#but I do think the girls need to acknowledge they fucked up in Atlas
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Since everyone is throwing out wild theories on twitter about why we’re being warned to be extra careful about spoilers for episode 6 ima throw my idea into the hat and guess it means James is coming back in some way so the girls can talk and acknowledge what they did wrong in-
#rwde#this is a joke#crack theory#watch people say I seriously think this#seriously I am being silly#this is for fun#crtq#but I do think the girls need to acknowledge they fucked up in Atlas#like big time#especially in how they handled Ironwood#James ironwood
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˙ 𖥦 ⪧ ◟together ˒ ˶ taehyun
> synopsis: you and taehyun have been in a business marriage for 4 years,you’ve never had anything between you two. Most of the time taehyun would go around fucking other rich women, everyone knows it’s just business. Exept you
A/n : I literally loved writing this like AHHHH I hope you guys like it <3
Tag list^^: @heiiolifeee @f4iryfever @iweirdthingsblog @yuriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii @cinnikoi
“Always been mine…”
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
“Honey im home” he sang out as he entered the home you had together. You were pissed to say the least, you let out a heavy sigh “don’t call me honey, taehyun you’ve gotten into another scandal” you huff again “how do you plan on covering this up”.
He stares at you, his gaze confused and amused at the same time. He ruffled his hair "why do you care?" He grunted as he sat down beside you on the couch "you know that means I'm the wife who let's their man whore of a husband fuck around right? Which leads to them thinking I'm cheating too..?" You argue scooting away from him, before getting up to go away "whatever it's not like you aren't, your just better at hiding it" his attitude scorching through you, grabbing your hand "now sit down I'll go get coffee and tell you everything"
He walks away , once again. You never said you need or want an explanation, but deep down you do.your heart burns as you stare at your phone, the article everywhere.
"Kang taehyun , cheater"
The silence becomes louder in your head, you try to surpress tears. No matter how hard you try he always replays in your mind, he hurt you. He doesn't even know after 3 years of your undivided attention towards him. He doesn't realise you love him. Before you know it your lost in your thoughts once again....
"y/n? Y/N?" He waved his hand infront of your lost figure, you jumped back when he smacked your head "y/n oh my god" his voice clearer now. You won't even acknowledge that he hit you, you don't care.
To be honest taehyun felt bad for you too, he loved you just as much, he wanted to hold you, to feel you to be close to you. But he knows he couldn't, he knows you dont like him, so he acts like he hates you, he hooks up with girls left and right 'knowing' you don't care.
The problem is, you do care.
"anyway, I met her at a club, I felt sexually pent up so, I decided to... You know" he explained himself he was rambling on and on after this before you stopped him "taehyun stop rambling I really don't care" you did.
"I'm gonna go to bed" you walked upstairs the stairs tiring you out before you plop onto your bed,you had a joint bedroom only a wall and a door dividing you twos room.
He regrets his decision every time he fucks around, he acts like it doesn't matter but when he walked into his room he feels an absence. You were that absence.
#######
"Kang y/n finally gets revenge"
"icon y/n"
Your name surrounded the web , you finally decided to fuck around after 3 years. It felt odd ofcourse but you didn't carw., You just wanted to get over taehyun. But you got caught, you thought he wouldn't care since he's always on the news.
You sat on the couch once again, it was a habit for you by now to wait for him at the couch. As soon as the door handle turned,so did your stomach why did you feel so bad all of a sudden.
"how was it?" He dropped his bag, not even making eye contact with you. "How was what?" You asked hesitant of his reply, you were slightly trembling "the sex" his tone grew more aggressive by the word. "I asked how was the sex y/n"
His tone had a hint of sadness to it, you didn't notice it though. His gaze hit you atlas the flames in his eyes grew."it wasn't great" you responded, you wanted to lie but you couldn't. It wasn't great it was sad, miserable actually.
