Too Many Voids 🥰🐈🖤

A post I recently came across (elsewhere) about the Jedi made me realize there seems to be some crucial misunderstandings about love versus attachment.

(Full disclosure: for a very long time I didn't understand the difference either. It's only in the last few years that I've come to appreciate the nuances.)

Context: the post claimed that Kanan and Hera prove the Jedi were wrong about feelings/love.

Love and attachment are two very different things. I would even go so far as to say that attachment doesn't allow for real love.

We see in the prequel era that the Jedi Order largely didn't allow for (especially biological) familial or marital/romantic relationships because of the risk for attachment. Sometimes we take this to mean the Jedi Order didn't approve of feelings/love.

But Anakin was absolutely correct when he told Padme that the Jedi endorse compassion, which is (a form of) love. Calm, joy, and peace are all feelings, too, all of which the Jedi encourage. What the Jedi warn against is acting on negative feelings: hate, anger, fear, etc.

So, Anakin was not wrong for loving his mother and Padme, just like Kanan was not wrong for loving Hera and the other members of the Ghost crew as family.

The difference is that Anakin caved in to attachment - he allowed his fear of losing Shmi and then Padme to turn into possessiveness/obsessiveness, to turn into selfishness, which overpowered his love for them. Massacring the Tuskens wasn't an act of love for Shmi. Neither was siding with Palpatine an act of love for Padme, even though Anakin deluded himself into thinking so. All of that was done out of hate and anger and fear.

Kanan, on the other hand, loved others but did not become attached. He taught Ezra how to use the Force as a Jedi would, while accepting that if Ezra did end up turning to the Dark Side, that was Ezra's choice to make - Kanan's responsibility was simply to teach Ezra the best he could. He loved Hera and was basically her husband, but he was willing to step back and let others take the lead when she needed to be rescued. Kanan let go of the things he couldn't control, and he did not become possessive. He truly acted out of selfless love for his family.

Now, personally I think the Jedi generally promoting no marriage/families and no relationships with birth families is a bit on the "overkill" side in trying to stamp out attachment. (Note: while I don't fully agree with the Jedi Order's stance here, I still respect their choice to live that way; much like I personally wouldn't choose to follow the CotW's helmet rule but I don't begrudge them choosing to adhere to it.) And Kanan DOES prove that one can decide against following that tradition while still being a Jedi and not falling to the Dark Side.

But the reason why Kanan is able to succeed where Anakin does not is because Kanan understands the difference between love and attachment, and he remains a Jedi by avoiding the latter. Interestingly enough, I would say it's because Kanan strives to follow the hallmark Jedi principles about emotions - including acting out of love - and using the Force that he is able to avoid attachment.

And so, while I agree with the premise that romantic relationships do not in and of themselves lead to the Dark Side, I think it's also very important to keep in mind what attachment truly is when talking about the Jedi and their beliefs.

I think about Azula shooters often and their common refrain of "if Azula hadn't had a mental breakdown, she would've won" and I'm here to tell you that no, she wouldn't have.

There is no universe in which Azula was winning that fight with Zuko (or Katara, for that matter).

Azula spent so much of Book 2 being built up as this deadly terrifying force against whom the heroes are badly outmatched that it can be difficult to catch exactly how quickly Zuko is advancing.

Back up a bit to Book One. For the fearsome exiled crown prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko's not that impressive a firebender. He's not bad by any stretch, and he's able to lay the untrained Sokka and Katara flat pretty easily. Then he gets in the ring with Aang, who is an airbending master, and the difference between a regular bender and a master becomes apparent when Aang literally puts his ass to bed:

People have attributed this to the fact that no one's fought an airbender in 100 years, but I think it's also worth noting that Aang (a 12 year old from a pacifist nation) has probably never fought anyone before. Like, ever. And yet the second Aang thinks "okay, I'll attack back", the fight's over.

Zuko's got the same genetic predisposition for firebending talent that Azula does, yet it never seems to manifest because of his mental blocks. At the beginning of the series, he's already so beat down that all he really has is conviction, pride, and anger, so even with training from Iroh (the firebending master, thank you very much), he struggles. Yet throughout Book 2, when he has no time to train because he's on the run, he actually seems to advance faster. The fact that his bending is literally tied to his character arc (as his morals become tangled and he has to fight off aforementioned mental blocks) is pretty brilliant. Like, by the time of the Crossroads of Destiny, Zuko getting his ass handed to him by Aang is a pretty consistent feature of the show--he just can't match wits with him.

