#and actually had a chance to grow up

[seyaryminamoto]

Fic-to-Art #27: Azula, Mai and Ty Lee's friendship

This month's prompt was friendship, and while the contest was fierce, ultimately the oldest of Gladiator's friendships won out. Therefore, I drew these small pieces to show the progression of the bond between these three within the story :D

The first two scenes aren't 1:1 with anything shown in the story, they're more along the lines of things I never got to write but always imagined likely between them. I'll always believe Ty Lee was the instigator of this friendship, and I can't imagine anything more suitable for her than to pick out the two girls she found interesting in school and deciding they would all be friends, while the two girls in question remained entirely confused about the whole thing.

Fast forward a few years later, and as a lot of the baggage and chaos from canon never happened, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee get to stay friends as they grow older, bonding over things that weren't depicted here (such as their experience in Ember Island, sans Zuko, where they got to understand each other better, Ty Lee's fall from grace, Mai's choice regarding who to marry...), mainly because I really didn't have the time to expand on everything. So, as tough as things could get, these three stuck it out together and no matter if Azula is too busy to hang out with them sometimes, theirs is the kind of friendship that all of them can always return to, with full awareness and trust that they'll always have each other's backs.

The last scene is my favorite scene between them altogether, and it's their conversation right before Ty Lee's wedding. It's a really heartfelt moment where Ty Lee is unusually vulnerable and very honest about what these two mean to her, and this time both Azula and Mai drop all pretenses and are completely honest about how much they care about her too. It's pretty much the crystallization of that friendship in one of my favorite chapters to write, ever!

So... there we go! Hope you guys like it! If you want to be part of the creative process behind these pieces, a $1 pledge is enough to make you eligible for suggesting and voting for prompts, as well as reading Gladiator snippets 6 days before the new chapter is released!

#gladiator #azula #mai #ty lee #I don't get to draw these three often because they all have lives of their own #so mai and ty lee return once in a while in the story #it always has been like that #but a lowkey great thing about Gladiator was the fact that these three never really fell apart #even when sometimes they clash and have conflicts #their friendship was just much more solid than in canon because they went through a lot of things #and actually had a chance to grow up #and really get to understand each other no matter how different they may be #those differences are literally what makes their bonds and dynamics worthwhile so #I'll always be glad this story allowed me to explore a world where there's no need for distrust and conflict between them #no backstabbing or threats or name-calling... they're just friends #and it just feels right exactly as it is *wipes tear*

[kimbapisnotsushi]

okay no see the thing that made me really, really sad about hinata and the thing that made me really, really root for him and love him and want to see him win it all was how, like, people kept DENYING him. and i'm not talking about spectators in the stands going "omg he's so short haha, can he really do anything?" i'm talking about how his own team and how everyone who knew them in some way - as much as i love them - could never really separate him from kageyama. they were the freak quick duo, karasuno's number nine and number ten. they were amazing! so brilliant, the two of them. and hinata thought it was a way out, at first. he thought it was a way over the summit. he thought it was the key to being someone better.

but a key goes both ways, you know. it can lock you up just as much as it can set you free.

and hinata had to be so, so frustrated. everyone was finding ways to move forward except him. everyone expected him to stay stuck. and you could argue that that's not entirely true, sure, that he was always training, always trying to catch up, and they encouraged that. but nobody ever expected him to be more. nobody ever expected him to go beyond what he had with kageyama - they all thought that was enough for hinata. they thought he was fine like that because it worked for the rest of them. they underestimated how much he wanted to be capable. they didn't get how much he wanted to stand on his own two feet.

and that wasn't fair to hinata! it wasn't fair that hinata, who loved to play and loved the game and loved volleyball so so much, was the only one being left behind! he wanted to change that but nobody was trying with him!!! so of course he got impatient!! of course he was reckless!!! of course he was carving his own opportunities!!! there was no way forward otherwise!!! because if we take a minute to think about how training would have gone while kageyama was at tokyo, let's be honest — it probably wouldn't have gone well. nobody else can do with hinata what kageyama could do with him. hinata would have been held back. he would have felt useless. practicing serves and receives was stuff he was already doing constantly before that, and it wasn't teaching him anything. yeah hinata was a little bit selfish and a little bit shameless but being so finally got him somewhere!!

