#though now I'm seeing details I'd maybe do different or change if I were to do it again 🤔

[ifindus]

Pinky and Sunniva ⛵

Their relationship is so cute and I like the two of them going on their own travels and adventures together. I bet they make their own two-person adventure group when they grow up, maybe bringing Marco along too, sailing around and treasure hunting ✨

[lavender-butterfly-cookie]

I meant the isekai x self-aware fic with the team that you would never fight. I love it and want to see a part 2 of it. (sorry if I worded my previous ask incorrectly and confused you into thinking I was talking about another fic!)

OH- Butterfly- be more specific next time. I got around 3 different self-aware crk au's going on and you ought to specify which one you're referring to. I'm gonna mix them up if you don't T T Anyways, part two coming right up

Previous part

The ball's in your court pt2

While the battle between the heroes and Shadow Milk cookie raged on, Y/N cookie was just chilling with the kids and watching from the side eating popcorn (From where? nobody knows). The fight was pretty much still a 50/50 battle since neither team was taking enough damage for defeat. When did Shadow Milk cookie become THIS resilient??? Oh well, provided you got the healers doing their job and everyone else is holding up it would be fine.

Gingerbrave: So...

Strawberry cookie: The baker, hm?...

Wizard cookie: I thought you'd be bigger...

Y/N cookie: the feeling is mutual. And take as much time as you need to come to terms with it.

Strawberry cookie: And those cookies- the ones you brought to fight. Are... they the really like the ones we know? As in- the white lily cookie and dark cacao cookie. I don't know who the other two are.

Y/N cookie: Yes and no. Unlike the cookies of this universe, these ones are solely brought in to fight the enemy on my command. And if they crumble it's not a permanent death. They'll always come back provided I choose to use them for battle again. And even if I don't, they're on standby. Though I don't exactly think I'll need to put any of them on the bench with how well the battle is going.

Y/N cookie looks back at the fight, which hasn't calmed down in the slightest. But at least they were slowly getting the upper hand. The three other cookies looked at each other before looking at the baker.

Wizard cookie: So you're saying that anyone you choose to fight for you can and will appear?

Y/N cookie: Yeah, but that'll probably only be possible once I beat this boss or they lose.

Gingerbrave: Wow! This is so cool! It's like some awesome video game in real life!

Y/N cookie:... riiiiiiiiiiiight......

Strawberry cookie: I have a question.

Y/N cookie: Ask away.

Strawberry cookie: Earlier you said something about... Elder Faerie crumbling?... I-is that really gonna happen?

Y/N cookie: Uhh

Wizard cookie: Oh so I wasn't the only one who heard that.

Y/N cookie: Well-

Gingerbrave: Wait- he's gonna crumble?! When?!

Y/N cookie: Ok just calm down so I can speak, geez!

All three cookies go silent, looking up at Y/N cookie with visible concern as they sigh.

Y/N cookie: So originally, he supposed to die. I'm not gonna go into too much detail cuz that's way too many spoilers but yeah, he dies. I was admittedly hoping it wouldn't come to that since a whole lot of dialogue was changed, but I guess there odds of the story changing were pretty low.

Gingerbrave: W-when does it happen?! Maybe we can stop it?!

Y/N cookie: Considering how long the fight's been going I'd say right about-

Just then there was a yell of pain from the battle grounds, causing all the cookies to look at the source. Surprise surprise, Elder faerie was dying.

Y/N cookie: Now...

The four went to the scene. (skipping the whole using the guardians strength part because it's gonna take forever for me to finish this story if I don't.)

Y/N cookie: Can't you heal him or something, Mystic flour cookie?

Mystic flour cookie: No.

Y/N cookie: Why not-

Mystic flour cookie: I'm not about to interfere with a canon event.

Y/N cookie: Ah- fair.

Burning Spice cookie: And so the old fool dies. And yet, I still feel nothing.

Y/N cookie: Wait is that a ref-

White Lily cookie: WHY ARE YOU GUYS SO NOCHALANT ABOUT THIS?! I JUST BECAME A GUARDIAN FOR TREES SAKE!

Moonflower Faerie: You'll get over it.

White Lily cookie: Wait- really?

Moonflower faerie: No- that's gonna haunt you for weeks to come, trust me.

White Lily cookie: oh-

Dark Cacao cookie (Dragon lord): Now, let us make haste and seal that wretched beast once and for all.

Y/N cookie: He's gonna be back in- like, Beast yeast episode 7

Burning spice + Mystic flour: What?-

Y/N cookie: Nothing- let's just go!

[kairismess]

HIHIII! ik i’ve requested like 300000 times but your works are just so amazing 😣😣 but i’ve always just associated Suna with the song Love Language by ariana grande (it’s quite apparent i love her) for some reason. the song is abt trying to learn your partner’s love language so we can love better and i just love picturing that with him😫 Maybe reader can have that mentality along with the end part of the song with “i’m not what you had before, your ex girlfriend don’t want no smoke… i’m just gon make you my home”. bye i just think it’s so cute lolol 😣😣😣

rintaro's love language . . .

🏐 genre: fluff ~ !

✒️ word count: 645

💭 summary: rintaro's been noticing how strange you've been acting lately around him... almost as if you were trying to get something out of him. he doesn't mind, though—he'd love to give you what you're looking for so badly.

🍥 author's note: OOOOOOOO THAT'S SUCH A CUTE IDEA !!! I LOVE IT !! i hope this is any good :'DD

being seated on this boy's lap was the last thing you expected.

his mint green eyes stared into your own, balancing your weight on his string thigh, bouncing you up and down on it here and there to tease you a little. this is what you wanted though, right? to know what it really was that rintaro was into? to know what he loves to give you and take from you? well, you got it now—now you aren't leaving his lap no matter how much and how cutely you squirm and act all shy under his gaze.

for the past few weeks, rintaro noticed the sudden changes and the subtle glances and gestures you've been giving him; it wasn't so uncharacteristic of you, just a little... a little different. he didn't mind, he loved everything you did, even if it wasn't that obvious. he was a little curious every now and then why you were acting that way, but he figured instead of asking you, he'd beat you at your own game by observing you as you observed him.

you were always offering him some sweets in between breaks, and you always offered to walk home with him and hold his hand all sneakily—you were like a cunning little fox, and he oddly loved seeing you act like you weren't up to anything. he pretended not to notice and went with the flow as you kept showering him with affection, not realizing he had caught on long ago when he noticed your smile was laced with a few undertones of something mysterious. it didn't help your case when he had paid attention and remembered the details of the passing comments you made back then when talking to him, asking him if he had an ideal kind of affection he wanted you to give him.

he never understood what that meant, "a specific kind of affection"... until he caught a glance at your phone and realized what you meant. going on those love expert sites helped you get an idea of how to woo him over even more, but it also gave rintaro the idea that what you really wanted was to see what would make him melt... and fortunately, you hadn't figured it out yet. luckily for him, he was curious as to what your love language was, too—so in a bold gesture... he sat you down on his lap when no one was looking, and wrapped his lean but strong arm around your waist, bringing his face so close to you, that your noses were brushing against each other's.

he seemed so nonchalant about it, too... it was too much for you. your face burned and your lips quivered; you stuttered out questions, your mind ran a million miles an hour—but all rintaro did was peck a kiss on your cheekbone, placing his other arm around you, embracing you. "can i help that this is what i wanna do with you all along?" he murmurs as he gently caresses your waist, humming in lazy satisfaction, leaning his head down on your shoulder, closing his sharp eyes as he takes in the scent and feeling of being this close to you.

"y'know..." he murmurs as he runs his thumb over your tinier palm, pressing down on it gently. "...no one else has ever made me feel this way. i'm not really clingy, per se, but... i'd do anything to have you this close to me for a long, long while." he finished, planting a sweet kiss on your neck, not caring if the others came back to see this public display of his affection for you. he couldn't care less, all he cares about now is giving you what you want—and letting you know that he's more than willing to give you more of this than just this one occasion.

[schizoid-hikikomori]

So much of the human experience is defined by how we react to things, even if we don't consciously think about it.

People like to define "humanity" as the emotions/empathy/sympathy/love you feel. Anhedonia and apathy combined with alexithymia is considered inhuman. No ordinary person would know this terminology, but when they see it in people, they consider it a "wrong" or "strange" or "inhuman" way to exist.

People might just assume you're depressed if you're not enjoying anything you're doing, or if you're unresponsive in a social situation. But when it comes to something dramatic, like a societal tragedy or a relationship issue or a death or something similar, if you don't react in the way you're expected to, you're judged.

These judgements could be in good faith, maybe they assume that you're in shock and you don't know how to react. But others will assume you're heartless and don't care at all. It depends on who you're with and how you navigate the situation overall, how your reaction will impact their reactions.

Beyond the surface level, it's also the little things, how you react to birthdays, holidays, marriages, pregnancies, medical events, children, elders, etc. We are a society highly defined by interaction with other people. When you don't interact as expected within your respective culture, you're looked at like something other.

I know what it's like to feel things, at least, I have some sort of memory of enjoying things and feeling strong emotions, but they feel so much like a distant memory far beneath the ocean's surface—muffled, colorless, far away, unreachable. Thinking back on memories don't trigger emotions for me anymore. Despite this, there's still things I don't like talking about, but that I can remember without triggering those traumatic feelings.

