#started using it less compared to insta

[f1nns1deblog]

posted to twitter on 2/14/25 with the caption "Happy christmas", posted to the subreddit by u/llecarudithall

[educatedsimps]

— you are my sunshine, sakusa kiyoomi

≪ back to fics masterlist

sakusa kiyoomi x anorexic!reader

**TRIGGER WARNINGS: EATING DISORDER (anorexia), slight nsfw (light petting with no penetration, NC16 at most?), swearing PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU MAY BE TRIGGERED BY THE ABOVE TOPICS. please exercise some self-care and enjoy some of our other fics instead! we'll see you in our next post <3

a/n: i really NEEDED TO do this. doing this for my sanity 😭😭😭 - yves

content under the cut!

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," you sang as you drove along the expressway.

"You make me happy, when skies are grey," Sakusa, comfortably seated in the passenger seat, sang in response. He gently squeezed your thigh.

You let out a breath with a smile on your face. That day was an exciting day for the two of you. It was the match between the MSBY Black Jackels and Schweiden Adlers, and Kiyoomi had been a ball of nerves for the past week. So to show your support, you decided to drive your dear passenger princess, Sakusa Kiyoomi, to the Kamei Arena Sendai Gymnasium.

You had spent half a day at the office and the other half dolling yourself up for the match that evening. Kiyoomi frowned at the sheer effort you had put into looking good for him at the match. He grunted out something along the lines of "getting distracted by how pretty Y/n is" and how "You have to be less pretty or I'll have to learn how to fight with my bare fists". You laughed at the thought of your husband trying to smash someone's jaws with his fists when he hated any physical contact with strangers.

After kissing him goodbye at the back gates leading to the MSBY locker rooms, you went to the Ladies and touched up your lipgloss infront of the mirror. As you looked at your reflection, you thought to yourself, maybe I do look good.

Ding!

From: MSBY girlies + Keiji <3

Miyu (Atsumu's GF) [6.43pm] Y/n pookiee~ Are you here yet?

Keiji (Bokuto's fiance) [6.44pm] We're at the VIP section, Row 1. The security guard knows who you are so he'll show you the way in later. You sure you don't want us to come find you?

Kira (Meian's wife) [6.44pm] ahhh can't wait to see you, Y/n! XD

You smiled as you read their messages.

You [6.45pm] I'll be alright, thanks! I'm heading up right now Excited to see you guys too :>

They had been planning to sit together since the start of the new season, after Kiyoomi had formally introduced you to the rest of the team.

As you reached the VIP area, you immediately regretted agreeing to sit with them. Your self-esteem shattered the moment you saw them.

They were drop-dead gorgeous, with their perfect makeup, in their perfect outfits that hugged them in all the right places. They looked straight out of a fashion magazine. It was something about how feminine they looked, and the way they all smiled sweetly when they saw you. So inviting and loving. They were the boys' partners after all.

But they've got to have flaws, right? That's only human.

Their smiles felt genuine, and you could see glimpses of their partners in them. Some were rowdy, hugging you when they saw you and treating you like one of them. They asked you questions about yourself, even getting drinks and snacks for you and including you in the post-game party at Bokuto's place. For a moment, you felt like one of them.

But how can a whole group of people be so damn perfect?

God, how you hated how inferior you felt. The differences between you and them became even more apparent when you saw the post-game pictures that had posted on Instagram. You had only gotten their Insta handles just a day before and were already on the verge of unfollowing.

It was insane how out of place you felt as they sat there so pretty in just their partners' jerseys. Somehow, they still managed to look so good. Unlike you.

Eventually, your brain churned out only one reason - it all came down to how small and delicate they looked compared to you.

How they looked worthy to be the lovers of the MSBY players. How they were pretty enough to be their partners.

It was crazy enough that you were comparing yourself to the Akaashi Keiji. How alluring he was, even just sitting in the same area as you. He was even more beautiful up close, there was something deep within his psyche that was so magnetic. It was evident that he took care of himself, with how his dress shirt clung to his thin waist. You can't help but admire him, and you wondered if your own clothes would ever do you the same favour.

If only you had a waist as small as his.

It scared you how the need to fit in with them became so acute. The hopes of not being the laughing stock of the group fueled the waves of self-hatred that you hadn't felt since high school. You were bullied for being chubbier than average. Teenagers were brutal, especially to anything they perceived to be different.

Obese. Katsudon. Pork planet. They were corny, sure, yet shivers ran down your spine at the memory of those names. Not long after, you started having nightmares of that darned high school. The same bullies, the same by-stander classmates, and the new addition of Kiyoomi in his high school uniform with disgust in his eyes, telling you to break up with him. His back faced you whenever you asked for the reason.

It's because of how fat you are. He'd still love me no matter what right? Right?

And every time you woke up from one of those nightmares, you would wake up sobbing.

Yet every time, Kiyoomi still seemed to be blissfully asleep. You knew he'd always have trouble sleeping before an upcoming match and with him looking so at peace, you never had the heart to wake him up.

He doesn't need to know about this. I'll tell him when morning comes.

But you never came round to telling him about the nightmares. The seeds of doubt from those recurring nightmares started to sprout inside you.

You stopped finishing your meals. You started running with Kiyoomi in the mornings to "spend more time with him". Lunch breaks at work were replaced with attending the pilates class across the street. The cans of Celcius in the fridge were depleting faster than ever. Your daily coffee order changed to an Iced Americanos with 4 shots of espresso.

And when the number on the scale dropped, the grin on your face was evidence enough of how light your heart felt. Nights were long when you spent the first hour waiting for Kiyoomi to fall sleep before you shimmied yourself out of his warm embrace to count the flaws of your body with your reflection in the full length bathroom mirror. With how your waist measurements dipped along with Sakusa's compliments of how much healthier you had become lately, your were giddy with happiness.

But God, did it hurt when you realised you had seemed 'unhealthy' to him in the first place. He could have just called you fat, it's not like you would've crumbled, right?

Hit with the sickening realisation that the voice in your head was right all along, that it was even how Kiyoomi saw you, your tears mixed into the shower water one day after a pilates class. You were glad that your husband was busy at practice and wouldn't come in to take an impromptu shower with you and see you in this wretched state.

Please, please, please, don't prove I'm right.

⊹₊⋆☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆☁︎⋆₊ ⊹

"You'll never know, Dear. How much I love you~,"

Your husband sang from the kitchen as you hugged him from behind. With his beefy back against your face and him cooking breakfast, it felt like a blessing so surreal. You wished you'd never have to leave this position.

It's a late Saturday morning and you and Kiyoomi had agreed to have your usual stay-at-home date.

"Eggs?" He looked over his shoulder to you hugging him like an oversized stuffed toy.

"Maybe just egg whites today. I wanna try a new brand of yogurt I got yesterday with the granola I made this week," You replied, stifling a yawn

He nodded in acknowledgement and fetched the carton of egg whites from the fridge as you detached yourself from him and took the cutleries and dishes out of the dishwasher.

"How have you and the girls been? And how's the uh, pilates class you said was kicking your ass?" Kiyoomi asked as he plated his scrambled eggs.

You took the low fat, high protein yogurt out of the fridge as you replied, "It's fun, but I definitely understand why Pilates was made for prisoners."

His eyes were obviously judging you as he laughed to himself. "It can't be that bad. Definitely not as bad as our training when Meian-san is in a bad mood."

You could only sigh with a roll of your eyes. You retorted with an elbow jab to his side, "Why don't you come for class one day and we'll see about that, Mr. I'm-So-Strong."

He squirmed with the frying pan in his hand and a spatula in the other, swatting you away like a fly. You stepped away to giggle at the sight of him using his spatula like a sword in Barbie and the Three Musketeers.

When all was done, the both of you sat down at the small, 4-seater dining area in your home and continued chatting about how the week had gone.

"Itadakimasu!"

And the first thing that Kiyoomi dug into was your yogurt. You stared at him, offended. He ate it as if he was the one who had bought groceries that week.

The moment the yogurt touched his tongue, his face turned as sour as the yogurt he ate. With his face all scrunched up like that, you couldn’t help but let out a small giggle as you took the second spoon of yogurt from the same bowl.

“Y/n, I have no clue what’s so nice about this- this bowl of cold, white... glue," he looked at you in pure astonishment.

“That’s because you're supposed to eat it with fruits and granola, Omi-Omi," You stated simply.

You didn’t have the guts to tell him that you were more worried about exceeding your 600 calorie count for the day than how shitty the yogurt tasted.

"Atsumu's rubbing off on you..." he grumbled, making you giggle at the way his face scrunched up at the sound of Atsumu's nickname for him.

After breakfast, the two of you moved over to the sofa to browse Netflix for a show to watch. As usual, Kiyoomi had the remote control in his hand and the other on your thigh. Catching a glimpse of the wide smile on your face, he noticed that your thigh seemed a lot smaller and more toned than before. He glanced down at it, though his face didn't betray his shock.

Since when did your thigh get so small?

"Y/n, you like the size difference between my hand and your leg? Is that why you're smiling so much?" he teased, smiling as you blushed crimson.

"Didn't realise you had a size kink," he whistled, grinning as you slapped his bicep playfully. He tightened his warm grip on your thigh, making you gasp. Your hand reached for his shoulder as you swung yourself from the sofa and onto his lap for a peck on his lips. You could feel him smiling into the kiss before you pulled away.

"Seducing me this early in the morning, babe?" he said, poking your nose lightly with his finger.

You smirked teasingly at him as you moved your hips against his, making him groan softly into your ear.

"Maybe," you drawled, tracing his jawline with your finger before going in for another kiss. This time his lips trapped your tongue, sucking on it greedily. Dopamine rushed to your head as your innocent kiss became a steamy tug of war. His hands ghosted your abdomen and you suddenly became hyperaware of it.

Fuck, he can feel how fat I am.

You instinctively flexed your abs, in an attempt to stop him from feeling the folds of ugly fat around your stomach. His hands held your waist firmly as his thumb traced your abdomen, before coming to gradual stop.

Kiyoomi broke apart from the kiss, leaving your swollen lips to chase after his, but his forehead leaned against yours to signal a stop.

"Babe, what was that?"

Your heart was beating wildly in your chest, and you weren't sure if it was from the make-out session or his realisation that...

"What was what?" you returned, looking at him with your best attempt at puppy eyes.

You were cold sweating by then, but you hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Are those… abs?" His eyes flew wide, his attention all on you. His eyes were filled with curiosity and oh, how they glimmered so beautifully.

You wished upon the stars you'd never have to lie to those eyes ever again.

"Of course, I just thought maybe you'd like to see a different side of me... a little sexier," you averted his gaze, guiding his hand towards the hem of your oversized shirt.

He lifted your shirt and you saw how his cheeks turned an embarrassing shade of red. Burying his face in your chest, he tilted his head up to meet your eyes. "God, I have no clue what to do with you, Y/n."

It was quite evident what he wanted when you felt his shaft become more prominent through his home shorts.

And the rest became a memory you keep with joy. 

Please, please, please, don't bring me to tears when I just did my make up so nice.

But all that joy didn't last when you woke up the next morning, scrutinising your body in front of the mirror.

How could you let him see this? This slob of a body?

Shame clawed at your throat as your fingers tugged at the fat of your stomach. You placed your palm over your collarbones, and they felt sharper than they used to. You knew you'd definitely lost the weight, but the greed to look more dainty than ever had you in a chokehold.

These thighs look so fat. Your arms are so flabby. Gosh, even your armpits are fat. It's hideous.

You're hideous.

And nothing but regret and guilt kept gnawing at your insides like a feral beast. The only solution you came up with was to grab the biggest shirt in the house - his MSBY jersey - and the sweatpants that covered your legs entirely.

In the following days, when Kiyoomi tried to remove any article of clothing from your body, you grabbed his hand to stop him with the excuse that you were tired. But truthfully, your new routine had been wearing you out more than you had anticipated.

His next match was with EJP Raijin on another Saturday night, with crowds roaring from both sides of the arena. You let yourself loose the moment the girls called your name across the hall, running over to hug you.

Your defenses go down as you shared a laugh with the others. When they offered a pack of chips from the snack table, you hesitated. But your inner voice reminded you that you had been fasting since the previous day, so you take the bag of chips with a smile. You felt lightheaded and giddy when a couple of the girls compliment your figure - it was the happiest you'd felt in the past two months.

The hunger pains were worth every bit of this happiness.

During the match break, you found yourself talking to the EJP players' partners as well. When Atsumu's girlfriend introduces you to the other girls and guys, your attention went directly to Suna's fiancée. It's obvious that she was a much smaller build than the other girls but the way her dress hung off of her made you gulp nervously. Your brain was strangely and subconsciously wired to recognise her as competition. She was quiet and elegant, small but eloquent. She was everything you wanted to be.

"Oh, mineral water's fine with me," she said with a smile when you offered her a bottle of Coke Zero.

GUILT GUILT GUILT

It made you choke back tears when you realised how fat you were behaving. Or how bloated you looked right then, with all that carbonation and salt.