all hinata ever wanted to do was fly, even if it meant straying from the flock to do so

#anyways lesson learned: when you've exhausted all other options then just fucking go for it #what's the worst that could happen #you either get shit done or you don't #ball boy arc is sooooo important and i hate when ppl treat it like hinata was just being stupid #he was FED UP!!! #washijo sure as hell wasn't going to let him prove anything so he had to do it himself #and hinata actually showed a LOT of restraint for how he actually is imo #he accepted washijo's decision so easily. i think he knew in a way. that he wouldn't have been accepted #but he had to try SOMETHING bc he wasn't getting anywhere with everyone else!!!! #and my heart breaks whenever i think about taking suga taking kageyama's part in the early part of the story #about them not needing to try anything new or do anything risky so close to the tournament #hinata was so fucking shackled and that's why brazil was so good for him #it gave him a chance to grow into himself #ALSO EVERYONE KEEPS ACTING SURPRISED WHEN HE GETS BETTER AND BETTER WHEN THAT'S ALL HE EVER WANTED HELLO #hinata shouyou #haikyuu #haikyuu!! #haikyuu meta #sou says stuff

[torgawl]

i think what hits most about nobara's backstory is everything that's left unsaid and peaks from between the lines. it's the fact you can easily infer that something was wrong without ever having clear answers on what exactly was wrong. but if you can relate to the feeling of wanting to escape a place and the alienation from everyone around you, especially when you're brought up in small communities, then you can certainly understand, if not fully then partially, nobara herself and the struggles she might have had to face all by herself for a very long time; maybe even the importance fumi and saori had in her life and the pain from having to part from them; and, perhaps the selectiveness in letting people in that she later on develops as well.

#the way her story is told from fumi's point of view is quite interesting #nobara's backstory is like a silent whisper without a lot of obvious context and told from someone else's perspective #someone who until the end never really understood her fully despite their obvious close bond #someone who we weren't even aware was part of her life #and nobara's peak emotional moment and the last person she thinks as her life is in danger is her and the promise she didn't accomplish #a promise to reunite with the friends that shaped her and her life #ah. #i find her last line so... powerful? #she definitely struggled growing up and the only two people she kept in her heart from her life before jujutsu were people that #moved to where she lived. saori didn't even stay in that place for long. and then she moves somewhere new and she meets people #and a group that actually feels like home a community where she fits in and suddenly they kind of break through making place in her heart #just for everything to come to a halt. to turn to shit. for her to see that shatter away little by little. and in the end she's put in a #position where she knows she will not be able to hold on to what she cares for the most. that she will hurt people that truly cared for her #for not being able to go back to fumi and rekindle the friendship with saori and for being forced to be another punch in the guts for yuuji #and everyone else that up until that point were forced to go through losses already and traumatic events #and she decides to encourage yuuji to go on a good note and she truly believes the people she met made it worth it #even if it was for a brief moment in her life #i am not being coherent right now but it pains me :') #she deserved so much better #and i will hang on tightly to the line saying that she had a small chance of survival until the end #because she deserves it she deserves to live 😭 #i'm taking her from that stupid anime and putting her in a slice of life anime watch me #yuuji too. and everyone else. i'm taking the kaisen out of the jujutsu and you can't stop me #jjk spoilers #nobara kugisaki #jujutsu kaisen #jjk 💭 #my post

[sysig]

You learn to live with it, learn to love it if you can (Patreon)

