#hi i've missed you guys :')

[lotus-pear]

bsd rewatch w my friend means obligatory art of my fav found family ever

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

On Kurapika's Self-Imposed Isolation

While I recognize that probably everything I'm about to say is going to be super obvious, I just wanted to briefly touch on Kurapika's self-isolation, and the reason behind his not picking up his phone or exchanging anything more than clipped words and business after Yorknew.

I think the obvious answer is that Kurapika doesn't want his friends in harms way, or to be used as a bargaining tool against him. This is an understandable and probably accurate conclusion. After all, Gon and Killua did get taken hostage, and Kurapika was forced to negotiate an exchange. Chrollo picked up on Kurapika's "weakness" right away - that he values his friends' safety before his revenge. Fortunately for Kurapika in this situation, Pakunoda was a whole lot more similar to him than he would've cared to admit, as she placed a value on Chrollo's life even though everyone in the Spider was intended to be replaceable. So, now that he's been through Gon and Killua having potentially gotten killed or seriously hurt, and Chrollo knows that he has a soft spot for them, it does make sense that he would try to push them away for their safety and for the sake of not having an exploitable "weakness" in future. He may also not want to burden them more when they have their own lives to live - he does slip off without telling Gon and Killua for the sake of not distracting them from Nen training, after all.

Except that he already tried all this earlier in Yorknew arc. He tried to tell them they shouldn't get involved, and they all agreed that the risks were massive - but his friends agreed to undergo the risks anyways to help him. Kurapika was even grateful for it - "I have been blessed with good friends."

So, for him to push them away solely for this reason after the fact, knowing that this was very much a likely situation to happen, is a little odd to me. Kurapika knows full well that Leorio would be frustrated, Killua would be offended and Gon would worry. So, I think there's a little more to it than that, and I actually would venture to say that "keeping his friends out of danger" is more a secondary reason for his actions - one that would come across as more of a reasonable excuse to others.

The primary reason is likely a lot more selfish than that. Kurapika has to ensure his mission comes first. And unfortunately, he is fully aware that his path and choice in abilities is deeply self-destructive.

Kurapika needs to make sure that he doesn't have exploitable weaknesses, sure, but he also just as much needs to purposefully worsen his headspace - and he can't do that with those three around.

Think back, what are the happiest moments we see from Kurapika in the series? The one that comes to mind first, and the one I'm sure most of us will think of immediately, is this:

[ID: A screenshot from the 2011 anime adaptation. Kurapika smiles - he looks at ease. End ID.]

It's one of the sweetest scenes of the series imo, right before the whole group is reunited for the first time since the Zoldyck Family arc, and it's even more notable because it comes immediately on the tail end of this...

[ID: Three panels from HxH Chapter 101. Kurapika removes his contacts over the sink. His expression is distant. End ID.]

...and this...

[ID: A panel from HxH Chapter 101. A close up of Kurapika's vacant and furious expression, his eyes wide and dangerous as he says "It might as well be you." Though the art is in black and white, it's apparent his eyes have gone scarlet. End ID.]

...and this.

[ID: A panel from HxH Chapter 101. A distant Kurapika speaks on the phone on a rooftop at night, the cityscape of Yorknew around him dark, but speckled with lights and stars. He says "The Spiders are dead." His face is not visible to the reader. End ID.]

This is, up to this point in the series, Kurapika at his lowest. In contrast to Gon, who is happy to hear that the Spiders are dead already because now Kurapika can focus solely on finding his peoples' eyes, Kurapika... is clearly not happy - and that's because killing the Spiders himself isn't just revenge. It's penance. It's survivor's guilt. Kurapika's powers, which Izunavi even comments sound much like he is chaining himself in the process of chaining his enemies, are oh-so-beautifully prophecied to destroy him - and Kurapika was aware of this from the moment he set off down this path of revenge.

(As a side note, this is why I'm really hoping we see Gon and Kurapika interact again after the Chimera Ant arc - while Gon has always been pretty attentive to Kurapika's emotional state, in Yorknew, he lacks a true understanding of why Kurapika would go so far... but as of now, he understands rage fueled by guilt and grief all too well. I know we're all rooting for Leorio to reach Kurapika, but barring that, I really think Gon could get through to him - after all, they are similar in several ways, and I find it fairly apparent that Gon reminds Kurapika of Pairo.)

But back to the main point here - I do suspect Kurapika expects (if not wants) his revenge mission to destroy him. I think a lot of times, we forget just how young Kurapika is, and how much his character is dictated by honour, and the abandonment of it.

Certainly, he can and will go against his principles for the sake of his mission... yet, almost paradoxically, he's bound to his promise to his fallen clan; a promise to avenge them made in anger.

But Kurapika... doesn't come across as a naturally angry person to me at all.

