#I'm alive but am i...

[studyingmandarinwithlara]

June 23rd, 2025

I'm alive, unfortunately. Don't you just love exam season?

[making-you-in-spore]

i made this weirdass chia pet in spore [2008]

[sashayed]

If you are in your 20s and depressed I want you to know this: As you age, you will almost certainly acquire tools and perspective that will open your world in ways you cannot imagine right now. You will find levels of contentment and joy you never thought possible. You will access a deep understanding and forgiveness of yourself that comes just from hanging out long enough in the same body, and that forgiveness will change everything. Also you may have a regressive depression so intense and long-lasting that it feels like a traumatic brain injury. don't freak out it's normal

[pokimoko]

I can't keep being fundamentally changed as a person by animated movies, it's just not sustainable.

[welcometogrouchland]

(ID in alt) you guys even fuck w/ the flash on here???

[slfcare]

one day you’ll yearn for the person you are now, to tell them, "hey, look, it turned out to be okay" and "i’m so grateful you’ve held on" and "things just worked out somehow". you’ll want to hold their hand and give them the wisdom that the future is actually better, and you know it because you’re living it. but you can’t reach through time like that. the only way to bridge the gap between the you of today and the you who’s doing better, is to hold onto the hope that they exist. 

[tsinavar]

may've not made it for Hansry week but maybe I will for next week??

[die-auster]

Some "if Yue is alive and went travelling with the Gaang" designs

With a ton of text about cultural inspiration.

The main book 2 look

I wanted to show cultural differences between the tribes, so Yue's look is sort of Mongolian. There were Mongolian-styled hats in the Northern tribe, and Yue's dress under the coat looked like a Mongolian deel (thanks @atlaculture for all these posts about clothes and everything else!), so it's not much against the canon information.

So she's wearing a deel again with a second layer - there are chinese actors on photos as far as I know; I hope it's okay. One-shoulder silhouette refers to later Aang's clothes because Yue is still kind of a spiritual person (she wasn't a fighter, so I want her to have some other useful talent – not a bender or healer like Katara or a non-bender warrior like Suki). Violet, pink and white were originally her colors, no changes here. Three blue characters would be too much for a group of five, and total white is not practical at all. I like to think that violet color shows high rank in the Avatar universe; in the original series it was only worn by princess Yue, Kanna, the chief Hakoda's mother, and by king Bumi.

Yue's boots here are mongolian gutals/gutuls (the collage is already big, but I used them again for one of Book 3-looks).

Her hair become simpler – just two braids and a hairpiece, to match her previous decorated hairdo. I guess if she's travelling with the Gaang she's not that much of a Moon Spirit anymore (maybe she returned the part of the moon spirit that saved her and was healed other way?), so I decided to forego the moon-referring part. Also it will be easier to do by herself since she has no servants now... The headdress I took from modern Mongolian dancers; the front part is crescent-moon-shaped.

The Ba Sing Se dress

I fell in love with this Ao Dai dress, it's simple, long and elegant. But... it's mostly Vietnamese… and I'm afraid that it's modern and not historically accurate. Also it does not really go together with other Ba Sing Se dresses :( because I did not want to just copy-paste some background look. But there is at least one dress with a tail, thigh high slits and a standing collar on the dress underneath, so... I guess my choice is not that bad? The tail makes her look more royal. The fan is the same which Toph and Katara had. For the palette I chose Yue's white color with EK greens and warm yellow/ochre to match Katara and Toph. The hairdo is copied from the series; I chose one with the tassel on the right, to refer the NWT/Korean accessories.

The Fire Nation disguise

A confession – I don't like FN clothes. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it properly, so I almost copied that attire (left one) – asymmetry, as a Thai touch, which again matches Aang's Invasion Buddhist-like clothes. The palette keeps Yue's signature white, with some pink of a warmer shade, as they wear it in the Fire Nation. And the "royal" long skirt, 'cause she's still not a fighter. The look is simplified so I could not keep zigzag ornament on her longyi skirt, therefore I moved it onto the top part.

I used Thai dancers jewelry and... flip flops? idk how they are called in Southeast Asia (don't like Sokka and Katara's FN shoes at all, why the design is so complicated?).

For covering her hair I used a turban, inspired by Myanmar turbans; a white one, so if some hair will show, it won't be too noticeable. Also Yue could still be easily recognised on screen/page by her white head. The long end of the fabric on her right resembles burmese hairstyle silhouette.

The Invasion-and-till-finale look

For her dress I used a deel (again); the sleeveless jacket is an hommage to her original design and has some Korean vibes, like Toph's Ba Sing Se dress (at least I hope so). Katara and Sokka's season 1 looks have Korean influence, so I guess it's okay. Gutals are from her Book 2 main look. I have a soft spot for them.