#Doodles #SCII #Helix #ZEX #Dexter Favin #I 👏 want 👏 ZEX 👏 to be 👏 happy!! 👏 #I want him to be hale and hearty and living his best life!! I want him alive and well!! #Professional Take-ZEX-Out-of-Situations-er* *(Not actually paid to do this I just feel very strongly about my volunteer work) #Lol #To do with my love towards Max as well? I'll never tell (yes) #Thinking about a ZEX that managed to get back up on his feet with Dex et al's help and start to make a life for himself #Gets into human fashion and goes back to school and makes friends and kisses people <3 It makes me happy #It's not a complete blank slate-start over but if he was able to come out from under everything - persevere - I'd like to see what he'd be ♥ #It's also enjoyable to think about his rise out of pain into something neutral - and then from neutrality to something positive #Going from constantly being afraid and isolated and sad and lonely to a kind of passive disinterest #Very much the stages of grief #Coming up into acceptance - I wonder how isolated he would feel from his life as Admiral ZEX :( #Moments where he's still very far away. Our scars never really leave us they just fade little by little #And some things that he'll never get to experience as a human like depth perception and parallax haha #But still <3 Growing into what Max never had the chance to be ;; #Still not making his parents ''proud'' or whatever |P Dex just happy he's showing initiative and y'know - interest in existence #I do like the idea that he still calls him DAX - the one thing he can't give up completely - but it becomes something like an inside joke #A painful one but a kind of wink and a nod that they both Know #Things will never be the same but they're both taking each day as they come - together #Hhhhh even just little bits of happiness ;; I just want them to be A Little happy

[july-19th-club]

"mister magic" a genuinely good book so far. a little over halfway through it and it definitely is one of those ones you want to go into completely blind but i'm really enjoying it . does a good job of laying enough breadcrumbs that the reader picks up on where it's going before some of the characters do, but the characters don't look dumb for taking so long to figure it out because they have personalities/experiences that preclude them from Noticing certain stuff, and it's not SO spelled out that the reader who gets it really early will get bored; there are still things you want answers to or elaboration on. and that is ALL i will say for now

#the author has written mostly young adult in the past according to the 'other books by' section #and it Does have a tiny bit of that flavor. but if that's a weakness the author has leaned into it in a way that makes it a strength #since this is a book about adults who had such strange childhoods that they didn't get a chance to grow all the way up #so any residual immaturity in their characterizations actually makes sense; their growth is stunted as part of the conflict #mister magic #q

[thatgirlwithasquid]

yknow. sometimes when i see anti posts i just sit here and think ‘damn. you would not have gotten Jennifer’s Body’

#billy hargrove #like. my loves… theres this thing called nuance #and that is what makes billy a complex and compelling characters whether you like it or not #someone can be both victim and villain. there is this thing called grey area and those things do overlap #and the audience is SUPPOSED to feel conflicted over the treatment of these characters #im just sitting here shaking the bars of my cage like MY LOVES. HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY #the duffers arent good writers. but you can practically place a 1:1 of billy and jennifer #AND THE POINT OF JENNIFER’S CHARACTER IS THAT SHES FUCKED UP AND STILL DESERVED BETTER. THAT SHE WAS NAIVE AND DESERVED TO GROW #BUT THE CHANCE WAS TAKEN FROM HER AND SHE WAS TURNED INTO A MONSTER. BILLY IS THE SAME. LITERALLY AND METAPHORICALLY #I THINK THIS IS LOST ON YOU AND IM NOT SURE THERES MUCH ANYONE CAN DO FOR YOU FROM HERE #like. good lord. ive seen people straight up deny that hes complex and boil his plot in s3 down to excusing racism and just- #NO. THAT- ITS- NO!! THIS IS A JENNIFER’S BODY SITUATION #im ​scratching at the walls here guys #anyway im normal again now. i just had strong feelings for a sec #anyway. jennifer’s body au? thoughts? #actually also rip billy hargrove. you wouldve loved jennifer’s body

[deanpinterester]

hi what

#uhhhh me #atla #listen i have very little stakes in this #i didn't grow up with atla so it doesn't hold nostalgic value the way it does for a lot of people #i think a lot of live action remakes are unnecessary but i do try to give them a chance #however comma. due to recent underwhelming adaptations my patience with them is wearing Thin #i am getting tired of showrunners trying to change things from the source material that had no reason to be changed #sometimes even things that are straight up important or The Point #i'm sure they'll still try to give sokka an arc w the kyoshi warriors but their reasoning for it is #questionable to say the least #like sokka's sexism is literally A Thing He Had To Overcome. it's not portrayed as a good trait #if a kid's show can handle this then the grittified remake absolutely can too #and i KNOW. i know this is just a soundbite from an interview. it might not be as bad as it sounds #but given what i've been seeing from adaptations in the past few months/years. i really doubt it #also lol love the comments on the thread saying 'can't wait for the show to say azula is actually nice now!' #(also i do not blame the actors for defending this change. they are basically obligated to never say anything bad abt the show)

[wazzuppy]

the pattern of leftist, mostly male youtubers always prefacing their misogyny by specifying the person in question is white-- as if that somehow makes being misogynistic okay-- is very, very exhausting.