And those thoughts immediately got rid of any joy of that day. When you headed home, you tried your best to look happy after Kiyoomi had served the winning goal, but your mind was plagued with the nagging thought of how you had let yourself slip.

Later that night, after snuggling in with your husband and making sure he was fast asleep, you snuck out of his warm embrace. His biceps were so warm, and being sandwiched between his chest and his arm made it hard to leave when it was the best place to be.

You left to burn off the calories from the snacks you had binged on earlier that evening. As you left the bedroom with a yoga mat in arm, you were determined to complete the new routine you had promised yourself in the shower. You wished you could do it without any problems but recently, you had been seeing black spots and felt lightheaded every time you did any physical activity. It was a bitch to have to stop for awhile before continuing your exercises.

The moment you stepped into the shower, sweaty and tired, you didn't notice your husband stirring awake as the warm water hit your body.

Kiyoomi was confused when he woke up to his arm cold and the absence of your body pressed against his. He had been itching with nerves those few months when he realised your behaviour had started changing around him. And that same anxiety only heightened when he heard your sniffles coming from the shower. It was the first time you became so reclused from him. At first, he was worried that you were wringing yourself dry from the amount of work you had, but he later spiralled into thinking that it was because you were falling out of love with him. 

When he heard the bedroom door click open, he hurriedly pretended to be asleep.

Beep. Silence. Beep.

Your sigh made him itching to hug you and ask what happened. But the sigh following the beep of the weighing scale made it clear to him that the number on the weighing scale had somehow upset you one way or another. You approached the full-length mirror and peeked again to make sure your husband was still fast asleep.

You lifted the jersey above your chest, throwing it off to the side of the bed where you slept.

Kiyoomi honestly thought you were about to climb into bed topless (don't ask, he was not in his working mind). But when you stood still in front of the mirror, scrutinising your body like a piece of meat at the market, he could tell that you weren't heading to bed anytime soon.

You pinched at every corner of skin you could find. You looked at the woman in the reflection, and all you could see was the poor girl in high school. Fat and ugly, unlikeable and pitiful.

You then turned to your side, hoping to find comfort in seeing a flatter stomach.

In the dim lights, Kiyoomi could see the outline of your emaciated figure and the faint outline of your ribcage was enough to make him open his eyes fully in shock. The bruises along your spine made him wonder if he had been too rough with you all those times you were intimate. The way your hipbones jutted out were enough to throw him into a pool of anxious thoughts.

Maybe he should talk to you about it tomorrow.

But the last straw was when you muttered under your breath about how fat you still were.

No, he had to talk to you about it ASAP.

The bed creaked as you crawled back into his arms and he wrapped his arms around your waist. He never remembered your waist being so small before.

"Can't sleep?" you asked, turning your head towards him. His eyes opened to see your face in front of him.

He was sure the moonlight was playing tricks on him. Your face had harsh lines that he had never noticed, your nose sharper than ever and eyes bigger than before. Your collarbones peeped out of his jersey, more prominent than he had ever seen.

Fuck, how did it get so bad?

He knew you were trying to get fitter but he never realised you were developing something beyond just healthy habits. Kiyoomi could only blame himself for being so absorbed by his recent matches. For not noticing you were harming yourself.

He nodded and you snuggled into his chest, your arms wrapping around his waist comfortably. His thumb ran down your back in an effort to calm you both. Chills ran down his spine when he felt every ridge and bump of your vertebrate. It made him question how he had never noticed everything come crashing down.

"Babe, you okay? Aren't you be happy? Your team won today's match," you looked up into his eyes which were filled with concern. His eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought.

"How... how did you get so small?" he breathed.

You gulped. Things could only go south from here.

He continued. "I didn't realise it but when Atsumu mentioned it last week, I couldn't help but notice how much weight you've actually lost. Is it even safe to lose this much?"

He held you like you'd slip through his fingers at any moment, like water in a broken plastic cup.

You tried to avoid the topic, tried to look away but he wouldn't let you.

"...Atsumu? What did he say, specifically?" your eyes turned cold the second he mentioned his teammate.

What did he have anything to do with this?

Kiyoomi sat up against the bed frame before sighing deeply. "He was just asking if you were okay, 'cause you didn't seem as energetic as usual. And you can't argue with me, you have lost quite a bit of weight."

You knew that it was taking a lot out of him to talk about this, especially since he was never a confrontational person. It had to mean a lot to him, for him to face a situation like this head on.

"I'm-"

"No, Y/n. You're not fine. Have you been eating well? No, scratch that- have you been eating at all?"

You could feel the waterworks about to start, you felt the back of your eyes warming. Your fingernails dug into your palm, as if you could physically stop the tears from falling.

"I... I ate just now. With the girls," you whispered.

"A Proper Meal, babe. Not one of those 'girl dinner' crap you used to pull in college," he gritted out.

You let out a breath.

"2 days ago. Dinner," your voice cracked, and the waterworks had officially begun. Shame erupted in your chest.

"Fuck," Kiyoomi cursed under his breath.

He couldn't believe this was the same Y/n that would drag him out to enjoy their favourite foods together after a tiring day of practice and work. The same Y/n that enjoyed cooking together with him. The same Y/n that had monthly competitions with him to see who could finish more sushi plates at the conveyor belt sushi restaurant down the street.

It was the same Y/N that deprived herself of any food for days because she saw nothing but ugly, unwanted fat on her emaciated body.

Kiyoomi was speechless. He blinked several times, willing the tears welling up in his eyes not to fall but it was useless. You saw the way his tears rolled down his face along with his sharp intake of breath. He had never thought his wife would do something like this.

The guilt of not noticing what was happening to you was eating him alive.

He managed to calm himself down slightly before doing the only thing he could think of in the moment. He pulled you in and held you tight.

"Please," he whispered. Hugging you close, he begged, "Please don't take my sunshine away."

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[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Avatar (Love Interest) Fight: Kavik, Rangi, Katara, Asami (and why Rangi would win)

Based off Kyoshist's video. (and I know I went a tad ham in a comment thread of my own on the video, but I wanted to clearly and fully and long winded-ly explain my thoughts here)

Basically I wanna analyze who is most likely to win in this fight, and I'mma be honest. It's probably Rangi. Like other fights there's a lot of factors and it could go a few ways. But not here, I really think it's Rangi.

I'm not being biased, I love my girl but I don't think she's infallible. But in terms of what she's up against vs what we know of her skills, she has the best chance of winning. (mostly going to talk about key big feats of Katara/Kavik/Asami and then explain in detail how Rangi is a hard counter for either their best feats)

But let's define the setting from the video. (heavy spoilers for Kyoshi novels, light and nonspecific spoilers for the Yangchen Novels as best as I could, and spoilers for ATLA/LoK show and comics if applicable):

Fighters: Kavik, Rangi, Katara, and Asami.

Setting: Ba Sing Se (Lower Ring) (note, showing a different picture than what was in the video, note it's very cramped)

Things that are NOT specified: What time of day is it? Is it a full moon? Does Asami have her glove? What version of the characters are we looking at? Do they know they have to fight? What's the weather?

The picture shown of Ba Sing Se in the video was day time. So we'll assume that, which means no full moon. But I will consider the effects of the fight if there IS a full moon at the very end of this post.

We'll assume Asami has her glove, like she usually does. We'll assume "peak" for the characters that we know of. So S3+!Katara, LoY!Kavik, SoK!Rangi (pre-stab), S4+!Asami.

As for if all 4 know they have to fight each other? I'm assuming yes, it'd be weird if only 1-3 knew but the others didn't.

What's the weather? Picture showed a normal day (aka no rain).

(I'm in the middle of re-reading the comics so I might be spotty on using that info, I apologize in advance if I missed something TT0TT I'm mostly focusing on the base shows/novels)

_______

Trouble for the Waterbenders:

Ok, already starting off and it's not looking the best for our Waterbenders. Unlike the Avatar+their love interest duo fight (which was next to the ocean iirc), the WBs don't have unlimited access to water. Be it big body of water, or even plants to take from, it's the lower ring so it's probs pretty desolate.

(note that I'm making after writing all this: going back through ATLA, we know there's at least one fountain in the lower ring I believe? I think that's where Zuko is residing, and upon looking into an ep of LoK I did see a flowing river in the city somewhere. So they do have some vats of water but maybe not as much as the middle/upper rings)

I don't think it'd be an insta win for them even if they did (I have evidence hold on! it's in the bending prowess section), but this really puts them at a severe disadvantage. And they need all the help they can get.

If it's the day time, then they also have less of an advantage compared to Rangi. Not by much imo, but it's something to note. Not going to make it my center of my argument, but it should be stated.

Ok so the WBs are lacking water. We'll assume they can find it, but it's most likely not as abundant as they'd like. Plus Katara and Kavik now have to fight over the resource.

In terms of the better waterbender? It's Katara. In terms of the better physical fighter (hand to hand) (and also probably physically stronger maybe a dirtier fighter?)? It's Kavik. Who gets control of the water? I'm....thinking Katara, but I think she'll have to work for it considering his strength.

(Something about strength between waterbenders (because I find it hard to measure the strength of chars sometimes esp with how some of the franchise feels inconsistent). We see Katara wield a tidal wave against the Southern Raiders, not as big as what Kuruk does with his Avatar state (or what Roku does in base against his master), but still. Then Kavik is able to hold a giant blob of water in the air with an adult woman in it, for a long period of time. All while Yangchen heals them. And is able to wield a giant amount of water (enough to douse a giant warehouse fire and fight back against opponents). So maybe strength with bending vs strength with muscles isn't always connected, but I'm not sure. It should be noted tho. Anyway!)

Both have the ability to utilize their own body's sweat as a weapon. Kavik has also used his own spit in combat.

But there is a big disadvantage to all of this. If they have to resort to using their own bodily fluids in a fight, they probably aren't lasting long (you need your bodily fluids to survive!). It's a last resort sort of thing, and/or used more in espionage than hand to hand.

Combine this with Rangi and Asami, a bender that always has access to their bending, and a nonbender who doesn't need to worry about it. Rangi and Asami can just go on the attack while the there two have to worry about their element as well as sharing it.

Hand to Hand fighting:

That's fine! They can always fight hand to hand! Except....Kavik and Katara may be at a bit of a disadvantage still...

Kavik's noted to not be the best fighter, but he wins what he needs (that being said, he is still a fairly strong and capable wrestler). He's great at using his strength to scare off enemies (see warehouse and giant arm plank thingy). He does seem able to handle non-benders fairly well, esp if he has water, and lots of it, at his disposal (again see warehouse fight).

Katara's a great fighter, but it's her bending alone that carries her, not hand to hand. Her hand to hand isn't as up there like a Kyoshi Warrior, or a FN academy student, or Asami and her self defense.

If it came down to hand to hand between those two, I think Kavik is gonna win.

BUT, compare either of them to Asami and Rangi?

Asami has taken the best self-defense classes since she was young. And she's kind of insane. TT0TT She's able to disarm a grown ass man and use his own weapon against him. She's nimble, fast, and can dodge punches fairly easily and wait until she gets an opening to either disarm or use her glove. But the craziest thing is her flying scissor kicking (probs not the right name for it) a fucking guy on a motorcycle and flipping him off before landing easily (she flips over a speeding motorcycle that's coming at her... twice!). She has the damn strength to pull a metal bar (that's screwed on, I think it's "shoddy" but still) out of the wall, and can knock a grown man out with a single karate chop to the back of the head. Like I don't think she needs the glove, the glove just makes her that more dangerous.

Even if Kavik (it's just a wrap for Katar tbh) can overpower her with his strength. He'd probs have to grapple her. But that's assuming he can get his damn hands on her (she's very slippery). And if he can't, even without the glove she could probably knock him out.

(I wanna say Asami knows chi blocking, but I have to keep reminding myself Equalist!Asami sadly does not exist. I don't think she knows chi blocking, but that could've REALLY helped her in this fight...siiiigh girl go learn it please TT0TT Crossed out this section to indicate it's a side thought that has no bearing on the rest of this piece, but it should be noted)

The only one who can give each other a run for their money in hand to hand is Asami vs Rangi.

Rangi's a fucking psycho in her own right. Army brat, graduated school at the top of her class, and completed her military training early (plus most likely trained by Hei-Ran, one of the best firebenders the world had to offer at the time). I know I love to fling the nepo baby allegations around with her, but she has quite a pedigree in her own right that she earned. She is stated to be proficient in many weapons on top of hand to hand. (god help anyone here if she grabs a sword)

She trained Kyoshi, and the Kyoshi Warriors' combat is heavily based on her own fighting style (KW, iirc, only lost to one enemy and it was FN Academy students, aka their cousin school you could say). Tbh I wouldn't be surprised if the Dai Li also had some of her moves too because of the training they got from Kyoshi.

Her greatest feat was taking on a grown ass, mountain of a man, who was roughly twice her size. And she fucking just.......man-handled him. TT0TT She easily toyed with that motherfucker. He may not have been an uber elite trained guy, but he was a brawler (a killer too).

Like if the guy did land a clean punch, it'd knock someone out (we know because it did to Rangi). "Oh so she lost" no. She let herself get knocked out (she was making a point to Kyoshi). She woke up just in time to not die, and to snap his leg like a twig from the ground she was laying on.

