#it wasn’t the main focus

[therealallenklein]

Got through the album listening on my drives today and, now knowing of and having heard the second half of songs (really fantastic ones in there), I’ll give it an 8/10. I love you it’s ruining my life.

[heyitspersephone]

Thinking about stranger things again now that the strikes are over and how, narratively, it would be way, WAY cooler to have Mike get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5

It’s just something about the way Mike’s trauma is never addressed or handled in any way?? Like, he hugs his mom twice and then when he was depressed in season 2 and 4 nobody did anything (his parents scolded him for his behavior in s2 ig but that’s not support). His best friend went missing leaving from his house, he watched his body get pulled from the quarry, watched El (in his eyes) kill herself stopping the demogorgon, watched Will be possessed, saw Bob die, was in Star Court when everything went down, saw Billy die, had his best friend move away, was SHOT AT (and really too few people talk about the shooting in Cali bc omg??), buried a body, and watched the apocalypse start. And that’s just off the top of my head.

(And yes I’m aware that the other characters (especially Will) are traumatized too but I will get to my point in a second just hold on)

The plot is geared towards this idea that Will and Henry have to have some big face off (and they should, in my opinion, but I don’t think it should be in a possession, or at least not the the Vecna kind of possession, yk?) but that makes it all the better, writing wise, to have mike be the one in danger. Will was helpless and hiding in s1, I think Will should get his big strong moments in s5 where he gets to be the hero of the story.

It would just be a lot more fun to work with Mike being Vecna’d than Will, because what are we going to bring up with Will’s visions? His dad? His sexuality? The events of s1 from his perspective? It would be cool to see, for sure, but we already know most of that. Mike, on the other hand, has a number of untapped things, like jumping off the quarry, why he’s so hesitant to tell El he loves her, how someone who was smart and kind enough to take El in in s1 and come up with the spy and sauna plans in s2 and s3 could turn into the oblivious asshole that he was in s3 and s4 (he needs therapy, ik, I still love his character but I want to explore the reasons he went from his s2 characterization to his s3 one)

It would be a very interesting parallel, I think, to explore Mike’s thought processes in this way, especially with all of Mike’s repression business (bc whether you ship byler or milkvan he is repressing his feelings HARD. Like, beyond his inability to say I love you there’s the fact that he doesn’t bring up the apparent many times he called pre-s4 during the Rink O Mania fight?? That literally would’ve absolved him of guilt in that argument since he WAS reaching out to Will the whole time? Hellooooo????).

Anyways, this all brings me to my main point: Vecna targets isolation as much as he targets trauma and guilt. The whole party was traumatized by the events in s1, s2, and s3, but Max was the one targeted. Plus, Henry went for Fred, Chrissy, and Patrick (I think his name was Patrick) instead of going for the perceivably easy targets that the mcs would make (ik narratively that would’ve made it more boring but shhh), so why Max and those three specifically? They were isolated. Lucas and Erica have each other, Dustin goes to Steve and Robin, Will and El have each other and Jonathan and Joyce, Nancy probably goes to Jonathan, and who does Mike go to?

No one. And don’t say Nancy because if those two have heart to hearts then I’m the next coming of Christ. Max separated herself from the Party in the aftermath of her grief and guilt over Billy, and it feels quite obvious that Mike was doing the same (like I said, he has repression issues). So Mike is traumatized, alone, and guilty (be it Will getting taken from Mike’s house, losing El in front of him multiple times, the many deaths he has witnessed, or the internalized homophobia angle), which makes him more of a target than Will, in my opinion (or at least an easier one, especially given his tendency to put himself on the line during fights (quarry, most of s2, s3 mindflayer fight), which would set him up on the suicidal ideation path)

Furthermore, as I’ve seen a few other people point out (and I can’t find the posts but one of them had eight screenshots of the various moments), Mike is always the one getting in the way, so it would be a strategic move for Henry to target him to get him out of the picture. Mike was the one that found El and got her involved in saving Will s1, he was the one who came up with the spy plan and called out the ambush in s2, he was the one to monologue Will out of his possession s2, he was the one with the sauna plan for Billy in s3, he was the one trying to help El get the strength to fight s4 (even if the monologue sucked ass it’s the intention that counts). As much as people like to hate on Mike, he is in the leader position most of the time when the party is grouped up (barring his mental health struggles slowing that down beginning of s3 and throughout s4, but he’s still capable of it). He’s the idea man, and he’s the one whose character’s foundations were built on the desire to keep his friends safe, so it would be a very fun plot line to watch him be the one targeted in s5. Like Will said, as lovestruck and cheesy as he was, Mike is the heart of the party when he’s on his A-game, so Henry should 100% be trying to keep him in the issues he’s been struggling with.

Obviously, Will and El are the Targets with a capital T for Henry since they’re the ones that got away or whatever, but I think Mike is a weakness of Will’s (and El’s tbh but also I think they need to have separate character arcs and I don’t exactly ship milkvan) that should be exploited.

