#its the ... unity of them

[a-stars-art-blog]

Difference of traditions lmao

Happy Easter!!

[ascendingconures]

my Pre-distortion Michael Shelley model... i have put him in VR...

Hanging with my bestie homophobic vase

[junkmailmusubi]

WHO UP THRINOS;ING THEY PYGMALION!!!!!!!!!!!!

original

[mintytrifecta]

I wonder how often what Rick says or thinks or does comes from diane. How much of what he does is because of her or for her, how much of what he says is an unconscious attempt to talk to her, or as her, because he can't bear an existence completely devoid of her. Does he ever see the world and try to look at it through her eyes?? Has his gradual shift in personality ever been an attempt to replicate her in some capacity because existing on an infinite scale means the only way to cope is to become the only thing that's finite? How much has he devoted in not only his life, but in his personhood, to the only being on the multiversal scale he can never replicate? How often does he see the world through lenses tinted with the color of her blood? The diane we saw in the hole was said for a fact to be how she would act outside of it, and she was so, so similar to Rick only after his downward spiral. Does he find any comfort in that? In knowing that his movement is being pulled by the very strings of her ghost? Does infinity ever dream of singularity and grieve for the fact it can't exist in the same place?

[tchaikovskaya]

I’ve absolutely not been a patriot at any point in my life since I was aware enough of the world to be able to consciously profess that sentiment. But. Oh my god what has happened to my country?

[cupidshootstokill]

I think it’s interesting how the extra-canon material paints a picture of the fire nation being militaristic /in general/ and not specifically in the context of the years of and surrounding the Hundred Year War.

Like how the Royal Fire Academy for Girls in the Kyoshi is not just a posh boarding/finishing school. It might be like 1/4 finishing school but it’s like 3/4 boot camp. Rangi is a trained bodyguard /as a teenager/ and that’s not weird or concerning, it’s something honourable, to be proud of.

Agni Kais in general, while very significant to the plot of ATLA, have also existed and played a prominent role in Fire Nation culture long before the Hundred Year War. Which is interesting! It’s so telling of how significant combat is to the Fire Nation and how fire is culturally and ceremonially defined by the ability to overpower your opponent into submission. It really is seen and understood as the element of aggression.

The Fire Nation is also often in conflict either with the world or within itself. It started off as a bunch of warring states, reminiscent of Sengoku period Japan, before becoming a united nation. And even then, in the Shadow of Kyoshi, we see that there is a ‘war of the roses’ type succession war.

And, sure, there’s war and conflict in the Earth Kingdom and probably the Water Tribes, too. But I think with the Earth Kingdom it’s often explained that a country that size is just impossible to govern by a single body. Or it’s a corruption thing? The Earth Kingdom has issues with governance and its class system - which I think makes sense for a country represented by the element of stability, it’s all about trying to maintain the status quo and people taking advantage of their power and status and then facing the repercussions of that.

Whereas our view of the Fire Nation is largely of its aristocracy, we honestly don’t spend much time with non-royal or non-noble Fire Nation characters. We don’t really see class struggles except in early book 3 episodes. And I think it really does solidify the perception of fire as the element of power, because we largely see it associated with powerful people who have the means to wield it over others.

And so the conflict that we do see in the Fire Nation are power struggles. It literally is about being stronger than your opponent physically or politically. And because of the significance of Agni Kai, being physically powerful lends you a lot of political power.

Anyway my main point in all of this is that, yes, fire might have signified more than just war and power, but for at least half a millennium if not longer, war and power was /the/ main association with fire and firebending. In so much that it’s /baked/ into their history, culture, traditions, education system even before Sozin was born, let alone before the war started.

The original show did seem to imply that the Fire Nation had a rich history of things other than war and militarism before the Hundred Year War started. Aang in The Headband was convinced that things were /different/ in the past, and yeah, that’s mainly in reference to dancing and freedom of expression. But coupled with the Sun Warriors’ philosophy about the meaning of fire, it gave off the impression that the Fire Nation was less militaristic as a whole. Or maybe it is a class thing! Maybe the nobility are militaristic and the common folk see fire in different ways to do with passion or life as the Sun Warriors did!

I think if it is the case that the Fire Nation has been about constant war and fighting for power, then Zuko has a tougher job than imagined after the end of the series. Cos it’s one thing to push back against a century of imperialism and aggression, but if it’s been part of your culture and history for half a millennium - woah, that’s an insane amount to unpack. And with how a nation is supposed to embody the nature of their element, I’m a little sceptical of how much a whole nation’s identity can be rewritten.

