#'the Avatar IS the Guardian Spirit of the WORLD--' '--which is why it's so important somebody looks after you!! duh.
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Let’s talk about Mystra
Hello everyone, I wanted to talk about Mystra👋🔮
As much of a crazy lover as I am for my fictional wizard, the more lore research I do, the more I feel like Mystra deserves some love too. This goddess lives a cursed life. I know I know she asked Gale to kill himself, but bear with me; here are my arguments:
A bit history of Mystra
There’re 3 Mystra: Mystryl -> Mystra (Elminster’s Mystra) -> Mystra (Midnight)
In short, Mystryl is the fourth deity in the universe, composed of Shar & Selûne’s essence. She is one of the primal existences while the universe is still new and trying to settle down, a significant component of the universe itself. While Mystryl’s spirit was born naturally, Mystra and Midnight were both once mortal and raised by AO to inherit Mystryl’s power.
Is Mystra bad?
Midnight, “Mystra 3rd ” is who we met in BG3. She was a human magic user born in 1332 DR. Midnight was aiding Mystra 2nd at the time of troubles. She’s a kind-hearted and humble woman who ascended in 1358 DR. She didn’t want godhood at all; she only did it to counter Cyric, the bad guy.
From comic book Avatar (1991)
For decades, she even tried to allow only the good use of magic, later learning her duty and place as the guardian of balance and impartial arbiter of the Weave; no matter how Midnight feels or hopes things could have been. She was only 26 when she had to wave goodbye to everyone she knew, shouldering the 24/7 goddess duty. It’s true that she will inherit other Mystra’s memory, but personality-wise she is only 160 years old; even Halsin is older than her. (Not to mention she spent 94 years in dormant)
Note[1]: Later on all the Mystra mentioned I will be talking about Midnight
Note[2]: Dec17/2023 I will come back and edit this section; it's misleading according to Ed Greenwood's tweet. The current Mystra is likely a blend of all three Mystras with an unspecified proportion. I will provide details on the stories and deeds of the other Mystras.
Being Mystra sucks. Truly.
Imagine your body is just a thing lying on the street; anyone can command you to dance for them so long as they know the right spell. While you CAN reject it, you are NOT ALLOWED to.
What’s worse is that too many mortals and too many gods want the Weave, but it’s not something that she can “give”. Like no one can give away their body to someone else. She IS the Weave; I think of it as the Weave being the cells that compose her. Whoever wants to take it away will have to separate her mind and “body” by:
killing her and inherit the Weave, where all the attempters failed step 2, then only resulted in a broken/Weaveless crisis
or completely manipulating her mind, which is the option no one ever considers; they all go straight to killing her
Whenever DnD wants to change the rules, they kill Mystra.
Shar wants the Weave, Bane wants it, countless mortals want it too. According to the conversation between Gale and Lorroakan, it’s almost a common conversation trying to dethrone the goddess and take the power for themselves.
And no one is there to protect Mystra; she fights alone. Although she has a good relationship with gods like Selûne or Azuth, nobody lent a hand when she was murdered. She relies on her chosens and her own power.
On top of defending herself, aka protecting the Weave, another important duty is to maintain the Weave. Whenever a spell is cast, it damages the Weave, and she is the one to patch the holes. The more powerful the spell is, the bigger damage it will cause. That’s why her dogma includes “Use the Art deftly and efficiently, not carelessly and recklessly.” She also needs to keep an eye out for possible upcoming threats. A tough and tedious job, and no holidays for the goddess.
It might sound a bit twisted, but she is taking care of the world by taking care of herself. Anything happening to her means catastrophe for the world. (e.g., Spellplague, where magic caused mutations to the users, see wiki here)
But she asked Gale to explode himself!
Yes, and she also promised Elysium once he’s dead. There is actually a thorough afterlife setting in the Forgotten Realms DnD setting. In short, a spirit doesn’t perish when a mortal dies; it would be drawn to the Fugue Plane and wait for the god they prayed to in life to send a servant to take them to their heaven.
It’s a terrible fate for the faithless or false spirits, those who either defy their gods or never choose one. They are forever punished in this grim plane and even become part of the Wall of the Faithless.
Fugue Plane and Wall of the Faithless: those are spirits piling up into a wall
In Mystra’s case, her heaven is Elysium, judging by the name, you can already tell it’s likely a heavenly place. Significantly better than the Fugue Plane, that’s for sure.
It’s a fixed truth that all will die someday, and Gale’s afterlife options are:
Defy Mystra: When he dies, he will be forever punished as a false in the Fugue Plane. Not to mention Kelemvor, Lord of the Dead, is also Midnight Mystra’s former(?) lover, and he detests cowardice.
Defy Mystra and try to gain favor from another god: I think this will mean changing class and profession for him, as a wizard he is tied to Mystra after all.
Serve Mystra and be taken to Elysium: And who knows, since he is chosen of Mystra, she might even revive him someday. Mystra 2nd did that for her other chosen before.
Note: Interesting reading about how her chosen become weaveghost after death, see wiki here.
Obtain godhood: When the god Gale dies, he will go through a completely different process.
An interesting thought here is whether Gale knows about all these. It will largely define what his true colors are. It wouldn’t make sense if he is completely ignorant of afterlife logic, though. His background is an experienced wizard (probably studied some necromancy), goddess ex, and apparently visited heavens before.
Is Mystra power-thirsty?
I wouldn’t say so. She is already OP, and AO asked her to nerf herself by sharing and storing power in her chosens. Even if she were to gain more power, she is not allowed to keep it.
She wants the Shadow Weave
She sees Shar’s secret creation, the Shadow Weave, as a threat and aims to eventually subsume it into her portfolio, even if that means sacrificing her last remaining goodness and humanity.
From the DnD book “Faith & Pantheons”
We see how Shar is using her Shadow Weave in the cursed land, and it's safe to say it's not an ideal living environment for most beings. Shar has been very keen to kill Mystra and take over her power; I don’t think the world would be a better place in her hands than in Mystra’s.
She wants the Karsite Weave
The same logic could apply to the Karsite Weave. While we can argue whether Gale has a good heart and can be trusted with godlike power, he did show some concerning traits, did he not? Maybe in the future, when he is wiser and calmer, that's how I read Mystra’s line when she tells him to be patient.
Why doesn’t she just cure him since she can?
This is 100% headcanon. I think Mystra as a goddess is able to foresee some future. In Elminster’s story series, Mystra 2nd often asked him to do things that seemed irrelevant but were actually needed in the future. In Gale’s case, could it be that’s what Midnight meant to do? To mentor and humble him? Even prepare him to go through this journey? (Hardly imagine the prime archmage Gale joining our little merry band, and Elminster did say, “Mystra was anything but idle- she chose you as her champion.” What could that means?)
Gale has a curve where he goes from being “irked by untalented apprentices” to “enjoying teaching a lot” if not using the crown. He could have been relying on magic too much, and his ego or pursuit of power had led him astray from his good nature. If you look from this perspective, offering to use the orb before the final battle could be him still having doubts about the team's ability and having more faith in magic aka his own power (mixed with his deep love for everyone that he'd rather die than see their lives wasted, of course).
She is a terrible lover, and she doesn't care about Gale at all
According to patch 5, how time feels in the outer plane is very different from the material plane. God Gale came back in 6 months, and he seems not aware that it has been months. With this logic and putting myself in Mystra's shoes, she got mad because Gale recklessly activated a magical nuclear bomb and ignored him for a couple of weeks.(~1 year in the mortal world) When they meet again, this grumpy jumpy bean is thinking of the possibility of killing her for her powers already. Excuse me???
I will say there could be more considerate ways to handle this subject other than asking him to bomb himself. This long-distance cross-race romance was very problematic, but I will reserve my opinion on how much love she holds for Gale. Probably not seeing him as an equal partner, of course, but drawing the conclusion that she doesn't care a tad about his well-being might be too hasty, in my opinion.
A screenshot of Mystra telling Gale that she wasn't the one who took his gifts away from him. That's not an expression of 0 sympathy to me. I've never seen her make this face except for this line.
*UPDATE on Dec 11/2023*
Add a tweet from Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms. Ref: X
*UPDATE on Jan 11/2024*
• Add a screenshots during Gale's meeting with her
• Add a note on DnD weaveghost setting
*UPDATE on Apr 15/2024*
• An great analysis of Gale & Mystra's relationship and Mystra's behavior logic
-DISCLAIMER-
I am very new to the DnD world, but these are what I dug up and puzzled together. I could be very, very wrong, but please be kind; I did all this out of love for my wizard 💜💜💜
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Absolutely no offense to Sokka/Suki, but I think there should be AU content where Yue becomes the Moon but then she and Sokka just... keep dating. She uses her spirit powers to hang out with him somehow and, well, the one benefit of having given your life for your people is that at least you don't have to give up your love life for them now, right? Sokka adapts easily enough to having a spirit girlfriend, because it is frankly not the weirdest thing that's happened to him.
Potential futures, ranked from most to least angsty:
Sokka being the Moon's Husband until he dies, bringing the inevitable, tragic yet beautiful until-the-end-of-time parting that ends mortal/immortal relationships.
Avatar-world variant: Sokka dies but reincarnates, and the Moon shines more brightly on every one of his future selves, whether he knows why or not. (Sometimes he does.)
Sokka also ascends to spirithood at some point by virtue of Being The Moon's Husband, and basically becomes the Knowledge Owl Guy's nemesis because he A) is very involved in the mortal world and B) thinks that information should be free.
Variant: Sokka replaces the Ocean Spirit through some convoluted turn of events, making him and Yue the new yin-yang of Water.
Related, but different: Sokka just gets a nice house in a corner of the Spirit World where Yue stays between moonset and moonrise. If Iroh can, why not Sokka?
Anyway, this way you get the wholesomeness of these two finding happiness and love together even after everything; the comedy of Sokka actually DATING THE MOON and probably being very chill about the weirdness; and the incredible potential of an immortal spirit Sokka.
#Sokka declares himself the guardian spirit of every Avatar#'the Avatar IS the Guardian Spirit of the WORLD--' '--which is why it's so important somebody looks after you!! duh.#also perpetually showing up to mentor/haunt scientists and inventors he approves of#but also living!sokka carrying on a long-distance relationship with yue ❤️#talking to his girlfriend whenever the moon is visible#yue appearing to him whenever she can#probably can only fully manifest on the full moon or something but you make it work right?#he talks about 'my girlfriend yue' in casual conversation and it takes a LONG time for new people to figure out that relationship#what do you mean she said x last week?? they've never met her??#at first they assume she's like. back home at one of the poles. Sokka does not clarify#'my first girlfriend turned into the moon' 'that's rough buddy' 'it was! but we're in a really good place now#*smiles at moon* 'so maybe there's hope for you and your ex.' zuko:???#atla#Sokka#yue#Sokka/Yue
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what are some crossovers that intrigue you in theory but that youre not sure how to make work, if you know what i mean?
*steeples fingers* Okay. I know exactly what you mean, Anon. Having more of a justification for a crossover than 'I like these two (or more) things so I want to write the characters interacting' is important to me when I'm writing a crossover fic, so I look for that in the crossovers I read. Naturally, some fandoms are ridiculously easy to cross with something else because of the nature of what goes in canon, and some are a lot trickier. It can be difficult to pull on those little connecting threads to build a story into a more believable crossover.
Now, I'll be honest with you. It's rare that I look in a crossover section for something that I just can't see working at all. I've done it, but I have yet to find something that's actually satisfying to me if it's completely random, mostly because no explanation for the crossover is ever given, or it's some outside force that is never explained, and the fics tend to be unfinished and dead because the author ran into trouble with it.
So.
Can I give you specific examples of what you're talking about? Not really, not at this precise moment--even though I've been sitting on this ask for a couple of days. There's nothing in my back pocket that I'd really like to see but doesn't have any common ground whatsoever, mostly because when I think of crossovers I might do or would like to see done, I start with the commonalities, which means I start from a point of 'how could I make this work based on what I already have?'. I am perfectly willing to fudge a bit of canon to make something work if I'm trying to do a crossover, clutching onto my common threads and going, "I can come up with an explanation for the discrepancies, just watch me." (Example: Rise of the Guardians and Narnia re: Santa Claus/North) I can talk generalities, though.
Take The Good Place, something I've no desire to write fanfic for because I like what the show did. Could you write a crossover with it? Absolutely. Could you write a crossover with it with something that shows an afterlife/heaven/hell that's contrary to what they show there, like Lucifer or Supernatural? Yes, I'd argue you could, but it's a lot harder, at least without jumping to the alternate dimension thing, which is canon for both Lucifer and SPN. Most of the commonalities are contradictory, and then you have to come up with explanations about why that is. (Well, you don't, but I like that, so I do, and I'd look for that in a fic I was reading.)
Other things that are difficult for me to figure out how to make it work in general tend to be stuff that very obviously take place in different dimensions (or time periods where the time periods are different enough it's not within the lifetimes of the characters you want to write and you want more than parallels/tangential connections). If one of the fandoms has canonical dimensional (or time) travel, regardless of how easy that is to accomplish, then all you need to do is figure out how to get the characters back to where they started at the end of it all, and you take what you're given for getting them there. But something where interdimensional/time travel doesn't exist in either one? That's hard. It means you need to create that, and depending on the fandom, that might not be easy. You need magic or tech or something beyond some force that never gets explained (preferably) to make the crossover happen and then straighten things out at the end, assuming you actually intend to straighten things out at the end and not just leave it unresolved.
To be fair, for most of the media I consume, I have magic or tech or at least some supernatural force at my disposal. I read/watch stuff that tends to involve that. Would I write a crossover between Dead Like Me and Avatar: The Last Airbender? Probably not. Could I come up with a wild explanation to make it work, or at least make it work well enough because I'm trying to tie it together? Yes. Through the spirit world and the afterlife. (Dead Like Me is all about Grim Reapers, after all.) Like so: George thought going to her own funeral was weird enough. She could've done without this shit, but turning down the promotion hadn't sounded optional, and now she's got a sticky note with an E.T.D. on it for some guy named Lu Ten--at least she has a full name to work with--at the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, wherever the hell that's supposed to be.
#crossover#crossovers#ladylynse#my writing#asks#shhh ignore the fact that I'm now thinking about how a dead like me/atla crossover would work#(despite the fact that I don't think anyone would read it so it wouldn't be something I'd post)#(but honestly that would be my starting point)#(helps that Iroh never found his son in the spirit world really)
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Anyways “Aang should have killed the fire lord and not doing so was him escaping character development” is, was, and always will be one of the most garbage takes I have ever seen.
I’m ok with people finding HOW he avoided contrived or whatever (though I would be fascinated to know if this is a problem shared among fans who know more about the philosophies that A;tLA are based on, or if it’s another “the jedi are bad actually” example of western fans projecting western ideals onto things based in eastern philosophies), but the actual take of “Aang should have killed him”? Nope. Garbage.