I'm sure the change seems drastic to people who've known me since I was a child. Or they didn't notice, which seems to be about right. I became so good at keeping things internal that there's so many things I haven't described even to my mother about my childhood, where she thought I was doing perfectly fine in the messes that were going on.

I started feeling like I was dying at the start of high school and that feeling never left. I feel like I've decayed and I've become something inhuman.

(Photo from the other night.)

Imagery like this was always something I connected with even as a child. Dark hallways, bare tree branches twisting up into the sky like twisted little things, dark churches (which I owe to having grandparents working at a historical church), dead forests, cemeteries, and other gothic imagery.

Now, it portrays the things inside of me that are difficult to verbalize. I do it in my artwork, I do it in my writing.

Even though my novellas are all very different stories, they contain very similar details, relating to an often cynical and unlikable protagonist, themes of bodily identity, neglect of self care, and how we appear to others. As for my art, I don't really like explaining it, especially my art that's unrelated to any of my stories. Writing artist statements for gallery showings and suchlike things has always been dreadful. I'd rather it just speak for itself.

So in the end, I consider myself something inhuman. It is not something I reject or am ashamed of, for I've lost my ability to feel shame. There's no reason to deny the truth.

[thankskenpenders]

And now for something new

So, here's something I was never planning on doing, but I just couldn't shake the idea... Thanks Ken Penders is gaining a sister blog featuring an entirely different comic franchise!

Introducing... Thanks Steve Ditko, a blog where I read the Earth-616 Spider-Man comics, starting all the way back in the '60s! It's gonna be much more casual and less thorough than how I run things here on TKP, though, which I'll explain in a sec.

If seeing me post weird bits from old Spider-Man comics sounds fun and you need no further info, then just head right on over to Thanks Steve Ditko. But for longtime TKP readers, I know you probably have questions...

Number one: Why?

Spider-Man's always been my favorite superhero, and with the Spider-Verse movies kicking ass and my excitement building for the new Insomniac game, I've been in a Spidey mood. Inevitably, a thought occurred to me: Maybe I should actually read the comics that everything else is built off of and see the wildly varying contributions of all the original creators, rather than filtering them through big budget adaptations. If I can power through One Piece and all these other manga with hundreds of chapters, it can't be that hard... right?

And, well, after a few issues I quickly realized that my options were to either clog up my other accounts with random Spider-Man panels for years, or to just make a side blog. And so the side blog was born.

Two: Will this blog replace Thanks Ken Penders?

NO!!!!!!!!!

Okay but prove it

To allow the two to exist side-by-side, Thanks Steve Ditko will have a different format than what Thanks Ken Penders developed. Rather than an in-depth guided tour that critically analyzes every story beat of every issue, TSD will just be a place for amusing panels and brief thoughts as I casually read the comics at my own pace.

If you've seen me make a few tweets about reading Spider-Man recently, I'm basically just moving that to a dedicated Tumblr. It's a place for me to dump these things so that it doesn't fill up my media tab on Twitter for the next decade. (You know, assuming Twitter is still around in a decade.) There will be many issues where I only post two panels that I thought were funny. There will be issues where I don't have anything to say at all. Maybe I'll reach a run that I just cannot get into, and I start skipping around more. Who knows!

This may sound similar to what I thought this blog would be before it blew up. Aside from the simple fact that there's already mountains of Spider-Man commentary out there and therefore less of a void for me to fill, one of the main steps I'll be taking to avoid repeating the past is not enabling an ask box on TSD. I do not need people to ask me to go into ten times more detail on everything. I do not need to write seven essay-length responses to questions about Spider-Man minutiae every day. I do not need a place for people to chide me for not covering certain scenes, issues, or ancillary series.

It also won't have any kind of update schedule. I'm trying to keep it very casual. I'm reading these comics at my own pace, and if I feel like sharing a moment or commenting on something while doing so? It goes there. That's it.

(On the subject of format changes, I'm also listing the issue, writer, and penciller in the body of every post. This is a thing I wish I'd done on TKP so that people didn't misattribute every weird Archie Sonic panel I post to Penders.)

Three: So when will TKP come back from hiatus? You said it'd come back after you finished SLARPG!

I don't know! Sorry. I have a couple things on the backburner right now for TKP, but I'm not sure when I'll get back to proper updates where I read more comics.

I wanted to bring TKP back this year, and that's still possible. The main hurdle is that I want to reread my own archive (again) as a refresher, which is, uh. A lot of posts. I've developed a high standard for myself on here, and I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job right if I forgot half the ongoing subplots and character arcs and didn't bring them up in my analysis. Especially when I'm discussing the work of an author as obsessed with continuity as Ian Flynn. Unfortunately, the nature of this blog means that every time I go on another long hiatus for Life Reasons I have even more comic continuity to catch up on than last time.

(This is a big part of why I'm making Thanks Steve Ditko an extremely casual blog instead of promising to become a Lore Expert on 60+ years of Marvel.)

Mostly I've just been very burnt out this year after having finally finished a video game that took almost eight years to make. I haven't really had the energy for any creative projects, including TKP. But I feel a little bit of a spark here with Spider-Man, so I'm chasing that feeling to try to get back into the swing of blogging about comics - no pun intended.

So, basically, bear with me on this as I start this low-energy side project. But hopefully folks will enjoy Thanks Steve Ditko as its own thing, too.

Look forward to goofy shit like this

[cookiejarwrites]

Dear Past Self | Chapter 1

pairing: nagito komaeda x fem!reader

words: around 800

synopsis: You begin receiving letters from your future self. As the letters continue, each of your high school regrets are gradually revealed, along with advice to stop them. One thing soon becomes very apparent. All your regrets revolve around one person...Nagito Komaeda.

a/n: still have a brain injury but i got bored and started playing danganronpa again so I’m redoing an old story of mine. It was previously on my ao3 but has been taken down, the old version is still currently on my old Wattpad though.

(aka you receive letters from your future self warning you of the disaster and despair that lies ahead)

I awoke to the jarring sound of my alarm clock blaring. With a swift motion, I slammed my hand down, silencing the obnoxious noise. Annoyed at the early start, I let out a groan. The struggles of waking up for school were never-ending. However, today was different. Today marked the beginning of my journey at Hopes Peak Academy, a prestigious school for individuals with extravagant abilities.

Although I didn't consider my talent particularly exhilarating, I had managed to catch the attention of the academy scouts. I was honored to be known as the Ultimate Pastry Chef. My aspirations revolved around opening my own bakery using only sustainable sources. I could go on for hours about all the details I had for my future, even to the exact menu price of my inevitable future restaurant.

In a less than graceful manner, I rolled out of my bed and thumped onto the floor. Determined not to be tardy on my first day, I hastily threw on my uniform and made my way to the bathroom to complete my morning routine.

As I prepared myself for the day, toothbrush still in my mouth, my mother's voice echoed from downstairs, "Y/N! Someone left a letter for you!"

Without hesitation, I went downstairs, snatched the letter, and darted back up to my bathroom. A sense of curiosity filled me as I examined the envelope. It was pristine, as if it had travelled in a steam-press rather than in a mail mans hand. Flipping it over, I took a closer look at the words. The handwriting bore a striking resemblance to my own, only neater. Surprisingly, there was no postmark on the back, leaving me puzzled as to how it found its way to me in the first place. To add to the intrigue, there was no sender name or address. The only words present were "from the future."

I rolled my eyes skeptically. Clearly, this was some sort of foolish prank. Disregarding the delicate nature of the neatly folded envelope, I tore it open. Swiftly, I plucked the paper from the envelope.

"What a lousy joke," I mumbled under my breath as my eyes scanned the letter.

Skipping to the bottom of the page, I glanced to see if there was the name of the sender, hoping for some kind of explanation. My annoyance increased as I read the words printed in neat handwriting.

"What the..? From me? Jeez, this is so dumb," I muttered to myself, the mix of disbelief and frustration evident in my voice. With each passing moment, my agitation grew

Taking a deep breath, I made up my mind to read the full letter from the beginning. Maybe, just maybe, it held some answers or at least shed light on the strange letter.

"Dear Y/N,

Hello. How are you? I wish you the best. I'm sure you are very excited for high school. You are an ultimate after all.

I'm writing this letter 6 years in your future. I'm sure you are very confused.

I'd like to ask you to do me a favor.

I made many mistakes in my past, and I'm hoping you won't make the same ones. Although it'd be terribly hard to erase all the disaster and despair that is to come, perhaps you can change the future for the better, before things go too far downhill.

I'll be sending you letters from now on. Each letter will be sent in chronological order of when events in your future will happen. I will also give you the choices I want you to make in order to change the past and prevent what is soon to be the most despair-inducing event in all of history. Not that you're the cause of it or anything, but some of your actions may affect how things play out. Especially how things ended up with someone you'll come to truly love.

Sincerely, Your future self."

The words resonated in my mind, leaving me dumbfounded and conflicted. Could this really be true? The thought crossed my mind, but I pushed it aside, not ready to fully accept the notion just yet.

"That's completely ridiculous. This must be a joke or something. There's no way—Oh, shit the time!"

The realization hit me like a bag of bricks, bringing me back to the present moment. I hastily rushed out of the bathroom, not bothering to collect my thoughts or make sense of the situation.

Bounding down the stairs, I grabbed my backpack and an extra pair of dress shoes, my mind racing with thoughts of the ticking clock. It was already 6 minutes past the time I had planned to leave for school, and I couldn't afford to waste another second.

