#Basics of Trading

[batcavescolony]

Katniss is such an unreliable narrator. She says "Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me" girl you deliver strawberries to the Mayor, you hunt and trade for the district, when you fell at Prim being chosen someone caught you, when you went to Prim people parted for you, when you volunteered EVERYONE stopped. Idk how to tell you but I think you're a pillar of the community.

[traderscircle]

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[cracklewink]

Lunch Break 🍳☀️

Today I realized I never posted this illustration here! It's from over a year ago, but still one of my favorites I've done. More below >

This character's name is Carlos!! He is a carpenter and a side character in a comic I'm planning where angels exist in a symbiotic relationship with humans titled "Mayflies". In that world angels are esoteric creatures with a life cycle similar to mayflies (hence the name) where they merge with recently deceased humans during their juvenile phase (the merged humans are termed "nymphilim"), which makes up the majority of their lifespan. At the end of the rest of the nymphilim's natural life they undergo metamorphosis and emerge as enormous adult angels, which only live a short while before starting the life cycle again. Basically, got that bug in you.

[devotion-disorder]

Curious but would our handsome elves love us even if we turn old and gray? 👉👈

I think most elves, especially those that have a better affinity for magic, would probably perform some sort of ritual to lengthen your lifespan. It won't be pretty, and they'll be heaving and shaking by the end of such an intensive spell that is reserved only for the most desperate of cases -- but they're willing to do it, multiple times if needed. And for those that do not possess the talent to cast such magic, they'd be willing to trade practically anything to commission other elves, even with years off of their own lives.

but that's the case for an individual basis. I suppose if you're the (only) village pet then it will be a collective effort to keep you alive as long as possible -- and if the entire village is mobilized its going to be a very, very long time before the prospects of freedom in death becomes available...and the fact that your life literally depends on them will be something they'll exploit to the fullest.

[dreamyblanket]

Sorry guys, wafer on the brain, it's terminal u.u

Anyway, I'll elaborate on this in the tags bc omg I'm going to yap your metaphorical ear off.

[cupidsncheerios]

as much as i enjoy seeing the class politics discussions around silco and his actions as a chembaron and a revolutionary, i do think that a lot of people condemning his actions (which we should condemn) miss the part where like.

it did work

like that was a pretty significant part of the show. it didnt pan out because he loved his daughter but silco's methods very much did get zaun as an independent nation, the real question is if it was worth it (which we'll never know bc jinx shot him)

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

The PJ demigod au is breaking my heart T_T

I keep imagining a scene after Ford runs into Stan on the road, and says something really obtuse about "when Athena claimed us" and it makes Stan (who is already on his last straw) whirl around and finally spell it out for Ford like "She didn't claim US! She claimed YOU!"

Is Ford genuinely that oblivious after getting claimed? Like, does he genuinely believe that Stan stayed in the Hermes cabin by *choice* rather than moving into the Athena cabin with Ford? I'm trying to gauge how much Ford was reveling in blissful (willful) ignorance re: Stan's circumstances at Camp.

Its so tragic in a way that suits them so perfectly :) Gotta love the twins and the favoritism that split them apart.

Glad you asked though! Gives me an excuse to write this!

Growing up Ford knew, despite Stan's own assumptions, that something wasn't quite right at home. Their parents loved and cared for them of course, their ma fed them, listened to their tales, kissed and pinched their cheeks, and would hug them tightly to her chest and call them her 'free spirit' and 'curious critter'. She'd sit them down at her feet and spin them tales about gods and goddesses, spirits and heroes, great destinies and tragic defeats. Their pa wasn't as affectionate, gruff and quiet, but he showed them both how to count money at the till, took them to boxing lessons, nodded at Ford as he brought home more and more trophies and (near, but gym class wasn't a real class anyway) perfect report cards.

No, the issue was between each other. Ma would give pa hard looks sometimes, and he would sigh long sighs and rub his forehead whenever the twins brought home strange bugs or got too energetic. It was worse when they were very small, and ma would be quiet to them too, but then one day pa took ma to a 'fancy dinner date' and the two of them came back much more relaxed and happier than he'd seen them. The quiet didn't go away, but it was there, and Ford remembered when it would echo around the whole house.

