Blade Tw - Tumblr Posts
first art attack on @itischeese!
image ID under the cut
[Image ID: A digital drawing of the cheesiest's OC Talos. He is framed from the shoulders up in front of a cloudy background. His hand is visible holding a partially visible sword across his neck/shoulder. He looks slightly beyond the viewer and is at a slight angle. He is white with a circular black tattoo/birthmark with what appears to be white teeth placed inside it in the middle of his neck. He has blonde hair, going down to below his chin on one side and just below his ear on the other. A strand of hair falls over his face. He has green eyes. He wears a partially open white shirt that shows his collar bones and part of his chest. He is smiling and appears confident. tw/.End ID]
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, bunny!”
NARUTO UZUMAKI in The Assasin of the Mist! (episode 7)
Unlikely to happen, but I can dream right? Some Krolia and Keith bonding time
CAN WE JUST???????? ADMIRE HOW CUTE IS THIS?????????? HE IS SLEEPING IN THE DAMN FOREST AND SOME BIRDS JUST POPPED OUT OF NOWHERE AND ?????? THIS IS SO DAMN CUTE????? WHY ARE YOU SUCH A CUTIE MY SON
Jinx and Her Braids
Ik Jinx’s braids are a part of her LoL design from before Arcane was even a whisper on the Undercity’s streets, but I have to dig into this a bit
Because Jinx, this “free agent of chaos” runs around town, doing jump scares and seeming to be everywhere at once with braids that are the length of her gd body–and anyone who has chopped off even a foot of hair can tell you, hair can feel pretty heavy. She’s not just dodging hits and hoverboards with lightening speed–she’s doing it with weights attached to her skull.
Warning: I do math and then make sad conclusions about Jinx’s motives
Ok, so first things first, I looked up how much hair weighs. I found this video of of a woman weighing, what she claims to be, 4 feet of unbraided hair and when she braids it, the braid coming off her head weighs about ½ a pound.
Based on that concept art that’s been circulating, Jinx is 5′3″ and her braided hair seems to reach about ankle length.
I’m 5′2″–not far off from Jinx’s height– and my ankles are about 2 inches off of the ground, so the distance from my head to ankle is 5 feet. I’d then say that Jinx’s braided hair hits roughly 5 feet down her body. This would mean that her hair has to weigh at minimum .6-.7 lbs.
But considering that unbraided hair is longer than braided hair, we can assume Jinx’s hair is even longer than 5 feet.
And in the video I found, the woman wasn’t using a hairtie, ½ a pound was the sheer weight of her braid, meanwhile Jinx is running around with either metal or leather bracelets in her hair. Either of which could bring the weight up to a solid 1 lb or even 2-4lbs depending on if they’re metal or not. (And I definitely think most of them are metal)
All to say, I think we’d be more than generous in merely rounding up to 1lb, and that we could easily say her hair weighs at least 2 lbs or more. So she’s running around, dodging hits and hoverboards with at least an extra pound of weight counterbalancing every turn she makes with her head.
Talk about ow? Talk about headache? Talk about seeing red every time a door closes on your hair or you sit on your hair without enough slack so you have to shift and reposition yourself so your hair is out from under you just you can sit down but all the while your skull is throbbing because your hair is an unrelenting weight on your already really heavy skull?
So, as a Jinx character question, I have to ask why?
Why have this super long hair that has to hurt more than it’s really worth (worth functionality wise)? Cause also it takes commitment to grow your hair that long. You really mean to tell me Jinx never had a breakdown and took a pair of scissors to her locks? (like what clearly happened with Powder’s bangs). Having hair that long is intentional. It takes a long time to grow hair that long. Like years and years and one snip would make for shorter hair when we see her later “all growed up.”
I’d bet Jinx hasn’t cut her hair since before Vi “left.”