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.187 Passing the keys

That night, I went back to the rental website to fill the vacancy because it didn't make sense to wait. The house had been sitting all this time, waiting to generate income for us, and it was past time I did something about it. I decided to rent to the older gentlemen, but his application was no longer available. I was kind of bummed because I had already formed a picture in my mind of what he would be like based on the information he shared on the application, and now I'd have to start over. The plus side is that I found a young family like I originally wanted, so I accepted their application right away. In the morning, I got a notification saying they had moved in already, so I went over there after breakfast to introduce myself and get to know them. The application stated they were a married couple with twin infants. The house wasn't exactly setup for two babies, but they can make it work.

As I approached the door, I overheard them arguing, and my whole body tensed up. They reminded me of Mama's friends, who stayed with us and argued literally day and night. I hope to the Watcher these two are not like that. I pressed my ear to the door to see if I could get an idea of what the issue was. It turns out the woman was flustered because she saw a lost dog who needed help but ignored it. She felt guilty about it and wanted to go back and find the dog, but the husband didn't get it. He was very dismissive and said dogs get lost all the time and it was none of her business if someone can't keep track of their animal. Oh boy. This better not be a bad omen. I knocked, hoping to interrupt him berating her, and they let me in. Owen and Jilliana Sage are their names. Owen works at a store and seemed to have a good sense of humor, so maybe he's not so bad. Jilliana is more serious and super smart. She works at the space center, but I don't remember what she said she does there.

She tried to introduce me to the babies, Xavier and Zahava, but they both started screaming because Owen had the TV way too loud. Xavier calmed down enough to let me hold him, though. He was so tiny and made me miss Desiree at that age. I didn't intend to spend the day with them, and they clearly had things to do, so I told them to call me if they needed anything and made my exit.

I had to pass by Chi Chi's house on the way back home, so I stopped by to tell her we were moving to Gibbs Gardens soon. She was bummed about not being around the corner from us anymore, but relieved we weren't leaving the city. Behind her eyes, however, there seemed to be more than just disappointment at losing her favorite neighbor. I asked if something was wrong, and in Chi Chi-like fashion, I got way more than I bargained for.

As she began this tale, my initial reaction was to beat myself up again about not being a good friend because the details of her story started a while ago. But I stopped those thoughts before my brain ran away with them. We all have super busy lives. No one has time to be involved at such a granular level anymore, and no one is expecting us to know everything. I am a good friend, and I don't have to know every detail to prove it. Come to think about it, my friends—minus Dub—know less about me than I know about them. Needless, I'm done with stressing myself about this.

Chi Chi's woes began with her birthday a few weeks back. Like many women her age (especially when they are as fine as she is), she didn't handle the adult birthday well. Of course, she knew her body would change, but like me, seeing it hit differently. Between that and the little lines creeping from the corners of her eyes and across her forehead, she's feeling frumpy. I almost laughed. She is still one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Frumpy where?? She would turn heads wearing a paper bag. I bet she could gain 300 pounds, shave off her hair, and still have a trail of thirsty men following her everywhere. Still, if the aging stuff was the only thing she had to deal with, she would be fine in time. The problem is all her other worries reinforce the aging issues, and she is struggling. The short version of the story is her life has not turned out how she imagined. She once told me she wanted to remarry and have more kids, but all the dates she's been on led nowhere. Now, as an adult, she's thinking about giving up on that dream, especially when she's about to be a grandmother! Karmine, her daughter, is grown grown now. She moved her boyfriend into the house without even discussing it. Then, she got pregnant and moved out, so Chi Chi is all alone in the house with nothing but these crushing thoughts to keep her company, and she's not doing that great.

I had no idea if it would help, but I decided to share my midlife crisis story. It felt wrong at first because I never told Sophia I was struggling, but if Chi Chi can walk away feeling better, the discomfort will be worth it. Even though her story is different, I identified with everything she said because I realized life rarely turns out exactly how we plan. The reason is because we never factor in trouble or change. Our plans are always perfect and positive. When change and trouble comes, we feel out of control, like our world is falling apart. But the world isn't falling apart. It's the same as it always was. We just haven't taken off our rose-colored glasses yet.

I told Chi Chi everything would be okay, and she should look at it from a positive perspective. Because she's not starting a new family, and is an empty nester, she's got so much extra time to do all those bucket list things she's been looking forward to. And since she won't have any young children to raise, she has time to time to be super grandma and help her daughter through those oh so difficult first two stages. She's still really young and can reinvent herself if she wanted. And when love finally finds her again, and I believe it will, it will be all about them with no one else coming between them. They'll grow old together and be annoyingly in love.

Like I said, I have no clue if my little pep talk helped, but at least I left her smiling. Kinda like grieving, she'll find her way to accepting her new normal, and when she does, she'll appreciate the picture I painted for her.

[stormblessed95]

Since you haven’t been here in a while, what are your thoughts on taekook’s dynamics now? I read your post from 2021 where you mentioned that you don’t think taekook have a deep emotional connection and I recently thought about it because I saw another Jikook blogger mention that too and explained in detail why they thought so and I agreed with them even though I hadn’t really thought about it that way before so I would love to know how you perceive taekook’s dynamic in general now.

My post from 2021 for anyone who wants a refresher or hasn't seen it:

Anon, Idk if you've seen this post as well, but I address Taekook getting closer again in more recent years here too

This post covers where I talk about how close taekook was in the early years and why they are such a huge ship imo

I PROMISE I'm not trying to just not answer this. My opinions just honestly haven't really changed that much? My posts were from after ITS and after taekook started making strides in their relationship and being closer and better friends again. I love seeing it. I still don't see that emotional connection that is as deep as it is as they individually have with other members or outside the group friends too. I think taekook aren't the friends that are going to be having emotional/deep/soul searching conversations with each other. I don't think they are going to seek each other out in times of high emotion, positive or negative or when in distress. I think they are best buddies who act up together and have a great time. They are here for a good time not a long time kinda friends 😂😂 and we all need those friends in our lives too and they can be just as important to us.

I think we see that in the reunion hugs from Jin's military release too. That vmin reunion?? That's a friendship with a deep emotional connection

But also see the difference?

Also, check out that vhope reunion hug too? I'm not saying taekook aren't important to each other. They are so clearly important and they clearly love each other to bits and they have SO MUCH FUN. But my points in all my previous posts still stand. In terms of who they might pick to go on a wild crazy adventure or do something silly? Probably each other are great contenders. As for picking who in all the members they are closest to? Probably not each other. Even though all of BTS are their family. No one should ever be asking them to choose. Everyone's got different types of relationships within a family and friendship unit with each other. And the way those types of relationships intersect are always so beautiful.

I'd be interested to know which other blog post you mentioned too. Hope this answered your question with some satisfaction!

[the-power-of-stuff]

The Live-Action Sukka Manifesto that I Just Couldn't Keep in My Head

So I've been marinating in my live-action Sukka thoughts for the past three days, and when someone sent me an anon asking if I had any thoughts about the changes, at first I went, "DO I EVER?!" and proceeded to dump my entire brain on the page.

But then I worried maybe the anon wouldn't want to see my entire brain and figured I'd make my own post with my Many, Many Thoughts, and reel it in a bit when I answer the ask. And then link here if they're interested in the dissertation.

I'll put all the excessive details and spoilery stuff under a cut, but I'll start by saying, I didn't hate it! And I was afraid that I would.

There were things that I was bummed or had mixed feelings about, but there was also a lot that I genuinely enjoyed. All the Sukka interactions were cute and still had some decent character development, and I had fun with the episode overall (I've watched it thrice mind you, and definitely have not given the rest of the series that kind of attention). And I didn't necessarily dislike the differences from the original; I think I've just taken more of a "that was an interesting interpretation" approach.

But I better start that cut now, because I'm about to go on and on about this. I'd love to know what others think, though!! Even if the opinions aren't the same as mine! Please feel free to comment, reblog, shoot me an ask. If nothing else, I'm excited that the LA has gotten people talking about ATLA again.

So, I want to start with Suki’s characterization, which overall I found to be delightful, even if it was a bit of a watered-down version of her animated self.

In the original show, Suki is confident, sassy, and doesn’t take shit from anybody. She’s proud to the point of almost being arrogant, and even a little mean. What we get in the LA is someone who’s still confident in terms of her status and her skills, and still proud of her heritage and her role in her community, but with significantly less sass. And while LA Suki still seems like someone who wouldn’t take anyone’s shit, we don’t actually see LA Suki deal with that much shit from anyone (because Sokka isn’t really giving her any). 

There is one moment in the show where her interaction with Sokka is a little contentious, which is when he tries to relate to her as a fellow guardian of his people. I think Suki’s question to Sokka about how is he protecting his village if he’s not there is meant to be a challenge to his swagger. However, the line is delivered with a softness that makes it seem as though Suki is, at least in part, genuinely curious. (This curiosity makes even more sense when we consider the fact that Suki’s eventually going to leave Kyoshi Island so she and her Warriors can take part in the war effort, and that she will have to contend with the question of “how do you do that without abandoning your people?” when coming to that decision. The LA lays a lot more of this groundwork than the animated show did: Suki outwardly expressing her desire to see the world, her mother’s secretive looks every time Suki gazes longingly at Sokka the possibilities…)

Compare these two moments, for example. These are both scenes where Suki expresses disbelief at Sokka's claims about his warrior-hood. But in the LA, Suki speaks rather quietly and mildly, in contrast to the brash sarcasm of her animated counterpart. LA Suki is also tilting her head down and away, looking at Sokka indirectly. OG Suki is leaning in close, getting in his face, smirking derisively with her hands on her hips.  