So learning that ma wasn't their real ma, and that their real ma made them with her brain made a lot of things make sense. It explained why ma was so upset with pa, why Ford was always full of a restless energy, how he was terrified to stand up to bullies, not because he was afraid of them, but because he was scared he wouldn't be able to stop himself once he got going, not like how Stan could turn it on and off. It explained the way he could sit in a library for hours on end, feeling more at home than the pawn shop, how the words wiggled and squirmed, but in ways he learned to recognize and make educated guesses to their meaning. The strange way the world went in and out of focus sometimes, like there was something just out of sight, calling to him.

Ford and Stan were special, they were the children of a goddess, so powerful monsters wanted to take them out before they could grow up into hero's, just like in ma's stories. It filled him with pride, that he had some great destiny, that one day everyone would look at him and see something besides his hands.

That he would someday be a hero.

That feeling lasted right up until they reached camp, and Ford realized he wasn't any more special than any of the hundred other kids living there.

The first night, crammed into a cabin already bursting, Ford clutched his brother tightly and forced himself not to think about how he was back to being a freak, just one demigod in a sea of them, and how any day they'd notice his hands and the bullying would start again, but this time much, much worse.

Demigods had powers after all. All Ford had was Stan and a twisting need to grab something and start swinging.

But the jeers never came. The name calling and screaming never reached his ears. Instead he got an eager lecture on Dactyls, six fingered smiths, a few grimaces from some of the kids in the Aphrodite, and several invitations to try out different weaponry or inventions to see how six fingers would affect them.

Then, one week after they'd gotten there, he was claimed.

Athena being his mom was obvious, really. He fit in with his brothers and sisters, eager to study, eager to learn, ready to build and figure out how to end conflicts before they could lead to blood shed. The library inside her cabin welcomed him like nothing else had, soothing his anxiety and making his fingers twitch with the need to flip through all the pages. There was just one problem.

"What about Stanley?" Ford asked, setting his duffel bag on the cot his eldest sister (Jenny? Jamey? he'd missed it and wasn't sure how to ask) said was his, "How come he's not coming?"

His sister made a strange face, then coughed and smiled at him, "He needs to stay at the Hermes cabin until.. until Athena's ready for him."

Ford rolled the words over, then nodded. That made sense, Stan was far more energetic than Ford. This was a library, a quiet place of learning, even as it was a cabin for people to live. Stan would get restless here and might be too much for all their siblings to handle if they weren't used to him. They'd either need to reorganize the library to make clear pathways and Stan proof the cabin, or wait until Stan had grown out of his clumsy phase like ma always said he would.

Ford would just do his best to get started here, then encourage Stan to try his best to show their mom he could be trusted in her cabin. Their room was somewhat of a danger zone back home, this would just force him to start picking up after himself more.

So that's what he did. While Stan got his energy out with the Hermes kids and worked on focusing his wild energy, Ford worked on organizing the cabin, trying to make it Stan ready so he wouldn't break anything when he moved in. It was hard work, not only because his siblings weren't the most helpful, but because he kept getting distracted with books, scrolls, projects, and talking to everyone else about what they were working on.

But he was determined to get it Stan ready as soon as possible. By the end of the summer for sure.

Or the next one, when August hit and Stan still hadn't been claimed. Ford muttered and planned, then side eyed Stan as he rolled around on the grass while they waited for their ride back home. At fourteen the two of them were finally starting to hit their growth spurts, and while Ford wanted to blame Stan's increased clumsiness on his suddenly much longer limbs, he knew it wasn't the entire reason.

Stan wasn't like the rest of their siblings, months sharing a space had shown Ford just how different he was from the other children of Athena.

Maybe.. no, not maybe. Athena must have known he'd be unhappy in the Athena cabin this summer, stuck with nothing but a bunch of 'nerds' who wanted to read all day. That's why she'd only claimed Ford, so that Stan could have fun with the rest of the demigods.

That made sense.

