#im literally teaching myself how to code

[canthandlethishit]

building a random forest tmr to predict hospital readmission rates, to draft practical solutions for this rando hospital to lower their readmission rate which based on the dataset is 46% woah

also theres 1-2 people whos visited the hospital for inpatient care like 15 days a year, and 1 person who’s went through ER 64 times in the year are they good

[caeliflammae]

ok im seeing a LOT of very odd conversations taking place on tiktok rn in regards to catholicism. the general consensus is that converts are annoying and still essentially evangelicals, and most cradle catholics dislike converts. i can totally get behind all of that! converts are annoying as hell! jd vance definitely killed the pope! what i cant get behind, however, is this idea that catholicism is inherently better than every other christian religion, and that being a cradle catholic makes you a better person. also seeing a lot of "converts aren't really catholic because they dont love their neighbors! im a good person because i was raised catholic!" and uh. can we run that back REAAAAAAAAAAALLLL QUICK???? ARE WE ALL TALKING ABOUT THE SAME CATHOLIC CHURCH RN???

like dont get me wrong. i was raised catholic, i consider myself culturally catholic (im cuban/puerto rican theres literally no escaping it) and i definitely have a complicated relationship with the church. i understand thinking as an adult that being taught to love your neighbor is what radicalized you.

but can we not all act like we dont remember any history at all? mass graves are still being found all across canada, and the catholic church has only issued an apology to the first nations communities very recently (and there have been no material reparations afaik.) as someone with taino ancestry, i have to grapple with what the church did to my ancestors every day. i have to deal with the language and the religion of the colonizer if i ever want to engage in my heritage. but no, please go on about how "the only real catholics are the good ones." please ignore what opus dei is, and the history of conservatism in the church. its not a shiny perfect wonderful place. did we all forget about the priests and the altar boys? did we forget about centuries of colonialism? the spanish inquisition?

i understand where most people are coming from in this discussion. its a lot of millennial liberals who have very little knowledge of catholic politics and who grew up going to mass a few times a year and thats kinda it. and there very well could be a lot of people who learned empathy from the church! you might have genuinely been radicalized to the left by the teachings of jesus! but for the vast majority of catholics, the only radicalization happening is right wing radicalization, convert or not!!

the church i went to in middle school was the only church that organized protests outside of planned parenthood. they were on mission trips (colonizing) and preaching about modesty and following the orders of your father. the majority of cradle catholics are, in fact, deeply conservative. theres a reason the catholic church was, up until evangelical mega churches blew up, the main conservative power group in america. where do yall think the hayes code comes from? like im just genuinely baffled. do yall not know about opus dei? do yall not know that the church you are so desperately defending from protestants is like. where all the conservative beliefs in protestantism come from? im just genuinely baffled.

i didnt really bring up pope francis because i am genuinely conflicted talking about him, but obviously his death and the selection of the new pope is why everyone is talking about the catholic church. and like. ok yeah i loved francis. i bawled my eyes out when he died and i am genuinely mourning him. but he was not a perfect person. no leader of the church is going to fundamentally go against its core teachings. this isnt the young pope. was francis one of the most progressive popes we have ever had? yes 100%. was he still deeply conservative about many issues? also yes! you can hate the church if you want to, everyone who does has every right to do so. and if you love the church, it is your responsibility not to fall into the "no true scotsman" fallacy. the church is a deeply conservative place and has done immense harm. you cannot ignore that. and acting holier than thou about protestants on tiktok isnt gonna get you into heaven.

[kudzucataclysm]

author quastions...

tagged by @cream-and-tea!! had to sit on this for a bit but ultimately realized that im lowkey shit at articulating my thoughts so you get Brain Dump Yappery. about my terminal brain fungus Shattered Earth ofc :3

What is the main lesson of your story? Why did you choose it?

iiiii do not have a lesson with SE tbh jfjfjf. or…okay well, i dont mean to impart a lesson on the audience for SE i suppose. if anything i would want someone to come away from the story with their own?? interpretation of a lesson, or having realized/learned/realized something about themselves. or even if its as simple as “this shit is insane” i’d be genuinely happy with that

i chose it becuz ive more or less always wanted a cast full of heinous ass losers/villains/anti-villains/criminals who actually ARE fucked up and do actual bad things instead of being just simply misunderstood or simply SadTM. also cuz i just sort of love weird and unconventional forms of storytelling and worldbuilding. like the weirder/wackier or insane things are the better 💯. SE is the ultimate self-indulgent project fasho….

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

GOD…mangas like Gangsta. and Black Lagoon…the movies MFKZ and AKIRA and Bullet Train and Blade Runner and Snatch…Dorohedoro, Hunter X Hunter, Sakamoto Days….War of the Worlds….Mr Inbetween…Cloudpunk and Fallout….Umurangi Gen…so much….

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help the reader grow as a person?

Desmond is simply trying to achieve a place where he feels like he belongs or at least to have people who appreciate/like/love him as he is unconditionally- this goal is somewhat hidden at first by his stated intention to help his dad pay rent ie GET MONEY but that drive for belonging is ultimately what gets him into The Shit with the rest of the cast. then the story happens lol

aaaaaand idk what to achieve with him tbh im not good at articulating my thoughts…but look at ‘im. hes just a little guy; in all seriousness tho i think…? im at least hoping to showcase that the initial doormat/people pleaser/super empathetic type* of character is absolutely capable of evolving (forcefully in this case) into someone who’s like. capable of change. of doing things. of learning to not take people’s shit anymore and to finally be able to do something about it. violently and amorally but still with the best intentions in mind. teehee

and once again i dont mean to enforce anything on anyone with SE but maybe the just-stated above counts…? uhhh yknow what ya i would like people to grow. and learn 🌞

*i hate this type of character who is still this by the end or even halfway point of the story. like literally the only thing changed abt them is that they r Tired and Traumatized now but r still effectively doormats and r emotionally stable who Talk No Jutsu out of shit like that GENUINELY!!! makes me pissed kfjfjf like NAAAUR!! GET ANGRY! WHERES YOUR RAGE!! WHERES YOUR FUCKING RAAAAGE??!!!! BLOW SOME SHIT UP ABOUT IT!! FLUSH YOUR MEDICATIONS DOWN THE TOILERT! NOOOOW!! ok /endrant

How many chapters is your story going to have?