The question of the final episodes was never “is it morally wrong to kill the Fire Lord”. Almost every other character is there to provide us with reasoning why it is an act that may be necessary, and the other Avatars would see it as a moral responsibility. No. The question was always “does Aang, this TWELVE YEAR OLD VICTIM OF CULTURAL AND ACTUAL GENOCIDE, have to sacrifice one of the last connections he has to his culture, one of the strongest ways he can maintain connection to his culture and the teachings of the people he loved and lost, TO THE DESCENDANT OF THE MAN WHO COMMITTED SAID GENOCIDE AND PERPETUATOR OF THE SAME VIOLENCE, for the sake of the world? Does this literal twelve year old’s responsibilities to the world mean that he has to commit an act of spiritual and emotional self harm for their sake? Does the world have the right to ask that of him?” And ultimately decided that Aang could find another way by taking that man’s power away.
They were never going to have the main character of this Nickelodeon children’s show from over ten years ago kill the villain. If nothing else, the executives at Nick and the “moral guardians” of the day would never have allowed it. But instead of giving us a preachy lecture on how killing the Fire Lord Would Make You Just Like The Genocidal Tyrant And War Monger, they gave us this, where a child didn’t have to go against his spiritual, moral and cultural convictions because the world demanded it of him.
Also, before anyone replies to this with “bUt aAnG kILleD THe buZZarD WaSP” or “bUt hE KilLEd aT thE NOrtH PoLE so HE’s a HyPoCriTE” I don’t care. I don’t give a shit. This is a cartoon in which humans can take a Boulder to the chest and walk it off, he was giving form to the ocean spirit, I am perfectly fine with taking these things in good faith and believing that he never killed someone for the sake of what I think is an important story.
#genocide mention#because of the air nomads#not sure how to tag this one for triggers so if people want to hit me up for this specific post for content warning suggestions it’s cool#atla#aang#this ones been on a slow burn for a while bc I’m mad about it
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Mob Masterpost
I’ve gotten many asks about the mobs in this world, and I figured I might as well list them since there are a good chunk I removed, as well as custom lore for some. These will probably be paired with pictures one day, we’ll see.
Passive Mobs
Bat
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Cat
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Axolotl
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Chicken
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Fox
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
All the fish (and more)
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Turtle
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Cows
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Horses / Donkeys
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Skeleton Horses (not zombie ones they freak me out)
- Literally just the skeleton of a horse nothing interesting here
Pig
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Parrot
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Sheep
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Rabbit
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Mooshroom / Moobloom
- Mooshroom exist as they do in game
- Mooshroom are found around massive dead trees in damp forests. They can also be found in mushroom biomes
- In flower fields are a subspecies of Mooshroom, the Moobloom - which have many different varieties depending on the flower (but there are mainly yellow ones)
- Mooblooms co-regulate with bees
- Mooshrooms just need to break down dead plants for nutrients.
- Mooblooms just need sunlight and water
Striders
- Co-regulate with Piglins, who keep them safe. In return Striders are a popular form of transportation (very big) to get around the large lava lakes in the Nether.
- Eats the mushrooms and plant life of the nether (the plant’s spores stick of their bodies and travel to grow and shit).
- They can easily swim through lava using their big, duck-like webbed feet.
- They get too cold and freeze up if they’re outside of lava for too long.
- Strider babies like to ride on their parents backs.
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Neutral Mobs
Goat
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Dolphin
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Piglin
- Already done
Panda
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Polar Bear
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Wolf
- exist as they do in real life (no art needed)
Bee
- Most are just normal bees like in real life
- There are, however, rare large square bees-like creatures that roam around the world. These creatures only attack when attacked, and can be tamed to ride on by people (think like Appa from Avatar).
- They can mentally control other, smaller bees if they desire (think like the Alphas in HTTYD2)
- Every 10 years; there is a small chance of seeing The Elegant White Beefly/ The Queen bee and other rare bees flying around.
(CONCEPT ART PROVIDED BY LLEN_BEE)
Endermen
- These are void creatures that are made by the Enderdragon
- They have no real thoughts or will of their own and are not considered to be fully conscious or aware.
- They are a collective hivemind under the command of the Enderdragon
- It’s rumored that the Enderdragon sees through their eyes. When Endermen fly into rages due to making eye contact with people, it’s said that’s the Enderdragon, trying to exact her revenge on humanity.
Iron Golem
- Iron Golems are man-made guardians/ machines built to protect villages and trader outposts from monsters at night.
- They’re considered to be gentle giants, only attacked when they’re provoked. They’ve even been known to pick flowers to give to children as a gift.
- They are, however, extremely powerful and bulky, and are not to be casually messed with.
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Hostile Mobs
Zombies & Skeletons (They're basically the same thing)
- Literally just dead people idk what to tell you
Drowned
- Literally just Water Dead People™
Spider (only cave ones)
- Literally just extra big spiders that live in caves congratulations
Creeper
- They’re a conscious mass of moss / plant life.
- They spread their spores by exploding near living things and attaching the seeds to those things. The seeds grow from these. This is why it is important to clean your clothes well after encountering one.
Elder Guardian + Guardians
- These are ancient magical sea creatures that were made by the gods. They were made to guard Sea Temples from outsiders.
- Guardians watch over the outside and most of the inside under the Elder Guardian’s command.
- The Elder Guardian's eye can cause time to slow for the person whose gaze it lands on. After tests it has been confirmed that it simply feels this way to the victim, time does not actually slow.
Ghast
- An eternally crying spirit of the nether. They are extremely dangerous and hostile if they spot you, since they are able to spit liquid fire from their mouths.
- Their tears are made of liquid silver and are extremely valuable if you can manage to collect them.
Blaze
- These creatures are created inside nether fortresses by odd objects called “spawners.”
- They’re made of fire, smoke, and bright, eternally hot metal they can use to swing around to harm their opponents. This metal is commonly referred to as “Blaze Rods”
- They guard nether fortresses with their lives, willing to sacrifice anything to protect them.
Hoglin
- They’re considered the elephants of the nether; very strong, very destructive, and potentially deadly.
- Warped fungi are a tasty treat for Striders, but are extremely toxic to Hoglins. Because of this, they have developed a fear to the signature pattern of the warped fungus.
- They eat / scrape against wood and plants for food as well as to sharpen their tusks.
Phantom
- They’re small nocturnal creatures who live up in the trees .
- They make nests out of bones they find, and mostly eat bugs
- They’re very shy, and only come out to try and “help” other creatures get sleep at night.
Shulker
- Very tiny, almost pixie like creatures that live in the ancient ender cities. They build themselves purple shells to hide away from danger.
- Their shells are made from a mixture of sticky saliva and mucus, and plant matter from chorus tree plants.
- They are able to spit out a sticky magic chemical that cause people to start floating into the air. The only way to get out of this is to wait for it to wear off.
Slime
- They’re mutant creatures made of a translucent ooze. The color can change depending on where they originated.
- The lighter, outside ooze is very sticky, but also has bouncing properties. The inside, darker layer of ooze is very toxic and can dissolve metal.
- While smaller ones are basically harmless, bigger Slimes can be very deadly. They trap it’s prey inside it’s body to immobilize it, and digest it alive.
Wither Skeleton
- These are skeletons that have had prolonged exposure to soul sand, turning black and “withered.” They also have a small blue fire in their chest.
- They’re faster, stronger, more deadly and more hostile then regular skeletons, and are known for pursuing their targets over long distances. However, their bones are slowly withering away.
- Only fresh wither skeletons are fully intact. This is why it’s so hard to get fully intact wither skulls.
The Wither
- When three wither skulls are combined with a great amount of soul sand, and is lit with soul fire, a Wither is born.
- It’s an ancient creature built for only one purpose, to destroy and kill all life it sees
- Long ago, all the Piglin tribes came together to defeat a Wither that was rampaging across the Nether. Ancient writings of how it came to be were drawn along the walls of Nether Fortresses.
- The tears of a Wither makes Wither Roses - an apology to the lives it has taken.
- Nether stars, which appear once a Wither is defeated, can be used to make beacons. They can also be used to make Totems of Undying, when it’s combined with god-blessed liquid gold, and an emerald pure of corruption.
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Lately I've seen a lot of discourse on the Zutara fandom about the cultural mashing in the series but am I the only one who feels like it's ok? And yes there are parts of it than need to be criticized but I don't think people are focusing on the important ones. Maybe that's just me who knows?
My opinion on the cultural mashing in Avatar is somewhat mixed. On the one hand, I totally understand why some cultures had to be mashed together. I mean, Avatar takes place in a fictional universe after all, and many times fantasy worlds have certain things based on real-life cultures. But on the other hand, I don’t understand why Mike and Bryan made some specific culture combinations.
I mean, there’s some really small, minute things that kind of feel off for me. For example, I’m somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of basing the Fire Nation off of imperial Japan and imperial China and then having the geography and some cultural aspects of said nation resemble those of Southeast Asian countries. It’s easy to lump the cultures of many nations into one, especially if they’re roughly in the same geographic location. It’s not uncommon to see Japanese, Chinese, and Korean culture lumped together into one giant one, especially since Avatar is a Western cartoon, but it just... feels weird if you think about the broader historical context of this cultural mashing. I’m not saying that it’s ok for people to group different cultures under one giant umbrella, because every culture deserves to be respected on its own. But like, I’m not going to send Mike and Bryan to the electric chair for doing this. Media has a tendency to group certain cultures together, and at this point, I’m a little desensitized by it (which is quite sad if you think about it).
But then there’s the glaringly obvious cultural mashups that don’t make sense. Like, ok, I guess the Sun Warriors are based off of the ancient Maya civilization at least, I think it’s the Maya Empire. It could be Aztec. Or Inca. If someone knows, please enlighten me in Mesoamerica? And I’m just supposed to come to the conclusion that those guys started off with that kind of culture and then developed into pseudo-imperial Japan/imperial China? Yeah, I can’t really wrap my head around it.
And then there’s the Avatar lore itself. It’s just a hot mess. I mean, the basic principles of the four elements being air, water, earth, and fire is from Greek philosophy. If the showrunners really wanted to stick with traditional Chinese elements, they would have used air, water, wood, metal, and fire. So there’s that odd culture combination to think about. And then there’s the whole dragons and phoenixes being a part of the Fire Nation (I’m speculating about the phoenix part solely based on the fact that Ozai thought it was a cool idea). Now, I could see what Bryke and the other show writers were trying to go for by using dragons and phoenixes. Both mythical creatures are featured in Chinese mythology so using them in the show would be a cool nod to Chinese culture, right? WRONG. SO WRONG. IF ANYONE HAS THE AUDACITY TO SAY THAT AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER WAS DEVOID OF WHITE INFLUENCE, JUST BRING UP THE DRAGONS.
I’m just—I get so pissed off when people say “look at the cool Chinese dragons in the show!” because they’re not Chinese dragons. Sure, the designs might be Asian inspired, but even then, that’s partially wrong because those dragons have wings. If you look at dragons from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean mythology, none of those dragons have wings and they don’t breathe fire. But you know what those Eastern dragons are closely related to? They’re usually associated with earth, sea, and sky. They’re typically seen as guardians of these realms. The concept of dragons being monsters and breathing fire developed in the West. When watching Avatar: The Last Airbender for the first time, I actually expected the first waterbenders to be dragons living at the bottom of a lake or something. But to my surprise, I found out that the moon and ocean spirits are represented as koi fish, which is...ok I guess? I mean, koi fish are typically shown as a representation of yin and yang/fire and water which works in the context of the show. And there are legends in which koi fish can become dragons, so like... it’s close? I think it would have been really cool if they included some sort of Inuit inspired mythos into the Avatar lore for the waterbenders because their whole aesthetic is based on the Inuit, but I digress. I just don’t like how they cherry-picked some design elements of an Eastern dragon and then decided to put all of these other characteristics on it that originated from the West, especially considering that there is no “West” equivalent in Avatar. Like, unless Maya mythology includes fire-breathing dragons, I don’t understand why the writers decided to make this decision.
And the concept of phoenixes in Avatar: The Last Airbender is somewhat weird too. Yes, they show up in Chinese legends, but to my knowledge, they don’t combust. Nor do they get reborn from their ashes (because they don’t combust). Chinese phoenixes are just... immortal. They’re the king of the birds. They just... live. And they symbolize peace, harmony, good fortune, etc. I think the whole concept of a bird combusting into flames and then resurrecting from their ashes comes from Egypt or Greece. So again, weird culture combo that doesn’t make much sense to me. Also the fact that phoenixes are supposed to be another representation of yin and yang with feng and huang really makes the idea of Ozai choosing the title of “Phoenix King” really amusing. Like, I guess he thinks that he’s the bringer of harmony to the four nations but that’s so funny to me. In some old Chinese legends, phoenixes were paired with dragons to represent yin and yang so in that context, phoenixes are female. So like... I guess Ozai is the leader of the feminist movement lmao. Also Ursa is definitely the dragon in this relationship; no I don’t take criticism.
Again, I want to reiterate that we shouldn’t burn people at the stake for writing their fantasy worlds based on a mix of different cultures. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be allowed to criticize when this happens. I’m grateful that there’s a piece of mainstream Western media that features parts of my Asian culture, even if it isn’t perfect or done in the most tasteful way. But I don’t like it when people just slap a “this show is good because of all this Asian rep” or finish watching the show thinking they know a lot about Asian culture, because this is, in a way, contributing to the mindset that there’s no real distinction between these cultures. They’re all just... Asian.
#anyways#i'm sorry it took so long to answer this#life has been pretty hectic for the past week#but yeah that's my take on the culture mashing in avatar#i didn't talk about the southeast asian rep because i honestly have no clue what's going on in there#as a half korean/half chinese gal myself i'm not well-versed in that topic#and i also have no clue what's going on with the hinduism/buddhism rep in avatar either#but i know that the show shits on guru pathik who really didn't deserve it#atla and racism#atla critical#? at least i think it is#atla
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the avatar series: 01.09
masterlist.
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The sharp silence echoed throughout the small bungalow. Tension rippled with every moment. The atmosphere was killing them – none of them daring to look at each other in the eye for longer than a second. They were much more preoccupied with everything around the room.
Bak Mei Island was much more different than Kilari had heard in stories from the Sage families. It wasn’t like pure training grounds nor was it a religious temple, it was a community. The island was separated in two parts; a fourth dedicated to a village where there was a gazebo at the very edge of the island while the other three fourths were dedicated to the main courtyard. That was where the main temple, the training grounds, the animal barn, the infirmary, the canteen, and the Avatar’s bungalow was located. The whole island was elevated – if anyone were to use a boat to come to the island, they would have to climb up a set of stairs to reach the top of the cliffs. Kilari was grateful that Sukiara had insisted on giving them a tour after their short trip to the infirmary, where ‘the best water healers’ checked them for any injuries and then gave them spare robes to change into after a shower.
Johnny studied the room like he would be tested on it, Doyoung stared at the ceiling as he tried to make sense of his thoughts through meditation, Kilari was fidgeting with her fingers on The Avatar’s bed, and Sonan was sitting in the chair in the corner. All of them were trying to make sense of the very world that shattered beneath their feet.