(It had to be for a good reason. Stan was an excellent weaver, shaped clay like nothing else, made the funniest pictures and was the best at putting his opponents down in the fewest blows. It couldn't be because Stan didn't have the patience to learn for learning's sake, or that he was impulsive and hot tempered, or that he'd failed every trial to show off his smarts. Stan had personality, had never enjoyed intellectual pursuits, but was had quicker hands than anyone in their cabin.

So there had to be a reason. Athena was a goddess, and never made mistakes, so the reason had to be a good one)

Ford felt the difference keenly over the next school year. The bullies were eager to get their swings in since the twins had been gone all summer, and monsters even more so. Stan grinned as he waved Ford away, meeting each one head on or shooing Ford so they wouldn't both get in trouble when the two of them had to tag team monsters rising up to take them out.

Ford was grateful, even as he felt like a part of him was being smothered. Why did Stan get to fight everything. Ford wanted to take up his own sword, to grip something tightly and smash it down over and over, until whatever was hurting them was nothing more than a smear on the pavement.

It was a feeling that was growing the older they got, something that terrified him as much as excited him. His blood sang for action, the need for battle, for war.

It was one of Athena's domains after all, so why wouldn't he want to stand by his brothers side to defend themselves. Unfortunately Stan was right in that Ford was better suited to focus on their studies, an arguement he'd never been able to win. So he used his own vibrating energy to focus on learning, on soaking up as much as he could to drown out the feeling crawling under his skin.

(Stan always looked so alive as he fought, Ford wanted to feel that too)

He couldn't wait to go back to camp. All that summer had taught him was how unsuited he was to life here, where all his friends were miles away, all the other kids hated them, and he couldn't pick up a sword and hack away at a training dummy until he was coated in sweat and tell everyone he was 'working through an equation' whenever they asked.

Stan wasn't so eager, rolling his eyes and muttering whenever Ford brought the subject up. That wasn't too surprising, seeing as fighting real monsters looked much more exhilarating than practicing out here or playing war games. Sure Stan's friends would be there, but they'd loose out on real world experience.

Then as the summer hit, fourteen and almost fifteen, Ford realized the other reason Stan didn't want to come back.

He was too much for this place. Every other day he was causing chaos or laughing off some prank that had almost taken his head off. Ford had to watch his brother carelessly breeze through the camp, almost jumping to get into danger, sheming away or plotting some ill-thought out plan to cause as much damage as possible.

Then it was their birthday.

Fifteen wasn't a huge milestone, not really, but Ford had spent all his other birthdays with Stan, and was eager to continue the tradition. He had everything planned too, a morning getting in some last minute reading, then a picnic basket and some smuggled candy in his duffel bag. They'd go to the cliffs, eat lunch, and Ford would surprise Stan with his favorite treat. He'd be so surprised, he'd finally confess why he'd been acting up so much.

Or better yet, Ford would finally talk about all the energy burning in him, Stan would admit the same (the rest of his cabin had given him strange looks or laughed him off when he'd tentatively asked. None of them felt the need to go until they dropped, but Stan was different. They were twins after all). Then they'd go to the training grounds, let off some steam, end the day playing pranks, just like they used to.

So when he'd finished breakfast and saw Stan, he'd waved him off and told him to find him later. He had a few ideas on how to optimize the camps energy, and had fallen behind due to trying to put out fires Stan had made. The few hours until lunch helped catch him back up, and he picked up a light book on architecture of the sixteenth century while he waited for Stan to get him for lunch.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Until the sun was setting, he'd reread the same paragraph ten times, and the feeling of wanting to tear the book to pieces was making his hands shake.

Fine. FINE. Stan didn't- his brother was too busy laughing at all the damage he was making to hang out. Was too busy being free to do whatever he wanted and flourishing under the lack of pressure. Not like Ford, who had to prove to everyone he was exactly where he was meant to be. Sons of Athena were smart and clever, the best at studying, intellectual, did their best to mediate conflicts, and didn't want to grab a battle ax, scream at the top of his lungs, and lodge it into the nearest column.

That's what Aries kids did.

