#may add more tags later

[skittlesking]

told y'all Dream had some friends. And. . . they are absolutely confused as to who this look alike is (or at least Blue is). Who knew the guardian had a brother? :]

[trosebud]

Kuroboro

[purrishmeow]

mango got hungry

[anagalis]

wow can't believe red dead redemption 2 only consists of 3 chapters with an open ending who would have thought

[writesailingdreams]

a lot of going "yep" and nodding as I read it; learned about some new women employees.

[tautozhone]

never will there be a better genre of media than “you can only get anything close to a fresh impression of this once when you first encounter it because knowing what happens next gives you entirely new understanding of what happened before”

like anything that you need an actual mind wipe to enjoy the same way as you did the first time. for it to be just as emotionally devastating. for every twist and turn to make you feel the same.

[thoughtfulchaos773]

You don't think I can do it?

The nonnegotiables- the challenge- the tension between Sydney and Carmy. I mentioned this scene in my Season 3 Surrealist theme meta. But I still wanted to talk about it.

What stands out from the Sydcarmy arguments vs. Carmy arguing with family is the subtext. You can tell obviously what Richie and Carmy are arguing about. For Sydney and Carmy- their arguments it because there's more tension and things between the lines? I don't have to state the obvious of sexual tension. I want to point out how Carmy is starting to lose his mind here where Sydney is exasperated and rightfully so- but there's also some patience and conflicted contempt for Carmy's antics.

Richie and Carmy's argument moves quickly in this episode as they throw shots at each other. But this moment takes a noticeable pause as a thought hits Carmy—that Syd is challenging him.

When this happened, I thought- woah, what the fuck was that? The Carmy who cooks from a competitive, egotistical place? The same Carmy who went to the best restaurants as a big fuck you to Mikey? And when someone new to the kitchen came, he would smoke them? Now it's directed at Sydney? But I need to figure this out. Carmy's motivations make him want to get a star because Sydney wants one, but that motivation changes when he thinks he sees Chef David. He's not asking Richie if he doesn't think he could get this star and operate on the highest level- he's directly asking Sydney about her view, perhaps her validation beneath it? After all, she told him he was an excellent chef- so why the sudden challenge?

Sidebar: Oh, Richie! Look- if Sydney leaves, I'm sorry, but I will miss these Carmy and Sydney tension scenes with Richie looking on. He's come a long way from instigating. He's quiet and looks at Sydney, holding on to what she might say to this question. I think he's also noticing that Carmy isn't just argumentative towards him- carmy is also paranoid and unhinged with Sydney.

Ending sidebar but- a throwback to Richie looking on at Syd and Carmy:

Back to this scene:

Not sarcasm.

Snark, contempt even. Definitely, contempt from the moment he asked her you don't think I can do it? She's trying to be fair and stop the fight between Richie and Carmy, but now she has to address Carmy directly. He's exhausting at times!

As a fellow unhinged (but medicated and a lover of therapy) human being, Carmy looks so crazy here, like a wild bear. While Sydney mentions he's been yelling at Richie, he makes a pointed look toward him. Throughout this scene, as Sydney breaks up the fight (what a mental load on her part), Carmy often looks at her like he wants to stop arguing with Richie, but he can't help it- anger is more comfortable for Carmy- fear and grief are not.

I think even with Carmy defensive and angry—he knows Sydney is hitting some truth bombs—Carmy made getting the star about himself. Beat Chef David and ruminate on Claire—his purpose is to focus on the past to fix the future. It's hurting his team along the way.

Anyway, I don't have much of an ending. But I do want to know what you think about this moment. Is there something I missed? Feel free to reblog and reply!