I think there’s something to be said about the LA in general smoothing away certain personality traits that could be seen as negatives but that are actually strengths that are so narratively well-developed they occasionally show up as flaws (for instance, Katara’s fury, or lack thereof). Animated Suki is prideful and stubborn; she berates Sokka until he gives her sad puppy-dog eyes and has zero hesitation about making an example of him in front of her whole class. It’s a little ruthless, but these traits are also 1) what gets through Sokka’s thick skull (he, too, is prideful and stubborn), and 2) what makes her such a dedicated ambassador of Kyoshi and such a strong leader of the island’s Warriors at such a young age. I feel like the LA writers were afraid of making any of the protagonists seem too abrasive—everyone in the LA has had their edges sanded down, including Zuko, including Aang—and in general this tends to lead to less realistic representations of humanity and conflict, less satisfying character development arcs, and fewer opportunities for reflection and learning. 

That being said! I went into watching the LA with negative expectations about what we would see in terms of character development, and thus was pleasantly surprised. 

The LA removed the need for Suki to be as ruthlessly stubborn as she is in the animated show because LA Sokka’s skull is not so thick (and I'll get into that a bit more later). So what we get instead is a sheltered Suki with a helicopter mom who is so hilariously awkward that she has no idea how to interact with other humans. And, to be honest, I enjoyed this version of her so much that I even thought to myself, “I wish I’d thought of that!”

Suki is a straight-up weirdo in the LA and I love that for her. The way she puts Sokka in a chokehold and then looks at him after she sets him free like, “That was good flirting, yes? Would you like to be my boyfriend now?” And then her disappointment when Sokka walks away as if she’s thinking, “Why didn’t that go well, I thought boys loved getting put in chokeholds?” She is so precious, I just want to put her in my pocket. And this characterization might even be more broadly relatable than a super-confident Suki brimming with sass. Who among us hasn’t made a complete fool of ourselves in front of a crush by coming on way too strong and having no idea how to flirt? I mean…real. 

And because Sokka is also mostly just making a fool of himself trying to impress a pretty and talented peer (instead of covering up his insecurities by wrapping himself in misogyny) this leaves room for the two of them to be attracted to each other right off the bat and for their interactions to be more overtly romantic throughout the entire episode. Which, avid shipper that I am, I have to admit I have been gobbling up for the past three days straight. This episode was an IV drip of romantic tropes hooked straight to every Sukka shipper’s veins. 

Shy glances from across the room? Check.

Walking in on the other person half-naked? Check. (Y’all, Suki looks Sokka up and down for a FULL TWENTY SECONDS yes I timed it from the moment she appears in the background, yes you should count it to see how long that really is. Talk about awkward.) 

Tripping so they end up falling into each other’s arms? Check.

Wide-eyed shock that turns into surprise thirst after being pinned to the ground? Check.

Shooting each other satisfied smirks as they kick ass side-by-side? Check.

Jumping in front of literal fire for each other? Check and check!

Like, I could live off this for the rest of the year. 

But look, there’s a lot that I love about the way Sokka and Suki’s relationship is portrayed in this episode besides those romantically indulgent tension-creating moments, and it has to do with Suki’s admiration and validation of Sokka. 

Suki really looked at this boy with his mouth stuffed half-full of steamed bun and went, “Must have.”

With the removal of overt sexism from this episode (for better or worse), the story focused much more heavily on Sokka’s development as a leader. He still has that sort of posturing display of self-confidence that comes from inexperience and trying too hard to prove oneself (“Ferociously…deadly tiger whales…”), and while at first Suki seems put off by this and his attempts to liken himself to her (“I’m not just a warrior, I’m a Kyoshi warrior”) it doesn’t take her long to decide (*cough*after seeing him shirtless*cough*) that she doesn’t actually mind this behavior (and in fact maybe she kind of likes it because maybe it means he likes her and maybe it means she can show him how much she likes him by slicing the tops off all those melons with her fan). She seems genuinely interested in his boomerang and impressed that he hunts, and then later, she immediately takes interest in training him in the Kyoshi Warrior style. 

After they spar, she casually refers back to the fact that he’s his village’s protector, and this time, she does it without the disbelief and defensiveness. Because he’s finally stopped posturing. He opened himself up and gave himself over to Suki’s expertise, and in that way he proved that he has the will and desire—the heart—of a warrior. And Suki tells him so while touching him gently and gazing at him longingly in the soft golden glow of the late-afternoon sun. And as a die-hard Sokka stan, I love seeing him loved and appreciated like this. Adamantly. Ardently. The Sokka cheerleader in my head is going wild. “YEESSSS!! Our boy deserves this!!” Because we know that, in the animated show, he goes through a lot more struggle and self-doubt before he receives this kind of external validation. And while we also know that this makes for an incredibly satisfying growth arc, I gotta admit that it’s a fun bit of indulgence to watch Suki talk Sokka up directly to his face and then want to kiss him really bad. Y’know. As a treat.

That said, I'm very attached to and appreciative of the way their relationship is framed in the animated series. I love that their respect and affection for each other grows even after the disaster that is their first few interactions. In the LA, they are drawn to each other immediately, and the only barrier seems to be a bit of awkward stepping-in-it-ness. In the original, they have legitimate conflict, and they both have to give a little—Sokka becomes more humble, Suki becomes more tender—before they get to that point of potential romantic interest. And I think it says a lot about Sokka’s character and his desire to learn and grow that he is willing to humble himself in front of someone who, as far as he’s seen, has very little regard for him (slash has a good deal of animosity towards him). Giving himself over to Suki’s expertise costs him more in the animated show. But once he does, he and Suki learn and grow together. He shows Suki who he really is, shows her how dedicated and determined (and fun and a quick learner) he is, to the point that, by the end of the episode, she can allow herself to be vulnerable with him. And she does validate him in the original Kyoshi Warriors episode, just less directly than the LA. Her kiss on his cheek and “...but I’m a girl, too” is about forgiveness and acceptance and acknowledgement and respect, as much as or even more than it is about affection. There’s a little bit of romance, too, but it’s just little baby seeds of it, and it feels very natural to let those seeds germinate over time until we see Suki again later in the series. 

Which brings me to the live-action kiss. 

I’ll be honest, I was a little on the fence about the kiss. I want Sokka and Suki to kiss as much as possible in every conceivable universe. So there’s a part of me that was banging on the table and whistling with obscene joy. But the other part of me thought it was too much too soon. However, my hesitance pre-supposes some things about the second season (not least of which that there will be one), namely that it will handle the reunion with Suki and crossing the Serpent’s Pass anything like how it was done in the original. (Of course, one thing we now know for certain can't happen in a hypothetical LA season 2 is Suki pranking Sokka at the ferry station because he doesn't recognize her without her makeup. Do I love the expression on LA Sokka's face the first time he sees Suki's? Yes. Am I sad that this completely ruins their whole "You don't remember me? Maybe you'll remember this!" game? Also yes. But truthfully, I don't know if LA Suki would've been up to the prank, anyway. Not sassy enough. ;))

The Serpent’s Pass is one of my favorite episodes of all time, and that moment on the bluffs when Sokka and Suki are talking around Sokka’s loss, with the moon shining down on them all the while, and they almost kiss with the moon hanging between them in the background, and then Sokka pulls away without any other explanation besides, “I can’t”? That scene is so absurdly powerful and beautiful and an amazing moment of character development for them both, and I feel like it loses a lot of impact if they’ve already made out once. The fact that they kiss for the first time after that moonlit moment, when Sokka realizes that Suki doesn’t need protecting the way he thought she did, and in fact she was there to protect him, and he can finally just let go of this burden that he’s been carrying with him since Suki first mentioned she was joining them (slash since his dad put him in charge of an entire village at 13), and then and only then can he open his heart to what he feels for Suki, and in fact opens it so wide that he just cannot help but jam his mouth onto hers before she’s even finished talking…? I mean. C’mon. That’s poetry. But, again…loses impact if they’ve already had a first kiss.

But who knows what, if anything, they’ll actually do with that storyline. So for now, I’ll just enjoy my live-action Sukka kiss because, honestly, dream come true.    

Or almost a dream come true. Because there's a huge camelephant in the room that I haven't addressed yet, isn't there? The lack of Sokka in the Kyoshi Warrior uniform...

And I don’t think we can talk about the omission of Sokka’s Kyoshi Warrior uniform without talking about the omission of Sokka’s sexism. Because if Sokka isn’t sexist, then why do you have to put him in the dress and makeup of traditionally female warriors to make a point about how women are strong and capable, too? So here’s what I’ll say about that (and I know there’s a lot that people have said already, so I’ll try not to belabor the point.) I don’t think leaving out Sokka’s sexism was necessarily a detriment to his character arc. I do think, however, that leaving out Sokka’s sexism was a detriment to the message the show was trying to convey about sexism. 

Now, in the Northern Water Tribe episodes, the LA still gives us a message about fighting against the kind of systemic, institutionalized sexism that you might not be surprised to encounter within a very old-fashioned society or from a very old-fashioned gray-haired man. But what about the off-the-cuff, everyday kind of sexism that you might experience from an otherwise good person who is close to you? A person who loves you and would do anything for you but who gets carried away teasing you about “girly�� things because of intrinsically-held biases that they’re not even that conscious of having? 