"So she can't tank heavy hits." Haha. Yeah she can. We know she can tank heavy hits because of her fight in SoK with Koulin. Her, Koulin, and their superpowered not-fire punches. (we'll come back to that in the bending part)

Rangi is strong, she can dodge, and she can easily use her opponents weight against them. Kavik can probably outpower her (TOTALLY off topic, but not: would love to see these two in a giant table flipping contest....I think we would all enjoy it...esp YC and Kyo...Listen Rangi is STRONG but I dunno how strong compared to Kavik TT0TT so we need this for "science" I mean.... yes for science *cough*), but he won't be able to utilize that strength. Even if he does, she most likely can and will throw it back at him. If he grapples her...well..unlike Asami, she has bending. I can see her doing what he did to a man with his spit (she's burning his eyes or she's gonna superheat a limb I just know it, he's dropping her if he touches her).

Now her against Asami? I don't know. It feels like they have a similar fight style. Using the force of the opponent against them, or dodge until the right time to strike. Physical strength, Rangi probably hits harder (see Koulin fight), but both are scary strong because remember Asami just....pulls a metal bar out of a wall and flings a grown man around with her legs while he speeds towards her on a vehicle jadsfjal;f (note: judging by body type, Rangi is probably more buff and/or ripped than Asami, Rangi's body type is more similar to Korra, though she is probs around the same height or taller than Asami).

Now it could go either way imo. Rangi has a few tricks up her sleeve, she can use firebending, and not only in a way that will burn Asami (see Koulin fight), just that it'll make her hits that much harder and faster and more nimble. But, if Asami can tap her with the glove? 🤔Hmmmmm..... So about the glove....

Only Firebenders can do lightning redirection. Not that Rangi knows that, buuuuuut she has to have some resistance to it because she's a firebender. It's how they can survive lightning going through them like that, they are literally bending it through their bodies which is why other benders can't do that, ergo they are probably more naturally resistant. (this resistance is probs one reason Kyoshi was able to survive all those hits besides just the armor and where she got hit, and how Zuko took one to the chest while only partially/barely redirecting it.... Aang was stuck in the sky and got hit in a really bad place all without redirecting and/or him ignoring his firebending side may have been what killed him. So it may not do a LOT of heavy lifting, but it's still better than not having it like a non-firebender would).

Lightning is just super powered electricity. That glove pumps out electricity..... BUT it's probably not pushing out the same power as lightning tbh. Just enough to stun someone.

Basically, the glove won't kill but will knock you out. If Rangi naturally resists lightning, then it's possible it may not knock her out. BUT it's also possible that if she does get knocked out, she'll wake up fairly fast (she did that after getting clocked in the face with a fist the force of a truck).

(oh dunno where to put this cause I just realize: one thing that's interesting in how Rangi fights. Multiple times she'll feign leaving herself open. Only to for her to strike at her most deadliest or it just be part of her ploy: she lets the guy hit her on the Lei Tai and then she breaks his leg, she pretends to wobble with Koulin only to knock her tf out when Koulin charges, she takes her time inhaling when fighting Yun then unleashes hell itself on him...just.....hmmm... a tactic she could use against the others, hard to tell if your winning and should take the shot when it could just be a trap...just wanted to throw it out there for food for thought)

Terrain Advantage:

"I know you're going to say there's not a lot of water, but Katara spent a few days in Ba Sing Se so that says a lot more than the other characters! She's at least familiar with the city. The only other person maybe getting close is Asami but she spent most of her time in the upper ring!"

*laughs* Oh you sweet summer child. Rangi probably knows the most about the damn place:

Having a plan to take out Ba Sing Se probs means.....they know the layout fairly well. TT0TT

And this is BEFORE the FN went full imperialist (that stared over 200 years later with Sozin) ajlfklsdja So FN over here just Batman contingency planning the entire world for the love of the fucking game back then I guess jaksfdjal ("Maybe they were always planning" I don't think so tbh, but let's not get into that here, that's for a different post TT0TT)

And with what we know from ATLA to LoK (and even comments in the Kyoshi novels), is that Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom in general are the slowest to change. So even if we're looking at this being ATLA!Ba Sing Se, or even the one from LoK! Ba Sing Se is probs similar to what Rangi learnt in school. (plus I'm pretty sure that "plan" they mentioned is a reference to when Iroh tried to take over so....yeah...still a viable plan even Aang era years later)

Now the area is probably cramped. Asami is probs used to the tight spaces because she grew up/fought in the city. Katara can probs make due cause she's used to being on the run and thinking on her feet with the change of terrain. Kavik is accustomed to cities and keeping his head low, as well as fighting in them. Rangi is Rangi (she can probs fight in an area with 1000 sq ft or 10 sq ft).

We're assuming this place is crowded, but regardless if there's people in it or not, it's still a cramped area.

Kavik is probably the best at evading and having people lose his trail. He most likely is the one who can and should be able to get the drop on people.

Right?

Well, one slight issue. Kavik (and probably anyone else who attempts to cover his trail like him), have a weakness. The sky. "But there's no airbenders in this fight and no gliders." Well....Rangi.

She knows, no, INVENTED Jet-stepping. It allows her to stay in the air and even hop from rooftop to rooftop with ease. Yes she can't do it non-stop. But the rooftops in the lower ring are REALLY close together. So she'll probs be ok. And regardless, she has the best advantage. She has the aerial perspective and can easily get a drop on anyone.

And god help the poor bastard she gets the drop on. She can fall out of damn bison, and land a punch on the ground that shatters stone and leaves a hole where her fist is (her surprise attack on Yun). TT0TT RIP anyone's skull after that (and yes she WAS aiming for a skull when she did that).

So not only would it be hard to evade her, she could get the drop on anyone. AND the fact she's literally "an elite warrior trained in escape and evasion." If anyone needs to pull back and succeed? She's the one doing that. If anyone tries to hide or run? She's probably tracking them down. She knows the place better than anyone there, and can use it to it's full advantage.

tldr; Rangi has the best advantage with this terrain.

Surprise attacks:

Everyone benefits from a surprise attack on someone. Kavik and Rangi are the most likely to be the one's to pull it off. Asami both needs a surprise attack to make her fight easier, but she also needs to do it without revealing what her glove can do.

That being said, Rangi is....a tad weak to surprise attacks. Ok, to be FAIR, I'm pretty sure everyone on this list has been ambushed, followed, and had some kind of surprise attack on them (so no one is infallible here). But it feels like a running gag for Rangi so I wanna address it. TT0TT (it's important to address when it comes down to "who's able to sneak attack whomst" and their ability to do so)

That being said, there's context to each. The first time Tagaka laid a trap and lulled them into a fall sense of security (dumb move team TT0TT) and surprised them.

Then she's drugged from a distance (No one expects the Yuyan Archers and their darts! *looks at text* damn it doesn't allude to them? I though it did oh well, no one expect shirshu venom then!) with shirshu venom and captured. She was not aware of their presence (and if it IS Yuyan, then yeah....they should be in the FN TT0TT)

There's Kyoshi sinking her in the ground in SoK (divorce arc 2!!! *w*), Rangi can't really dig herself out in a timely manner. *cough* good thing she's not fighting any earthbenders here. >w>

Yun burrows and stabs her while she's in the air (she was IN the AIR, he basically air/water spouted his way up but with Earth, the hell is she suppose to consider that?! plus she was trying to watch Kyo's back, the damn distraction! TT0TT)

But that's the thing, it's all things she wouldn't expect: surprise ambush by waterbenders from below, darted by shirshu venom, her gf betraying her tiny trust ;w;, and an earthbender bending like a waterbender into the fucking air and at an insanely fast speed.

They were all scenarios where she was caught completely off guard. Either because the situation was non-combative when she was ambushed (venom/Kyoshi), OR the opponent pulled out a crazy ass move so fast she didn't have time to react. (note: Rangi can handle a burrower, she saved herself and Kyoshi from a shirshu, it's just the combo of her looking out for Kyoshi and Yun pulling out a new move that countered her jetstepping and did it so fast that pulled her up short)

Now remember when I said "does everyone know if they have to fight each other?" (which is also assuming they know what the other looks like for them to do that). Because they should, it doesn't make sense for only some to know and not others. And the reason I bring that up is because.....Rangi knows. She knows 3 other individuals are going to try to knock her out or kill her. She's on high alert. It's going to be A LOT harder for them to get the drop on her. It's very unlikely they can (she's probably going to go airborne and the rest of them won't be expecting it!)

Not impossible, but I don't see Kavik or Katara pulling out a Yun level surprise move (water spouts are high level but I think more commonly known, but not earth spouts, so Rangi would probs keep an eye out for that unlike with the Yun fight). Regardless, she doesn't have Kyoshi to look after, so she is probs just 100% focused on this whole thing (cause part of the reason Yun got her was because she took her attention away to warn Kyoshi of what she saw rather than react).

Anyway, back to Asami (to finish up the surprise section before going to the bending part). If she isn't careful, and lets the others see what her glove can do, she's in trouble. Benders have an advantage of distance. The second she realizes she can't close in, she's cooked. They will (and should) be keeping their distance from her.

So to summarize. Rangi is the most stealthy, followed by Kavik. With everyone knowing they have to fight each other, she'll be on high alert to anyone trying to ambush her. This is assuming any of them realize they should try to look topside for her. Otherwise, she'll probs just use her vantage point to locate and pick them off.

Bending Prowess (aka the section where Asami can sit and rest, RIP my girl u_u):

Katara and Rangi take the cake in terms of bending prowess.

Kavik is decent, proficient, and even knows some advanced and specialized moves. But his are mostly for spying and espionage (from what I remember, sorry baby boi ;w;), but it is still important to note. He's still strong (able to use his tentacles to pick up giant, multiple stacks of plywood and swing it around like a GIANT bat iirc). He can carry heavy amounts of water too, and can bend it even down to a very small particle (small droplets and such). He is at least crafty in what he does as he is strong. But as he says, he admits he can and will lose fights if he needs to (but he's also able to win fights but...we don't know the circumstances to all of that)

....I don't think he's winning against a better waterbender or a insane firebender (a firebender who probably has an ability to probs make him experience PTSD, Koulin fight yeah yeah I'm getting to it).

Both Katara and Rangi are prodigies in their own right. Masters of their elements even at young ages (tho I don't think Rangi is called a "master"? but when Roku graduated school he was considered a master of Fire, and Rangi graduated early so she is probs a master too, it's probs a prerequisite to graduate tbh). Both are sifus to the Avatar. Both have access to or created specialized bending moves in their field.

So in terms of bending, who wins? Katara or Rangi?

Rangi. It's Rangi. I'm sorry but she.....she's winning. "But-" no it's Rangi. "But Azula-" That's not how you spell Rangi. "But Azula is probably better than Rangi!" A potato and a tomato are not the same, that's not Rangi, next! "Silly, Rangi is not better than Azula." I didn't say she was. "But Katara beat Azula, so she should beat Rangi!" No, that's not how this works.

(something to remember, Katara wanted to fight a 2v1 against Azula, so she probs wasn't very confident in their chances against her. If she didn't have that one plan she thought up on the spot, she may not have won)

Katara was a hard counter to Azula, but Rangi is a hard counter to Katara (Azula obvie didn't know how to deal with that ice wall). Rangi does well against waterbenders (to note: Rangi does poorly against earthbenders, but they be playing some dirty tricks! D:< always using her biggest weakness, Kyoshi >_> Kyoshi was right, damn, Rangi would be invincible if not for her love for Kyo....which is why she got stabbed TT0TT)

"Katara was able to freeze Azula during Sozin's Comet! And this is Azula! A blue fire firebender, the hottest fire! Blue is hotter than white! So she's hotter than Rangi! (lol, wordplay). And it's Blue fire with a Comet buff!" Yeah, Azula couldn't combat that. Rangi could.

Rangi did it on a normal damn day, and it wasn't a small ice block like Katara bent, her ass got pulled down into a giant fucking iceberg! Yeah, that first time she got ambushed? Those bastards laid in wait to pull her ass into an iceberg (oh I know Kavik is getting flashbacks when he did something similar, how did they not freeze?! he almost did! don't worry baby boi I'm still wondering too, maybe we can figure it out together later u_u)

You wanna know what Rangi did? She and her mother (who had one not working arm, fyi Rangi just had cuts on her face), not only fought the waterbenders that took them under. The fought back, won, and firebent their way out while saving a chunk of their men. Then went on and kept fighting.

(Tbh, Rangi is probably the one who beat Tagaka. We know she had the power to knock the woman clean on her ass from a distance because she did. And if not her then she tag teamed with her mother. And no it wasn't a 2V1. It was 2vmultiple. They were facing a mini army of waterbenders WHILE fighting Tagaka, and must've won because they managed to captured her TT0TT And Tagaka was a pretty powerful waterbender too!).

