#sorry but i will promo this a lot

[nateconnolly]

What Does the Lion Turtle Chant Mean?

A podcast episode about the spirituality of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Transcript Preview:

Many people have told me they struggle to take Sozin’s Comet seriously because they would have killed the Fire Lord without hesitation. And, look, as far as I’m concerned — if you’re willing to kill a genocidal colonizer, good for you! Many blessings upon your journey! And the show isn’t trying to dissuade you. 

Aang is not the only voice of wisdom in Avatar. He’s not a puppet through which the text articulates its meaning. Avatar is about cultural exchange. When one character says what they think is true, that isn’t necessarily the moral of a story. That’s one voice, and the story is a conversation. So, I don’t think that Sozin’s Comet is using Aang to say “Hey, you, you, looking at the TV, you personally should never support violent revolution!” Water Tribe culture doesn’t seem to have any problem with killing on the battlefield. 

When Sokka lops off the Melon Lord’s head, there’s some very clear indications that we’re supposed to be troubled. The musical cue, Momo eating the melon, he lingering focus on Aang’s reaction … But I don’t think this scene is meant to communicate that Sokka is a bad guy. Or that soldiers are inherently bad people. I assume that Hakoda, Bato, and Tyro killed people. These figures are portrayed as admirable, and even as mentors. 

The scene in which Sokka kills the Melon Lord is there to illustrate the difference between Southern Water Tribe culture and Air Nomad culture. Sokka’s journey is about embracing and reclaiming all the parts of his culture that the Fire Nation tried to destroy. He wasn’t able to go ice dodging or to train as a wolf warrior, but he has found a way to become a strong, protective man anyways. And that does mean that he’s willing to kill or die for a cause he believes in. This scene doesn’t communicate that Sokka is a bad person. It communicates that Sokka is walking his own path, and that Aang is walking a different path. But the show doesn’t try to tell you one of them is wrong and the other is right. 

At the same time, I think we need to remember that Aang is saying something he believes. It’s not just an emotional problem for him. 

Aang gives multiple related, but different reasons not to kill the Fire Lord.

“I didn’t feel like myself.” 

The Fire Lord “is still a human being.”

Killing goes against “everything the monks taught me.”

“All life is sacred.”

In Southern Raiders, he also makes a more general claim that “violence is never the answer,” but I think that the writers had to use the word “violence” as a euphemism. In our normal usage of the word, punching somebody would be a “violent” act. Aang clearly has no problem whacking people over the head or shooting wind at them. I think this is a way of making the show more kid friendly, and that what Aang actually means is 

“[Killing] is never the answer.”

Some of these claims are about Aang as an individual. He’s saying he doesn’t feel like he, specifically, can kill someone. That it goes against the values of his culture. And some of these are universal claims. He’s saying no one should kill, not ever. 

But he also believes in a separate ethical mandate. As the Avatar, he has to protect the world. In this lifetime, that means preventing the Fire Lord from burning the Earth Kingdom. 

This is a story about moral standards, and they seem impossible to live up to. There’s no easy answer. If you believe that murder is wrong, and you believe in the duties of the Avatar, then you have a conflict of values, not just emotions. In order to understand the Buddhist themes of Sozin’s Comet, we have to understand Buddhist ideas of morality. 

This podcast episode

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Nate's short story about Buddhism

Transcript with Citations

[starryjkoo]

It’s really funny when people are like - but JK hung out with x person 10 times this year! - and it’s like, okay, and then he chose to spend the next 18 months, 547~ days with Jimin? 😭 You might really want to rethink that argument friend. JK had other options, other people he could have gone with, other programs he could have tried for, a later date he could have enlisted on, and yet he chose JM, and vice versa. They didn’t even have to enlist with anyone, they could have gone individually like everyone else in the group. No one was expecting them to enlist together. And this is also probably the furthest thing there is from company content or fanservice considering we’re not even going to be seeing them for the next 18 months and I doubt they’ll even talk about their time in the military. It’s just so silly. “JK and JM were never together this year!” buddy, they’re literally together RIGHT NOW 😭

[trippedandfell]

me, frothing at the mouth, begging the 911 promo department to give us another trailer, sneak peek, anything -

911:

[pansyfemme]

im getting fairly close to 2k on my art blog so friendly reminder that if you follow me here, you’d probably like my art too. i have 11k here so theres a pretty big chance that a few of you havent realized it exists but would enjoy it. its @fagboyfriend.

[shibusawaz]

So, your Madoka Kaname drawing looks amazing, and as a traditional artist, I was trying to observe to see if I could learn from your drawing.

One thing that stuck out to me was the shading and outlines.

