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You said you’re rewriting your fic but I would love to hear some of the ideas you had that didn’t make it into the rewrite if you had any honestly. I love ur fic sm it’s like one of my favorite aus

aw thank u for the nice words!! and omg there's sm that didn't make it into the final cut it feels impossible to talk about them all. Half of them I scrapped because I plan to reuse them in the sequel, which I'm already drafting the outline of

There were many scrapped ideas. Most were about Alfred and Ivan's interactions. I was supposed to make them kiss earlier on in the story but scrapped it in favor of a more slow-burn pace.

Also, the world originally wasn't steampunk, but rather a more HOTD-like world. As in there was no technology, just medieval settings, but there were dragons and magic. Alfred was initially supposed to be a witch, but a very clumsy one. Dragons play an essential part of life, highly integrated into civilization, kinda like HTTYD. This came into use in the plot when Ivan's dragon escaped and landed in Alfred's village, and the villagers were too scared to approach a dragon of the royal family, but Alfred (not knowing it was a royal dragon cuz he's dumb like that) rushed forward to help. However his magic is faulty and he ended up making a big boom, but dw the dragon was unharmed. Instead of simply healing the dragon, Alfred accidentally seeped his magic into its scales. He didn't think much of it tho and continued to properly heal the dragon until it finally was able to fly away. But when it returned to the palace, the dragon no longer responded to Ivan because of Alfred's magic inside it, so they sent guards to hunt down the witch who marked a royal dragon, and that's how Alfred was found and dragged to the palace.

This was scrapped for a more high-stakes and much, much darker plot, as the original is so whimsy and fairy-tale like. I plan to reuse that kind of world-building though just not for Spades HAHAHA

There were many others, but most of them are in the bin to be reused, so I won't be spoiling them hehe

Toph's Characterization, ATLA Comics - A Dissertation

Chapter One - The Rift (Part One)

I'm going to start with the third entry of the 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Comic Series because Toph's characterization isn't too off-putting in 'The Promise' (though it still had many infuriating panels that I'll get to in the future) and she isn't present in 'The Search'. So, we'll start off with 'The Rift' - the first and only Toph-centric comic, despite being a fan favorite character and one of the main characters of the show.

And, the very first panel with our favorite Earthbender is a slap to the face to Toph's character arc as well as her personality:

Toph Beifong is questioning whether or not Earth Kingdom citizens can united alongside Fire Nation citizens.

This is coming from the first member of the Gaang that warmed up to Zuko when he presents himself in the Western Air Temple (and willingly went to speak to him, despite everyone's disapproval).

This is coming from the same person who willingly sat down for a cup of tea with Uncle Iroh. And even after discovering he was a member of the Fire Nation Royal Family, she still thought and spoke highly of his character (Aang does state that Toph mentions that Iroh gives great tea and advice).

This is coming from the same person who travelled across the Fire Nation, observed how their is good in evil; fought beside the Fire Nation Prince to stop the war and even reassured him that HE WAS GOOD when he doubted himself during the Ember Island Play!

Obviously, Toph may have her doubts and concerns given they're discussing the government of a Fire Nation Colony - territory that once pertained to the Earth Kingdom. And yes, hostility and dissatisfaction may be a legitimate concern. However, it's the way she phrases her sentence that irks me. It almost seems as though Toph is doubting the possibility of genuine unanimity forging between the two different Nations. And it's really off-putting because Toph had never ONCE, during her screen time on ATLA, questioned the possibility of blossoming friendships with people of the Fire Nation.

It's also a lesson Aang teaches her in 'The Avatar and The Firelord':

Toph: It's like these people are born bad

Aang: No, that's wrong. I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all (...) Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil.

And now, we commence my substantial hatred for the portrayal of Toph's manners:

Yes, in the original series Toph does have a few scenes (that I can recall, three) where she does something that is generally un-ladylike and bad-mannered. But, I cannot understand what it is with Bryke and their obsession of depicting Toph being rude and gross in almost every other scene.

In 'The Promise' we had a few other scenes and 'The Rift', not fifteen pages in, and we get these two scenes almost back-to-back. And, it no longer correlates to Toph's want to disconnect from her pompous upbringing. This is how Bryke choose to write their "tomboy" coded characters, and it's disrespectful.

We don't see any other female character do these types of actions. Not Katara, not Suki, not Ty Lee, not Mai, not Azula. Toph is exclusively the only character that acts this way. And it really leaves a bad taste in my mouth once you come to terms that Byrke associate "tomboy female characters" with unhygienic, gross and rude behavior. You can write Toph desiring to abandon her rigorous upbringing and be less traditionally feminine without portraying her this way. It's just perpetuating a very nasty stereotype that's already been constructed with this type of media.

And don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with depicting female characters doing things that are considered unladylike (example: burping, picking their teeth, etc.). But, how come no other female character acts this way? We never see none of the other traditionally feminine characters, such as Katara or Mai, act this way. Like I said, it's feeding into a very weird and harmful stereotype.

Oh boy.

