Yessss

Kevin "it will be easier if he remains heterosexual" Day - picking only gays so far for his Perfect Court

I know what you are, Kevin

renee finds out about the fire and texts jean that she’s giving the foxes his new address so they can send him postcards, pictures, new things to fill their new home

kevin sends a couple of postcards, like he always used to

neil takes the absolute WORST photos of the team and sends them jean’s way. he can’t help but laugh at them, blurry, out of focus, ridiculous moments

renee keeps texting him, of course, but she’ll also send him the occasional artistic photo of the open sky, a flower in bloom

wymack sends him a terse letter telling him to contact him if jean needs anything

and then jean gets this ugly, dollar-store card that has a simple ‘fuck you, moreau’ scrawled in messy handwriting on the back, and he thinks it’s just another attack from one of the ravens or their fans until he sees the signature at the bottom: ex-brisket lungs

he frames it.

Azula in the Spirit Temple proves Azula is ready for a "redemption arc"

Was just rereading Azula in the Spirit Temple again last night, you know, as one does, and I was struck by the function Mai and Ty Lee serve throughout the narrative. Over and over, they serve to remind her that what she's seeing isn't real, even if what she's seeing is really nice and enjoyable. (There's definitely at least a hint at both Ty Zula and Maizula but I think at this point Repressed Lesbian Azula isn't so much subtext or text as a giant neon sign across everything Azula has ever done.)

However, as the comic progresses, both Ty Lee and Mai get harsher and harsher about delivering their reality check-ins. Azula of course is someone who at this point in time is going to be a seasoned pro at not taking reality at face value, anyway, though the spirit says something to the effect of, "Why not get lost in a dream if it's pleasant?" multiple times to her (a pretty good indicator early on to the reader that this is not a spirit to be trusted, particularly around Azula, and whatever reason it got called to her, it was not ultimately to offer redemption). Anyway, the turning point for when Mai and Ty Lee's check-ins go from mean to downright hostile occurs in the following two panels.

This is after Azula and Ty Lee are talking about "the old days" which, according to the Ty Lee Subconscious mouthpiece were stressful and anxiety inducing (like, literally S2 of the show) to which Azula verbally counters that they all "loved it" although she does note that then Mai had to go and "ruin it" for a "stupid boy" (emphasis hers, she doubles down on this and says, "stupid Zuzu" as well). How super duper straight of you to say, Azula. We're all buying it. Then Subconscious Mouthpiece Ty Lee says, "Maybe you should get help?" and that specifically is what sets Azula to attacking her.

So of course it's not the phrasing here that's harsh or over the top but the suggestion itself. It's notable that Azula's mind puts it in Ty Lee's mouth and not Mai’s (we'll get to that in a bit). But Azula has at this point been running from help and instead fomenting domestic terrorism for years for her own twisted and convoluted reasons and not because most of the comics are shit. And she's a noted liar. Of course, she's not the liar the show builds her up to be, or the liar she herself brags about being. We don't actually see Azula lie all that often in the show and when we do, there's usually a pretty decent explanation (like she's overthrowing an enemy city).

It's important to note that Zuko is being ridiculous in his flashback in Zuko Alone - that's my favorite episode but eight years olds developmentally cannot control when they lie or often even distinguish that they've done so (ten year olds can usually distinguish when they're lying better, but not by much). Zuko at ten and 16 gets a pass because he knows nothing about child development and I'm sure his little mantra didn't spontaneously generate; I suspect Iroh or Ursa handed it to him at some point. But we as viewers know better and cannot take, "Azula always lies," as any kind of proof of anything beyond the abusive nature of both of their childhoods. And given that the nature of these "lies" at the time probably mostly consisted of either ways to avoid punishment, or things she legitimately didn't even do but nobody believed, I think eight year old Azula gets a pass at the time. I had a childhood that was in many ways similar to Azula's. It creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the people around you decide you're lying all the time, you're like, "OK, bet."

But that really gets to why Ty Lee's words are so harsh in these panels. Because when you grow up like that, as Azula has, the person you end up lying to the most is yourself. And she's still not ready to face that even by the end of the comic. She's aware she needs help, but it's too scary to reach out for it when in reality nobody is there for her and she's all alone, by her own doing (another thing the comic drives home).

In fact, Azula's subconscious chooses to drive that fact home through Mai. And Subconscious Mai is a lot less nice in her phrasing than Subconscious Ty Lee. I don't think that's an accident. Irl, Azula probably looked to Mai as a gauge for when she was going too far. "Oh, Mai wouldn't go in the slurry... well, okay, fair. I can see by looking at Ty Lee that that was pretty disgusting... And she got stuck in it by that Water peasant anyway, so it was pointless too." "I hated that stupid bear too." Etc etc. Essentially, she could trust Mai to call her on her bs. Which is what Mai did at the Boiling Rock, and Azula's subconscious knows it (but who's our princess best at lying to? Say it with me! Herself!).

And there's nobody she hates more than herself, either. (Actually, given Mai and Ty Lee's roles in this comic I think it's pretty clear that at least on a subconscious level, Azula really wants to make amends with them, which hurts, because... they don't.) The whole thing made me really just want to give her a hug. She needs one. I've been there.

