#puff talks

[paintingpuff]

I'm late to the aro positivity party but thought I could shout out a manga I read this year, I Want to be a Wall!

It's about an aroace woman (who is really into BL) and a gay man being arranged into a marriage and how they navigate that, growing closer and kind of becoming a QPR.

The stuff that really got to me was the discussion of the woman's experience with her asexuality (and aromanticism though that isn't explicitly labeled), how it connects to her media tastes and the way people have hurt her in the past. It was all absolutely heartbreaking.

A fun detail I also like is how the pair act out romantic tropes (Gift of Magi style misunderstanding, paranoia about "cheating,"), but they are all done through a platonic context.

(Ex. Even though they're not in romantic love, he still feels upset at the idea of losing their bond, or her getting hurt by someone he doesn't know.)

There's not too many chapters of it out, unfortunately (only like two volumes), but the ones I read are very enjoyable and I'd love to put this on other people's radar!

(btw, I got this manga rec from this video, and there's more in it!)

Asexual Manga and their Powerful Visibility

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=urXrwYmMdgA

#aromantic #asexual #queer #queer manga #aromantic manga #aromanticism #lgbtqia #gay #manga recommendation #i want to be a wall #gay manga #puff talks

[lazynoodlepuff]

I had the best run in the skull cavern and then I passed out on 97th floor

#puff talks #stardew valley #sdv

[official--kirby]

being real rn: i MISSED tumblr sm everything is actually clean and filtered unlike stink ass twitter

#puff talks

[campinfirmary]

family bonding time :)

#solangelo #tsats spoilers #will solace #nico di angelo #the cocoa puffs love listening to them shit talk & gossip. they live for the drama

[rat-rosemary]

I want to write a fic about Dream moving into a frat mid college for some reason and he has the surgery scars he has and every single time a frat bro sees him without a shirt on their reaction is "Dude, cool scars!! ... is it a trans thing?" "Uh... no, they're like, surgery scars" "Cool cool... you're still going with he/him right? Just to check" "yeah"

#the dog barks #dreamwastaken #the frat bros are of couse Sapnap Sam Punz George etc #I think Dream would have been put there because of an error in the system but the frat had space so he just stayed #he doesn't like talking about the surgery with strangers and the bros picked up on it so every single time someone asks they make up a new- #story about what happen #their favorite is “he was fighting a huge crocodile and it almost bit him in half” “he jumped into a trash compactor” #george in particular will always say that dream got the scars fighting the ender dragon #Dream has a girl group that he hangs out with and they use him as a test to see if the guy they like is worth dating #mostly not with the scars #Dream just has something that makes men feel like they need to puff up like a stupid chicken #(that something is that he's tall and hot and well liked by the girls and the gays) #the frat house becomes 70% queerer when Dream joins #his nickname by the end of the year is mr gay awakening #(no one calls him that to his face) #dsmp au

[bonefall]

Super interested in how you plan to write Leopardfoot! I feel like both fanon and canon tend to make her into a sweet mom(tm) who’s super sad that Tigerstar is evil, very similar to how Goldenflower is usually treated. What’s her thoughts on Pinestar and him leaving? How did she influence Tigerstar? What are her political beliefs?

Society has progressed past the need for sad moms who stare tearily at their evil sons and boohoo about all the murder. It's MOTHER AGENCY TIME

BB!Leopardfoot was FEROCIOUS. Her father was the indominable Adderfang, and he taught her about the importance of honor and glory. When Tigerpaw was given to Thistleclaw as an apprentice, she was proud of it. It felt perfect to her-- that her father's apprentice was now her son's mentor.

For his brief rule, she supported Sunstar completely. It helped that he came after the disastrous and embarassing exit of Pinestar, which ruined the legacy that she wanted him to give her son. Pinestar was a damn coward and a codebreaker... and she assured Tigerkit that he was more HER son than his.

She even gives him a life, for Legacy, in defiance of StarClan

She was friends with Bluemoon for a time, but after ascending to StarClan, she learned about the Forget-me-nots.

This changed her opinion of her. Leopardfoot supports Thistle Law, STRONGLY so.

She supported THISTLECLAW when he tried to forcefully void the Queen’s Rights. If Bluemoon hadn't broken the code, then what did she have to hide?