The ends of her braids is probably the hair that was on her head when the Vander-family was still together. A possible, but probably out there theory could be that Jinx never cut her hair because it was a way to keep something of herself that she had when she was Powder. (Someone from a culture with a an emphasis on hair braiding could speak more to this than I)
But, knowing this little meow meow, it’s probably because she wants the pain on her skull. Some kind of physical manifestation of the pain happening inside her head from the extra voices her trauma crammed into her mind.
Also, she went from one braid as Powder (copying their Mom’s one braid) to two as Jinx. And if she kept the length for the pain then I like to think she made it two braids because of Mylo and Claggor–the two “ghosts” we see on her backside, over her braids, in episode 6. The braids are the physical manifestations of the weights of their deaths and how it weighs on her psyche.
Thoughts welcome. It’s such an inefficient fashion choice that I’m fascinated.
celebrating Her month by updating my mai&sokka bestieism manifesto & introducing their matching undercuts era
have a ponytail sakura because she’s the cutest and lives in my head rent free
Like mother, like daughter. I will always love their parallels
I don't know where this idea I see in a lot of fanfics came from but Katara doesn't look much like her mother. She looks like Hakoda and Kanna. With the more squared off upper face with the sharper chin.
Sokka looks like Kya. His face is more oval shape moving into his chin with softer curve rather than a sharp angle.
Obviously it's not a one to one thing and I know it's a popular trope to compare a child to their dead parent, particularly if they are the same sex, but Katara seriously doesn't look much like Kya and I think it would be nice if someone told Sokka, the kid who can't remember Kya's face anymore, that he looks like her for once instead.
[Image IDs in alt text]
I just noticed...
It's the exact same sword!!!!
Cinder still cherishes that memory....this kid suffered a lot
Schnee Week Day 1 - Swords
It has always been a headcanon that Winter and Weiss’s swords are family heirlooms that they modified to fit their own personal styles. At some point I’d like to do the Weiss version I had in mind for this too 😤
Consider this: Sakura secretly loving swords (bc she's a lesbian and what lesbian doesn't love swords??)
i absolutely agree and offer this iconic sword lesbian official art
but also consider: why stop at swords
Cultural Anatomy: Fire Nation Swords Pt. 2
Zuko’s Broadswords
The broadswords that Zuko uses are niuweidao (牛尾刀) or “oxtail sabers”. Niuweidao are characterized by their flat and wide blades, flared tips, rounded cutting sections, and noticeably bent hilt; all characteristics present in Zuko’s swords.
The niuweidao actually has a rather unique history compared to other Chinese weapons. Whereas most Chinese weapons were adapted to be used by the imperial troops, the niuweidao was created and used exclusively by civilians. The primary reason for this was that their design was optimized to efficiently cut through flesh rather than harder surfaces; making them impractical for slashing through armored soldiers on the battlefield but perfect for petty robbery and common street violence. Unsurprisingly, these 19th-century swords came to be associated with rebels and criminals.
That Zuko chooses to wield niuweidao as the Blue Spirit is yet another example of his intelligence. After all, no one would expect the Prince of the Fire Nation, with a ship full of military-grade tools at his disposal, to utilize a weapon wielded by the lowest levels of society.
The niuweidao being the weapon of thugs also explains why that one Earth Kingdom jerk had a pair on him as well. In fact, you’ll notice that Zuko only ever uses his broadswords when he’s behaving criminally or rebelliously. Even his dual-wielding breaks from typical sword-fighting convention. The swords are the embodiment of his innate brashness.
This also provides a unique foil to Sokka and his sword. Sokka is often dismissed as a “peasant” and many characters simply write him off as dimwitted goofball. Yet his sword, the jian, is an ancient weapon dating back to 500 BC and is considered to be the weapon of scholars and gentlemen. Sokka’s sword embodies all of his most overlooked qualities: His intelligence, creativity, and honorable nature.
Zuko, by contrast, was seen as the elitist prince obsessed with honor and maintaining the Fire Nation’s imperial legacy. Yet his swords of choice, the niuweidao, are a relatively new kind of weapon from the fringes of society. Their entire purpose is to undermine the established power structure. Zuko’s swords embodies all of his most overlooked qualities: His boldness, his cunning, and his willingness to break from tradition.
Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^
https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture
So, that Ezran/Rayla friendship meta I’ve had rattling around in my head for a bit? Here goes nothing! (as always, I’m still really new here and haven’t read any metas on these two on this subject; if it’s been said before, I apologize :) and this is long, so buckle up!)
(also, thank goodness for an online Image Gallery where I could snag all of these screenshots of whatever scene I wanted/needed :D)
The first thing that stands out to me about these two: Rayla’s immediate ability to throw aside her revenge-leaning bias, and Ezran’s immediate ability to forgive Rayla for an assassaination attempt. I know I’ve talked about it before, but it’s the crux of their entire friendship. You can’t get away from it when thinking/talking about these two.
Rayla was bent on her Moonshadow-duty of assassinating Prince Ezran to make up for (her) endangering her group; Ezran has heard only nightmarish horror stories of Elves (cue Callum’s “we don’t drink that…blood. We don’t drink blood”… “she’s a monster” (Callum gets a break for this quip since it was a bid to protect Rayla from Amaya)).
What changed? Because the first heart-change we see in this show is between Rayla and Ezran. These two ARE the very first spark of friendship across barriers; years of hate, anger, and bloodshed; revenge; assassination attempts; prejudice.
So, what changed that?
The revelation of egg!Zym. Not only does the revelation that egg!Zym change the literal circumstances, the narrative, and what needs to happen, but it’s the catalyst that strips away the veil of bias these two had previously been looking through.
In juxtaposition to egg!Zym, Rayla sees an empathetic, warm soul in Ezran. In juxtaposition to egg!Zym, Ezran sees a protective, good heart in Rayla.
Because of Rayla’s heart and Ezran’s empathy, they’re both ready to jump in and do right by egg!Zym— together. Claudia’s two cents about egg!Zym being a thing/danger to humans throws Rayla and Ezran into mutual agreement that the egg of the Dragon Prince must be protected, and they’re willing to do it together, having torn down the barriers their cultures had built up to separate them.
Without really knowing each other, they both plunge headlong into a friendship and near month-long quest; it’s probably a little reckless to someone like Callum (head), but to idealists like Rayla/Ezran, mutual friendship and trust isn’t just possible. They make it a reality.
Rayla (heart) & Ezran (hand) an Intersecting of Love & Empathy, Hand & Heart
Rayla has a huge ability to love others. It’s a little skewed by her assassin talents, but it’s there if you’re paying attention. Ezran’s empathy is immediately more obvious. He hasn’t had to hide his kind heart the way Rayla has.
Ezran metaphorically reaches out to Rayla with his hands, over and over again; Rayla metaphoricall protects Ezran with her heart.
Ezran empathetically invests in her. When Rayla feels terrible about her fear of water, Ezran’s immediate response is “aww, that’s so cute!”. Ezran values a part of Rayla she despises.
He emphasizes to Callum “I like her, Callum” when Callum expresses doubts over trusting Rayla; he lashes out “because she’s an Elf? Who cares?” when Callum is trying to tell Ez she’s hiding something. He’s “a huge fan of human Rayla” even though it’s a display of Rayla’s silliest, dorkiest side.
Rayla eventually learns to open up to Callum (somewhat naturally, for someone who’s been conditioned to hide her emotions by living up to Moonshadow Elf standards). But it’s Ezran she fully opens up to first in 01x08 (?) when trapped together on that tree while their way up the Cursed Caldera. She lays out the entire mess she thinks she is to him.
Why? Why is it Ezran she feels safe opening up to? Why not Callum, who is (seemingly) more of a peer?
Ezran makes her feel it’s safe to open herself up to his empathy and friendship by valuing her when “she’s a mess”/acknowledging the brave things she does (i.e. saving Bait/trying to protect Zym).
Children are naturally accepting, forgiving, and loving. It’s safe to open up to a kid who’s listening. Ezran’s empathetic, understanding, and forgiving hand reaches out to Rayla; she feels it’s okay to be a vulnerable mess to him.
