#guess where it comes from

[aoife-arianrhod]

once, i had an empire in a golden cage

i have this habit of creating a story in my head but never writing. wanted to see the reaction to this story idea before drafting more.

Sometimes the person you are looking for is closer than you think

Azula goes on a redemption arc, finds her mother and hatches dragons, becoming the mother of dragons whilst also stopping a civil war. Not necessarily in that order. 

symbolism

white butterflies sightings represent purity, innocence, and spirituality. Seeing a white butterfly can signify a major shift or soul journey.

****

Azula wakes up to see the Kemurikage's are gone and the surroundings are empty; she is guided by a butterfly and finds the temple with a lonely Monk inside. She is taken in and the dream sequence starts to occur but before it can get really traumatic, she is saved by Noren who tells her to get up and leave this place. 

Delirious, Azula can barely move her limbs, she realises that the temple has done something to her. She is physically half dragged, half carried by a girl a few years older than her. They encounter the spiritual monster who attacks to stop them from leaving. 

Even in her state, Azula is still a threat and capable of lightning bending. With the help of the mysterious girl, they are able to walk only to find the temple gone. They meet a refugee camp, this is where Azula starts to change her periphery about war seeing the harm caused to citizens across the fire and earth nation diaspora. 

Goes to the library where she finds dragon eggs and takes it 

She meets Zukos’ rival who wants to continue the war, he recognises Azula - she says no and leaves, fights an agni kun and wins, she lets the Avatar know she is here by shooting to the sky a bolt of lightning followed by blue fire, they arrive but she is gone. She watches as he is arrested by the Gaang.

Azula also hatches a dragon egg and I want the scene below.

And in the first time in a hundred years, dragons were born 

[ravioliet]

had a dream the other day that tumblr started banning people's accounts for the kung pow penis thing so people started changing it to Kung Fu Panda instead because that bypassed the banning somehow, and then it evolved into people just teaming up to spam posts they didn't like with pictures of Po from Kung Fu Panda and everyone knew what it meant

i remember at one point seeing a post with some really bad take and there being a really long chain of reblogs underneath with various images of him

[jennicatzies]

Average nightmare sequence

Reference under the cut

Drawing is a reference to this HAHAH

I struggled to spell Charbonneau for a good like 2 minutes btw on god

[succo-al-limone]

DC doodles for funzies

[egophiliac]

Hello hi that spinning t-pose cheka is one of the funniest things I've ever seen, I genuinely laughed at it for a good 5 minutes of just,, spinning lego-adjacent cheka,,,, Genuine question though how did you put together the lego adjacent-cheka? The hair especially looks fascinating to me

thank you! :> I did him SUPER quick; he's basically just a series of cubes that've been pulled/pushed/extruded/etc. into shape. luckily 1) looking kinda shitty was the point and 2) he was just gonna spin around and didn't need to be rigged or anything, so I didn't bother caring about topology. which is to say that his geometry is doing. some stuff.

behold, an hour in Blender.

except for the little strands on top, his hair is entirely a single shape that was duplicated + rotated + resized around (and then the top of his head is textured the same color so ✨the illusion is complete✨) (technically he is bald). I didn't even unwrap the hair bits because they were just going to be a solid color. he is bad practice in a single model. this is his glory.

it is amazing what you can get away with sometimes if you're not too fussed about little things like "edge flow" or "looking good" or "being used for anything other than the one specific joke you're making it for".

[bunnieswithknives]

I feel bad for neglecting Hazel so much, I do have many thoughts about her.. and also a mermaid au that im probably not going to do anything with

[muirmarie]

i think columbo and mccoy would get along so well. i think columbo would drive spock up the fucking wall. the way he pretends not to know something and tries to have the other person explain it? spock would loathe that lmao. i think kirk would both be amused by and wary of columbo. like he'd like him well enough and they'd get along well enough, but kirk would be extremely aware of how smart columbo is, and so he'd be cautious of him and his intentions.

after columbo solves the murder, he invites mccoy over to his place, and mccoy brings along a fantastic bottle of something or other, and gets to charm the elusive mrs. columbo, and pet dog behind his big basset hound ears, and has a lovely time.

they keep in contact, and mccoy brings him up casually sometimes just to watch spock bristle. he also likes to occasionally "just one more thing" kirk, just to watch him narrow his eyes with a little amusement and a little concern.

columbo consults with mccoy off the books occasionally for medical stuff. eventually tho there's a case that's a little more scientifically involved, and mccoy makes spock help, and it turns out when spock's on the other side of things he actually has a fascinating time. he follows columbo around like a puppy watching his techniques and asking him questions. it's extremely cute, although mccoy knows better than to say that.

kirk's always a little wary of columbo, but they still get along well enough.