She backed off when Thrushpelt leapt to her defense though, "She didn't reveal it because she doesn't love me are you happy now??"

Leopardfoot: *awkwardly turns away feeling like an asshole now, tea SPILLED, her friend's dirty laundry EXPOSED, thought she was crusading for the law but she just dug up drama*

Towards the end of Pinestar’s reign, he was getting exhausted. He wanted peace. Leopardfoot wanted kittens around that time, and figured that there was no better cat than the son of Oakstar, architect of the infamous Crusade Era.

If Pinestar had no children, a glorious bloodline would have died out. She wanted it for her kits. Pinestar agreed on the condition that he would be their Mi, which she happily accepted.

So when Pinestar left, she jumped into the nursery to take over and had to explain to her kits where their Mi went.

She drove it home to them that he abandoned everything, because his weakness took over. They would never be like him, she promised.

Mistkit died very young. Nightpaw made it to apprenticeship before she also succumbed. Tigerclaw remembers very well how hard it was to lose his sisters.

Leopardfoot herself was taken shortly before TPB, in Spottedleaf's Plague. Her death causes Tigerclaw to have a bit of a moment.

After the trial in Bluestar's Flowers, Leopardfoot leaves StarClan along with a bunch of other Thistle Law supporters, including Thistleclaw himself. She joins the BOTTE at the end of OotS, fighting to the end with her son.

She misses him a lot, and remains in the Dark Forest to the current arc. She chose her path; and has the dignity to walk it.

She does miss StarClan sometimes though, and will tell you stories about it if you ask.

In terms of demon friends, she's somewhere in the clique between the harsher and softer spirits.

She dislikes Morningstar, Cloudberry, and Ryewhisker on the softer end, and has come to resent Thistleclaw and Finchflight on the other, but likes Darkstripe, Leopardstar, and Silverhawk.

Gets along with a range of "mid" level demons.

In particular I imagine she hangs out with Darkstripe a lot. Taste test buddy, he asks her to try his experimental recipes because she's honest but not mean. One of the few Thistle Law supporting cats he hangs out with after the double-death of Tigerstar.

He calls her Lefty. Her official nickname is "Left" but he calls her Lefty.

(Clanmew: her name is Saorpwyyar. Others call her Saopr. He calls her Sapyy.)

Her mom and dad Swiftbreeze and Adderfang are here too, following Thistleclaw like she did, but she's been minimizing her contact with her dad. She feels like she is owed an apology somehow but also doesn't have the emotional intelligence to know that it's what she wants.

She just knows that she feels really bitter talking to him, and that's unpleasant.

She used to be VITRIOLIC with Pinestar, who is also here, even going after him physically when he chose to join in with the Dark Forest trainees. But now... honestly so much shit has happened, she just doesn't like seeing him. She wishes he wasn't here.

I write her being very dignified. She doesn't like to admit publically she was ever wrong and speaks with confidence, quietly backing off and not wanting to speak about her mistakes. She loves her children and her family, but explores the world in a very "self-centric" way, trusting her feelings and personal judgement over anything logical.

A reactionary sort of person, if that makes sense.

Her Land Mar has to develop over time because she is an ex-StarClan migrant (damned souls get theirs instantly after judgement), but it's called the Fence Cliff. It's a picket fence that blocks off a sheer drop, making a sharp turn down the cliff face and acting as a walkway. Follow the fence down the slope, and you can access the Dark Forest's town biome.

#BB!Leopardfoot #Better bones au #Pinestar’s Crusade #Spottedleaf's Plague #I think I made her a land mar once before but I like this idea more #I may repurpose the old idea when I remember it for someone else #Because I like the idea of Leopard and Dark walking down her land mar to get to the town to collect odd ingredients #And have Leopard talk about how ironic it is that her life's worst moment still goes back to the choices of other people #And Dark kinda puffs and says 'im sick of people blaming everyone else for their own mistakes' #And Lef doesn't really have a response to that #And Dark backpedals not wanting to offend her #And the Cliff Fence would be a super neat setting to write such a convo in #BB!Dark Forest #Dark forest demons my beloved btw. #I was actually at one point planning a cutesy like... not-rework BB-original novella story #Of Ryewhisker gathering ingredients for an anniversary dinner #And meeting with various DF demons #But now that Darkstripe is getting a whole ass postmortem arc about healing through cooking #I might make it about him #Especially so I can put that convo in it