"then why'd you do it" his voice odly calmer than before, he was less jelous. Yet you stayed quiet
You wanted to talk back, you couldn't however. He walked towards you, step by step making you tremble. His next move wasn't clear at all, he sat beside you grabbing your jaw "look at me darling, why'd you do it" you were now facing him, the tention grew between you.
"I..." You fucked up, how or why you don't know but it felt like you fucked up "you??" His leg shaking, you couldn't tell why tho.
"taehyun." You paused his eyes widen as you use his name anticipation coarsing through him.
"taehyun...I used to like you." You blurted it out, the gaze and pressure let it out of you. But you still liked him.
"like I know it's not meant to be that way, I know it's business and I know I'm just being delusional but-" your ramble cut off by his touch. He wraps his hand around your nape, pushing your face closer to his. Your lips almost meeting.
He stares at your lips, your eyes roaming the situation, trying to avoid contact. Your mind travels wanting to kiss him so bad, but you don't want to act suddenly. Waiting for him to make the move, was he playing with you?
"I like you too" he mumbles onto your lips before smashing them together. The kiss soft yet laced with desire. He was holding back for you, the kiss sent shivers down your spine. You stay frozen in place before he pulls away , "you didn't pull away?" He cuts your words off again with a kiss, this time you reciprocate the kiss sending shivers down your spine. Your arms wrapping around his neck pulling him closer, he smiles during the kiss as you do this.
Breaking off once more his smile widens he stands you up "wait." You pause the situation. His eyes widen once again. "Shit whatever" you dismiss your negative thoughts smashing your lips together once more, your hands still wrapped around his neck as his hands roam around your body landing on your waist.
Picking you up lightly. You wrap your legs around his torso as he indicated with a tap on your thighs, the kiss sloppy as he climbed up the stairs carrying you. He opens his door with force as his hands still roaming your body.
"you've always been mine baby" he mumbles onto your lips , dropping you on the bed as he climbs over you leaning for another kiss. This time hungrier more rough. You start to crave his attention, you needed him more than ever now.
"fuck babe" the nickname forming something in you. As the kiss continued, Taehyun's hands moved up to play with your hair, his tongue exploring deeper into your mouth. He could feel himself growing hard against your leg and he knew he wanted more than just a kiss from you.
Feeling the heat between them, Taehyun broke the kiss, panting softly. His eyes met yours, filled with lust and anticipation.his breath hot against your skin. “Taehyun….” You huff out. Wanting more out of him . With a smirk, Taehyun slowly removed his shirt, revealing his well-toned body. His hands slipped back down to your pants, tugging them gently over your hips and down your legs. You were even more beautiful than he had imagined. He kissed his way down your stomach, taking in the taste of your skin. His hands continued their exploration, tracing patterns on your thighs and teasingly brushing against your underwear.
Eager to work with you, he knew his girth couldn’t fit into your pussy. “Want you so bad…” his eyes practically eating you out. His hands find its way inside your soaked panties, his fingers running through your folds. Playing with your puffy clit he starts slowly inserts a digit into you, your folds tightly squeezing his fingers “so tight….” He whispers into your ear “are you sure you’ll take my cock like this?” He glides his free arm across your face, his eyes loving yet sarcastic pity covers his face.
His finger working on you painfully slow as he leaves marks on your neckline. His length gets painfully harder as he fingers you, starting to grind on your thigh. He slowly inserts another finger his breathing ragged as he continues to finger you slowly, his other hand moving up to massage your breast. your breath heavy trying to speak while he mercilessly fingers your cunt. Scissoring inside stretching you out.
You moan out his name softly. “You feel so good around my fingers, baby. My little whore” His words are heavy with lust as he presses a soft kiss to your jaw before returning his attention to your neck and shoulders, nipping and licking softly. He can feel your pussy tightening around his fingers adding a third one chasing your high.
