#also they show Kai but they don't do much with her so far???

[wireless-telegraph]

Half hour of s19 left and first quarter feels like such a first draft?? It's getting better but there's still confusion left because they didn't set up the first part well for me.

[blluespirit]

Overall NATLA Thoughts

Okay, now that I've watched the series, I can give my thoughts.

Overall, I thought it was good!!! I had fun watching it! I'd rate it a solid 6.5/10. It's nowhere as good as the original, but it was definitely enjoyable and made some nice changes here and there that I liked. There were also some things I was also Not a fan of too.

I said in another post that it's best to treat this like an AU of the original. There will things that are great and things that are bad. That's the nature of adapting something.

Having said that, I need to get my initial thoughts off my chest... here we go.

Things I thought were good:

Sokka's characterisation - I really enjoyed him! I thought Ian did a good job! He played the funny moments well and retained the underlying seriousness/cautiousness. It wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed the changes a lot and think it was overall a solid performance.

Zuko's characterisation - Like Sokka, I do think I was most satisfied with their performances. A lot of Zuko's moments from the cartoon are sometimes... well, cartoonish and definitely wouldn't translate to live action, but I think Dallas did a nice job at balancing Zuko's desperate anger and that occasional sassiness well.

Zuko and Iroh moments were great. Had me on the floor crying. As it should have.

The bending looks a trillion times better than the movie - I understand it would not have been easy for the actors but, overall, I was very happy about it.

The scenery was stunning. It just looked so beautiful. I loved it so much.

Absolutely ADORE that they made Zuko a good calligrapher and artist. I read a fic about a million years ago where Zuko is a fantastic calligrapher and I thought it was perfect and made so much sense, and now I can say it's canon. This is perfect for me.

S U K I

The Freedom Fighters were ✨ perfect

They were so real for making Oma and Shu lesbians

Koh, Wan Shi Tong and Hei Bai looked fantastic, but I have more to say about all of them below, unfortunately.

I actually like the change they made that Katara is Aang's sole waterbending teacher.

Aang is not perfect, and needed more goofy scenes HOWEVER, I did like how they've had Aang's guilt more prominent in the story. The original didn't do a very good job with that, imo.

Zuko entering is breaking and entering era by breaking into an impenetrable Earth Kingdom prison is just perfect.

In Masks, I like how Aang and Zuko got a longer conversation - that was pretty cute.

I liked how they changed Yue a bit and got her out of the arranged marriage... how Yue saw Sokka in the Spirit World before meeting him in the real world.

Things I didn't like:

Far too much info-dumping/exposition. So much spelling things out. It was not as egregious as the movie, and I get there's a lot of information that needs to be conveyed well and quickly... but sometimes it really took me out of the show.

Why are Mai and Ty Lee here.... I was hoping the live action would give them a bit more depth (and they might as it goes forward!), but why put them in season 1 at all if they're just going to stand around???

Some odd changes - putting this as one point, but there are some bizarre changes that didn't make sense to me, as they did not benefit the story or deepen the characters. I have two main examples: a) making it so Aang didn't run away from home, and b) making it so Zuko actually fights Ozai in the Agni Kai.

Characterisation of Katara was Not Great. I don't think I got many hints of the reckless, compassionate, badass Katara until the end when she fights Pakku and rallies all the women together to fight (which happens off-screen). She was sweet and kind, but she just lacked the fire that OG Katara has.

Azula's characterisation - Azula is desperate to impress Ozai and so her character is just…. brewing with anger, frustration, desperation. I was SO excited to see the Azula we are introduced too… perpetually and irritatingly calm, calculating and ruthless. She's perfect, she's terrifying! She's literally the character of all time. But this Azula had more Zuko vibes? I don't think there's anything wrong with giving Azula more concrete motivation by wanting to impress Ozai and establishing that Ozai is abusive to both his kids, but I do think trying to do that right off the bat is a mistake.

WHY is Wan Shi Tong here. I love Wan Shi Tong, but like I said: Why Is He Here? Why could we not have his iconic, ominous as fuck introduction from The Library, and instead he's introduced in a random season 1 episode giving Aang Information(tm) about the Spirit World.

When Aang gave Koh the statue, and then he just takes it and immediately lets all the villages go, and neither of them even say anything, I actually laughed out loud. Like, I am so sorry, but what in the jesus fuck was that.

Speaking of Koh - I think Koh is better the less we know about him. Roku saying ~all Koh wants is a family like the rest of us~ just pissed me off?? I like my Koh the Face Stealer Terrifying and Unknowable, thank you.

NOTHING EVER REALLY HAPPENS WITH HEI BAI!!?? where's my precious spirit bear?? Like Aang never really does anything with him and the replacement Koh story is boring and it sucks.

Bumi.... sorry I just didn't vibe with him at all.

Things I can't decide on:

Fancy spirit knife to kill the moon spirit annoyed me a bit, but I guess they wanted to Kuruk something to work with and a little bit more interaction with Aang which I get but idk. I really flip/flop on this one.

I've been very on the fence about having Azula (and Ozai) being in the show in season 1 in general. I'm not sure if it benefited either of their characters.

Azula & Ozai's dynamic - Okay, so, I think they're trying to give Azula more depth, right? They're trying to establish what it was like for Azula to live with Ozai and that she's also (like Zuko) trying to desperately prove herself to him, but Ozai using Zuko's... achievements to do that just felt so weird. I get he's doing it to manipulate her, but that just felt so wrong when in canon it's very obvious that Ozai just didn't give a single fuck about Zuko. Ozai pits Azula against Zuko by saying he's a failure, he's a bad bender etc. Azula is born lucky, Zuko is lucky to be born - like, Ozai says that to Zuko's face. I don't know if I am communicating this point very well, but it just didn't seem right to me??

Zuko vs Zhao in the Siege of the North... I genuinely do not know how to feel about it! I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. I don't know how to feel about Zhao telling Zuko that his mission is a sham and that Azula is the prized one... It feels like it's saying the quiet part out loud? In the OG we all know that Ozai sending Zuko on that mission was an excuse to get rid of him, but we can work that out, no one actually says it. And then Iroh just fucking killing him/mortally wounding him instead of the Iconic scene where Zuko reaches out to save him despite everything Zhao has done to him, but Zhao's own pride gets in the way from letting him accept help from Zuko.

Zuko’s crew being the 41st is not necessarily a bad thing at all!!! But I do just want to say that in the original, the attack goes ahead, and presumably, those soldiers die. It’s horrible. Zuko’s sacrifice is in vain, and it was always going to be in vain because the Fire Nation as it stands would not allow Zuko's compassion to win. Ozai would not allow it. While not necessarily a bad choice (all the soldiers bowing to Zuko on the boat was so sweet I loved it!) but I think it does take away some of the horror of Zuko’s story (same as it does with making Zuko fight back in my opinion) because the whole point is that Zuko did the right thing - and he was punished for it, and those soldiers died anyway.

anyway...

Okay!! got that off my chest. I know I just had a big whine here, but I still had a lot of fun watching this show. I think some of the backlash is a bit over the top and unwarranted. It was never going to stand up to the original - and that's okay.

Enjoy it for what it is!