Again, this was ALL ON A NORMAL FUCKING DAY! (see my Hei-Ran vs Atuat post for more :'D because I like talking about that feat they did)

So, Rangi was able to do all of that. On a normal day (aka no Sozin's Comet buff). With "weaker" firebending (based form orange-ish and not blue). In a GIANT LAND-SIZED ICEBERG (aka not a lil water wall). Surrounded by the enemy and their native element (aka why I think Kavik and Katara being near a body of water or rain wouldn't make THAT much of a difference, Rangi has proven to be able to withstand being smothered by a waterbender. See? I told you I'd get to this part! yeah yeah still need to talk about the Koulin fight).

Azula either slept through the class that taught you to be a fucking monster (I doubt it), or Rangi is just that fast on her damn feet (she is, she literally invented Jet-stepping on the fly, pun intended!).

I dunno if Rangi could beat Azula. Lightning bending is OP and hax back in the day/pre-LoK (even then it can still knock someone out). I don't even know if she could beat Xu (who is A LOT faster than Azula or Iroh with their lightning, at least pre-comics Azula I think?). But I do know she has a skill set that counters what Azula couldn't beat! :D

"So that's it? That's all you have to go on?" Well yeah, I think that's enough tbh. But if you want me to keep going I can. Remember the screenshot above? Preparedness carries the day? She probably knows a lot of waterbending moves. Like what to expect, maybe how they act. That kind of thing. She operates Kyoshi's flame like a waterbender in a fight against Yun (not the first time Kyoshi thought of Rangi having waterbending type movements). She also tries to teach Kyoshi airbending....she technically failed but this is more her having a vague understanding of it. I wouldn't be surprised if she knows that stuff so she knows what to expect when hit with it.

Airbending would probably be harder for her cause you can't see it, and thus she'll have a harder time dodging....But she's not fighting an airbender. She's fighting two waterbenders (a bending type she seems comfortable against) and a non-bender (and Rangi's proven she can throw hands just fine without her element). In a terrain she is familiar with. With abilities that give her a lot of different upper hands.

Other (insane) abilities of Rangi (just to finish this off):

The fastest person there. No she really is. Powered by gay and fury. And that's without a fire boost! She literally Rocket Powered Naruto Runs in the FN palace at one point. (the only person that could keep up is Katara but she needs water, and even then Katara could just barely outpace Azula during the comet and that might've just been luck. Because in older fights Katara can barely/doesn't keep up with Mai/Ty Lee in fights)

Might have mentioned it above, but I'll repeat it. She is QUICK on her feet. She reacts to openings quickly. She thinks of things quickly! She notices things quickly!

Again, her flying. No one is catching her ass if she decides to run and regroup. TT0TT

Combustion punching. Oh yeah. This. This is the punching that she and Koulin do when they fight. This apparently normal in the after hours of the academy for midnight brawls (not horrifying at all :D). It's not combustion bending per se (doesn't go a distance), but it deals a combustive blow when it lands on impact. (probably the punch she aimed at Yun's head when she fell from the ground tbh, mixed with actual flame). It deals heavy damage, she can take it, and just seeing her whip this out is grounds to probs scare Kavik (IYKYK).

She as access to the uber white flame. No her base fire isn't white, but after 3 breathes she can unleash it. Remember how big the flames got for firebenders during Sozin's Comet? Specifically during the last Agni Kai w/Azula vs Zuko? Yeah that's Rangi's special move, but white flames instead of blue or orange (more powerful than orange, but not as strong as blue). It's literally hell incarnate. It disintegrates anything that it touches, and it is BIG and it goes FAR.

She can both take potshots at someone while being in the air (she can't stay in the air forever, but it still an option).

Not insane, but she probably has a lot of knowledge on waterbenders. Just from being around Kirima and Atuat (and maybe what her mother may have told her/learnt from Kuruk, since his team seemed to be keen on sharing between bending arts). She knows just how deadly and accurate Kirima is capable of (even being able to walk on mist!) And then she probably watched how Atuat was able to preform miracles on her mother and train the Avatar in a month.

Tldr; Rangi is a force of nature and a terrifying opponent, let alone her being pissed off when fighting too. She has her weaknesses, but none of the opponents are ones that can exploit it.

This is why I think Rangi would win. Katara is her biggest issue, but I think she could beat her. Kavik and Asami would still put up a good fight, but they'd probs get overpowered. u_u

"Ok but Silly, you didn't talk about Katara's healing! Or plant bending or-" It either won't be much help in a quick combat scenario (healing), or it's not applicable or useable (bloodbending/plantbending). I can see Katara stealing water from produce in the market square. But there's not a lot of plants in the lower ring from the looks of it to utilize plant bending. Rangi might not give her a chance to heal, and I don't think she can heal herself that fast....and healing won't work out much if you are knocked out TT0TT (I'll talk about bloodbending down below).

"Ok, so what would need to happen for her to lose?"

The person who can best surprise attack her and have her stay down is Asami, there's still a good chance that glove will knock her out. But that doesn't mean she can't get back up (same for the other's, but one combustive punch to the head will knock you out cold or kill you tbh).

I mean, Lao Ge is right, a rock to the head can work wonders for knocking one out or killing them. Same can probs go for ice too. Or loading up a waterwhip with a rock inside it.

But this assuming they can get the drop on her or hit her with a good windup.

They could gang up on her. The only issue is HOW and WHY? Did she prove she's the biggest threat? I feel like she would be a lot stealthier than that (she's proven to be able to stealthy while infiltrating a prison and that probs meant fighting too all while being fairly quick an efficient, from what we gather from when she broke into a prison). If anyone is going to take someone out silently and cleanly it'll be her. She's more likely to silently pick them apart, and she has the skill set.

The only way this works is if they get information ahead of time to team up against her, or she's unaware that she's in a battle royal (which makes no sense).

I think the key for a team up is if Katara and Kavik somehow overcome the urge to steal their resource and decide to share it. (cooperation is what Watertribe/waterbenders do best). But.....I can also easily see them not trusting the other and thus not fighting side by side. And even if they team up, again, Rangi fought off an mini army of daofei waterbenders and Tagaka on a damn iceberg surrounded by water/ice and apparently won. I think she can handle a 2v1 waterVfire TT0TT (girl ain't normal I swear)

The only way I see a realistic way of her losing is with Katara, specifically:

Bloodbending. Katara can win if she bloodbends. Now some issues: 1) No full moon here, 2) does she even want to do that (she's uncomfy with it from what I remember except for revenge/survival, but let's pretend she's down for it), 3) non-waterbenders can still resist bloodbending if they are determined enough (ex: Mako against Amon, probably the better bloodbender).

But, bloodbending is not an insta win. 1) there may be a range (aka they can stay out of her range), 2) Asami knows about bloodbending (maybe it's common knowledge about Katara or Korra told her, but she also knows about it because of Amon and Tarrlok). So if she can convince Kavik and Rangi to help take her out it might prove that it's more of a giant target she put on her back.

Kavik and Rangi can easily still hit her outside the range. And maybe they can distract her long enough for Asami to attempt a sneak attack (or at least the attempt will distract her before she gets blasted). But then with Katara taken out, they realize very quickly they have to fight Rangi and rip. u_u

Maybe Rangi backs off and lets them duke it out amongst themselves (let them have some spotlight, plus I'd like to see Kavik vs Asami. I can see him doing his evade maneuver and then surprise attacking her. Or she bodies him in a hand to hand fight).

But...uhh....yeah. Anyway, this is why I think Rangi would win considering the setting (and what we know of it), the people involved, and the abilities of everyone there (that can be utilized). (Katara is a close second after Rangi I think tho).

[hellofastudysession]

am i rlly going to write a death note literary analysis when i could be doing other things

about the discourse going on in the tag abt "death note is acab and thats why the characters couldnt better the world with the note (/written in somewhat jokey matter)" vs "death note is trying to say we all have potential for evil, especially if you get a chance to insta-hurt ppl without repercussions, and it doesnt matter if youre a cop or not", i personally feel like it ignores the things that i like abt death note, which is "both of these things are true", and simultaneously "both of these things do not matter". the first part of this is dedicated to the first point, the latter to the last.

first point. i think its an important part of the message and themes (unintentional or not, and i lean on the former because... come on, can you really say the author intended you to not think of the cops as good people, at least compared to light and l) that light is a cops son, and that almost everyone who gets the death note is cop adjacent/thinks like a cop and is already corrupt/powerful when they get it (mello raised to think hed be just like l, yotsuba group is self explanatory; you cannot look me in the eyes and tell me teru "churchill" mikami, who was hand selected by light out of a bunch of rabid kira supporters, is a normal citizen). i appreciated the cop post bc its rlly important to not gloss over that aspect.

all of this would be an argument for "only someone like them would do something like this, and i am not like them, so im above them and immune to thinking about what id do with it", but... misa is the MOST important outlier in all of this bc her murders are solely selfish in nature and shes not doing any of this for "the greater good"!!! her nature of being an exception and still a very very bad person is really really important...

or it would be if death note gave a shit about her character at all!!! im not talking about her tragic side, im talking about exploring the ramifications of her killing people the way lights murders are (somewhat) explored. that would strengthen the message greatly! but shes dismissed and that weakens it overall. firstly, she's dismissed by the characters when l only sees her as a way to get to kira and basically shelves her the rest of the time. secondly, shes dismissed by the narrative when her character is gradually ground down to a stump and (not to sound perilously close to the bad takes ppl meme about) she never faces repercussions for her actions. every other character using the death note is treated relatively seriously, but misa just dies bc her love is dead. im not saying this isnt a... fitting punishment or that it isnt in character, but it doesnt fit snugly into the theme other people are talking about of "you reap what you sow" at all.

we do have something of an equivalent to misa's grayscale motives. surprise surprise, its light yagami. first is light's characterization in the musical (i will also note that misa never kills anyone in the musical). light's thinking is coplike, yes — he literally starts his first song by talking about "throw[ing] away the key" — but also, oddly enough, could be read as progressive and therefore sympathetic to tumblr ("let the corporations make the regulations / and hold no one accountable when everything gets wrong / let the rich and famous get away with murder / every time a high-priced mouthpiece starts to talk, his client gets to walk"). compare to the anime and manga, where his bigotry and pride and disgust come from a place of lukewarm dissatisfaction and boredom. the musical has much less time to play around with lights character, so it gives the audience something to immediately hook on. more on how that actually plays out later.

in the animanga, none of this is justified from the start. animanga light could say he was just killing people to make humanity way, way worse, and that wouldnt matter, because at the root of it, it was always his boredom that made him pick up the note. of course he actually believes in justice and believes hes doing the right thing (no, he believes he's doing the wrong thing, for the sake of the world... the right thing, because he is god...), but it was boredom at the start. all animanga light says about justice and righteousness and the law is a front in the end, bc he is exactly like l and misa — amoral. selfish. searching for entertainment. hedonistic. we know this. he kills naomi misora*. he kills lind l. turner. everything hes saying deserves to be dismissed from the beginning.

"but doesnt that mean you agree with the discourse post you wrote this post to argue against?" like i said, i agree with both of them! but i... still think its not right to reduce death note to the message of "the power to kill people is bad". because that is not exactly what the story is saying, even though that's literally its whole plot and therefore reaching that conclusion is self explanatory (lmao). let's look at the concept of mu. nothingness. "there's no heaven or hell". The Real Slay The Princess (Death Note Essay) Starts Here.

in light's final moments in the death note manga, while screaming about not wanting to die, he remembers that the first day they met, ryuk told light that "there's no heaven or hell. no matter what they do in life, all people go to the same place. all humans are equal in death". it is retroactively revealed that light knew this the whole time, operated under this knowledge for all the years we watched him — the knowledge that nothing he does is actually bad, that nothing any human does is actually bad, that shinigami are not "evil", that the universe does not care. that no one cares except humans. this oblivion absolutely terrifies him more than anything anyone could ever do to him. its what he thinks of before anything else as he flails there, screaming, dying. one could say everything he does after that day is him trying to escape that fact, or wrest control over it. but it doesnt work.

here are the lyrics of requiem, the musical's final song, sung over the bodies of l and musical light, a light who was at least somewhat good-intentioned at first: "sleep now, here among your choices / then fade away / hear how the world rejoices / shades of gray / gone who was right or wrong / who was weak or strong / nothing left to learn". this is the final message the death note musical and the manga chose to leave us with. there is no judgement. even after all that acknowledged hurt, after all the damage done, there is no judgement.

in the manga and anime alike, the world is just as fucked when light picks up the death note as when he dies. sure, we as readers can guess otherwise logically (and be optimistic, believing the world was never fucked regardless), but that's not what death note wants you to think. it ends with matsuda and another member of the task force noting how the world is worse again even though they killed kira (matsuda is clearly much worse for wear, but still determined), we see the shitty motorcycle band again, it ends with misa and a whole kira cult on a mountain even though kira died a long time ago...

its extremely important that light is never killed by any human or any aspect of the law. he is always killed by ryuk: a chaotic force completely detached from human sensibilities, one that does not care about good and evil. same with l; in the anime, manga, and musical, he is always killed by rems senseless, morally gray love (and you could argue in the kdrama that hes killed by love there too lol). justice is just a set dressing.

this is not just because death note is a tragedy, because good and evil can still matter in a tragedy. the theme of "nothingness" and "good and evil doesnt matter here" is also shown in a situation relatively unrelated to light winning or losing, or being good or bad. and its in fucking lawlight of all things. we all know ls not a good person. we know lights not a good person. this is tip of the iceberg death note knowledge. but the moment they start to interact, none of that starts to matter. textually, their relationship becomes more important than the people theyve killed and hurt. and the thing is? the thing is? THAT WORKS STORY-WISE. THAT'S ENTERTAINING. AND IT'S NEVER TEXTUALLY CALLED OUT IN A LASTING WAY. l and lights relationship, no matter how much i meme it, is genuinely important to the themes and "mu" because it makes it clear that despite all the pretensions, despite everything, this was never about good and evil. and it still works in the story. this is why death note is simultaneously a comedy — isn't the battle of good and evil supposed to matter more? well, fine, i'll keep watching this anyway. that suspension of disbelief comes crashing down the moment l dies, though, and a relationship built on nothingness (the "mu" sort, meaninglessness, not "character development" nothingness, theres plenty of character development) gives way to just nothingness (again, "mu", not light's post-l depression nothingness), forever.