Standing in the cabin, Johnny felt Tari’s presence like a ghost. Everything here lingered of her. There were lines marked on the wall, indicative of her height as she grew with the years. There were postcards framed on the shelves; photos of what they presumed to be her family. She always told them her family was distant and she lived with guardians growing up. A small lie, Johnny presumed – his arms now crossing as he continued to scan the images. How many small lies or hidden truths have she told us?
His eyes lingered on a photo that seemed to be recently framed by her desk. Did Tari come here during that time? He thought to himself as he saw the quite recent photograph. It was from a year ago, but Johnny swore he saw it in Tari’s room at least two months ago.
The photo was taken during Doyoung’s birthday party; the group of them made a makeshift bar on the rooftop and invited all of Doyoung’s friends. They stayed there until the sun came up, talking about absolutely anything and everything that came to mind as alcohol coursed through their veins. The photo in particular was of the five of them sitting down – Tari was sitting on the edge, her legs thrown over Johnny’s lap. Both of them were covering their faces, stifling their laughter. Doyoung was in the middle – looking annoyed as he wore a tacky, neon birthday hat that continued to sing. Sonan and Kilari were posing – Kilari sticking her tongue out and Sonan adding bunny ears behind Doyoung.
Back when the world was normal, he thought. Why didn’t she tell us then? He asked no one in particular, remembering the story Johnny had told her about the first time he had felt insecure about not being able to bend. Why didn’t she talk to me about it then?
“Fuck this silence!” Kilari exclaimed, cutting the silence with a knife. “We can’t keep ignoring what just happened.” She jumped up from the bed, “We can’t keep avoiding the topic by talking about the stars or about our jobs or about anything!” Her voice faltered, cracking nervously as she had to face the facts. She failed in noticing her friend was the Avatar. Her heritage came from people who could identify the Avatar. Not only did she fail at understanding and knowing her friend, but she failed at being a Fire Sage. Not to mention, Kilari spoke to Tari about all of her problems. Did Tari not tell me because I couldn’t help her? Because she couldn’t trust me? She bit her lip, Did I fail Tari as a friend?
Doyoung sighed, “You’re right. We can’t keep ignoring the silence, but we don’t have all the facts. Uhm, whats-her-name-“
“Sukiara.” Sonan reminded him, still in the corner but now staring at her feet. Out of all of them, she was the least shocked. She knew something was up with Tari; from the fact she was never cold to her being practically a master in multiple fighting techniques. Sonan also offered Tari to replace her plants when they died, but she never had to. Tari’s plants had never died – no matter if their life span was supposed to be for a few months. But Sonan couldn’t be bothered if Tari hid something from her. If she needed to know, Tari would’ve told her. Sonan trusted her, and if Tari wanted her to know or think she needed to know, she would’ve told her. It was
“She said she’ll come and tell us them soon.” The airbender tried to keep a level head. He was disappointed in himself. I lived with her, he chastised, how did I not notice these things? But like Kilari, he was disappointed in himself for disappointing Tari – for being someone she couldn’t trust. He was trying to keep levelheaded, trying to rationalize why Tari might have kept it a secret. Doyoung didn’t know anything from Tari’s perspective. He used to think that they can understand each other like an open book – a skill he gained from living with her, but now it’s like he found out the book had secret pages.
Johnny rolled his eyes, balling his fist as he crossed his arms. “We found out our best friend has been lying to us.”
“Tari probably has a reason,” Sonan mentioned, trying to calm Johnny’s rage. “She always does.”
He had the urge to punch the wall. “A reason for lying to us for two years?” Doyoung was quick to walk to Johnny’s side, grabbing his arm as it unlocked itself from being crossed. It was the first time they made eye contact for a long time since they fled. Johnny saw Doyoung’s disappointment, his sadness reflected in his glossy eyes while Doyoung noticed Johnny’s look of betrayal.
They both had found out something crucial about someone important to them. Everyone here did. But now they don’t know if they’ll ever see her again; the last image they had of the arena as they flew away was it being consumed by flames.
Almost as if she had sensed the tensions were getting hot, Sukiara had opened the door. Everyone stopped in their tracks, turning to the lady who had promised to give them the answers they sorely wanted. She too had changed out of her prior outfit; but unlike the rest of them (who were in spare Order of the White Lotus black traditional wear), she wore a wrap top that mimicked the traditional water tribe shirts with a long skirt that made it look like she was gliding.
As soon as everyone received their cup of tea, Sukiara stood in front of them like a teacher. Her head was held high, there was no sense of doubt or regret. “What would you like to know?” She said so casually, as if she was asked someone’s name or age.
Johnny was about to open her mouth, but Sonan was quick to take over – unsure of his rage. “Can you tell us as much as possible?”
Sukiara dropped her head, still unsure where to start. So she started at the beginning. “We found out she was the Avatar when she was four years old. Teachers of water bending in her hometown reported a girl of exemplary skills, only four years old.” She told them everything – from how many years she stayed in Bak Mei to how long she spent in each nation’s traditional temple to how she trains once a month.
“Why didn’t she tell us?” Johnny let the words slip past his lips like venom, full of suppressed rage and betrayal.
Sukiara sighed, “I woul-“
The door slammed open and one of the members of the White Lotus busted in. “Come to the canteen,” They panted, “The arena is on the news.”
It felt like everyone in the White Lotus facilities sat anxiously in the canteen, watching the monitor as the bright orange flames raged on screen.
“Last night, police officers came down to the arena to notice a group of benders planning a terrorist attack. The people planning also happened to be apart of the underground illegal bending matches.” The news – it was twisted, it was lies. But Johnny knew the reporter – he worked alongside them and was aware of their acceptance of benders. Consequently, he has a feeling if he didn’t have any bending friends or he wasn’t there – he might’ve believed the same thing being fed to him by the higher-ups. “G-Dragon and the Big Bang Crew were identified as the leaders and have been taken into custody.” The four of their jaws dropped; watching as the clips turned into videos of G-Dragon and the Big Bang Crew being put into police cars. “A number of benders have gotten arrested, but this number has not been released yet. There are numerous officers in the hospital being tended to for their injuries. The same can be said for the attackers, but they are expected to be arrested as soon as their injuries are healed.” The reporter let out a pause for dramatic effect. “The authorities also revealed that the Avatar was in there. They couldn’t identify who during that chaos, but we can confirm the Avatar is in SM City.”
Which can be healed quickly if they didn’t fire all the water bending nurses…, Johnny thought, feeling the anger bubbling in his stomach.
“Tari isn’t back yet.” Sonan gasped. Their minds went to praying to the Spirits that Tari was not one of the people arrested.
Sukiara stared at the floor. “The police may kill her on the spot if they find her.” She recalled all the governmental talks, the threats from the mayor. “The government has been asking for her identity…we just better hope they didn’t see her bend.”
The next hour was like waiting for a pin to drop. Everyone was tense. The head chefs passed around hot drinks; trying to calm everyone down as they worried for Tari’s safety. The facility members thoughts focused on the little girl they saw grow up, while her friends thought of their memories and the future they have yet to have and all the answers she has yet to answer.
People were either sitting, eyes closed as their heads fell onto the table, or pacing around the canteen space.
And when they heard the sound of a bison outside – the sound of an animal’s groans and paws landing on the ground, everyone ran outside. Johnny and Doyoung were first.
They saw Tari with two others. People they couldn’t recognize. One had an undercut and white hair while the other had black hair with a blonde streak in his fringe who was a bit taller. There clothes were ripped; obviously having been in a fight, but it seemed that Tari healed them on their way over. It was mostly evident from the blood staining the tears, but the lack of blood on where the wounds should’ve been.
As soon as Tari made eye contact with her friends, they tackled her. Johnny practically lunged into her, carrying her into the air and spinning her as much as she could. Her other friends had to fight for her attention, showering her with questions – so many questions she couldn’t distinguish them apart.
Once her feet touched the ground again, Tari let out a small smile. “Sukiara, can we get Yuta and Jisung fresh clothes?” The members of the union helped guide everyone inside the canteen, Sukiara barking out orders to the chefs to prepare something hot for the three people who just arrived.
“You guys sit down.” Sukiara instructed. “We’ll bring you food and some clothes. Taemin, can you get the boys some clothes? Sunmi, can you get Tari’s clothes? Everyone else, please back off and move away. They need air.” And people listened, except for Tari’s four friends Sukiara gave an encouraging nod to. “You guys stay here and please, let them breathe.”
The two strangers awkwardly waved to the four people who seemed to be analyzing every one of their movements. “Hi, I’m Yuta.” The one with the undercut introduced, “You might’ve seen me as the Osaka Prince.” With that, Kilari’s jaw dropped. Much more attractive without the mask.
“I’m Jisung, or, uh, the mouse.” The taller one said more timidly.
“Jisung, Yuta,” Tari has refused to look her friends in the eye. Once the initial relief of her survival came through, she saw their anger – their disappointment. I’m losing them, she thought, I’m losing them like I lost everyone else. Without looking up, she used her arm to motion to each of her friends. “Johnny, Kilari, Sonan, and Doyoung.”
“Oh, no way!” Yuta exclaimed, “You’re the girl who holds the Kyoshi fan lessons!” Sonan nodded, grinning at the recognition while Kilari was still starstruck. She could barely speak, just looking at Yuta and checking him out.
Jisung was quick to speak, “And you’re the dude who writes those great articles! I loved the photographs you include in them.” He enthused.
“It’s an honor meeting the new Team Avatar.” Yuta bowed his head slightly.
As soon as Yuta said Avatar, it seemed that everyone took it as their cue to interrogate Tari. Their words and voices blurred into the same; undistinguishable from the other. Her head was pounding, her eyes went wide – she felt herself curling into herself. Panic started settling through her heart- she felt like she was going to explode. Her vision went hazy, her heart was pounding. Everything they were saying was more overwhelming than the stun guns and the bullets the police were shooting at them. She couldn’t even look them in the eye – to heartbroken to see their expressions, to see their disappointment. She didn’t want them to leave like this; she was planning that if she must tell them, she’d leave one night and not say anything. Then, she wouldn’t have lost them due to something she can’t control.
“I-I-“ She couldn’t distinguish their voices or how they responded when she started to let out broken pieces of words. “I need to go.”
Before anyone could object, Tari’s feet had a mind of their own and sprinted towards the farthest edge of the island.
request anything for future parts / penny for your thoughts here
#jisung imagines#johnny imagines#johnny suh imagines#doyoung imagines#kim doyoung imagines#nakamoto yuta imagines#yuta imagines#nct imagines#nct dream imagines#nct au#park jisung imagines#nct angst#nct dream angst#nct 127 imagine#nct smut#nct 127 imagines#avatar au#nct dream#NCT#nct scenarios
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So in the AU, exactly what leads to the distrust of spirits and humans? In Korra, it had something to do with humans keeping the powers that the lion turtles gifted them. Hm, there's a thought. If you shuffle and combine the timelines of the Avatar universe, you could have it in which Aavaros is still the first avatar so to speak who convinced humanity to keep elemental powers. After all, its heavily implied that he was the one who taught humans dark magic, so that would line up more or less.
I'm gonna answer all your previous question here:
I'm aware that not everything in the AU can line uo with the original plot, that's why I don't pressure myself so much on this AU.
I don't think Nyx she would necessary be a thief (as a living) but she would still be a mischievous girl.
I know that there are no kings in the spirit world (if we don't count Raava and Vaatu) but usually some of them are guardians of important places so ai think that would work for Zym parents?
Sarai could had know that Callum birth father was an airbender but she still hided it since it would have been dangerous for both of them. Either way that knowledge died. With both parents ungil Callum discovered it himself
Returning Zym was only a secondary sign of piece, the first and most important one is trying to restore the spirit portal.
Aaravos being the first Avatar could be an option, I'm not saying anything against it. but then why would people decided to imprisoning him instead of just killing him?They couldn't had know that after he died Vaatu would still incarnate and the cycle would continue. He could had also been the first one to invent energybending though.
Lastly, I just wanted to thank you for your interest in this AU, and I wanted to tell you that I'm not planning to make anything big of it, since I'm really just focusing on main characters and moments of the original story. I mostly interested in drawing more of the design and some cutscene that reflect moments of the show of TDP or A TLA, pther than that, I'll leave to other people inspiration to suggest other kind of elements. After all, I only “own” the design and some story traits :)
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Everything Of Note I Have To Say About “Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil” Season 4!
As I’m sure you’re aware, the great animated series Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil has recently concluded and I have a ton to say about it... So I made a list!
1. Spoilers...
2. Duh...
3. Before anything, I absolutely loved it! This was the finale this great show really deserved.
4. Let’s start from the beginning: I’ve been watching Star Vs. for a few years now when a good friend of mine recommended it to me. At first I was resistant because the advertising for it at the time was god awful, but luckily I was convinced otherwise and been loving it ever since.
5. The show premiered when I was a teenager, going through all the cliche teen shit. So seeing a show that portrayed the overly dramatic life of a teenager without being one of those stock teen dramas was a good change of pace.
6. In particular, I remember being amazed that it could be so relatable while still being able to have it’s upbeat and fast-paced fantasy/sci-fi action sequences and world while also having a good mixture of mature and juvenile humor. I mean, all of that would seem to work against each other and yet this show made it work in spades.
7. Actually, the way Star Vs. uses it’s fictitious setting to complement its down-to-earth characters while juggling great humor reminds me a lot of a different Disney property: Guardians Of The Galaxy. GOTG, I think, is the perfect film to study if you want to ever write for sci-fi or fantasy because director James Gunn understood that you can have as wild and crazy of a world as you want but you still need to write your characters as genuine as possible. If you don’t, you’ll get something like Avatar (the movie); a film that everyone remembers liking because of the incredible world and even better effects, but no one can name a single character or plot-point. The universe still needs to be grounded by the characters or else it’ll become forgettable and un-relatable. Star Vs., thankfully, does not have this problem. I love the characters, their trials, their tribulations, all because they feel real despite the world in which it takes place.
8. That isn’t to say there isn’t a reason to set a story in a fantastical world or that there isn’t an issue with being too relatable. If anything, the world of the show helps to make it more entertaining, less monotonous, and more unique. Without it, Star Vs. would be another Pretty Little Liars or Zoey 101 or Dawson’s Creek or any other boring teen drama out there. They’re practically identical because they start off too similarly! They all follow around relatively normal teenagers in a relatively normal world with their relatively normal life and god do none of them stand out. So Star Vs. separates itself by still keeping its characters pretty wacky and the universe as crazy as Daron Nefcy’s imagination!
9. Even by a storytelling perspective, this makes more sense because there is objectively more that can be done! By the end of Zoey 101, Zoey and her lame crew basically did everything they could do without jumping the shark too much. In comparison, there are countless adventures Marco and Star could go on even past the series finale.
10. And because the number of future adventures are countless, part of the tragedy of the show ending is that we (the audience) don’t get to experience them alongside these characters we’ve learned to love so much. Keeping that door open leaves a much longer lasting impression on the audience, as apposed to the ending of Zoey 101 in which... wait, what happened again? I don’t remember. Anyways!