Hell, at the beginning of the series, he and Iroh (again: the actual firebending master) launch a combined power surface-to-air attack...which Aang casually swats away into a nearby ice wall. Come the Crossroads of Destiny, however, and Zuko by himself launches this bigass fireball that blows through Aang's defenses.

Zuko advances so quickly that it's scary. That prodigious talent is in him even if it doesn't come through as cleanly as with Azula. Who, by the way, was busy about to get flattened by Katara some few dozen feet away, until Zuko took over and then effectively stalemated her himself.

All of this in retrospect makes it abundantly clear why Zuko's firebending seemed to skyrocket so much when he learned true firebending from the Sun Warriors: it was really the only thing left. He's hard a hard road learning how to fight waterbenders, earthbenders, and airbenders, and even if unconsciously, he's applying the philosophy Iroh taught him about augmenting his bending style with aspects of other styles (see also, the waterbending-like fire whips he uses in the above gif). Once he actually understands fire and how it works, he's got it mastered. Hence why any gap between him and Azula effectively disappears as soon as their next fight--before her friends have betrayed her and her stability goes out the window. There's no real sense of urgency to their fight at the Boiling Rock prison. True, Sokka's presence with the sword helps, but Zuko doesn't look remotely worried and he counters Azula's every attack perfectly.

All her life, Azula only ever learned fire. She was taught by the best people the fire nation can employ, so she knows all the cool tricks, but she's still poisoned by the corrupted firebending practiced in the modern ATLA timeline. Unlike Zuko, who managed to get the basics if nothing else from Iroh (fire comes from the breath, and can be used to survive as much as to kill), Azula has always used fire as a weapon and a means to hurt others. She has no true knowledge of the craft, meaning she's got the same weaknesses as Zhao, she's just better disciplined to the point she can make up for it.

Zuko's victory was a given considering Azula's complete loss of control by the time of Sozin's comet, but even had she been in a perfect mental state, she'd have lost, because in many ways Zuko is simply the better firebender.

And that's the truth of it.

You wanna know what’s pretty messed up?

So there’s a mini, joke chapter at the end of Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 3 called “Flame vs. Fullmetal” –if you’ve watched FMA 03, you’ll remember they adopted aspects of this into the semi-joke episode, episode 13—Anyway, the premise is that people have started musing about the timeless question, “Who would win in a fight?” between Ed and Roy. And for the hell of it, Ed and Roy agree to an all-out alchemist battle to settle the matter.

Fast forward through the battle a bit, Ed’s lured Roy out with a decoy and seizes the opportunity to jump the Colonel from the smoke.

In classic Roy fashion though–

–he’s prepared. “You sliced up my right glove but psyche I’ve got a second one that does the exact same thing.”

And Ed’s toast. Rip Ed.

This whole sequence is pure humor, all jokes and snark and the satisfaction of watching Ed and Roy try to beat the shit out of each other. But something about it seemed…familiar. Something that finally clicked.

In this silly little sequence, Ed chose disarmament of his enemy over victory. He chose securing his position of power by using his automail weapon to slice through his enemy’s transmutation circle rather than actual violence. And his foolish trust in passively subduing a powerful opponent is what gets him well and truly burned.

And then, well there’s his fight against Kimblee. Chapter 76

Ed spent a long chunk of the lead-up to this battle arguing that he does not want to kill Kimblee. He gets into a fight with the Briggs soldiers about this, and they never quite convince him that Kimblee is better off murdered.

So when it comes down to a fight between the two of them, Ed chooses mercy. He chooses Kimblee’s life. He separated Kimblee from his philosopher’s stone, and slices out the transmutation circle on Kimblee’s palm.

And just when he’s let his guard down, convinced he’s passively won–

–Kimblee, rather than Roy this time, pulls out his trump card.

It’s…nigh identical. Ed sees an opening, uses it to disarm, then is taken by complete surprise that his opponent has a second transmutation circle…a second philosopher’s stone.

In Flame vs Fullmetal, Ed is just sort of…comically blown away. His weakness was exposed and his pride suffered for it. Against Kimblee. Well–

–he does not get away in tact.

And it hits as such a…dark piece of continuity. A trueness to this being Ed’s weakness, and a stark, cold, harsh reality in the fact that there are bigger, scarier things out there than Mustang, yet things just as manipulative, powerful, tactful. Things which will kill Ed at a moment’s notice, that do not deserve his mercy.