(an aside: there is no one to root for in death note, and the only things to root for are either interesting character relationships, convoluted plots, or complete and total destruction: for everything to end so no more damage is done.)

not to say that death note does not encourage its readers to consider what damage they might do with the death note (obviously.), or that its characters never do. look at matsuda, a much easier heroic figure to latch on to than soichiro because of his unique place in the cast dynamic and because he's willing to consider both sides of the situation and kill light instantly for all he's done. its just that the story's own stance on the subject is... complicated by the existence of shinigami worldviews and by its own insistence that the world cannot change for the better.

also, this is not to say that this is executed well by the death note manga at all. it is a very strong tool, artistically, to establish and then violently remove any emotional connections between characters and make your story only about the exceedingly convoluted lengths characters go to to survive and catch each other so the reader can realize how ultimately pointless all of this is, but like... is that a good story choice if that's all you do? i would say not really. add in a good dollop of misogyny that destroys the second-to-last character who might actually be an interesting contrast to the rest of the cast's dull one-track focus on winning and justice, and youve got yourself a shitty story that... honestly still achieves what it went out to do, just not in a way id ever want to replicate.

anyway, back to the parts death note's actually trying to say. no matter what any human does in their life, no matter how they try to hurt or help the world, they all die in the end. hey, light, they all die in the end. once dead, they can never come back to life. and the seasons turn. and the world rejoices. and you say "goodbye"...

that's all.

no analysis of death notes overarching theme would be complete without nears final monologue, the definitive roast of light, the "you're just a murderer" speech: "what is right from wrong? what is good from evil? nobody can truly distinguish between them. even if there is a god." if we take this as talking about the actual god in the room (ryuk) as well as light, then near admits that humans will never be able to withstand these overwhelming forces and that, using justice and happiness and selfishness, they are just scrabbling to find meaning in things they ultimately have no control over.

but of course, near does not stop there. "[...] even then i'd stop and think for myself. i'd decide for myself whether his teachings are right and wrong." nears alright with not having control over everything, because near can still control nears own actions. these forces can and do exist, but they have no sway over nears own humanity — unlike light, who caved.

one of the creators of death note said they believe its message is "life is short, so everyone should do their best". the first time i learned this, i was like, thats... nice and optimistic, but an awful reading of the story! "life is short, so everyone should be desperate and striving like light yagami", who literally cut off other ppls lives for his own life? what character in death note are we supposed to strive towards when we "do our best"? they all do awful things with their lives! honestly, maybe they shouldnt have tried their best, if this is what their best is!

but with the view of "mu"... it makes a bit more sense. just a little. maybe.

there is no good and evil. there is only what humans think, and no matter what we do, we all die in the end. it is easy to be crushed and terrified by this in the same way light is, but what is more important than justice and righteousness and finding meaning is... doing your best. not being a person that hurts others too much. not letting yourself get swallowed up by an ideal. not going too far. and simultaneously, trusting yourself.

it leaves a few questions, though... was the currently dead l even a little bit right about his blatantly amoral approach, then? was there a point to this pain, and me slogging through this dumbass manga, and all the people that have lost their lives to a selfish teenage cop's son and the whims of everyone chasing after him? was there a point to any of this...?

the manga** never answers this. it stays clinically impartial until the very end. the musical is anything but clinically impartial (and i love it so much for that), and its ryuk that has the last word.

"there's no point at all."

of course theres no point. none of this was ever supposed to happen. that is what matters more than all the hurt and the crimes and the pain.

and that's... actually okay, because it's over now.

yes, death note has many really important themes present in its story, but its viewpoint is nihilism first and foremost. thats why its so fun and easy to play around with all the other messages, because no matter what fun or torment or awful things or righteous justice or absolute nothingness or sentimentality happens in between, there is always an end.

there is always the end.

[sepublic]

            In hindsight I feel like I kinda saw the Forbidden Five’s fumbled writing coming? The first indicator to me was the S3 trailer, in which their threatening, establishing introduction as a group was… against a pair of delivery truck drivers.

            Why do the Claws of Imperium have a more threatening debut fighting actual dragons. Why does Cinder, who’s basically a Forbidden Five knock-off that Ras bought on Wish, have a more high-stakes debut when he solos all of the ninja by himself and cripples Wyldfyre for most of the arc??? We saw Nokt floor Cinder at the start of S2B no less, so why do these realm-ending threats have to prove their mettle against a pair of civilians who on top of that, are already outnumbered???

            I was hoping the scene would compensate by pushing the age rating into how f’ed up the Forbidden Five could be, but not really? Like I guess it’s implied later on that Kur’s Decay actually killed those drivers but it’s so lame, it’s nowhere near enough for characters who had twenty episodes of build-up, who were established as a win condition for the antagonists in the prior season. Why did Ras go through so much trouble to free them if they’re this weak? We’d already established in the prior arc that Rising Dragon wasn’t an insta-win condition, it only leveled the playing field. The Forbidden Five should still be a viable threat even against Rising Dragon.

            And then another trailer shows the scene in which the Forbidden Five meet Thunderfang, and they just… He reveals he’s been manipulating them this whole time, he is so obviously telegraphing his betrayal. And in response to this huge revelation that re-contextualizes everything about their entire lives up until this point, the Forbidden Five just… blankly stare at each other and then move on. If this revelation had occurred off-screen it’d be fine, but by having it happen here and they just have nothing to say about it, it comes across as so awkward. These aren’t characters, they’re plot devices going through the motions. Thunderfang is practically screaming that he’s going to betray them and Rox has to act incredibly stupid by ignoring every red flag.

            It made me hope/wonder if the writers were planning to justify this by subverting expectations; The Forbidden Five release Thunderfang but have a contingency to control him instead. Maybe after this scene, the Five actually do get to discuss this revelation, how they feel about it, whether they trust Thunderfang, and they just waited to expose this uncertainty when Thunderfang wasn’t there to see it.

            But we don’t get anything like that! Remember in the previous batch when Rox was this scheming manipulator who operated right under Ras’ nose and made a fool of him, with Nokt pointing out Ras isn’t as clever as he thinks; Implying Rox IS? Ras was playing with something he didn’t understand. But then the show repeats itself with the Forbidden Five not understanding Thunderfang, which is lame because they don’t even get to be villains before he’s shoehorned into the plot to take over the FF’s own place in the story as the big threat!!!

            There was also another trailer in which we see Zarkt fall for the most obvious bait with Lloyd dropping the Prismatic Blade on his foot. It genuinely concerned me that this hyped up threat is already falling for such an obvious trick, but I still held hope that Zarkt would compensate for other cool moments! Only for… T H A T .

            I think the final nail in the coffin actually came from a Doc Wyatt tweet; In the show, it’s stated that Theroxian magic was created by the Forbidden Five. They’re characterized as arcane sorcerers, warlocks, brilliant inventors who came up with a whole new fighting system and could teach it to others. Jordana did some OP things with that magic, so like Cinder, she’s probably nothing compared to the actual inventors, right? We see her get possessed by Rox, who uses some of that magic… And you realize, Rox! TheROXian! It was named after Rox! She even creates the Wolf Masks! If Rox’s own magic is already powerful enough to freeze a giant mech in place, how will the ninja stop this threat???

            And then Doc Wyatt retconned in a tweet that Actually, Rox didn’t invent this magic. The Forbidden Five didn’t. It already existed. And I felt concern because why make this distinction unless…

            As I’d guessed; Because they didn’t want Rox to use Theroxian magic because they made it too OP, so they distanced her from it. I guess Jordana really is a better magic wielder than the warlock who possessed her. The writers established the Forbidden Five as these incredibly powerful threats, but it felt like they didn’t know how to write around this, so they nerfed the Five and once again resorted to the whole “Lesser Minions trying to release Greater Evil” because that was familiar and they didn’t know how to write the Forbidden Five as actual threats. Imagine if the debut of each treated each member as a final villain the ninja struggled to fight against, setting things up for them to fight as an entire team at the end!

            But nah, just bring in Thunderfang. It feels like the writers spent so much time hyping up the FF but when it came time to actually characterizing them, they’d already gotten bored of them and decided to just focus on this new guy who’s hastily introduced out of nowhere to steal the spotlight. It’s just. Genuinely bad.

[idontmindifuforgetme]

hello! i also don't have instagram (and personally i've really enjoyed my time having) but i wanted to also ask how/what your experience has been without it (and also ashstfu's if they want to share :))

p.s. i love your blog mwah!!

Ash has absolutely no regrets hahaha. Like she gives no fucks about not having ig at all. It makes sense bc she’s a lowkey person to begin with / prefers to stay out of the loop. The pros outweigh the cons for me as well, but I’ll give you a comprehensive list anyway so you can make your own conclusions. Hope this helps <3

Cons:

There’s less to talk about w your friends. Unless you talk w that particular friend on a daily basis, not many people will be good about updating you about their lives. I actually found that watching people’s stories helps me start a conversation w them on whatever their stories were about, whereas if you don’t have insta you kind of have to dig. A lot of people are just used to others watching their stories rather than actually having a conversation about it, so this could impede communication w more casual friends (or even close ones honestly if they’re just bad at socializing, which a lot of people are now precisely due to apps like ig).

Lots of casual friendships will fizzle out. Insta is perceived as more casual than text, so many people would rather text you through ig rather than something like iMessage. This shouldn’t be a big con if you don’t care about superficial friends to begin w, but if you do it might be a dramatic change / might start to feel lonely.

Small, independently owned businesses love to update through ig, so if you follow those you’ll need another source to stay in the loop through. Same goes w album drops / tours / tickets. That kind of information is almost always shared through Instagram first.

Orgs love to update through insta as well, whether it be your uni orgs or nonprofit orgs. You’ll have to work a little harder to extract information your peers might have acquired just by checking their stories.

I used to follow the paris review / ny times / the new yorker / the washington post etc etc, and I actually really enjoyed their daily posts/stories. Same goes for the once-a-day poem accounts I followed. This is an easy fix tho bc I just substituted it w subscribing to their daily newsletters / one poem a day newsletters, but if you’re not into that maybe take this into consideration.

You kind of become?? A ghost??? The moment you decide to eschew an ig presence, you become inconvenient to a lot of people who couldn’t be bothered to hit you up & learn what’s going on in your life. So definitely prepare to find out who really cares and who doesn’t when you deactivate insta hahahah. This was a pro to me, but I can understand why it’s a con for a lot of people who like their casual networks.

Pros:

You don’t have the compulsion to check on anybody else. At all. Which is good, bc the human brain is absolutely not designed to know what 800 people are doing at any given moment. It’s too much. It leaves you burned out bc of media consumption overload, but not many people realize this. I realized it once I deactivated Insta & magically started having a will to live again hahah.

You won’t be in an imaginary competition w other people. Instagram is all about glamor. It’s all about fabricating a life that does not actually exist, for the purpose of impressing people you don’t actually know. Once you have insta out of your system, you’ll stop comparing your life w the make-believe lives people on Instagram want you to think are actually real. I had a very bad phase of comparing myself bc of ig, so deactivating it really helped me not be so hard on myself.

No FOMO. You won’t feel like you constantly have to be updated on your insta feed. You don’t need to know what celebrity selfie #827262626 is or story #2728727 is about.

You won’t feel the dying need to be perceived. Every trip isn’t about taking pictures you can post on your ig. Every good thing in your life doesn’t have to be something that gets broadcasted to your followers. You’ll enjoy sweet moments in the privacy of your own mind, and you’ll go somewhere for the simple joy of going somewhere rather than posting about it for validation, and you’ll be more present in general. Big pro for me. Very big pro.

No creeping your significant other’s insta to see who they followed, what they liked, etc. Blessed to have never fallen victim to this.

You’ll actually discover who your real friends are—the people who actually make the effort to hit you up to know what you’re up to, rather than choose the path of least resistance (liking your picture and moving on with their lives a second later).