Athena didn't claim Stan because she knew he'd never be happy with all the eyes, looking at them for guidance. She'd claimed Ford because she knew he thrive with challenge after challenge.

She must have. There had to be a reason.

Looking at Stan, standing there smiling sheepishly in the middle of a charred forest, thumbs nervously twiddling each other as he stammered and came up with more and more excuses on how he didn't mean to cause an explosion that launched Greek fire through half the woods and over half the cabins, Ford felt that stronger than ever. Twenty other campers had gotten burned just from trying to put it out, and another ten had it splatter on them directly.

Everyone here were children. Stan also being one didn't make it better.

Thats why he was with Hermes. Whatever godly traits he'd inherited from their mother, it did nothing to combat his own criminal and chaotic tendencies. Maybe their mother had made a mistake, leaving Stan unsupervised had lead to him becoming a delinquent. Ford would have to work twice as hard to keep track of him, especially in another cabin.

That was tomorrow Fords problem, tonight Ford was to furious at his twins antics to do more than glare and stomp away, crawl into his own bunk, then crawl right back out and start writing up an action plan.

If Stan was too much for Athena, then Ford would show her he knew how to handle his brother. He'd prove himself more than capable of the task, get their mom to recognize the wisdom in putting Stan as close to Ford so that he could keep an eye on him, then spend the rest of the summer making sure Stan didn't get into any more trouble.

The next day he woke up, papers stuck to his face and drool smearing the ink. He quickly rewrote his ideas, wiped his mouth, then burst out of his cabin, ready to hunt down Stan and make him apologize to each injured camper personally.

But it was too late. By the time Ford managed to track down a member of Hermes cabin the news had spread throughout the camp.

Stan was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

[gojoest]

[intairnwetrust]

Ahhhh I finally got them 😭

[welcometohellfilm]

Hi! I loved W2H2 part 1 - I wanted to ask if there's a timeframe planned for the next part? Are you looking for additional guest animators?

Sometime next year hopefully! And I'm definitely open to guest animators/clean-up artists! But I also can't really afford to compensate a professional, reasonable wage. So far, any help I've had has been people offering to work pro bono, which is incredibly generous and I'm grateful for that, but I can't reasonably in good conscience ask people to help out for free. I am willing to work out some sort of payment, but it's... just... gonna' be embarrassing, y'know? I absolutely can't pay anyone what they're worth. BUT! If that's not an issue for people, it's a discussion I'm willing to have! If you (or anyone else) wants to guest animate some shots, send me a reel or some of your work and we can talk about it!

[sillygoofyqueer]

Deity Jester Wei Wuxian AU because I really like it I don't CARE if you guys have no taste (/silly). What a shit ending to that last one was though, I was obviously some form of deluded with that ending. Jesus CHRIST. When Wei Ying returns to Master, he is furious. He wants to kill him, to rip him apart slowly and remind him that although he may hold the key to controlling him, Wei Ying can still fight back. He already has, once. It was a minimal, small struggle, one that had seemed to tear him apart inside, but it was enough. A sign that he does not need to resign himself to being forced to complete Master's every whim and want. It's what fuels him to pulling the poor wood that hides a room off its metal bindings as he enters Master's space, feeling that familiar tug in his chest that usually signals a transformation, but he still can't free himself of this cage of flesh and blood so he can only growl in frustration. Master is lounging in that pathetic chair of his, obviously having been waiting for him to enter, lips pressed against that damn instrument and already playing the tune that leaves him feeling separate from his own body.

At first, he can ignore it, clinging to his body - it's so heavy to move it, so heavy in a way it hasn't been since the deaths of his mama and papa - and dragging himself forwards towards the man himself. But, there's something about this melody that feels different. It seems to echo, reverberating around the room and thudding into his mind every time it bounces off a surface; it hurts, every thud another rip in his control, until he can no longer keep himself in control. He doesn't even hear the orders that Master gives him, but can only watch and vaguely feel himself moving somewhere, doing something, but then it all goes dark. He can't think, can't move, can't open his eyes. He just. Exists. It feels almost similar to how he existed after being chased out of his home when his parents had died, hidden beneath a tree and clinging to his mama's cloak as it rotted in his hands. He wonders if this is what death is like.

