#the gathering cloud

[united-in-cyberspace]

The Gathering Cloud by J.R. Carpenter

[onewinged-sephiroth]

MAGIC THE GATHERING ART

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Cloud Key

"A key only unlocks a door. Its wielder must choose whether to cross the threshold." —*Hurkyl's Metaphysics, vol. II*

Artist: Trevor Hairsine TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[a-book-of-creatures]

Okay maybe I'm being nitpicky but

this is not remotely what a cicada looks like

or any insect for that matter

[jamiethebee]

(In which I spiral down a rabbit hole with Midoriya that has little to do with @codenamesazanka 's original post that started this (x).  FYI I sorta separated Deku/Izuku to indicate Deku as the hero and Izuku as the person outside of heroics.)

I started thinking about this post again (see the link above) and how Deku doesn’t really understand that non-perfect or sanitized victims exist AND still need to be saved and not by destruction. (The "maybe killing someone does save them" thing is a great way to assuage guilt but it's a stupid copout.)  Deku (hero) and more importantly Izuku (person) doesn’t really understand that though because he WAS a “perfect” victim.  Midoriya stayed quiet and inconspicuous and didn’t make a fuss about the bullying or discrimination he faced, he just kept his head down and hoped that something would change without any real effort on his part.  And if he had died as a result from the bullying he would’ve been hailed as an unfortunate victim (of who? or what? Don’t worry - isn’t his death so tragic? oh well now on to our next news story -), so any critique of society and the individuals who reinforce the status quo don’t actually have to do anything.  I know there’s more nuance here and lot of cultural things happening with this all but I’m not gonna dig into that right now.

Moving on!  Quite frankly the boy didn’t live long enough to get out of his childish mindset and get some “righteous" anger at the wrongdoings and failings of society.  All Might came along when he was still starry eyed and hopeful to lift Midoriya out of the trajectory of his life and Izuku never had any time to get to the point where he comes to terms with the hurt caused society’s rejection of his self and get angry about it.  As such, he can’t understand the league.  It probably doesn’t even occur to him that he's missing that understanding because for him it worked out - he got the attention and support to be able to escape the circumstances of his birth/quirklessness and to leave the box (deku) that society shoved him in. Twice and Toga never had that support – they both lived how they needed to in order to survive in a world not meant for them until they broke down.  (Maybe that's why Vigilante Deku AUs were so popular back in the day - they speedran Midoriya past the hopeful kid stage and to a point where a lot of the fanbase was in their own lives - seeing the issues in the world and wanting to affect change.)

Izuku, for all that he claims to want to connect to the villains, hasn’t given enough thought or empathy to understand how continuing to live a life where you don’t fit in with society can be deeply hurtful as well as the emotional repercussions of having unchangeable parts about yourself be reviled.  This isn’t to say Izuku had it easy -  of course Izuku went through hardships but.... there’s a big difference between living through stuff as a kid and finding a way out of it vs living through that, growing up, maturing, and in turn looking critically at society.  But I can’t bring myself to fault Midoriya for those exact reasons because he's just a kid. He doesn’t have the perspective to see outside of himself – at least not for the villains.  Because that seems to be too far of a stretch for him?  But Todoroki was close enough to Izuku’s mindset for him to help back in the sports festival arc.  I also acknowledge that he's a teenager and IS capable of critical thinking, but from what we've seen, his schools have never actually made the students examine the world they live in - which is a different skill from quirk analysis or historical or literary analysis or the various writing exercises that students go through. 

(Believe me – you can have the brightest kid but, most of the time, unless you point out the shortcomings of their mindsets, it won’t occur to them to look further.  (Not necessarily assuming that they’re wrong, but rather that their consideration of life is not as expansive as it should be. Especially for a kid wanting to be the greatest hero and save everyone.)  For example: many abled bodied people don’t realize how inaccessible places can be until someone brings it up to them or they find themselves in that situation (like a temporary crutch or wheelchair).  It’s through no fault of the able bodied person that they weren’t aware enough to consider it in the first place, but what they do once they realize physical accessibility is an issue, is on them.)  Back to the point – hero society never calls attention to it’s own shortcomings despite the proof quite obviously existing and the people within society don’t seem to spare much thought either. The adults who have seen more of these instances are then of course more culpable in this than the kids who haven't.