[laious]

haikyuu characters formality guide

in general: speaking formally will change the pattern of your words and insert extra articles at the end of sentences. if you're older, you can address your juniors by either their first or last name (first is usually more intimate though; see oikawa calling hinata "shouyou") and you don't have to use formal speech patterns. of course, if you're the same age you don't have to do so either.

generally assume that everyone keeps to a standard level of formality with their seniors and will, most often than not, call seniors by their last names + san

karasuno

hinata: obviously formal to his seniors (except kenma), but pretty relaxed about calling them by their first names or nicknames (e.g. noya-san, asahi-san, daichi-san)

kageyama: formal and does not deviate. calls his seniors by their full last names (even atsumu and osamu, who other characters usually differentiate by calling them by their first names, or sawamura, whom most others call daichi-san). he calls kiyoko shimizu-senpai, even though most others will say kiyoko-san (like noya and tanaka). the unusual part is that he calls his grandfather by his first name + san. miwa refers to him as kazuyo-kun, which is definitely weird. they've got an interesting family dynamic

tsukishima: formal. but also very snarky. he also calls his seniors by their full last names

yamaguchi: formal, same as tsukishima but much more polite

yachi: overly formal at times to the extent that she slips into ceremonial speech pattersn, but this is played for humor and is symptomatic of her overly anxious personality

tanaka: formal, but will call kiyoko-san by her first name

noya: same as above, except 1) when he fought asahi in s1, he didn't use formal language at all, and 2) he calls yaku "morisuke-kun." seems like nekoma third years are pretty casual! plus nishinoya tends to use people's first names for people he's close with (e.g. shouyou, ryuu, chikara).

everyone else

kenma: he explicitly doesn't like the hierarchical system. he calls kuroo by a nickname and doesn't speak formally to him at all. interestingly, he also doesn't speak formally to kai or yaku, and refers to them as kai-kun and yaku-kun. this is pretty unusual but it goes to show how accepting others are of his quirk (or that he's just really close to the 3rd years)

atsumu: formal with the third years, but not formal with aran, whom he calls aran-kun. this makes sense because they're childhood friends. post-timeskip, he interestingly refers to bokuto as bokkun, which is pretty informal, and as far as i remember he doesn't speak to him formally. also, he likes to call everyone by their first names + kun, which i guess is to be expected seeing as almost everyone calls him and osamu by their first names.

sakusa: his speech patterns is one of my favs bc it's all over the place. he's polite to his seniors and post-timeskip will use formal language with bokuto and call him bokuto-san, but then why the hell is he speaking so informally to ushiwaka? it's not even like they're longtime friends? he calls him wakatoshi-kun and doesn't use formal speech patterns with him at all. shocking.

that's about it for now i think

[agustdiv1ne]

in no particular order, here are my favorite fics that i've read this year!! please show a lot of love to all of these wonderful authors <3 (also please heed their rules, esp for nsfw fics!!)

part of my 2023 wrap up!

@koqabear

um like. quite literally everything sol has posted this year. i am being so serious. check out their masterlist right NEOWWWW and read EVERYTHING

@blackhairedjjun

flowers of every color — i could rave about this series for like 10 hours straight, i'm not even kidding. it's sweet with the perfect amount of angst to really draw you in, i fell in love with every character more and more with each chapter <3 now where is my prince!jjunie :(

@tyunkus

amazon wishlist (m) — me when me when me when roommate!tyun offers to fuck me...god, i need this so bad

@jishyucks

gloves & dittany — OHHHHH how i love this fic...one of the best harry potter aus i have ever read, and with yeonjun?? slytherin!yeonjun!!!! ooooo you really got me good, op <3

bittersweet — *cowboy cat meme* DRUNK SOOOOOOOOOB i think this wins the award for being the cutest fic i read in the year of 2023

@beom-pyu

i can't swim, idiot! (m) — i will never not shut up about this fic...just faking married? with beomgyu?? with feelings involved??? yeah. Yeah <3

like the moon — merman!kai you will always be famous to me, one of my all-time favorites by far!!!!!

@toruro

answers (m) — this academic rival!taehyun fic had me screaming crying gnawing on my leg like wtf mika. how could you do this to me. i am dead now.

@hyukalyptus

something nice (m) — i went SOOOO insane over this fic like the dynamics were just. scrumptious. i love yeonkai i love this fic i love hp for writing this yes yes yes

like, never ever? (m) — ohhhh my god. this one really got me good,, dom best friend!beomgyu giving mc her first orgasm?? sign me tf up !!!!!!

@qqtxt

sway with me — i sent this in for their 1k event i just :')))) i love this so so so much!!!! dancing with yeonjun is my dream, so thank you for taking my request op!! <3

@hueareloved / @huenation

my love mine all mine (m) — the most tender and soft and SWEET nsfw fic i have ever read, so in love with this and sleepy lovesick jjunie AGHH brb rereading this

ditto — ohhhh how i love angst. amor's writing style is beautiful and it made this beomgyu fic that much more heart-wrenching <3

@huckleberrykai

laundry basket (m) — no bc this went CRAZYYY with the perv!mc thing, savored every single word of this kai fic tbh

comfy cozy (m) — CUTE AF. i am the biggest proponent of soft smut and berry writes it so well <3 i loveee soft yeonjun more than life itself

@aduh0308 / @banggyu0308

yeehaw (m) — OKAYYY cowboys!taejun fucking destroyed me like. i don't think i ever recovered from this

berry sorbet (m) — i need kai to be my soulmate rn wtf. cute n sweet and i loved it

@boba-beom

airport crush pt.2 (m) — the minute smiles told me she was working on airport crush pt.2 i passed away. nothing could have prepared me for this fic, it destroyed me in the best way...god, i need yeonjun so bad

trapped in your game (m) — i salivated. i quaked. i (s)creamed. best friend!yeonjun, please hmu </3

@napofamoon / @mazeinthemoon

you're the one love (m) — moonie ATE with this fallen angel!yeonjun fic!! i love sacrilege n this was just sooo hot

@tubatwo

workaholic — this made me giggle and kick my feet so hard...i love you cafe boss taehyun, pls marry me

@hyuk4ngel

honeymoon avenue — i. love. angst. and fay is exceptionally talented at writing it!! taehyun better watch out tho >:(

@mapofthemazeinthemirror / @afterbluehours

untitled (m) — this yeonbin x reader fic is SOOOO hot like. i screamed. i cried. i rolled around in a fetal position because it just made me so insane

@nightlyawnzz

duality (m) — OHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYY GODDDDDDD i think this is one of the hottest kai fics i have ever read in my entire life. i don't often see kai as a hard dom in fics so this opened my eyes (can't wait for the final part!!)

@scintillasofbeomgyu

you are in love — one of my jjunie comfort fics!!! sweet n soft and everything to me :')

@petrichor-han

twenty-three suns (m) — rain's writing style hits me straight in the gut, especially with this summer fling au with taehyun :') lovely yet heart-wrenching and AGHH i love this

@ncteez

untitled (m) — UMMM this camboy!yeonjun fic altered the trajectory of my entire life. i fucking die every time i read this, like it has to be laced with crack or something

menace (m) — this was batshit INSANE LIKEEEE gangster!yoongi fucked me up so bad (in the best way)

@yeonboy

never meet your heroes — ONE OF MY FAVS EVER. LIKE. COLLEGE AU WITH SOOBIN???? I AM SO OBSESSED YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND

@ijhyo

how to get the girl — i ate this up SO hard. i just adore both the mc and beomgyu's characters in this, definitely another all-time favorite of mine

@cheolhub

head (m) — SAR YOU WERE INSANE FOR THIS. sub!soobin makes me so feral and this made my brainrot even worse UGHHH

@starbandit

backseat (m) — oh. oh yeah. now this is everything to me, best friend!yeonjun + car sex = a very very happy me

@tonicandjins

learning languages (m) — i don't often read donghyuck fics (or nct fics in general), but this one. oh, this one is beautiful. it made me cry, it made go through so many emotions i just. read this right now, you won't regret it

@heart2beom

cliche — i still vividly remember this first time that i read this, the dialogue is hilarious and it is just sweet n fluffy n AGHH i will forever adore this fic <3

and some more accounts with amazing fics!!!: @majestyjun @hyewka @taegimood @naomiarai @hyuk4sbf @fairyofshampgyu @enha-cafe @moonhoures @wolfytae-exe @dearlyjun @heartchoi @sook9i @tinietaehyun @minastras

a big thank you to all of these writers for sharing your works!! <3

[enavstars]

Time for Aus :D

(Poster/ desings are not final)

Details:

Eclipse:

Takes place after crystallized, the ninja have recovered their powers and got back to the status quo.