How do you shade so well? How do you know which colors to use, and where to use them? Same question goes for outlines, too.

hihihihiii!! first of all thank u so much, im rlly flattered that u were so impressed 🫶🫶 im honestly really surprised how much attention my drawing got gyuh

anyways!! the picture i referenced was from the crash fever x pmmm crossover, so it’s by no means completely original. here’s the side by side comparison of the (cropped) og image vs in my sketchbook!!

so, most of the actual shading decisions and placements are from the original work. however, i had to change up the colors a bit because of the selection i had. (please note that my version is also darker because of lighting and iphone picture quality 😭😭)

also, for most of my drawings i follow the call of the wind (make guesses) and fufill the prophecies (keep adding more colors until it looks okay)

that being said, below the cut is a full coloring walkthrough if you’re still interested!!

please note that this is much smaller scale and done in less time (took an hour instead of two days 😨) so the quality will be a bit less!!

alright. so let’s say we wanna draw this image, but we tweaked it a bit because drawing BOTH eyes was too much of a hassle.

after you clean your sketch, the best thing to do is open with an outline that’s not QUITE black but close to it.

now, i have a rule. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE remember this rule: you can use ANY color. for your outline, shading, whatever. it doesn’t have to match the reference.

if you are using this as a genuine tutorial, please know that i change colors every fucking time i draw. i change mediums too. this is only the process i used for my madoka drawing (as best as i can remember)

cuz, like my art teacher said, you have this thing called artistic license, which means you have the right to change whatever the FUCK you want if you think it makes your drawing better. make her purple, give her one ponytail, whatever. as long as you can make it work, have fun!!

anyways. next, go over that outline with other dark colors of different hues. there’s no rhyme or reason, it’s just fun.

after, place your highlights on the hair. i used cream instead of the pastel pink in the original because i like cream better and it adds more hues.

usually, i start with the darkest value instead for shading as it’s more vibrant, but madoka doesn’t have any really standout dark tones. it’s okay though i love her

then, you gotta go in with base colors. simple pink and peach yada yada

listen, quick reminder: YOUR BASE COLORS DON’T MATTER AS LONG AS YOU CAN STILL ADD ONTO THEM!!!

just pick a light base close to the original. don’t agonize over it. apply lightly and gently in circular motions, and you’ll be okay!!

next, we adjust the tone of the hair. i wanted a cooler toned pink, so i added amethyst. i also added a bit to the stray eye.

after, adjust your tone more as needed. again, any color goes. the means justify the ends, and if you end up adding some blue or yellow or whatever then good!! go bonkers with it. i used vermillion.

next, add shading blocks (referenced from the original image!) in a color that’s light enough to blend in more but dark enough to see (amethyst is my favorite for this, and i use it a lot!!) you can also add extra shading in some areas to give it some personality.

after THAT, blend in your shading a bit more with your base colors. by this point you should be pressing down a lot to get the pigment you want. i think for her skin i added beige instead of peach in this step, but that’s also what i did for the above drawing.

the purpose of this is to mute your colors a bit so they fit together more. however, if you want it to pop, you don’t have to add another base color!!

i also went over the outlines with the base color to lighten them and even out the drawing. i do that with almost every step, as needed. follow your heart on that one

also, i gave her a little bit of blush in that step. just because.

ok, so now is the fun part. for the hair and any accessories/clothes/things of the same texture, add random streaks of random colors.

yeah, go ahead, add orange, blue, yellow, whatever. it’s best if it’s of the same value (aka darkness) so it fits in with the base color, but it can be anything!!

you don’t have to do this, but it’s fun.

also, i shaded the eye too offscreen. same process, because pmmm’s style has a very flat texture on characters. thus, it’s okay to use the same shading technique.

now, we can do the same with accessories!! these are simpler and i honestly got too lazy to even reference for the scarf because the hair was the main focus.

finally, add little details, clean up anything you don’t like, and do whatever you want with it!!

that’s all i do for shading, and i hope it helped a bit. i mainly work with pen and paint markers, but the process is the same aside from tweaking parts.

just remember:

its your art do whatever the fuck you want

LAYER LAYER LAYER fix anything by adding new things

it doesnt have to be perfect yada yada

fun color = fun drawing

it doesnt have to look like the picture because thats boring and you wont learn if you try and carbon copy everything you see

like and subscribe

[m1dnitefloat]

mon amour

[sparklecarehospital]

💕 Sparklecare Update 💕

VOL 3: Pages 215-220 (VOLUME ENDING)  🌈 Click here to read!

Promo art by @chaosblast and @yoylese!

✨ Support us on Patreon!  (If you wanna see volume 4 in advance, there are pages on there already!)

✨ Updates Mondays & Thursdays ~ BUT WE ARE NOW ON HIATUS!

[bombdotcomshop]

A little glamour shot of some of the stylish spellcaster collection. The Wizard’s Familiar earrings are restocking for sure, and a version of the silver Venom too! Pictured here is version 2, but I’ll be restocking the OG starpoint version.