Your moans seem to get louder as his actions get faster, your hips bucking grinding against his fingers. You let out his name before releasing over his fingers as he curled them inside, the orgasm shaking you. You try to catch your breath laying there a bead of sweat trickling down the side of your face.
He gives you time to breath tasting you on his fingers, licking them dry. His body gets more tense as it seems his boxers now have a wet spot from his pre cum, he couldn’t wait any longer kneeling onto the bed and pulling your legs onto his tights “sorry baby, you look so Pretty I can’t take it anymore” he leans in, now in a missionary position and kisses you, the kiss hungry deep and sultry. You could tell how desperate he was
“You ready?” He lines himself between your legs, lubricating his tip with the remaining orgasm you had let out. You nodded eager for his cock to fill you up. As he slowly enters you realise how big his member actually is.
Stretching you out deliciously he groans feeling your tight walls around him “such a slutty little pussy hm?” His breath getting heavily, he would’ve cum right then and there “can their cocks stretch you this well” the pleasure distracts you from his malicious words. He goes on whispering sweet nothings into your ear as he finally fills you up balls deep.
He gives you a pause to get used to his length “says the man-whore” you finally catch your breath replying to his former words. He fumes with anger and starts to move relentlessly.
“Man-whore?” He huffs fucking into you his girth so mouth wateringingly wrapped inside your soaping pussy. He whispers sweet nothings once again, nicknames spewing out of his mouth sweetly.
“y/n if you, fuck- if you keep squeezing me like that I’ll cum inside” he groans and curses under his breath. He was addictive to you, you felt painfully pleasant his, face admiring your features. His girth creating a small outline in your stomach, his cock twitching at the sight.
Your eyes close shut as you get closer and closer to your orgasm, evident by your pussy tightening around him. He takes this as a sign to press on the outline around your stomach , causing you to whimper, the stimulation making you sensitive.
“Baby I’m gonna” his words get cut off by his groan
“Just- do it Baby” you nod your head allowing him to release inside you as you chase your high along side him. He gets cockier and starts to play with your clit, your words driving him. His movements get faster, slowing down at lass to release alongside you.
His juices mixing with yours as he falls on-top of you he slowly pulls out. Shifting beside you, cuddling you to relax.
“Why did you fuck around if you like me?” You start to question his actions. Looking forward to his response
“Cause I thought you hated me , I tried to get over you…” he paused “and also,I don’t just like you y/n love you” his words shook you, a smile forming after you pause “I love you too” you finally respond.
You turn to see he had passed out already, you could only let out a chuckle before kissing his cheek and snuggling against his arm.
#txt smut#taehyun smut#kpop smut#txt imagines#kpop imagines#txt x reader#txt fanfic#taehyun x reader
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I keep seeing people say the live action show is going to be bad only because Bryke is no longer involved. Now, I’m not particularly interested in the show because live action remakes just don’t do anything for me, personally. But I think y’all are giving Bryke way more credit than they deserve. Let’s discuss.
First, I think we should acknowledge the more problematic aspect of them creating the show in the first place. While I love Avatar, Bryke are two white men who took the aesthetics of many different Asian cultures to create their world. And most of the voice cast were also white. If there were Asian voice actors, they were either a background character or a villain (besides Iroh and Zuko, of course). Now, I know that some of you may have read that and thought about how the actor playing Sokka is not only white but lied about his ethnicity. Don’t worry, I’m mad at that as well and I’m beyond frustrated that Sokka has been whitewashed not once, but twice in the name of a live action interpretation.
And speaking of live action interpretations, let us not forget Bryke’s role in the 2010 movie. They announced their decision to leave this new show due to it not matching their vision. But they had no problem with the film that casted almost exclusively white actors to play characters of color. Again, if there were POC in the movie they were either background actors or villains (again, besides Iroh and Zuko). When people bring up the movie, they blame Shamalan for every aspect of it. Yes, he did not direct a good movie. But, at the end of the day, Bryke wanted this movie to happen. Everyone else, including Shamalan, wanted a season four but they were dead set on the live action movie that whitewashed most of the characters. And they were fine with that. That didn’t clash with their vision despite relying very heavily on non-white cultures to make their show.