Sometimes, it’s even easier for her to apologize to Ezran than Callum (i.e. 04x03 “hey, Ez… I’m so sorry for the way I left” (paraphrase)). Would she apologize to Callum in 04x02? Absolutely! But Callum told her twice he didn’t want to talk; Rayla had to respect those boundaries. With Ezran, there’s a little less risk in bulldozing through an apology right off. Because Ezran is still childlike in nature; he can still see through her flaws and forgive her immediately. Which isn’t a misplaced assessment on Ez’s part; he knows she left (the wrong thing) for the right reasons; he hugs her immediately and accepts her back to their group. Yes, Rayla’s surprised, but that’s possibly brought on by Callum icing her out in the high mage’s tower—and most certainly brought on by the still enforced ghosting from the Silvergrove.
Ezran is empathetic. Ezran can see through people’s mistakes, get to the source of why someone does what they do. He see’s motives because he is empathetic; Callum sees actions… which is possibly why Ezran’s a little more understanding of why Rayla left and why he’s telling Callum “she’s been trying hard to get things back to the way they were”.
As an aside, perhaps Rayla navigating her actions through heart/conviction and Callum his head/actions is why they fundamentally misunderstand each other when Rayla left for two years? (Which is another meta for another day; but I’ll put it on my list.)
Back to Ezran’s empathy for Rayla and her many mistakes; he thanks her for not killing him, and Rayla in turn tells Ezran his life is worth more than her hand. She places value on his life with that statement. Ezran tells her it’s a good thing she couldn’t kill Marcos. In fact, if I remember right, Ezran’s the only one who’s ever told Rayla she did a good thing in sparing a life.
Rayla feels a freedom to talk about her mission (killing Ez/Harrow) to Ezran himself. That’s a hard, heavy subject. Ezran’s empathy makes it possible. Ezran’s empathy makes forging a strong, solid friendship built on mutual trust, love (platonic), and understanding a reality.
Ezran is the first to offer Rayla a hug (hand) when she falls apart for dropping egg!Zym into the icy mountain lake: “you tried so hard, Rayla. You’re so good— and brave” (paraphrase?). Ezran is so empathetic he cries for Rayla’s pain; granted part of it is also the thought of egg!Zym dying—but there’s no denying his empathy for Rayla is deep enough to cry tears for her pain.
And to an insecure, affection-deprived heart like Rayla, that matters.
Rayla is good in Ezran’s eyes. Ezran, who’s been taught nothing but hatred for Elves believes Rayla is good and brave. Not a blood thirsty monster. She’s always trying her hardest, and Ezran sees that instead of her mistakes and mess-ups.
Even though Rayla and Callum do forge a stronger, deeper friendship (and eventually romance), it’s Ezran who reached out to Rayla first (hand). Callum is NEVER very far behind, but Ezran just leapt in, dragging Rayla by the hand, into the friendship first.
Rayla immediately sees (and treats) Ezran as a peer (when others see him as "the little brother"… "a kid").
Rayla earns Ezran’s trust and eventual friendship by continually getting down to his level. Claudia demands the princes get behind her so she can protect them from “the Elf”. Rayla demands nothing, is already down on her knees near egg!Zym and Ezran and offers a warm, kind smile to Ezran. She doesn’t need force, threats, or commands to get to Ezran; she uses her heart.
Rayla again gets down to Ezran’s level in 01x09 while Ezran confesses his ability to talk to animals. Callum talks down to Ezran, but Rayla literally gets down to her knees: signaling to Ezran it’s safe for him to tell her what he needs to. She’s not treating him like a kid but the intelligent peer she sees him to be. She listens. Even when Rayla admits (reluctantly) she isn’t sure she believes Ezran, she still shows him the respect she thinks he deserves; she doesn’t belittle him.
This is so important and meaningful, especially for a very young Ezran. It instills confidence in him when others doubt him.
