thing ever and I nominate it to the Radical Hall of Fame for Books that are Radical, let me explain why” in a way that I think is just flat out ignoring reality, I’m going to complain about that. In much the same way that, yeah I love Iroh from ATLA too, but when fans are presenting him as flawless I do push back against that. He was part of the Fire Nation army (and also he’s kind of sexist), he is extremely not supposed to be flawless.

Anyways, I get that it’s rude to shit on people’s enjoyment, I just wish that tumblr fandom had more of a culture of “it’s possible to point out that this character/story/author/fan interpretation has flaws without it being a mean thing, or saying the story etc has no value and anyone who likes it is bad.”