#tara says stuff #hbomb's new video had me thinking about how rampant misogyny is even in leftist spaces #which is the political party that yknow. is supposed to ACTUALLY support us #i know that wasnt the topic of the video but i just couldnt get it out of my head #bc i know ive certainly engaged in conversations where i also just like #did stuff like that?? #like #i let my internalized misogyny kind of manifest bc others around me (who i looked up to and respected) were acting that way #and i justified it by saying it was white women #i think as i grow older and become more informed about these types of things #im more able to just. recognize it as bullshit #not to say women/white women cant be criticized #but if you ALWAYS have to specify its a white woman your talking about #chances are you still think this type of shit about a non-white woman too #you just recognize that as being racist and bad and reject it #meanwhile general misogyny you dont see as being as bad #so u feel the need to specify white women bc then it makes it seem like u dont just shit on ALL women

[woodwool]

actually you know what. i dont want to dislike zucchini.......give me your best zucchini recipes. convert me.

#i hated broccoli n brussels sprouts too growin up bc i never had it prepared in an actual Tasty way just. steamed and unseasoned and gross #but i adore them now that i can cook food good. it feels unfair not to give zucchini the same chance #hell ive even started liking fish which i HATED growing up #clown shoe noises

[achairwithapandaonit]

by any chance does anyone have any demon slayer fic recs where nezuko is actually more of a proper character and gets development and is allowed to grow? cause honestly the further i've gotten in this manga the more disappointed in it i've been with the lack of meaningful development, especially in nezuko

#no idea if this is actually a controversial opinion on the series cause i've not come across much criticism #but i do think it falls short on every character. the concepts are great and i enjoy the characters and had a lot of fun watching and #reading this series. but i do think that it fails to do much that's actually meaningful or impactful with any of the characters #ready to be disagreed with but i feel like the only development nezuko ever got was when she went to attack those humans and had to #be restrained by tanjirou. and it falls incredibly flat when she never really has any other struggles other than at the start of the series #i thought she was meant to be a main character but she's more like a set piece #maybe i'm just missing something cause i'm still about 50 chapters from the end. but i just got so disappointed after they did nothing with #her becoming sun resistant except pull a gag that i didn't want to pick the manga up again #like that was the chance to do more with her and finally give her development and let her relationships develop! and the fact that they did #nothing kind of highlighted to me that the series really hadn't done much with any of the characters #there's beats where it feels like there's growth but i don't actually know what about the characters has grown??? apart from getting a new #power and being stronger because of it #they don't grow as characters. and supposed development only ever happens during fights or off screen #anyway i should stop criticising. i'm just very disappointed cause i really enjoyed the manga and then that happened and it was like what's #the point #criticism #demon slayer criticism #<- so you can block the tag if you don't want to see this stuff #it feels very negative for the fact that you really can't expect much from shounen. and i DID enjoy it. it's just disappointing #(the shinobu thing is also annoying. like i like that she can't decapitate demons and that she uses poison but the reason for it being that #she's weak and small is bullshit and FEELS like it's written that way because she's a woman)

[icewindandboringhorror]