Wei Ying's master, known to most as Wen Haoran, moves in to take the throne after he is sure that all other competition is gone. The monster took care of all of them, but the way it had refused to attack the children had him worried. However, they were dealt with, it was dealt with, and now he can easily take over command of the country. The commoners cannot do anything, and it is easy to pit the old court loyal to the previous crown against one another with carefully placed pieces of 'incriminating evidence' that ties all of them to him in some way or another. Rumours and whispers, letters and bribes, all linked back to him in some way or another, falsified to suit his purposes. The infighting weeds out the weak ones who come begging for his support a few weeks in, the strong ones who end up swarmed as more 'evidence' piles up against them, and the smart ones. The ones who merely pretend to bend to his will. They are dealt with swiftly, leaving his control of the throne secure.

History unfolds from that moment, time passing as Wen Haoran's rule marks the start of Wen control of the country, rules doling out to become more and more oppressive as time goes on. Nobody can explain how he gained the throne, can only speculate while he tucks away the ancient, mould-ridden text that holds a short, vague passage on the monster with the melody that summons it. While he doesn't want anyone else to learn about his methods for his takeover, he wishes to ensure that future generations of the Wen also have the knowledge in case they need to summon the monster. It's stupid enough, it won't even recognise them considering it didn't even know his name, so it can be utilised again as long as the melody is played by them. So, he creates an inner library, hidden within his chambers (the chambers of the ruler), that holds all of the secrets his family should need to know to keep control of this country, one that is finally taking shape to be a truly great place. It is a secret that is passed down from ruler to ruler at first, but one that fades with time, until eighty years have passed and Wen Haoran is long dead, with Wen Ruohan on the throne.

Wen Ruohan is unlike his ancestor in that he is outwardly cruel. He is power hungry, a maniac that cares not for appearances - the Wen have been on the throne for this long, their power is practically absolute, and everyone has grown complacent with the treatment doled out to everyone within the country. Whatever the Wen ask, you do, or you face certain death. Rumours flit around that they are using dark magic but honestly, none of the rulers are even aware of the secret room within their chambers and, even if they were, would not think to find any sort of magic present in their ancestor's work. Wen Ruohan is just evil alone, he does not need any cursed magic or object to taint his mind. A clear indicator of his cruelty is when he asks the prestigious families to send a son into the palace so they can learn their roles; they can do nothing but send them over despite their fear and mistrust of this tyrannical ruler with his equally fucked up sons.

It's not long before these boys from prominent families have different tasks doled out to them that seem to mock the individual family's greatest pride - Nie Mingjue is placed as a Duizhu (captain of a company), meaning he is working with woefully less soldiers than he usually would, an insult to his expertise of battle. Jiang Cheng is now a fisherman for the Wen, supplying them with the best fish - an insult to the family revered for their trade and control of the waterways. Jin Zixuan? A retainer for Wen Chao, who delights in ordering around a member of the family that poses the most threat with their almost natural talents of politicking and charming all those that cross them (well, until you talk to Jin Guangshan, of course). And Lan Wangji, the one to willingly go to the palace so that his brother could still be the heir of the Lan family, a scholar dedicated to documenting the illustrious history of the Wens and whatever strikes their fancy, spitting on the Lans' own well-documented, impressive history and their unparalleled scholarly arts.

Lan Wangji despises his place in the palace, forced to sit in the library every day and read through pages and pages of the Wens' lies, writing down everything that could be deemed even remotely important to the Wens so that he doesn't have to go back and read through them if he misses something. This task is not straightforward even with his length, because every time one of the royals ask him to research something else, he must stop his documentations of the Wen to learn everything about the subject asked until he has enough information written down to appease those that have asked for it. It's long and tedious enough already, and every time he has to pause, it adds more time to what he has to do. It gets worse when he realises that there is vagueness around the beginning of the rule of the Wen - something that Wen Ruohan will not tolerate if he is presented with it, forcing Lan Wangji to ask for more resources on that part of history.