SE is become One Piece atp and everyday i suffer for it-

uuuh idk how many chapters. but as of rn the story is split into two Acts, each consisting of several Parts, each which consists of several story arcs. one arc now involves cowgirl francis fighting a bioengineered bigfoot in a martian terraformed shrubland desert so. idk how many chapters. i meant is become OP very seriously

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

ORIGINAL CONTEEEENT RAAAAAAAA rips shirt off

i def plan on making SE its own website lmfao. im willing to put the money in to purchase a domain and everything, i’ll even force myself to learn basic coding before i ever use something like webtoon or tapas. that shit’s for GODDAMN sure lol

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers do you follow?

DO WHATEVER YOU WANT FOREVER THE WORLD..:IS YOUR OYSTER...WATCH MFKZ...MY FINAL MESSAGE…GOODBYE….

I HEREBY TAG @vacantgodling, @calicohyde, @transthadymacdermot, and @careful-pyromancer...NO PRESSURE....

[daisyjonesgf]

OKAY HERE ME OUT

Idk if this has been previously requested but teenage finnick and reader are so ‘My Tears Ricochet’ coded. especially post-breakup.

“i didn’t have it in myself to go with grace”

“you had to kill me but it killed you just the same” (PLEASE)

“cursing my name, wishing i stayed”

“you turned into your worst fears”

IM ACTUALLY GNAWING AT THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE

YES YOU'RE SO RIGHT AND I LITERALLY THINK ABOUT THEM WHENEVER I LISTEN TO THIS SONG

"cause I loved you, I swear I loved you, till my dying day"

literally they love each other in every universe and finnick wanting reader to know that it's not because he doesn't lover her, he loves her more then anything and always will

"I didn't have it in myself to go with grace"

Finnick begging reader to hate him, trying to cover with lies to others, begging tallulah to tell him what she says, watching her in the market, trying to get people to giver her gifts he bought for her

"and if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake? cursing my name, wishing I stayed'

reader wondering why finnick would leave her, say those things about her, but still always be watching, pining from afar. the way he was still addicted even if he was the one who cut the ties

"we gather stones, never knowing what they'll mean. some to throw, some to make a diamond ring"

the dichotomy of teenage finnick's actions post breakup, because he's young and dumb and overcome with emotions. he says things he doesn't mean, he begs for things he let go

"you know I didn't want to have to haunt you"

reader when she tries to leave, unlike finnick with grace, but he's so obsessed, in his every thought. and eventually she notices and does things like dating Beckett that keep his thoughts only further drawn to her

"and you can aim for my heart go for blood, but you would still miss me in your bones"

finnick telling people she was clingy or overbearing, but longing her her every second of every day

"you had to kill me, but it killed you just the same"

he breaks her heart, he breaks his, he hurts her, it makes him hurt too

it also is giving Conway and reader in their games

"you turned into your worst fears"

this makes me think of finnick after reader won her games and his focus being on teaching her what had to be done to survive the never ending performance rather than comforting her more and how he looks back on that.

and how he became the person who broke the heart of the person who owned his.

ME TOO I LOVE THIS SONG AND THEM SM

[etherealspacejelly]

you quit your software engineering job to pursue environmental science?? do tell!

(i have a software engineering job. it makes me sad.)

so when i was like. 10. i had this teacher who taught us basic scratch programming. and i was like. freakishly good at it. i picked it up super quickly and was even helping the other students to fix their problems. and so he said to me "you know, you could be a great computer programmer one day" and i was like. yeah! i could!

so throughout highschool my One and Only goal was to become a software engineer. every time i went to the career counsellor thats what i said. so i did computer science at gcse, and got a 9, and i did computer science at a level and got an A*. (i did other subjects too of course. but those were the ones i was focussed on)

then i finished my a levels and i went straight into looking for an apprenticeship. no one was really interested in me because i didnt have any experience or a degree. so then my dad got me an internship with some guys he knew at a company that worked in his building, and i managed to build up some actual industry skills. then i got an apprenticeship! it paid super well and the team was great and it was work from home.

and i hated it.

i was just sitting in my room at my dads house 9-5 mon-fri writing code all by myself. it was lonely and boring and i didnt really know what i was doing. it was supposed to be an apprenticeship but it just felt like a job. they didnt teach me how to do anything they just said "do this and come to me if you run into a problem". half the time they didnt even give me any work to do for days at a time so i was just watching youtube or scrolling on tiktok. which sounds great but it wasnt because i felt guilty the whole time and was terrified of being found out and fired, even tho it wasnt my fault? they literally werent giving me work to do?

anyway. a few months into it i was like man Fuck this. im going to university. so i started looking at courses. it actually started with astrophysics, but since i didnt take a science at a level i didnt have the requirements for that. then i found environmental science! it was all the stuff im passionate about: climate change, conservation, natural processes and earth science. so i worked on my application letter and applied, and i got in!

so i went to my boss and was like hey. im putting in my notice. i got into university. and they were like "oh noooo we're so sad to see you go :( you were doing so well and we were so pleased with your work and your progress :(" (and i was like. huh?? i literally didnt fucking do anything. but oh well.)

so i worked until the end of my 6 week notice and then i handed my stuff back in and left. i had a bit of a summer vacation and then started uni! and ive been here for just over a year now :)

its honestly so much better. i have so many new friends, i got to move out of my mums house, im in full control of my life.

so take this as your reminder that its never too late! you can always change your path.

you are in control.