So, Midoriya was also failed by society (cough all might cough) as well, but he chose the hero path - to save people. We see him starting to consider the deeper issues in his talk with Uraraka, and the few times he “tries” to talk to various villains shows that he is aware enough of underlying issues - which makes it his duty as a hero to do something about it.  In that way, he is at fault. He chose a profession to devote his life to that should require this of him.  And through his hero work, Midoriya has seen the problems in society and yet he’s chosen to turn away from them (and by problems/them I’m referring to the villains “too far gone to save” and the issues they represent). 

(Sorry Midoriya, but considering we’re nearing the end and you haven’t shown any growth in this area….. I am faulting you for metaphorically pushing your head in the sand.  I do want to be wrong though.  I really want the kid to prove me wrong.)

And he’s able to turn away from them guilt free, in part, because he’s gotten the proverbial thumbs up by his classmates that it’s ok and that they’ll just be better and be model minority heroes and that will fix the problem! Because they’re positive representation!  Or something?  If you can put your mind to it that will fix things! Just try harder! Again, very idealistic but they are kids, so it comes with the territory.  (Horikoshi didn’t have to make them unquestionably right in that approach though.  Toga and Uraraka coming together for the win! The Shoji and Spinner match up not so much.)

Overall, there’s something about how Deku still fit into society's boxes in an acceptable way and never truly faced what existing outside of "acceptability" was like.  Don’t get me wrong it’s tough to live in the mha world as a quirkless person and of course it has its problems and restrictions, but that’s still a box that society provides for, even if the society in question doesn’t like it. 

And I'm not saying that Izuku had to live through a terrible life to understand the villains!  Just that, he has the capacity to look outside himself and be empathetic, but the application of it is lacking, despite knowing there’s problems, despite having LIVED with some of those problems. Extrapolate, boy!!!! You don't need empathy to reach out to others but the whole compassionate/kind Midoriya thing has been touted since the beginning! So I want to see it!

(Not sure how much sense this will make to people, but there’s a maturity that comes about with either time or certain circumstances that can be hard to grasp unless you’ve lived through it.  And quite frankly, Midoriya hasn’t. He went from a perfect/acceptable victim to the top tier of society (heroes).)

(Basically: Midoriya never **matured in the restrictive environment he grew up in and can't emotionally connect with the league who did, because of that. Instead he seems to have internalized the "if they were better" or "if they were truly good" then there wouldn't be a problem because just look at his classmater!, so villains being villains is their own fault and no one else is culpable.)

**centers on the idea that someone starts off as hopeful in regards to their discriminated position in life and over time matures to understand how society supports that discrimination and come to terms with the hurt that it's caused them personally (and in this case to fight back against it)

also, if you made it this far, i'm just having a fun time reading codenamesazanka's posts about the latest chapters

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Magic the Gathering is getting a Final Fantasy collaboration? Oh my gosh, these are gorgeous!

[khattikeri]

nie huaisang may say "i don't know" all the time but the person who Really doesn't know or even want to know is lan xichen. thanks for coming to my tedtalk

[teruthecreator]

oh my god i forgot to tell tumblr about my haircut

[dinosaurcharcuterie]

Me: Hey, I finished that dress I've been planning to make since last May.

My mother, silently grateful my first summer dress of the year is not covered in manic cartoon animals: Oh that looks lovely... Though don't you think you put a bit much fabric into your skirt? You could have used half and had enough left for a second dress.

Me: It's more comfortable this way. Not as clingy. And it's cut to be low waste, so you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Mom: ... How much is in there?

Me: Only like 4 meters.

Mom: Of a low waste pattern.

Me: Yup.

Mom: Give me one reason you need that much "bang for your buck".