Coincidentally, a servant stumbles across the secret library while cleaning the room, having done the impossible and accidentally knocked a statue resting against the untouched books in the study. They look inside, assuming this is just another part to the library of the study, and dust off all of the books - they notice two books in particular - small, handbound. 'The beginning of the Wens' and an unnamed, mould-covered book. They don't think much of it, just remembering that that blasted Lan was asking for more resources on the former subject and so grabbing that without much thought to go give it to the Lan, then grabbing the mould-covered book just because it will surely be a pain in the ass for the Lan to decipher. They leave the hidden library, being sure to reset everything after they're gone, and go to give the books to the Lan. They honestly assume that the other inner servants know about it, so they don't mention anything as they deliver the book to Lan Wangji, who practically glares down at it as he opens it for more bullshit to be delivered.

[unicornpopcorn14]

Wild thought, but I don't think skk's relationship was ever truly substantial until corruption got into the mix.

I don't think they even spent that much time working together prior to the events SB.

Yes, they were still a powerful duo. They still maintained their relationship with bickering and teasing. But it was all a little shallow, never something deeper going on.

Which made way for so much misunderstanding and miscommunication to occur between them. They couldn't read each other well- Dazai didn't always predict Chuuya's wild actions, and Chuuya never saw Dazai past the manipulative demeanor/playful facade, so he never truly trusted his words on things.

That can also be proven by Chuuya's dynamic with the Flags, his doubt and anger and mistrust. While you can chalk his behavior to what happened between him and the sheep, a part of me is confident that his surface-relationship with Dazai played a part in that as well.

Dazai and Mori were Chuuya's first impression of what the mafia world is, so anyone in the mafia should be like them, correct? That is what he was sure it was like: constant demeaning and manipulation, nothing genuine or real. So the flags' actions were always fake in his eyes, till the day they showed him a photo and he realized... Maybe they weren't.

But that deters us from the main point.

Skk's dynamic continued to be that of shallowness, which I imagine made way for many serious arguments between them when they were 15 for how differently they viewed things. They never really sat down, never had a moment of peace to just... talk or dwell or communicate. Never even bothered knowing the other past what they already know. Chuuya was simply Dazai's dumb and loud dog. Dazai was simply a suicidal freak and a bastard to Chuuya.

Until SB's events happened...

Specifically, this scene:

Clearly, this was the first time Dazai has shown that he cares about Chuuya without any filters or connotation. This was the first time Chuuya has seen Dazai being directly genuine with him.

And as mentioned, this was the first time Dazai was ever completely serious with Chuuya.

All because of Corruption.

And it would remain a trend from then on. Dazai's tone would always shift at the mention of using Arahabaki, of Chuuya's free will, of turning to Corruption as a last resort (see: corruption analysis).

These moments were raw. These moments were real.

And Chuuya would witness those moments that disprove his initial thoughts of Dazai simply being a heartless, soulless and twisted person. With confusion the first few times, then comprehension so deep it shifts his worldviews entirely.

Corruption forced soukoku to work along for more missions, forced them to see each other at their worst, lowest instances. Forced Dazai to witness Chuuya's quiet moments, forced Chuuya to experience qualities of care Dazai only reserves for special, special people...

Forced them to intensely understand one another, whether they liked it or not.

And ever so slowly, the trust that was built was something no one can ever shatter, no matter how many years of separation urged them to...

"What's with you, asking something like that?"

It's that moment. The moment sokouku's relationship became something so, so much more...

[sprinklrsplashes]

THE CANUCKS TRADED WHO???

[t4tails]

reading 90s catwoman will either break you or strengthen your bad art immune system to the point that you wont complain about boob socks so long as her back isnt breaking

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Avatar Heart to Heart: Kyoshi & Kuruk

Kyoshi: .... Kuruk: .... Kyoshi: .....I really hated you, you know? Kuruk: That "d" is doing sooooo much work right now. Kyoshi: That it is. Kuruk: So, is it really past tense? Kyoshi: Yeah, I can't really blame you for your choices. I can't say.... what I would've done in your shoes. It was a real shit situation. Kuruk: Thanks... And, I'm sorry for... all the consequences you got saddled with. It was a shit situation as well. Kyoshi: Thanks.... Kuruk: I... I really wanted to do right by you Kyoshi. It was my only request. Kyoshi: ....I know.... now.... But yeah, I know. Kuruk: You shouldn't have gone through any of that. Kyoshi: It's fine. It's life. Shit happens..... but... ditto to you too. Kuruk: .... Kyoshi: .... Kuruk: So... Sei'naka girls, amirite? Kyoshi: *sigh* What is happening right now? Aren't you married? Kuruk: I'm... trying to relate with you. Kyoshi: So thinking about your ex is relating to me? Kuruk: You don't think about Yun? Kyoshi: One, we never dated. Two, I will gut you if you go down this path. Kuruk: Noted. So.... similarities, besides taste in women. Kyoshi: Oh Raava, kill me now. Kuruk: Your bending, how was it? Kyoshi: Awful, thanks for asking. Next. Kuruk: I was a prodigy when it came to bending. Kyoshi: That's just so great for you, I was afraid of crushing bystanders because I was too powerful. Kuruk: Too powerful? Haha, probs got that from me. Kyoshi: Yeah, thanks. Kuruk: But you also picked up on all your bending super fast, even without sifus for the majority of your first year and a half as Avatar. You improved so much! I think you have a little prodigy in you too. Probs thanks to me! Kyoshi: You know....I never really thought about it like that. Kuruk: Haha.... yeah... Kyoshi: .... Kuruk: .... Kyoshi: This is so fucking awkward. Kuruk: I love my wife. Kyoshi: What???? Kuruk: I love my wife so....damn much Kyoshi. I don't care who got in my way, I'd burn the place to the ground. I'd kill every spirit that got in my way, even if it accelerated my death. I just....I love my wife so much. Kyoshi: ........I get it. Kuruk: You do? Hah....you once hated me for killing spirits outright. Thought it was blasphemous. I suppose it was. It went against my duties. Kyoshi: Yeah but.... I can't judge. I'd also damn my duties if it was to keep Rangi alive. Kuruk: You would? Kyoshi: Yeah.... and her mother, because she was that important to Rangi. I....may not have voice it completely out loud, but I'd damn the world if it meant I could keep Rangi safe. She may hate me for it but....I couldn't bear losing her like that. As long as she's breathing, she could hate me to either of our dying breaths but it'd be something I'm willing to trade. Kuruk: ....man... we really are alike. Kyoshi: Yeah..... Kuruk: We idolize Yangchen too much... Kyoshi: We're both stubborn as rocks.... Kuruk: Haha no control over our emotions! Kyoshi: And we love botching things up because of our personal feelings.... Kuruk: Haha.....yeah..... Kyoshi: .... Kuruk: .... Kyoshi: Fucking Nyahitha. Kuruk: Fucking Nyahitha!

[16archive]

daily faceoff's matt larkin on the toronto maple leafs as a playoff team that could miss in 2026

full transcript below the cut

toronto maple leafs

mitch marner's playoff struggles are well documented, but he's the nhl's eighth-leading scorer since debuting in 2016-17. he's also an excellent two-way forward who plays in all situations. matias macelli and nicolas roy were savvy additions but don't come close to replacing marner's production. now the leafs' top-end scoring will largely depend on auston matthews fighting off the chronic injury that reduced him from superstar to merely great in 2024-25, while they'll hope john tavares can repeat a 38-goal season at 35 years old. the leafs, despite their reputation as a tighter-checking team under coach craig berube, were a mid-pack defensive team at best this past season, relying heavily on fantastic years from goaltenders anthony stolarz and joseph woll. if I'm placing a bet, I still have the leafs making the playoffs next season – calm down – but they may slide back in a highly competitive atlantic division. if matthews can't stay healthy and the goaltending regresses, the leafs could be playing white-knuckle april games to earn a berth. if they don't add another top-fix forward by any means necessary between now and october, gm brad treliving's offseason is a massive failure.