[rhfffas]

"go listen to actual queer actists music" this "why are you so desperate need your stan to be gay" that, or even "gaylor is such a white gay thing", but how abt repressed (and depressed) queers of color relate to taylor swifts music?

i cant speak for all but i can speak for myself. im a gaylor who grew up in asian. ofc i listen to openly queer and unapologetically queer artists like fletcher, janelle monáe, lil nas x, miley cyrus, hayley kiyoko, lady gaga, etc etc, but i (and some of my close asian gaylor friends) also live in an extremely homophobic society where queerness is even banned in public, let alone openly talking abt or showing queerness in real life. sometimes those openly queer artists' work just arent necessarily our queer experience. enter taylor swift. her music is SO relatable to closeted/semi-closeted queer ppl. maybe im not white, but those self-doubting, those secret loves and heartbreaks, those depressions, those disprovals from parents and society in taylor swifts music, they are so queer. they are so relatable so familiar, they are so me, they are so us. takes one to know one, right? so ofc we became gaylors. she def sings abt us. she def knows abt our type of queer struggles and also our type of queer joy. and we get to learn all those queer history no one could teach us abt! what a nice thing to have an online fandom like that!

the question should never be "why dont you(gaylors) go listen to actual queer actists music?" but it should be "why cant you(hetlors) just acknowledge the undoubted queerness in taylor swift music?" (also, the RIGHT question for queer hetlors, "who do you think queer-code those taylor swifts songs?????")

the question should never be "why are you so desperate need your stan to be gay", but "why cant you see her?????"

the question should never be "gaylor is such a white gay thing" but "you DO know there are queers of color gaylors out there right??!!?!"

i will always be thinking and criticizing taylors colonialism problem in wildest dream mv, or the exploitation of women of color in shake it off mv, or her CO2 emissions, shes a rich white billionaire after all. but criticizing those problems doesnt mean queers of color cannot or will not relate to her work. bit racist dont you think???? cuz us queers of color gaylors are literally here.

[stormyoceans]

https://x.com/Itsjuzm3/status/1880197088375439761

BEFORE ACTUALLY GETTING INTO WHAT YOU SENT ME I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THIS MESSAGE IS HOW I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE MY MAGIC PROPHECY ACTING CLASS (resulting in me almost spitting coffee on a coworker and collapsing on the office floor foaming at the mouth, but that's beside the point) SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INDIRECTLY LETTING ME KNOW ANON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOW ON TO THE POST

so incredibly grateful to op for deciphering the words on the board and once again to anon for sending me this so i don't have to lose any more of my (already poor) sight trying to do it myself ;;;;;;;

anyway this is SOOOOOOOO INTERESTING because i think they're studying chakras????

there's also the body figure on the board so that must be it, right???????

i admit im very ignorant on this topic, so i really need to read more about it before i try to say anything, but them learning about chakras is both very interesting and very exciting to me, because ‘fortune teller’ in thai is หมอดู, which literally translates to ‘doctor who sees’, so this is making me feel like they really wanna focus on the dichotomy that thapfah and inthu represent (science vs spirituality), while also drawing a parallel between them since they’re both considered doctors

also what if i turn into an absolute clown and say that this is a hint that we're getting a 14 episodes long series where each couple of episodes is color coded and focusing on the meaning of a different chakra

WHAT IF I SAY INTHU TEACHING THAPFAH ABOUT CHAKRAS BY GENTLY TOUCHING EACH ONE OF THEM ON THAPFAH'S BOD– [GUNSHOT]

[1d1195]

i genuinely think it’s the sweetest thing ever that you worry about your anons when they’re gone for a while and even sweeter that you do call out posts :(( you truly are just like an angel, sam. 

i saw post on instagram a while ago and it was like “me becoming best friends with a girl online because we both loved harry styles” and i just think it’s so @1d1195 blog coded. this is such a safe space i love it🥹

TIME DOES FLY !!! WHY DO KIDS GROW UP SO QUICCKKKKK ?!??!??!?! i was just talking to my niece the other day and i was like “…hold up🤨 weren’t you just a baby?!! like they literally just brought you home from the hospital wdym ???😭” it’s literally not fair. i genuinely have no idea how i’d cope and handle that if i were a parent. i’d be sobbing 24/7. 

protection and traditional are such works of art, you should win an award for them. like they should be in your portfolio, no lie. the writing, the backstories for the characters, the DRAMAAA, THE PLOT TWISTS!! theyre beautiful and gorgeous works of art, wonderful showcases of your talent, and their deserve their flowers and more. i also have a soft spot for “Made to be” because its the story that brought me here and they are just soooo precious🥹💕 

soooooo much fun to find a song to hyper fixate on and just have playing 24/7. life is good when i’ve got a new favorite song. THESE PAST TWO DAYS IVE BEEN LISTENING TO “and the government too!” by Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler and its the sweetest, cutest song ever. i’d heard a few songs from their new album bc i always loved when they collared but then i came across a video on my fyp where he was talking about this particular song in an interview and how it’s about his wife (who i’m pretty sure is from Australia) and how all they wanted to do was be able to be together and live in the same city, but visa processes (aka the government) were a nightmare and keeping them apart and how horrible that was. i thought it was soooo adorable and ive loved it ever since. especially since i had to watch a lot of people in my family go though that process, my older siblings all married people from our home country and i’ve like witnessed it and how long, drawn out, and draining it is and how it separates people/families who literally just want to be together. 

