it really pisses me off when people say “aang is a human trying to be the avatar and korra is the avatar trying to be human” because it ignores the fact that the “avatar” as a mantle is not something anyone naturally embodies. it’s a responsibility you’re randomly picked for, and every single avatar’s character arc is about learning how to “be the avatar.” that statement makes it seem like korra is just this unfeeling, piece of brawn that only knows how to punch things (which are things ppl already say about korra anyway) and that depiction of her versus aang feels….super off.

it just really dehumanizes korra, and ignores the fact that korra’s confidence and strong sense of self in season 1 especially is because she was surrounded by community and her parents were deeply involved in her life. korra grew up experiencing the best parts of humanity and one of her major character strengths is how much of a light she is. thats why the trauma she goes through in later seasons strikes her so intensely, because prior to that she was very sheltered and wasn’t expecting the extreme sacrifice and trauma that comes with having to bear the title of “Avatar.”

had a human au thought of Barnaby and Wally. idk doing their taxes or going through bills together since they share a house & Barnaby going "hey we could get married for tax benefits and health insurance. wait no what if i want to marry Howdy someday? it's illegal to be married to two people." Wally goes "we could get divorced" and Barnaby gets legitimately sad like:

OOO for the pallette id say law onepiece + #1? pallette is kinda coffee colored and i feel like he desperately needs some, so 💀

DOWNTIME

why does the pjo series have to unnecessarily villainize goddesses (hera & athena) or show them as silly ladies (aphrodite & demeter) BUT posiedon and apollo are somehow shown as the coolest/most likeable gods, even though arguably, they're right after zeus on terms of corruption?

ares shown as the worst god after zeus and hera amuses me. last time i checked, he was the patron god of amazons and literally killed a man for attempting to rape his daughter but guess who cursed women for rejection? apollo. guess who raped women when they said no (aside from zeus)? posiedon.

it's funny. I keep making all these posts defending Aziraphale and it's because there's this annoying trend in the fandom to villainize him while simultaneously woobifying Crowley, so there's a need for more Aziraphale perspective

but I was thinking, if we stopped looking at fandom for a minute, and just regarded Aziraphale as a character, how would I criticize him or his choices?

then I realized I wouldn't cos my wife did nothing wrong in her life

“In another life, I loved you right.”

“In another life, you loved me at all.”

Tag your ship(s).

PJO: we need to recognize the value of the minor gods. The Olympians are important, sure, but the minor gods do a lot of work in maintaining and assisting the pantheon, have their own kids and deserve to be seen and valued just as much

HoO: Back at it again with Olympian-only nonsense!

Jonelias thought of the day is that Elias must come across as so stuffy and boring to those at the Institute - which, you know, very much helps hide his true nature - but as an avatar of the Eye and a man determined to avoid the End, Elias is someone whose entire being revolves around the interplay of knowledge and experiences. He's compelled to Know it all and his efforts to avoid death invite him to Experience it all too, a fascinating combination of passive observer and, by virtue of being a 200+ year-old in search of true immortality, an active participant too. This is a man whose longevity and thirst for knowledge invites an obsession with life that contradicts the 'Sits in his office doing nothing but spreadsheets all day' image he's learned to cultivate. (Though, to be clear, he does love the spreadsheets.) And I don't just mean "obsession with life" in the sense of him avoiding the finality of death, but actually loving the act of being alive.

I think a lot of what the fandom (rightly) jokes about in regards to his characterization is a reflection of that obsession. Elias has a relationship with Peter Lukas that goes far beyond the cold practicality of an alliance, hinting at a romance (if you steer towards a LonelyEyes reading), or just Elias' desire to still be able to place bets with someone while he's trying to end the world. Similarly, his powers ensure that he's never truly alone - if he dies, he takes the rest of the Archive with him - forever supplying him with a warped companionship that doesn't threaten him like he perceives he was threatened as Jonah Magnus, with his acquaintances working to complete their own rituals. In true Beholding style, he's got the heart of a fucked-up scientist who's endlessly curious about the world around him: 'Oooh what happens if I let my friend waste away in the Lonely?' He shows up at Jon's birthday party not just to secretly gloat and keep an eye on things (ha), but because he legitimately wants cake. Who wouldn't want cake? What's the point of living forever if you can't have cake?? Well, for an avatar the exquisite sweetness of fear is just as good, but my point stands. Beyond his fear of death, that enjoyment is at the heart of Elias' goal, with Jon describing his experience as the Pupil as a kind of agonized bliss and Elias confirming this by saying he was having the most wonderful dream. Morality aside, he likes interacting with the horror of the Entities, something we saw all the way back during the "[PLEASURED EXHALATION]" scene. Learning new things feels good. Experiencing news things is enjoyable. Learning and experiencing Bad Things is especially nice given his patron. Consistently, Elias' setbacks are met with interest, or a mild annoyance that then eventually settles into satisfaction because they are also new experiences for him and the Eye: going to jail, getting to psychologically torture Martin, having his own secrets exposed. There's a lot throughout the series to imply that Elias enjoys watching Jon become the Key, not just because it means he's succeeding in his goals, but because there's genuine interest and pride in seeing him "grow" by Elias' standards. The repetition of "our world," "our patron," etc. implies a connection; the intention to experience this new world with another, to enjoy it rather than simply exist in it for the mere sake of existence. Elias is a man whose entire essence boils down to, "I NEED TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS, EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING, AND LIVE FOREVER WHILE ACHIEVING THAT, TO UNDERSTAND IT ALL SO I CAN CONTROL IT ALL AND HAVE A DAMN GOOD TIME IN THE PROCESS, EVEN WHILE I SUCCUMB TO THE PRIMAL FEAR THAT DRIVES ME I WILL PARADOXICALLY EMBRACE IT, AND YEAH THAT'S LARGELY BECAUSE I SERVE THE LITERAL GOD OF JUDGY SURVEILLANCE BUT ALSO THAT'S JUST ME."