[5hrignold]

allan is so loyal to his job its a little scary

[magnifiico]

We have this king named Magnifico ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* [. . .] with lightning for hands and eyes that can glow—

No, no, no, I’m totally kidding! unless ???

please like/reblog if you're interested in interacting with king magnifico of disney's wish. heavily headcanon-based, spoilers present but tagged accordingly. (see my rules page for further information)

canon tied in with my remarkable queen amaya, written by casi (´⌣`ʃƪ)

[dandyshucks]

blinks tiredly. i decide "hm maybe i should try to expand my circle and step outside of it a little, lets go look at the main community tags" and im just greeted with a bunch of edgelords who think saying "fiction doesn't affect reality, don't like don't read" is peak activism and "fighting censorship". head in my hands. this is partially why i do not ever go into the community tags, my nervous system cannot handle blocking fifty weirdos every single day just so i can have a normal experience in the community tags hfdsjkl

[caramel-mocha-latte]

Hi hello!!! Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I've just been dealing with some pretty bad depression

And uhhh! I am currently unable to afford meds rn so I'm just gonna...

points at my $5 headshot commissions again

and even link my cashapp. Only $3 extra for a tiny on your shoulder now for my commissions! No charge for having a big hand patting your head or something cause it's actually easier to add than a tiny for me lol

https://ko-fi.com/mocha_latte/commissions

https://cash.app/$Astakoi

So uh.. if any of you want anything/just want to help me out, yeah I'd appreciate it a bunch!

Gonna try to get back into posting more art :> and do a few artfight things before the month ends

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

.

[icharchivist]

Elgar'nan, smash or pass?

Personally Pass, but i Get It?

as in like. I really like his dominer and his voice. as in like. He falls under this category of villains like Sephiroth where it almost sounds like he's flirting in a bdsm way. He rarely gets purely angry, his voice is really calm and suave in some way, and he says stuff like "i don't ask much. praise me, love me, worship me, and kneel for me" like. He gave me a bit of the impression of the Goblin King from Labyrinth.

He's clearly a tyrant and an awful person but he's the type of guys who hide the most cruel things he plans to do behind velvet words. And i admit like. I Get It. Like i can't say it didn't make me pause and go 😳 a little.

one of his redeeming quality/the way it shows especially is his dynamic with Ghilan'nain which intruigues me SOOO MUCH.

Physically he's not my type and loser is wearing a wig, but considering my ultimate blorbo i can't judge him on that.

But personality-wise i want to kick him into the sun he likes so much and he has done too many crimes apologetically that i do wish him a painful death.

And Solas detests him so i have to make him my enemy-in-law this is how it works. That said Solas also says he specifically hates Elgar'nan because he is what he fears he could become if he stopped listening to others people and stopped admitting when he was wrong. So in a sense i can't help but 👀 oh worm?

So yeah like, pass. But if i hadn't been devoted to Solas.................... and had looser morals................................... well ........................ it's not like it doesn't work on me yaknow.

but at least i'll thank him always for having Solas says one of his sexiest lines <3

[mikhailoism]

im just throwing out some thoughts and rambles on the second half of s7 here... i love amir and the whole confrontation of bobbys past , but tbh not a biggest fan of the cartel part of the storyline... i feel like there could have been way better ways for the storyline without. and theres one i keep thinking about

see everything with amir would stay relatively the same, he sees bobby at the hospital and then does his speech at the aa meeting and all that. bobby still seeks him out but it's not them going all the way out to jacumba. the changes would be that instead of the cartel being the "antagonist" so to speak of this storyline it would be another st paul apartment fire survivor

cause this whole storyline is about that event and how bobby still struggles with it right, so having another survivor would fit more. and this survivor would be the opposite of amir okay, this one has let the grief and anger and resentment just build up to where he wants revenge, he's actively seeking out bobby for revenge to idk fix what he's lost , the usual revenge rhetoric right. he finds bobby (who just so happens to be with amir) and acts on his plan of something.

and then you have all this conversation of how each person dealt with this huge traumatic event, they all lost people they all had different roles in it. the parallels between the three of them would be insane. idk the specifics of anything really I just think it would have done more for the characters. it would be so fascinating to see them interact and what is does to bobby and how he would ultimately handle it. I mean with everything concerning amir it sent him down this spiral of suicidal ideation and questioning his life... what about the third person wanting revenge and how that affects him ??? and this third person confronting bobby how does it end for them, do they actually hurt him or are they reasoned with and realized revenge isn't the answer or something?

just something how these three people going through a horrific event and seeing how it all affected them and how they continued after it, amir becoming a nurse and dedicating his life to help people for his wife, bobby determined to become a better person and fix his mistakes and "repent" for his sins, him saving people to make up and always fighting for his sobriety, and the third survivor, who kept that anger and grief inside and let it fester and never truly moved on....

idk I think it could have been more compelling and whatnot... idk if half this makes sense but

[nxthingmxtters]

What tragic horror character trope are you?

That which cannot be known

Oh god. How did it come to this? To some extent, you've gone so far past your own idea of "human" that it must be kind of fun, right? Maybe. I'm not sure. As an artefact of cosmic horror, you're wild and wacky and colourful and people are probably drawn to that, but you will never let them know you. The mystery intrigues for a while, but it'll wear everyone down. It'll wear you down, too. Who are you? Do you remember? Are you so far gone that you can't go back? And maybe that's the most tragic thing of all - becoming so distorted in your identity, and for so long, that no matter how hard you want to return you can't ever seem to figure it out. But you've learned a vast amount up in the stars, and people will work hard to get to know you. It doesn't matter who you used to be. Sometimes, you should just start from scratch: give yourself a name, a birthday. Let someone celebrate these things with you.

Tagged by: @violetgleams (♡) Tagging: Whoever would like to do it??