(my favorite part is the second verse “Did you know that the continents sliding?//In ten million years, we're colliding//At least we won't have to be flying” TELL ME THATS NOT THE CUTEST THING EVER)

ok, first of all, not a weird note to end on dw abt that, and i feel like i kinda of understand what you’re talking about. i love that you’re taking care of yourself more! i've always wanted to get into pilates, i should def be more active i’m so lame. the part about needing someone like you is so unbelievably real. i'm not sure if this is exactly what you meant, but being around so much negativity is draining and i know that the biggest help for me these past few months when my family drama was at an all-time-worst and everyday was just suffocating and depressing bc of all the problems, and me trying to help and be useful and optimistic but literally no use comes out of it, it sucked, and i’ve never been much of a talker (as bella swan once said; “i’m more of the suffer-in-silence type”) but i have a friend who i know i can say anything to and she would understand and comfort me and let me vent as long as i need. it’s actually crazy how much talking and getting things off your chest (writing absolutely helps with that as well, i used to journal all the time and im thinking of getting back into that) like i know that’s so obvious and im not trying to come here and act like im teaching you something new or giving you life changing advice when IM NOT😭 but i do know that for me, i always tend to forget all that and isolate myself and have myself totally convinced that im the only person feeling things ever (how self-centered🙄) when its not like that at all. and sometimes, you just need some distance from everyone, some fresh air, a good coffee, and a happy playlist. 

dont let anyone bring you down girl, you’re so amazing. do u know how great you’ve got to be for your heart and your kindness to shine through a screen?? pretty darn great, which you are. if someone is not giving you the same energy you’re giving them, they’re lame and they don’t deserve your time and attention, so give it to those who love you and show it, or better yet, save it for yourself. you’ve always deserved it more anyway. 

all this to say, i hope your buttload of big things lessens severely, continue focusing on yourself, let the little things go, and if you ever feel like no one in your life gets you and/or is just too overwhelming with their own stuff, just know you’ve got an army of anons (me included, duh) who would ride at dawn for u at a moment’s notice

you’re so special, super duper loved, and an absolute sweetheart. LOVE YOU SAM <33333

~🎶

You're so sweet 💕

AHHH 1d1195 blog coded. It ABSOLUTELY is. I have a few friends I've made here because of Harry. I even have a friend outside of tumblr (in the physical world if you will) who I stole from another friend because we both love Harry.

AHHH that's so funny and kind of you 💕 I loved Traditional so much, I think many people asked for it to be in book form at the time I wrote it. I'm so glad you think it deserves being in a portfolio. I I still love Made to Be because I think it brought MANY people to me (so it's extra lovely it brough you here as well!) but I don't like parts of it much anymore. I feel like some of it's very cringey, but I'm so glad you like it 💕

Yeah the visa process is no joke. So stressful and I feel so bad the same as you. I'll have to give the song a listen. It sounds lovely 💕💕 THAT IS THE CUTEST THING EVER I'm 😭

I got the Better Me app it's pretty easy overall and accessible. I'm always pressed for time so all the workouts hover around ~30 mins. You're NOT lame. It's so hard to exist and take care of yourself. I haven't done pilates in several days because I can't get a minute to myself. BELLA SWAN. Idk if I'm a suffer in silence kind of person. I feel like I tell a lot of people about me and my feelings but I feel like it doesn't really do much... Maybe they just can't help. I don't know. It's hard. Idk what I want from it. Clearly I love writing. It def helps me a lot. You're not coming off any way but helpful 💕 I feel like I need a vacation to myself 😅

You're so sweet I'm very emotional right now and I def teared up reading the stuff about my energy you're so lovely 💕

ME TOO. GIVE A BITCH A BREAK PLEASE I know my anons are so lovely and I'm so grateful for you and everyone else who loves me blindly 💕

LOVE YOU!!!!

xoxo

[moonsaver]

Im literally teaching myself how to code HOW DO YOU GUYS DO THIS ??×@?

Also totally not a huge deal or anything but i might make my own visual novel as soon as i get some time ^^

[mockerycrow]

hii! i love the way you describe the 141 so far, and i would love to see how you would write an konig, ghost, soap, price and alejandro reaction and headcanons with a s/o who has an accent?

i taught myself english from a young age so i never really had someone to practice with, so my accent is very strong (im from south america, which also helps lol) and i would like to see how the cod boys can react to this in your style <33

Reader With An Accent - MWII

GIF BY: @collinnmckinley - masterlist

A/N: thank you so much for your patience and thank you for liking my writing!! please let me know if i executed this right!! i am american and i don’t want to misrepresent. also this is lowkey coded for people w/ accents from non-english speaking countries, so sorry everyone who is from a english speaking country and has an accent oops — i also kinda took your “i taught myself english from a young age” for alejandro’s chunk. hope that’s ok!

König

König wouldn’t react to your accent very much, unless it’s a very thick accent because then he would have trouble understanding you.

If your accent is thick, he probably asks you repeat yourself a couple of times; English isn’t his first language either, so I can imagine maybe a couple of times you both sit there in silence with each other because neither of you guys can understand each other. He has a semi-thick accent, too.

Sometimes, he does understand you but he just wants to hear you continue to talk.

Maybe König and you practice English together, while teaching each other your native languages on accident. You guys didn’t mean to, but you end up trying to explain what a word is in your different languages and by the end of it, you begin to understand full sentences in german; the same for him with your language.

He considers this a bonding experience :)

Ghost

Like König, he probably wouldn’t react to your accent too much unless it was incredibly thick. Ghost has met all different types of people and his native language is English, so he has a better understanding of what you’re trying to say, but he pokes fun at you like he pokes fun at Soap.