Me:

[iamavillainandtodayismydayoff]

Part 2 of my Saezuru re-watch feels because I have too many favorite scenes~

[Spoilers? for people who didn't watch the movie]

YASHIRO!!! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!😔

THIS SCENE JUST 😭😭😭

The kiss🥺😭

Seriously Kageyama i do like you BUT YOU DUMBASS!!! [I am glad Kage has his own happy ending and now I am hoping the same from Yashiro and Doumeki although idk how accurate it would be to even call it a "Happy" ending, but something resembling happiness at least?]

Yashiro! The Man You Are!

Doumeki's gentle hold on Yashiro's head😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Me knowing fully well how the story progresses at this scene always: YASHIRO DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON US!!!

The flashback of the traumas in his life... The "I'm home." The loneliness he has been feeling just...😭😭😭 All these scenes one after another always break the dam of tears loose for me...

I've known more than enough...

Yes yes you have sweetie😭😭😭... Putting a dagger through my heart would make me feel less pain that Yashiro and his back stories make me feel... The movie ending with "Moratorium" and the lyrics

Once the sky stops crying, Will you fly back to the place you call home?

will just continue to make me cry more~ No series or manga or book has made me feel and cry more than Saezuru has... I will not be the same person once this ends for real... BUT I look forward to what the new volume brings and ofc rooting for a happy ending for Yashiro and Doumeki always~ Now time to listen to Moratorium and cry the day away~

[bardic-tales]

Sephiroth & Cloud Strife: Magic the Gathering

[swan2swan]

Sammy and the First Trial: Wood and Stone

[bread--hood]

|| Sefikura || The Boy is mine

[someloserinajaywig]

I really like that their eyes light up when they use a lot of power :)

[ffmtg]

New art, card names, and release date

We got some new stuff on Thursday evening and I finally have the time to talk about it.

First off, new art (light spoiler warning for Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake):

Art for two cards that forms a panorama. The first one depicts Sephiroth, the main villain of Final Fantasy VII, the second depicts Cloud, its protagonist. The panorama shows that they're battling.

The background shows the collapsed expressway, the location of their fight at the end of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Now, for the cardnames

This illustration of Emet-Selch will be used for the card named "Emet-Selch, Unsundered"

This illustration of Lightning will be used for the card named "Lightning, Army of One"

These names don't reveal much, other than that the cards will most likely be legendary creatures but that was already somewhat expected. I'll once again talk more about them once we see the actual cards, and maybe I'll even have played Final Fantasy XIII by then.

There is one other card name that has been revealed, but to talk about it, I'll have to get into some pretty heavy Final Fantasy X and X-2 spoilers, so be warned.

This illustration of the underwater kiss between Yuna and Tidus will be used for the card named "Together forever".

Now if you've played Final Fantasy X, that's already going to hurt, but it is also notable for being a reprint of a card from Battlebond.

(Link to the card for those who use a screenreader)

I'm not entirely sure into how much detail I should go when explaining cards so if I end up explaining too much or too little, please let me know.

Together Forever is an enchantment, which is a permanent type, meaning it stays on the board (the 'battlefield') after you play it.

Together Forever allows you to support 2 after you play it, meaning you can put a +1/+1 counter on up to two creatures, a counter that permanently increases a creature's power and toughness. In the fiction of the card, this represents Yuna and Tidus becoming stronger from their love for each other.

Together Forever also has an activated ability, allowing you to pay 1 mana of any color to choose a creature with a counter on it (such as the +1/+1 counter from support 2) to make it go to its owner's hand the next time it would die, saving its life and letting you replay it.

I actually don't think this is that flavourful of an effect. Yes, both Yuna and Tidus save each other's life over the course of the games, but I don't think this effect represents that particularly well.

The art in combination with the name is great though.

Last but not least, we have an official release date: June 13th, 2025. If you're unfamiliar with Magic but interested in this set, you should also know that a week before a set's full release, so on June 6th, game stores can hold so-called prereleases, allowing people to play with the new cards early. Also, assuming they're not changing their schedules yet again, the set will release on digital clients (Magic Arena, Magic Online) on the Tuesday before the full release, so June 10th.

[francesderwent]

“1 John 4:16” by The Mountain Goats, also a Jinx and Vi song