[crow-talks-hockey]

ok. deep breath, and a word before this game. first off, fair warning that i am rooting for both these teams tonight, however i'm leaning towards canada because of the players and the players alone, so keep that in mind. i'd like to focus on the usa though. i think a lot of hate at least on this site is coming to that team, and i understand it even if i'm not necessarily siding with it. i personally despise talking about politics - as someone who is very moderate and also christian (so i believe in being "in the world, not of it") - but i do know that in times like this they're bound to come up. that's fine. hold to what you want, conservative or liberal or anything; i just want to give some positive outlook because i know that i for one need it. no matter if the US team wins today and what that might mean for the country and no matter which side the players are on politically, this is still america and it's still a place that has as much potential to change for the better as it does for the worse. there have always been problems and struggles, but i like to think that sports have been something that help bring us together. you can root against this team if you'd like (be it because of the players or the things they might stand for) and that's okay too, i just want to say that i still have hope in it all. and i want to go out and enjoy this game shamelessly, without worrying about the social morals behind cheering for either side. also lastly, if usa wins i'm fully taking that as something they did for johnny and matthew. because that's honestly what matters most to me, not what politics just so happen to be like at the time of this game. let's go enjoy some hockey <3 [also please read tags lol]

[arnoketon]

just finished all the nostradamus enigmas 🙏 absolutely hated it <3

[skitskatdacat63]

My choice to play ac unity in French dub is both horrible and amazing at the same time bcs on one hand I cannot understand at all what the NPCs on the street are yelling at me but it feels so much more immersive to be yelled at in incomprehensible French as I gallivant around revolutionary Paris committing various unspeakable acts

[stellawolfearts]

Its almost 5am. im scheduling this post for the morning cause im gonna be out like a damn light. Here. I do artfight this year with my bbs. They saw the theme this year, possessed my body and made me spend the last 10 and a half hours (not an exageration) finishing thier refs and uploading them and writing LENGTHY FUCKING DESCRIPTIONS-

Genuinly pls read through em if u decide to draw them. The descriptions have important information about these guys.

I would have had them all up before Art Fight started but I got a fever for a couple days so that didnt happen SO ITS HAPPENING NOW HERES MY ACCOUNT ATTACK MY BBS IF THEY CALL TO YOU IM GOING TO BED-

[fusionsprunt]

So wait. Gideon k.o himself to be Hunter? Or his organic body still intact? He's pulling a Springtrap??

.

[arlathen]

i made my little family tree and it ends in the character i want to be insane about, my LDB, but actually i can't stop thinking about her dad. man who followed every order and did everything right and is still losing everything. still married but soooo divorced. elf dilf. he's perfect for me.

[bootleg-sara]

A thing I guess. Feel free to comment but I am very stubborn on my opinions here lol

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

okay so- for a while now, i've theorized about the federation's goal being to drive the islanders apart. they keep giving quests that cause conflict between the players (foolish and mr mustard, everything cellbit, getting bad to do a federation quest for an incredible reward Immediately after max asked bad to never work for the feds). They even divide their own agents, what with making cellbit get info on the timer dungeon in secret, the same dungeon that THEY sent jaiden to. But one thing has never made sense to me. What about the eggs? The eggs were provided by the federation, and they've proven to be the single most uniting feature of the QSMP. Their quests update every day to send players wandering around the island, helping each other and hanging out and sending felps motivational messages for his square. the eggs and their quests are the antithesis of the federation's assumed goal of player conflict.

but the eggs were introduced as a competition.

whoever's egg was happiest at the end of the event would get a reward, and whoever's egg was dead would be punished. this has, for meta reasons, obviously changed, but the initial premise remains the same- people were teamed up in pairs, and never punished for killing other people's eggs, only ever their own. the point wasn't "protect the eggs" it was to "protect YOUR egg" and sometimes that meant protecting them from other players.

but the federation has sort of. just ignored the eggs ever since. (unless they're using them to manipulate the islanders for further conflict)

the code, on the other hand, has been ALL about the eggs. its attacked them, its mimicked them, its taken pictures of them and sent the parents into a flurry to protect them. the code is an antagonist that the parents ALL work together to protect the eggs from.

its also changed the egg quests.

which means it can change the egg quests. which means it can ambush the players. an argument can be made against its ability to spell, but we also saw codeChayanne forming full sentences on his signs during the election dinners. There is at least one code that is able to communicate with the players.

there is a non-zero chance that it's not the federation continuing the egg quests, getting the players working together, but the codes.

remember the timer dungeon...? the code didn't attack them. it sent them on a quest (where they had to work together) to send the train off of the island. At the election dinners the codes weren't attacking any eggs (richarlyson) they were attacking the election candidates. By attacking the election candidates (who some islanders had become suspicious of) the codes made those candidates targets of the very same protection instinct that they saw when attacking the eggs.

and its been a very long time since the codes have attacked any eggs.

I don't know what the point of mimicking the eggs would be. I don't know. but i do know that the federation can't be trusted with keeping peace on the island

[pokemon-leggins-arcoos]

FINALLY

[skitskatdacat63]

I love how i have a non insignificant amnt of clips on my ps4 just of me dying in stupid ways in genshin, its so compulsive atp