Less time on your phone!!! This is so important. This genuinely scares me sometimes, bc imagine how many hours it would be if you summed every hour you spent glued to your phone over your whole life. The answer will always be too many. We already have so little time on this earth. Digital minimalism really is the way to go if you want to live a life you won’t abhor on your deathbed. This is not impossible to achieve while also having an ig, but this app has been designed by several people to be as addictive as possible. Sometimes deactivating it is better than simply minimizing it.

[cosmicmordecai]

Facts about the current Dr. Fate

In 2015, a new incarnation known as Khalid Nassour debuted in his own short-lived solo series and he’s one of the neatest characters introduced in recent years. He’s also one of the few Arab-based (Egyptian) Muslim characters to occupy a significant role in the DC Universe as supposedly one of their premier magic superheroes.

It’s not always perfect but there’s a variety of cool things about him compared to other incarnation of Doctor Fates that makes him standout. And I want to highlight those things. The internet in various places gets the wrong idea about the character and this post aims to address it. So without further ado.

He’s a trained Dr. Fate

Don’t let DC’s insistence on his youthfulness deceive you: Khalid is actually one of the most trained Doctor Fates, right behind Kent Nelson. Now if you’re an avid reader, you’ll probably point out Inza, Kent V., & Hector seemed to be trained too. Within their stories, they’re treated as powerhouses themselves especially in crossovers.

Here’s the kicker: Khalid is a person of color. Inza, Kent V, & Hector are white characters.

Despite the fact that Hector was a novice himself, his first major storyline that debuted him as Dr. Fate has him butt heads with Mordru literally just being out of diapers and hold his own and later defeat. Even Nabu in a later JSA storyline taunted Mordru being beaten by a novice sorcerer.

Inza gets done dirty in canon after briefly being Dr. Fate but she was said to be more talented than Kent and got to use chaos magic of all magics and was pretty darn good with it. It later got substitute for being powered by life but nothing of her abilities changed.

Kent V. started out sucking so bad Enchantess in Reign in Hell was unimpressed but towards the end of 2011 right before New 52, he got to be hailed as Sorcerer Supreme 4 years after his debut. Compared that to Khalid, who been in publication since 2015 & is approaching his 9th year and he’s competing with Zatanna & Constantine roughly, hailed for his abilities a lot less.

While there’s a odd trend of PoC whom occupy traditionally white mantles having to “work” their way up and Khalid gets that a lot and some writers think his shtick is being “new”, it does give him the distinction that you’ll see an illusion of progress. You’ll read his solo and then his appearances in Justice League Dark and see there’s progress in his abilities becoming more advanced.

Towards the end of the Justice League Dark solo, Kent feels he’s taught Khalid all he can. With that, the only thing left for Khalid is to get practical experience as Dr. Fate.

His designation is backed by Allah

A major difference between him and any version of Doctor Fate is that this incarnation was chosen, in part, by Allah (The Presence within DC context) himself. This is reflected in his solo, where he gets direct guidance by both angels and the Egyptian gods. The series attempts to blend the elements together by suggesting that Allah created the Egyptian gods to as a kind of Djinn but the gods view themselves as something else and although the angels find them pretenders compared to Allah, they respect their divine station, agency, and perspective.

Given his Muslim roots, it makes sense for Khalid’s destiny to involve whom he worships. It also makes him incredibly unique in that the Lords of Order don’t directly control his designation and that he chooses to follow their direction of order because he believes in it. It gives the character agency other Dr. Fates tend to lack.

Talk about job security.

He is the rightful choice because he makes sense.

Sorry to the others but Khalid is the rightful bearer. With all the hiccups, his character not having the benefit of being an insta-master. He doesn’t get the shinny cool feats of taking down the biggest bad guy to supplant his role. He doesn’t get to be convenient “immune” to magic to make him tougher. Hell, the helm gets depowered because of Kent & it’s up to him to address that problem.

But it’s not about the power level or if Nabu is there. What makes Khalid worthy is that he IS a character. Look, he’s the only Dr. Fate you can follow that makes a lot of sense.

With Eric & Linda Strauss, you got an even creepier example of Shazam-ing things where the aged up child still has a mind of a 12 year old & ends up hooking up with his step-mother. I don’t care how the writer tried justifying it as them being reincarnated lovers. With Inza, it’s complicated since she died & comes back in a new young body and it’s tied to resurrection. She was the next closest good option though. I’ll have to do a post about her another time.Jared could have been interesting but too much of that character disassociated with the good things with the mantle. Hector is weird with his convoluted history, connections with Hawkman, and everyone confuses his tenure for Kent. And Kent V. is confusing with his name ahd the consequence of ‘revamping’ and ‘simplifying’ things but using the same names to circumvent doing honest character work to ensure Dr. Fate doesn’t need constant rebooting.

Compared to that, Khalid had a normal life for 22 years before become Dr. Fate. No resurrections, hooking up with pedos, random age-ups, or being stuck as a love interest with a brief tenure. And no being an edgy 90s character.

He is accomplished

As with any superhero, you’ll ask what kind of ways has xyz contributed to the DC Universe at large and Khalid himself has actually accomplished a few things under his belt to help make him a worthwhile Dr. Fate:

For the start of things, his debut storyline has him save the world. It’s pretty much a basic thing and happens in its own corner but starting your tenure as Dr. Fate fighting a death god out the bat does give him some credit.

He eventually becomes a member of the Justice League & Justice League Dark. He’s a good example of not every hero in their 20s is connected to the Titans or that the Justice League is conveniently separated with people in their 30s.

When Circe absorbed Hecate’s power to become a even more powerful sorceress, it was Khalid who convinced Nabu of all characters to help his team and cede all his power to him, granting him agency and the opportunity needed to defeat Circe by helping Wonder Woman and stopping the Injustice League Dark.

Within the world of magic, he is the Dr. Fate responsible for performing the Parliment of Life ritual to allow the elemental forces of nature to work in harmony once more instead of fighting for supremacy (despite Constantine’s character muddying the event to an extent).

That’s not half-bad for a PoC character who tends to be regulated to background work overtime in favor of whit(er) characters. He is still contributing nicely here and there. He’s doing more than Eric/Linda that’s for sure.

There’s still more

Yeah there’s more things but that’s when checking out the characters comes in. If you want to see more of the character and what makes him stand out, check out:

Doctor Fate Vol. 1-3 (2015 series). The Blood Price, Prisioners of the Past, and Fateful Threads.

Justice League Dark’s second series. Lords of Order. Witching Hour. Last Age of Magic. Great Wickedness.

Justice Society of America (2023). The New Golden Age.

These here are just major issues with the character involved if you want to get to know the character more. Be mindful anything above is my opinion and I am an avid supporter of diversity. I want comics to do their best to reflect people of all walks of life, to experiment and normalize non-white characters doing cool things.

And there you go: facts about the current version of Doctor Fate, ladies and gentlemen.

[bitterwaters]

Lacquer Brands

so one day I went to a fugue and wrote a 2000 word essay on nail polish brands

We got four tiers of nail polish brands: overpriced luxury bullshit, drugstore, boutique, and indie. 

Overpriced Luxury Bullshit

Don’t buy these! Just don’t! You’re paying for name, not quality. Chanel charges $32 for an 11 ml creme, the second cheapest polish type there is. That’s ludicrous. Every review I’ve seen of a “high-brand” from a real swatcher has been negative. Fuck ‘em all.

Drugstore

This is every other mainstream brand, whether it’s from CVS, Walmart, or Ulta. Wide range of price and quality. In general, you’ll probably get what you pay for. Sally Hensen Insta-Dry is classic and Acceptably Okay; if you don’t have the patience for a full manicure, just slap some of that on. Look for brands that are 3-free or 5-free--that means that won’t have a few nasty chemicals. Anything over 5 is fake and doesn’t matter.

My preferred drugstore brands:

Zoya: Jellies, glitters, shimmers. Tends to have a very thin formula--leave the cap off for a few minutes to thicken it up.

Orly: Cremes! The absolute best, well-pigmented, buttery smooth cremes. Persistent Memory is my perfect dark red. The bottles are generously sized, they have a nice paddle brush, and I love the big rubberized cap. They’re just really pleasant!

OPI: I only use their matte top coat but I use a lot of it. It’s the best! Get their matte top coat! I’ve seen recs to use their polishes over Essie’s, but I’ve never tried either.

Boutique

Now we’re getting into the Good Shit. There’s a price jump here, but there’s also a huge jump in quality. These are small- to medium-sized online-only businesses with semi-industrial production and ample stock. They’re big enough to ship within a few days. They use a LOT more pigment and glitter than drugstore brands, and have far more variety in finishes.

You might see them on Amazon or Etsy--skip it and go order from their sites instead. Shipping costs the same and you can save up reward points.

Charmed Lacquer: Brand new, recently announced, will open in a week or two. Started by a streamer named Janixa. I’m not familiar, but her followers seem excited enough to check it out.

Cirque Colors: CONTROVERSY! I like Cirque. I have a ton of their polishes. A little pricey, but they have frequent small sales and are high-quality. Best known for the jellies and some really stunning magnetics like Mood Ring and Black Swan (which have since been rampantly duped). So why the controversy?

Mystery bags: idk people get het up about ‘em. I kind of feel like if you gamble on a bunch of polishes you don’t choose, you risk pruglies.

Coronation: This is a purple polish with a red-green shift shimmer pigment called, I shit you not, Unicorn Pee. UP was made unavailable for public sale years ago (the suspicion is that it’s now used in some currency). Cirque keeps finding stashes and re-releasing Coronation. There have been complaints that it’s not the same shade as the original, that it’s over-priced ($18.50 is a LOT for a polish), and the FOMO marketing. It always sells out fast. I have a bottle. It’s okay.

Jaritos: The current teapot tempest. Cirque just put out a Jarito-themed line of jellies that’s FOURTEEN FUCKIN FIFTY a bottle. Their regular jellies are two bucks less because JELLIES ARE CHEAP. They have less pigment than other finishes. Cirque has also been caught editing pics from swatchers. Some of the Jaritos shades are outright dupes of existing Cirque colors--but when Cirque reposted swatcher pics that compared them, they changed things to make them look different. Little shady!

I still got Mxcn Cola

Holo Taco: I don’t go to this school. It seems fine. Owned by a YouTuber with a pretty big following, Simply Nailogical. The brand has devoted followers, but I’ve never been real impressed. I feel like I can get everything they do somewhere else for a buck or two cheaper. Lots of limited-time bundles.

ILNP: MY LOVE! Shimmers, glitters, holos. Their formulas are just fantastic. If you follow lacquer reddits you’ll see a TON of posts featuring Flower Child and Fairy Dust; they aren’t for me but I see why people love them. They’re really good with shimmers--Flicker glows like a candle in a dark window. I also like their flakie toppers and magnetics. You really can’t go wrong with anything from ILNP. 

One of the rare lacquer companies that doesn’t do FOMO. They never remove anything from their line-up. New collections get a 10% discount for a week at release, and they have an annual Black Friday sale.

KBShimmer: They’re pretty good! They don’t get as much love as I think they deserve--probably because they aren’t quite as flashy and highly-marketed as other brands. They also aren’t as heavily pigmented/glittered. Still pretty good though! I really love All Fired Up. They have big 15 ml bottles for only $12, no matter what finish. KBShimmer is a great place to start if you’re just dipping your toe beyond drugstore brands. Pick up their polish thinner (suitable for every brand except Orly) and glitter smoothing top coat. 

Lights Lacquer: Don’t. They have some nice shades, though they tend to be as subdued as drugstore polishes. I was really disappointed by their cremes--the formula isn’t at all self-leveling. That’s just weird in this day and age. And then I found out that black swatchers refuse to work with them because the owner has been openly racist. Her non-apologies did not improve relations. Skip it.

Mooncat: CONTROVERSY! I have over a dozen Mooncat polishes and do love most of them, but it's getting harder to recommend the brand. They specialize in intense shimmer/glitter/holo/flakie/magnetics--all the fancy stuff. They have a few unique polishes that I haven’t seen duped elsewhere. Their formula can be gloopy, especially their flakies; easily fixed by a few drops of thinner. Why controversy?

they’re fukkin expensive bro. Like $15 a bottle. I do feel that you get what you pay for--it’s good stuff. I’ve never been disappointed by a Mooncat. But part of what you’re paying for is brand aesthetic.

they’re fukkin annoying bro. Their site, marketing, and even customer service emails are all lower-case dramatic gothy stuff. Never “nails,” always “claws.”

Their bottles keep shattering. This has happened occasionally in the past, then become more frequent starting in April. Seems like there was some supply change that thinned the glass. Mooncat was also filling about 14 ml instead of the promised 12 ml. Temperature and air pressure changes during shipping started to cause a lot of bottles to break. One person ended up in urgent care to get her hand stitched. Mooncat has promised to make changes and has been quick to refund/replace broken bottles, but there’s still a lot of ill-will simmering in the community. I think we’re past the tipping point--I’m no longer seeing broken bottle posts, just love for their new Power Puff Girls collab--but if you like something, I would wish list and wait another month. That should be enough time to make sure the bottles are safe and the weather has cooled.