Ed lives, but he sacrifices his own life-force for it. He surrenders years off the end of his life to pull through. This is an unforgiving consequence shown to naivete. And the parallel exposed in a joke chapter from volume 3 is just…

…well, chilling.

No one:

Absolutely no one:

Typical PB&J duo shenanigans that occur when the show’s plot finally focuses on them:

So, because I'm a bored adult child with waaaaaaaay too much time on her hands, I decided to go digging through the entire Youtube channel for the 4Kids Flashback podcast to see what TMNT 2003-related stuff I could find. Here are the fruits of my labor:

Podcast interviews with voice actors and other production staff (listed in episode order)

Veronica Taylor (April O'Neil)

Sam Riegel (Donatello, Dark Donatello)

Eric Stuart (Hamato Yoshi, Gennosuke)

Darren Dunstan (Splinter)

Matthew Drdek (writer)

Marc Thompson (Casey Jones)

Wayne Grayson (Michelangelo)

Mike Pollock (Garbageman, Kirby)

Greg Abbey (Raphael, Dark Raphael)

Lloyd Goldfine (Producer and showrunner)

Dan Green (The Professor, Mortu)

Russ Velazquez (writer/singer for the theme song)

Jonathan Todd Ross (Sid Jones)

Jason Griffith (Usagi)

Michael Sinterniklaas (Leonardo, Dark Leonardo, etc.)

Sue Shufro (Music editor)

Anthony "Tony" Haden Salerno (Nano, 87' Donatello)

Sebastian Arcelus (87' Raphael)

Stuart Zagnit (Dr. Dome)

Tara Sands (Angel, Tyler)

Rebecca Soler (Joi Reynard)

David Moo (Faraji Ngala)

Chuck Patton (director for Seasons 1 and 2)

Ron London (sound designer)

J David Brimmer (Zanramon, Dr Malignus, other minor characters)

Animated Shorts

Donatello short

Battle Nexus

Commercials

4Kids TV Website Promos

Season 4 Commercial

Lost Episodes Trailer

Lost Episodes Promo 1

Lost Episodes Promo 2

Final "Lost Episodes" Promo

Various Bumpers/Promos 1

Various Bumpers/Promos 2

"TV Diet" Promo

Fast Forward "Everyone's Talking Promo"

Head of State commercial

"Craziest Ever!"

"Hockey Lessons"

"Hand to Hand"

"Hologram"

CW Program Picker

Others

"Fight for the FoxBox" DVD promo

"We're the One to Watch" DVD promo

Can't afford art school?

After seeing post like this 👇

And this gem 👇

As well as countless of others from the AI generator community. Just talking about how "inaccessible art" is, I decided why not show how wrong these guys are while also helping anyone who actually wants to learn.

Here is the first one ART TEACHERS! There are plenty online and in places like youtube.

📺Here is my list:

Proko (Free, mostly teaches anatomy and how to draw people. But does have art talks and teaches the basics.)

Marc Brunet (Free but he does have other classes for a cheap price. Use to work for Blizzard and teaches you everything)

Aaron Rutten (free, tips about art, talks about art programs and the best products for digital art)

BoroCG (free, teaches a verity of art mediums from 3D modeling to digital painting. As well as some tips that can be used across styles)

Jesse J. Jones (free, talks about animating)

Jesus Conde (free, teaches digital painting and has classes in Spanish)

Mohammed Agbadi (free, he gives some advice in some videos and talks about art)

Ross Draws (free, he does have other classes for a good price. Mostly teaching character designs and simple backgrounds.)

SamDoesArts (free, gives good advice and critiques)

Drawfee Show (free, they do give some good advice and great inspiration)

The Art of Aaron Blaise ( useful tips for digital art and animation. Was an animator for Disney. Mostly nature art)

Bobby Chiu ( useful tips and interviews with artist who are in the industry or making a living as artist)

Sinix Design (has some tips on drawing people)

Winged canvas (art school for free on a verity of mediums)

Bob Ross (just a good time, learn how to paint, as well as how too relax when doing art. "there are no mistakes only happy accidents", this channel also provides tips from another artist)

Scott Christian Sava (Inspiration and provides tips and advice)

Pikat (art advice and critiques)

Drawbox (a suggested cheap online art school, made of a community of artist)

Skillshare (A cheap learning site that has art classes ranging from traditional to digital. As well as Animation and tutorials on art programs. All under one price, in the USA it's around $34 a month)

Human anatomy for artist (not a video or teacher but the site is full of awesome refs to practice and get better at anatomy)

Second part BOOKS, I have collected some books that have helped me and might help others.