11. I love the comedy in this show! From the very beginning, the humor was very lighthearted and yet mature because it had to be. It had to have a tinge of maturity to it because the target audience isn’t little kids like it would be for a show like My Little Pony or SpongeBob. Star Vs., with it’s doomsday atmosphere and constant teen drama, was definitely geared more towards older children/preteens. The ones more likely to watch a show like Gravity Falls or Rick And Morty and this audience will not tolerate childish humor. They can appreciate it sprinkled in here and there but if used too much, they’re taste will sour. This is because as they are maturing to to start maturing into adulthood, there is the natural need to separate from childish things with the added childishness of wanting to totally separate from it. That’s why on The Loud House, a punchline could literally be poop and why that is not something you’d see very often on Star Vs.
12. With that said, the show still needed the humor to be incredibly lighthearted because otherwise this show would be so depressing! The worlds in which these characters live in and know are constantly changing, evolving, and almost blowing up. For Christ sake, many important characters die in this finale! The only one who died in Gravity Falls was the villain and in this, the villain isn’t even one of them! Seeing Marco and Star still be able to crack jokes to one another and making each other laugh keeps spirits high. God knows Hekapoo can’t do that now!
13. Speaking of Marco and Star, I have been a hardcore Starco defender from the very beginning despite the show constantly trying to convince me otherwise! There are so many perfect pairings in this cast that any one of them could’ve worked if Nefcy were top change her mind. If it ended with Star x Tom or Marco x Janna or Star x Janna or Marco x Hekapoo or Marco x Tom or Marco x Kelly it would’ve worked perfectly well.
14. But lets not kid ourselves, it was always going to end with Marco x Star. Their relationship and chemistry is unmatched, they might be the only couple in existence to say a joint line like “With or without magic, we were always meant to be together,” work and come off as not only sincere but true. I don’t even believe in the whole “soul mate” mumbo-jumbo, but I’d be damned if they are not that!
15. I audibly squealed in delight when they finally got together. It was like the build-up of four season culminated in one scene.
16. Though it wouldn’t really surprise me if I was alone in this assessment because I am a sucker for a good romantic movie. I saw La La Land in theaters, I cried at Love, Simon, I actually really love Love Actually. And though I do think Star Vs. pulled off relationships better than most, take my opinion with a grain of salt because the build-up itself was a little grating.
17. I have a huge issue with “will-they, won’t-they” stories! It’s the same issue I had with The Office and Friends and The Big Bang Theory and Sailor Moon and That ‘70s Show and every other show that has this dumb trope! Of course they’ll get together because otherwise I wasted several hours of my life wondering about it! Star Vs. isn’t as bad about this as most others but it’s still there and it’s still annoying.
18. It does this better than most because of three main components: it’s relatively short, we get plenty of Star and Marco being all lovey-dovey with each other once they do get together, and they do have genuine chemistry together. They have so much chemistry that Star’s ex literally told Marco that they were clearly into each other. If only they could’ve avoided the trope.
19. Okay, this next point is a little personal but it did effect my feelings towards this show’s finale so I think it’s kind of important that I mention it. Around the time the Star Vs. was ending, I was just entering my first real relationship and around the time I watched this finale, we lasted long enough that we could start taking the relationship a little bit more seriously. Now before anyone says anything: everything’s going great (she actually made me my header) and I am absolutely still in a honeymoon phase with her. But I think you could imagine how a lovesick teen just entering a serious relationship would be effected by this show that ended with lovesick teens so in love that they’d happily sacrifice themselves for the other.
20. I may or may not have also been high while watching this and that may or may not have effected my viewing experience. Don’t be a narc!
21. I love what this last season did with Ludo. Push away the fact that they somehow keep talking Alan Tudyk into these rolls he clearly does need to do and yet still does a great job at it (did you know he was King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph? Why? Why did he do that? Why is he so good in it? This guy’s casting decisions are so weird). The character of Ludo was a generic comic relief villain (see Doofenshmirtz) but was usually fine if only because he made for a good contrast and was way more interesting compared to Toffee (played by Michael C. Hall, another actor who does not need this job). But season four made Ludo a million times more interesting by showing his obsession with the wand exactly what it is: and unhealthy obsession that he needs to get over. And I like where he’s left by the end, clearly still not doing too great but is making strides to get better. As someone who has known many addicts in my life, this hit home a little.
22. Actually, I think a large part of season four was specifically meant to fix the first two mediocre seasons. Just look at my new favorite episode of the series: Britta’s Tacos. In this episode, Star and Marco find themselves back on Earth after a year of being on Mewni and catching up with all of their friends and seeing what’s changed. Watching this episode, I was reminded that as good as the first couple of seasons were, the latter half of the series was a ton better! The characters, character arcs, stories, everything, everything was better once they went up to Mewni. So seeing them go back to Earth and challenging the writers with rewriting their past characters to be more interesting showed just how much the series has improved. Could you imagine characters as uninteresting as those nerds I don’t even remember the names of being introduced in the much more interesting latter seasons? I couldn’t! So I appreciate that they went back and made sure every character in this show was interesting... except for Toffee, he still sucks.
23. And of course, the character that improved the most, hands down was absolutely Jackie Lynn Thomas! She was as bland and boring as a love interest got and that bothered me from the very beginning. How is it that in a show this imaginative and unique they still felt it necessary to use this tired cliche. So bringing her back, the writers had to do something to make her more interesting and it was apparently really easy. All they had to do was keep the character herself basically the same but now she’s a lesbian. And somehow, just adding that one extra layer made her feel so different, so interesting, so complete. I think that’s what it was, she just felt like an incomplete plot point and giving her a girlfriend completely separates herself from being important to the plot and adds that extra layer to make her seem more finished as a character.
24. I’m actually really surprised by this recent trend of LGBTQ+ characters in kids cartoons. You’d think that of all mediums, kids cartoons would be the last to fully integrate a controversial minority but they’ve been some of the first. Steven Universe really started this trend but I feel like The Loud House was the first to show and say it outright. Star Vs. doesn’t do it that well (and I’m willing to bet that was because of higher-ups over at Disney) but I appreciate the sentiment anyways. They never call Jackie and her girlfriend a couple or show them kissing, the most they do is have them hold hands and though I guess that’s enough, I wish they were able to go further. Whatever, I already wrote about why this representation in kids media is important, go read that.
25. For a while, Star was my favorite character in this show. I just have a real soft-spot for upbeat female badasses (and I am very happy this has become more of a trope recently), I think Janna might’ve taken the throne. It’s not that Star stopped being interesting or anything like that, I just really love Janna and her “Jannanigans”. Plus, I do really like the “cute girl who’s into weird shit” trope too. She’s not my favorite version of this trope (see Raven from 2003′s Teen Titans), but she was always a delight whenever she was on screen.
26. Tom is probably the most obvious example of “boring character was made interesting” that the show has. In the beginning, he was the standard bad boy archetype but, over time, was given more personality and started working off the other characters much better. Sure, he and Star worked great with each other as to be expected, but I think the real standout relationship he had was with Marco. I have never seen bromance as strong as what those two have. Their little musical number at Queen Moon’s cornonation turned talent contest might have been the greatest piece of animation ever made (change my mind). And this I know people agree with me, I cannot exaggerate just how much literally everyone I have ever spoken to loves Marco and Tom. It just works so strangely, it has to come off as genuine.
27. I think the series was supposed to go on for another season. I say this because Kelly was too good of a character to waste like they did! She was a great character with tons of personality and amazing chemistry with Marco that was seemingly building up to something... only to drop the ball at the end. She isn’t given much to do, she doesn’t have a final scene with Marco, she isn’t even given a good ending. The most we got was Ponyhead theorizing what her life would be like just to cheer up Star. If that was all they were going to do with Kelly, that’s just a waste of perfectly good build-up.
28. It’s very strange how on the nose these metaphors in the show got at times while still seeming perfect. I guess it had to be on the nose so that the younger audience could catch on to them but I’m not sure what the’ll do with the knowledge that magic=nuclear power. Also, the monsters kind of changed metaphors, originally they were clearly meant to be Native American stand-ins but later on they kind of changed into African American stand-ins. Not that they’re histories (in America) are all that different but it was a noticeable switch. It’s not like Zootopia where any given animal could represent any number of races depending on the scene in question, this was definitely what Star Vs. was going for and I’m not sure if it totally worked. It didn’t NOT work, I guess.
29. I actually don’t like the whole “blowing up the magic” thing. It was something Star made up in a temper tantrum and goes totally against the theme. The whole time, the show was going on about how important integration is and how “separate but equal” doesn’t work and whatnot. So destroying the only way they know how to travel through different dimensions seems contrary to that point. I get that drastic times need drastic measures but I get the feeling that in a theoretical season five, Star and Marco would work to bring back the magic. Or maybe find a more scientific way to travel through dimensions... like some kind of portal gun. We already know this takes place in the same multiverse as Rick And Morty, it’s not that crazy an idea.
30. Another reason I think there was originally going to be another season is because the whole “Mewmans are humans” thing that came right out of nowhere! I mean, it makes total sense and I’m totally down with this plot point but it seems like that would be a much bigger deal than the characters make it out to be. My god, they don’t even let Marco finish explaining this. How the hell did that cave painting get to Earth if they didn’t run into Glossaryck until they got to Mewni! Explanation please!
31. I wish destroying the magic didn’t also mean killing off Glossaryck and Hekapoo. I don’t really care about any of the other characters literally made out of magic, but those two are just so likable and such fan favorites, it’s just a shame to see them go. Though I do really like that they’re reaction to the whole thing seems to just be a mild shrug. I get the idea that since they’ve lived for millennia which would make them more okay with dying. It’s easier to live a full life if you can’t die.
32. I like how Mina’s story ends: defeated and yet still refusing it. Her whole speech about having good ideas really says something, like these issues will never be fully defeated because everyone thinks that they’re right. It’s a bit more of a bittersweet moral than “bad always loses because they’re bad” but is an important lesson that I think kids need to learn. Especially in this political climate. Good god, just end me!
33. Holy shit, I’m up to 33! My Wakfu one only made it up to 25 and I am nowhere close to done yet!
34. A psychotic part of me really wishes the finale had Star and Marco die in each other’s arms in the Magic Dimension. It’d be the ultimate show of love as they’re sacrificing each other for one another and be the ultimate ending. I mean, what more is there to care about after the main two characters are dead? It’d be very bittersweet and much more emotionally taxing on the audience but it’d also be more classic. Like Romeo and Juliet or Bonnie and Clyde, they’re love was just too strong for this world.
35. With that said, that part of me is absolutely wrong! Having their dimensions merge was clearly what the series was building up to with it’s hopeful tone, the power of love being a big theme, the message of integration, and (of course) the promise they made to Meteora and Hispanic Meteora. It seems so obvious in hindsight and yet I still didn’t see it coming, I guess that’s a sign of a really good plot twist.
36. My god, everyone is such a dick to Queen Moon. Like let her be in love you jackasses. I had such a hard time liking anyone who worked against her (which is why I really like that Hekapoo had reservations on both sides the whole time) and this includes Ex-Queen Moon. I really can’t grasp my mind as to why she thought this was a good idea, it clearly wasn’t from the very beginning. Maybe if the show gave her time to explain herself I’d be singing a different tune but she never really does and I have a hard time forgiving her even after her apology.
37. This is just a reminder that Starco is best ship. Repeat, Starco is still best ship.
38. The ending reminds me of Titanic. I mean, two young lovebirds meeting each other, growing closer, and falling in love all the while a looming threat of destruction and death is above them. The epic scale of their problem being brought down to earth by the almost normal love story happening in the midst of it all. Their ever ready willingness to sacrifice everything for each other. Their world forcing them to cling to each other for protection. The grand scale of everything around them making their love seem grander than it would be without it. Yeah, there are more and probably better examples I could turn to for comparison (Romeo And Juliet, Les Miserables, Spartacus) but Titanic was the first one to come to mind and I’m sure my subconsciousness has a good reason for that.
39. I continue to have problems with this finale but I get the sense that I’m nitpicking because this was still an amazing end to a great show. When I think about this ending, the first word that comes to mind is deserves. This is the ending that the story deserves, that the characters (minus Kelly) deserves, that the show itself deserves. It really is a fantastic finale and I’m so grateful that I got to experience it.
40.
#star vs the forces of evil#marco diaz#star butterfly#daron nefcy#disney#disney channel#disney xd#animation#cartoon#finale#season 4#starco
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General Collection of Old OC Dribbles
Pretty self-explanatory.
Stuff from the old iteration of the blog, returning to keep this one generally active.
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First-Hand Experience
The scar on her leg is hidden from view, and very few have seen it. It’s a surgical scar, long and clean, knit back together perfectly. Something morbidly pretty to hide the defect of how the bones beneath porcelain-pale skin healed. She doesn’t actively show the scar, but the limp is prominent.
She refuses a cane, always has. It holds no real support, she says, and only furthers to remind her that she is a cripple. It won’t help. It can only hinder her more. People respect that. Why should she need it when she hobbles faster without it than with it.
A little cube-avatar pops up next to her head, within the cylinder of blue screens projected by the little chip she has placed on the ground under her. One of the ceiling crews, those in charge of keeping the Dome far above from decaying and crashing down on the city below.
There is a panel loose, he says. They’re checking for any sort of damage to both the supports and the surrounding panels. They’ll rivet it back down when they’re sure it’s safe, but they’ll need the heavy guns next to the trucks. She relays the news to a small group of Cablers with little to do amid the hustle and bustle of the rest working to stabilize another skyscraper for anchoring. They will be on standby.
It started when she first started talking, a dull throb in her right leg. She shifts her weight more to the left, but it’s still there. For a brief moment, her face twitches in emotion. Lips drawn thin just a bit before resuming its usual apathy. The leg does this every time they talk of panels, a not-so-subtle reminder to herself of why the Dome panels are important. Why they were slotted into the maintenance schedules every week.
Dome panels are heavy. She knew that even before the first one succumbed to gravity. Almost twelve years ago now. It wasn’t long after they moved in, while they were slotting into their respective societal niches.
She’s lucky she wasn’t wholly crushed, it was her split-second instinct to run at the echoing sound of screaming metal that likely saved her from worse.
It’s only sad to say that her right leg wasn’t as lucky as she was.
It was the only time she remembers showing emotion publicly.
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Sky
We have a joke among us.
‘The sky’s the limit!’
‘That’s a pretty short limit!’
It’s a joke to us because of the existence of the Dome. It seems really far up there, almost like the sky from where we are, almost a full hundred levels below it. But we’ve actually touched it. That’s no sky. It’s no better than the artificial sky Kane puts over the top of Deluxe. It’s a really terrible substitute.
We’ve seen the sky. The real sky. It’s not something you can touch. It’s something to really aim for.
I remember on good days, it was clear and blue. Not just one shade, but several shades of blue, mixed and fading in and out of one another. There might have been wisps of clouds. Due to the air currents coming off the lakes, we didn’t get the big fluffy clouds too often.