TL;DR: Mike should get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5 because it would make sense in lore and be a very cool way to resolve his character arc

[bbyboybucket]

I have no problem with captain carter getting one or two episodes but jesus. You have a show with endless possibilities and you center it around her. For fucks sake might as well change the name of the show to captain carter

[emmafallsinlove]

no but i just realized something and now i’ll never be the same ever again. richard actually met jess, maybe they didn’t speak with each other but both of them stayed at the inn in 2.10 at the same time, and i’m sure jess brought a book and went to read in the lobby at night and maybe richard couldn’t sleep so he went down and sat across to him and read some newspaper and they haven’t talk but the idea that richard met the kid that one day would become rory’s husband and the father of her kids is literally everything to me.

[beartitled]

PLEASSEEEE SHARE THE OG IMAGE FOR PATHETICLEY (SAD-IST'S VERSION) I NEED IT SO TERRIBLY

Sorry this is the best I’ve got 😭

I never realised how pixelated it was, hope it helps at least somehow

[raiiny-bay]

it’s honestly kinda crazy to me that kel & co were literally the first OCs i ever made

[lavenderjewels]

Spoilers/Leaks for JJK 247❗️

I read this when I saw the fan translation was out and have been SO busy since, so my thoughts are everywhere. But Yuuji!!

Liked this chapter, although very sad over Higuruma (my favorite new character of the culling games ;-;). I expected many deaths with the Big Boss fight and unfortunately he had a lot of death flags and not much of a future :( Despite the Nanami comparisons both from fans and in the manga, he’s been a huge comparison to Yuuji for me too, with their guilt, “death wish,” and desire to fulfill their role. Not a mentor like Nanami or Todo, but closer to an equal in their attitude and approach. His fate makes me curious to what Yuuji’s will ultimately be.

I actually think Higuruma’s death was fairly well done. It’s clever that Higuruma thought of using curses from dying to his advantage. One of the better (side character) deaths in JJK, although I’m slightly confused on how RCT works since Higuruma got it. Are Sukuna’s slashes too deadly and quick for Higuruma to heal from?? If it wasn’t for his last words being a way to strengthen Yuuji, I’d say there was a chance of survival, but that’s extremely unlikely.

I’ve only quickly looked online and have both seen comments that Yuuji isn’t fast enough to defeat Sukuna and also that the blood technique was Yuuji’s??? I’m not a powerscaler so I’m possibly missing things, but I don’t know what sprung up those???

Expecting Ino (part of that new gen.) and Choso to survive this fight. At least with Choso, he needs to live long enough for Yuki’s sacrifice to not be thrown completely in the garbage.

I’m enjoying this fight SO much more than the Sukuna vs Gojo (although not as much as the recent Takaba vs Kenjaku or Yuki/Choso vs Kenjaku) especially from the protagonist side, but I mostly want Sukuna lore soon. There needs to be something else to make his character more captivating if this fight will continue. Or else it might feel repetitive and uninteresting to have the same routine of characters dying to him. There were a LOT of fans making fun of Sukuna being a cursed or neglected child, but I don’t mind having backstory, especially if we get more into his whole thing with cannibalism. On top of that, the protagonists need a small victory or perhaps even an update on Megumi for the same reason.

I’m not sure if Yuuji has RCT, but I’m inclined to think that him being unaffected by Sukuna’s attacks was a result of either being a cursed object from Sukuna’s CE or (possibly) eating his brothers (also cursed objects). Love seeing Yuuji fight and I hope Higuruma’s death isn’t in vain.

Honestly, the way this chapter ended was very cliffhanger-y and I’m expecting something to go wrong OR a classic shift of perspective. I don’t have much else to say because the direction of this chapter depends more on what I see following it. Sukuna still hasn’t used his fire powers, revealed what the hell allows him to have those powers, etc.

Hoping for some good stuff in later chapters (sooner rather than later), mostly with Sukuna’s character or the fight progressing. At least there’s around a year left in JJK—need that to be enough to conclude this and Kenjaku’s backup plan (along with character conclusions).

[mishtershpock]

.

[yioh]

always thought i wasn’t into xianxia novels but jian long is rly changing my mind …

[emuwarum]

a simple red bird

[lieximhuman]

You ever read a story with some sort romance and it’s all like :))) humMm~ UNTIL. UNTIL YOU FUCKING FIGURE OUT THE AGE DIFFERENCE- AUGH. WHY 😭😭😭

[lorebird]

I must ask Raichu because favorite mon and I’m curious what a rat centaur would look like, and also Houndoom bc furry centaur 👀

Ended up going bipedal for this guy but I had SO much fun with texture <3

[likeadragonfruit]

What is your take on what an Azula comic should include? If you wrote it, what would it include?

Ooo! Good ask, mysterious anon, good ask!

I believe this was either the first or second ask from that batch you sent me. And while I’m answering it last, it’s certainly not the least of them.