📚Here is my list:

The "how to draw manga" series produced by Graphic-sha. These are for manga artist but they give great advice and information.

"Creating characters with personality" by Tom Bancroft. A great book that can help not just people who draw cartoons but also realistic ones. As it helps you with facial ques and how to make a character interesting.

"Albinus on anatomy" by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle. Great book to help someone learn basic anatomy.

"Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale. A good book if you want to go further in-depth with anatomy.

"Directing the story" by Francis Glebas. A good book if you want to Story board or make comics.

"Animal Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. A good book for if you want to draw animals or creatures.

"Constructive Anatomy: with almost 500 illustrations" by George B. Bridgman. A great book to help you block out shadows in your figures and see them in a more 3 diamantine way.

"Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and expand" by Burne Hogarth. A book that shows how to block out shapes and easily understand what you are looking out. When it comes to human subjects.

"An Atlas of animal anatomy for artist" by W. Ellenberger and H. Dittrich and H. Baum. This is another good one for people who want to draw animals or creatures.

Etherington Brothers, they make books and have a free blog with art tips.

📝As for Supplies, I recommend starting out cheap, buying Pencils and art paper at dollar tree or 5 below. If you want to go fancy Michaels is always a good place for traditional supplies. They also get in some good sales and discounts. For digital art, I recommend not starting with a screen art drawing tablet as they are usually more expensive.

For the Best art Tablet I recommend either Xp-pen, Bamboo or Huion. Some can range from about 40$ to the thousands.

💻As for art programs here is a list of Free to pay.

Clip Studio paint ( you can choose to pay once or sub and get updates. Galaxy, Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android, or Chromebook device. )

Procreate ( pay once for $9.99 usd, IPAD & IPHONE ONLY)

Blender (for 3D modules/sculpting, animation and more. Free)

PaintTool SAI (pay but has a 31 day free trail)

Krita (Free)

mypaint (free)

FireAlpaca (free)

Aseprite ($19.99 usd but has a free trail, for pixel art Windows & macOS)

Drawpile (free and for if you want to draw with others)

IbisPaint (free, phone app ONLY)

Medibang (free, IPAD, Android and PC)

NOTE: Some of these can work on almost any computer like Clip and Sai but others will require a bit stronger computer like Blender. Please check their sites for if your computer is compatible.

So do with this information as you will but as you can tell there are ways to learn how to become an artist, without breaking the bank. The only thing that might be stopping YOU from using any of these things, is YOU.

I have made time to learn to draw and many artist have too. Either in-between working two jobs or taking care of your family and a job or regular school and chores. YOU just have to take the time or use some time management, it really doesn't take long to practice for like an hour or less. YOU also don't have to do it every day, just once or three times a week is fine.

Hope this was helpful and have a great day.

"also apologies for any spelling or grammar errors, I have Dyslexia and it makes my brain go XP when it comes to speech or writing"

if you are unable to donate financially to help palestine, you can donate your time by protesting, boycotting, and putting up posters!

if all you have is your device and internet access, you can put your clicks to good use on arab.org. they use the advertising revenue generated by your clicks to help good causes.

and i would urge those able to spare a few dollars to donate to one or more of the following organizations:

eSims for Gaza

Direct aid for Gaza

Care for Gaza

Women for Women International

Institute for Middle East Understanding

Medical Aid for Palestinians

Palestine Children Relief Fund

Muslim Aid USA

Palestinian American Medical Association

Urgent support for medical professionals in Gaza

Emergency Relief for Gaza

Anera

Taawon

The Mutation Situation!

A Mysterious Chemical: Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3…

Get the next part a week early on Locals at indiey.locals.com

Updates are every Saturday! :]

Original

Spoke to a gen z person the other night and apparently the young folks don't know about the very legal sites from which you can access public domain media (including Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and other Victorian gothic horror stories)?

Like this young person didn't even know about goddamn Gutenberg which is a SHAME. I linked to it and they went "aw yiss time to do a theft" and I was like "I mean yo ho ho and all that, sure, but. you know gutenberg is entirely legal, right?"

Anyway I'm gonna put this in a few Choice Tags (sorry dracula fans I DID mention it though so it's fair game) and then put some Cool Links in a reblog so this post will still show UP in said tags lmao.