[igamer12]

my htf humanizations \(^o^)/ girls and theys edition

^^^ original sketches! still kinda proud of them but there have been many design changes and improvements since then hahahah (especially in regards to giggles and lammy)

anyways!! additional info :-3 this is kind of an au but also i don't want to do much with it other than design the characters so idk lol BUT: they're supposed to be like. vague college students age-wise. i like to think doing childish things in their universe is just socially acceptable. at least in my au. also: petunia goes by she/they, giggles and lammy go by she/her, and flaky goes by any but mostly they/she/he ^_^ petunia is bi (with a girl preference), giggles is pan, lammy is aroace and flaky is nonbinary and questioning. also petunia and flaky are autistic now. hi

might make more in the future btw hehe :-3 i already have some ideas for splendid cuddles and toothy so they may be next

[otterlykath]

Small reference sheet for my furry Majima Au design 🐶🔪

[basicallyjaywalker]

Wanna ramble about a moment/character in ninjago you think people need to talk about more?

I don't know who you are anon, but I'm glad you asked!

I am desperate for people to character-analyze Wu. I'm desperate for a lot of character analysis including Nya but since I got a lot of my Nya feelings out with some lovely folks the other night (edit: the other night was a month ago dw about it. this took a minute) I'm going with Wu this time

Master Wu to me is such an interesting case of a character who it is so easy to ignore the bits of the show that hint at his wider issues and traumas. He is a man defined heavily by his family and by his past. A lot of criticism he gets, I think, is due in part to that.

I've mentioned before that I've been rewatching S1 with a friend of mine and intermittently pausing to infodump on them about interesting character things I notice from that season. A lot of that has been Wu-focused because despite having seen RotS dozens of times throughout my life (watching it on CN, watching it on Netflix when only it and Legacy were around, rewatching it with friends) I have only just started noticing the seeds of character written in.

I might also just be reading too much into things, but hear me out

In S1 (and by extension, the pilots), Wu is characterized as your typical old wise teacher. In the first few minutes of EP1: Rise of the Snakes, he is chewing out the Ninja for playing video games instead of training. The line he uses? "Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today."

It's a line that gets repeated throughout the series. In fact, it gets repeated that very episode when the ninja go (pun not intended) to fight the Hypnobrai and a literal pre-teen. At first, it seems to just be a piece of wisdom. Some old proverb Wu's picked up over the years, possibly one he even coined himself. However, in EP7: Tick Tock, Wu tells the story of who, possibly, first told him this.

(Source: Tick Tock/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom, highlight added.)

It was Garmadon. Now, I'm not gonna dwell too long on Garmadon, if you spend five minutes talking to me you'll learn he was the first character whose story I obsessed over and I want this essay to be about Wu, but I think he plays a role in Wu's overall story, as does Wu's family as a whole.

Prior to this, Wu and Garmadon's relationship has been more of a sibling rivalry taken to a good vs. evil extreme. We didn't know why Garmadon was evil and we didn't know about Wu and his relationship as kids. However, this scene establishes the backstory. They were, as Wu puts it, "the best of friends." That is, until Garmadon gets bit by the Devourer going to get the katana Wu lost.

Now, I know the Devourer bite was destined to happen because of the Overlord or some shit, but Wu doesn't. As far as he's concerned, Garmadon getting bit was a direct consequence of both his mistake and his cowardice. He lost the katana. He was too scared to get it. Garmadon went over instead. Garmadon got bit.

The scene goes on to show the FSM tending to Garmadon in the aftermath. Wu is watching from behind the door, likely told to stay back, but concerned. And in his POV, we get this intense moment, where Garmadon turns, looks directly at him (his eyes turning bright red for the first time), and says "It's all Wu's fault!"

(This clip should begin at the start of Wu eavesdropping. If it doesn't, skip to 0:58. I highly recommend also paying attention to Wu's body language during this scene.)

The camerawork does a great job of showing how this probably felt for Wu. It zooms in, Garmadon's voice echoes, and the background blurs. We see in the flashback that this is a moment Wu has etched into his memory. Not to mention, he was likely a very young child when this happened. LEGO characters' ages are weird, but Wu in this scene has the Big Eyes, which always seem to be used for characters under 12. We don't know exactly how much older Garmadon is to my knowledge, but he doesn't have the Big Eyes, so he's probably closer to 12 and a few years older than Wu for sure.

Imagine that. Being in elementary school and your older siblings gets hurt. They're acting strange. They're lashing out at your father. Then, they blame it all on you. They're hurt because of you. Wouldn't you internalize that?