On the topic of Soap, you two together is his worst nightmare.

“Speak English.” Is his favorite phrase when you are speaking English, but your accent is just overpowering literally everything.

You like to throw his words back into his face when he says some sort of British slang—you get a surprisingly loud chuckle out of him when you pick up some of his slang. He thinks it’s funny whenever anyone who isn’t British begins to talk like him.

If Ghost isn’t already fluent in your language, he pretty much becomes damn near fluent by the time you’ve known him for a good couple of months. He picks this stuff up easily.

Soap

Oh, this would be actual hell on Earth. Not for you two, but for the others.

Soap doesn’t comment on your accent initially, but you two begin to share a brain cell and a half (on accident) when Ghost’s eyes show visible frustration.

“He can barely understand me, the two of’us will be a real party trick!”

You and Soap gang up on everyone else if your accent is thick. He understands the frustration of people not understanding you.

Sometimes it takes Soap a moment to process what you’re saying, but he only asks you to repeat yourself a couple of times. (He has a good method of deciphering words, even if he cannot understand through an accent).

Soap likes to teach you his Scot phrases and you teach him your own in return.

Price

He gives you an eyebrow raise as a reaction, but that’s about it. Price has worked with so many people all over the world, he doesn’t really care to comment on your accent.

Price has gotten pretty good at understanding thick accents through the years, so he probably only asks you to slow your speaking when giving him a verbal report about something.

Price 100% is the type to accidentally pronounce something wrong but say it with full confidence and you always correct him, leaving him dumbfounded.

“My lips just don’t move that way, love.”

It’s likely he’s fluent in your language so he doesn’t mind if you talk to him in it; just give him a few seconds to translate in his head, okay?

Alejandro

If you meet outside of a total progressional setting, he probably has the most reaction to your accent out of anyone.

Alejandro’s language is a very big part of him so he assumes it’s the same for anyone else.

Alejandro doesn’t have an incredibly thick accent, but he knows people who do and he’s known them for years, so it’s easier for him to understand than a lot of other people.

If you taught yourself English and you end up pronouncing something wrong, Alejandro casually corrects you to help you out. He doesn’t make a big deal out of it either, he knows sometimes people get embarrassed from it. His first language isn’t English either, so he understands the struggle.

He DOES start laughing if you try to pronounce something that you so clearly cannot, even after being corrected.

[astrobiche]

Astro notes 11 🦜

DO NOT COPY, PLAGIARIZE OR TRANSLATE MY CONTENT. I HAVE ALREADY SHARED THIS POST ON MY SOCIALS SO IF YOU STEAL I'LL EXPOSE YOU.

🦜10h / 8h saturn may fear authority. But 10h saturn may be too too disciplined that they end up being authority figures themselves at some point

🦜8h /12h/ 6h moons can be subject to psychosomatic symptoms

🦜Mercury conjunct pluto natives may be able to focus on one topic for a long time like 👁️👄👁️

🦜3h jupiter could talk a lot/go to many schools as a kid/get lucky in school

🦜2h uranus, unpredictable spending habits/ getting money out of nowhere

🦜4h saturn, home could feel restricting

🦜8h mars/pluto's anger tho 😬 scary

🦜Moon conj/sextile/trine uranus can intuitively know how to handle technology, they can learn to code for example very quickly

🦜Synastry : moon conjunct/sextile/trine mercury : thinking about how the other makes u feel a lot or voicing it

🦜 Too much fire in a chart can make initiative hard instead of making it easy : they have too much drive but without some earth in the chart or saturn aspects, they could struggle to find an outlet to their passion and enthusiasm, having it scattered everywhere

🦜8h moons' mothers may have had a very very tough life, hence why they could seem controlling. They have seen and experienced things they dont want their kid to go through

🦜Moon - pluto feel the need to "evacuate" their feelings through physical activity, transmuting all those intense feelings

🦜4h taurus/libra/venus have an eye for decor

🦜3h mars could grow up competing w their sibling over something like their parents attention. Maybe their sibling views them as a competition which could lead to fights and tension

🦜Where u have 29° is what you re famous for doing well, what you want to be recognized for and what you get usually praised for. For example i have 29° virgo mars and im known for how efficient and meticulous i work and for how i move. Even people who have never talked to me personally know me for one of these two things. Alexa demi has a 29° venus and is known fof her style and beauty.

🦜 I noticed that some actors get casted for roles that represent their charts archetype, either developed or undeveloped and they get very famous doing it because they play it so naturally

Example : zendaya (virgo) being casted for Rue in euphoria, escapism tendencies (pisces sister sign) and panic attacks/anxiety. She literally looks like so many virgo suns I know

++ Being casted for the role of a stalker in You and getting so famous for it, hes a scorpio stellium

🦜10h/6h the difference imo :

10h is who you are/seem to be to people at work who dont know you yet/ your superiors

6h is who you are/seem to be to colleages you interact with a lot/your equals

🦜Cap placement parents are all about teaching their kids lessons you could be talking about apples and they tell u that u never eat them and they contain pectin and health benefits

🦜Cap + aqua placements in a parent chart can be conflicted with how they wanna raise their kids "i gotta be stricter! Am i being too strict?"

