#emotional everytime

[huldrabitch]

"All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her"

- James Joyce, "Eveline" from Dubliners (1914)

[astraryy]

Happy N7◢ day !!

I can't express how much this tiny symbol means to me.

*Sends kiss to space* Shepard, this is for you.

[000marie198]

I don't care how excited it might make some people, I don't like this remake

[friendshapedhorrors]

Let’s play a fun game called am I masquerading as an autistic person and acting how I think someone with autism would act or am I simply learning to unmask

[bikerbutchbait]

everytime a butch smiles at me my heart melts they are such sweet adorable humans with the kindest eyes and they’re so polite and loving i love butches so much

[gunstellations]

serenade

[beifong-brainrot]

I am definetly in the minority here, but I was always so deeply touched by Mai's confession during that scene.

There's just something about Mai's confession that makes me feel so unbearably sad. I think the first thing that hits me is just how... empty she seems in this situation compared to the rest of the Firesome Foursome. Zuko is angry™️ and lashing out, Ty Lee is sad and concerned and Azula is posturing. But Mai is just so devoid of even sadness around her chidlhood trauma.

It's sort of like she shut down emotionally to some extent, (even more than usual) especially after her fight with Zuko.

This is quite a common reaction to arguments from someone who was raised to be obedient and non-confrontational, so I'm not surprised she was acting like this.

Analysing Mai's behaviour on the beach is interesting.

She seems to try to reach out to Zuko in her own, tepid little way by greeting him, but clams back up when he asks her where "her new boyfriend" was. This leads to her smacking his hand away when he tries to reach out to her by asking if she's cold. They're both trying to mend the bridge, but end up escalating the conflict further.

She remains silent for a good while, but does speak up in order to defend Ty Lee from Zuko lashing out. Despite this, when Zuko persists, Mai doesn't push the issue, perhaps due to her upbringing to be placid.

Due to this, I find it intriguing when Mai mocks Ty Lee for attention seeking, since she had attempted to defend Ty Lee from Zuko's ridicule. But perhaps its due to jealousy or frustration by Ty Lee's freely expressed sorrow and trauma that made Mai lash out in her own way.

Or it's just because the writers didn't know how to jump from Ty Lee's traumadump to Mai's lol

This is where we get into the meat and potatoes of Mai's confession.

Ty Lee bites back at Mai and parrots Zuko's opinion of Mai being "a big blah" as he said.

Ty Lee : Well, what's your excuse, Mai? You were an only child for fifteen years, but even with all that attention, your aura is this dingy, pasty, gray ... Mai : I don't believe in auras. Zuko: Yeah, you don't believe in anything. Mai : Oh, well, I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you. Zuko: I'm sorry, too. I wish you would be high-strung and crazy for once instead of keeping all your feelings bottled up inside. She just called your aura dingy. Are you gonna take that?

I think what's interesting here is that while Ty Lee saw Mai as recieving the attention Ty Lee had craved, Mai seemed to receive less loving, parental attention, and more scrutiny. Mai's parents also seem to be actually rather neglectful emotionally towards Mai and them just leaving Tom Tom unsupervised behind a screen in Omashu leaves me questioning if they actually cared that much.

Mai deflects, not adressing Ty Lee's question, but rather focusing on the nebulous concept of auras instead. When Zuko butts in, trying to rile her up, Mai gives a sarcastic apology. I find it very interesting that she sets hereself so aside from the others in terms of her not being "high strung and crazy", because it really shows the difference in Mai's upbringing and that of her companions. Azula and Zuko were raised to be leaders and fighters, and their "firebender instincts" were encouraged, while Ty Lee persumably had to compete for attention with her siblings. While Mai was raised with the :be seen and not heard" mentality.

Now is also a good time to mention that I think Mai has almost comically obvious signs of depression, which wouldn't be a stretch.

Zuko calling Mai out for not getting angry over Ty Lee insulting her aura leads me to my next point. Persumably, being a child raised by parents like Michi and Ukano, Mai wasn't allowed to voice her discomfort, offence or upset. Hell we see this in Omashu when Mai complains about being bored and Michi basically shuts her down and tells her to enjoy it.

I mean look at the expression Michi gives Mai when she starts complaining about being bored, a very normal teenager thing to do.

And when Mai finally does speak her mind, it is no less heartwrenching.

Mai : What do you want from me? You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was? Well, it wasn't. I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted... as long as I behaved and sat still, and didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my dad's political career to think about.

The first thing that jumps out at us is how Mai presents her trauma. She doesn't explicitly express any pain or sadness, despite it being rather obvious to us. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the group. Ty Lee and Zuko are both very open about their negative emotions, hell, even Azula admits that Ursa's actions hurt her.