Rumors start spreading on the Internet that Kai is actually useless because he's never defeated a supervillain on his own. Kai gets insecure about his worth to the rest of the team, acting more and more rashly out of the need to prove himself. However, everyone else thinks he's overreacting for attention, so in a mission with Lloyd and Nya, after trying too hard and messing up, they snap at him, thinking he just wants to regain his popularity disregarding people's safety.

Much later, Kai is injured on a solo mission and is saved by a mysterious woman (the villain) who secretly aims to manipulate him to turn against the ninja and Ninjago as a whole, taking advantage on his past hardships as a child and his current mixed feelings towards them. She uses dark magic (sort of like Clause) to take and amplify what little is left of the corruption from Chen's elements staff into a mask, to slowly make his own thoughts turn against them all, eroding him from inside out.

At first she convinces him to become a kind of vigilante, killing criminals who might have used him in the past under said mask as Akatora ("Red Tiger"), steadily growing more corrupted.

Once the ninja discover Akatora's true identity, they believe he's being forced to betray them and try to "save" him, which only angers Kai further for not realizing how badly they've treated him.

But when they realize that they're at fault, the team splits in two: Cole, Jay and Pixal can't see a way of saving Kai on time before he self-destructs and takes the entire city down with him; while Lloyd, Nya and Zane try to get him back at all costs.

At first, the villain didn't care which elemental master to use to get the ninja to destroy the city. But upon finding out more about Kai's past, she decides the Ninja are no good for him and wants to "save" him, to get him out of that toxic environment. She even confronts them more than once after taking him under her wing. However, later on she changes her mind...

I have many more details but this is all I'll say for now. I want to make it a realistic and morally grey season where neither the ninja nor Kai are the villain, because the ninja do love Kai, they just have to show it. Also Kai's corruption is going to be slow where you don't really know how of it is Kai's true intentions.

On the road:

This AU is set years after Kai and Nya's parent's disappearence. Despite still living at the blacksmith off Kai's odd jobs, the siblings are fairly neglected by the townspeople of Ignacia. After getting seriously beat up in a fight with some kids who had been passive-agressively bullying Kai for years, they go a little too far by almost killing him and threatening to do the same to Nya. Kai is forced to abandon the hope of their parents ever returning and leaves for Ninjago City with Nya, hoping for a better life.

After travelling for a while they stumble across Ronin. They somehow convince him to take them in for a while in his rudimentary shed and to teach Kai how to hunt and be more self-sufficient for the journey. In the meantime, Nya shows off her handiwork, making toys off scraps for Ronin to sell as thanks. When they decide to part ways, Ronin gives them a map, setting them on the right direction (he's no babysitter, but hey, he actually cared).

Days later, Nya finds a hungry and weary Lloyd along the way, lost after escaping Darkleys and looking for his uncle Wu. After some convincing from Nya, they agree to take him in and start travelling together, eventually bonding and becoming a found family.

The Au is mostly about their (fun) little adventures and Kai being an overstressed mom trying to keep their younger siblings alive and relatively out of trouble (but don't worry, he's actually enjoying it).

In the end, after having taken their shot in Ninjago, they find Wu and are taken in at the monastery. Yes, Wu is actually a good uncle here. They deserve it. Especially Kai.

Kai is 13, Nya 11 and Lloyd 9 (older than canon, no tomorrow's tea)

Feel free to ask any questions about the aus.

[honeytabbies]

OKAY. HERE WE GO. my black bulls doggies!!!! :D

there's definitely a noticeable difference in style/quality of some of these just due to time between each design and/or how i was feeling at the time of drawing them (these hot and rainy summer months have been super rough on me)

ALSO they were all done symmetrically so that i wouldn't burn out and could actually finish them LOL . OK EVERYBODY BELOW

starting off with asta, a husky/coyote mutt!! :D in my au, devil users end up becoming hybrids of whatever their devil is. so since liebe is a coyote, that's what asta is too!! (also, i haven't drawn him yet, but yuno is a malamute :D similar looking breeds but different since they're not actually related!)

(here's liebe too hehe, scrappy lil coyote!!)

then of course, noelle, who's a saluki!! a very regal breed for a very royal gal!! i thought making her pigtails into her ears was a fun idea HEHEHE

(+ an alternate design version!)

here's finral, he's a shetland sheepdog!! gentle and sweet and always trying to herd his people together :) you might notice that with some of my designs, i end up doing extra scarring; that's usually just personal headcanons, as i think some injuries would be too grievous to fully heal. though some (for instance, gauche) don't have a canon story behind them, i just think they're fitting

vanessa, who's a cavalier king charles spaniel!! her ears sorta blend into her hair lol, i had an alternate version where they were the same darker brown as her fur but i decided that them blending in looked better and fit the breed standard as well.

gauche, the ever wary american akita!! being a fiercely loyal and protective breed, but aloof and suspicious of strangers.

then there's grey, who's a long-haired chihuahua!! sweet and skittish HEHE, also i haven't drawn it yet but i've always imagined her big transformation disguise that she's first introduced as to be a rottweiler LOL

next up is luck, a jack russell terrier!! i've always thought this was a very fitting breed pick, intelligent but highly energetic and a little mischievous !!!

and of course, magna is never far behind luck; he's a dobermann pinscher!! similar to luck in energy and intelligence, but even more fiercely protective of his loved ones.

GORDON!!! actually one of my favourite black clover characters, he's a dalmatian not only because of the fitting aesthetic, but also because of his kind and sensitive personality!

the masked supermage zora, a german shepherd! watchful and sometimes stubborn but loyal nonetheless made this pick fairly easy to come to. though, before getting to see more of him, my initial pick was actually a kai ken!

charmy's design is one that i'm the most proud of for sure; i mentioned in an earlier post that the different peoples are different species of animals. well charmy is a half toy poodle, half american badger!! i thought a badger was a VERY fitting pick, as they are generally unbothered by much unless their food is threatened LOL

and finally, lastly (for now) is nero!! she's a bull terrier, but i really wanted to keep her twin tails from her anti-bird form! her outfit is definitely the one i edited the most, i just wanted to give her something more practical out of personal preference.

additionally, henry is an old english sheepdog, nacht is a black norwegian elkhound/fox, and yami is a wolfdog!