The air never stopped moving, really. There were days when it would be a little slower, a bit of a light breeze to ruffle the grasses and trees some, but it never came to a standstill save right before a big storm. Living next to a lake the size of a small sea does that, keeps the air moving. Most of the time, if you didn’t get a whiff of Detroit, the air was permeated with the smell of cold fish. After a while, you get used to it and it doesn’t bother you anymore.
At night, the sky darkened to a very dark blue, though it had a warmer undertone, like a promise day would return. If you were lucky and Detroit’s light didn’t bleed too far into it, you could see stars. Pinpricks of light. The further you got from the cities, the more stars you could see until the sky looked like a black canvas that someone had splattered glitter and white paint across.
I remember the weather, too. The wind, of course. There was always wind at some level. I remember the rain the most. The best weather to me will always be rain. It washes away impurity. The world appears fresh and new after it rains. There’s a smell to it that you can never forget, one of cleanliness. It is immersive. You can lose yourself to it, and it gives you the hope that you can start anew. Snow was always a plus; it covers the world in white. All the blemishes given by nature were washed away, even if only temporary. It might be cold and harsh, but at the same time, it’s delicate.
I wonder if the weather still rages outside the Dome. I bet it does. The Dome can cut us off from the world. In here, where if something drips on you, you’d better get tested to make sure you’re not irradiated. But it can’t stop the world turning and changing on the outside.
'The sky’s the limit!’
'That’s a pretty short limit!’
One day, maybe. One day, we’ll see the sky once more.
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Awake
Awake I - War and The Beast
The pangs are prominent, and are what initially wake it.
Deep within the entangled mess of wires and cables up near the ceiling of the Dome, it wakes. A shuffling stir of heavy fabric against hardened nylon, the hum of electrical current droning out the sounds of outside.
It unfolds with a crickling snap of long-unused joints, yawning wide to display the tools of the trade plainly. Hearing returns, giving away nothing but the typical ambiance and in safety, it uncoils from its space to resume its vigilance above. Stretches to further limber are taken with every stride and movement, steps careful and practiced across the usual perch.
Eyes glint silver, color of snow and frigid ends, a brief shift before resuming the abyss of oceans; dark, cruel, unforgiving. Scan of below before it begins to bubble and boil, starting in its chest and pushing up through parted jaws thrown wide.
It starts as a screech, escalates to the sound of a roar over those below. An assertion of dominance over its hunting ground, a reminder of monsters of old rising anew to begin the hunt again.
Awake II - Death and Vatka
It echoes through the air, the roar of the unpredictable unlikely guardian living at the ceiling. Every morning, at this time, he hears it down in the depths. Too organic to be mechanical, reverberating with the stale wind off cables and wires over the Cemetery Basin. They vibrate eerily, a song of ghosts through makeshift tombstones and across painted imagery of gape-mouthed spirits swirling through the ruins of what was once the bustling hub of the city, a bastion of the old world.
The dead are disturbingly expansive, and for others it is a lonesome lifestyle. Not so much for him, who hears the speech of the passed in whispers and laughter. Nor for his hulking mechanical companion.
She follows him down through a carefully-wound path, from altar to the plateau, rising as he beckons from where she sat not unlike a living dog. He muses a little to her, and she titters in that strange way of hers at his revelations.
Greetings to early visitors, both to the cemetery and to the apothecary gleaming like a beacon at the center of the depression. It is a calm morning, and hopefully an equally calm day.
Awake III - Famine and Plague
The call is heard much easier in the upper reaches of the city.
It is far too normal to truly pay mind to, so muses the Russian behind a cylinder of interfacing consoles, eyebrow over one eye quirking. Not often emotion is expressed on that face, and even then, it is brief before apathy reigns it all back in and it falls flat.
Someone to her side asks about plans concerning the Dome above them. She whisks her fingers down and up, pulling a series of files out of the column of screens, a push sending them to the other's console. Banter back and forth, the sound of machinery drowning out speech.
A panel came loose high above them in the night. It's a hazard they can't leave; Dome panels are massive and can cause more damage than any one attack by Kane if they fall. She intercepted the messages and brought Plague to boot. Together, they arrived with the Cablers to the area. They've all been working since early morning.
Her android brother is with a group above, stabilizing equipment and tools, or holding the offending panel itself in place while his comrades work diligently to bolt it back down. Someone shouts from one corner, waving a hand to catch attention. The metal has rusted through in this corner. They will have to replace a substantial portion of it to ensure the safety of those below.
What should only be a morning job has just gotten longer.
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Morning Routine
Four-thirty in the morning was always a bit chill. Dawn usually was, even inside the Dome, but down in the Old Detroit Basin, it always seemed at least a few degrees cooler.
Not that Death minded it much, the Haitian shouldering a small pack to begin his usual morning trek to The Altar down in the bowl itself, a spot constructed crudely of chunks of concrete with the Loa veves for both Legba and Samedi scratched into the surface of a large flat piece, like a plaque. In giving offerings to both the spirits and to the ghosts that wandered the cemetery, the plateau would be approachable for the day. Which was exactly what he was after, since that was where the apothecary rested.
The lights on the surviving city block of the plateau shone warm and yellow, a beacon in an otherwise drab world. There were no lights directly in the cemetery that surrounded the upraised place of the past, leaving it with the residual lights from far above. He surveyed the land he had been maintaining for little over a decade, inhaling deeply the smell of stale earth and cool air before descending down the curling road into the basin below.
The light was faint and seemed to suck all the color out of everything, just bright enough to read the crude scratchings of names and dates, epitaphs and well-wishes in the here-after across makeshift tombstones made of any stony material people could get their hands on. Rows were barely existent, making it look like crooked teeth in an old giant's open mouth. Somewhere in the depths were the remnants of power lines and cables from generations before of what Detroit used to be, looking like tentacles reaching into the depression. The air moved a bit, displaced by people racing about in the upper levels and circulated with the massive ventilation fans in the upper curve of the Dome far above. It whistled through the old cables, making them vibrate in eerie twangs, a melancholy and impromtu dirge for those thousands buried in the soil that had been an older, free Detroit.
For anyone else, the cemetery would have been a dark and dreary place to spend one's existence. To the whistling Caribbean making his way down from the Cemetery Plateau and into the graves themselves, this was simply a way of life. Someone had to maintain the dead, as a reminder to the living and as a reminder to themselves. And that someone happened to be the Vodou ghost-talker making his way down predetermined paths, beaten flat over time into dirt roads that all converged on the center rise, where the last surviving city block of Old Detroit still stood.
Wisps played among the tombstones, bobbing shadows up and down. Once or twice, he caught the glance of eyes, or felt them looking in his direction. Whenever he actively caught them, a jovial wave was given. Just because they were dead didn't mean they didn't want to be treated like they were. It was a rule to greet placid ghosts, and these were only curious, as they were every morning.
The Altar rose in the dreary gloom, the pedestal approached with a sort of quiet reverence. Even those spirits curious and following the ghost-talker stopped at the base of the rise it sat on, overlooking the back half of the cemetery, that darker portion where the lights from above didn't penetrate.
"Bon maten." he addressed the veves carved on the back piece, stopping in front of the flat table in front of it and dropping the pack he had brought with him. "I hope y'two had a lovely sleep."
Another wind rattled the cables deep in the darker portion of the cemetery, causing a far-off clanging sound. He took that as his answer from the two Loa, pulling out a set of wooden bowls, dipping saucers, and cups; two sets each. These, he scattered routinely across the tabletop and set about pouring a half-bowl of something resembling cream, dabbling a bit of fresh honey into the saucers, and pouring cups of moonshine. It wasn’t the rum he had been taught to use, but any alcohol would do. To his left, he set a bundle of dried tobacco leaves for smoking.
"Hope y'enjoy breakfast, wi?" he added before picking up the shoulder bag and turning to leave. "Mèsi poutèt ou, for watchin' over all us in the Basin."
The unseen cables rattled again, brightening his unpainted face with a smile as he strode back down the rise into the cemetery again. It was going to be a good day, he reasoned, catching sight of a cluster of short shadowy ghosts ahead of him on his path back to the plateau.
"Ah, can't be forgettin' any of you, can I." he chuckled, setting about on the second task of the morning before the shop opened.
Before he had returned to tend the greenery he sold and paint himself for the day, small clusters of brightly-colored candies and toys, mingled with shot glasses of the same moonshine, added a sense of life into the otherwise colorless graveyard.
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2, 6, 9 from the fantasy writer ask meme, please?
I will most gladly answer! And thanks for asking
02. do any of your characters have magical abilities? what kind?
I’m going to do this only to main characters or we would still be here tomorrow.
Agrippa is the heir of the Priestess of Moon (the ruler of Dir’ahin) and the Priestess is expected to be a great sage, and that is why from very young age she has been trained to use magic. There is also very traditional ceremony during which the heirs are conceived. The intent of the ritual is to get the heir to born with abilities of the Moon Goddess. It is possible that something went wrong when Agrippa was conceived because she was born with abilities of the Sun God (they are usually perceived as masculine). Usually inborn abilities of humans are ability to leave body, (not very good) healing abilities, attack others minds, possess things and stealing souls from others. (Agrippa is not that good at these.) On top of that Agrippa wont be hurt by fire, can set things burning and can heal burns, but cannot control fire. Also she controls of several spirits: she can make barriers, “see” things pretty far thought earth and levitate with wind.
Cassia is trained to be spy so her abilities reflects that. She is quite good at healing and attacking or infiltrating others minds. She also has several spirits in her control: she can transform into few people (whose skins she has stolen), cloak herself in the shadows (so she can’t be seen in the dark), track people with little artificial spider-like rune beings and burn things down with her dragon spirit, the guardian of volcanoes (though to summon him, she’d had to basically sacrifice her soul and like a lot of people so it’s not like she can summon him anytime).
Fiolew starts to practice magic in the beginning so his abilities are zero at the start. He’s discovered to have a kinda rare skill, which is called the Gift by Ahinians. It’s the ability to see into the spirit world without leaving body. He also learns to command waves, which is kinda mysterious. It’s thought that he has a water spirit trapped inside. Later he learns ancient Cabalusian transformation magic.
06. are there different creatures in your world? what kind of creatures?
There are spirits. A lot of spirits. They cannot usually be seen by humans because they don’t usually have a physical body. They are just something like spiritual energy. Sometimes they possess things and then can be seen. Sometimes their spiritual energy is converted to things like fire, wind, wave, rage, growth… They cannot maybe be seen as personifications or creatures, but in their physical form. In spirit world they can look very different. For example spirits of mountains are known to be humanoid giants.
Then there are spirits like guardians and spirits of immaterial concepts like knowledge. Guardians are dragons, great and wise creatures, who are protectors of spirits. They used to live in material world until they were hunted to extinction by humans. They were immortal creatures that bred very slowly. Now they only live in spirit world, or so is thought. They are gone from Mesia sure, but other corners of world might still have them. Angusian worshiped them as gods.
Spirits of immaterial things were usually worshiped as gods. They are things like Death, War, Life, Knowledge etc. They are practically never seen in the material world, only way to see them there is the possess something. They are pretty rare sight in spirit world too. They are very powerful, so only the greatest sages has ever managed to prison them or control them. They have been very rare occasions. They wary in looks a lot and it’s no certain if they have any specific appearance or do they just take any form they like. For example Knowledge is usually seen as silver fox with third eye.
09. what are the religions of the characters in your book? are there certain gods/goddesses?
So there are two religions in this story. The major religions that has spread to almost over whole Mesia, is Arkhonity, and Ahinians are only one who has their own religion, Dialach.
Arkhonity is founded on dualism, so it has two opposing gods, Ylia and Skadi. Ylia is all good. Light, fire, warmth, order, the Sun and life all represents him. Skadi is the opposing evil. Darkness, water, cold, chaos, the Earth and death are associated with him. They were not always seen as all good or all evil. Arkhons still believe that they were once one all-knowing god, who split himself in two, into light and darkness, to make shadows and forms and eventually the world. They become their own deities who were too different to agree with each other on anything, so they started their many millennia old war that will be fought until the end of days. Avatars are important in Arkhonity. The first avatar of Ylia is believed the be the Sun, and first avatar of Skadi the Earth. Before then the humans lived in the land of god. After that Skadi has taken many villainous forms and always, when the he has been close to condemn humanity into darkness Ylia has taken human form and led humanity into new dawn. Every time he has came to Earth has been a sign of the new age.
Dialach is based on the ancient mythology of Ahinians. It’s polytheistic but only the Goddess of Moon is worshiped as a “real god” nowadays, others are seen more like spirits. Their deities are nameless, because power of names are greatly respected. Names are used in magic to control spirits. Names of gods are very well kept secrets and only high priestess or priests of the said god/goddess know the name. They worship deities of nature but acknowledges for example god of war and others alike as lesser gods.
Ask me fantasy related questions!
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Introducing the official blog of Chenna Sato (OC copyright SheWhoWalksWithThee). Let’s start with her adventures and timeline, shall we?
~ If you wish to draw or write about any of these concepts or characters, please:
Get permission
Give credit.
Let me see!
Chenna Timeline:
- Born (Korra/Asami ages 24/25)
- Age 2: Korra and Asami "wed"
- Age 8: starts rebellious period; bullied at school; special rebellious target: Asami
- Age 11: mother Korra assassinated; Chenna & Asami wounded
Chenna and Asami sent to Southern Air Temple for safety; placed in counseling, under close care; Chenna assigned special nomad guardian, Nahima
- Age 12: runs away, returns to Republic City, joins low key orphan group; meets Gappy
Has many spiritual encounters; crosses into Spirit World; guided by butterfly cat spirit named Mosi (who shall reappear throughout her life); meets and counsels/trains with Toph Bei Fong; finds Korra's spirit
- Age 13: Surrenders rage, returns to Southern Temple; resumes counseling, reunites with Asami, returns to Nahima's guardianship
- Age 19: Chenna & Asami leave temple, return to Republic City, find destruction;
Book One: Peace: Plot: End the Secret Force's coup, plan to take over Republic City & other world governments; Secret Force was behind Korra's assassination; Republic City police force was corrupt, as was the charming, underhanded shrew of a vice president, who turned her back in exchange for personal funding
Chenna winds up forming beginning crew (like Korra's and Aang's), made up of old friend Gappy, new friend Kanno, glimpse of future ally Tomiko
Book One spends a lot of time bringing us up to speed on adult Team Avatar and allies, including all of Tenzin's family and Korra's cousins, Chiefs Eska and Desna. We see Mako and Bolin again, meet their families. Special attention on Mako, who reopens and reinvestigates Korra's murder case, and young daughter Juna, who is instrumental in locating the next Avatar.
It is towards the end of Book One that the quest for the reincarnated Avatar is begun; Guru Jinora (age 37, with boyfriend Kai, 38) is consulted, but reports that she cannot sense Raava....