I could go on about Wu's relationship with Garmadon, but again, I think I've spent enough time on it and I don't want to only focus on that. It's an important part, but there are others.

Let's talk about Wu's relationship with his dad.

Now, I have not yet read the Spinjitzu Brothers series. I cannot speak to any development of Wu and the FSM's relationship in there. I have, however, read The Book of Spinjitzu and blogged some of my thoughts on it here, including some of what it says about Wu.

For those who haven't read it, first, there is a Google Drive folder floating around with all of the canon spinoff books/graphic novels in it. Here's the link if you wanna read them!

The FSM is an... intriguing figure. I mean, in the series he's basically god? He made the entire world. That's already a very high bar to live up to. Then, in Book of Spinjitzu, there's a few specific parts that, when I read them, signaled that Wu internalized a specific message when he was young.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 3).

Wu does not want to disappoint his father. It is up to him (and Garmadon until he turns evil) to "uphold the legacy of Spinjitzu" and, by extension, his family. He says he was "very young" when this was explained to him. Considering he seems to already be training at an elementary age, "very young" means VERY young.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 16).

Here, we again see Wu being very aware that he has some large burden to carry. Something else interesting here is that the thought of the Green Ninja Prophecy is already weighing on him too. His considering if he might be the Green Ninja is of extra interest because of how the Green Ninja Prophecy and the--I wouldn't call it obsession, possibly fixation?--with who it is factors into his later actions, but we'll get to that later.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 19).

This one in particular gets me because it comes after Wu mentions Garmadon becoming more evil. It is a statement of power. Wu knows that the legacy of Spinjitzu now rests in his hands alone. He cannot let himself fall the way Garmadon did. He cannot disappoint his father. Whether or not the FSM intended it, Wu always knew the fate of the world rested, at least in part, upon his shoulder. He knew this from the time he was a young boy and it remains in his mind to this day.

Now, these quotes are indirect, but they all point to one clear idea: As a child, Wu internalized the idea that he alone is responsible for keeping Ninjago safe. He will play a pivotal role in its history.

There's not evidence in this book that the FSM's was a bad father, per se. However, just because one doesn't set out to harm their children, doesn't mean they won't. I often say Wu has an "Atlas complex," which I have no idea if it is an actual concept but use it to refer to this idea. Wu feels as though he is responsible for holding up the world, much like Atlas. He must keep the balance, he must solve the Green Ninja prophecy, he must make his father proud.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, page 61).

I'm going to get further into what this means for Wu as a teacher to the current Ninja Team, but for now let's look at Wu's first foray into teaching.

Morro. Wu's Biggest Mistake.

That might seem like an overstatement, but it's not.

(Source: Ghost Story/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom)

Okay he says regret, not mistake, but I was paraphrasing.

Let's turn back to his quote about his destiny. Wu writes, "Is my life's mission to be the Green Ninja? Or maybe it will be to find the Green Ninja and protect him (or her)??"

From a very young age, Wu was not only aware of the Green Ninja but prophecy but also thinking about his place in it. We see this again when he takes Morro in and trains him.

(Source: Ghost Story/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom, highlight added)

A big thing Wu is criticized for here is making Morro believe he is meant to be more. That he is the Chosen One. And Morro, being a young homeless orphan just now given some semblance of power and protection, latches onto that. And I can see it, but when you take into account the above that he was trained from (likely) a younger age than Morro and given a similar level of responsibility, it becomes more understandable. Wu is just doing what he was taught. He doesn't believe that he is harming Morro until it is too late.

This is the entire story, but I'm specifically going to be discussing 1:36 onwards here. I also wanted to add that rewatching this scene made me lay down on the floor! What the fuck! But I digress.

There's a lot going on in this scene. For one, Wu washing his hands of Morro in some ways, but not others. He turns his back on Morro when he tells him that destiny has decided, but looks at him again when Morro storms out. He goes to save Morro from the Grundal, but decides that he cannot "teach those who would not listen." Most importantly, when Morro leaves to go find the Tomb of the FSM, Wu leaves the door open. He waits for Morro to return, but never goes after him. And Morro never comes back.