So, we enter the central conflict between Aang and Toph.

To contextualize this, whilst Aang is explaining the Air Nomad Traditions to the air acolytes, he ends up saying "That's just how it's done." and it triggers Toph's past childhood trauma growing up secluded and misunderstood by emotionally neglectful parents. I actually really enjoy that we're exploring Toph's past and her own traumatic experiences; it makes her a more compelling, relatable and human character and gives her personality a lot more depth.

However, it's what comes next that infuriates me to my core (and the reason why I wanted to write this monstrosity of an analysis). Toph becomes arrogant, rude, insensitive and disrespectful to Aang and to his culture.

It's just odd we never explore this trauma beyond this. The trauma that Toph has, while interesting and a great set-up for some internal character work, it's utilized solely to progress the conflict (and once it's resolved, Toph's inner struggles are abandoned). And it's odd that this traumatic event in her childhood is the setup for her sudden and spontaneous love for the future and her avoidance of her past.

It's even odder when you remember that in the original series, Toph never wanted to flee her past. She loved her parents and felt remorse for leaving them. She just wanted them to understand that she was a capable fighter and see her beyond her blindness.

For you to understand my disappointment in this particular characterization, we first have to analyze Toph during ATLA. Throughout the two seasons where she is present, Toph had never once disrespected Aang's culture or his spirituality. On the contrary, she seemed amazed with the Western Air Temple the moment she sensed it's architecture beneath the cliffs: "Wow ... it's amazing!"

Aang reassured her that friendships carry on throughout lifetimes (and it comforts her);

When he's meditating, she's the only one remaining quiet:

Season 3, Episode 6: The Avatar and The Fire Lord

Katara: Do they have bathrooms in the Spirit World?

Sokka: As a matter of fact, they do not.

She's always showed nothing but respect for Aang, his culture and his duties as the Avatar and last airbender, yet, now, for some reason she is characterized in such an unflattering and antagonistic light. And it's crazy to me that Toph is suddenly someone who resents the past and is all about the future... since when has this been one of her defining character traits?

It just... keeps going... And it's so sad to see. This just makes Toph so unlikeable and this just isn't the same Toph we got to see in the animated series. And it what world would Toph Beifong choose a random dude she just met over her friends, especially her FIRST FRIEND (Aang)?

AND NOW SHE IS LYING TO PROTECT THIS RANDO BECAUSE HE ADMIRES HER?

In what world would Toph do this? And don't tell me this is because Toph is enamored with Satoru. Toph, canonically had a crush on Sokka, yet she never did anything stupid nor disrespectful for Sokka; she never compromised her morals or beliefs to protect Sokka.

And I cannot fathom Toph being this unbothered by the pollution. True, she was never a big environmentalist in the main series; however, I would like to believe that Toph would advocate for the protection of her element, especially given she is so in tune with nature: Badgermoles taught her how to bend, she sees through earth, her element is centered around nature... I just can't rationalize Toph being this indifferent to the lack of care for the environment.

Sigh... Here's a little montage of Aang's ability to maintain inner peace:

Season Two, Episode Eight 'The Chase': Aang lashing out on Toph despite Toph being the only one to justify how Azula, Ty Lee and Mai kept finding them.

Season Two, Episode Eleven 'The Desert': Yelling at Toph and blaming her for Appa's kidnapping, despite Toph being unable to see nor protect Appa, because she was protecting her friends.

Season Three, Episode One 'The Awakening': Aang being so frustrated that the world thinks he's dead that he flies away at sea, during a storm.

Season Three, Episode Seventeen 'The Ember Island Players': Literally get's so infuriated with an unreal depiction of his relationship with Katara that he forcibly kisses her, because immaturely possessive and quote: 'Overreacting? If I hadn't blocked my chakra, I'd probably be in the Avatar State right now!?

'The Promise' - Part One: After Katara is held by Zuko and he enters the Avatar State.

Yes, Aang sure is in tune with his inner peace.

It's also hilarious that they really think Toph is the one provoking the earthquakes when she's the best earthbender alive and is more in tune with her bending then any other bender there. I mean, I get it we have to shove the "everyone loves and defends Aang" but not even Sokka came to Toph's defense? Katara?

Another thing that really rubs me the wrong way is that Toph was literally pushed into Aang's life because she "waits and listens" - yet, here, Toph is anything but patient. She's explosive and reactive. During ATLA, whenever she fights, she always has a moment afterwards where she listens to the other person. The best examples are with Katara in 'The Runaway'. She's actually considerably patient if you actually analyze her character throughout the series and isn't as hotheaded as she's portrayed here.

Not everything in this first part is horrendous. I do enjoy that we get confirmation (that unlike a certain canon couple) Aang and Toph are able to have their squabbles and then talk things out to understand one another's perspective.

We also get to see them work together despite being at odds. And, just like in the animated series, they work in really great harmony and comprehend the other without saying many words. I really enjoy that we get to see them put their differences and disagreements aside and work like a unite when it's called for. That is something that I really enjoy about Taang and their dynamic.