🦜Virgo mars can have their bedroom turned upside down messy af yet they have a to-do note on their work laptop with files neatly organized by project (calling myself out)

🦜Moon quintile pluto : their powerful emotions can fuel their talent and be source of inspiration for their artistic work

[romaevelizz]

My Aphmau Re-write/Headcannons PDH-Mystreet

Im doing this out of pure entertainment for myself

Character of the day: Aaron Jaxon Lycan

Art by me

Hes Black. He has locs

Though during high school his hair was buzzed due to him bring sent to military school.

werewolf ovi

He had a close nitted friend group Zhuri(oc), Logan, Elijah(oc), Niyleah(oc), Ryan(oc), and my self instert (Crystal)

he’s dating Lily(hes like so in love with her it makes me sick)

His love language is acts of service

He loves caned peaches

When he finds out Aphmau is Sue hes nice to her and all around a mentor to her. Theyer age gap isnt gross nore wierd they are about 3 years apart but 4 grades apart idk if i want them to end up together really tbh like when it come to mystreet.

Aarons record is pretty clean hes not some angsty bad boy who gets in fights

He thought Gene was kinda hot before he started acting like a douche to him

He plays lacrosse and hockey those are the only times he gets pretty violent. (He literally had to beg and used the excuse it will make me seem normal isn’t that what you want? For his parents to let him play)

Malissa is the only one family wise that knows about Lily.

He’s actually really good with kids.

Hes really quite on his feet so he accidentally scares people a lot

He has some acne scars bc he pick at it sick fuck.

He had piercings bc most of the time has them out due to sports he has snake bites and an eyebrow his ears are double pierced as well.

6’4 hes a pretty beefy guy

Niyleah loves designing clothes so she uses Aaron as a mannequin for masculine and feminine clothing Aaron actually enjoys it

Lily loves doing his make up when hes over at her house. He loves it

He has a major side eye problem.

Always has a judgemental face like for no reason at all so the friend group is like “boy whats your problem like do you wanna fight or sum?!”

He gets major heartburn for no reason.

He pierced lilys belly button for her bc he mom wouldn’t let her go do it professionally done and she asked aaron to do it he was like okay🤷🏽‍♀️

“Nigga what..🤨” says when he’s confused asf

He randomly will catch someone in a ‘bofa deez nuts joke’ and has a stupid grin after telling them alway get lily in them

and her face goes 😄..😀..😐 “stfu aaron.”

He likes to crochet.

Likes teaching little kids to say shit they’re not supposed to

Always has weird socks

He wears rings

Silver jewelry

hates algae/slime it makes him want to throw up.

Lily asked him if he was more interested in aphmau bc she was hitting on him after they found out they where close friends and he was like “oh girl no..” with 😟 face.

He loves princess Disney movies like oh lord wanna watch everyone with him then sit your ass down and you better know the words to the songs.

He’s actually so unorganized to normal ppl bit to him hes like “ITS RIGHT THERE OMG” like its bad

Hes a reader(romance and horror)

He has a studder sometimes like when hes talking about something he enjoys and stutters bc of how fast he talking.

Has scars on his arms from being pushed into a black berry bush in middle school by Logan.

Hes deathly allergic to blueberrys.

He knows morse code

He has very long eyelashes

He has a big birth mark on his stomach thats really light compared to his skin.

He bites his nails

If he sees someone’s elbow on the table hell flip just bc his mom made it a habit not to put elbows on the table.

I have more but ill keep it just with this!

[ackermental]

That's because Disney Star Wars isn't happening long time ago in a Galaxy far far away (im not even sure when was the last time I've seen this Introduction). No, instead its happening in modern day America. So people's behavior is very twenty first century and western oriented.

Im repeating myself but oh well, ill say it again: we were never supposed to see ourselves in Jedi. And Sith as well, unless a person watching is a total psychopath (which maybe is a problem with Disney nowadays, huh). Jedi weren't thinking like a modern person. Not just because of their moral code that seems so strict, but because those people could literally bring a warship from the orbit back to earth with a twist of their hand and not break a sweat.

Obviously with this amount of power, which is unbelieveble to us, their way of living will be bizarre for the audience. Its part of the fun. The worldbuilding, you know? Something that fantasy and sci-fi is all about.

Although a point of view also matters, for example ill never not laugh at westernies being incapable of understanding that Jedi don't fuck. You're doing wonderful, sweeties, one day you'll get it.

Anyway, what im saying is that you shouldn't be trying to insert yourself as a Jedi, because you will fail every time. And that's a good thing, because if you succeed, it means the writers aren't doing their job. You think Han and Leia were written just for kicks and giggles? Think again. Even ordinary people that exist in that Universe can never actually understand Jedi. That's why they are so 'legendary' even in their own Galaxy. That is also why Sith are so terrifying. No ordinary bitch dictator can hold a candle next to an actual Sith lord, those guys would eat them for breakfast.

And shit I've been hearing about grayness hurr durr in the interviews for this shit show. Yeah? Jedi were never fucking around. Jedi ain't Aang from Avatar, worrying if killing a bad guy is morally justified.

If they decide that some shit must be stopped? Heads are going to be rolling down. That's what made them so bad ass back in the day. No second thoughts and no remorse after the deed is done. Because in real Star Wars normal people are playing in politics, they are cheating, they are balancing between good and evil to move things forward, they are playing with 'sometimes to do good, you have to do something a little bad'.

Jedi though are concerned with bigger issues. Jedi are there keeping in check the forces that literally create and destroy life in that Universe. Of course their rules aren't gonna be the same as ours. It doesn't mean that they are not the personification of Goodness. Because they are and always have been, even in the prequels. Its so strange that prequels are often brought up as an example of Jedi not being perfect. Yeah? Sure they weren't? The first trilogy tells us that they've failed. Still it doesn't mean that they were corrupted. If anything prequels should teach you what the Galaxy would look like without Jedi in it. An entire war was organized in hope of killing as many of them as possible before the coup. Jedi were literally the only thing standing between ordinary people and catastrophy. Because mundane bitches with their morality and rules have nothing on Siths in the long run. We could watch in full view what the Order was always fighting against all this time: a pure evil force, just as powerful, but more cunning and ruthless.