I HAVE SOME OTHER CHARACTERS DOODLED HERE AND THERE but nothing else really finished yet. if there's a specific character anyone would like to see i would be SO happy to draw/doodle them to show off!! i honestly have a huge list of dog/cat breeds picked out for every character i could think of; i just am hellishly indecisive and can never pick who to start on next AHDSJAGDJSDK

THE POSITIVE RECEPTION TO MY ART SO FAR HAS MADE ME SO HAPPY BTW AUAGGHHH i have no idea how/if im able to reply to people directly but just know that i keep reading over everyone's reblog tags and stimming like crazy IM SO HAPPY THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH AUHGHFEHGGRH

[julianalvarez9]

national kai day / kai havertz

summary: you're not very active on social media -at least, on your public profile. so, the post you dedicate to your boyfriend on every birthday of his, seems to turn the day into a national holiday for fans.

author's note: wanted to do sum for kai's birthday, sorry it's too late 😮‍💨 it's still his birthday where i am so happy birthday to himmm 🤍

yourusername

Liked by benchilwell, kaihavertz29 and others.

yourusername i'm not very much into public demonstrations of affection, you already know me well enough, and that's part of what makes you so special: you take me as i am. i love you liebling, happy birthday. you know who you are.

Comments are restricted under this post.

kaihavertz29 🤍

| ♥️ comment liked by yourusername.

jun 11, 2020.

yourusername

Liked by kaihavertz29, kepaarrizabalaga and others.

yourusername with every year that passes, i feel it's only right of me to share a bit of you to the world. the part they don't know about you, not the one they see every weekend on the pitch. still, words couldn't even begin to describe how special you are. i love you, k.

View all comments.

kepaarrizabalaga los adoro ❤️ (i adore you two)

| ♥️ comment liked by yourusername.

user1 i knowwww we don't know much about her but she seems so sweet 😭

user2 FRRRR and i had this idea of kai being like so serious but every year she posts something for his birthday it's always the cutest pics 😭

user3 grumpy x sunshine trope going so hard with these two

kaihavertz29 hate being far away today. i will make it up to you, schatz.

yourusername we'll see each other so soon. you don't have to do anything 🤍 the pups and i are gonna be happy just by seeing you again.

masonmount a man of many talents 🎹

kaihavertz29 thought you already knew me

jun 11, 2021.

yourusername

Liked by kaihavertz29, masonmount and others.

yourusername holding your hand forever. or until you get tired of me fiddling with your rings during the fancy events. i love you, k 🤍 happy birthday to the sweetest man on this planet.

View all comments.

user1 never seen kai smile that way before 🥹

user2 they're literally the cutest couple ever

masonmount he never holds my hand like that 🙁 happiest of birthdays to the man!

| ♥️ comment liked by yourusername.

benchilwell 😂

user3 this is what he meant when he said that he doesn't wear jewelry unless he's with his gf? stop that's so cute :(

jun 11, 2022.

yourusername

Liked by kaihavertz29, benchilwell and others.

yourusername kai, you amaze me every day. i've known you for so long i feel like our lives where always intertwined, somehow. will always cherish the possibility of waking up next to you every morning, but especially today, when i can wish the happiest of birthdays to the man i love.

View all comments.

benchilwell i love both of you so much 🤍

| ♥️ comment liked by yourusername and kaihavertz29.

user1 we went from "you know who you are" to tagging him 🥹

user2 also i think this is the first time she shows his full face 😭

kaihavertz29 waking up next to you is the biggest birthday gift. can't ask for anything more. i love you,

user3 she has such a way with words every year I shed a tear or two 🥲

user4 can't wait for the wedding vows it's gonna get emotional real fast 😭

jun 11, 2023.

[hamliet]

thoughts on how oshi no ko has portrayed what happened to hikaru (thus far) and any ideas for what his motives/role in the story is?

Honestly? I think it's doing a pretty good job of portraying it. TW for discussions of childhood sexual abuse below.

When it's first introduced to us that Hikaru was raped by the adult actress, Aqua doesn't have much reaction. On an intellectual level, he gets it, but on an emotional level in terms of what this means for Hikaru, for his development and for his pain, he doesn't get it at all. It's only when we get to Akane's expressed horror ("that's sick!") that we get an actual reaction.

The previous chapter was honestly acting and a flashback as it actually happened, and I appreciated that they showed it as violent.

That's something so often missing from stories of older women who rape younger boys (see Mary Kay Letourneau). It's not a love story. He's not lucky. It's violence.

Like, I spoke about this with a friend after the chapter, but the wiki literally says he was "implied to have been raped." Implied? He was ELEVEN.

I don't think the wiki writers are intentionally being obtuse or dismissive, but there is a subconscious way in which a lot of the world, across cultures, reacts to female predators of young boys in a way that is incongruent with how we react to men who prey on young girls. And to be fair, the latter is a far more prevalent issue but still.

So anyways, I was grateful the final panel of the flashback showed Hikaru being dragged, violently, away from a girl his own age whom he likes by an older woman who won't even introduce his son as his son. Anything Hikaru has, he cannot have.

I've written about Hikaru before, but yeah, he's a scary serial killer at this point who is likely going to target Ruby and/or Kana. He's a final antagonist, obviously, and his past abuses don't excuse him. He's somewhat modeled after Lucifer, and not the Hazbin Hotel version.

But I don't think Aqua's final challenge is stopping Hikaru.

Aqua playing Hikaru in these scenes is challenging him to do what playing Ai has provoked Ruby to do: to empathize and further understand their parents. But, the problem is that Aqua can relate to Hikaru's anger and hatred already.

Again, as I wrote previously, Aqua already is very much like Hikaru (albeit at a far earlier stage): trying to reenact and kill the perceived causes of his trauma and not able to see that he's not going to be happy with such an ending because you can't kill your way to peace.

What Aqua actually needs to do is to come to understand Ai. Ruby, imo, is the one who will come to understand Hikaru, and probably forgive him (not excuse, but this is very likely where it's going).

Ai seemed to, after all. She reached out to Hikaru's proxy (the stalker) and definitely recognized the white roses and knew who had sent him.

Yet she still reached out to her stalker as a human being and empathized with him after he had stabbed her.

If it had been Hikaru standing there himself, she would have done the same.

And lest we think this is solely an example of her toxic wanting-to-please-people trait taking control, this was also the moment--the only moment in Ai's life--where she was finally able to express herself without a lie. It can be both an indictment of the entertainment industry prioritizing pleasing others over your own life and pain and Ai's moment of triumph even amidst tragedy.

Hence again why Aqua's challenge is to understand his mother, not to kill his father as justice for her. He needs to recognize her love for him as her son. She wanted him to live. She wanted him to love. She didn't want him to obsess over her in death.

Ruby, on the other hand, needs to understand Hikaru... and Aqua. Thus far, while she's had the best growth of everyone in this entire series, she is still idolizing Sensei and Aqua thereby.

She needs to see him as a person just as Aqua needs to see Ai as a person. Seeing Hikaru's anger and pain and seeing Aqua's go hand in hand for Ruby (again, not a coincidence Aqua is playing young Hikaru in the movie).

As for where Hikaru goes from there, I don't know. He might end his own life like the stalker proxy did, but I think the fact that that's already happened makes it less likely. He might find new life even if like, in prison, or he might die sacrificing himself for his kids. It's too early to make those exact predictions... but I think Ruby understanding him and empathizing is key.

[velvet-vox]

The horrifying humanity of Lord Shen

One of the less talked about things that help Lord Shen to be the fascinating and complex antagonist that he is are his facial expressions:

Anytime throughout the movie that Shen shows his face, we are met with an extremely detailed and eye-catching emotion, accentuated by the movie actively refusing to let us see the rest of Shen's design clearly; when you think about it, Shen is very overly designed, with the iron talons, the robe adornments, and his massive tail, yet the one thing that we are constantly paying attention to is his face.