I'm curious to see if she'll make an appearance in Ashes of the Academy. I actually think, given what was presented in Azula in the Spirit Temple, that she wants to change and grow into a better, more healthy person. Obviously that's going to look very different from Zuko's arc. Villain to antihero is not the same arc as antihero to hero. I think she's ready now to start walking that path, though, if she is approached by the right person. (Ty Lee or Mai.) Mai seems to be the more likely of the two to be willing just in terms of how their relationship has always been, how she currently feels about Azula, and given that she's prominent in the upcoming comic. Fingers crossed for some good material!

I just love how Nora isnt afraid of giving scars or weird/ugyl marks to her characters

And like, not that cool type of small sexy scar on the lips and eyes, they are ugly, just like the violence they have suffered and endured. They are marks forever ingraved on their skins of the terrible things done to them, or of what the horrible things done to them made they do to themselfs

Like, fuck, Neil's face has the scar of a cut cauterized by a lighter on one side and on the other he has the scar of cuts in his entire cheek, one of them goes from near his eyes to the side of his lips. Not to mention tge burn mark of an iron literally printed near his shoulder or all the cuts in his chest and back

Not cute at all

Andrew is full of self harm scars on his arms (and anyone who has seen those knows how many looks they attract and how they get ugly with time)

Both Jean and Kevin are full of scars on their chests, specially Jean, but Kevin too (which is confirmed in cannon many times, but the first one of them is when Riko is about to carve Neil's chest with a knife and he says he is gonna love to hurt him just like he used to love hurting Kevin)

Kevin has that horrible scar on his left hand bc of what Riko did

Renee has scars from knife fights and has that ugly ass tattoo made literally with almost the same type of ink they use to make tattoos in prision (have you ever seen a prision tattoo?? That shit is ugly as hell)

Matt has the injection scars all over his arm from when he was an addict (many ppl forget that)

If I remember correctly, Aaron also has the injection scars

Those kids have gone through hell and back. They carry the emotional and physical scars of that. And yes, it is not pretty or romantic, but it isnt supposed to be. All of those marks and scars are reminders that the Foxes(plus Jean) were failed time after time again by the ones who should protect them or even hurten directly by those who should be their family and protectors. They are there out of spite, but everything they gone through doesnt disappear just bc things have gotten better, and I feel like the scars and marks are Nora's way of reminding us of that. All the memories and pains will still be there, still aching from time to time. It will hurt less and less, but that distant reminder of what was done to them will always be there

And honestly, I love Nora for it. So many authors make their characters go trough the worst of it all and they seem to get out of it just fine (physically and mentally), it is a relief to see an author who is not afraid to remind us that all those things always leave their marks (even though it hurts like hell to read it, my babys should have been protected)

so much love for the “minor” characters in all for the game. i’m talking dan’s sisters who showed up in custom PSU shirts for the finals, ride or dies like stephanie walker, the PSU soccer team who witnessed… a lot of shenanigans in the athletes dorm, “no bullshit on my watch” coach jimenez, the freshman trojan who’s fingers are covered in band aids, the bazonga line showing jean how to be human again. i love this world and ALL its fake people

And he has chemestry with the four of them, and has already flirted (even without noticing ) with the four of them

its truly poetry that kevin “it’s better to be straight” day only has 4 friends and both pairs of them are gay and fucking each other

Neil has a talent for making Andrew having to admit exactly what he is trying to avoid

"that doesn't mean i wouldn't blow you" is an iconic confession for a lot of reasons but i love that andrew obviously picked his wording so so carefully there to avoid admitting any feelings involved and then neil's demisexual ass just totally bypasses that and he responds saying "you like me." WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT ANDREW WAS TRYING TO AVOID ADMITTING.

Kevin Day, the only character in the world who manages to be a perfect 50/50 split between girlboss and boyfailure

There are two friendships in the books that would be epic but had the potential to destroy the world as we know it:

-Andrew and Alisson

-Neil and Aaron

The foxes are lucky they hate each other, bc if they became friends...

andrew and allison would’ve been too powerful if they had gotten along. they would go to the mall together and buy clothes for people who are not themselves that those people do not want and then get back to fox tower to give said people the clothes they do not want along with opinions that they also do not want. they know everyone’s business. they don’t care much about the emotional boundaries of others except yes they do. they’re mean in a way that’s fun if you fw them and very not fun if you don’t. they will be honest if you ask them if your club outfit is ugly. they will also be honest if you don’t ask them if your club outfit is ugly. they have very expensive cars in which they drive people around in silently. they are fueled by spite. they are blonde.

I hate that Zeus just fucking allowed Jason to die

Like, thats his kid, not only thats his kid, but Jason has fought for Zeus(Jupiter in this case, anyways, different name, same asshole) his whole life. That kid literally saved the world multiple times

Seriously, would 100% support a demigod revolution or some sh*t like that

do you think thalia ever lies awake at night feeling guilty about zeus choosing to save her life while he let jason just die with no regret or sympathy