(when kirk is framed for murder, columbo comes in and solves the case and finds the real murderer, and when mccoy has a little celebration afterwards, mrs. columbo teaches kirk to make the best apple pie ever made, and that does more to win him over than columbo saving the day.

columbo just smiles, and says mrs. columbo always has been his better half.)

(kirk just smiles back, and looks at mccoy and spock, and says he knows the feeling.)

[otome-dissection]

compilation of Hey What The Fuck Did They Mean By This

[non-un-topo]

To the next adventure...

Image description and details under cut

I.D.

[A drawing of Nicky, Joe, Quynh, and Andy from The Old Guard. They are all in profile, walking in a straight line facing the sun. They are dressed in medieval clothing and armour, and each carry their own weapons and bags. Nicky has his sword, a crossbow, a quiver of bolts, a dagger at his belt and another strapped to his ankle. Joe is holding his sword, a bag, and a coin purse. Quynh's bow is over her back, and her quiver is at her hip. Two daggers are strapped to her belt, one of them matching Nicky's. Andy is holding her axe, two bags, and a dagger. They each have serene expressions and closed eyes, as if they're not in a hurry. In the background, the seasons change from winter to spring, summer, fall. There is an old tree behind them, and its branches change with the seasons.]

[randomationality]

you guys just cant make those blue eye meme crap with Orion/Optimus and forget this mf exists

[lumineary-arts]

hey there, just wanted to say i really love your swap au!!

i do have a question in mind though, does N sacrafice himself the same way uzi does in episode 7?

yes. yes he does :) I mean, after losing his little sister, realizing he probably just kicked his dad down a hole and having JUST reunited with Z after going through torture the whole time... .. he felt like he still had the chance to do something right. That, being to save Z's life by sacrificing himself :(

[22bananapudding]

an observation

[idk-bruh-20]

Irondad fic ideas #155

Tony can be... a bit overbearing with his helicopter parent tendencies. To combat this, Peter sets up a small protocol with FRIDAY. 

Any time Tony wants to do something paranoid or invasive, FRIDAY is to send him a helpful article first, with titles like "Excessive Surveillance Can Harm Adolescent Development, Study Finds" and "Why Teens Need Privacy From Their Parents"

Peter leaves the choice of articles up to FRIDAY, trusting her to send ones that fit the situation.

While this protocol does get Tony to reconsider some of his more... extreme impractical requests, in most cases it fails to change his mind. Being hands-off about Peter's safety is not something he can do -- not when he knows the kinds of dangers this particular kid could face.

He's grateful for the insight that the protocol has given him, though. So instead of removing it, he decides to add to it. He asks FRIDAY to make it a two-way street. Now, whenever Peter complains about one of Tony's safety protocols, FRIDAY will send an article to help him understand

However, Tony doesn't anticipate the kinds of articles FRIDAY will choose. While she continues to send Tony studies and editorials, to Peter she sends news reports from Tony's past

Peter's mad that Tony has put trackers in everything he owns? -- "Tony Stark Still Missing: Inside Month Three of the Harrowing Search"

Peter hates the constant health monitoring that FRIDAY does when he's in the tower? -- "Death Wish or Death Sentence? Stark Behavior Tied to Secret Illness that Almost Cost Him His Life"

It goes on and on. For every seemingly insane overreach, there's a story, an experience Tony is trying to protect Peter from. 

They both still disagree about how much protection is too much, but at least they understand each other better now

[bonefall]

Hey, what makes a character a 'plot device but not a character'? And how do you not do that? I'm trying to do it on purpose but also I need to still make them interesting because it's on purpose, yknow?

A good skill to pick up is to learn to criticise criticism itself. A "plot device" is simply a thing that moves the plot along, it's a neutral literary analysis term! Usually, when people are angry that "a character has been used as a plot device," it doesn't mean they hate plot devices. It means they're gesturing at something deeper.