sleepy mr baby + other random misc images

#image commentary in tags once again since they don't allow captions anymore and I feel weird using the alt text for that -- #1. Interesting formations in the bottom of a cocoa powder container #2. more pressed four leaf clovers for the year. found all in one day #3. The picture is so blurry it's hard to tell but it's a DOUBLE clover! I've found multiple 6 leaf clovers before but usuall #y they're connected much higher up where the leaves are and sort of look like one clover. Where this one was like... connected lower down a #the stem and so it literally just looks like two 3 leaf clovers merged together. #4. Love his silly sleepy stretch bapy face #5. An interesting new matching card game thing that I tried playing a while ago. Another into my ever growing giant collection of #games that I rarely have the chance to actually play with people lol.. Current favorites are Bethump'd With Words. Tapple. Lowdown-Go. #classic Boggle and Scrabble and such. This one I think is just called 'SET' ? #For any fellow ... boardgame lovers?? theyre not really boardgames.. But when I say 'card game lovers' then it sounds more like #I'm referring to people who like to play Cards - like rummy or king's corners or jacks up or etc. And I dont mean playing cards type #games. But then if i just say 'Game lovers' then that sounds like video games... hrmm... terminology.. ANYWAY #6. PIGEONS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.. spotted..!! clapping cheering sobbing at their beauty so on and so forth #7. back at it again..I know all of these images look the same because I get the same exact order every single time I go to zero dregrees lo #. but it IS all separate occasions. I allow myself to go one single time a year (pretty expensive like.. $12 for the garlic noodles I think #or even $15. And probably $7 for a drink. so it's a very rare treat). (Garlic noodles with beef. matcha bubble tea. coffee bubble tea. pina #colada smoothie thing (not alcoholic). strawberry cheesecake milkshake.). Funnily looks like I'm just reposting the same image though lol #8. Random picture from that other costume I did a while ago after I had taken the wig off and my hair was sitting funny #Like a pta mom manager side bang sort of look but also with clown makeup lol #9. SKY.. very pale blue and white... perfect.. #photo diary

[magnusmodig]

rough childhood headcanon qs / @clxscdeyes / no longer accepting !

╰┈➤ 7 . how old was your muse when they realized they had childhood trauma?

||. one whole "today years old" post!ragnarok and hela's reveal. Except, even then, according to the movie, not really because Thor is still in heavy denial about all of it where Odin is concerned. I've spoken a bit (here) about how Thor adores his family; he idolizes them and views them through blinding rose-colored glasses, (especially when they're deceased) and that is especially true of his circumstances.

So, very often times when the truth clashes with the rose-colored view of them (namely: his father), Thor does one of two things: find a way to justify the words or action with the surrounding context of the time to make it make sense (e.g., well he scolded me harshly because i was talking back), or avoid it altogether. (this is his go-to. no talking about it; thor would rather not right now, so he does not.)

Key example being: he would rather focus on how his father changed his ways, and the Odin that he knew and grew up with was a man who had turned away from pursuing war for war's sake, and was instead one who valued peace and life. He would rather focus on that aspect of Odin, and take in the broader picture of Odin's life. REGARDLESS of the fact that what Thor is deeply, personally affected - not with the realization that Odin changed his ways once upon a time - but by the fact that he lied to him, manipulated him, and controlled and shaped every aspect of his being, for Thor's whole life, JUST to avoid another Hela. Someone who Thor is not, could not be farther from, and never knew about, because Odin (apparently) kept the matter of his true first-born a closely-guarded secret and seemingly would have continued to were it not for Odin's death, Hela's escape, and Ragnarok all coinciding at the same moment in time. And this, all because Thor rationalizes it as "well, I wouldn't want to be remembered and judged based on the person that I used to be. I should extend that same kindness to my father, because he too, changed." (x10 because now Odin is dead. And it's in poor-taste to speak ill of a dead man.)

The problem namely being: Thor only talks about things when Thor decides it's time to talk about things ; when he is ready. ...but as this is a topic that ripple effects down to Thor's core, good luck getting him to open up about it, even just with himself.

#(yknow what sucks most about this is that 2011-2015 thor was on a trajectory where) #(while he still wouldn't talk about a lot of things he wasn't as firmly rooted in /absolute denial/ like he is now >>) #(he would lock up and not talk about his personal feelings but he was still /thinking/ about them) #(- and could grow ready to share his thoughts once he processed through all of it.) #(or at least he would broach the broad concepts while still lightly brushing over 'k but how did it make THOR feel') #(dude would rather choke than talk about his own feelings no support system for thor he's so dumb) #(which is also just so funny because he never /denied/ the fact that he's feeling under the weather either) #(he just... won't elaborate on why he is or how to feel better.) #(but anyways) #(to rationalize the trajectory shift away from 'thor being able to talk about deeply upsetting topics for him even if it's uncomfortable') #(i've decided that so much has happened in such a short amount of time and there's /so/ many things eating at him-) #(-that he's subconsciously decided he's not going to talk much about any of them. because there's just too much.) #(the vibe of 'if i talk about this now i'm going to fall and if i fall i don't know if i can get up again because it's finally too heavy) #(-and i can't afford to fall down bc there's too much at stake outside of me so i just will not take the chance') #(he can if he's ever with someone he truly trusts and he can speak about it NORMALLY if that person pushes him enough) #(because you've always had to needle thor to /actually answer your question/ rather than talk half-way around it) #(//stares at thor 2011 where he never opens up to jane even once not even at the fire-side chat) #(but until then it's big denial mode bc ragnarok messed him up something fierce and i'm not even talking about-) #(-the order of in-universe events that happen in the movie orz) #( ooc . ) — stories that leap from the page . #( answered . ) — black feathers fall to a raven's call . #clxscdeyes #( headcanon . ) — glory to the man who toils for his land . may it ever prosper .