My favorite thing is her hair :)))) It's a mix of Inuit/Mongolian braids and a hairpiece, also from the Book 2 look. This time there will be more braids. Two on the front – I wanted to keep them from her original hairdo, but now they are braided together (I saw this on the Alaskan Inuit women photos). On the back there are five, inspired by a Mongolian hairdo for young unmarried girls, who wore multiple braids. I decided to make five, because Alaskian Inuit language uses this amount for counting and with two front braids it'll make seven, which is a lucky Mongolian number. And in theory a limited number should be easier to animate.

The post-canon noble look

After the final battle I thought Yue will come back to Agna Qel'a and become a more active political figure. I chose a white kuspuk (blue color is still for Katara and Sokka), showing that she is ready to lead her tribe after this journey, not the passive perfect princess she was before. "She is associated in canon with the masculine yang of the yin and yang and the moon which, in most Inuit and Eskimo cultures, is considered masculine as well. While white kuspuks are associated with men and specifically family patriarchs, a feminine kuspuk in white makes plenty of sense for Yue's character" – @mostly-mundane-atla helped me a lot with the cultural meaning of the clothes (I am so grateful!). Also it's an hommage to her total-white Moon Spirit look. And I changed her hair again to Greenland updo with two tied braids on the front – more complicated than the simple braids she wore during the journey. It looks formal.

NWT is less Inuit-inspired and has a strong Mongolian touch (to make them look more "modern"? dunno) but I guess the formal wear for the spiritual princess could refer to older traditions. Which should be the same with SWT, 'cause SWT was originally a part of NWT – or so I heard. For example, Kuruk, the NWT Avatar who lived about 400 years ago, has nothing Mongolian in his look.

All the looks are simplified to match the style of the original cartoon. I know there should be more details and embroidery, but my goal here was to draw something (at least theoretically) applicable for animation. And no Hahn's betrothal necklace of course.

Also I want to mention here other great Yue designs, since they are the inspiration behind the overall idea of the post – the moon looks and "Yue joins the Gaang" outfits by amazingly talented @chiptrillino.

P.S.: an important note

This is my first attempt ever to design outfits that could fit the world of A:tLA. I am not Asian or ingenious, not an expert in their cultures or costume history at all, not a professional character designer. I am just a fan who tried to create designs with respect to real cultures and people. Nothing here was supposed to be offensive in any way. If something still is – please inform me so I could fix it as soon as possible.

I hope, as a fan, I have the right to draw fanarts looking for an inspiration in the cultures that inspired the original cartoon.

If you see mistakes in my post, be it in drawings or a text, also feel free to tell me. I will deeply appreciate it.

[discordiansamba]

avatar Zuko AU wherein is he learns he's the Avatar only after being banished wholesale to the Earth Kingdom and immediately goes. well. fuck. and proceeds to go on the most unconventional journey to master the four elements known to man.

first stop? well, he might as well check out the Air Temples. They're a good place to hide, since he's pretty sure all three surviving nations would like him dead. he ends up in the Southern Air Temple, and winds up laying the bodies there to rest... after he spends several days searching the temple for anything pertaining to how airbenders are actually laid to rest.

he does not expect to be greeted by a ghost once he does. The spirit of Monk Gyatso becomes his airbending teacher, until one day he simply stops appearing. Zuko assumes he's finally moved on, and decides it's time for him to move on. He wanders the Earth Kingdom for awhile, while trying to keep a low profile, and winds up at the Foggy Bottom Swamp.

...where there are apparently waterbenders who don't want to kill him. Sure, he'll take it. Huu is... eccentric, and he's not really sure he agrees with his uh. viewpoint on pants (or lack thereof) but he is a good teacher. after awhile, Huu tells him he should travel on to the Si Wong Desert so Zuko is just like. sure why the fuck not. and goes to the desert.

he gets taken in by one of the sandbending tribes there, and learns earthbending from them. he's pretty sure he prefers living in the desert over the swamp. the sandbenders he's staying with are nice enough, even if some of their younger members seem... well, assholes. said assholes sell him out one day, so he has to leave the desert.

well. now what?

(all the while, he's leaving behind the most eccentric string of rumors about the Avatar known to man.)