Crew background: Gappy*, airbender, age 18, grew up on the streets with nonbender brother Ryu (aka "Sergeant"); a few years ago, the Secret Force raided their gang, killing nonbenders and recruiting benders into their army; Gappy was the only survivor; Gappy & Chenna will likely come face to face with old friends when battling Secret Force; * orphan group did not have official names, but nicknames, i.e., Sergeant for his leadership, Gappy for the gap in his teeth;;
Kanno, waterbender, age 21; father Tahno, whose waterbending was taken away, was strict and tried to force his own bending ambitions on Kanno; a rift started when Kanno stated he preferred to use his bending to heal, not fight; boiling point was when Tahno kicked his son out after finding out he was gay;;
Tomiko Murasaki, nonbender, age 24; a reserved young woman about whom little is known, except that she is affiliated with the Sato Future Industries, having been Asami's protege, and is now a major figure in the company; Tomiko's role will be greater in future seasons
- Age 19/20: start of Book Two: Chaos, a heavy season; Chenna, Asami, Gappy, and Kanno attempt to find the next Avatar, despite Jinora's pessimistic report; Asami reunites with Mako, who brings Juna and reveals she has a spiritual connection to the Avatar and can help find him;;
Juna reveals the Avatar is hidden in the Emerald States (formerly Earth Kingdom) aristocracy, which may explain why Jinora couldn't sense him; he is 8 yr old Batakh, a timid boy (who doesn't even know he's a bender) in a strict family (who's hidden the fact that he's the Avatar); family refuses to allow him to travel and train (reason? father is a member of the enemy; stifling the Avatar allows his organisation to move forward); family disregards importance, sends away the crew; Batakh's bodyguard, earthbender, age 23, understands the importance and tries to convince family, but fails; defies orders, sneaks out with Batakh and joins crew;;
Memories and flickers of depression return to Chenna, who finds solace in joining the underground Earth Rumble; she squares off against tough as nails Kaori; they later talk a bit, and Kaori's longtime girlfriend, competitive surfer Minal is introduced; Chenna has never seen another relationship like her parents' before, and is in some strange awe; shortly afterwards, Chenna meets Rei, androgynous, firebender, age 21; Rei is an avid fan of the Earth Rumble, and practically foams at the mouth over the fact that the Avatar's daughter competed; displays a little crush on Chenna, asks out to dinner, Chenna politely declines; after learning about Chenna's journey and crew, Rei requests to join;;
One scene finds Chenna and Kanno alone at a pond; Chenna talks about history and tragedy, reveals burn marks on her arms from the attack; Kanno offers to heal them; Chenna denies (because, as Toph later tells her, the burns represent a memory of Korra; grim as the memory is, it's perceived as a connection to Korra, which Chenna is terrified of losing); much later, Chenna changes her mind, accepts, is healed, and, as a result, is finally able to let go of the past;;
Chenna wants to help her mother move forward, as well, and sets her up on a date with Julin, nonbender, age 50, a shy woman who has also suffered heartbreak;;
Meanwhile, a horrible plot is unfolding. Book Two: Chaos revolves around the chaos unleashed as a result of Raava being dormant: Nahima, who was Chenna's caretaker in the Southern Air Temple, has developed dark ambitions (whether on her own or under dark influence is unknown); because Raava was dormant, Nahima was able to fuse with Vaatu and begin an Avatar journey; due to Vaatu's negative energy, the elements are to be mastered in reverse order; Nahima already mastered air, and must go back through fire, earth, and water; when the crew learns of her, she had air and fire under her belt, and was almost complete with earth;;
Chenna, with Asami, Rei, and Kanno, must try to assemble a strong force to end Nahima's journey Mako, Juna, Batakh, and the bodyguard remain together elsewhere; Juna helps Batakh into the Spirit World to find Raava while Chenna & co. work against Nahima; Chenna (who has one ability Nahima does not have: metalbending) and Kanno in particular are key in subduing Nahima and removing Vaatu; at the crucial point of the Nahima/Vaatu break, Juna sends Batakh to merge with Raava
* Fun fact: Vaatu's evil, masculine energy so corrupts Nahima that, with each mastered element, she becomes more masculine; at the great battle (before she was able to master waterbending), she can be mistaken for a slightly malformed man with a strange voice;;
The events of Book Two leave everyone in the crew drained—especially Batakh, who is now fully bonded with Raava. Training the Avatar (who had some earthbending training already, thanks to his bodyguard and Chenna) resumes after a period (~6 mos 1 yr?) of rest.
* The form of Nahima's downfall is not really known—most likely, she lost her life when she lost Vaatu, either because her body and spirit were so corrupted and dependent on Vaatu for survival, or because Vaatu killed her.
- Book Three: Rebirth takes place almost three years later {ages: Asami 49, Chenna 23, Gappy 22, Rei 25, Kanno 25, Tomiko 28, Batakh 12, bodyguard 27, Juna 14}. Group has rested and trained. Bonds have begun {Chenna+Gappy, Kanno+bodyguard, Juna+Batakh, Rei+Tomiko}. Batakh has mastered earthbending and has a good handle on fire and waterbending (not yet airbending).
They decide to visit the Emerald States again, and Batakh visits his family; the group soon starts to feel something different about the nation;;
A political group that calls themselves the Tai Guo ("great country") is rising to power with the aim of uniting the Emerald States and returning it to monarchic rule, placing a key figure in power; Batakh's father, as a member of the Emerald elite, has an interest in this action, but his stake is not clear—could he actually be a Tai Guo figure, or just a benefactor? However, it is clear that his father has a big enough stake in the Tai Guo and the reunification project that he thought hiding his Avatar son would best allow the Tai Guo to move forward;;
Taking down the Tai Guo is a serious project that requires much more power than the crew is capable of; they must create a multinational effort to disband the Tai Guo; this will prove extremely difficult as the Tai Guo's danger increases... As part of its plan to seize full control, the Tai Guo also wishes to eradicate elemental bending, attempting to warp the minds of the people into believing bending is a “corruption of the human form” (they use the terror of Avatar Nahima to support this) while secretly disarming the citizens to bring in a form of martial law (“disarming the citizens” meaning only Tai Guo members could be benders)...rumour has it there are several in the group capable of permanently removing bending power;;
After Chenna's bending is blocked by a Tai Guo chiblocker, she and her crew realise the gravity of the situation and the size of the threat, Chenna & co. venture into the outskirts of the Emerald States, where the colonies were, to seek melee training; they find the eccentric, grandiose Rahn Jianwu (age ~25?), who trains them in the art of the sword (Batakh is too young for weapons training, but is given lessons in evasion and etc);;
Book Three places Rahn Jianwu in the group; Tomiko Murasaki is brought back, and becomes a valuable team member (and romantic interest of Rei's);;
At some point, the band is broken up the benders (Chenna, Rei, Gappy, Kanno) are imprisoned, and Asami, Batakh, Tomiko, and Rahn must get them back; Batakh has an opportunity to shine, and Rahn is revealed to be a secret firebender;;
After a great adventure and battle against the Tai Guo, the Emerald States are free again, and democracy is permanently restored. Because of his part in restoring peace time and again, Gappy is officially inducted into the Air Nation as Ashiva;;
Later, an ongoing subplot finally comes to fruition: gay marriage is legalised in Republic City, and the town erupts in celebration. In a symbolic motion, Asami is finally legally wed to Korra in a ceremony at the memorial park—she ties a betrothal necklace around the neck of the platinum statue of Korra.
The ceremony and final events almost mirror the final events in "The Legend of Korra." Couples are solidified Tomiko (looking high class and elegant) and Rei (androgynously dapper) dance together; the earthbender, who is quiet and guarded, finally admits his interest in Kanno, who reacts excitedly and kisses him on the cheek; Batakh and Juna are sitting together and talking, and Batakh gives her a peck on the cheek; Asami and Mako become involved in serious conversation; Ashiva asks Chenna to dance; after their dance, Chenna invites Ashiva on a trip to the Spirit World (which is important for an air nomad), to which he replies "that sounds perfect."
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Seasons:
Book One: Peace
Book Two: Chaos
Book Three: Rebirth
Villains & Groups:
Secret Force (+ old orphan gang members)
Avatar Nahima, Vaatu
Nahima supporters—Black Lotus?
Tai Guo
Other Groups (not villainous):
Hamir Clan
Peacekeepers
Settings:
Republic City & Shu Xin district
Southern Air Temple
Spirit World (Avatar's Oasis, Toph's glen)
Emerald States (Upper & Lower)—formerly Earth Kingdom
Avatar Korra Memorial Park (+ platinum statue of Korra holding out lotus cup candle; inscription on statue base: "Divine Peacekeeper [a phrase also in Avatar's Oasis]: May our light in the darkness shine again")
Fire Nation
maybe the Water Tribes
Proposed Episode Titles:
The Lady in the Forest
The Emerald Son
Into the Shadows
The Man in White
Chenna Alone
The Emerald Crown
Old Friends
The Avatar's Oasis
Shining Light
New Baojing
The Shadow Empire
The New Age
The Portal
Fire and Ice
Agent of Light
[Of] Blood and Blade
City Lights
Other Characters (ages from Book One):
Tenzin (79), Pema (62), Jinora (37), Kai (38) (future son: Aang); Ikki (35), daughters Lotus & Lily (9); Meelo (32), wife, sons Tenzin (6) & Sangye (4); Rohan (26), girlfriend Kalindi (23)
Mae Lin (longtime girlfriend of Mako, mother of Juna, waterbender, age 38)
Bolin (43), Opal (41), daughter Jade (nonbender, age 14), son [?] (earthbender, age 11), son San (age 6, airbender)
Desna (42), daughter Tanaraq (waterbender, 15), son Ahto (waterbender, 9); Eska (42), husband, daughter Nilaq (waterbender, 14), son Yuma (nonbender, 6)
Elder Chief Tonraq
Chenna's Future:
Age 25: marries Ashiva
Age 28: gives birth to earthbender Yasuko
Age 30: gives birth to waterbender Kaona
Age 34: gives birth to airbender Ryu
Age 34: son Kaona [age 4] battles to wear a skirt
Age 38: Kaona [8] tries on mother's makeup
Age 40: Kaona [10] comes out as trans
Age 42: Kaona [12] succumbs to pressure, has emotional problems [breakdown?], cuts hair...sneaks into school as a girl
Age 46: Kaona [16] gifted by Asami with heirloom betrothal necklace; event drives wedge between Kaona and Yasuko [18]; Kaona leaves home
#chenna#chenna sato#korra#asami#korrasami#korrasami daughter#korrasami family#oc#original character#original characters#fanfic#fanfiction#fanseries#fanart#character ref#tlk#lok#the legend of korra#avatar#raava#character tags:#mako#mae lin#juna#bolin#opal#jade#san#gappy#ashiva
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“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will.”
Jacqueline Carey: “Love as thou wilt”
@abybweisse Yes, definitely JC knew something about Thelema too.
You know, when you tagged me in your amazing post, I’ve begun to think about it, and after re-reading some things I noticed that there were interesting parallels. I don’t know if you’ve been still reading KL but I want to give a try (KL version). :)
Well, what I’ve always found fascinating is the fact that Kushielverse mythology is rich and very articulated. JC made several kinds of research (history, society, art, religion, language, fashion, etc) in order to create a perfect fantasy alternate version of the world, but her most interesting choice was the origin of this world, Terre d’Ange. She took the whole basis of Christianity subverting it by telling that a child was born from Yeshua (Christ)’s blood and Magdalene’s tears (The Da Vinci Code clicks “hello”), Elua, a child who was half human, not accepted by his “Grandfather” the One God. In order to protect him, eight angels “deserted” and descended on Earth, traveling the world with Elua until they stop in Terre d’Ange: Azza (ruler of Azzalle, the angel of Navigation), Anael (ruler of L’Agnace, the angel of agriculture and husbandry, also called the Star of Love… and I wonder if Aniel and Anielle were named after him), Camael (ruler of Camlach, angel of martial knowledge), Cassiel (no land chosen, worshiped by the Cassiline Brotherhood, known as the Perfect Companion), Shemhazai (ruler of Siovale, angel of knowledge, learning, science, literacy), Eishet (ruler of Eisande, angel of healing, art and motherhood), Kushiel (ruler of Kushet, the angel judge of dead and punishment) Naamah (ruler of Namarre, angel of divine sexuality, worshiped by the Night Court, whose adepts are courtesans who serve the royal House and then, the nobles). All of them protect Elua, whose only precept is “Love as thou wilt”. The precept is more than a philosophy: it’s the supreme Law of Terre d’Ange and going against it is the synonym of catastrophe (Imriel and Sidonie are the living proof of it). Now, I read this excerpt from the Thelema page on Wikipedia:
“ True Will: According to Crowley, every individual has a True Will, to be distinguished from the ordinary wants and desires of the ego. The True Will is essentially one’s “calling” or “purpose” in life. Some later magicians have taken this to include the goal of attaining self-realization by one’s own efforts, without the aid of God or other divine authority. This brings them close to the position that Crowley held just prior to 1904.[48] Others follow later works such as Liber II, saying that one’s own will in pure form is nothing other than the divine will.[49]Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law for Crowley refers not to hedonism, fulfilling everyday desires, but to acting in response to that calling. The Thelemite is a mystic.[48] According to Lon Milo DuQuette, a Thelemite is anyone who bases their actions on striving to discover and accomplish their true will,[50] when a person does their True Will, it is like an orbit, their niche in the universal order, and the universe assists them.[51] In order for the individual to be able to follow their True Will, the everyday self’s socially-instilled inhibitions may have to be overcome via deconditioning.[52][53] Crowley believed that in order to discover the True Will, one had to free the desires of the subconscious mind from the control of the conscious mind, especially the restrictions placed on sexual expression, which he associated with the power of divine creation.[54] He identified the True Will of each individual with the Holy Guardian Angel, a daimon unique to each individual.[55] The spiritual quest to find what you are meant to do and do it is also known in Thelema as the Great Work.[56]”
In Kushiel’s Legacy, d’Angeline people are always inspired by the divine will. Being descendants of the angels themselves, they often are sensitive to it. In particular, Phèdre, being Kushiel’s Chosen and Naamah’s Servant, often can feel the presence of her deities in her actions. This happens strongly in Kushiel’s Avatar, which is the most important and darkest book of the first trilogy. The Drujan and Darsanga chapters are the most difficult part to read, since everything that Phédre had had to endure before the months she spent at the Mahrkagir’s seraglio is nothing compared to them. Slavery in Skaldia, Waldemar Selig, then Melisande’s treason, La Dolorosa, are only the beginning.
At the beginning of Kushiel’s Avatar, Phèdre, ten years after the events of Chosen, is living peacefully with Joscelin in Montrève. Thanks to her efforts, the household regained importance and glory. Phèdre stated that her ten years of peace ended when she dreamt of a child calling her name. The child, whom she dreamt few times during the book, is a mix between Imriel and Hyacinthe, the first being Melisande’s son ad the second being her childhood friend trapped in an endless curse (by the angel Raziel):
“That night, I had another dream.