His face is also fairly detailed, mind you, but is not the only part of his body to be like this, yet most of the time, the camera focuses only on that aspect of his appearance, and when Shen is covered in shadow, which happens a lot, the only thing that we can pay attention to is his red eyes, engulfing the rest of his body.

Shen's facial expressions do a really great job at communicating to the audience so much extra depth about his character: they give us a glimpse of his psychology and make us understand the fundamental flaws that define Shen as a person.

His expressiveness is especially noticeable when compared to the other three main villains;

Tai Lung barely emotes, except to show his anger; as a matter of fact, what I've just said is a lie, he actually has a lot of different facial expressions, especially after his escape from jail, but the thing is that we are never meant to focus on them: Tai Lung's martial prowess is the main focus of his character, so every scene he's in capitalises on it, his emotional state comes second, which helps those moments when he's actually super emotive (the fight with Tigress, Shifu's apology, his mental breakdown at the end of the movie) to hit that much harder.

The Chameleon makes a lot of different facial expressions but they don't communicate any more depth about her character; it's hard to say at this point, since I've only seen Kung Fu Panda 4 once, but if I were to take a guess, the intro sequence of the movie were The Chameleon pretends to be Tai Lung is the most depth her character ever gets in the story: she is a massive fangirl.

I'll probably have to rewatch her sequences a couple more times to make sure I'm not getting anything wrong, but as of right now, I am going to take a wild assumption and say that The Chameleon prefers her trasformations over her real self because she doesn't like herself for who she is. This is mostly unrelated to our current discussion, but since an analysis of The Chameleon is extremely far away, I might as well mention this observation now.

Kai's facial expressions give us a lot of insight into his mind, but not as much into his psychology like Shen's face does: in a way, Kai is the most emotive of the Kung Fu Panda villains, since, as we're going to see very soon, Shen keeps a lot of his emotional turmoil for himself, he doesn't want other people to understand what is going on in his mind and how actually scared of everything he is; Tai Lung also practices self-restraint but for different reasons, and The Chameleon is still yet to be fully understood by myself, but Kai is always sincere about his emotional state, he's angry when he's angry, flattered when he's flattered, and he's scared when he's scared. This doesn't mean that Kai doesn't have anymore depth that can be extrapolated from a contradiction between what he says/does and what his face says/does, it just means that Kai is someone who's very clear about his emotions, probably because he lacks the childhood trauma that defies Shen and Tai, and also because he's already dead.

Kai's inner thought process is that of a raging bull: clear as day. He doesn't have any emotional vulnerability to hide because he doesn't feel like anything can hurt him anymore, so he doesn't bother with keeping a facade since he's not afraid of anything.

Speaking of emotional state, it's time we take a look at this schizophrenic turkey's mental health and how the expressions that he makes leak out the true reason behind his seemingly unending hatred of Po.

You may now be thinking "But isn't Lord Shen's hatred of Po kinda obvious? He hates him, because he perceives him as a threat to his plans, and because he's evil and all that jazz" and while you are partially correct for that, I want to expand upon that obvious notion, and reveal why every time Shen interacts with Po he seemingly treats him like his life long arch nemesis:

You see, Lord Shen isn't just simply afraid of Po....

He's fricking paranoid of him.

Do you remember the whole training montage where Po and the Furious Five are travelling through the country to reach Gongmin City while Shen is getting ready to start the invasion?

It's a pretty cool sequence and all, especially from the perspective of the six..... but why is Lord Shen acting like that?

In KFP3, where we get a similar scene with Kai, it makes perfect sense from both the hero and the villain point of view: Kai, at this point, has been established as a massive threat to Po, so Po is keenly aware of the danger that he poses and is training like hell in order to defeat him; while Kai, who has now almost managed to destroy everything that Oogway has created, is impatient of taking out the last remaining pieces of Oogway's legacy, showcased by the angry way in which he punches the obstacles in his path to the village.

But here, while Po is simply preparing himself to fight the next big threat, Shen is going the extra mile of refining his combat prowess for an invasion that is going to be executed through the usage of gunpowder.

... A bit excessive, don't you think? This doesn't really mean much right now, but let's keep this in mind for later.

After defeating the Council of the Masters and dethroning the throne, Shen immediately asks the Soothsayer to tell him his future, but not before ensuring that his weapon is in the right position for him to continue his monologue.

Keep in mind: these two probably haven't met in 30 years, and while the true extent of their relationship is up to the fans head canons, it's pretty easy to assume that these two were probably closer at a certain point in their lives; therefore, if Shen was so eager to know his destiny to the point of not even wanting to gloat at the old goat, he must have been motivated by either one of these reasons:

A; He wanted to get this over quickly so that he could focus on something else, learning about his future and then finally getting rid of the Soothsayer;

B; Shen's brain is entirely concerned with his plans of world dominance, plans that would greatly benefit from the Soothsayer's ability of predicting the future to be completely foolproof.

C; He has been thinking of nothing else for the past 30 years.

While A is quickly disproved by a later scene where Shen let's go of the goat, B is most likely also not the answer, as despite it being the most logical course of action for the young Lord, the same scene that disproves A also denies B: why would Shen let go of his greatest source of intel? Just because he needed a way to make peace with the past? It's still possible that the thought of using the Soothsayer's magical abilities may have crossed Shen's mind, but I doubt it ever was his main concern.

No, Shen immediately started going after the answers that he sought for one and one reason only: it's been tormenting him for decades.

The way Lord Shen rehashes his monologue with his sword before meeting Po is not that of a cold, calculating mastermind making sure everything goes according to plans; it's the way a schizophrenic freak would try his hardest to keep everything under control.

Shen is in constant need of wanting everything to be how he has envisioned it, like that cannon from earlier, because otherwise he starts to crack down under the pressure.

His nervousness becomes even more apparent in the first segment of his developmental footage; even if all of these are cut scenes that were never intended to be in the movie, they reinforce the idea that the writers always intended to portray Shen as anxious in this scene.

And once Lord Shen is finally about to meet Po, he indeed starts to crack down under the pressure; Shen has feared that this day might arrive his entire life, fought so hard for this moment to not come true, and now that it's finally here, he's absolutely terrified.

Notice how Lord Shen immediately reaches for his feather-knife once he hears the big bad fat panda coming closer: even if the whole scene is played for comedic effect, you can't deny the fact that Shen is truly panicking here, the very next shot of his face right before the meeting makes you assume that Shen thinks that he's going to die.

And I believe this exact fear of death, more than anything else, is what drove Shen to commit genocide towards the Pandas, it's the true reason behind any of his actions, made worse by all of the other issues Shen has:

Lord Shen suffers from Thanatophobia.

Thanatophobia is an intense fear of death or the dying process. Another name for this condition is “death anxiety.” Those suffering from this mental health disorder might be anxious about their own death or the death of someone they care about. Psychotherapy can help most people overcome this disorder, but as you can very well imagine, there weren't many therapists in ancient China, so I doubt Shen had any concrete way of overcoming this struggle, especially in his current household, who most likely put high societal pressure on his dilapidated mind.

Here's a link to a site that better talks about this stuff. Of course, if you want to truly verify the validity of my source, I encourage you to seek out a professional, and please don't use what I tell you as proof for any real life debate.