Outside of the whitewashed movie, their creative choices are… interesting, to say the least. And we didn’t get to see those because the writers pulled their weight and tweaked the original concepts. Toph? Bryke wanted her to be a boy and be in a love triangle with Aang and Katara. It was the writers who made her a girl. Azula? Again, Bryke wanted her to be a boy and, again, the writers made her a girl. Katara fighting sexism in the Northern Water Tribe? They wanted her to be fighting for Aang, not herself. It was the writers decision to add in Katara fighting against a patriarchal system. Many of the episodes that people point to as their favorites (Zuko Alone, The Puppetmaster, The Southern Raiders) were not written by them. Yet, they get the pats on the backs from casual viewers and even some dedicated fans.
Do you know what happens when they do have creative control? At best, it’s mediocre, at worst, it’s bad. Let’s first take a look at their continuation of this universe by looking at Legend of Korra. The writers that made those iconic and beautiful episodes in ATLA? For the most part, they’re no where to be found. And it shows. LoK was a mess from the very beginning and never quite got its footing. Yes, I will acknowledge that Nickelodeon fucked them over. Yes, I do have respect for them for sticking to their guns and making Korrasami an item and giving us not one but two bisexual women of color. But besides that? It’s just a very mediocre show with mediocre writing.
But we see how truly bad things can get with the ATLA comics. Now, I do need to acknowledge that they didn’t work on that comic alone. So, like the movie, there are others to blame for the mess. But Bryke signed off on everything and wrote some of it themselves. And, boy, are they bad. A large number of the ATLA fandom do not like these comics and there’s definitely a reason why. Including out of character moments, prominent sexism with how the women are written, and just downright bizarre discussions, it’s not that much of a surprise that we don’t like to acknowledge it. In my opinion, no one got screwed over more in those comics than Katara. They make her a trophy girlfriend. A shadow to Aang rather than being her own character. That girl we watched in the show, the one who was vibrant, layered, complex, was gone. In her place, a hollow shell. And they would continue to show disrespect for their own character in LoK where she has been upgraded from trophy girlfriend to trophy wife. They didn’t even care enough about her, besides her being the wife of Aang and the mother of his children, to give her a statue! All the feminism we see in the original show? It definitely wasn’t Bryke.
I don’t know how this new live action show is going to pan out. It could be great, it could be bad. It could just be meh. But none of those outcomes have anything to do with whether or not Bryke was involved. Because they may have created ATLA, but they weren’t the ones who truly breathed life into it.
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Thanks for answering my ask. If you don't mind me asking (again), who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them. Sorry if you've answered this before.....
HI!! no problem i LOVE talking about my favs. here’s like top 3 ships of some fandoms i’m in because there is simply too many LMAO
jujutsu kaisen
- itafushi: literally my number one ship ever. they make me so fucking emo. the tragedy of what couldn’t have been prevented. i pray for itafushi moments in the jjk manga but every time it happens it is somehow worse than the last. peace 🙏
- yutamaki: they mean so much to me. i love them both platonically and romantically! their moments in jjk0 are super sweet and i love that they’re always supporting each other 🥹
- satosugu: this is a ship i’ll put in a blender. i don’t usually think of them but when i do i want to throw up blood. they’re the cause of all my problems. i love them. they are so my tears ricochet core
other ships i like are nobamaki, inuokko, and mechamiwa! perks of being a multishipper lol
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bungo stray dogs
- shin soukoku: MY YIN YANG DUO!! they are the dumbest. somehow they bulldozed past all the normal stages of dating and went straight to dying for each other. who does that.