Runningwind and Bumble are equally plot devices in their deaths. They are both killed by the antagonist to escalate political tension. Runningwind is rarely "accused" of just being a plot device, and yet, we're talking about Bumble for the same thing.

So, why?

Well, Runningwind is just a background character, but in life, he was a part of the community. He was characterized as impatient but responsible. Yet, he wasn't SO important that he died with a bunch of unresolved plot threads.

He is mostly an extension of the entity of ThunderClan. His killing by Tigerstar, and the fear and paranoia that settles on the group after this, feel like a progression of the story insteas of something forced.

Bumble, on the other hand...

Is hated immediately by Gray Wing, when she's established as Turtle Tail's friend. Bumble's abuse at Tom the Wifebeater's hands invites even MORE investment. The rejection is shocking and upsetting. There's a story there about our main characters being imperfect; jealous, bigoted, and judgemental.

But, she is simply killed off. Everything they set up for this character is gone with little personalized fanfare. It's not a tragedy with a lesson about cruelty, or something anyone regrets.

It's just... plot. Gray Wing whinging that no one will like his shitty brother now that his body count is 2.

More than that, in the discussion of women in particular, "Fridging" was coined to give a name to the way women characters often don't get their stories told at all. There is a CULTURAL trend of female characters facing disproportionate violence, for the sake of advancing male plots.

Bumble has a lot going for her. Petal had a lot going for her. Turtle Tail had a lot going for her. Bright Stream had a lot going for her. When they died, they took their potential with them.

It's not always wrong to kill off a character of high potential, mind you. In Gurren Lagann, Kamina's death is sudden and shocking, leaving a massive hole in the hearts of the cast that never heals. Grappling with that loss, but also letting his memory fuel them, is a major theme of that story.

All that to say... there's no formula for avoiding it. You've gotta identify what the deeper issue is, in your specific narrative.

I can't say for certain what that will look like for your story, but here's some things I keep in mind;

When you make characters who exist to die, make sure they're people before you axe them.

Ask yourself; what about them does the cast miss?

If they just miss them because they were (pre-existing relationship), go back to the drawing board.

Fluttering Bird as an example. Who was she? Dead sister. Why do they miss her? Dead sister. No traits until after her death.

Runningwind was short-tempered and helpful. Kamina was a valuable leader who made people believe in a brighter future. Swiftpaw was fiesty and desperate to prove himself. The better characterized, the more profound the loss usually is.

If this is a female character who is dying just to serve the plot, be aware of cultural bias and tropes. How is the gender ratio looking in your cast? Is this happening disproportionately with your girls?

Note how Quiet Rain's litter had both a boy and a girl, but the girl was chosen to be "weaker" and wither away.

And how most of the time in DOTC, whenever a man had to be upset, a girl would get killed for it.

If you ever feel like the character on the chopping block is NOT a full character, ask yourself why it needs to be a character at all. You don't need to spend narrative time building out someone when a literal object of high value might suffice.

"My sister died when I swore to protect her and I can't face my family" = Old. Tired. Ive seen this.

"I lost my heirloom sword when I swore to protect it and I can't face my family." = Fascinating. Why was the sword so valuable? Will they really not take you back? How did you lose it?

When you do kill off "high value" characters, try to make sure you're not leaving too many plot threads hanging. Or at least make a point of how they will never get closure.

[storytellerofuntoldlegends]

the flower ranchers energy is something else this season. they hate each other but also can't get enough of each other. tango's scathing "it's you" to scott at the beginning but his teasing "pumpkin boy" towards him in the last session. scott generally being a menace to jimmy but also trying to help him make a guess on tango's task. jimmy rushing to defend tango and trying to say scott was making things up (and then also the teasing/crooning way he went "he's gone shy, tango!" to scott HELLO??) meanwhile tango was absolutely cackling on the inside bc scott was right and jimmy wasn't getting it.

idk i need to examine that trio under a microscope bc we've never really seen those three properly interact and this is what we get??? /pos

[miqo-tia]

I like Alisaie's continuous distaste for self sacrifice. In a genre where self sacrifice is usually something noble and necessary, it's refreshing to see a character say "No. There is another way. You are not losing it all for this cause. You will live to see your efforts bear fruit."