This time, it was different. I did not dream of the ship and the isle, but of Canopic Street, flat and bright washed in the midday sun, dust lying heavy on the flagstones. A lone figure knelt in the center of it, a boy, his head bowed. A collar of iron weighted his neck, outsized and cruel, and his hair fell in black curls over his shoulders.
“Skotophagotis!” said a voice I knew to be Nesmut’s.
I took a step forward, my feet as heavy as lead. A black shadow fell across the kneeling boy. He lifted his head. A black bar of shadow lay over his face, cast by an unseen staff. He knelt unmoving, and I saw that a chain ran from the iron collar to his shacked wrists. Above the staff-shadow, his eyes were blue as sapphires.
“Lypiphera”, he said to me, in Hyacinthe’s voice.”
From that moment, her actions are inspired by both Elua and Kushiel. From Elua, Phèdre was inspired by love. From Kushiel, she was inspired by justice. Kushiel’s Avatar takes the story to a new level, because the “justice” is administered through Imriel, who was merely ten years old during the events of the books (lately 11). Melisande, who was the greatest traitor of Terre d’Ange, nemesis and the greatest enemy of Queen Ysandre, bore Imriel in order to grant Terre d’Ange a pureblood heir. She was inspired by a very personal way to interpret Elua’s precept herself, even if it would mean destroy the blood monarchy and giving birth to a new monarchy based on intelligence (Melisande herself, at that time, was a member of the Unseen Guild, whose members secretly pulled the strings of affairs and politics). This was seen by Phèdre as a challenge to Kushiel (whom Melisande was a descendant) who decided to re-establish the balance of events by punishing Melisande. So, Imriel, who, in the meanwhile, had grown up in a sanctuary, completely unaware of his heritage, real identity, and blood, is kidnapped by Carthaginian slave traders along with two other children (Agnette and Sebastien) and sent in Menekhet (Egypt, another place in which Crowley was interested). While in the beginning, Phèdre thinks this happened because somebody found out Imriel’s identity, the truth is that nobody knows who the child really is: he is kidnapped because of his perfection. In fact, Imriel is the spitting image of his mother, who is known for being a lethal beauty and one of the most beautiful and desired women in Terre d’Ange.
In Kushiel’s Scion, Imriel explains why he was kidnapped:
“Of course, that was before the slave-traders took me. Then I had ample opportunity to hear myself described. In the country of Drujan, they were looking for perfect, unblemished sacrifices. I was sold to one of the bone-priests who served the Mahrkagir, the ruler of all Drujan. The Mahrkagir was cruel, ruthless and utterly mad. And I was bought for his foul harem, the zenana in the palace of Daršanga. Beauty is a scant comfort on a descent into hell.”
Darsanga is the capital of Drujan, also known as the kingdom that died and lives . The original religion was the Zoroastrianism, and the god Ahura Mazda was worshiped. After the massacre occurred when the Mahrkagir (the new, insane ruler) was only a child, the official religion is the cult of Angra Mainyu, the spirit of destruction and the archetype of Lucifer. Phèdre, once in the Darsanga palace, immediately feels the presence of an obscure and demonic presence. Also, the only precept, which is a subversion of Elua’s “Love as thou wilt” is “Ill thoughts, ill words, ill actions”. This mantra is introduced to Phèdre by the Mahrkagir, who also adds that in his place, nothing that can give life is allowed. In Darsanga, both Phèdre and Imriel (and Joscelin, from a certain point of view, since he is forced to wait and see what his beloved and the child have to endure) pass through a living hell. While Phèdre is “blessed/cursed” with Kushiel’s gift, so she can respond to violence with her resilience, Imriel, even if he is Kushiel’s Scion, goes under months of torture, physical (he’s abused/whipped/branded with a burning iron by the warlord Jagun to “remember him forever”) and psychological (in his trilogy he finally finds the strength to tell Eamonn, Sidonie and Maslin episodes from that time, but nightmares accompany him until his adulthood as well as his way to relate to his Shahrizai heritage, dark desires and obviously, sexuality). Moreover, Imriel is the perfect sacrifice for the summoning ritual. In fact, the Skotophagotis (bone priests) lured the Mahrkagir in order to summon Angra Mainyu. The condition is that the sacrifice has to be made by killing the most “loved” one. Imriel (who is slowly losing his faith, hates Phèdre and Joscelin, thinks that everything he had always believed in was a lie, Elua first) says in Scion “But the nights are different. At night, I remember. I remember [….] the things he did to me, and the things he made me do. I remember his voice, whispering joyous promises of agonies to come. I remember the others, the warlords who made a plaything of me. I remember the lash against my skin and the agonizing sizzle of a branding iron, the stink of my own seared flesh. At times I dream and wake myself screaming”. “Luckily” for him, Phèdre succeeds in becoming the Mahrkagir’s mistress, being able to take Imriel’s place in the sacrifice ritual and killing the Mahrkagir before he does the same with her. But this is not enough, since in the endless night of madness in Darsanga, Angra Mainyu is almost awakened
and it’s thanks to Joscelin, who is inspired by Cassiel, that the ritual fails and Darsanga falls, restoring the original cult, saving the survivors and more than all, saving Imriel from death/desperation/hell.
So, in Kushiel’s Avatar the True Will inspiration is strong, since we have Elua/Kushiel/Cassiel “using” their “avatars” to fight against an ancient and powerful demonic force and restoring the balance of events. Other events occur in the book, but at the end of KA, the precept is stronger than ever, since Phèdre and Joscelin find a way to come back home and save themselves too, but they are able to save Imriel and helping him to recover, a process that will influence the events of the second trilogy too, where Imriel and Sidonie go against the precept of Elua and pay the price of their actions… but this is another story! :3
#kushiel's legacy#kushiel's avatar#kushiel's scion#angels#fallen angels#phèdre nó delaunay#imriel de la courcel#joscelin verreuil#melisande shahrizai#terre d'ange#quotes from the books#the mahrkagir#thelema#alister crowley#true will#meta#warning: abuse#warning: sensitive contents#abybweisse
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Thoughts I had about Sailor Moon characters in thwo world of Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra while I was in bed at 3am-
Obviously, Usagi is the Avatar. She doesn’t know it, and actually hasn’t ever done any bending in her life until she’s 14 when she goes through several whoops-I-accidentally-bended-an-element moments, and she just thinks maybe before you get your “one true element” you have like bending-puberty or something, so she keeps it a secret until she can announce what element she finally settles on. She lives in the Earth Kingdom (maybe Ba Sing Se, I dunno, feels about right), and for the past couple of weeks after randomly getting powers a unusual animal has been following her around... its a cat, but not a normal one like a cat-deer or a cat-bird, its... just a cat? WEIRD. Well, some spooky bad spirits start messing with some humans, possessing them and transforming them and junk, and Usagi is informed by the cat that she has the power to heal the humans and calm the spirits; turns out the cat is actually a spirit, and Usagi is the Avatar. The spirits seem to be manipulated by some other force, and it gets worse every full moon... so she has solve the problem and master all four elements before... uh... the lunar eclipse. Sure, why not. Yeah. Also the full moon is turning red for some reason. Spooky.
Ami is a Norther Water Tribe girl, traveling and basically studying abroad. She’s a little bit more interested in reading than fighting evil monsters, but she also hates to see anybody get hurt. Usagi learns healing techniques from her, and even gives Ami the idea of using blood bending to help people (dealing with poor circulation, blood-clots, heart problems, and more). Ami specializes in turning the water she uses into ice and show, she’s also a mechanical genius and invents all sorts of devices. Usagi admires how intelligent she is, but also just listens to what Ami has to say and values her opinions, which Ami is very grateful for.
Rei is a fortune teller and fire bender (how could she NOT be). Usagi hears about a beautiful and talented lady who could teacher her fire bending, but runs into an angry girl on her way to meet the fire bender and they have a rather heated argument. It turns out Rei is the girl Usagi wanted to see, and she refuses to teach any fire bending at first... but after seeing Usagi rescue some people, Rei realizes that she’s not only the Avatar but a very caring person. So she joins her on the journey. Rei can sense hidden spirits and is perhaps the strongest fire bender around. She and Usagi have a friendly way of bickering, and although Rei wouldn’t want to admit it, she can’t resist what a charming goofball the Avatar is.
Mokoto is a traveling body guard, but has real aspirations to open a tea shop and bakery. She’s a fire bender from the Earth Kingdom, but for some reason she can never make powerful flames, so she’s always relied more on her muscles than her bending. While trying to save Usagi and her companions from a storm spirit, Mokoto is hit with lightning... but somehow, it doesn’t harm her. She realizes she has a natural talent for bending lightning and can naturally redirect it. She loves that Usagi isn’t afraid of her for being big and strong, and is happy to join this group of awesome ladies. Not only is she the muscle of the group, she keeps everybody well fed.
Minako is secretly a vigilante who fights against oppressive police forces; she’s a metal bender, and often takes down the Dai Li when they are harassing people. She’s become a famous champion of justice in Ba Sing Se, wearing a mask to protect her identity. She actually has a secret mission from the White Lotus; find the new Avatar, as well as locate the missing Earth Kingdom Prince (who should be running Ba Sing Se, but some jerk killed the family and took over. Its probably Beryl. Yeah, Beryl). By making friends with Usagi, she discovers the Avatar. She also has a cat who is a friendly spirit. The other girls admire her and look to Minako for guidance, but Usagi also brings out her silly side and she gets to just be a teen with her new friends. She uses her bending to control a variety of chains and whips.
Mamoru is indeed the missing Earth Kingdom Prince, but he suffered a head injury during the accident that killed his parents (a rockslide caused by earth benders), and wandered the woods for 2 days alone, not sure of where or who he was. He was found by some doctors who took him and helped as much as they could. He’s grown up in an outer ring of Ba Sing Se, but attends the inner ones for school. He hates how the Dai Li terrorize citizens, and also the gangs of earth and fire benders who cause chaos on the outskirts of the city. Wearing a mask with a rose pattern (haha he probably gets called “The Rose Spirit”), he is a vigilante and somewhat of a rival to Minako, so imagine her surprise when she figures out he’s the Prince she’s been trying to find. He falls in love with Usagi, and the feeling is mutual. Ami also helps restore his memory with her healing, and he eventually takes his place at the throne.
The group decides to travel to both Water Tribes, since there are moon shrines at both poles. While criss-crossing across the Earth Kingdom and going through the Fire Nation a couple of times, they meet other important people.
While in the swamp, Usagi finds a little girl who says she’s lost. Usagi promises to protect her until she finds her way home, but after they leave the swamp and get attacked by some dark spirits, the mystery behind the girl deepens; she is also an Avatar. It doesn’t seem possible for two to exist at once, yet there she is. She gets the nick-name Chibi-Usa, and although she’s a bit bratty at times, everybody can’t help but care for her. Eventually it is discovered she’s actually a future Avatar, Usagi’s next life. Because the swamp can blur time and show us the people we used to know and will one day know, the Avatars have met each other, and the spiritual bond allowed Chibi-Usa to leave her time and enter the past.
She’s amazingly followed by her guardian Setsuna, a metal bender who simply refused to be stopped by time; she wanted to find the little girl who means the world to her. Setsuna lives a lonely life in the future as the last surviving member of the White Lotus, but Chibi-Usa is her ray of sunshine. She keeps the child safe from an evil organization in the future that wants to end the Avatar cycle, the Red Lotus. Chibi-Usa and Setsuna were escaping them after her home was attacked, and lost their way in the swamp. She uses her metal bending to manipulate a sectioned staff. She seems a little cold and distant at first, but she has a big heart.
Haruka and Michiru are a couple; Haruka is an air bender and Michiru is a water bender, both from the Fire Nation. Haruka is tall and muscular, and people often mistake her for a boy at first; she likes to wait a while until she bursts their bubble, and she can be very intense. Michiru seems effortlessly elegant, but she’s not nearly as fragile as people would think (both girls seem to enjoy messing with people who make assumptions about them). They are also White Lotus members, but are so used to being a team and doing things on their own they are reluctant to work with Minako or the other girls. Even though Usagi is the Avatar, they would rather just keep her safe from a distance than be friends... but she’s impossible to resist. Haruka can use her air bending to slash through enemy armor and smash rock, and Michiru has the power to create tidal waves. After hearing from Setsuna about the Red Lotus in the future, they realize that some rumors they’ve heard will lead up to a terrible plan.
The Red Lotus wants to create a “Dark Avatar” (and they consist of the Black Moon Clan in the current time-line. Diamond keeps flirting with Usagi, but she ain’t into you, bro. Quit being a creeper). In the future, a scientists named Tomoe has a daughter named Hotaru who has a weak body. He places her in a spirit pool with the hopes it will heal her, but the pool was a way for Vaatu to transport part of the chaotic darkness from the spirit world into a human vessel. As a result, Hotaru and her father are manipulated by Vaatu’s evil. The Red Lotus wants to use Hotaru to fully awaken Vaatu and destroy the Avatar cycle. In the present, the Red Lotus is periodically poisoning people and various nature spirits with water from the spirit world that Vaatu has tainted. The Red Lotus is making these spirit world trips each full moon, and the moon temporarily turns red during these moments. If this keeps up, the moon itself could be poisoned by Vaatu, which would be bad for the whole world.
Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna agree it might be easier to find any members of the Red Lotus now, and perhaps even find a young Tomoe and end him before he ever has a chance to have his daughter. Chibi-Usa doesn’t like this plan; she knows Hotaru and considers her a friend. Usagi insist they find a way to save the girl in the future. After finally entering the spirit world during the lunar eclipse, Usagi realizes that just like in the swamp, the spirit world has an odd flow of time; what she does now can change the future, and because she knows what the future will be, it influences her decision. Vaatu has been poisoning the other spirits, making them evil with the ultimate goal of turning the moon spirit bad. Usagi can’t destroy Vaatu; the darkness is needed for the light to exist, and without Vaatu Hotaru won’t be able to survive in the future. Ignoring the mocking Vaatu, Usagi instead reasons with the moon spirit and does what she can to heal it. After returning to her friends, Usagi tells the future Avatar not to worry; she and Setsuna should just go home and do what she thinks is right. After a tearful good-bye from everyone, Mamoru and Usagi think about how nice it was having Chibi-Usa with them and wonder if in their own future they’ll have a daughter like her
In the future, Chibi-Usa and Stesuna find Hotaru during a time when Vaatu is trying to awaken within her. The Red Lotus (who are pretty much the Witches 5) try to stop the Avatar, but Setsuna fights them back. Chibi-Usa refuses to hurt her friend, and this bond actually helps Hotaru regain some control... when it seems like she can’t stand it anymore, the clouds in the sky part; the sliver of the new moon suddenly turns full, and the moon spirit shines its light on Hotaru. This banishes back Vaatu without harming Hotaru, and Chibi-Usa realizes that what Usagi did to help the moon spirit in the past has been repaid now. Setsuna begins training new White Lotus members, 4 young girls who were once circus performers but show a lot of promise.
Ok I’m done. I didn’t think of anything for Stars because this was already a HUGE mess.