Ohhh Jedi never did anything, they just be sitting around in their pretty temple, when slavery still exists in the outer rim!!!

Bitch, they are literally spending their whole lives trying to keep all of the people alive. They are plenty busy and still are sometimes getting involved in other peoples business. You know, as a side quest to saving some nation this Friday, that's just how they roll.

Actually, they are already doing more just by existing than any politician ever could.

That's just how it works in a Galaxy far far away, and I wish that Disney's weird jediphobia would pass. They obviously don't understand them, and some directors stright out hate them, which, you know, tells me all I have to know about them and their products. Because I refuse to call it art.

Surprising no one, the acolyte seems to go for a "the Jedi are a domineering force upon the galaxy" take

Now even setting aside how this ignores that the Jedi are Diplomat-Peacekeepers, how ridiculous it is that an organization that has only ever numbered in the thousands would be able to do so, or that such is entirely contrary to everything we know of the Jedi morally (oh how ironic it is, the show and director is clearly trying to go for a "this is how the Jedi used to be before they got bad and became the prequels', but they're actually making these high republic Jedi seem worse)

This also doesn't gel with the fundamental fact that the Jedi are servant-protectors of the democratic Republic, and that they answer to the senate-its representative body of the people

How exactly is a peaceful organization which serves under a democratic institution a force of domination?

[sonyplaytation]

what are you using to make games, all your work looks so rad, how does one even begin

Thanks for the ask :)

I use Aseprite for the main sprites (characters, tiles, menu and so on)

I use a lot of CodeManu's programs (JuiceFX and PixelFX Designer in particular) to create a lot of the "effects graphics", stuff like fire, water, jittery movement.

FL Studio 21 for the music (and a lot of publically available video game soundfonts and VSTs)

The little coding ive done has been in Gamemaker Studio 2 which i find good to use even if my coding knowledge is really poor.

Links to all of the programs are below:

Aseprite - https://www.aseprite.org/ CodeManu's itch.io page - https://codemanu.itch.io/ FL Studio - https://www.image-line.com/ (or pirate it tbh) Gamemaker Studio 2 - https://gamemaker.io/en

Aseprite and all of CodeManu's stuff are both very cheap and pretty easy to learn, though Gamemaker and FL Studio are a lot more of a knowledge check and much pricier.

This ends the easy part of the ask.

"How do you begin" is the much much harder question to answer. For me I began doing art and music because i realized no one but myself would do it for me for free.

I have been teaching myself pixel art and writing music for like six years now and i'd say im only really getting good at them now. My advice is really just to keep trying new things, consuming art that you fucking love, and trying to put your own twist on that even if its really shitty.

I am unabashedly a Toby Fox fan, it is completely self-evident in everything I make, and I really think thats a good thing. Being inspired by shit and ripping it off in your own way is like the crux of all cool things.

There is a lot of learning involved, and nothing really comes easily, but patience is literally the biggest thing to focus on. If i were ever happy with Canon in its early stages the game would be completely unrecognizable to the state its currently in. A lot of my creative process is learning to accept that some of your old ideas are shit, and not to hold onto the bad ones. I don't know what i would call it but you almost need to train yourself to get a sense for what direction Forward even really is in terms of moving a project like this along.

But really my biggest point is just make what you fucking love and dont stop. Canon is a joke i started in tenth grade as a funny Undertale parody game that now is actually a narrative universe with like six stories being told within it.

Also keep in mind that ive never released a successful game so uhhh idk lol. This is kinda just advice on how to make a huge ass project to have fun with for the rest of your life. But I hope the rambling at least helped inspire you in some direction. Tbh just have fun with it.

[korasonata]

Joe and Cleo model streams extended cut Part 2! (Streams 3 and 4)

—

STREAM 3

—

Cleo (reading chat): “Be careful with that thing” Im very careful with knives. Except for that time when I wasn’t.

—

Cleo (in response to chat asking about her friend Corpse): Corpse is not my husband. Ok? And they wouldn’t be anyway. Because they.

—

Cleo: I’m very confused Joe. I don’t know how to feel.

—

Cleo: Ok. I can do that. We can do that chat! I believe in you and myself…I- I don’t. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t.

Joe: That’s why you got me here to believe in you!

Cleo: Awww, thanks Joe!

Joe: You’re welcome Cleo!

—

Cleo (reading chat): “Black beer or clear beer?” No beer! I don’t believe in beer, it’s fictional. That’s just how it goes.

Joe: Yeah. Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you.

—

Joe: One of my viewers asks “are you and Cleo real life childhood friends?” Yes, obviously as you can tell from our accents—

Both: We grew up—

Joe: On the same block—

Cleo: Yeah.

Joe: Uh, along the Thames there—

Cleo: Yes.

Joe: You know, we took different paths in life. Cleo obviously went to university and perused geology and teaching, whereas I ended up with an asbo and a bunch of weird telekinetic powers and things just kind of went wild from there.

Cleo: Yeah.

Joe: But now we’re back together again.

Cleo: Yeah! I mean— I mean after you saved the world a few times. It’s, ah…it’s necessary it— it felt right. To come back together.

Joe: Yep. It’s just— it’s just…it was time.

Cleo (reading chat): You thought Joe Hills was from Glasgow? Oh no no no no no no. No no, same— it’s a cockney accent, can’t you tell?

Joe: Yeah, that’s why I’m so good at rhyming.

Cleo: *snickering* I don’t think they believe us.

—

Joe: What is the British equivalent of a coffee shop?

Cleo: Umm…a coffee shop.

—

Joe: It looks like piece 3/4 will make sense at some point in the future.

Cleo: But today is not that day. And to be honest, tomorrow’s not looking great either.