Wu gives Morro's fate a dismissive response at the end of his ghost story ("I am saddened he was banished to the Cursed Realm") but it's clear he still cares deeply about him in the finale of the season.

Wu's VA in this is phenomenal btw. That "Please Morro!" and "MORRO!" make my heart ache.

Morro believed Wu stopped caring, but he didn't. Even after all he's done, even after trying to destroy all of Ninjago--destroying what Wu had spent his life trying to protect--Wu tries to save him. He begs for Morro to come with him. Morro refuses, Wu watches him perish.

Someone else Wu is close to is gone. Wu again considers himself responsible. Everything is his fault.

And finally, we reach Wu today. A cautious, secretive man. He loves his students, this much is clear. Even as early as the pilots, he drops his wise teacher persona to joke around with them.

As with Morro, he trains them like his father did him. He even uses the same methods his father used when he trains them.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, page 32)

While he is hard on the Ninja, wanting them to succeed and training them to help defend the Realm, he lets his guard down more than it seems he did with Morro. He also learned a valuable message from his experience with Morro when he hides the Green Ninja Prophecy from the Ninja, getting angry when they start to push themselves in the same way Morro did upon learning about it. It's clear he doesn't want a repeat.

Now, I can't speak for later seasons (I will eventually) but this fear of repeats, his students going down a dark path because they're tempted by power or greatness, losing someone else, likely drives Wu not telling them other important information. That is just a passing thought though.

Final notes:

I'm currently in the process of rewatching S7: Hands of Time. I actually got this ask right after finishing EP68: Scavengers, which opens with Wu having a nightmare. In it, he and Misako are walking outside of Yang's temple. While walking, Misako delivers this line in response to Wu reminiscing about the time they've spent together:

(Source: Scavengers/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom)

This line, to me, is Wu's subconscious trying to tell him something he needs to hear. It's hinting at what might be his greatest flaw. Wu is haunted by his past, by his mistakes. He finds it difficult to tell others because of both his guilt and his desire to not put that worry upon them. In this very season, he makes the mistake of trying to face his past on his own, and he nearly dies for it.

In the same episode, you see Wu trying to make sure Lloyd doesn't make the same mistakes.

(Source: Prev)

Wu stresses the important of the team. It's as if he sees Lloyd blaming himself for what happened to Wu, sees him doing the same thing Wu has, and is trying to prevent him from doing the same thing. This is further emphasized when, after Wu falls asleep (well, fakes falling asleep), Lloyd says "Wu's mistake was going in alone. So was mine."

Master Wu is, like many characters in this show, someone who is more complex than meets the eye. He is not just a wise, old teacher. He is a man who, throughout his life, has made mistakes and carries the weight of each of them on his shoulders. He is a man who tasks himself with making up for those every day. He is a man who wants better for his students, his family.

Until the day he dies, he will guide and protect his students. And possibly? Even after death too.

[snowthedemonfox]

i had to reduce this file size by SO MUCH JUST TO POST IT. anyway HAPPY ART FIGHT 2023 EVERYONE!!! its 4am so im not going to type much, but i really had so much fun this year, there were so many amazing characters i got the chance to draw, and im actually really proud with a lot of my attacks! beat last year's record of 154 with 209 attacks total!!!

since tumblr is silly the full resolution of this is on my da but also you can just find all the attacks on my artfight too <3

ALSO because tumblr is silly i cannot tag everyone for crediting in the one post SO!!!! i will be reblogging this MULTIPLE TIMES so i can credit everyone!!

gg and may the best team win

[duck-n-clover]

more fantasy AU stuff, featuring some of the cast employed under prince Levi's estate!

Peaches is an orc knight, alongside imp Banschee and their little baby boy. Banschee and the baby don't live at the castle so Peaches goes to visit her lil family in town from time to time when she gets a break from her knightly duties.

Brent is a tailie (read: elf with fluffy tail, essentially) who found his calling as a jester. he is thriving being able to entertain and jangle around, and have access to the tastiest cheeses a prince can buy! :)

and thirdly we have fishman knight Emilio! he's gunning for Drew's job as the head knight in charge. it's not going to happen but a fishguy can dream can't he!