Part of what took so long, aside from a detour to wrestling with writing Azula week pieces, is I wanted to answer this ask just right. (And that only accounts for a week.) The rest of it is hesitation. Because I know I’m not the smartest or most insightful Azula fan, but I still wanted to try to give a solid answer. But perfectionism is the enemy of progress (Or something like that.) 

Anyway, an Azula comic, a truly Azula-centric comic. What should one include? Hmm…

No ableism or misogyny

Okay, that sounds so basic that it shouldn’t need to be mentioned. And yet…

But yeah, if we’re going to lean into the concept of Azula having mental illness, do it right. And do I have say more on no misogyny? However, these are exclusions, not inclusions.

Insight into her character

Azula is a character that even in the show we usually didn’t get much overt insight into. Or rather, her onscreen actions would usually be contradicted by the show’s narrative framing. 

But Azula centric content is a great chance to rectify that! I mean, it’s not even fully Azula centric, but “The Beach” actually gave us a fair bit in a short period of time.

Nuance

Again, sounds obvious but…

Nuance is vital, because it’s not about using an Azula centric frame to whitewash her, but to bring into relief her character outside of a narrative that not merely accentuated the negative, but exaggerated it (“capture by Azula is a fate worse than execution!” When capture by Azula means a prison cell, but not slow painful torture to death. As just an example.)

Portrayals that aren’t just dead serious

Azula is a character with plenty of opportunities for a certain brand of comedy and absurdity. As an example, the older comic “Going Home” showed a contrast with Azula getting the Dai Li to set up a date for Mai and Zuko. And like, that’s just the wonderful absurdity of the conqueror of a city at 14, with her own secret police force… and that’s something she’ll use them for 😂

Or the “Ember Island Arcade” comic, with a competition between Zuko and  Azula in an arcade game. 

I’m not saying the whole has to hit that tone exclusively, but an Azula story shouldn’t be afraid to have fun at some points either. It need not be a dead serious affair the whole way through.

A glorious cape

What? She looks good in a cape! I don’t see how it could hurt.

Ahem, anyway now onto

If I wrote it

As for if I wrote it, that’s a challenging one. Assuming we’re going by the standards of the existing ATLA comics, so a single comic is about 70-something pages, I’m not sure I have the skill in comic planning to map out a good outline for a story that size. It’s simultaneously a lot to plan out, but less room in which to tell a story than you’d think. (I might be thinking more literally or in detail than the question means, but that’s something I keep coming back to.)

Then my bigger problem is under what circumstances. If I have to work with what’s already been written in the comics… 

In that case, I would aim for something that firmly centers Azula, focuses on a combination of her current mindset and her view of her past. With the caveat of retconning the ever-loving fuck out of some details. Mainly, tossing the “Azula terrorized Mai by stealing mochi” nonsense from Smoke and Shadow. (I want to retcon out the general “Azula is the biggest problem in Mai and Ty Lee’s lives” as well, but you have to approach some of these things with a scalpel, not a chainsaw, sadly.) I love the dangerous ladies and would love from them to reconcile. But I think even more than that personal desire, it’s better to root the issues and grievances on all sides in, you know, not garbage ideas.

If given more free reign, you know, starting from scratch from the show’s finale. I might not be good enough to nail down exactly where I’d want to start with a first outing, could think of a rough idea where I’d want to go.

The thing is Azula in the postwar era is in an interesting position. She’s a character who was lawful and loyal to a warmongering empire. For her, just as much, if not more so in some ways than others in the Fire Nation, her world flipped itself on its head. From there, we have a question Azula would have to resolve: what do you do when the set of laws and norms you used to follow are no more? And not only are they no more, but their ending was morally right and justified? (To say nothing of her interpersonal relationships, though this journey could also be a vehicle to address the state of those as well.)

Not only does this open up possibilities to explore the idea with Azula herself, but to contrast with most other Fire Nation characters who would have to contend with something similar. She, after all, is also contending with having followed her emperor and culture into imperialist war. The only difference for her being that her emperor was also her father who saw no issue sending her into battle (which if “The Beach” is any indication is not the norm for someone as young as her.)

(There’s definitely the possibility of falling into bitter-enderism. But also other options to be explored as well. Versions of unlearning imperialism, for example, which is pretty big for being able to exist in a post-imperial era without yearning for bringing back the empire. Seeing new things, looking for new ways to define herself outside everything she’s known for all of the 14 years she’s lived so far.)

[akkivee]

biggest gripe is when they don’t include kuukou’s kindness in writing even tho it’s as integral to his character as his brattiness

[badolmen]

I’m boycotting TumblrMart over this UI change. Its reduces platform functionality from the account tab, has illogical placement of both the account and new TumblrMart tab, AND it’s ugly.

[diari0deglierrori]

I think that if you’re going to make a movie about a historical event/figure and then you make it focus mostly on a romance, ask yourself: what is this movie’s main goal and is the historical part really necessary after all or is this just about the romance