[pettyprocrastination]

okay learning that König really is just wearing a tshirt on his head is sending me. Imagine being apart of KorTac and seeing him without his helmet on for the first time. This literal giant of a man who hardly talks on base but out in the field is a fucking beast so of course you think he’s fucking terrifying and then he takes off his helmet and you see his fucking tuft of hair poking out from the top and realize this motherfucker is just wearing an XL t-shirt on his head. I would never be the same again 

#tj talks #König #this is so funny #like. just a lil puff of hair poking out from the hole on the top. id be giggling during basic training my ass would not survive #könig x reader

[paintingpuff]

Netflix ATLA and the Air Nomad Genocide

I've started watching NATLA, and though I'm not really enjoying it, I've found it really interesting to compare its writing decisions to the show as a way to break both down and see how their parts tick. Since NATLA is trying to be more faithful than some other adaptations, the changes it does make stand out more and reveal the mechanics of the storytelling.

While I overall think a lot of NATLA's changes--even the minute ones--made the story execution weaker, the more complicated and interesting change of theirs is the intro, showing the day the Fire Nation ambushed the Air Nomads.

Pacing Criticisms

Cards on the table, I think that putting this sequence at the very beginning was a mistake. Watching Aang's emergence from the iceberg in NATLA made me realize how much the original cartoon imbues its beginning with mystery that makes for a much more active viewing experience. Aang doesn't know much about the present, Katara and Sokka don't know much about Aang's origins, and in their back and forth of information, we the audience organically learn both. Watching Katara and Aang piece together how long he's been frozen in ice was more satisfying and natural than Grangran deducing everything immediately when Aang showed up.

But Sherlock Grangran was kind of the only decision the writers could do, because if they tried the build up the cartoon did, it would just feel tedious to the audience, because we already know everything from the start. They kind of wrote themselves into a corner there.

But let's ignore that problem. We could imagine in another draft that this sequence of the Fire Nation attack shows up as a flashback, kind of like what happened in ATLA with The Storm.

That then begs the question: How does this sequence’s inclusion change the audience's experience, and is it for better or worse?

Facing Vs. Hiding the Horrors

Both series portray very dark and horrific situations, but the way they try to evoke horror from the audience are very different approaches, and for me raises a question I've been asking myself for a while: When wanting to display discomforting violence, is it more effective to imply/hide it, or to show it in detail? Somewhere in between?

(I specify discomforting violence, as opposed to violence meant to be catharsis or spectacle.)

There are arguments for both. Explicit violence can create a visceral, physical reaction to an audience member (especially the squeamish ones), though for some it can come across as gratuitous and even exploitative.

Whereas hiding the violence can horrify the audience by leaving a lot to the imagination (insert that quote about fear of the unknown from Hack Penmanship Lovecraft), or give the sense that the events are so awful that even the camera has to look away. Some also say this gives the characters more dignity, though others think this softens the emotional reaction almost as a form of self censoring (there's a reason kid's media often tries to show horrific stuff off screen, such as the original ATLA).

Ultimately I've come to the conclusion that the former approach works for some stories, whereas the latter works better for others, all of it based on a ton of factors.

So I don't think NATLA's choice to delve into more detail about the Air Nomad genocide is an illogical decision. I wasn't sure about it when I heard it, but I thought that maybe I'm just attached to ATLA's off screen approach, so I kept myself open.

And dialogue issues aside, I don't think the scene is that poorly done. But it did ultimately solidify for me that ATLA's narrative is stronger without an explicit depiction of the Air Nomad genocide.

The Grief of Never Knowing

The image of Gyatso’s skeleton from ATLA has haunted me ever since I saw it as a kid. It was an emotional gut punch in a very well done episode, but this particular screenshot has stuck with me, and that is because of the Fire Nation soldiers. A lot of people have pointed this out, but there are a lot of bodies here, and it implies that Gyatso managed to not only kill these soldiers, but do it when they were strengthened by the comet. That image is very discomforting--Gyatso is always seen from Aang’s perspective, and thus we only see him as the gentle old mentor and friend, one who cheats at games and throws pies he meticulously baked.