- kunichuuzai: i’m cheating here because i love all individual pairings in this ship AND the poly ship. especially kunichuu which crept up on me and slapped me in the face. chuuya being downbad for kunikida is GREAT. they are so good when you dont have toxic shippers breathing in your ear about how one is better than the other ❤️
- tachigin: do u ever think about how they’re both liars. how they both have a hidden identity. how they both found family within the mafia not as the person they really are, but as the person they pretended to be. how the betrayal felt like when tachihara dropped his mask. OUGH
i also really like ranpoe and atsulucy! and beast!akutagawa x beast!tanizaki is cute too
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link click
- i’m a liar. shiguang is the only ship i have in this show. my FAVS. their devotion to each other is insane. they make me genuinely feral. cxs being an annoying little shit x lg who stays hopelessly in love anyway. ARGH I LOVE THEM. THEY WANNA SAVE EACH OTHER!!!!
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tian guan ci fu
- fengqing: the implications of this 800 year old situationship is very fun. knowing someone so well that you know exactly what to say to hurt them. loving someone so deeply and repressing it to the point that you mistake it as hatred. i’m obsessed with them
- hualian: how can i not include the most romantic (and canon) pair EVER. get you someone who loves you like hua cheng loves xie lian because holy SHIT. i have not read the books (only watched the donghua) and yet these two make me feral i need them to hurry it up and get married already 😭
i don’t really ship anything else as of yet. but i do like and acknowledged beefleaf. i’ve heard it’s horribly tragic. i cannot wait to find out
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sk8 the infinity
- renga: RENGA!!!! MY PRECIOUS. they are fucking head over heels for each other i’m obsessed with it. their ‘breakup arc’ genuinely hurt my soul. but i love how confident they are about each other’s skills, how they’re each others biggest supporter, how they see the best in each other etc. insane. i need season 2 asap
- matchablossom: [danny motta voice] they wanna fuck so bad. the end
i don’t ship anything else. but do i think cherry and adam had a situationship back when they were teenagers? yes. anyway
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avatar the last airbender
- mailee: MY GIRLS. THE BEST ATLA SHIP AND YOU HEARD IT FROM ME. mai who masks her emotions with blankness and ty lee who masks her emotions with a smile. but they both know each other better than that. they protect each other and they are also 🖤🩷 how could you not love them!!!!
- zukka: [affectionately] there is something so wrong with these two. the original red and blue gays. to ME. i think they bounce off each other well and they’re a really funny duo. also. the prince and the fool. what more is there
- yuekka: personally i love love LOVED yuekka. i like how yue really loosened up around sokka and how sokka was head over heels for her LMAO they were a really cute ship. moon coded gf x ocean coded bf do you see how great that is. the tides follow the whims of the moon. they can’t exist without the other. ARGH
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voltron
- klance: sigh. since we’re digging this deep into my fandoms list let us talk about klance. do i agree with anything that was written past season 3? absolutely not. they are definitely a wasted potential ship that ruined my life forever but like. yah. the ship you obsessed over at 14 is SERIOUS business. the homoerotic rivalry they had was seriously unmatched. nobody talk to me
- adashi: haha. my first experience with being queerbaited. they buried the gays before the gays even had lines. i was so upset about adam that i consumed an insane amount of fan content and then wrote 10k words in one sitting. thats how upset they made me
- romellura: the gfs ever. the writers screwed allura over so every ship i have for her is… very fan-based. but i’ll protect them with my SOUL. the softness of meeting someone who knows EXACTLY the kind of loss you felt. finding comfort and home in each other.
- veracxa: sorry one more. VERACXA IS SO GOOD AND SO UNDERRATED. lance and veronica having the same taste is so funny. also love that veronica went out of her way to make acxa feel welcome. and their matching judgy stares. the older sister and sister in law. i KNOW lance was sweating
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sorry for the long ass list. there’s lots of other platonic/familial relationships i enjoy in shows too i swear i’m not just insane 😭🙏. thank you so much for the ask!!