He seems like the stoic, vengeful type on his initial introduction... and then we get his panic at Gon's recklessness

[ID: A panel from HxH Chapter 2. Kurapika and Leorio wear matching expressions of panic in front of Gon, calling him out for his recklessness. End ID.]

...and his near-immediate forgiveness of Leorio after getting the first inkling of his character - of someone who cares just as fiercely as he does.

And after that point? Almost all through the Hunter Exam? Kurapika smiles so readily at them. He's sharp and funny. He mediates at times, but is stubbornly prideful in others. He's very amused by his friends' antics, and it really does seem like he starts to enjoy himself, with them. And, more than that, he counters Leorio's initial impression of him as an independent loner - on several occasions. He decides to follow Gon because Gon intrigues him. Asides from Gon, it is Kurapika who is the most unwilling to fight each other at the bottom of Trick Tower. Kurapika who makes the first move to team up with Leorio, even though that arrangement benefits Leorio much more than it does him. Kurapika who refuses to abandon Leorio to his fate in the cave, and who checks on Gon after noticing his bad mood. Who was furious enough watching him get beat down by Hanzo that his eyes went scarlet for the first and only instance outside of Spider mentions and Emperor Time. Who quite readily detoured to help rescue Killua.

[ID: Three screenshots from the 2011 adaptation Hunter Exam arc. In the first, Kurapika smiles at a sleeping Leorio. In the second, Kurapika stifles laughter as he pretends he's asleep. In the third, Kurapika has an open-mouthed smile as he acquires the airship tickets for them, Leorio and Gon standing behind him. End ID.]

Look at him! He's so bright! So happy!

...too happy. Too happy to do what he promised himself he would do. And that's his biggest fear, isn't it. Without his rage... what is he left with?

[ID: A panel from HxH chapter 2. A close up of Kurapika's eye as he says "I do not fear death. What I fear is that my rage will one day fade away." End ID.]

Kurapika is far, far less mired in anger when he's with his friends. I actually dare to say that at certain points, he was able to go for lengths of time without thinking much about it - alternating between almost forgetting in one instance and being hit like a sledgehammer on exposure to a reminder in the next. This violent swing is... actually the beginnings of the natural process of healing from loss and trauma. But to Kurapika, who's made a promise to his people's memories, this is not a relief. This is betrayal.

I think that actually scares him, that he can almost picture it. A life beyond his guilt. That he, too, could learn to be happy, even after unimaginable loss.

And so, as Kurapika continues his mission offscreen, finding more and more gruesome reminders of the cruelty inflicted on his people and losing more and more pieces of himself in the process (in his own words, no less), he prioritizes his responsibility to them, and pushes away his distractions. He cannot be a soul at peace until his work is done; he must be in turmoil. He pushes people away who he cares for, and binds himself, and keeps his people's eyes on him, quite literally, because respite, for him, is unacceptable. Perhaps that guilty part of him even hopes, by the end of this, that his soul will be so unrecognizable as to be fundamentally unsalvageable. But the truth of the matter is, or at least what comes across to me, is that Kurapika cares much more fiercely than he hates. He knows what matters most. And for as long as he does, he still hasn't truly lost himself.

[ID: A panel from HxH chapter 350. Kurapika looks down at baby Woble with a gentle, yet complicated expression. The inking is somewhat softer. End ID.]

Kurapika's soul is kind, really. And it wants to heal - but for the sake of his mission, he needs it damaged and bleeding. And so, he forces himself to exist in that pain. All alone.

[ID: A panel from HxH Chapter 344. Kurapika, dressed in a black suit, sits with his back to the reader, looking down at a photo in his hand. He is slumped a little before the church vigil he has prepared, all his clan's eyes lined up in their jars and honoured with flowers and candles. He thinks to himself "There is no home for me to return to... and nobody to welcome me back. I have nothing left." End ID.]

[figs-oliomedley]

it's time I come out: I am a Samukai fan. He's in my top 5, if not number one, Ninjago villains.

anyways 24 HOUR ANIMATION CHALLENGE BABY SOLVES ALL YOUR PROBLEMS WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (except hand pain) I CAME I SAW I DIDN'T EAT COZ THAT'S A TIME LOSS BUT I COOKED

I wanted to add all the other ninja and I had their bits planned out, but hey, that's life. Hope to return to this in the future!

[lifemod17]

Andrew being silly on Instagram stories again, who cheered??