But Mai? Mai kneecaps her complaint. This can also be seen as an effect of her upbringing. No complaining, no making herself inconvenient for mom and dad.

We also see the theme of conditional love, an implied idea that Michi and Ukano would only give Mai affection or gifts if she acted the way they wanted her to. Now conditional love from people who are meant to raise you will fuck you up.

The comics also add that Michi actively told Mai scary stories about the Kemurimage to keep her in line. Now, telling kids stories about magical beings to get them to behave isn't anything new, but it appears to be so bad that Mai had nightmares over it. Also we're in a world where spirits actually exist, evil chidnapper spirits don't seem too far out the realm of possibility.

Also as someone who got raised by a heavily Catholic mother who made me believe I would burn in hell for an eternity if I even mildly displeased her, I do sympathise

Azula: Well, that's it, then. You have a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them, you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything, and why you can't express yourself. Mai : You want me to express myself? [Stands up and yells.] Leave me alone! Zuko: I like it when you express yourself. [Approaching, attempting to put a hand on her shoulder.] Mai : Don't touch me! I'm still mad at you. Zuko: My life hasn't been that easy either, Mai. Mai: Whatever. That doesn't excuse the way you've been acting.

I love when Mai yells at Azula for frying to psychoanalyse her. Like Azula was right, but it understandably upset Mai, and it's a good thing she expressed that. It means she's growing.

I also do adore that Mai does not let Zuko get away with acting out, particularly towards her. I like that the writer's didn't just have Mai give Zuko a free pass because he had a shitty life and she actively called him out on his actions. It's probably my favourite part of their relationship. And Mai expressing so much anger and upset is a perfect crescendo to her little scene.

I don't know why but Mai confession scene just holds so much weight and emotion for me, I can't help but feel something whenever I watch it.

Also, side note, I find it an interesting detail that Azula's confession only came after the fire was extinguished. Perhaps it wasn't intentional but it kinda feels like its symbolising that the light "went out" for Azula (at least narrativewise) and that while Zuko, Ty Lee and Mai would be able to get out of their shitty situations and from under the Fire Nation's influence, she would not.

[mistress-light]

Final Fantasy XVI - PC • Forevermore

[rhinocio]

last straw

[nothingbutvultures]

something something seasons change but people don't

[sweeneydino]

The best spy

And a green screen blank one if you wanna edit

[s0rr3l]

he is so fun to draw lmao

[cottagedreamy]

Sometimes, i think how beautiful is the love between all the strawhats. I'm not talking about the romantic one, but the platonical. Besides i believe that any names could describe how their relationship works.

Oh, they just love so much each other. They LIVE, they keep going for them. They watch their backs, they fight GOD for them, they would burn, drown, kill, loose limbs for keep their nakamas safe.

It's so cute the fact that they do everything together. If they bath, they bath together. If they're gonna eat? They eat together! They're gonna sleep, they sleep together. One of them got a fever, they'll gonna look after them while asleep. Someone is sleeping without an blanket? Someone will bring one for them. One of them is working? There's always someone to make them company.

They tease each other, they hit their asses, they gonna fight for the insignificant things, they gonna argue, they gonna disturb each other, they will call you dumb and hit you, they can be mean for fun, and never say "i love you", because they just gonna show their love in different ways that doesn't need words.

It's funny to think they're so close, even they spent more time apart than together. But the dedication they have for each other, I feel like it was in the stars that they would meet, and at the moment when they needed it most, they appeared in each other's lives like sacred angels and bringing good company and shaping their bonds. unique characters that make it feel more like a family than a simple pirate crew. They are far from the conventional pirates we are familiar with in fiction. Because that ship became more than a shelter, it became a home.

And one day, this crew will be disbanded, and they will be able to go on with their lives peacefully. Travel, study, maybe get married, manage somewhere... And then, will their hearts sometimes go back to the sea and think "I miss those crazy days, with those people and with my captain..."? Everything will be just memories in the very distant future, but they will always carry a part of themselves in each other. They changed their nakama's lives forever.

But they've never got a chance to say "i think you're my family. And i love you", but like i said, they don't need to say. Their actions do it for themselves. They have so much love to give.

Oh, to be loved by your friends. To be cared by them. To call the sea your home, having a place to came back, but risk your life for some people that you've meet for a little time in your life, because you learned you can love, and now you have someone to share this love. Oh, they are destined to meet, they're all made for eachother. They're soulmates.

[arkiwii]

i was supposed to draw something sad but my hands slipped, so oops?

[yippee-optimistically]

ive seen like 2 actual episodes of the loud house but i watched no time to spy last night. they kind of cooked i cant lie

[mismatchsocks]

“will was so mean to hannibal when he-“ he should’ve killed that man