#long post#Avatar The Last Airbender#legend of korra#sailor moon#inner senshi#outer senshi#cross-over
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the avatar series: 01.08
masterlist.
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Entering the theater felt odd.
Usually, it felt like entering a movie theater or an entertainment center; everyone excited to be surrounded by their community and even more excited to be watching the underground fight.
It wasn’t the first time where entering the theater felt different. During the memorial, a thick atmosphere of grief weighed on everyone’s shoulders. Now? It felt eerie, as if they were walking towards an unsheathed sword.
Logically, it could be because this is the first time the abandoned building was properly abandoned. It has always been ‘abandoned’, but being ‘abandoned’ didn’t mean it was void of life. Every day, there was always people in the theater, even where there were no planned fights– either benders training or scoping out the competition, custodians cleaning, or the Big Bang Crew thinking of renovations to only increase their pride for their passion project. On fight nights, it’s a different story; people clustering in the abandoned dome, anticipating the fight and trying to get the best view possible.
NCT was supposed to be the legendary pro-bending theater. Built as a dome with two floors for spectators, it would’ve been the largest one in the country. Unfortunately, once pro-bending was banned – construction was on hiatus ‘impermanently’. Luckily, the Big Bang Crew had earned enough money throughout their time as one of the greatest internationally renowned pro-bending teams and purchased the incomplete building. After the ex-pro-bending team added water sources for water benders, the abandoned theater quickly became the ‘Neo-City Theater’. They didn’t know what the societal repercussions would be when they created this twenty-years prior, but they created a community comparable to a family. It was surprising they’ve never been caught by the authorities, although everyone had a theory that the police officers who disagreed with the ban deterred the discovery of the illegal arena. Anyone in attendance could easily report the location of the fights to the government, but they never do. Yes, not everyone knew each other’s name – but the relation ran deeper than blood, than family ancestry, than the history of bending. Everyone who attended had an intrinsic love and endless support for the artistry of bending, for equality, for appreciation of what one was born with – bender or non-bender.
Ever since the memorial, the only thing occupying the run-down building were stains of melted wax from the candles of those who came, and the shrine of the deceased bender illuminated by the flickering fake candle. It was obvious some maintenance was still being done; batteries in the candle must’ve been changed at least once, wax stains were present but fading due to probably being washed down, and the source of water for the water bending fighters was clean and free of contamination of dirt.
It must be hard to leave this all behind, Tari sighed as she continued to shuffle in the space, avoiding dragging her feet on the wax stains. This has always been something they wanted to do. She wonders what that feels like – to be so invested in a hobby, in a passion, in an identity that you can’t leave it behind even when you have to.
Her slow shuffle soon increased speed into a fast walk as Johnny tugged her with him, guiding her to follow their group through the crowd. Johnny has been clinging onto her for dear life since she’s gotten back. The only times he goes back to his own apartment now is if Tari goes with him or he has to get clean clothes, even then – he drags Tari with him. Kilari stood next to Johnny, acting as a reminder for him to give Tari some space. She knew what it was like to be watched and monitored all the time. In fact, it’s her very reason for her being rebellious. Funnily enough, coming here was an act of rebellion as well – before coming, the group had to wait outside the Ba family mansion and watch Kilari clamber out the living room window and hastily land on the dirt in front of them.
On the other side of Tari, Doyoung and Sonan talked in hushed voices about what to expect. Doyoung’s anger against the protestors has subsided as Tari encouraged him to meditate with her in the apartment, reminding him of the air bending values his family raised him by. She had to meditate anyway, she couldn’t go back to Avatar training with Johnny’s constant checking-in.
Tari can’t be mad. She knew Johnny had no ill intentions and knew he was just exposed to hearing about all the dangers the benders are facing due to his job. She can’t be mad at him for being concerned.
“Do you think Big Bang may actually shut this place down?” Doyoung inquired, biting his lip anxiously. The theater was a community linked together by the location and the notion. If the location shut down, the future that may accept everyone for who they are may be farther from their reach.
Sonan quickly shook her head, placing the palm of her hand on Doyoung’s back in a comforting manner. “I don’t think he will. I think he might just try to reinstate a community right now.” She softly said, knowing Doyoung was concerned. “I did the same with my Kyoshi girls; just reminding them it’s imperative we remain a community right now.”
The Avatar had a hard time speaking. She felt surrounded by people she disappointed. If she had revealed her identity when they asked, would they still be here? Would the government still be monitoring benders like a hawk and its prey? She tuned in to the silences around the arena, trying to listen past the conversations between Kilari and John or Doyoung and Sonan. Tari needed to catch her breath, as the air in her lungs felt suffocating.
From across the arena, she saw Sukiara stand on the other side of the stage. Her icy cold eyes boring into Tari’s, a small nod being sent their way to acknowledge each other’s presence. Tari had asked her to come so they can discuss a ‘plan for a girls night’ later on, in front of Johnny. Ever since Johnny started refusing to leave her side, she couldn’t go train like she was planning to. Having an excuse to leave him was the intention for him observing the interaction. The giant’s overpowering monitoring methods were the reasons why Tari has been meditating more – to enter the Spirit World and talk to Aang, who’d teach her the moves. Unfortunately, being in the Spirit World means the only bending she could do was energy bending – which wasn’t the most difficult to pick up. It was the only bending that solely the Avatar can perform so it came naturally.
Sukiara’s eyes seemed to smile back at her, despite being as cold as an iceberg. The black-haired guardian first used her hand and motioned up and down just abover her lungs, reminding Tari to breathe. Tari breathed in time with Sukiara’s hand going up and exhaled when it went down. When she got to a normal pattern of breathing, Sukiara then motioned to their surroundings - reminding Tari to pay attention to everything around her rather than Sukiara. It seemed Sukiara can sense something coming as well.
G-Dragon came onto stage like a reverend; everyone looking at him for hope. He stood next to the memorial, almost dead center on stage as he addressed the hundreds of benders and non-benders filling the arena. “Last night, we heard some heart-breaking news.” He enunciated, not needing a microphone to gain the attention of the spectators. Contrary to the boring monotone building, he seemed to paint every nook and cranny of the building with his endless colorful charisma.
“We are no longer seen as human beings. We haven’t been seen as equals for a while, but now,” He let out a sigh audible by the entire room, “we’re animals.” A soft hum rippled through the crowd, signaling to him that the sentiment was shared. “We’re animals in a zoo, these monitoring contraptions are our cages.” His voice grew in volume, growing more and more outraged as he continued to describe the current situation in animalistic ways. He continued to compare Mayor Roddin to a dictator, to a zookeeper who permits animal brutality. Following, he used an analogy describing the police to the blind employees following. Rage was dripping off every single word that left his mouth, but with a sense of organized rage. He sounded like he had a plan.
Maybe he should’ve been the Avatar, Tari thought to herself. G-Dragon was organized, he was well-planned, he was a people person. The sight of him was magnetic. In a time where the Avatar wasn’t as important as in the past, the Avatar is mainly a figure head. But they still need to be a master. He would be the perfect Avatar; he’s world renowned in his fire bending ability and in his charisma. It should’ve been him. He can inspire. He can connect.
Tari looked around at her friends. Sonan stood with her arms crossed, biting at her lip as a controlled fire rage in her eyes. Doyoung looked at his feet; a look or grief painted on his face as when he would look up, his eyes were trained on the photo of the deceased. Kilari’s arms were wide - her hands balled into fists as her jaw became locked. Johnny, on the other hand, watched everything with awe but with a passion behind his eyes. She can tell how passionate and riled up he was getting with every word, his arm and hers locked around each other and his grip tightening as he’d clap along with the audience to support G-Dragon.
“It is imperative now,” His voice finally calmed down as the roars of the audience hushed, “we work together as a community. We remind them we are human too.” Tari could sense the community radiating off everyone – a sense of acceptance. She can’t lie and say she doesn’t feel it too, however, something felt off. It felt like a moment before a bomb went off, the feeling Aang must’ve felt minutes before he knew Sozin’s comet would pass. “And if they cannot remember that, then we need to prove them right and show them how terrifying and dangerous we can be.” He incited. With that, G-Dragon raised his arms, signaling the rest of the Big Bang crew and the most frequent winners of the underground fights to stand beside him.
If Johnny had a camera with him today, he’d take a photo. Each bender on stage allowed their element to be held in their hands. It was notable to mention that some Big Bang members were their managers or friends, therefore not benders. They stood on stage holding weapons. It was a beautiful image of unity. “Together, as benders and non-“
It happened too quick and out of the blue.
It started with the sound of sirens, followed by an explosion, interrupting G-Dragon’s speech. A smoke bomb was dropped into the middle of the arena; smoke flooding the arena; everyone coughing their lungs out as they struggled to see through the dirt. “EVERYONE IS UNDER ARREST,” A voice boomed – one Tari can recognize as Lin’s non-bending counterpart, “PUT YOUR HANDS UP OR WE’LL SHOOT!”
But that didn’t stop them from shooting. In fact, nothing could’ve stopped them from shooting.
And that didn’t stop people from fleeing. Or freezing. Or fighting.
As the smoke was clearing up, Tari could see figures running towards the entrance – trying to block off the theater from the police. She noticed individuals frozen and some of those individuals already being taken by police, handcuffed and pushed to the ground. She noticed the police harshly pushing people to their knees, to their stomachs despite the said individuals not resisting arrest.
Everything felt like slow motion. Tari was frozen. She couldn’t focus on everything that’s happening – a loud screeching noise echoing in her ears as she tried look through the smoke and find her friends that she lost in the chaos. If they are hurt… she trailed off, not even wanting to complete the thought, it’s my fault – I could’ve done something. Her search was soon completed; Johnny tugging on Tari’s arm, trying to pull her with everyone else who were staring at her with panic and fear. Their mouths were moving but she still couldn’t hear them over the screeching.
They’re safe. Tari told herself, feeling the breath she didn’t know she was holding escape. She was still frozen in place – as if her feet were buried in the same concrete used to build. “GO!” She screamed, the screeching noise now dulling and being replaced by the chorus of screams as people fled. However, these screams soon became a background noise; mercging into the environment as the pleas of her friends became her focus.
“TARI, WE CAN’T LEAVE WITHOUT YOU!” Johnny protested, Doyoung screaming in agreeance as Sonan and Kilari now joined in trying to tug her away. But the Avatar looked down at the arena, where The Osaka Prince, the Mouse, and the Big Bang Crew were at the front lines. They were pushing police officers off innocent people, they were creating a wall of their element, they were fighting back. That’s my duty, she realized. My life is theirs. And right now, they can escape.
She thought of everyone she had hurt; Kilari after the protests, Doyoung during the attacks, the benders he’s friends with who were hospitalized, the bender who passed away, the benders who have been arrested. She thought of everyone she let down; Johnny’s disappointment of the Avatar, Sonan’s misplaced trust in her.
She can’t just leave. Ignoring and resisting the violent pulls of her arm, pretending not to hear their persistent pleas – she searched the arena for one more familiar face; a face she knew was following her.
‘Help’ she mouthed as she spotted the same icy blue eyes. ‘Save them.’ Her attention was soon taken away, Johnny refusing to leave. “I’m not leaving you!” He screamed; his grip still tight over her wrist as their friends started following his lead.
“Johnny, my life isn’t mine!” Tari was quick to reiterate, holding back all the tears threatening to spill. “It’s theirs! I can help!” She was desperate for Sukiara, she needed them to leave.
Doyoung was quick to jump in, “Then we can help too!” He motioned to him and Kilari, who were fighting their way back to Tari.
“There’s minimal water here, Tari!” Johnny said at the same time as Doyoung, the non-benders grip tightening around her wrist and now becoming harsher in pulling her away from the danger. “Tari, come with us!”
She had a hard time thinking – everyone calling her name; explicitly through her friends’ pleas and implicitly through the fight on the stage.
As soon as Sukiara came by, Tari sighed. “Thank you.” She said, barely audible over the screams in the arena. Sukiara nodded with a smirk with the pure message of ‘I told you so’. Tari took a breath and felt a rumbling in her stomach, which she redirected to her wrist. She glanced up at Johnny; looking at the concern over his face. “I’m sorry.”
His face twisted in confusion before contorting to pain. A burning sensation took over his wrist as he flinched back in pain. The expression quickly contorted back to confusion as he asked a question to no one particular, just loud enough to hear it himself. “Did she just fire bend?” He has for sure seen her water bend, so fire bending…she has bent multiple elements. Maybe it was the friend, right? He tried to reason – his best friend couldn’t have been the Avatar. She would’ve told him. Right? Now he was frozen and their friends looked at him in confusion, now desperately trying to pull Johnny away from the crowd as they watched Tari disappear into the crowd. They want to go back for her, but they can’t leave Johnny behind.
His question was soon answered as his vision cleared up again and he spotted Tari, who was no longer in front of him and on the front lines, fly down from their place on the second floor using air bending and creating a wall of fire with the flick of her wrist. She stomped and the earth raised; effectively blocking the entrance from more police guards swarming in. She stood alongside the Big Bang Crew, The Osaka Prince, and Mouse – who are now the only benders left at the front lines as they encouraged the other fighters who fought with them to leave.
All of her friend’s jaw dropped in shock. Johnny was certain the other front liners were shocked as well, but he couldn’t tell as the stranger now guided them out to the closest exit. “I’m Tari’s friend, Sukiara. I’m taking you to her home.” The same stranger whistled, before a flying bison stood in front of them and the group fled.
“Go, go, go” Johnny rushed everyone onto the bison, making sure everyone would get on. But Sukiara didn’t budge. Johnny must be the last one of her friends on the bison, Sukiara must make sure that he’s safe. For Tari. “I’ll go back to be with Tari, I just need-“
The group’s eyes widened. They couldn’t potentially lose both Tari and Johnny. They are already panicked – their hearts racing – for Tari, they cannot be panicked for Johnny as well. “Get on or I will make you get on.” Sukiara threatened.
“Johnny, just get the fuck on!” Kilari called, tugging on the collar of Johnny’s shirt she could just reach as she leaned from the saddle on the bison. “We can’t lose both of you in one fight,” Johnny has never heard Kilari’s voice crack before, “please.”
As Johnny reluctantly climbed onto the bison and Sukiara followed, Sukiara let out a whistle. With the whistle, the bison took its cue and flew above the ground. As miraculous as the experience was - flying through the air, the breeze flowing through their hair - all of them felt a mix of emotions. It was complicated. Sukiara couldn’t help but notice Tari’s friends look dejected, concerned, panicked, and exhausted all at once. Sukiara knew the pain of losing someone she loved and knew the worry that comes from leaving them in a dangerous situation - in fact, thats how she joined the White Lotus. In fact, she swears she was feeling the same in that moment.
But she pushed those concerns aside. She took a breath and interrupted the tense silence with a forcedsmile. “She’ll be fine,” The whole group looked up from staring at the oh-so-interesting boring floor and looked her in the eyes. Their expressions begged for reassurance, for proof Tari will come home. “She’ll be fine, she’s got this.” Sukiara repeated, “she’s the Avatar.”
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