So anyway, I keep thinking about how this characterization could intersect with S1-2 Jon: prickly, awkward, semi-isolated, desperate to be recognized by someone whose authority he believes in. AKA the boss who, at an unprecedented young age, rose to the top of the Institute they both work at, perceived by those around him as far less interesting than he actually is. Parallels, anyone? Imagine Jon getting to really talk to Elias, realizing how much he has to offer after 200 years of life (though of course he doesn't know that), and just constantly being blindsided by not just the knowledge, but the enthusiasm for everything he's learned and been through - the good and the horrifyingly awful that, despite himself, Jon is equally drawn to. Elias recognizes every quote Jon drops into a conversation and has another witty line to pair it with. He doesn't just indulge his nerdy rambles, but participates in them. He's refined in all the ways that Jon expects - books, opera, music, etc. - and also casually drops in references to acid trips and fucking orgies. Imagine an early series Jon who forms a strong bond with Elias outside of the web (ha x2) he's been weaving, becoming dependent on his friendship and just a little bit completely in love. Elias is inherently fascinating, but he's also just Some Guy, and the combination of that is just perfect for a necrotic Archivist who simultaneously wants to be guided by his 'betters' and prove that he's an equal. Why Elias would be interested in turn barely needs stating: Jon is literally Elias' everything, in a horrifyingly tragic and like, Gothic Romance sense? What would that kind of relationship have changed? It would have likely made Elias' job even easier, but what about Jon?

...I'm not saying that Jon's drive to protect humanity would have been warped into something tragically dangerous if he'd first come to see his intelligent, complex, shockingly kind (from his nonexistent self-esteem POV), secretly-an-eldritch-monster boss as the epitome of humanity... but I'm also not saying it couldn't have!

i'm mostly over Representation In Fiction Feelings but i DO still get kind of emotional about raine having pre-T and post-T voice actors. not even in a seeing myself represented type way (i am not on T and don't currently plan to be), but just bc. it's such a lovely reflection of the space we live in. a decade ago it was revolutionary for kids to see same-gender parents on TV and go "oh, some kids have two moms," and now in a very similar way kids get to grow up learning that some people have high-pitched voices in adolescence and low-pitched ones when they get older. parents explaining "your older cousin might sound a bit different when they come for thanksgiving this year" and a kid just going "oh, like raine!!" that..... that Does get me. wah.

I know they're not gonna do it but please imagine we get to the xyz dimension and the refugees are getting aid from astrals and barians and everyone rightly flips out and Shay is like "What, do you guys not have aliens in your dimensions? :/"

TPN 181 - WSJ Release vs Volume Release Differences

#wait what they changed the last few pages? have to look it up in my volume o.o (via @officersnickers on this post)

Yeah I've talked about it a bit before in this post, but the volume version adds nine pages on to the WSJ release of chapter 181 and tweaks some of the frames starting around page 17, besides the inclusion of this incredibly poignant side scene at the beginning of the chapter:

The first is an expansion of Emma's speech to the demon god that spreads one panel's dialogue across multiple panels and adds on a bit of new text.

Pages 17-20, WSJ release:

Pages 17-22, volume release:

Pages 19-25 of the WSJ release and 21-27 of the volume release remain the same.

Pages 25-28, WSJ release:

In the volume release, page 27 is the same as WSJ's 25, but page 28-29 adds a dream sequence/vision of Norman and Ray finding Emma on the shore they washed up on two years ago, as if she was always there, waiting for them to turn around and find her like in the chapter title art:

Page 30 expands WSJ's page 26 dialogue out across more panels:

Page 31 removes the "screw destiny" text in the panel next to Alex in WSJ's 27 and replaces it with a panel of Zack, Thoma, Gilda, Lanni, Rossi, Mark, and Jemima (the rest is the same):

The "screw destiny" text is moved to the bottom of page 32 while the top is a mix of flashback panels that include a straight-up lifted one of the trio hug from chapter 27, a new panel of Emma and Ray running after they remove the trackers in chapter 33 but before Anna tends to their wounds, a new spread of some of the kids in the bunker during the Cuvitidala arc, and a tweaked version of Emma and Ray extending their hands to Norman in chapters 153 and 154; Emma wears a slightly different smile while Ray wears a more relieved smile on his face as opposed to his stern frown in the originals:

The page 33-34 spread expands the scene on WSJ's page 28 to include more characters as well as alter the expressions of the characters who were on the original page. Notably, Don, Gilda, and Jemima can be seen crying now, Ray's smile is less intense and now softer and more fond, Norman is sporting a blush with tears pricking his eyes, and Emma's hint of a blush is stronger as tears prick her eyes as well, both in the group shot and in the panel of her by herself.