It also puts into Aang’s position and the grief he has to face. From his perspective, he was gone only a few days as 100 years passed. He never gets to see the interim, and thus neither do the audience. He is left with the same implications as we are, and has to face the realities of grieving the fact that sometimes you’re not there when they leave.

An excellent point from @endless-nightshift here is how one of ATLA’s core themes is coping with the aftermaths of atrocities and war, analyzing their long-lasting affects rather than just the initial shock of violence--something I had never consciously realized but once said out loud makes a lot click into place for me. There is a reason the show starts a full century into the war rather than just a few years. 

François Truffaut once said that “there is no such thing as an anti-war film,” because the medium of film is inherently better at elevating and glorifying what it shows rather than deriding or deconstructing it. While I don’t think it’s impossible to do the latter, the extended action sequence that is the intro to NATLA causes that sentiment to echo in my mind as I watch, rather than invest me into the story. 

The implied atrocities of ATLA draws me in to empathize with the wounded characters and world, whereas the explicit action of NATLA pushes me away. 

…and that’s where I was planning to end this analysis, but there is one thing NATLA’s intro adds into the canon that I think is actually genius--if they take advantage of it in the future. 

The Air Nomads are Joy

When I first saw the addition of the Comet Festival, I saw it as a purely mechanical decision to have all the Air Nomads in one place for the attack, as well as to make the act even more scummy. However, the more I thought about it the more I realized how it could tie into one of my favorite themes of ATLA: the Air Nomads (and especially Aang) as the joy and hope of the world. 

(I saw an old tumblr post about this theme that inspired this section. I wish I could link it but I can’t find it anymore, I’m very sorry and if anyone can help me find it tysm)

There is a recurring motif of associating the Air Nomads with humor and fun. Iroh mentions their good humor; Gyatso baking pies just to prank the other masters with it; Roku’s first airbending flashback being him using it to mess with his friend. This is a core tenet to Aang’s character as well. The first line he has in the show is inviting Katara to go penguin sledding with him. Half the stops he makes in Season 1 is purely to have fun. He excites Kyoshi island with an airbending party trick. The humor in ATLA’s tone isn’t just there because it’s targeted towards kids, but is the bedrock of the series’ themes. 

(On a personal note, the humor is also what got me and my family into the show. We saw the intro sequence with Aang crashing into the statue and it made my mom laugh so hard that we watched the whole series, and years later we’ve rewatched it dozens of times and own all the DVDs)

Joy and fun and hope were the first things to die when the Fire Nation attacked, and part of Aang’s job is returning that to a world that has been scarred by decades of war. You may already be seeing where I’m going in regards to the Comet Festival. 

A core conflict in the cartoon finale is Aang wanting to keep to the principles of the Air Nomads while still finding a way to stop the war (side note: I think the resolution and Aang’s decision to spare Ozai was a good one, I just think the execution was a little janky). Beyond the surface level conflict of who wins in the battle between Aang and Ozai, there is the additional tension of who will win ideologically. The return of the Avatar State is an interesting development in this dynamic, having Aang suddenly physically winning the fight, but spiritually losing up until the last moment. In the end, it is a triumph where Aang manages to find a third option to win both conflicts, despite them seeming diametrically opposed. It is about defeating Ozai and the Imperial Fire Nation by wholeheartedly rejecting their ideology of violence and might-makes-right. 

But now I see a really cool opportunity for NATLA with what they’ve established in the intro sequence: What if Aang reclaimed the symbol of Sozin’s Comet for his people? That day of the Fire Nation attack, centuries of the Comet Festival were wiped over in history, with people now naming that event as Sozin’s Comet and the beginning of the war. Wouldn’t it be poetic for Aang to mark the ending of the war by wiping away that stain done to his culture, taking it back from the Fire Nation in what ways he can? To turn a tool for genocide into an event of joy and fun once more. 

I’m reminded of moments from the cartoon like Suki commenting how beautiful the comet looks. It would just tie everything up beautifully, and I really really hope the NATLA writers--if Netflix does give them enough seasons to get there--take advantage of this.  