I personally believe that diagnosing Lord Shen with Thanatophobia is the best way to put the actions of his character into perspective; the visceral way in which Shen talks to Po doesn't make a lot of sense if Shen only sees Po as a threat; no, Po is a constant nightmare looming inside his mind, and has been driving him insane for years, so now Shen wants to even the favour with the panda by slowly breaking his mind apart before he finally manages to kill him.

For Po, his conflict with Shen wasn't personal until he learned of his past, but for Shen, it was personal right from the moment he overheard the prophecy.

The complete and utter alienation of Tai Lung

[sulphuric-onyx]

Just saw @slyvester101's water park au post, and a, that's fucking brilliant, I love it, and b, seeing the love of the silly au ideas for the skittle soldiers reminded me of a zoo keeper au idea I had a little while ago, so here's that.

The idea mainly focused on Wash and Tucker, because what else do I write about, so I'll talk about them and what they're jobs are as keepers first. (also not all of the reds and blues are here, so feel free to come up with where you think they'd be)

-Tucker is their resident "Shit nobody wants to go anywhere near guy", primarily working with the big cats, and the few snakes they have there. He lives for working up the crowds during any feeding times or exhibitions, and has gained a bit of a reputation for it, turning into a slight attraction for the park.

-Wash sticks to the calmer side of the park, or at least as calm as it can get where they all work, usually found in Avery whistling back to the birds, or in their marine enclosures. However, he's one of the most researched at the park, and gets called in as a pseudo announcer for a lot of the parks shows, mainly Tucker's, which is where the real attraction for the crowd lies.

Wash makes little comments and jokes at Tucker during his shows, i.e "this strategy your seeing here is similar to Tucker's own mating efforts, which is to say ineffective," and other things along those lines, and Tucker usually flirts at him in response over their mics to get a rise out of him, which is really what the park goers come to see.

-Kai works at all of the interactive enclosures, mainly the small petting zoo area, and the tortoise exhibit where park goers can feed them and pat their shelves if the tortoises decide to come closer enough. Usually Tucker's not far behind her either, visiting her to gossip and bitch between shows.

-Carolina works in the antarctic section, polar bears, emperor penguins, a few specific kinds of seals, etc, her and Wash end up working together on a few enclosures so they spend a lot of time together, and as much as they claim not to, they gossip just as much as everyone else.

-Grif works at the sloth and lizard enclosures, and he will be damned if he has to be anywhere else, which has nothing to do with the fact that it's right next to where Simmons works at the monkey and orangutan enclosures, and Simmons loves talking to people about how intelligent they are to anyone who will listen, which is usually Grif.

-the squad leaders are frequent park goers, who are kind of hoping for a job there at some point, which all of the current crew claim to hate the idea of, but they've been subtly mentoring all of them with the skills and things they'll need to know to get hired.

-Kimball is the one managing this whole god forsaken place, don't ask about her, she's got enough going on as it is.

[wileycap]

In depth thoughts about the Netflix trailer:

There are too many shots of Aang looking serious. I hope this isn't representative of the show, because Aang needs to be goofy and hyper and PENGUIN!!! But the one shot of him smiling is great, because he actually looks happy and pure.

Same with Sokka. I have no problem with any other casting decisions other than him. He doesn't look like my goofy, loveable smart guy. The shot of him and Suki felt a little off, and I hope they end up having the same kind of chemistry that they do in the original show, instead of a real basic teen love story.

Katara looks great, but I hope the actress can do Katara's anger well, because it's such a key part of her character. We haven't seen any shots of her being angry or passionate.

Zuko might be my favourite so far out of the main cast. He seems to have that Zuko energy. I can see him being shouty and awkward. But I don't like the scene of him splitting the fire at his Agni Kai - that was perfect in the original, with Zuko explicitly not fighting back at all. And his scar is still too small, but I didn't really expect that to change anyways.

Iroh and Ozai look real good, the landscapes and scenery are A+. The Kyoshi Warriors also look AMAZING, they're probably my favourite part thus far. All in all, they seem to have nailed the vibe of the world, which is a huge green flag.

I need to see more of Appa before I judge, but I will say that my boy Appa is chunkier than that. It adds to his charm. This Appa should also have more friendly chonk energy. Momo was real good, though.

The costuming is still Netflix. It's decent, but definitely lacking in some way. But I will say that at least everybody looks like they're actually from the world of Avatar, which is a huge improvement over the previous live action.

In conclusion: I really want to see them TALK. Until we see them actually be the characters on screen, there's not much to say, except that it all hinges on that. Visually, it looks good, but if they don't manage to actually bring the characters to life, or if the writing ignores the spirit of the show, it's gonna be rough, buddy. I'm worried that this is just going to be "better than the Shyamalan version", instead of "a good show", you know?

I am cautiously excited but nervous. The One Piece live action was really good and I'm hoping that starts a trend at Netflix, but at the same time, Eiichiro Oda was heavily involved in that, while Bryke quit this one. So I guess we just have to hope for the best and prepare for the mediocre.

[miso-sopas]

Hi so got any ninjago x reader recs? Ever since reading Wisps, it has affected my brain chemistry and now i crave for more ninjago x reader content but im picky when finding fics, so got any recommendations?

Hello there! I had fun sorting out my bookmarks and history so recommending fics might be a thing in the future?

Just to note, I am not sure how to really curate your taste so most of these are what I essentially enjoyed reading and been a fan of so forgive me if some (or all 😭 no hard feelings though) aren't your thing.

Let's see...

Honestly Wisps is the *best* so far in my opinion! I don't know if this is pure coincidental but I am also hunting for some ninjago fics to feel emotions again lmao! And I tried my best in remembering what I've read or interested in so hope these are all ok for you!

+ Second best in my opinion is the 'Infinity Series' by Joos according to their quotev because at ao3 it's orphaned [ao3; quotev book 1 & book 2 ]

Unfortunately, the author has stopped updating this fic but going back at it was really enjoyable like in the Wisps. The summary according to the first installment 'Infinite Serenity';

"[Name] has died and became reincarnated in a childhood TV show of hers. She is raised as the adopted daughter of Sensei Wu, training as the Master of Infinity. Once the plot of the show really gets going, a being resurfaces from her. They claim to have revived her and can help her unlock the memories from her previous life. Now, [Name] must rely on this being to help protect Ninjago, and discovers how her past connects with her present." TW: Suicide, self harm, child abuse, some gore and swearing (please pay attention to the tags)

Please please heed the trigger warning, I don't remember much from the content but I definitely recall the author tackling those tags in a respectful way. The love interests are Kai, Nya, Jay, Cole, Morro and platonic with Master Wu and her cousin Lloyd Garmadon. Again, second best recommended fic in my opinion.

+ Next one, this is not one series but user Circus4APsycho8 (they have ao3 and tumblr) in my opinion have the best x reader one-shots from the fandom! My all-time favorite work of theirs is 'Secret Someone' [Highschool AU! Lloyd Garmadon x reader]- this one is really sweet ❣️

Here's these links for their ao3 works and their tumblr ninjago masterlist. All simple yet sweet, I love their writing style.

+ The next one is purely Lloyd Garmadon x Female Reader titled 'Butterfly Effect' by samsea at ao3. I think they're still updating and I am a big fan of hero x civilian pairings and just they're cute and in love.

Summary: "If it was up to Y/n L/n, she would read the summer away, lost in history books and adventure novels, finding excitement in their written words. Meeting Lloyd Garmadon changed her plans. Suddenly, Y/n is living a life she'd only read about; summer romances and cotton candy dates. Perhaps this was a new normal she could get used to. But she's been fated - prophesied - to be with the Green Ninja. And where there's a green ninja, trouble usually follows." Warnings: "The butterfly effect has mature themes such as gore, violence, toxic friendships, sexual themes (no smut) and cussing. the butterfly effect is not intended for younger viewers. Trigger warnings will be placed on chapters as they are needed. if you have any questions or issues please contact me."