I think it’s important and meaningful for male and female audiences alike, and everyone in between, to see these different forms of sexism and misogyny—to see them, to recognize those behaviors in others and in ourselves, to be able to name them, and to have examples of fighting against them. We see the former kind—institutionalized, systemic—in Pakku. And we did see the latter kind—familiar, personal—in Sokka. And now that’s lost.

Not only that, but there’s the form of sexism that says boys aren’t allowed to do feminine things lest they relinquish their maleness. And in the animated show, we got to see Sokka combating this form of sexism, too. Not only does Suki show him that girls can be fierce warriors as well as boys, but he learns that wearing makeup and a dress does not make him any less of a young man.  

So, yes, I think the lack of Sokka in Kyoshi Warrior garb was a missed opportunity. And not just because Sokka looked really good in uniform and we all should have had the chance to see that, including and especially Suki. 

Alright, this is more than long enough, so I'll leave off with a moment from the LA that gave me great pleasure.

I needed this moment, y'all. And I was so afraid it wouldn't happen. I needed Sokka being protective, I needed him using his newfound Kyoshi Warrior skills to fight, and I needed him jumping in front of fire for the girl who'd taught him. If we couldn't have Sokka in the Kyoshi Warrior uniform, at least we had this.

[uncreative-cryptid]

Valerian Voice Lines Pt. II

these lines will be based specifically on the ocs and the general thoughts line, as well as the idles. no real canon characters mentioned here at the moment. i'm definitely down to make more versions of the voice lines later down the road .. and likely touch these up as i continue to feel out Valerian and as everyone continues to grow their own oc stuff :]

Idle I ( Valerian can be seen holding a small rock, looking it over before he smooths his thumb over it a few times before pocketing it once again )

Idle II Hmmm ... ( Valerian is messing with a small golden tube before looking into one end while holding it up towards the sky ) So many colors!

Idle III [ TBA ]

Intimacy Lv. 1 Lines

Thoughts II I used to play the piano pretty often. Not that I really enjoyed it when I first started learning it. My parents were pretty adament I learn, however, and so begrudgingly I learned and .. well, needless to say, I think I'm pretty decent at it now.

About Chiefly [ @crypticrainbowmoss ] I met Chiefly on an escort mission when Tacet Discords infiltrated the area. They held their own well, and when the Tacet Discords finally stopped coming, we ended up having to take a lot of time to work on first aid before we could take anyone back. A decent person, and I'd definitely recommend looking for them if you ever find yourself in need.

Intimacy Lv. 2 Lines

Thoughts III There is something so .. distinct about the smell of dirt and rain. It's very distinct from something like, say, the ocean and the sandy beach. Rain in the forest seems so much more .. intimidating than a storm on the ocean. But maybe that's just my experience.

About Maria [ @isthissarksouls ] Maria is an interesting individual for many reasons, but since you're asking me, I'd have to say it's cause of her ... eehh, unique view on the world. Yes, she's quite positive and seems to have a bright hope for the future, but admittedly, being awoken before dawn to go test her theories on Tacet Discords has been one of the stranger things I've done with her. Nonetheless, she's like a sister to me.

Intimacy Lv. 3 Lines

Thoughts IV I've learned that everything in the world has vibrations that impact this world; to what degree is entirely unknown but it means little to me. In theory, different crystals align to different vibrations, enhancing that person's vibration. In a sense, it could be like going from loud and uncontrolled to rich and finely tuned music. Do I believe these crystals do anything? Haha, no, not really, but if it keeps someone going, then what's the harm?

About Jiahui [ @hobbysognodilibri ] Jiahui? Oh, yes, I know her. On occasion she and I will go out and about to different places when she needs a helping hand. She's entirely capable on her own, but it never hurts to have a helping hand either. In return she'll occasionally bring me trinkets she ends up gathering. If you happen to see her, give her a wave for me, if you don't mind.

Intimacy Lv. 4 Lines

Thoughts V Aura Crystals are entirely man made .. surprised? They're coated in a mix of metals to create that shiny glow, the 'aura'. But despite this, their coloration and everything .. they're a clear crystal. The exterior has changed, but at their core, they're still a clear crystal. A lovely metaphor, to someone, I'm sure. I doubt many poets would think much of a shiny rock though.

About Caladin [ @unrealistic-ideas-for-writers ] Don't be fooled by the armor, or the way he speaks, he's incredibly quick and incredibly powerful. What? I can admit when I'm outranked in strength - and my, does Caladin outrank me in strength. I would consider him .. interesting, needless to say. Nonetheless, in the times we've interacted and the times I've had to observe him .. Aha, nevermind. He's not a bad person, you can trust me on that one.

Intimacy Lv. 5 Lines [ BONUS ]

About Quay [ @yupuffin ] Quay? Aha, the things I could say ... I wont bore you with the details, but I sincerely enjoy the time I have spent with him. His time at the Academy has been nothing short of of a feat, and his consistent calls when responding to reports have made us rather familiar. I often look forward to hearing what he's been up to when we get the chance to chat.

[ssalballoon]

i wanna get better at art but dont know how to start ^^' whats a good way to get into studying anatomy and improving as an artist? tysm 💗 love your art soso much

more art converts 😼 yay!!

i think these asks were sent by different people but they're pretty related + a lot of my advice is the same! so i'll answer these together under the cut (it's so long oh gosh)

ok first of all i'm very flattered that people are asking me for art advice but i'm really not the most equipped person to ask TTOTT I've never been deliberately studious with my art so I feel bad offering advice when I've mostly gotten by with just drawing fanart and ocs a lot... my rate of improvement has therefore been slow, but I've still had an enjoyable learning experience so perhaps from that angle my input may help! i'll mainly refer you to external resources that have helped me

For anatomy + drawing humans:

1) I know I'm not diligent enough to sit down and study muscles, so instead I make it more enjoyable by drawing my favorite characters in a pose that targets the muscles I want to practice! (i default to drawing ppl naked because of this lol) This isn't the most efficient, but it serves as good motivation to get practice in. (honestly a lot of my general art advice has the undercurrent of becoming so obsessed with characters to drive your motivation to draw even when artblocked/ struggling with doubts!)

2) I want to refer you to Sinix's Anatomy playlist! Although Sinix focuses more on digital painting, he gives simplified anatomy breakdowns that include how muscles change shape under different movements/poses, which is crucial for natural human posing. the static anatomy diagrams from Google don't really help for that

3) What's just as important as anatomy is gestures! (especially important if you're used to drawing non-human objects I think!) Making figures look like they have flow to them will sell the "naturalness"(?) to your anatomy. If you have in person life drawing sessions accessible near you I'd recommend trying those out, or if you prefer trying it digitally there's this website!

This helps you not only get a sense of human proportions, but also natural posing! I'd limit the time taken to draw the poses from like 10 seconds to 1 minute(?) for quick gestures, and maybe 1 minute to 5mins(for now!! typically they go much longer) to study human proportions. I'd say don't spend a lot of time on them, repetition is more important!

4) I've also picked up on useful anatomy tidbits from artists online! Looking at how practiced/ professional artists stylize a body helps me focus on what the essential details are to convey a particular form (looking up "human muscles" and being hit with anatomy diagrams full of all the smallest details can be overwhelming! what do you even focus on?! so these educated simplifications really help me) Like Emilio Dekure's work! Look how simplified these figures are, and yet contain all the essential information to convey the sense of accurate form (even though it's highly exaggerated!)

(shamefully admits I've never studied from actual anatomy books so I can't recommend anything in that sense TTOTT)

For general improvement:

1) I highly recommend Sinix's Design Theory playlist and Paintover Pals! (+ his channel in general) You don't have to put them immediately into practice, but I think these are good fundamental lessons to just listen to and have them in the back of your mind to revisit another day. Plus these videos are just fun and very approachable! Design theory fundamentals are essential to creating appeal and directing a viewer's attention, and critiquing others' work/ seeing his suggestions are a good way to practice noticing areas of improvement+ solutions yourself!

2) If you prefer a more formal teaching resource, the Drawabox YouTube course covers all the basic fundamentals of drawing in short lessons. But honestly if I were starting out, this would be a little intimidating for me (and even now it still is! I haven't done all of them) But even if you don't watch them, the titles should give you an idea of the basic concepts that are valuable to pick up. I think it would be nice to keep in mind and revisit once in a while as you learn!

(One lesson I do encourage you to watch is the line control one! A confident continuous line conveys motion and flow much better compared to discontinuous frayed lines which I think is good to practice early by drawing from the wrist and shoulder)

3) As a universal piece of advice: Please please please use references! Use a reference for literally everything, observing is how we learn! You'll find that a lot of things you thought you knew what they looked like are inaccurate by memory alone. Also, trace! This is solely for your practice, tracing then freehanding has helped me grasp proportions when I was struggling! (of course don't post these online if you traced from art)

I've found that being able to compile references into easy to access boards has been very helpful in encouraging me to use references more. For PC, I think they use PureRef (free/pay what you want), and for iPad I use VizRef. VizRef is a one time purchase (which was definitely worth the $3.99 USD price imo)

4) On that note, try building up the habit to observe from media + real life and make purposeful comments about what you see! Like hey, when I bend my knee, the muscles/fat in my thighs and calves bulge outwards, I should draw that next time. Purposeful observation carries over to your overall visual library, and it's a little thing that adds up over time

5) For motivation, get into media you really enjoy, or make your own characters! The way I started art more seriously was by drawing fanart + OCs from anime that I liked ^^ For OCs it really encourages you to draw more because you're the primary creator of their art! Also you gotta see a lot of good art to make good art! Watching visually appealing media (like animation with appealing stylization/simplification) can passively help you learn just by observation.

ok wow I could go on but this is already a lot of information TTOTT my main aim for this reply is basically: don't let anything discourage you from learning to draw!! drawing is so fun and brings me a lot of joy ^^ practicing often will of course help you improve, and the way to incentivize that is by having fun with it! i hope this could help!💞

[randomwriteronline]

"Turaga, are you here?"

Vakama turned slightly without rising from his chair, still engrossed by the mask he was carefully checking for defects: "Takanuva?"

"I came for the Suletu," the voice replied from further away.

The Suletu? Ah, yes, of course - of course, he remembered. He stood up and hurried to one of the shelves in the room: the fixed kanohi shimmered faintly in the warm light of the new forges, almost sickly, grey hue shifting from dark metal to shining silver as he climbed upon a stood to get it down.

"How is Krakua?" the mask maker asked. The six of them had seemed awfully concerned by his condition.

"There's one full healthy limb still left!"

Vakama sighed: "Don't let him get around," he ordered, "Or he'll never get fixed up."

"Oh, the Mahri would certainly blow a fuse if that happened," Takanuva laughed rather earnestly. "They're mad enough about the surgeries and everything already. And Hewkii wouldn't approve of Nuparu's wheeled chair being used to get around with a busted arm that needs rest."

"And I'll have to side with him," the Turaga noted. He dusted off some of the faint soot that had deposited on the mask as he added: "I'd never made a Suletu before. It was a fun exercise."

"You made it? It'll be an honor to wear it, then."

"I hope so," he tried to say, but the words died halfway out of his throat when he turned.

A naked face with pale sulfur eyes stared back at him from its seat.

An arm was locked in a sort of contraption, and one of the calves was a noticeably different color from the rest of the body; little scars gave several joints a strange look, almost marbled.

One of its eyelids was stuck between open and closed.

"This is one of my favorite tricks!" Takanuva's voice said in a chipper tone as it came out of the mouth that was not Takanuva's. "Nobody else likes it."

Vakama remained as still as a statue for a few more seconds.

"Another one I do all the time is muting all sound coming from me while I follow others along," Krakua continued as he slowly dropped the imitation and eased in his own rotten, crackling voice: "Nobody likes that one either."

"I can see why," the mask maker replied softly.

Hands reached out towards him. He jolted away; then he remembered. The mask. Of course.

"You don't need to be so jumpy," Krakua told him when the Suletu was placed in his palms. He caressed it gently, fondly, bringing it as close to his face as possible and moving it in front of his eyes as though he was trying to take in every smallest detail. "You're not a Toa without armor in a chamber of swords anymore."

Vakama did not relax.

As a matter of fact, he tensed further.

He felt small again. Terribly small, terribly frail, scared out of his wits, unable to move, to think, to even approximate a single idea.

The Toa of Sonics placed the kanohi on his face and grimaced.

Was there something wrong with it? Had he messed something up?

No, that was... Ridiculous. It worked perfectly. Just... Perfectly. Mostly. Hold on.

He noticed the sudden change because it would have been impossible not to. It was like a pair of scopes had been applied to his eyes and more and more lenses were being piled up within them to adjust his perspective in real time, in a sort of stunted, awkward manner, as if whoever was running the test on him wasn't used to the strange instrument they were using.

The anxiety biting down on him wavered with each clumsy attempt until it finally dissipated. Everything was small now - everything was just as tall as him: Krakua suddenly didn't appear so towering, so frightening, from the top of his wheeled chair.

In a strange roundabout way, he almost felt like a Matoran.

"You have a very visual mind," he told Vakama as he scratched his neck: "I can't see well, I'm not used to this sort of thing. It's a bit hard to work with."

"You can manipulate me," the Turaga said - in a strangely calm tone, he was surprised to discover. This wasn't the first time someone had done that, after all. Maybe the first time someone had admitted to it so plainly, that it could have been. "I thought a Mask of Telepathy only read thoughts, not influenced them."

"Hm. It does that - read them, I mean, not control them," Krakua nodded. "And projects them across minds. But it can't force others to act on them like a Komau."

"But you did."

"I guess I did. Though I am specially trained."

Yes.

Of course.

He should have taken that into account, too.

It was so strange.

He remembered him sounding so differently.

"Hm... Like this, right," the De-Toa mused. The voice coming from him did not match his weakened appearance at all: it seemed wide, almost warm, enveloping.

A sudden memory struck the Turaga.

The way the grey and black armor had looked, the way the words had been spoken to him, the stance. The eyes...

"When did you record that message?"

"I don't know. Don't remember."

"Was it so long ago?"

"No, no... I became a Toa so little... No. No, that's not it. It's been a while by now, hasn't it? I've gotten bad with time. Five years before the whole thing happened and we got here, I became a Toa. We knew we had to ensure you succeeded, but it wasn't an urgency. With a critter like that, the when isn't important."

He watched the Suletu tilt gently as a sulfur eye (the only healthy one) closed deep in thought.

"It's been in these past years... One of these, I don't know which one - I've gotten bad with time. But I went to the wrecks of Metru Nui, what little there was left of it, and I found the little thing, and I searched through it until I found you and told you the message."

"And you spoke with that voice."

"I did."

"And told me what you had to."

"I did."

"It was something planned, wasn't it?"

"Agreed upon, memorized, yes."

Vakama looked at him: "So it was fake," he said. "It was all fake."

"It was scripted. Not fake."

"What's the difference?"

Krakua raised his functioning eyelid only a little, to match the broken one, and stared right through him.

"You have a very visual mind," he repeated. "And when I found you, you... You were so small," (his voice shrank, became tiny, so tiny, so thin, so defenseless as his torso tilted terribly down upon his legs, whole body crumpling as if to disappear, arms reaching for his chest as if his heartlight hurt so terribly, impossibly much) "And so scared, and I was so large and frightening and dark, standing above you to rain judgement..."

He remembered that. That feeling, that sensation, that desperate need to hide, to explain himself, to beg forgiveness for his poor perfomance and stupid actions, for each and every failure.

Krakua stared at him.

"You didn't need me," he said in his horrible scratched voice. "You didn't need a soulless battered rookie in the worst period of his life. You needed a warm hand. Someone who could pull you into their palm larger than anything else and tell you without words, you can make it out of here. You can find a way out of here."

The morphed sound, the sound that for centuries he had associated with Toa Krakua, curled around the Turaga with the kindness of a worn, well-loved blanket.

He wondered who that might have been. To whom the palm that had dragged him out of the illusion might have belonged.

A rain of names and colors trickled into his mind like drizzle, most completely unknown, all accompanied by words he couldn't hope to understand which translated to a swirl of noises, each composing a dissected piece behind that voice that unfurled like an artificial flower picked apart. He recognized only one of those fragments.

It puzzled him.

The Toa of Sonics wheezed a couple cackles, still curled up on himself: "I was the third smallest," he grinned, "They used to pick me up like a frog and carry me around so I wouldn't wander off... I was too quiet. They would've lost me."

"And what about Kongu?"

"He's got large enough hands. He could do it."

"But he hasn't."

"No. He'd explode."

He laughed again.

There was nothing of Toa Krakua in the being before him, not a trace: Zaria had fixed the damage that had made his armor so strange and ancient, he had fixed the half melted shape that had made his Suletu so hard to recognize; his voice had been stitched together from countless others, his mannerisms had been taught.

The actual Krakua resembled that vision only in color, only in a certain light in the sulfur eyes. He had a strange manner of moving, careful, slow, as if lost in thought and yet observant, perfectly aware of everything around him; he pulled himself upright again with a creaking tardiness, humming under his breath, smiling wide in an enigmatic sort of way.

A realization bloomed in Vakama: he had never heard his real voice.

Only a fake, and his scratched new one.

It was such a strange fact.

They'd never truly known each other, he supposed.

"No, we never did," Krakua convened softly. "Such a shame."

He leaned forward without a sound, grabbing the Turaga's nape and pressing the cheek of his fixed mask to the orange Huna's. A weirdly pleasant feeling filled the mask maker and persisted even when the other pulled away.

"You seemed nice."

Vakama watched the De-Toa leave with a wave and a distant half-laughed request not to tell Jaller; he stood, blinking in the light of the flames, not quite sure what to think.

[taki118]

Yakuza Fiance ep 6 Manga Comparison

We are halfway through the anime folks. As always under the cut I have everything the anime missed out on from the manga. The scans are fantranslated cause I'm lazy.

First thing the convo between Tsubaki and Yoshino is framed in the manga as a flashback.

The convo is mostly the same but once more details are missed such as Yoshino determining that Kirishima seeing her then was 6 years ago.

We also loose out on this cute image

Now they then cut to the school where the manga picks up so I'm not sure why they removed the stare thing (I know the anime loves its dramatic stares) maybe for time?

Anyway the convo at school is much the same but if you thought that little stop Yoshino gave during her lecture was weird well the manga has an explaination

Like I don't get why the anime didn't put a text box or something they've done it before, its just kinda odd. (I dunno I honestly forgot about this during my first watch and was like "That was weird" I didn't get the reason for Yoshinos shock maybe thats just me though)

Ok so the scene is again mostly the same but the visuals when Yoshino realizes she's Kirishimas first friend is such a down grade in the anime. She just stands there and the word friend repeats in the background meanwhile the manga gives us this

Like we get this cute little slugger Yoshino, which I gotta assume is a reference to something, then we get a little montage of all the shit she's gone through its just very underwhelming by comparison.

So ok the Nao stuff first of all I wanna say the lighting is like off like its so bright the manga gives the impression of a more softer lit place so it feels more like a high class bar. Its not really a difference but it annoyed me and I am writing this haha.

The convo is much the same again with some small stuff cut, I'd say Naos internal thoughts are much meaner in the manga. They did change placement again though. When the other women bring up Kirishima in the manga Nao goes straight into flashback mode

It gives the impression that she is lost in thought and can't help thinking about him even though she's such a calculated person, this info gets put into the anime but it doesn't offer the same weight but I'll compare once there cause they made.....choices. But also it doesn't feel as abrupt when Kirishima shows up in the manga you get the impression Nao has been sitting silently for a bit. Not the "hey we were literally just talking about you" vibe the anime has.

So they put the flashbacks in when Nao is in the bathroom scene and they are framed a bit differently from the panel above (the sex thing is there just on another page so i didn't add it) So like instead of a scene in a bar or club where you assume they mightve talked about him before she approaches we get this

Which is like ummmm I don't actually know if the anime is trying to make a point or not, about the age difference or whatever

So like Nao panics more in the manga (and I really wanna make a post on this at some point so I won't get too in the weeds but) and we learn just how long it's been since she saw Kirishima (we do get him saying it was 3 years in the anime like the manga but honestly ya'll missed out on her panicked thoughts)

So it was three years ago Kirishima is 18 now meaning he was was 14-15 when they met which is why the scene in the anime is interesting. I think they thought rather than having nao say the time frame they thought to visually imply it by having her see him in school uniform which is a choice particularly with the girl she's with. Like we have a college freshman (probably she might be older) openly being like "wow arent those highschool freshmen so hot?" I dunno it's kinda funny.

But yeah anyway the manga gives us more detail into her thoughts and how she thinks about it (also did anyone else think the close up on the kiss was weird and it lingered too much?)

Anyway we get another loss of thoughts

Like nao is constantly thinking like this not sure how she'll come across in the anime honestly.

Anyway again convo is much the same only shortened, with Kirishima directly saying she acted more like a foreigner back then. But also when he leaves she doesn't look at the card in the manga, nor does Ozu show up to give an ominous stare (this adaptation and adding stares I swear to god)

Ok so this is something I mentioned in ep 4 but they took out how Yoshino has been planning a summer trip to Osaka for a while

Like this they also took out which leads into her cute hand binoculars (glad they kept it) and convo on the phone with Kirishima. Its another set up thing they dropped so it feels a little more random and convenient in the anime.

So the start of the trip is overall the same but again we loose some character beats

In the manga it feels like she pulls him before he gets shoved and we get explanation why he's never really been to Osaka and a cute culture clash moment.

Ok so this is weird we get the face but we don't get the context for it. Like this head thing felt so off to me when I first watched again maybe its just me.

That being Yoshino trying to play tour guide for Kisishima all while doing tasks.

We also loose out on the explanation as to why she's buying so much food and Yoshino getting a little nostalgic. These scenes also help to show that the roles have shifted with Yoshino being the knowledgeable one Kirishima has to relay on in a new city. We can kinda get the vibe in the anime but you really feel it in the manga.

I will say the scene at the Takoyaki store is pretty good in the anime giving some actually fun visuals and expressions.

So the scene with Nao and her coworker is longer in the manga the woman keeps complaining about various things and Nao is working overtime with keeping her composure

It actually showcases a lot of her personality with all the mental back talk she does so its a shame it was cut. Like I get it who wants to listen to someone humble bragging like this but it takes away from her character.

We also loose more of Naos thought process as she considers seeing Kirishima again due to this conversation.

Again I will likely do a whole thing just on Nao at some point but the anime skips over all of this and gets right to Ozu talk.

But once the get there ugh we once more loose some set up stuff

Again not having Nao think about Kirishima makes her contacting him seem a little less calculating and we loose the hint that Ozu was trying to contact Nao privately. The rest of the convo goes the same.

So we do loose some cute domestic stuff with Yoshinos arrival in the anime

Showing how she is with the gang members its not a lot but still.

So the room scene is pretty one to one which i am very grateful for its one of my favs. We do miss a small explaination about the keychain though.

No spoilers for anime onlys but be the fact that it feels heavy is important later. I will say the touch of doing a close up on Kirishimas hands as he holds it like he doesn't want to let go was really good.

So the walk is honestly well done in animation and I'm grateful to how they visually show Yoshino struggling to keep pace with the two but we do loose a Yoshino thought thats important.

Its kinda important for the arc as Yoshino tries to better understand Kirishima.

The store scene is very accurate and I love they kept the Shoma trying to sneak to drinks thing but we lost this dumb Shoma face

We then loose an inbetween scene of Nao meeting up with Kirishima before the hotel. It again serves to establish Nao as a character and her thinking.

Honestly this would have been better to end the episode on. Instead we get a very rushed Hotel scene.

And I do mean rushed, the tattoo talk is longer and helps to set a timeline for Kirishima.

Like im having such trouble picking things cause this scene is so much longer

They go into more detail about WHERE exactly they are going tomorrow which is set up. Then before he leaves to shower we get this back and forth where he explains she seems more like herself now.

Which then leads into the seeing the phone screen. It all gives the impression of two people who have history. But the anime is so rushed you can barely tell. I am really hoping for some brevity next ep cause it will have some scenes I really like.

[sanderssideswriting]

Just watched the Halloween video from this year and saw screencaps of the Halloween video from a few years back… I just don’t understand how we can go from Frankenstein prosthetics for Logan in that episode to messy eyeliner with visible mess up marks for Janus in the new one. Like it’s not a difference of a new makeup artist, it just feels like a lack of caring for it to be as good as it’s been.

I just loved this series so deeply before, so it’s frustrating to see what seem like such flippant disregard for the quality of what they’re making

thank you for this ask because I've been thinking of going through each makeup look and analyzing them more. I totally agree with you about the lack of care. The whole thing is so insanely rushed when they could've taken like, a few more days of planning if they wanted to get it out for halloween, or hell a few days after and have them spin it as them being sad spirit halloween is gone for the year and what a spirit christmas would be like. Or like, the 12 days of christmas but 12 days of spirit halloween? I just feel like there could've been some better ideas. The makeup looks like they were given 5 minutes to figure out what each side would be and 5 minutes to do the make up itself.

onto the make up analysis that'll be under the cut.

Little disclaimer before though, I'm in no way a makeup artist, what I am is a cosplayer and I've pulled together some pretty cool shit with very limited supplies and knowledge.

editors note: so according to the comments it seems like everyone's a character from the nightmare before christmas? Or at the least, Remus, Virgil, Roman and maybe Logan. I don't know, I've seen the movie like twice. just keep that in mind I didn't know until after writing everything below. But it really doesn't change my criticisms of the makeup

first on the list: JANUS

now this is just, I don't even know what it is. I think it's from the I'm Mr White Christmas, song because every year people do half Mr. White Christmas and half Mr. Sun makeup and it looks very good. But you don't need it to look that good. Like, I'd personally make the contrast between the blue and red way more, because it just isn't there. Maybe to keep the snake appearance do like, orange scales or orange underneath then red? Something to look more like fire. the joker esque smile doesn't work, again the contrast is very bad. The blue sticks out but the red doesn't so I'd get some lipstick, maybe a blue eyeliner if you can't get a blue lipstick, and loose the black lines, maybe make the blue side white and the red side more of a very dark red?

VIRGIL

I've got no idea, it's just so generic. A ghoul? A zombie? Who knows, not me. first of all, make the eye makeup darker, maybe some dark contour to make his cheeks look sunken in. if the stitches have to be purple then I'd say make it darker and use a black eyeliner pencil to add some definition and some detail that's harder to do with the eyeshadow

LOGAN

Frankenstein's monster? Or Frankenstein, the thing on his forehead says monster, the lab coat says man. why the fuck is Logan the only one who's got something over his usual attire. I guess you could argue that he just has one laying around? I'm not going to get into the wonky line, straight lines are hard. but the screw, again could've been done better with an eyeliner pencil because they are very pale.

PATTON

also I'm not trying to take unflattering screenshots, I'm just trying to get a clear one of Thomas facing the camera

a clown! very simple, very easy and the makeup is fucking visible!! Personally, adding the triangles around the eyes would be nice, for Patton I'd definitely lean on the fun side of clows and not the scary side. I just think a little more could be done. But I'm just thankful there's an actual red nose. The bar is low. I have to mention Patton's verse again, it's so bad, so rushed, could there not have been a little more thought into it specifically?

ROMAN

Jack Skellington I believe? I don't fucking know. my issue is the eyemake up once again, Make it much darker and less blocky. maybe some nose contour or try to make it look like an actual human skull? the stitches are eh, but I feel like they could be darker, maybe a liquid eyeliner in this case. This is also the only one where I think they really tried to hide Thomas's mustache I guess for the lip stitches?