#i think. i could ship pretty much anything if you held me at gunpoint and made me write a fix#fic*#it would force me to see the dynamic and enjoy it HAHA#jjk#itafushi#yutamaki#satosugu#bsd#shin soukoku#kunichuuzai#kunichuu#tachigin#link click#shiguang#sk8 the infinity#renga#matchablossom#tgcf#fengqing#hualian#atla#mailee#zukka#yuekka#voltron#klance#adashi#romellura#veracxa#asks
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ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 2, Part 1).
Hang on this show is rated PG? Did they not see the people burning alive last episode?
The fire nation theme with a full orchestra goes so hard. I need Azula’s version too.
Zuko tearing up the room looking for his fucking diary while Iroh just fails to calm him down is peak 16 year old and his dad core and I’m living for it. I, too, want to smash stuff when my beloved things go missing.
Zuko’s right, Aang is a coward which is good because he’s nuanced! Now the show should acknowledge that.
We’re going to Kyoshi island yay!
Another good Katara monologue. They seem to have grasped the hopeful aspect of her character well (and it’s clearly in Kiawentiio’s acting wheelhouse). Now let her break stuff!
Wait if Aang can fly why did he fall out of the sky in the last episode?
On the Waterbending Scroll: @juniperhillpatient talked about this in a great post so I’ll link that here.
The Gyatso memorial was a really nice touch. I think Gordon’s acting was slightly flat (emphasis on slightly) but the way his voice broke on the last line broke me. Since it’s the first time I’ve had anything bad to say about his acting, I’ll give it a pass.
I will say idk if it’s sets of CGI but the whole setting is gorgeous. I’m glad their budget let them add in those details that we didn’t get in the cartoon.
Yay Iroh comedy! Give him more!
They nailed Zuko and Iroh’s dynamic. No complaints. Also since the main trio is less funny (which is fine) the comic relief is much needed.
Kyoshi Warrior makeup looks awesome!
Ooh Suki’s mom is here! And Suki getting some more background/development, always love! Not sure if I would have called “kindness” one of her core traits but it’s not like she wasn’t kind. She didn’t have much characterization to begin with besides “cool strong girl!” so I like that she gets a softer side.
Sokka’s fangirling over Suki this is cute and also hilarious. And Suki is EVISCERATING him with her skills.
Iroh is comedy gold (makes sense since I know this actor has a background in comedy) This episode overall is lighter which I think is a nice break since last episode was pretty intense.
Zhao seems like less of an asshole right off the bat. Is he sneaky or just watered down? (Like Katara-no I won’t shut up about her).
Shirtless Sokka was not necessary I want everyone to stay far away from over sexuality the teenage characters I don’t care that some of them look over Netflix don’t Netflix this.
I like that we’re expressing Aang’s grief more overtly. Something the original couldn’t do.
I find Aang and Katara’s friendship really wholesome.
Katara talking about Aang knowing how to connect…BUT THAT WAS KATARA’S THING. Why are they taking her good traits and giving them to her male friends istg.
Suki is so cool I love her definitely no character crush here. Her literally being like “I like this boy. Obviously the logical choice is to show him my fighting skills” she’s so real for that.
“Only justice will bring peace” - please tell me Katara being the one to read that line is important because thematically it’s a very Katara line.
Aang’s backstory with people being scared of him and losing control is an interesting new touch that I think could be used really well. (Also seeing some Azula parallels especially with the “lucky” thing but I don’t think I’m that lucky).
I do miss Sokka’s Kyoshi Warrior uniform. The tension though! A little more of a mature tone than the original and idk how much I want to lean into sexual tension of any kind but the characters are 16 so I thiiink I’m okay with this but NETFLIX IF YOU OVERSEXUALIZE THEM ALL I WILL COME FOR YOU!!
Part 2 coming soon!
#atla#atla live action#natla#netflix atla#avatar the last airbender#aang#katara#iroh#zuko#sokka#suki#atla stream of consciousness
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Y'all I know this is waaaaay late but I just realized- (disclaimer this gets a bit ranty)
In season 8 when they travel in honerva's mind and whatnot and she's finally free from all the quintessence poisoning.