Indies

Every single indie nail polish company is one or two people working out of their basement. That is not a joke. They hand-makes every small batch, fill the bottles, pack, and ship by themselves. That’s in addition to designing and testing polishes, and just living their lives. 

That means that if you order from an indie, expect to wait. Most list a turn-around time of up to a month (they usually say 7-21 business days--people read three weeks but it’s a month). That’s padded to give them safety--nearly all will ship within a week, maybe two. But if they get hit with life stuff or a ton of orders, it really can take a while. My longest order took over a month arrive. It was entirely worth it.

Indies tend to have a big focus on fancy finishes. The biggest trend right now is sheer lacquers that are loaded with aurora shimmer. They’re color-shifty and glowy, and a lot of fun. That’s starting to stagnate a bit--every base color/shimmer combination has been done, so a lot of dupes are emerging--but it’s also starting to evolve. I’m seeing more and more shimmers that also have holo, flakes, or reflective glitter. I’m betting we’ll get some thermal shimmers as fall rolls in and temperatures drop.

Indies have some phenomenal variety and creativity. They’re doing the coolest stuff with the most love. Many also rely heavily on FOMO, and some are just plain not open much of the time. Instead, they have monthly or seasonal release windows. They usually drop a new collection and may retire old ones.

How do you keep track? The Reddit Laquerists (sic) Nail Polish Release Calendar. You can also subscribe to brand newsletters--most give a small coupon on your first order. A lot are on Instagram and Facebook.

There are at least two dozen indie brands, and it’s hard to know where to start. I highly recommend Lyn B. Designs. I love her lacquers, absolutely flawless formula. She has big bottles, fast turn-around, and lots of variety. Get her top coat! It’s the best. But most importantly, she has a 50% off code for ALL products every time she launches a new collection. You can get top-quality lacquers for $6 each, and the big top coat refill for $12.50. No brand of any size can match that value. You can either follow her on Facebook for the code or check the calendar on launch day.

Others I like, in no particular order:

Bee’s Knees, Dam, Polished for Days, Great Lakes Lacquers for fantastic shimmers and reflectives. Garden Path and Rogue Lacquers have great flakies. Lurid Lacquer is pretty new, and she’s doing some really interesting things with intense shimmers and color-shifty chromes. Sassy Sauce keeps a small, tidy line-up, but it’s all quality and creative stuff. She’ll also have some nice thermals once October hits--she doesn’t ship them during summer, which I respect. 

Cupcake is kind of a workhorse brand like KBShimmer: nothing too spectacular, but everything is solid and reasonably priced. Likewise, Glisten & Glow isn't too exciting but IS cheap and high-quality. Emily de Molly is Just Good. Drunk Fairy has really nice jellies and cremes. Wildflower Lacquers is closed for rebranding, back 09/06; I don’t have any from her yet but I gotta give props for big bottles, a fan brush, and surviving in Oklahoma. 

Death Valley Nails is a little pricey but they’re doing the weirdest, most absolutely unique shit out there. They’re making polish out of rocks and wildflowers. One looks like the sink after your boyfriend shaves. It’s great.

Clionadh gets some hype but IMO they’re overpriced and overrated. They definitely up the saturation on swatch pics. I’m unimpressed by Femme Fatale’s formula and teeny 9 ml size. Shleee polishes don’t self level at all. Stella Chroma still sells Harry Potter themed polishes and I'm very over that.

But really, the best way to check out indie brands is…

Indie Preorders

There are two big indie collabs every month that work on a pre-order basis: Polish Pickup and Hella Handmade Creations. They open for a week each month and feature unique, one-time only products from a ton of indie brands. They can cause major FOMO. If you feel that might not be healthy for you, stay away! But if you’re okay with the possibility that you may never be able to replace a bottle you finish off, you’ll find some great stuff. They’re an excellent way to explore new brands, and creators get to be a little experimental. PPU has fun monthly themes; HHC doesn’t have a general theme, but many creators do a series of fandom-themed designed. Indie polish creators tend to be pretty nerdy.

If you want to try non-US brands, go to Color4Nails.They’re a stockist that carries several brands, drugstore, boutique, and indie. They also have monthly pre-orders for a few Brazilian brands like Phoenix Indie Polish and Penelope Luz. I find the Brazilian brands to be a little pricey, with smallish bottles and fairly thin consistency, but they’re doing some interesting stuff. I’m pretty consistently impressed with Phoenix; PL less so.

[never-not-ever]

Damn I feel like I have so much to say but I've been saying it for the past 4 hours on Insta and Tik Tok. I want to be brief but also need to because I have to wake up at 6:30.

Today was a good day which compared to yesterday is just wild how opposite they were.

I finally put the pieces together and plugged in my AC in my bedroom. It's funny cause years ago I'd set it up in April and have it on until Nov. My cousin just said to me on the phone the other day how she hated driving with me cause I'd have the AC on in the car December. Now I love just basking in the warmth with the sunroof open.

This afternoon- I don't even remember when I woke up? Before noon I think? But what did I do before my "pampering" lol? Anyways so I decided to finally use some hair remover on my legs and paint my toes. I literally haven't shaved my legs in two years 🙃. Last summer I was in the hospital for most of it and hiding out in my apartment for the rest. I'm not a shorts or dress type of girl either and I honestly could care less about having hairy legs..... But I want this summer to be different which I'll get to that part soon. I'm still way too self conscious to wear shorts in public unless I was sitting at the beach but maybe I'll try out long dresses or bermuda shorts? I don't know.

With the heat lately and especially since I have to go out tomorrow I was planning on just staying in all day but I spontaneously decided to go for a walk. It was windy which helped with the temp and it actually wasn't as hot as I thought it was going to be.

After my gorgeous walk I went to Whole Foods with the intention of getting a water, protein bar and bean sprouts (to add to my teriyaki veggies at home) but spontaneously picked up ingredients for a whole different meal that was chef's kiss 👌🏻.

So it started out with me filming on Tik Tok to make a "here's what I got in Whole Foods and this is the delicious meal I'm making" but half of that is sitting in my drafts because I abandoned the app and switched over to Insta. I used to make stories on IG all the time. Obnoxious, long, rambling, oversharing, I loved it to be honest! So tonight I went back. It's a new account cause my old one was mainly weight loss related and I wanted a general one. This new one I made back in January I think, but didn't really start posting until a few weeks ago. Anyways I had a blast with my storytelling and we'll see if I actually keep it up....

One of my friends from inpatient replied to one of them "you better make more stories and post more, I miss you" to which I replied "girl, you don't even know how annoying I can be" and she said "bitch I lived with you for over a month, you're not annoying you made me survive".. I was about to say that I miss her and this other girl and how I want to see them and be more social cause this past winter I kept canceling plans and was just hopeless all around so that brings me to my next project I did tonight..

Driving home earlier I started thinking of this summer and things I wanted to accomplish and I came up with a list of goals. Naturally me being the person I am I decided to make this a Tik Tok and the same way I ramble on here, I also talk a lot during my videos. So I came up with 6 goals some I've already mentioned on here but I literally went into tangents of each one and the video was like over 7 minutes long! So I filmed it again and edited it and got it down to 6ish lmao. I really enjoy editing videos, I'm no pro, not even in the slightest. It's more so just cutting bits out and adding captions but it takes a long time which I guess I like.

Anyways I'll make a seperate post with my goals but that's basically been my night. Filming shit like I'm some big creator (I wish) and making a fabulous dinner which I think I'm going to bring and recreate tomorrow at my cousins.

[percyscart]

Hello! I wanted to say that I really love your stories and that they bring me so much joy!

Your works have been so much of an inspiration for me to do what I do and I really want to say thank you for that.

I'd like to ask, what advice would you give for new artists who are interested in opening their own art shop one day?

Aww, I’m really happy and honoured to hear that!

As for advice, here are some things I would have told myself when I was starting, everything is subjective and depends on the individual so do take it with a pinch of salt!

1. Start small!

It’s tempting to make large quantity orders because some manufacturers provide bigger discounts, but it’s very risky at the beginning because you don’t know what will sell. I personally rather sell out than have large stock that takes ages to sell preventing me from trying new things since you learn and change a lot at the start!

2. Draw what you love, not what is trendy or popular (eg drawing characters/relationships you love vs popular characters)

Personally, things that I draw out of love and inspiration are those that not only am I more proud of, but also sells better. If you’re passionate about it, it’s likely there’s people out there who are as passionate, and that’s where you find your niche and audience. Additionally, popular characters will most likely have well-known artists that draw for them already, so it’s difficult to breakthrough if you’re not passionate about it. If what you love overlaps with what’s trendy/popular, that’s fine!

3. Use social media wisely!

It’s the most useful but tiring tool to use. If people don’t see your stuff, they won’t know it’s out there, but don’t be too focused on numbers! Low numbers does not mean rejection, high numbers do not mean success. I’ve had plenty of reels/tiktoks with have high views and engagement that do not reflect the sales number. Don’t take data personally, consider it more as food for thought.

“why did this artwork not resonate with people? how can i improve it/showcase it better?” “why did this artwork (yours or others) resonate with people? how can i emulate this more?”

On the same note, photos/videos of your products always need to have good lighting! Sun and your phone camera is enough to start with. I recently enjoy taking photos holding my stuff against greenery.

These are some smaller thoughts:

- Try to post tiktoks only after your items are available to order (unless you’re just gauging market). I’ve had a video go viral (1m+ views) long before it was available online and when I did release it online, most people didn’t see it because that’s just how tiktok algorithm works :’) your followers are less likely to see your stuff, compared to twt/insta, imo.

- Many of my first customers became returning customers, so do ensure you treat your packages with care so they have a good experience! (i personally prepare thank you cards hehe)

- Keep packaging minimal so they are lighter and less waste. Additionally, I’ve started using less flashy packaging (brown instead of coloured) because I’ve heard coloured ones may be at risk of theft (unconfirmed). I keep decorative packaging inside only.

All the best to your endeavors!

[neuronygma]

hi guys i remember seeing moz's new message off a fanpage first (thought it was old content or another sickly low res photo and like, initially, i was thinking don't piss me off) JUST to have found out its. its real. like. morrissey is fucking johnny posting. first, i figure whatever group it was (forgot thw name i am sooo tired. hehe) that extended the offer "exclusively" to moz&marr didn't bother with mike because 1) trial 2) going out on a limb to say moz&marr more or less do not want to be associated with mike 3) mike was never asked in the first place or he WAS and morrissey just doesn't gaf i mean. lots of context clues to work with here. andy's another thing, bc it wouldve been absolutely absurd 2 put those two together and call it the smiths?? just call it the we're making up but we might bicker on this stage tour. that on top of how tender it still is for everyone. anyway. timeline:

• pre-june: general moz music creation & lounge slump

• offer is extended in june 2024: 1) moz knew johnny would've said no & opted to keeping his choice as a yes 2) longing for the past won so naturally a yes was chosen

• post-johnny reunion decline: oopsy! CLEARLYYY an impulsive on a whim tour announcement discussing "recent fiascos" !!! it will start on..Hrmm... Jabs dart into oct 31st johnnys bday! thorough promotion of the tour & it being bold and charged and everything else that's colorful on mozcentral babyyyy

• julyish to august: very gradual and more or less subtle influx of smiths posts between morrissey's insta & official band insta. to soften the eventual blow cos moz was probs ljke. yes this shows my interest in the art & i was passionate about it & they'll see how it feels 2 have been turned down

• lateish august: the smiths will never end

• august 29th: "mmm more or less valid that the person i used to Urmm. write music with Turned down a potential reunion tour for reasons possibly concerning our late bandmate & friend and his complications with our relationship in general oh and that one open letter i constructed for him that one time. oh also im making serious bank compared to him so who really won?? i put the EARNING in yearning!!"

[peachjagiya]

https://www.tumblr.com/peachjagiya/756796073203449856/you-cant-compare-jm-and-jk-if-jms-goal-was-to-be?source=share

Oh anon, you really can't trivialize Jimin's promo by saying it got better. It got faaaaaar better. Of course, Jungkook is going to be main choice for US market. He basically sings every guide of BTS songs and has that main boy energy but don't forget he is also used to take BTS forward. Remember euphoria? Seven?

It's not a jealousy to compare promos of different members. You really can't be saying he got 3 albums, 80x, travel show, Jimmy falon, Twitter ads, insta etc etc. is just better. With this BH has ensured him first place on Spotify global. There is nothing wrong with this. They should actually promote all their members like this.

Anyone who says oh but layover was different in genre, not everybody listens. What happened to Friends then? Why couldn't it receive same attention as muse? Don't come at me with a single thing. BH has seen Tae's sales they knew this song could be viral in the US market but it never got the push. BH has always considered Jkk as their main players in Korea and now in US. Tae has been victim of this mentality.

Though it's funny numbers aren't transferred equally for JKk when almost all the army is a closeted jkk shipper. I don't care if anyone interpret this ask as me being anti coz I'm not but I'm pissed with PJMs hypocrisy with first crying about no promo and then saying but but it's less than JK. Call spade a spade anon.

I think I said the thing about Layover.