We also get a lot of cute panels with Toph and Aang - and man they are a really good looking couple. In a later analysis, I'll get more into depth on their relationship in this comic (and her relationship with her friends), but for this initial part it wasn't too badly butchered.

And's that's it for the first part of this analysis.

so how do they end up together?

I'm actually writing a fanfic for that! called Torn Between Love and Duty. I'll be uploading snippets of each chapter here, and once the entire thing is done im posting it on ao3. The reason i still havent is bc i hate the pressure of knowing there are people waiting for me to update😭

i like how when it said their relationship changed he added a picture of Alfred basically saying "kys arthur" right to his face

Hetalia Collezione: America's pg 2

Tl;Dr: use this link for all my collezione tls so far!

Hi everyone, I've been thinking to upload my collezione tls to MangaDex (I've already uploaded "chapter 0"!) As you know, a lot of my early work is a bit unreliable, and most of my work is generally inconsistent haha. So because I wanna make sure my stuff is good quality before it gets auto reposted elsewhere out of my control, I hope to re-do a lot of said early work to improve, correct, and standardize everything as best I can. I've already done a few pages, and thank God I saved the vast majority of my cleans too haha. It also means I wanna try to finish the missing pages in order so I can upload chapters as a whole, hence why I finally have America's second page. (I'll still also work on the poll thing tho!)

I've also been meaning to have all my collezione tls available in one place, and bc I was unable to edit my previous post that I said would have "all" the tls far, and bc tumblr just recently made it impossible to upload more than 30 or smth pgs at once (I used a loophole before haha); I decided to make a google doc! You can add it to your drive, dl it as a pdf, make a copy, idc; but the link should be available to everyone and I'll be able to edit it in the future with new tled pgs and new version pgs! It's ofc in the link above, PLEASE lmk if it doesn't work for you! The first page btw is just a long disclaimer bc I always write too much haha.

Ivan holding the love of his life (im so normal about them)

(click for better quality)

taang in the comics part 1 they look so good together even tho theyre arguing

tbh i have rlly mixed feelings about the comics. ESPECIALLY about the rift. Like on one hand, I enjoy having extra content about the characters. On the other hand, the whole comic was so bad. Like that is NOT my toph wtf. She has never been disrespectful about Aang's culture—to my knowledge, whenever Aang meditates, Toph is the only one who's been quiet. She also isn't against spirituality?? She literally spent her old years in the swamp, a place that is spiritual in itself. And she is actually quite knowledgeable about the philosophical aspect of bending, such as talking about its not only a power, but a way of life. Also, she has NEVER been this mean?? Aang is literally her first friend, she would never be cruel like this. She's snarky and pushes him to stand his ground, but she's never been like this. Also her very first dialogue in the Rift is an immediate red flag.

"Fire Nation alongside Earth Kingdom...You really think those people will get along well enough to govern this place, Twinkletoes?"

Like?? Okay maybe its possible to have doubts, but her expression and the way this is phrased implies she clearly doesn't believe it and is lowkey disdainful of it. Is this the same Toph who advocated to have Zuko join their team?? The same Toph who befriended Iroh, had tea with him in the middle of the war, and was friendly and welcoming to him in Ba Sing Se even after knowing he's part of the Fire Nation Royal Family??? that is NOT my girl omg

Aang...Imma be honest, the comics with this artstyle are the ones he's actually in-character for. That's why he's kinda insufferable in these im ngl. Imbalance Aang was SOOOO good, but he was clearly way better in that comic compared to the show. Show Aang is the same Aang as the GLY comics,, which is probably why I don't like him there LMAO

I STAN RUSFRA PLATONIC FRIENDSHIP

WHY IS THERE NOT MORE OF THIS????? 

Francis is often seen hanging out with Ivan, and Ivan canonically follows him around like a baby duck until Francis acknowledges him (and he actually finds it cute so he lets Ivan follow him for a while). They're also on good terms in canon, Ivan sees him as a person worthy of getting advice from, and Ivan really admires his culture. I can just picture Ivan and Francis having coffee or breakfast together, or sightseeing together, and Ivan playing with Francis' hair and putting it into all sorts of hairstyles like braids, pigtails, etc and Francis makes flower crowns for him too. Francis acts like a big brother too so he would probably act all motherly towards Ivan as well and Ivan would get reminded of his big sister and iT'S ALL JUST SO ADORABLE

I wonder if Tony, America’s alien best friend, likes Russia too ‘cause he’s a firm believer in space and aliens.

Or maybe he doesn’t cause whenever Russia’s around he keeps hearing moans and screams and a lot of bumps on the well every night??

Like im trying to sleep and watch youtube videos and then i start hearing these two gay space nerds banging each other like it’s their last day on earth???

America jump hugged Germany and won’t let go and the others are trying to get them off ironically the other half’s 🤣🤣

is it just me or does this lowkey parallel the first episode where shinichi cant stop talking about mystery and ran asks him to talk about literally anything else LMAO

Their version of a date