#neat detail

[cienie-isengardu]

Zuko’s stealing habits in Book 2: Earth

Rewatching ATLA made me realize how Zuko stealing food in Book 2: Earth is always related to Iroh and never directly to his own hunger. 

Let me explain.

There is no doubt that being a fugitive takes a toll on Zuko and he absolutely despite that Iroh begs strangers for money, like he did in “The Swamp” [s02e04]. But once he use the Blue Spirit mask to steal food from people in Avatar Day [s02e05], we don’t see him eating it - and as much as there is no reason to think he didn’t do that offscreen, it allows the visual storytelling to highlight that the food was intended for Iroh.

Iroh was suspicious about where the food came from and what Zuko did to get it, but once he took a bite, it is easy to tell that whatever Zuko stole was something pretty good. We have no idea if he picked that food specifically for its taste or if it just turned out to be good luck.

Before Iroh even had a chance to eat, Zuko already walked away from the man while not taking anything at all from what he gave to his uncle.

Later in the same episode, the next time Blue Spirit was shown, he was attacking some rich guy and stealing money. His activities lead to improving Iroh and Zuko’s living conditions, as we can see they have now meat and Iroh got a whole new tea set.

We again do not see Zuko eating anything from what he stole - and again, no reason to think he didn’t eat at all, but the visual part is focused on Iroh’s comfort represented by the new tea set, as Zuko is still not a fan of tea himself at this point of story.

So, Zuko was stealing to improve his and uncle’s situation which shows how much he cared for Iroh to provide him things the older man enjoys but also how much Zuko disliked their new life. However, what is interesting, in “Zuko Alone” [s02e07], Zuko didn’t steal at all, even though he was in a much worse state than in “Avatar Day”.

After a long journey, we literally can see how much he lost weight/strenght due to fatigue and hunger

but despite having an empty stomach, he resigned from a chance to steal the food once he noticed that it was intended for a pregnant woman.

Later, Earth Kingdom’s family offered him a free meal for keeping their kid out of trouble - something Zuko refused at first. The mother made a deal with him, he will help her husband repair a roof and they will offer him in exchange meal and a place to sleep and this is the agreement Zuko accepted.

Considering Zuko’s skills and experiences as Blue Spirit, he could easily get money or food during his journey the way he did in past, but as far as this episode showed, he did not and ultimately fought only to protect people who were kind to him - and who once learning about his Fire Nation ethnicity immediately asked Zuko to leave.  

Zuko again stole food in "The Serpent's Pass" [s02e09], when he reunited with Iroh and both were sailing to Ba Sing Sai on a ship full of refugees. Here they met Jet who told them how the captain ate well while refugees got only rotten scraps and invited Zuko to help him break into kitchen.

When alone with uncle, Zuko openly complained about their situation, however once Jet approached them, Zuko kept his back to the man and did not try to interact much. It was actually Iroh first, who got interested about what kind of food the captain ate and Jet’s answer made the older man literally drool at the mere mention of meat.

Zuko was still turned back to Jet and it is hard to tell if he saw his Uncle’s face or not but as he traveled with the man for three years and knew Iroh liked good food, I think it is safe to assume he was aware about Iroh’s reaction. Visually speaking, Zuko didn’t jump up at the first occasion to satisfy his own hunger but he joined Jet to steal the food after Iroh’s wistful reaction.

Later, when Zuko and Jet stole the food and it was shared between refugees, the episode once again does not show us Zuko eating anything, only drinking presumably tea, while Iroh was holding a bowl with meal in his hand.

Similarly, the arrangement of dishes we can see during Iroh talk with Smellerbee and later, with Jet shows no empty bowl or plate placed directly before Zuko, only the cup of tea. The bowl from which Iroh ate can be seen on those screenshots much closer to Iroh. Again, not saying that Zuko did not eat anything at all from what he and Jet stole, but the visual aspect of this scene is more focused on Iroh eating warm, good food than on Zuko’s hunger.

And I think this is pretty interesting insight into Zuko’s character, how he wants to provide Iroh the best food (comfort) available, even if to do so he must become a thief while he won’t steal food when he is alone on his own and in much worse state and how he is reluctant to accept a meal offered to him for free - even though he complained in “The Swamp” how people should provide for him because he is a price. There is a lot to unpack here about Zuko’s pride and sense of honor and the desire to feed his uncle so Iroh won't need to beg for food or money from strangers.

[shinysamurott9]

I was skimming through the ZX Mangas to try and gather some references for ZX Era clothing, which is tragically lacking btw, and when I got to the introduction to the Gaurdian Base with the angle they show it at, you can actually see that the figure at the front of the ship seems to be modelled after Ciel. Like that is very much her hairstyle, at least with the bangs. I think even the face shape is kind of similar.

Hell if you look closely this is even in the game, just hard to see because of the upward angle. I do have to wonder if it was supposed to mean anything or if it's just a coincidence.

[mileymint]

I think it's kinda interesting that Jax's teeth seem to change shape completely

Normally, they're big and flat, but when he opens his mouth they're small and sharp

I mean look

Giraffe neck lmao

Apparently it's even when he eats (Also is Jax okay Gooseworx)

And then the other cases where his teeth shrink completely and have jagged edges

Shoutout to this specific drawing, it's so goofy

What are you hiding rabbit man

[ceaselessbasher]

I don't think I ever noticed that in the episode Football, it is explicitly stated that BMO uses he/him pronouns while Football uses she/her pronouns

[glass-clown]

[ID: Three images of Falin Touden from Dungeon Meshi.

The first image is presumably from the Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible. In the top left corner is a fancy border with big, bold text in it that says "3 | Sight". Below to the left has smaller text that says, "Falin has been nearsighted since she was very young, and she has a habit of squinting at things to see them. As an aside, being turned into a chimera has improved her eyesight, and that habit seems to have corrected itself." To the right is a picture from the manga showing a younger looking Falin with her eyes closed and someone off screen pushing her bangs back to lay on her head.

The second and third images are also from the manga of different shots of Falin with her eyes wide open. / END OF ID]

EXCUSE ME

FALIN KEEPS HER EYES CLOSED BECAUSE SHES NEARSIGHTED BUT WHEN SHE BECOMES A CHIMERA SHE OPENS HER EYES

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

The attention to detail is great right before Diababa's body comes up you can see the bomblings taking cover in the logs

[bacchuschucklefuck]

january month of yuugi

[death-rebirth-senshi]

Took me way too long to realize the figures on top of the "Hero Graves" catacombs are always facing the Erdtree.

[augureysfeather]

:D He is/was knitting!

Dumbo's and Grindo's first kiss? :D

[egonkula]

finally figured out the charcoal roll brush!

[nem0-nee]

"Forgiving who you are, for what you stand to gain Just know that if you hide, it doesn't go away When you get out of bed, don't end up stranded Horrified with each stone on the stage, my little dark age"

Shameless twitter plug

[cienie-isengardu]

Star Wars Thrawn - Alliances Issue #1

[daily-beau]

Day 8: Glomp

[dandyseedlings]

it's easter, which means it's time for my annual rise of the guardians art

[chalkrub]

strange fellas

[missconchshell]

do y'all ever end up entering a fandom entirely through fanfic osmosis? like, you stumble across a fic in a new fandom, say, "ooh, this sounds neat," and then three days later you are knee-deep in the trenches with thirty different ao3 tabs open at once? and end up finding yourself being like, "that's so out of character! X wouldn't do that!" despite never having actually seen the original material?