[quick-drawn]

one reason jesse got away with some of the shit that he did in his deadlock days is because he fully passed as a grown ass adult at 15 years old —

#✯ — [ ʰᵒʳˢᵉˢ ᶤᶰ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵃᶜᵏ ] ⨯ ooc #growing up he was always taller than all the other kids — lanky as hell. he was 5'11" at age 14. #hit 6' by 15 — #16 he had a decent beard...not anything like what he's got in later days but only patchy under his chin. #farm work treated the rest of him pretty well — don't need a gym when you've got a trailer of bales to unload by yourself #by noon. #people didn't have a problem making deals with a CHILD because they never knew he was one. #young ? yes. #but looking at him and having conversations & negotiations with him — he was never challenged about his age. #that plus his track record and general reputation — nobody had a problem handing over money or trusting him & the gang with their property. #and tbh it's a little sad actually — and then there's also #smth smth about emotionally never getting the chance to be a CHILD and thats the reason why you will occasionally find him acting like one #anyway what was i talking about #tbd

[putonmyfavoriteshow]

Do yoy think Diego ever really like Fran. I think he was just bored and picked a random girl to date like he could have picked Naty or any other person just as much.

#that's all i'm going to say #thank you iris for sharing this violetta wiki quote #anon asks #asks answered #ok no i can't shut up i do think he genuinely likes fran and it's not a 'random girl' #he never had a chance to get to know her in s2 so when they grow closer in s3 there is a genuine connection #they are the trope of pair the spares so i get ppl seeing it as just random #but i actually think they make sense

[void-tiger]

…I need to stop waiting for you to either apologize or ask for an explanation. Or send your own damn meme. I already know deep down it’s not going to happen. Even though you’ve acted outside my (actually low, negative) expectations before.

#tiger’s roar #…it’s either the weather or…finally processing the stress this has had me under for over a year #fighting to get us the Chance to be friends. challenge myself to grow socially. learn to trust people again. #learn to present a Persona that I’m actually happy with that doesn’t make me want to claw my skin off or hide #thinking said Persona would repel people to be Left Alone except by other freaks and weirdos #but actually seemed to attract people instead. including This One #who was actually Top of the List Repel If Like Everyone Else #because…I wanted to be Left Alone about dating too actually #just because I have a ‘huh. well maybe…’ doesn’t mean my expectations or priorities have changed #they haven’t. they’ve only ever been friendship #AFTER we finally spoke. and I realized it was Utter Bullshit that we allowed others’ gossip to not have us interact #so that we wouldn’t have to deal with it. it. was. beyond. dumb. #and I am absolutely over hiding to keep myself safe but ending up dictated anyway #just. are we friends or not. are you even able to accept that we’re friends

[tartt9]

once again thinking about jewish roy

#i know this is a jamie blog let me live for like .03 seconds #but roy not being able to become a bar mitzvah at 13 bc he was....a little bit busy with other things #read (a lot of bit busy with other things) #and he just wasn't that religious growing up period #his granddad was the religious one imo though #and like. after amsterdam and riding bikes and thinking about respecting his granddad's memory (which is SO jewish btw) #he actually starts studying to become a bar mitzvah :') #my 40 year old bar mitzvah man im so soft about him #no but srsly even if his host family in sunderland was jewish (-.03 chance they were lbr) #roy would not have had the time to study for a bar mitzvah with his schoolwork and his academy training #so it would've had to be a later in life thing #and i think it's something he'd do to respect his granddad's memory #okay back to being a jamie blog now