Why doesn't she immediately apologize to Shiro??? After all the fucked up shit she did and she's only thinking of Lotor yeah but he's dead rn,,, Shiro's right there!? She literally gets to reunite with her dead family and shiro doesn't!!! At all! As far as we know kuron never recorded a message for Adam!! Shiro deserves at least an acknowledgement that she's responsible for a lot of the hell he went through. Just cause he has an 'altean/new' arm now doesn't mean everything's ok, sheesh. The show was pretty bad at tying up loose ends and keeping continuity further than just character's goals in meta.
Like the lack of character in shiro once the real him was brought back... It was like they had forgotten how to write him and his dialogue. Literally if he stayed dead nothing would've changed.
Think about it
they only needed the crystal to transform the atlas
Adam literally died while shiro was also dead in the astral plane; wasn't like he was waiting for shiro to come back since apparently Sam forgot shiro had a fiance?? (Also fuck sanda for pointlessly murdering that whole fleet just to prove her point)
Yes he stands up for the paladins, but does it ultimately change sanda's mind? No (re: still delivers voltron to sendak)
Was shiro ultimately the one to defeat sendak? No, it was Keith. Even without shiro as long as they knew that they had to destroy the crystal they would've found a way to do it
Were there any important flashbacks other than the break up? Nope
legitimately he did nothing to help get to the garrison, it's like they used his lack of an arm as an excuse to keep him out of a fight. Season 1 shiro legit rushed sendak while still handcuffed, but when he gets his one arm cuffed he suddenly can't do anything even with pidge being threatened (yo we don't even get a reaction!! Like, go girl we're loving ur lack of energy)
He never reconciles with ANYBODY the one episode where the paldins kinda re-explore earth was the perfect episode to see how shiro catches up with the other officers, the garrison, some family backstory, but no. It's not even canon he remembers what went on while kuron stood in for him- that's fanon. As far as we know, Sam and matt had NO IDEA that there's a difference between the shiro they met in space and the shiro now, with white hair and everything.
Anyways, point IS is that they only kept shiro for the lgbtq rep an' thassit. It's not even good rep!!!!
Thank you for letting me ruin your evening
Peace ✌
Edit!! 4-3-22: ok, saw an interview that yes, shiro does have kuron's memories, but then we never see that come to fruition. It explains how he doesn't need an introduction from the newer cast, but I think it would've been nice to see him reconcile with Keith after the brawl with kuron. And yes, initially he WAS supposed to stay dead, but because they decided to revive him they really should've had a better plan for him.
#voltron#shirogane takashi#takashi shirogane#lance mcclain#keith kogane#vld#voltron legendary defender#voltron legendary disaster#lmao thats a tag#it fits too
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Salt Takes: The Double Standard of Child/Adult Soldiers
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The last thing I want to do is get tangled in ATLA fandom drama, but I choose violence, so short and sweet it is.
This scene.
People race to defend Azula here, claiming she was a child who didn’t understand the full atrocity of what she was witnessing. That she was molded from the beginning to believe her cold sneer and clutched fist were her faith in justice served showing. Then all fingers point to Zhao as the grown adult who displays full-blown sadism.
Cool. So, er, half-assed interpretation and apologism at its finest.
Look, ya big brained. You want to pick apart early psychological development in the Fire Nation princess? Great. You’re onto something. But this scene, at face value, is blatant characterization. Azula has no remorse. She thinks what she’s seeing is deserved. These statements can and should co-exist before further analysis, because the first statement is visibly, directly implied for seven year olds to pick up on and file away.
Kids’ show. Aired on Nickelodeon. 6-11-year-old demographic. Gucci? Gucci.
Zhao, on the other hand, is the bass-boosted version of S1 Zuko. He’s not a child soldier, damnit, but he is a soldier.