Again, heed the warnings but the writing and atmosphere overall is really sweet and for some reason all cuddly and sunny. IDK but maybe I am always soft for Lloyd lmao.

+ If you're up to reading only x reader head cannons then I recommend user mouschiwrites here in tumblr. Their requests are closed now but the head cannons they made are cute and entertaining, like I can definitely see this character doing that y'know. Here's their ninjago masterlist

+ Here's some honorable mentions, I believe they deserve some love too!

In the Shadow (Various love interests) by RoseRain at Quotev

Legend of the Lightspirit (Various love interests) by softie at Quotev

Actually, while finishing my school projects I'm also checking out from another user snazzilystoopid's ninjago recommendation. So far, I am enjoying their second recommended which is 'Element of Wishes' by yourfavoritecloud at quotev BUT this one is an Character x OC one so if it's not up to your alley they have few recommendations. Honestly, I am up to anything as long as it entertained my monkey brain.

Sorry for the long post! Hope these works are okay for your taste but the closest fic that gives off the same vibes as Wisps is the Infinite series. And these are all by my own opinions and the fics I remembered catching my eye. I am very much open to other recommendations or shout-outs.

Side note, there's not much Ninjago fics out there that I might let my monkey brain loose and create one myself LOOOL.

Again, thank you for asking ( I feel honored for being asked by this, I'm a fanfic nerd 🤓)

[mrs-monaghan]

Are you kidding 😭 BTS are trendsetters in music but in personal life. Idols have done more than bts can even think about. These men pushing 30 is only about to take baby steps regarding their dating life where other idols already walked and ran.

Tae is NOT the 1st idol to go public with his relationship. You said the only idol you know except bts is taeyong, that's the problem. Oh btw this taeyong also went public with his relationship with actress and eventually got married. Many second gen idols have gone public with their relationships. If we talk about 3rd gen, Kai literally did a photoshoot with his then gf (Krystal) there were many exposed pics of them also just like Taennie. Another exo member is literally married amidt of protests from all sides. Lisa was/is publiclly going out with her bf no matter what her stans are saying. Momo of twice attended variety show her idol bf was hosting and he was teased about his gf at an award show stage by mc. Just Google Hyuna and Dawn, two idols who were dragged through hell for dating.. still didn't gave af and dated very publicly for years. They are absolute legends when it comes to kpop dating. Jisoo was the one who informed dispatch about her relationship and announced it on her terms and continued her career like nothing happened. Even 4th gen girl Karina had more guts than a man in his late 20s to confirm her relationship (happened last week btw). There are many idols who absolutely don't give af and don't dump their partner's for fans. If anything, Tae is known as a coward among other kpop fans especially BP fans for the spineless act he did after dragging that girl into this shit. And ik most people who read this agree he is coward on how he handles taennie. For Jennie, this must be her worst dating experience lol..when her previous 2 relationships got exposed, bf or their agencies confirmed it in a day while this man acted like she doesn't even exist anymore 🤡

Also idols calling their fans girlfriends is bad right and bts stopped it right? But the only bts member who still does that is JK himself lmao. He literally act like their bf, call them couple cute names, does everything they ask him during lives, say yes when they ask him to be their bf, even during his so called denial of having an actual gf he said he doesn't want a gf currently because he's focusing on career and only want army in his life 🤦‍♀️Y/ns were saying how he made them more delulu just last year alone with his overtly Para social relationship. If you go outside bts bubble, he's one of the few idols who takes Parasocial relationship a bit far according to other kpop fans. Them having discourses how it's not healthy to take fanservice to this extent. He's one of the idols they call more delulu than fans. And I agree, the more you keep y/n away the more relaxed you will be. He's gonna struggle so much if one day he's gonna introduce his real gf lol. Because it was him who was adding fuel to fans heart all this time. And no, its not his 'job'. I didnt saw any other bts members doing or saying anything JK did except playing along with their jokes once in a blue moon. So others may have it a lil easy compared to him lol.

Also I really don't except any bts member to confirm relationship anytime soon. Atleast not in 10 years. Yeah it sounds like a long period but there are plenty of kpop idols and very popular actors who are in 40s and doesn't even have a single dating rumor. I don't think anyone in bts have that nerve to confirm their relationship unless they are getting ready for marriage, which will only happen after many years lol. Well we literally saw how Tae dipped when his relationship with Jennie was confronted or how JK denied about gf and ran other way when the very real video of him with his gf was exposed 😭 None of them are ready to risk anything Fandom have to offer rn for a relationship lol. I think it will be Jhope the 1st one to confirm a relationship from hyung line and Jimin from Maknae line. Because only those two looks like they will take risk for their loved ones, they haven't built their music nor career over y/ns and fantasies and they'll actually prioritize personal life over career, but again it won't happen anytime soon.

Oops

Well you definitely told me 🤣🤣😂😂

Gonna ignore the fact that you think Jikook are straight n just thank u 4 the in4 u gave me about the other idols. I was obviously wrong but that comes as no surprise coz I know dick about Kpop.

That being said, I disagree with what you're saying about JK. I don't feel he needs to pull back at all. His actions speak way, way, waaaaaaay louder than his words. If you out here thinking JK is dating anyone else but Jimin then you slow as hell... I'm sorry.

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

Who of the Cast could hold a grudge for the longest?

On a scale from "Not Even Worth the Energy" to "I Will Make How You've Wronged Me My Whole Personality":

Sunni

Miranda

Jay

Jesse

Zane

Skylor

Antonia

Pixal

Cole

Nya

Kai

Lloyd

Harleigh

Olivia

Harumi

. . .

I don't even think Sunni is capable of holding a grudge. She's cool with her future boyfriend eventually dumping her for another woman, for Master's sake. She can tank a lot of emotional damage. Like a sponge.

Miranda won't even remember you wronged her unless you remind her, and even then she has to think about if you're worth being pissed off at. You're usually not—she's not more important things to keep on her mind. She's definitely 'forgive and forget'.

Jay, Jesse, and Zane are all extremely petty, mind you. But, while Jay is more vocal with his, he'll almost never do a thing about it unless pushed, especially if it's something he considers minor.

Jesse is only petty when it comes to very specific things—more potently yet less often than Jay, but he also doesn't usually act on it. Usually.

Zane, meanwhile, might not let his pettiness show as much as the previous two, but he is actually far more likely to act on it.

Skylor and Antonia are more vocal about their grudges than the previous three combined, and will act on it if an opportunity prevents itself (or they're isn't stopped beforehand). Can be rather easily swayed into letting bygones be bygones though—less stress for them. Skylor is slightly lower because she doesn't want to start any fresh trouble for herself ; Antonia will without a second thought.

Pixal is the wild card. She's either dismissed her grudges as entirely unnecessary...or is filing it away to use against you later. You'll never know until it's too late.

...Cole forgives, but does not forget. Don't you forget that.

Nya and Kai are about the same, just in opposite directions. Nya's grudges only fester against her better judgement because they make her so frustrated (which her element feeds on), while Kai's grudges come from his vigilance + a fear of broken trust. Neither are going to let you off the hook easily by any means, but they do have some leeway to them.