[remitro]

Tell the world about our milk project

OH MY FUCKING GOD. YES YES YES okay okay. so. to contextualize the beginning of the end. metfell reblogged this post a little while back with this image attached, and it's been haunting my dreams and my waking hours ever since.

so! out of a morbid sense of curiosity! well. we're scientists you see. Doctors even . PHD certified. you can trust me on this. and of course the basis of ALL good science is experimentation. where's the line? where does it stop? where do we end? is this how it works? what IS milk, really? how much milk can you get per milk?

i bake. i'm a culinary student, actually! so you KNOW you can trust me! i own milk powder. i own milk. boss and i formulate a beautiful, unstoppable plan.

i take a packet. each packet is approximately 90g of milk powder. i have poured maybe a few tablespoons of milk. i shake like, a quarter of the bag in. the milk powder dissolves immediately. The Substance Hungers For More. i pour half the pack in. it's a little thicker, maybe, but nothing. science stops for no one. i pour the entire packet of milk powder in.

behold. more milk per milk. his name is little clot. he is our horrible homunculus son and he has been banished into the fridge to marinate in his own existence. i may to feed him yeast at some point and see what happens. he's beautiful

[reggie-gremlin]

jack wolfe the gabe goodman you are

[sainz100]

2025 Canadian GP | x

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

I know this is one of the most commonly listed reasons people with rancid takes give for disliking Aylin (framing it as her being "egotistical" or "narcissistic" or similar), but I genuinely, completely, unironically love and deeply enjoy that she straight up demands the respect she is owed if she does not get it. Insisting on the use of her full name and title (which she had been stripped of for so long!) and a simple and straightforward "you will address me with due deference" when some guy tries buttering her up with slimy my dears? damn right.

I also love that she demands this for Isobel, too, if you dare to "speak abruptly" to her - even though in that particular instance it's played as a bit more of a joke.

Anyway, happy pride month, here's another picture of Dame Aylin, let us all bask in her glorious self-confidence and her entire utterly unapologetic, indomitable existence.

[dontyouknowemma-itsyou]

[bisexualdisasterwenkexing]

zhou zishu first falling in love with wen kexing's capacity for joy!! with his ability and willingness to enjoy being alive!!! with how he seeks pleasure in the mundane!!!! something zhou zishu needed so desperately!!!!!

[bumblingbabooshka]

I love Vulcans we need to get more into the emotional lives of Vulcans without imposing Human standards onto them. "The way you feel is wrong/repressive because it's not the way it's "supposed" to be from my perspective as an alien called Human" is boring to me especially when it's treated as correct. I wanna know how the aliens feel about their alien way of life. Vulcans are so interesting to me when written AS aliens and not as analogous to repressed Humans. I think about Tuvok's description of attachment to his family and how that isn't the emotion 'love' but something else, something that he feels no shame about having and sees as normal, as naturally Vulcan and I love it and I love it because there aren't any Humans there to go "Um actually checkmate you Vulcan s.o.b - that's emotion!" and he isn't being influenced by anything. These are his authentic thoughts. He sees his children, his family, as part of him. They were at times illogical, incomprehensible, and it was extremely rewarding to be in their lives. He thinks about them every day. They were well behaved. As teens they were contemptuous of authority and convinced of their own superiority. His youngest son loved one 200 verse story so he sang it to him. He'd rather die than betray his wife even in spirit. He's incomplete without them. It's obvious through Tuvok that Vulcan life is not inherently devoid of pleasure, comfort, or love and thus Human life (I think) should not be portrayed as inherently having something greater, deeper, more meaningful. I'm not talking here of society but of...emotional life. Interiority. There's this sense that all Vulcans are the same and miserable for it. That they hold themselves back and are indistinguishable and antagonistic to the self, repressed and wrong. That to be Vulcan is to suffer endlessly and Humans are all about Freedom Man and I don't know, I like that Tuvok's existence sort of challenges this as much as I acknowledge that Vulcan society is in fact repressive and unwelcoming to those who don't fit neatly into it. I'm not saying Vulcan society is a utopia, I'm questioning the perception of Vulcan emotional control - that way of life - as being inherently bad, devoid, or lacking. That Vulcans walk around with 'empty cups' and are only deluding themselves that to be that way is good. If only, Humanity moans, they could taste how delicious life could be! Tuvok is an average Vulcan. He does not struggle with emotion, he is not mixed species, he was not raised atypically, and yet he has a family he cares about and a wife he's loyal to and friends he values and none of these things seem to be Un-Vulcan to him. If Vulcan life was truly devoid of love and care, Tuvok wouldn't think of his family. They're not here, so why bother? When his pon farr came, he'd be trying to find the most compatible mate rather than risking his life by trying to meditate through it out of loyalty to T'Pel. T'Pel would also have just given Tuvok up for dead instead of waiting and his children wouldn't have traveled all the way to the most holy temple on the planet to say prayers for his safe return. I think these things are interesting and I wish they'd been explored more. The fact that caring about your family, caring about your friends, is not Un-Vulcan. The fact that Tuvok at no point longs for Humanity, sees nothing better or of interest to him in it. (Even in his teenage rebellion he only says he's sorry he was born Vulcan which reads less as Vulcan v Human and more like 'I hate this goddamn family' ykwim?). I want to know more about how Vulcans interact with each other, how they care for one another, what it means and what it's like to be Vulcan in more of an everyday way rather than what it means to be Vulcan vs Human.