—

Cleo (reading chat): *laughing* Joe thinks everyone is as well adjusted as he is!

Joe: Oh, I’m terribly adjusted! Do not adjust your Joes! It won’t help, we’ve tried!

—

Joe (reading chat): “You all heard Cleo say Joe would look good in shorts right?”

Cleo: *heavy sigh*

Joe: I mean, I’m gonna say, I’m not getting as much exercise as I used to, so it’s- don’t get your hopes up Cleo.

Cleo: I- I-…I mean, there’s only one person I wanna see in shorts and it’s not you, so we’re all good.

—

Joe (in British accent): Spot on.

Cleo: Better. You’re getting better at that you know. You’re not great, but you’re getting better.

Joe: Yeah. Well the thing is I need to be able to blend when I’m there. You know I don’t wanna call attention to myself in my accent.

Cleo: …Joe?

Joe: Yeah?

Cleo: Nothing you ever do is blendable.

Joe: …That explains why I’m so bad at painting. And making margaritas. Just kidding, I’m great at making margaritas. The secret is to get real Cointreau.

Cleo: I…Don’t— I’ve never really had a margarita.

Joe: WHAAAAAAAAAT??!!?!

—

STREAM 4

—

Joe: So, I’ve got to cut up the last couple pieces from my fourth page out of 17.

Cleo: Is this where I tell you I’ve got about 6 pages left on the dot?

Joe: Out of how many, though?

Cleo: Out of about…14?

Joe: Wow, so you’re like, halfway there.

Cleo: Well, literally the instructions say I’m halfway there. Although—

Joe: Oh really? They congratulate you on that?

Cleo: W—no, they—they—……thanks Joe…

—

Joe: I bet whoever makes those models, now that you and I are getting them back in vogue, it’s like “oh no! If only I hadn’t sold the last one to Cleo, I could sell 1000 of these today.”

Cleo: I mean, I don’t think anybody in the stream is going to go out and buy one when they’ve seen what it’s done to us. And our souls. Or lack thereof.

—

Joe (reading chat): “If Joe is Jar Jar and Cleo is Padme, who’s Bail Organa?” …I dunno, VintageBeef.

Cleo: *laughing* Just—Just VintageBeef.

Joe: Just VintageBeef.

Cleo: It just is! You and I both know that, so you guys need to know it.

Joe: Yeah, cause like I don’t think Bail Organa had any kids.

Cleo: Yeah he did, he had Leia.

Joe: Well, but he adopted Leia.

Cleo: Ok.

Joe: And VintageBeef seems like, of all the Hermits, the one to most likely actually have the capacity to take on that sort of responsibility? I don’t know…

Cleo: No no, I can— I’m just running through the Hermits in my head, and I’m just like yeah that—that reads. That reads pretty well.

—

Joe (Dude bro voice): Has your heart even been weighed by Anubis, bro?

Cleo (dude bro voice): *laughing* Do you even lift? (Regular voice)…or no. That’s the opposite of what you want to do with a heart…

—

Cleo: I threaten to murder people all the time. One might say it’s part of my brand.

—

Cleo (reading chat): “Death threats are Cleo’s love language” *laughing* You’re not wrong.

—

Cleo: I’ve made plenty of mistakes! Learn from me! Like plenty of mistakes, which is why I’m doing this in my 40s. Joe just made his mistakes faster, that’s why he’s doing it in his 30s.

SILENCE

Joe: …Most of the jokes I wanna make about that, I—just in case my kid is tuning into the stream I’m gonna not—

Cleo: *laughing*

Joe: Because I am legally required not to disparage my ex-wife in front of her.

—

Cleo (in response to someone saying Joe’s hands are sufficient): No, my hands are sufficient. Joe has dexterous, wonderful hands. Get it right chat.

—

Cleo (about her Garrus mug): Next stream I shall use this for my beverage which I shall pretend is coffee. Which is what I used to do to the children at school.

Joe: Wait, you would pretend you were drinking coffee? What were you actually drinking? Rum?

—

Joe: My best is still the same, but my worst is getting less bad.

Cleo: That’s depressing and accurate. All at the same time.

Joe (tiredly): Yay! I strive for accuracy in all of my depressing statements. Cause it makes it harder to rebut them.

Cleo (softly and with care): I know.

—

Cleo (mocking people who push boundaries): If you were a PIN, what would you be?

Joe: *laughing* Like a PIN number?!

Cleo: Yeah!

Both: *laughing*

Joe: If you could be any PIN code—

Cleo: If you had an—what—what was your favourite PIN code, for example?

Joe: What’s your favourite 4-digit number?

Cleo: *laughing* What’s the 4-digit number you remember most in the world?

Joe: What’s the easiest to remember 4-digit number?

—

Cleo: I’m not going to get sushi from the Asda!

Joe (voice steadily getting higher): Oh my gosh, I am so glad that my face camera is off when we do those collab streams with Xisuma. Because like *laughing through the pain* a lot of them are just me screaming internally, but I’m not pushing to talk. And the reason I’m not pushing to talk is I’m also kind of screaming externally? And it’s just like, it’s just— *very high pitched incomprehensible gibberish*

Cleo: You—you do wonder sometimes with, with—with him. *laughing* See, thing is sometimes I’m not sure if he’s being serious or not, so—

Joe: If he says that he buys sushi at the Asda, I’m like 99% confident that he’s being serious.

Cleo: *laughing* He’s adorable and needs to be protected from this world.

[lovebecomeshim]

hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?

Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.

*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!

This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)

The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.

And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.

(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)

The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.

First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.

The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.

(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)

They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.

(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)

Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)

Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.

Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.

Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—

And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn’t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.

Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.

There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:

There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.

Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).

Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.

Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.

The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.

And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.

tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.

So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.