Lloyd has an outstanding capacity to forgive, but he's also not going to give it to you without rightfully (and vigorously) reminding you of what you did to wind up in his bad graces to begin with. Forgive but don't forget, yet taken to the extreme.

Harleigh's been wronged her whole life and her grudges literally haunt her, but unlike the following two, she is eventually able to pull herself out of it. ...Somewhat.

Olivia: "JUST LET IT GO ALREADY!!" "NEVER!!!!!"

Harumi: ...Don't forgive, don't forget

[jelliclekay]

Kay Sees Regional Cats

I saw my first regional Cats production the other day! It was so exciting to go see a local theater production of Cats. I'll be honest, I don't really pay much mind to the regional production bootlegs of Cats that exist on YouTube. But when I learned a theater only an hour from me was putting on Cats, I knew I had to go, especially since the US tour ended and there's been no news in site of any official production picking up anytime soon.

My expectations were fairly low- I knew going in it was just a small community theater doing the show, and it obviously wasn't going to be anywhere near the official production. That said, the performance was incredible and blew my small expectations totally out of the water. This is going to be a long write-up of all my thoughts on the vocals, dancing, and character interpretations, so thank you for anyone who decides to read my ramblings!

Here's a photo of the set and the cast list.

One thing you may notice is, well, how many cats there are. From my understanding, the performing arts center who put this on combined their theater department and their dancing department. The majority of the cats were played by young dancers who only appeared on stage during the heavy dance numbers. Yes, there were many kids in this show.

In fact, all the vocals were done by and really only by Munkustrap, Tugger, Demeter, Bombalurina, Jemima, Old Deut, Jelly, Jenny, Skimble, Griz, Bustopher and Gus.

Costume wise, the unitards and warmers were the weakest part. Very faded looking unitards with normal winter-wear warmers rather than the standard Cats warmers. The wigs and makeup were all London replica, and a lot of the wigs were so nice. I assume most of them just looked up their characters and did whatever makeup first popped up on Google.

The Munkustrap was incredible, by far the best Munk vocally that I've ever seen. I could not rave enough about him. He did everything perfectly, and I would love to see his performer go on to play him in an actual official production.

Jenny was so fun, and she actually stayed in her Gumbie coat the entire show. She would frequently just nap during numbers.

Demeter slept during Tugger's number and looked annoyed and hissed at him when he tried to interact with her during it. Queen shit, honestly.

Bustopher and Gus were played by two separate performers, which meant Bustopher got to hang on stage the entire time! Also, he had his giant spoon.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer did not sing their song. They were both played by dancers, while Bomb and Munk sang the song in the background. It was an interesting choice, but like I said, I love Munk's vocals, so I was happy to hear more of him.

The Jellicle Ball itself was cut down significantly. There was no pas de deux, and they didn't do the part where Griz shows up halfway through. This was probably my biggest disappointment for the entire show, but I also wasn't all that surprised.

A change that I really loved and would love to see implemented was Old Deut AND Jemima staying to listen to the Memory prelude.

During Moments of Happiness, Old Deut himself reached out and led Jemima up to sing her lines. The Jemima had a BEAUTIFUL voice as well.

Jelly and Gus were SO good. Her voice was perfect for the character, and it was so nice getting to see a performer who wasn't John Anker Bow as Gus. This production did Gus Pekes. Demeter and Tantomile were the lead Peke and Pollicle, which I thought was cute. Also, they added a fun bit where Gus got a hairball when he came out as the Rumpus Cat.

A small detail was that Griz was in the back basically the entire time singing along. Seeing her hiding away, but still singing along with everyone made her character feel even more tragic.

Macavity didn't kidnap Old Deut persay as much as he just led him away with a giant cat toy. It was so silly (in the most positive way possible)

The Macavity number was interesting, and not in a bad way. Demeter and Bomb took turns singing into a microphone and would physically push one another out of the way. As someone who wishes the professional productions would have Demeter and Bomb be Meaner to one another, this really scratched my itch for them to be more catty to one another.

During the Macavity fight, Tanto and Cori were the ones who led Demeter to safety. Ships were the farthest thing from my mind when watching this production, but Demeter and Tantomile were so close in this production. and I just really loved that, and it makes me wanna make them close in my hcs now.

Tugger helped Munk fight Mac!! And it was bad ass!! I loved it. More Tugger fighting please and thank you

I don't really have much to say about Misto. He was played by a younger dancer, and the solo was about what you would expect from a regional production. It was still fun to see, and just sparked so much joy just hearing the song in general.

Griz sang directly to Demeter for a lot of Memory. Her voice was great, no complaints there. I honestly thought they were going to have Demeter be the first to touch her, but that honor was given to Old Deut and Munk instead.

The Ad-Dressing really got me. I already get emotional whenever I hear the song normally, but hearing it live even at just a regional production after so long almost made me break down. The cats all came into the aisles too!!

And that was my experience at regional Cats! All in all, it was so much better than I expected, and I had such a fun time. If there's ever a local theater doing Cats near you, definitely go and check it out. Supporting local theater is important, and who knows, you might be completely blown away by some of the performers you see. I know I was!

[semishid]

Why Kai should be canonically aromantic!

1. It’s cool

2. So far, every Queer character in Ninjago has been "unnecessary", contributing nothing to the plot.

Sally was in one season, she doesn't even have her own minifigure. Her character is to be an emotional, energetic, but stressed person. I like her a lot, but being bisexual didn't contribute or change anything.

Then a non-binary background character in Dragon Rising who contributes nothing to the plot, they just in the background.

Geo, he doesn't have a minifigure yet, he has little dialogue and he just is.

Tox, after the airing of season 2 p2 on the Ninjago website we found out that they uses They/Them pronouns.

Cole, not confirmed, but strongly suggested. The least popular ninja, making him a Queer character wouldn't do much for minifigure sales, because he's just unpopular.

But Kai is the most popular ninja!

Plus he has not rlly good writing!

This can be used to show children that not everyone is capable of showing romantic feelings and that it is normal.

His relationship with Skylor is questionable, it was for years and still is.

Now Wyldfyre has a boyfriend, she will talk about him, maybe she will ask Kai about various things regarding dating

But Kai knows nothing about love. He had no parents, he had trust issues. For years he only had a sister to whom he showed love. His trust issues towards Wu and ninja and the fact that he did not interact with other posts except ninja and/or ninja friends.

And in general he only hit on one woman in earlier seasons and gave some advice to Lloyd about dating.

He does not have a rich history related to love with relationships

Making him an aro and showing children that it is normal would be great

Censorship.

In many countries, especially religious ones, any display of difference in a way that is inconsistent with religion and culture is censored or even banned from the state. Ninjago could avoid this!

Censorship wouldn't make sense, because it would 1. Be in line with Kai's character. It would develop his character (a little) and have a pretty important conversation with Wyldfyre about his feelings. 2. Not expressing romantic feelings is normal, people can't censor that, especially in children's animation, which rather doesn't want to promote children entering into romantic relationships young, we don't want that.

Good representation, character development, it doesn't make a difference to them financially, Kai will still be popular, there will most likely be no censorship.

Children, especially young ones often don't know why some adults are single and don't have partners

I think if their favorite character explained it, it would be good for them

Of course, being aro is not the only determinant of loneliness, but so that all children understand that love is not only romantic. Because in Ninjago, there was often a romantic relationship between a guy and a girl right away.

Making the main character a popular Queer would be a good leap forward, especially since Kai is relatable in so many ways.

Also, homophonic Ninjago fans already make Kai woke: