#Are there exceptions? Yes ofc

[elisedonut]

starting to think my least favorite brand of person to pair with Percy are like older unrepentant death eaters

not saying its bad of course but I think I'm starting to just realize its not really for me most of the time I think though less because of the ship itself and more like Percy's traits that have to be highlighted for it to work at all are not typically the traits I love about him?

unless its just like a non con story but when I say ships I typically am talking romantic priority if I just think they should shag I don't consider it as like shipping it for me personally

I've read a few and they tend to make Percy a lot darker of a grey or arguably worse incompetent so that way it makes sense for him to be with the person then I typically prefer for him I think. Percy's a character where that interpretation isn't even like necessarily wrong like unless you like make him just hate his family outright but def not MY favorite

[yikesy]

you see the reason apollo is so natural at changing himself and quickly adjusting to new situations is that, as the God Embodiment of Civilization, he has this amazing thing named Scientific Curiosity which makes him the chosen one (1) god to not be afraid of change or the unknown

[seyaryminamoto]

My latest completed commission may have been a bit ambitious... because I went wild with it. But I certainly relished in doing so :') Combining my favorite ship with my favorite-ever Disney movie is, uh... a dangerous concoction :'D

The commissioner specifically requested for Azula as Mulan, Sokka as Shang, and Xin Long (my OC dragon from Gladiator) as Mushu. The rest of the cast was up to me to choose, and I pretty much went wild rewatching this movie and picking out some of my favorite moments to recreate them in my style, with these characters. I came up with a lot of correlating characters between both ATLA and 1998's Mulan, but I couldn't hope to draw EVERYTHING, unfortunately. Still, if you want my reasoning for the cast correlation... check out the Read More! Beyond that, feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to commission me, or if you want to join my Patreon!

The Herbalist as Mulan's grandmother might feel arbitrary but she honestly felt like the ATLA elderly lady with the most similar personality to Grandma Fa. Fickle, with a unique connection with a seemingly perfectly ordinary animal, old and sassy? Figured it fit! So for once, the Herbalist is Azula's grandma! xD strange notion, I know, Azulon/Herbalist is not a ship I ever thought I'd accidentally put out in the world but there have been wilder ships than that in this fandom...

Momo became Cri-Kee, I wasn't 100% sold on it but when I considered that Avatar features soooo many hybrid animals... I figured he could be a hybrid cricket-lemur. Weird, I know, but eh? Better than nothing xD

Aang as Chien-Po was a no-brainer. He's the only character I settled on instantly, never even considered anyone else for the role. Their personalities line up really well, and Chien-Po's tendency to be OP and resolve things that are outside of other people's reach sounded like he was prime Avatar material! So, while their dietary preferences are an obvious difference between them, I decided to go for it nonetheless considering all their other similarities!

Kino (another Gladiator OC) is Ling, and he actually did give me a ton of trouble to choose. I considered many characters for the role right up until I realized that Kino's personality actually lines up fairly well with Ling's, down to being a class clown type (who ABSOLUTELY would have cut gym class!) and breaking out in song about the hypothetical woman he'd like to fight for? Yeeeeah that's right up his alley xD but there's another reason why I picked Kino...

... And that is my likely unexpected choice for Yao:

ZUKO.

ZUKO IS YAO.

YES.

I'M NOT EVEN SORRY.

(For the uninitiated, Aang, Zuko and Kino are best friends in Gladiator, very often together, and they make a really good team, so that's the extra reason why Kino became the obvious choice for Ling aside from having really similar personalities, definitely closer personalities than, say, Jet, for instance.)

People have likened Zuko to Shang a LOT since ATLA aired. This is the main reason why I'm even making this huge note! I suspect it's primarily because of the aesthetic, let's be real here, and because he becomes Aang's teacher, but people have exaggerated Zuko's alleged similarities with Shang, or taken them out of proportion, in many ways. I actually remember an AMV ages ago with "Be a Man" and it was Zuko "training the Gaang"?? It... didn't feel right to me. Obviously, someone might rebuff with "well, how does Sokka make MORE sense than that, though?" And believe it or not, I have arguments for that... (when do I not...?)

Not only is this what the commissioner specifically requested (and it obviously lines up with the ship we love!), but let's examine the actual reasons why Sokka as Shang adds up:

Sokka actually had to train a bunch of toddlers who weren't paying any attention to him. You know. Kind of how Shang had to train the unruly soldiers who weren't getting anything right. Sokka has a positive relationship with his dad (Zuko, ofc, does not). Shang also has a positive relationship with his dad! And not only this, but there's a military component to both relationships, specifically with Shang wanting to follow on his father's footsteps and aid him in the war... so much like someone else I know, who jumped at every opportunity to rejoin his father in the war, even wishing to join him as a child until Hakoda tasked him with protecting their Tribe instead (kinda like Shang is tasked with training soldiers rather than joining a battlefield).

And the final cherry-on-top that I'd loooove to hear Zuko fans try to argue against... is sexism :') didn't Sokka get characterized as a sexist guy for four episodes, which made people decide that this was his main character trait even if it went away that quickly? Um, yes, that happened. Shang literally sings the memorable song that's a crazy ode to masculinity, including the rather sexist line of "did they send me daughters when I asked for sons". Shang outright abandons Mulan once they discover that she was a woman all along (while, admittedly, choosing to abandon her rather than KILL HER, which as we saw from Chi-Fu, he was NOT supposed to spare her!)...

So, is this REALLY what Zuko fans, who willfully believe their boy is a feminist king (... why? beats me...) are trying to compare their unproblematic blorbo to? :'D Me? I have no problem linking Sokka with Shang due to Sokka's beginnings and due to the fact that both Shang and Sokka have similar growth when it comes to accepting femininity is as valid as masculinity, and as they both learn to respect women as fighters and potential heroes! (I simply do not believe Sokka's ENTIRE tenure in ATLA was about that, though, and that's what I continue to clash with the fandom over...) So... all this is why I've reasoned that Sokka is a VERY solid choice for Shang, in fact, better than Zuko could hope to be.

... but this isn't all.

Maybe some might accept my arguments for Sokka-Shang. And then, they might ask:

WHY ZUKO AS YAO, THO??

... And the truth is it took me long to see it, myself, but HOLY SHIT, DOES IT FIT!

What is the primary thing we remember about Yao in Mulan? This guy is constantly itching for a fight, to prove himself, surely riddled with insecurities that he exteriorizes through overcompensation of masculinity. He's funny as fuck, but he's taking himself 100% seriously as a manly man all the time, and he's always ready for violence. But there's one more thing...

He treats Mulan as his RIVAL.

And more often than not? SHE SCREWS HIM OVER. Intentionally or not.

What does that sound like? Why, yes, it sounds a LOT like Azula and Zuko's sibling relationship!

The fact that Yao is a temperamental dude who lashes out easily at things (oh, something he has in common with Zuko!), that he specifically resents Mulan (in this case, Azula, just as Zuko does!) and is either constantly looking to defeat her and prove his superiority over her (... wait, just as Zuko with Azula??), that he has a black eye perpetually across the movie, and it's his LEFT EYE (just as Zuko's scar is on his left eye! :'D), that he's friends with a pacifist he has basically nothing in common with, personality-wise (just like Zuko and Aang!), and that he pretty much has a REDEMPTION ARC in which he goes from a bitter, asshole rival to Mulan to treating her as a friend and ally, to the point where he was disappointed to leave her behind and THEN joined her at once when she says she has a plan? :') I have always been critical of Zuko's redemption arc, goes without saying. But if ANY of these characters redeemed himself in any significant way, it certainly seems to be Yao to me, and with people gushing NON-STOP about Zuko's redemption? Why, he ought to be the character who goes from bitter rival to loyal friend, right?

So. I'm not even sorry. Zuko is Yao. And I'd dare say that he should be flattered by the comparison, even, because Yao ends up being cool as FUCK!

I don't really talk about this much nowadays, but Mulan was my favorite Disney movie growing up, it ABSOLUTELY had a formative influence on me as a little girl, and Mulan was my favorite female character for a looooong time. Thus, any excuse to rewatch this movie makes me happy as heck. With the wisdom of age I know, of course, that it's not perfect, it's not what China wants, it's not the most thoughtful depiction of Chinese culture or the most faithful adaptation of Mulan's poem (... but I'd also dare bring up that the 2009 Chinese adaptation ISN'T all that faithful either...), but it has a kind of magic in it, a solid storytelling flow, so many memorable moments one after the next, that I could hardly choose which scenes to depict... Disney has never again seen the storytelling heights it reached with Mulan in 1998. I don't even care if that's a controversial opinion in any way... this is their best animated feature for me, and nobody can change my mind.

So... depicting Azula, my beloved, in all these scenarios as this character I adored and idolized as a child, was so damn fulfilling for me. While some might think that, personality-wise, these two ladies don't have much in common, the fact that Mulan is sent to a matchmaker who basically tells her she looks good but is going to be the worst wife ever...? Our girl Azula, with all those insecurities about being unloveable and a monster, probably would relate big time to that.

Mulan is also an INTELLIGENT soldier rather than a brawny one, which is how she starts to make progress in the army, it's how she manages to overcome the huns with that avalanche... and Azula's primary difference with most other antagonists in ATLA is that she's smart as fuck. She is very strong, no doubt, but a LOT of that strength comes from her intelligence, from assessing situations in unique ways, from planning and strategizing. The way Mulan finds the most unexpected solutions that still pay off reminds me a lot of how Azula achieves unexpected feats through rather unorthodox means, capable of taking over a city with basically no bloodshed while her nation has spent 100 years trying and failing to do so through major army incursions and who knows how much senseless violence. Obviously, I'm not saying what Azula did is GOOD and it's kind of dumb that we always have to point that out... I'm merely comparing the magnitude of the feats, and the fact that they both come from ladies who use strategy and intelligence to achieve their goals rather than muscle and physical power.

And while anyone would rage at me for the comparison between Fa Zhou (her dad) and Ozai, the truth is the dynamic between them CAN be compared, if loosely: Mulan literally goes to war to keep her father safe. Azula goes to war under her father's orders. Hell, she makes herself BAIT in the Eclipse to make sure the Gaang won't get to her dad?? While it's very much possible to say that both characters have different personalities and attitudes in life... I'd also bring up that their contexts are evidently completely different. I wouldn't say for certain that Azula, had she been raised outside a Royal Family, would be EXACTLY like Mulan... but they might have more similar traits than one might expect. Ultimately, though... I love them both. And this opportunity to swap their places was pretty much a dream come true!

Alright, that was plenty of rambling xD ultimately, I had a blast doing this commission, as I'm sure is obvious by now. So! If anyone wants to commission me, feel free to check out my prices right here and hit me up if you're interested!

[hyohaehyuk]

Sam talks about Jacob being 'an exceptional person' and answers what would have happened if Dale interviewed Lestat and whether or not Dale and Louis would be "friends" in The Emsolation Podcast Extras!

Note: Unf this is not the complete video where he answears that question(s). I had to edit it with a few excerpts i found so it might not make much sense. if someone put the whole segment of this question(s) i will edit this with that video

Source: The Emsolation Podcast - Sam Reid talks the FINAL season of The Newsreader, urvampiregirls, loustatsoup, comeappraiseme and pixielayer

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Him saying that he can't imagine Louis giving two f*cks about Dale 😞 Well the fanfics says otherwise 🙃 i am really surprised they didn't told im about the Louis x Dale fanfics on AO3 🤣

i cant find the tweet now but i swear that i saw someone one twitter saying that Michael Lucas and the lady in the video talked about it a few weeks ago in one of The Emsolation podcast eps.

Anyway, it's funny that Lestat possessed him both times: one (where Sam clearly was able to control him) where he was totally down to the idea of f*cking Dale and in the other where he cant stand the idea of Louis f*cking Dale (Lestat you fake poly. A cheater is what you are) I didn't believed 100% in the Lestat possession allegations until i watch this 🤯

[variousqueerthings]

on the one hand, more due south would probably be a bad idea, on the other hand paul gross is the right age to play a fraser who's around frobisher's age now............ all the Themes that got brought up about no longer being young (and invincible) and the last of a breed and the whirligig of time bringing inevitable modernisation for bad and for good............ his hair all white......................

[emero0]

In relation to my “how dare project sekai have shows within a game that i wish were real” post i have decided to do the same thing lmaoo

And by that i mean ive had this cinematic universe in my head for a fic i need to write and part if it involves leo/need writing songs for the musical movie (think like how mary poppins has songs in it—old disney movies to reference something more popular)

Which has led me to wanting to write a song for the movie in my fic—

This is what my multifaceted brain gets me—multi media projects woooo

[danothan]

Just reading some comics and saw a panel I thought you might like. :)

ah fuck, characters reminiscing always get to me ;__;

but i will never ever get over that fond way these two talk to and abt each other. especially when they’re poking fun, you can just hear the love in their voice it’s SICK.

the halbarry love language is annoying each other, but even more than that, it’s being each other’s exceptions

[hood-ex]

For anyone who's ever wanted to see Dick riding a horse:

Batman #705

[woman-respecter]

peace is like the most romantic song ever written and joe alwyn being a loser will never change that bc if was never about him and was always about blorbo from my shows

[saturn-projector]

heyy I loved your post about the different aesthetics the gfs of the poets would have! could you make a more detailed collage of meeks gf aesthetic? I would love to see it 💕

omg for sure !!! i love this question guys you can always send in questions like these

here u go <3

[freyholland]

1 final 70s horror movie to go: John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978)

[mierstaer]

reminder that for me ever saint in saint seiya is, in fact, a butch lesbian

[panchulien]

your post about gün really makes me want to write an accurate cod characters in the middle-east thing i cant lie. I see it so often in fics and people get certain parts of the region so wrong but i always hold myself back thinking no one would care but your post has me thinking maybe i should say fuck it and write it anyway.

turkish culture and arabic cultures have a lot in common of course so your post sparked that idea again :O

also having been to a few, we had a turkish neighbour growing up before we moved, i just know it'd be niks perfect afternoon. That warm feeling of all the food and company, the excitement around you, the mundane stories and complaining about the dumbest things as if its the most important thing happening. Also the food is truly amazing and nik would be so excited to introduce them to his own dishes, he'd have a great time for sure

thanks for sharing its such a sweet thought and i love when people share their culture!!

Aww Q this is such a sweet ask thank you so much. 🥺😭💖 I'm glad my post sparked that interest in you, and definitely don't hold yourself back if you want to explore more with your fics! I'm sure there are many people willing to help if you ever wanted to consult someone about the accuracies. (me included <3) Just the fact that you're concerned about it shows that you care, some writers just ball it when it comes to other cultures haha

You understood the picture I was trying to paint perfectly!! I just know cultural exchanges with Nik would be such a delight. He's seen a lot, always open to learn more about the world as he travels. He'd be such good company and I love him for that. Perfect contrast to the life he leads, these little exchanges with the locals, being accepted by them and allowing himself the calmness of it for a brief moment.

What I wouldn't give to just sit down and have a conversation with this man over some tea haha

[booasaur]

Warrior (2019) - 3x10

[savingsallow]

ALSO, if u turned in sebby, we can't be friends (haha lol)

Lmao so real

well what can i say? 🤷🏻‍♀️ i know what i want 😌😆

[saeraas]

they let you get gbvsr dlc to change the announcer to any of the characters, and most are normal but then there's belial, who gives everyone two special nicknames and this is to basically say i was not prepared for hearing him call eustace "cocked and loaded"