This is where the five-year gap in their ages becomes fascinating and wonderful and beautiful. Ezran’s used to being seen by Callum, Claudia, and others as a kid, the little brother; Rayla sees him as a mature, wise, kind peer that she takes seriously. In many ways, Ezran might be/is probably one of the most mature characters in this show; Rayla sees that.
She doesn’t give two figs Ezran is younger than her. Ezran won her respect through his dedication to doing right by egg!Zym. Their protectiveness of egg!Zym is something they both, especially, share: “it’s not a thing! It’s an egg!”… “she’s right. It wants its mother.”
These two are single-handedly the most invested in egg!Zym’s safety and well-being (Callum isn’t too far behind, again :)). It’s one of the ways they are similar to each other; it’s what allowed them to bond in the first place.
Rayla intentionally takes a back seat to being a "hero" and lets Ezran step up to it when it comes to returning Zym to Zubeia. When Callum is at his lowest in S3 seeing stone!Avizandum, Rayla points to the scene of Zym and Ezran playing (who both have a parent who killed one of their parents (Avizandum-->Sarai; Harrow-->Avizandum)) and reminds Callum: “that’s the miracle”.
Rayla putting aside the hardness and hatred of her people, sparing Marcos, sparing Ezran, befriending Ezran is what allows that miracle to thrive.
Rayla feels a near immediate natural, protective instinct over Ezran. I’m willing to bet it’s probably as strong as Callum’s protective instinct for Ez, as it continues on in S4 as well.
Rayla protects Ezran literally. She obviously protects Ezran from Claudia, but Rayla chooses to protect Ezran(her previous target turned friend) over Runaan (her mentor/father figure). Huh. Interesting twist of fate, eh?
Runaan calls her a fool and tells her she’ll lose/die fighting him, which Rayla accepts “probably”. Rayla’s conviction driven heart is willing to accept those consequences for Ezran. Those are some insane consequences for an Elf to accept for a human. But Rayla does, because Ezran's a person just as much as she is. Because he has a chance to make things right, and he wants to. She’s going to give him a chance to redeem humanity. Ezran’s life (and egg!Zym) are more important than Runaan’s emotional constipation, what her people think of her, etc.
She knows about ghosting (as her parents were ghosted themselves); she knows how Moonshadow Elves see mistakes, messes, and failures. She’s not an idiot. She turns her back on the wrong thing (what her people expect of her) and does the right thing (protecting Ezran).
Throughout the series, she’s constantly grabbing Ez’s hand to lead him to safety, pushing him behind herself to protect him, etc. Even in Rex Ignious’ lair, when the dragon advances, Rayla advances to put Ezran behind her at one point.
Rayla protects Ezran emotionally. She’s willing to protect Ezran’s feelings from Callum “Callum, back off” when he spirals into his jerk-mode a little too easily, (interestingly enough, Ezran does this for Rayla too in 04x04 when Rayla struggles to remember Ibis’ name).
A part of this is just who Rayla is. She stands up for people who are suffocated, belittled, or demeaned. Some of this is certainly natural instinct, that’s been reinforced (probably) by wishing someone would have stood up for her in Moonshadow culture when she was “a mess”.
Even though it was a mistake to, keeping the truth of Harrow’s death was a form of protection; misplaced (and Rayla knows it), but it’s one of the ways Rayla aches to protect Ezran. She doesn’t want to tell Ezran his dad is dead. How do you do that to your friend? Even though it’s misplaced, both boys eventually recognize it came from her heart: “you’re not my king, but you are my friend.”
Rayla and Ezran were the very first to end cycles (Callum close behind, again), and in turn they began a new cycle in history: love and empath, hand and heart.
(I won't be writing a meta this long for at least a month ;) well; maybe my head, hand, and heart one will be :D)
“I will protect Naruto, no matter what!”
For TDP Gen Week Day One: Forgiveness
Rayla? Hello, Ezran. I didn’t know if you’d want to see me again after the way I left. I’m so sorry that I—I missed you so much! We all did!
the hands that bring destruction can be so gentle.