REMUS

THe boogey man? Also from the nightmare before christmas. Are Roman and Remus doing a group costume? Remus's is probablt the best, he is also the only other side with something over his costume. The makeup looks pretty good, the black is solid at least around his mouth. Again, the eye makeup should be darker. the things on his cheeks are worms I believe. those are alright, I'd probably try to make them stand out a little more

[smallidarity-rpf]

HIIIHIHI TUMBLR USER SMALLIDARITY-RPF can I get some smallidarity of the hurt/comfort variety with Joel getting comforted maybe for a change or jimmy idk I just need more fluffy smallidarity pretty please okay bye

Hell yeah! Sorry it took so long I didn't realize job would tire me out so much yesterday-

Fair warning, I couldn't think of a setting like when and where this takes place- just knew i wanted a life game so like- details on that is vague, hope it's alright-

_______________________

Joel was lying in bed curled up, his eyes puffy from crying. He was tough, he was strong, he wasn't someone who cried- but he was alone, and he couldn't stop himself. It's easy to save face around everyone during these games, but once the session was over… once he was alone… He shouldn't have cried, not over Timmy of all people. Of course he died, he always does! It's just… Joel couldn't understand why it felt different this time, was it because he saw Tim die? Because for once he'd actually hoped that stupid canary wouldn't? He didn't know. All Joel knew right now was his bed and the itch left in his eyes as they dried and the salt left started to crust up.

“Wow you look terrible!” A familiar voice laughed out through the empty room, and Joel quickly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Both wanting to hide the evidence and see if he was crazy.

There at the end of his bed was Jimmy- well it looked like Jim, but they were a transparent blueish-gray and emitted a slight glow. Joel stared wide eyed as the entity slowly began to smirk. “Did you miss me that much?” And yep, that was Tim’s voice.

“Jimmy!?” He called and pushed up in bed, getting onto all fours to crawl closer, “You- but you-”

“I’m dead?”

“You died!” He announced, laughing a bit hysterically. It was impossible, the only way they should be there was with spectator-

“Yeah, something’s going on so I'm a ghost for a bit.” Jimmy shrugged, “I thought I'd visit you though before it's fixed.” Tim smiled and quickly sat on the bed next to Joel, who stared absolutely dumbfounded. “So, what’ve you been up to?” Joel stared at their expectant look and slowly sat next to them, shivering a bit- Tim was cold.

“Uhm… killed some people uh-” Joel stared into Jim's eyes and went quiet, he couldn't find his words. As he stared though the other frowned.

“Have you really been crying?” A cold hand was placed onto Joel's cheek as Jim gently rubbed a thumb under his eye. “Are you doing okay…?” Jim's head tilted to the side as he asked, Joel watching his features. Same Jimmy as always.

“W- well you- you died what do you think!” Joel was quick to retort, trying to hide what he'd been feeling. A blush spread onto his cheeks as he went to shove Jim away- but only ended up falling through the other. Right, ghost.

Jimmy looked down at Joel and smiled softly, “I dunno,” his smile became lopsided, “thought you didn't care that much.” He shrugged and thread cold fingers through Joel's hair. He almost closed his eyes, it felt nice.

“Of course I care,” The shorter grumbled and sat up, frowning as Jim's fingers left him. “you’re still my friend, I'm still watching you die…” He meant for it to come out sharp, but instead his words were soft, melancholy even as he thought about how much he'd seen Jim's massive and goofy grin stolen away from him in blood.

When Joel looked back at the blond he was frowning softly, looking at Joel with pity- no, it was something else, something kinder but he couldn't place it. “Oh… I never thought- I didn't realize-” Jim tried to say but stopped, glancing away as he found his words. “Everyone… Everyone always treats my death as a joke, I didn't think it'd ever be… well y’know, that big of a deal…” Joel frowned, feeling a bit guilty about all the canary jokes all of a sudden. “Well-” Jim smiled at Joel, “at least now I know you're soft!” He teased, his tongue sticking out.

Joel took the bait, suddenly smiling as he tried to look annoyed, “What! Me soft!? No no- I'd never be soft!” He joked and smiled more as Tim laughed.

“Then what's with those red eyes!” Jim pushed a finger into Joel's face making him snicker quietly.

“Uh, red name so red eyes. Wow, you're so stupid.” Jim made a face of mock hurt.

“No! You're the stupid one, thinking you can act all- all emotionless!” Jim pushed Joel over onto the bed, both of them laughing now.

“It’s cause I am babe! So so emotionless.” He turned to Jim and smiled, his chest fluttering as he saw them smile back. They stayed like that for a small moment, just smiling and giggling quietly, until Tim spoke up.

“Better?” Joel nodded, and Jimmy was quick to roll closer and hug the other man, making him shiver.

“Cold…” He lightly complained.

“Want me to leave? I can go visit Grian or Scott-” Joel quickly put arms around him.

“No. My ice cube.” He smiled and was glad when Jimmy snuggled up to him.

“Okay weirdo, I'll stay right here.” Joel smiled and closed his eyes, holding on tight to the ice cube next to him.

[tiramisugrl]

Omg no way I’d love to ready any and all of your essays on midnights!!! Also I completely forgot the karma Ice spice remix existed until you mentioned it oops 🤭🤭 also I really liked that comparison you drew to the 1989 cuz I see a lot of ppl comparing the 2 as ppl albums but that 20 year old —> 30 year old arc? It’s soooo intriguing and I see it now esp with songs like midnight rain or question. What other songs do you think fit this arc, and would you connect any of them to songs in 1989?

for brevity, i've chosen three songs from each album to compare to each other to show, how taylor has evolved between 1989 and midnights, and how the latter carries over themes from the former. and i'm gonna put it under the cut bc it got kinda long woops

Bland Space & Anti-Hero

Blank Space was the first time she wrote a song being self-aware (technically shake it off came first, as a single, but i'd argue blank space is more specific). It's specifically about how her dating life is perceived in the public eye, and she acknowledges how it is kind of ridiculous, but also that, even though the men she dates know what they're signing up for, they still decide to date her.

Anti-Hero follows the same theme of self-awareness, though now, almost a decade later, her fame is in focus, because she's become the monster on the hill, the most famous woman in the room at any given moment, and for some, the public included, this is grating. And she knows that, and points out, that she's aware of her faults, and she's sorry, but she is who she is. There is also more angst about her legacy - "I have this dream my daughter in-law kills me for the money" - which again shows that her priorities have changed. Of course she's worried about if her lover leaves her when he gets tired of her schemes, but what if one of her children marries someone who's more interested in her money than in them and is willing to kill for it? What does that say about her as a potential mother?

Out Of The Woods & Question...?

This one is kind of obvious, but stick with me. The way I see it, after love & heartbreak, Harry Styles is her eternal muse. It's a relationship she keeps returning to throughout her discography, and I have to wonder if it's because that relationship really did a number on her, and even after all these years she keeps lying awake at night wishing it had turned out differently. I also theorize that after all these years, Styles has become less of a person in her mind than a concept. The one that got away, the great love of her early 20s. She's never writing about him as a person anymore (post 1989, including vault tracks), but merely as a symbol of eternal regret and youth wasted. With this in mind, let's get into the songs:

OOTW asks the question: are we out of the woods yet? Can we stop fretting about our relationship and how it looks to the public and just be in it? She says "We were built to fall apart, then fall back together". She knows this relationship is doomed, but she is also convinced that they will find their way back together eventually. At this point in her life, Styles is her recent ex and she's closer to the situation, so we're able to get more details of their relationship (the Polaroid, the accident, moving furniture so they could dance etc). Even though this relationship has already ended, and she's remembering back to it in the present, it's still a fresh wound. Maybe even a wound that will never heal.

Question opens with "I remember", sampling OOTW and tying it directly to that song, that period of her life, and Styles. Now in her 30s she's lying awake at night, and asking herself, and him, what the fuck actually happened back then, and why did he treat her like that. "Did you wish you put up more of a fight?" Do you regret it? Do you miss me like I miss you? "Does it feel like everything's just like second-best after that meteor strike?". By now, her relationship with Styles is a distant memory, and he himself has become a muse for her to escape to from her current, unsatisfactory relationship. The lyrics are less specific too, we only really get any details in the chorus, because Styles merely a concept at this point, an amalgamation of all her exes into one, and she's asking all of them: do you wish it had turned out differently?

New Romantics & Hits Different

This one is a little silly, but also very serious.

New Romantics is about moving to New York with a broken heart but trying to have fun with your friends regardless. It's about being young and having fun and not worrying about love or anything else, and it's about valuing the people in your life who are there for you, and not chasing someone who doesn't care about you. "The best people in life are free".

Hits Different, compared, is a kind of devolution. She's still at the club, but she can't stop thinking about her ex, and though her friends try to cheer her up, it's just not working. If New Romantics is the pre-game where you get dressed to go out and forget about your ex, Hits Different is the six hours and a bottle of vodka later, where you go to the bathroom and stare drunkenly at your reflection in the mirror - all red eyes and smudged mascara - and you break down crying because you just thought of your ex again. Escapism can't mend a broken heart. And that's what she has realized on this song. This ex, this is the one she can't get over, no matter how hard she tries. Who this ex is, however, we'll never know. My money is still on Styles.