And I do stand by it. My thought on Friends is that it would be - and I believe WAS - C list on UK radio (my area of expertise) because while it's on the upbeat side of chill, it's still a pretty chill song. Chill songs have a harder job in the charts. Always will. A good music scheduler for a station will limit where a chill song goes. Can't start a show with it, can't come out of ads with it, can't come out of news with it, might be a little chill for commuting hours. It's about BPM and mood. Something like SNTY or Seven can fit literally anywhere other than straight out of really tragic news.

Also dance challenges and viral audio on Tiktok are increasingly contributing to success.

But essentially I agree and you make a good point: it stands zero chance with no backing at all.

[nasutchi]

*Rubs hands together* If Devsis isn’t giving us new Licorice tribe lore, then I’ll make some myself

This is another Licorice related cookie run OC of mine who I posted on my Instagram, I infodumped on him a lot on my insta, but to be a bit more HuMbLe while I explain, I’m gonna infodump less.

(Also FYI he’s Licorice’s dad btw)

Basically, Licorice tea cookie was a pharmacist in the dark cacao kingdom for the Licorice tribe, his village. Considering how the tribe was considered “shabby,” he of course, did his best to take care of it and prevented it from getting sick.

Licorice tea would later start a family and have his kids Licorice and Sugar Coffin cookie (Sugar coffin being my OC). But when Licorice left his village and Sugar coffin went to find him. Licorice Tea was in a state of distress and mourning, and felt ashamed he couldn’t stop Licorice.

So in order to keep his mind off things, Licorice tea decided to travel Earthbread, and perhaps help villages and towns if they’re sick. During his travels, he settled in Wholesome Herbville, and grown a friendship with Bellflower and Ginseng cookie over their skills with herbs.

Back to present time, Licorice tea wishes he could go back in time to prevent Licorice from turning to Dark Magic, in which he still blames himself for, and wishes to apologize for Licorice and wishes to tell him that he should’ve been there for him more.

It’s not much that I written compared to how much I wrote for Sugar Coffin, but I hope to mention more things about Licorice tea in the future

[dearweirdme]

Has anybody considered the fact that Taehyung and Jungkook might just have different needs when it comes to public affirmations?

I mean, we know JK is hyper critical of himself and he self-admittedly has trouble following through on some of his creative pursuits (which could indicate a drop in confidence) He basically threw an amazing song in the garbage because he didn't think it was that good.

Now, I know Taehyung has his own insecurities and own artistic pickiness but he has always seemed far more self- assured in some cases than JK and less inclined to play nice and consider opinions from those he doesn't know. We all know that ARMY has never been able to tell Taehyung nothing when it comes to what he wants to do, his boundaries etc.

I'm not saying Taehyung doesn't like feedback. He glows when he talks about feedback from the members and when he knows the fans like his stuff but there's always been very much an element of stubborness in that he doesn't really care if his choices or likes seem odd to some and he low-key will not tolerate conflicting opinions regarding his personal style, tastes and choices when his own are so strongly defined.

It must be said that JK has really come into his own in this sense but we all know there was a period where he beat himself up a lot and didn't clapback at the fans the way he's doing lately

I know there have been instances where even Tae's put a lot of pressure on himself but when you think back to their youth; Taehyung was always naturally less critical of himself and more forgiving of himself and centred his own opinions more while JK was super self critical, much quieter in his opinions and a natural people pleaser.

So maybe this is just a case of Tae knowing JK so well and responding to his needs and striking against insecurities that he knows JK might still hold. Or maybe he's proud of JK's growth in that area and wants to loudly reinforce it.

Some people just don't need the same level of hype (even if they might enjoy it when they get it) because they hype themselves by way of their personalities.

And some people need a little more uplifting.

And BTS have won everything, broke everything, achieved everything that I'm certain they don't obsess over the intricacies of charts, streams and numbers the way the fans do. I doubt the seven of them are sitting there tallying their charts and comparing them. Especially when they've all practically made it known that their achievements, according to them, are a product of being part of group and the group will always be first priority to them.

And the thing is, they're not dumb. They know 0t7 ARMY will support them equally and that biased ARMY will lend more support to their faves and that solos will focus solely on their fave no matter who says what or encourages people to do what on a social media post---and they know that their haters will hate them regardless.

And I know we're all shippers here but let's be real; they know that insta posts etc won't really effect the numbers but will be devoured by shippers and in some case used as evidence for or against them primarily so public declarations might just not hold as deep a meaning to them as it does to the fans.

Even the birthday posts seem to come across as a chore to indulge the fans for some of the members.

And Tae might be a little more verbal right now but have some of these anons never seen JK around Taehyung since day one? Like between the looks, the touches, the comments, the beaming smiles, the twinkle in his eyes, the liberties he allows Taehyung to take, the concessions he makes for him, the way they somehow always manage to find themselves in each others space no matter how far apart they start?

And I know there's been speculation of a rough patch and I saw elements of it too but I know for a FACT that nobody can point to one year where JK wasn't still acting towards Taehyung in all the ways I listed above. Like if you tried to chart a timeline of a rough patch it would be still be cut up with moments of JK telling the world that Taehyung is the most handsome person in it or him cuddling or trying to get closer to him (even though some people like to feign amnesia lately and act like JK never makes the first move) there's not one single year or stretch of time where JK hasn't looked at Taehyung with stars in his eyes or found a subtle way to touch him or given comfort to him or taken comfort from him or praised him or melted at praise from him.

Give me a year the worst you know, and I'll still be able to give you a collection of moments of Taekook Taekookin'.

There isn't a single year, not 2017, 18, 19, 20, where JK hasn't still managed to find Taehyung the most handsome, funniest, smartest person in the room.

(And I know we can say the reverse about how Taehyung adores JK just as much but I'm countering all those anons I see speculating that it's all Tae doing the heavy lifting)

I have my opinions on the relationship, everyone is entitled to their own, but it is undeniable that even during their 'worst years' there were still so many examples of how close or at the very least, connected, they were.

Like if you edited all their moments together in a compilation from 2018-2019 alone, there would still be enough love, closeness and intimacy to make an absolute mockery of that conversation they had ITS that was used to imply they'd drifted apart.

Sometimes, I just really wonder what more Taekookers want.

Hi anon!

Great observations. I think it plays in to Tae wanting to hide his emotions/feelings, and that's why Jk's way of giving comfort is physical closeness while allowing Tae to hide. Jk however needs the actual vocalization of support more. Which fits into what he told us himself on live, about not understanding why army loves him.. our love is too vague for him and he needs/needed more specifics to be confinced perhaps. People just telling him "I love you" doesn't say much after a while perhaps. Tae being more vocal about Jk, is what he knows Jk needs.

I think Tae grew a lot into accepting his 'weirdness", which can be a real task and a forever struggle. At times it just takes a few people who really understand you and who make you feel safe and understood. I think Tae is a t a point in his life where he has found that and that is what makes him feel stronger.

I will forever die on my hill of believing they don't care about birthday's much 😂.

And yes on them having been very consistent throughout the whole time.

[lenmatcha]

Hello!!

First of all wanted to say how much i enjoy your art :)) I'm an artist and am thinking of taking in commissions maybe through ko-fi although i have no idea where to begin with pricing since i dont have ant experience with selling art. I thought of doing comms without payment at first but my friend told me to just get right into business with pricing. So I wanted to ask, as a beginner taking in conms what are some things to put in mind? and whats a good pricing point?

You dont need to answer this if you're not comfy but im just asking around so I can know what im doing heh, Thank you!!! <3

Hi hi!

Pricing:

I started taking commissions around March of last year, so I'd say I'm still testing the waters in terms of pricing. You can start by looking at the pricing of artists who have a similar style as you. I know ppl also calculate their pricing by hourly rate, but because my processes are usually not consecutive and can span more than a week, I couldn't really use that method.

I priced my commissions relatively higher (i know there's artists who do more detailed drawings for less the price) because I don't want commissions to take over the time I need to study, especially during exam weeks. So you can take that into account when you're figuring out your prices.

I'd say avoid doing free commissions since I feel like I wasted a lot of my time doing them for the sake of extracurriculars and forming connections. You can occasionally do drawing requests by picking randomly from the replies as it gives you more freedom to choose what to draw, and is less time-consuming than doing full-on free commissions.

Tips:

For the first few months I had my DM's open on all my social media platforms for commission requests, but I ended up getting a bunch of scams on insta so I had that DM closed.

The general rule of thumb when figuring out if it's a scam or not is to see if they are passionate about what they want you to draw. All of the ppl who commissioned me were eager to tell me about either their character/person, as compared to scam accounts that barely give you any info other than one reference photo (one of them asked me to draw their son's cat, but when I asked what's the cat's name they just ignored my question)

[bohnsky]

Thank you @avida-heidia-5 for making this and thank you @checolate-bar for tagging me :D

1. Who or what got you into F1?

Okay, hear me out. Insta reels in early 2023. For some reason, my insta algorithm decided that I want to see F1 content. It started with clips from races and driver memes. Then insta showed me Charles Leclerc and here we are now.

2. Who was the very first F1 driver you supported? Do you support them now? Have your opinions on them differed or stayed the same since then?

Charles Leclerc was the first driver I supported and I still do. He made me a Ferrari fan (thanks for that Charles). He is no longer my favorite driver, but he’s still up there. I still believe that he’s one of the best human beings to wander the earth.

3. Who’s your current favourite F1 driver?

My favorite current driver is Alex Albon. He is just one of the people you simply can’t not like.

But I have to admit, my all time favorite driver is Sebastian Vettel. He is just such an awesome person in every aspect of life. An outstanding driver, and human.

4. Is there a driver pairing or pairings you support? What made you attracted to that pairing in the first place?

There are a bunch that I like, but at the top of the list are Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. Everything about them just fits. With Nando being the war criminal who suddenly decides to be nice to his new teammate, and Lance’s (Estie) Bestie hating Nando, and the two of them just living in their own little bubble, not caring about the rest of the world. Idk, they make me happy.

But Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are very close. Even though they constantly break my heart. I wish I could have witnessed the 2021 season just to see their peak together, to see how thankful Max was for everything that Checo has done for him.

There is no Brasil 22 in Ba Sing Se.

5. Do your parents, siblings or relatives have a favourite team and/or favourite driver(s)?

My brother likes McLaren, especially Lando Norris. But he’s not interested enough to watch the races, he just watches the highlights.

The rest of my family hate that I like F1, because it takes up the whole weekend. But they sometimes talk about Michael Schumacher and a few of the other German drivers they know.

6. Do you have any favourite races? Are there any that stand out to you the most?

I’m fairly new and am too busy to watch a lot of the older races, so I have to go with Singapore 23. Just because Carlos won with the highest IQ ever and it was perfect.

7. Do you have a favourite circuit? Can be from the past or from the current calendar.

As a more or less passionate sim driver, I gotta go with which circuits are in my opinion the most fun to drive. I haven’t driven all of the circuits yet, but the ones I currently like the most are Monza and Red Bull Ring.

8. Have you ever been to an F1 race in real life? Feel free to tell us your experience going to one if you like.

I haven’t, too expensive. But there are three circuits relatively close to where I live, so if I ever win the lotto, I’ll probably visit the Red Bull Ring or Zandvoort.

9. Have you ever met an F1 driver in real life?

I have not. But Alex did a meet and greet in Bangkok a week after I was there. You can imagine how sad I was.

10. Do you have a favourite F1 car? If so, what is it?

Not really. I love that the current ones are relatively safe, compared to the older ones.

11. Do you have a favourite one win wonder?

That’s got to be Pierre Gasly.

12. Do you have any favourite quotes from the F1 world? This can either be inspirational or hilarious.

A bunch to be honest. Here are some of my favorites:

“Everybody is a Ferrari fan. Even if they’re not, they are a Ferrari fan. Even if you go to the Mercedes guys. Even if they say ‘Oh yeah, Mercedes is the greatest brand in the world.’ They are a Ferrari fan.”-Sebastian Vettel

“Mein Gott, muss das sein? So ein Scheiß aber auch!“-Sebastian Vettel

“GEORGE!!!!”-Alex Albon

“What’s a meme? Ah mehmehs.”-Sergio Perez

“He’s pretty impressive for an old guy.”-Lance Stroll

“I am stupid”-Charles Leclerc

“Nothing just an inchident.”-Charles Leclerc

“I don’t think anymore. I’ve stopped thinking a long time ago.”-Charles Leclerc

“I don’t wanna mature, I’m happy where I am.”-Lando Norris

“Soy lago.”-Lando Norris

“It’s bwoken! It’s bwoken!”-Lando Norris

“You son of… your mother.”-Carlos Sainz

“I’m a high performance athlete. Athlete’s sweat. Sweat baby. Kikiki rah sweat sweat.”

“Perfect weather… for a duck.”-Valtteri Bottas

“I’m hanging here like a cow.”-Nico Hülkenberg

“I was having a shit.”-Kimi Raikkönen

“FOR WHAT?!”-Kimi Raikkönen

I’m just gonna stop here, otherwise I’m never going to finish this.

I’m tagging you @mo0nchhild :D