Page 35-36 is an extended spread I've talked about before:

This spread legit made me catch my breath for the briefest of seconds seeing it for the first time. Such a powerful statement conveyed in such simple concept: how after centuries of suffering on the grounds of Grace Field, that chapter of history closes as life blooms anew.

Page 37 shows what life is like for Mujika and Sonju as they lead the demon world into a new era (since Leuvis dipped lol)

And the final page of the volume's version of the chapter shows Emma running off to join her family in front of Alex's home, now filled with plenty of laughter and life again:

The anniversary picture from WSJ #36/37 2020 hints at the kids building more around it:

Hello! I have come asking for you to info-dump about the the modern human au. I full of brain rot of them (especially after the last thing you posted about them, damn) Maybe you can tell us a bit more Sally!!

lucky for you, i've been full of that good ol brainrot As Well! thoughts! feelings! ideas! i got em!

so since we're already on the subject of the Crash Arc, allow me to expand on it for a moment before i get to Sally Thinkings! if you've read the snippet, you may have noticed the extent of Wally's injuries was not listed yet. well! he got messed up with a capital F! since it's fiction and i'm god in this scenario, i'm veering slightly away from realistic damage, immediate & lasting. bc lets be real. if i stuck to "this is as realistic as i can make it", then Wally would be aaaaaabsolutely fucked. it was a bad crash in a very unsafe vehicle at high speeds. like - this is what happened. a drunk driver hit Home going 70 down the freeway. swerve, fishtail, tumble down a (small, shallow, really its more like a glorified ditch) ravine with trees and rocks and shit on it. absolute miracle that Wally didn't die in the crash, let alone during the solid half hour (slightly longer) he was trapped in Home before someone noticed the crash site and called emergency personnel. Wally "hanging up" on Barnaby was actually the impact jarring him so he slipped and hit the end call button. but yeah without going into technicalities and detail, Wally has some lasting damage in his dominant hand. It takes extensive physical therapy for him to be able to paint/draw again at the same level he had been at. the hematoma hadn't done a lot of brain damage that wouldn't resolve itself with time. in my mind, when Wally wakes up in the hospital, for a few days he's very confused and his memory is shot. he'll wake up, interact, then go to sleep, but when he wakes up again its like waking up for the first time again. he just can't retain memories for a bit. he's got some severe brain fog. his mood is also kinda fucked with - he's uncharacteristically irritable with low patience, etc. these are all things that clear up with time, but in my mind Wally has chronic migraines going forward. bad ones! and there are days where it's harder fr him to concentrate. and yk. a teeny bit of chronic pain where his shin bone was pinned back together and where his hand was essentially crushed. but other than that he's fine going forward! good days and bad days!

but enough about that! You Want To Hear About Sally!

i imagine that she becomes quite successful in the theater industry. i'm not too familiar with it myself, so i'm gonna be uh. Vague about it? but she starts her own theater troupe - it's a bit of a commute from home base to the town she works in, where the theater is located in, but she makes it work! of the group, she's probably away more than any of them. working on shows, traveling to work on other ones - i like to think she's been on Broadway! she probably has had opportunities to do tv/movie acting, but idk... i feel like Sally would be like "nah. live shows or nothing". maybe at some point she takes up voice acting gigs, as long as she can do them from home. she probably has her own little room-turned-VA-studio thing. idk how that works either! it seems right! but yes Howdy's store's automated messages and advertisements are in Sally's voice. she's probably picked up a temporarily modeling gig here and there.

so Sally is very very busy. Poppy is supportive. everyone is, and they all love to help out when they can - and reel Sally in when the "stardom" starts to get to her head. they do their best to acclimate to occasionally getting jumpscared by her voice in a grocery store or in. idk. fashion shoots. victoria's secret billboards. that last one was a joke! maybe. i think she would.

i also like to imagine Sally like... getting some sort of award and then spending a solid five minutes naming her friends, thanking them with specificity, and then plugging their own stuff. they probably have a rotation for who accompanies her as her plus one for events and parties she may or may not be invited to. she's not like... a Big celebrity but! she's Known and Liked! she has Connections! i like to imagine her and Wally looking dapper as fuck at a Venue...

so the friend group typically stays together, with Sally going off to do her Things the most. she makes sure to schedule time to be with her friends and girlfriend/wife/Poppy between work and gigs and etc. she somehow finds a balance with Ease. or apparent ease... someone get this girl a vacation...

Rough practice to stretch my figurative animation hands

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 (you are here)

Program: flipaclip

FPS: 12

Audio source: Kaeloo - Let’s Play at Playing in the Dark

(Tumblr won’t let me reblog videos)

Karakura Team? No, fuck that!

Seireitei Team!