[1am-yan]

strawpage doodles i received for my birthday!

more under the cut + rambling ->

first. the kylars above. they're so incredibly cute ?!!! and since this almost a kylar fanblog i had to put them as a special feature above the cut, of course...

i am eating the cake they definitely did not do anything to and appreciating their silly face SO hard rn... and woahhh even a little jar as a gift? so kind of them :)

HEHE i just can't describe how nice it is to me to get art of the little creature i love...!! thank you so much! like i keep going back to look at those ones in particular saved on my phone because they make me so happy nfdjsnjfd

and of course, look at all of these!!!

adorable bf drawings and assorted doodles... thank you SO much for everything submitted here and also all of your messages!! i adore the variety of things i was sent, it's so fun X)

i've never had a birthday with so many interactions and i can't explain how strange it is... in a really good way, obviously. i'm so happy :> i hope i can continue to make new mutuals and new friends and keep drawing lots of kylar and harper and ocs and whoever else :D

[cbdinodoodlez]

PROFESSOR LAYTON BUT CARTOON I SUPPOSE?????

I have not practiced my Hanna Barbera-esque art style in like a few weeks so I am crusty af but I still did try making smth similar so here are these bc one of the projects I do wanna work on eventually is making a bunch of fake screenshots of a Professor Layton Saturday Morning cartoon lol.

Idk what I was going for with the Descole one but hey, I think it's funny I based the background a bit on FNAF 3 lol

This one is a crossover with the InvestiGators series! [please read the books, they are amazing and I think the characters from there would get along so well with Layton, Luke and Flora!!!] Fun scenario with Mango taking Luke on a little stroll around the city.

Kind of, Idk, Unwound Future/Lost Future spoilers below, I'm not sure!!!

The obligatory furry stuff because drawing them is so fun!!! Here's the scenario where Luke kind of goes like 🤨🤨🤨 and is like "Maybe this isn't really me from the future..." I think he's a very confrontational guy at times so lol.

This one has another version below!

THERES NO CONTEXT, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A RANDOM THING LOL

here's a sketch, I might try to properly line and color it, maybe.

[spaciebabie]

hi i drew nebbie ta practice some art things that i would have never attempted ta do otherwise (✿◕_◕✿)

[callmehere-iwillappear]

REF SHEET JUMPSCARE

fun facts/context/things that didn't fit on the sheet under a read more!

raph's chew stim necklace was a gift from mikey. he goes through them like once a month MAX

mikey's 'more sensitive to mystics' thing isn't necessarily plot relevant just a fun tidbit. he gets it from draxum's side /hj

donnie is officially the older twin now HOWEVER prior to the invasion they didn't know which of them was and would have some completely arbitrary criteria or competition (a la rock paper scissors) to decide every time someone asked. the criteria was different EVERY time and ONLY made sense to them

one time after witnessing this draxum tried to tell them who was older and they both chewed him out. it's not about who's actually older it's about the PRINCIPLE

in this canon the invasion took place aroundddd six months after shredder round two

i REFUSE to believe donnie wouldn't build his techbo/other tech stuff that got destroyed again. he would NOT solely use mystics you cannot convince me. my reasoning for why he did in the movie is that he was too focused on trying to bring back shelldon to worry about his other tech stuff

SPEAKING OF SHELLDON. idk that it'll come up in the fic directly so basically: donnie spent a while trying to bring him back and wasn't able to during that time, and then... didn't give up exactly but got super discouraged and 'took a break' from working on him

'took a break' aka saying he would get back to it but not actually doing that because he refused to admit he was really just scared it would end with concrete proof that it wasn't possible. at least this way he doesn't know for sure that shelldon is gone forever (even if he also doesn't know for sure that he isn't)

schroedingers shelldon basically

and then the invasion happened and everything went to shit. shelldon is still sitting in donnie's lab somewhere though -- he luckily didn't have any parts donnie needed for the portal that he couldn't get from something else