Hozier via his Instagram story

11/18/2024

[softerhaze]

softerhaze but make it irl 💌

[raiiny-bay]

'cause I am yours and you are mine, I'll never let you go

[ruvviks]

he tripped over his own feet and ate shit on the sidewalk don't even worry about it

taglist (opt in/out)

@velocitic, @deadrlngers, @euryalex, @ordinarymaine, @mojaves;

@shellibisshe, @dickytwister, @mnwlk, @rindemption, @ncytiri;

@calenhads, @noirapocalypto, @florbelles, @radioactiveshitstorm, @strafethesesinners;

@fashionablyfyrdraaca, @radioactive-synth, @katsigian, @estevnys, @elgaravel;

@aezyrraeshh, @carlosoliveiraa, @userkatekane

[grogumaximus]

[somegrumpynerd]

"Trying to keep these oversized hamsters alive"

Fuvk. Now i yearn to See them drawn as hamsters for real! 💘🥺🥺🥺 pls bless us with Bad sans hamsters, i beg u pleeeaseee. 😭😭💕

- 🍓

Weeeeell alright, but only because you asked so nicely and also I really really love hamsters lol

(I've only ever had history with dwarf hamsters so that's what they all are to me, sanses are short anyway so it kinda fits.)

I made Killer and Dust roborovskis because they were the first hamsters I had and I have favourites. Also they are fast as hell so good luck catching these guys if they get out. I made Horror and Cross russians because they get a lil bit bigger than robos and I wanted a black and white one for Cross.

Also I dunno if you've ever seen those videos of 2 hamsters trying to run on the same wheel and one getting spun around or thrown off, but that's 100% Killer and Cross.

[fooltofancy]

then and now ~

wasn't actually gonna do this due to feeling. weird. about literally everything rn, but! out is through, etc.

once upon a time baby mode was a cat. i think i started playing in like. 2019? the first time? did not last, because i am classically bad at mmos. started playing again just before ew, because bnuy. anyway, baby mode, cat edition, first -> last

did love the hell outta that stupid little cat, though.

baby mode, bnuy edition didn't become ilya til like. well after i finished ew, but despite that the only real changes he's gone through are eye and haircolor, lmao. i have a brand. 😔

might be an actual guy, now, but he's still a meme.

lil art journey below the cut, 'cause i know it's not about that but that's where the actual guy. is. so.

mostly though he's just gotten. broader. didn't quite manage to untwink that man, but i tried. almost 2025 and i still don't know where his ears go.

[squidling2005]

nobody understands how much i love yubashiri, not even me sometimes. it's my favorite sword in all of one piece, and it's never talked about

i know that moment in loguetown was focused on kitetsu because it was an important moment for zoro and really showed how much he believes in fate and luck, but that scene reminds me that yubashiri has so much weight to it, i think.

yubashiri was a family heirloom, and when zoro leaves the shop, tashigi asks the shopkeeper why he gave away such an important treasure, and he says "what's wrong with a man entrusting another man with his dreams?"

whether zoro knows it or not, yubashiri holds a promise and a dream similar to wado, but not as heavy or personal. we don't know what the shopkeepers dream was, but he knew he wouldn't be able to reach it and instead gave it to zoro in the form of yubashiri.

i know this isn't that important in the long run, and we don't really know anything about the shopkeeper, but zoro has this theme with promises and carrying the weight of others dreams with him. he strives to be the best and will do anything to reach the top, but he'll also do the same for people he loves and respects.

even if he doesn't know or care what yubashiri means to the shopkeeper, yubashiris history seems to fit well with zoro, and i think that's what's important. it continues this theme of dreams and promises and trust, things that are vital for zoros character. they compliment each other

and then it died in two seconds because of some random guy that we've never heard of and we'll never see again 😭😭😭

i'm really happy zoro laid it to rest in thriller bark, but the way yubashiri died made it feel unimportant and tossed aside and i'm really upset about it

[thefabelmans2022]

did you ever notice how merry doesn't actually volunteer for the quest? pippin is the one who assumes he and merry will go, gandalf vouches for them both, but merry doesn't say a word for the entire encounter. it's a stark difference from his insistence on going with frodo in the conspiracy chapter, and i think it's because he's totally lost his confidence. in the beginning, he's very confident and fully believes he'll be able to lead the group through the old forest to bree with no trouble, and then they all almost die twice basically immediately. notice that when they get to bree, he refuses to go to the prancing pony with the others, deciding instead to stay in their room alone? and then of course he gets attacked by nazgul, which definitely doesn't help matters. i think by the time they get to Rivendell, he no longer believes himself capable of helping frodo. he'll do it, obviously, if frodo or gandalf or elrond or pippin ask him to, but i think he's at a point where he no longer believes he'll be any good.

[jerrythebug]

Trying to figure out how to draw a White Guy in a Suit. I'm getting somewhere, but still need more practice.

[smartzelda]

I AM EMOTIONALLY DEVASTATED OVER A CARTOON PAPER BOMB

[jimmyspades]

"When I was looking around the courtroom yesterday, deciding what lawyer to run up to, I saw your face. And I knew you would be the one to save me." THE PRACTICE 8.09 "Victims' Rights"

[shuploc]

I will be posting a little Astarion piece later today! 🤗