So, to sum up what I think of NATLA so far: I think a lot of its changes have made the story weaker, but I don’t want them to stop trying changes. If I wanted a 1:1 copy of the cartoon, I’d just watch ATLA--it’s also on Netflix, after all. With more work, I can see the writers making changes that accentuate and build on the beauty of the original. 

(Note: These are the thoughts I’ve accrued from just watching the first episode. I plan to watch more, but it does exhaust me at the moment. Still, I hope I can do more of these kinds of analyses, it’s a really fun writing exercise for me)

#puff analysis #puff talks #media analysis #atla analysis #atla netflix #atla live action #natla critical #yes the hack penmanship joke is from cj the x #go check out their stuff

[lazynoodlepuff]

I had the best run in the skull cavern and then I passed out on 97th floor

#puff talks #stardew valley #sdv

[official--kirby]

ok legit where is the best place to find out latest news for zine updates or fandom events bc most zine twit users havent retweeted in years and idk where to even start on tumblr

#puff talks #help please is there a zine hub somewhere

[drdemonprince]

like, i think what's happening is that plenty of people do find something approaching egalitarianism to be plenty erotic enough, but not everyone, because well a lot of us have very big gendered power dynamic baggage (among other fun insecurities that we also eroticize! cool!) but natalie experiences love as this engulfing, life ruining forbidden thing for UM A LOT OF REASONS THAT WE AS HER VIEWERS ALREADY KINDA KNOW hii, and so in making sense of other people's sexualities and romantic lives she mistakenly assumes that everybody goes that lana del rey for people but it turns out only some of us crazy bitches seem to

#then again maybe i am underestimating the craziness of my fellow humans but i think a lot of people seem to be pretty normal with it #not with their sexuality but with their romantic boundaries and with not longing to completely subsume themselves in a partner #its just me natalie grimes lana and taylor swift and hannibal just hanging out on the crazy girl life raft #oh and revolver ocelot #and we're having a big party for my birthday. maybe shadow the hedgehog is there #like imagine if natalie wynn were to try and tackle a video about polyamory #i would be very surprised if she is not constitutionally very monogamous w how she talks about it #which again as a virgin suicides puff bar lolita deadjournal dot com toxic person same honey but again i think thats not universal #surprisingly large numbers of people do not develop an opium addiction for a year after a girl doesnt want to date them. but me. I GET IT.

[yourresidentthembo]

Nothing is funnier than the cast of D20 Neverafter putting Pinnochio in Situations

#unicorn talks #dimension 20 #d20 #lou wilson #neverafter #how do you like to have sex mr wolf #under the light of the crescent moon #that #and you huff and you puff and you like it rough #the whole party kneeling #which of my partners told you that

[pop-punklouis]

-

#just got around to reading taylor swift’s profile for Time and….. #and i’m saying this as someone who went to her show #who spent a lot of money to see her with my sister #and who genuinely likes her and her music #the profile was fucking bad lmfao #reading through it i kept wincing at how cringe-girl boss-capitalism it all was #and then the entire part where the journalist refuses to challenge taylor’s narrative about being canceled in 2016 #even though she FELT canceled her numbers and success did not show it at all with reputation #like. a journalist just. spoke about it in their own article but not TO her #when it’s so important for anyone but especially journalists to challenge people’s narratives especially inner narratives that might warp #the reality of the situation #it was just a puff piece obviously but god was it…. not good imo dkdkkd #also her talking about mastermind and how it connected to the end of phantom thread made me wanna 💀 #like girlie go back to your eras tour enough interviews for now #it did its job. but at what cost to my brain to read for both @ taylor and @ the journalist

[dazai-on-my-mind]

Thinking about it again. Atsushi and Kyouka come over for dinner and movies occasionally because none of them had a proper childhood and only Kyouka and Chuuya have a vague idea on what Studio Ghibli even is so now they're going through Miyazaki's entire filmography.

Ranpo recommended Your Name once and now Atsushi and Dazai go to him for movie recs when they wanna watch something new.

#i gotta wrap Aku in here somehow #but in canon i dont see him having a close relationship with Chuuya #maybe im cuckoo for cocoa puffs #but that's just me #bsd atsushi #bsd kyouka #bsd ranpo #bsd chuuya #bsd dazai #skk #cory talks bsd #ideas for the fic ill never write