When Zuko knocks him down in their Agni Kai, the instinct to, uh, avoid getting your face burned off is overridden because he acknowledges the hand dealt to the loser, stares right back at him, and says - “Do it.”
A bit gorey to imagine what would have happened if Zuko obliged.
When they face off in the North, Zhao makes his position clear: “You're the Blue Spirit, an enemy of the Fire Nation! You freed the Avatar.”
“You should have chosen to accept your failure, your disgrace. Then, at least, you could have lived!”
So aside from the fact that he is, by definition, doing his duty by dispatching a disgraced prince responsible for treacherous action... it’s also his character. Azula is as driven to perfection and loyalty for her nation as she is conniving and vicious. Zhao is as driven to immortalizing himself in history and bulldozing the enemies in the Fire Nation’s path as he is a smug, walking dick. They’re both every inch the product of an imperialist agenda as they are the villains of their respective seasons. They’re bad, they’re rotten, but they’re soldiers.
To drag the comics into this for a moment, the vilification of the other nations began as early as pre-genocide. Soldiers were brainwashed into associating the Avatar and his people with their own doom. It’s no mind-blowing inference that the same notions were hammered into cadet Zhao, or that little Azula was spoon-fed the same story.
Shifting the lens when they’re in the same shot - assigning sadist status to one and victim status to the other, ain’t gonna fly. Try again.
Ahh, and someone was slick enough to point this out, but Iroh’s flinch in this scene, next to Azula’s fist of satisfaction?
Oop!
Perspective is so funny, isn’t it?
Next thing - the godforsaken ‘Zhao is a creep’ angle.
I don’t even want to dig my fingers into this one. This take is so obviously for purposes of Zuko whump that I’m going to spare myself the loss of braincells. While I have nothing against exploring this in fic, don’t even try to tell me it’s rooted in canon. It’s 100% true that interpretations of source material are infinite, but that doesn’t mean all of them are right.
What happened to the creep angle during this scene? Oh, yeah, it sparked hot, steamy Zucest.
I found about two to three sources while hunting down these images alone that (aptly) explained Azula’s sexualization as a “temptress” femme fatale-esque character, and even touched on Grey DeLisle’s sultry voice acting that did nothing for the portrayal of a fourteen year old girl. I’ve got nothing against any ship as long as the shippers are respectful... but hmm, do I spy another Zhao-Azula double standard?
(You okay back there, Iroh?)
Oooohh nooo, it’s the predator eyeing his next prey!! It just can’t be Jason Isaacs’ “wonderful, cunning evil vibe” poured into another role... Do I have to pull up several Lucius Malfoy/Harry Potter oneshots based on the scene where he hooked his cane on his shoulder to show you how asinine this take is?
Azula and Zhao both target Zuko’s insecurities to get a rise out of him. Azula and Zhao are both complicit in the conquering of the Earth Kingdom. Azula and Zhao both believe (respectively) that they were given divine right, that they wield the superior element. Azula and Zhao both grin like maniacs while Zuko is getting his face torched - it’s who they are. They align so closely that exploring the weight of a poisoned upbringing, deadly ideals, and raw firebending power drawn from a different root than the first masters is impossible without owing consideration to both characters. Both their arcs end in fucking insanity. Nationalism does that to people. Talk to me about that next time.
Jesus. I need a cold shower. Thanks for reading.
#long post#the uncrispiest of double standards#an S for you an M for you and an H for you#tw cussing#atla#avatar the last airbender#atla meta#zhao#azula#admiral zhao#zuko#ok i’m going to be soft again 🥺 (but ready)#omgtwp’s salt takes
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Until proven otherwise, my headcanon is that both Ironwood and Watts survived and are going to team up again out of necessity lmao.
HI, ANON. So let me tell you about how this simple, silly sentence sent me down a 4k writing rabbit hole. “Lol I’m going to write a little parody about that” I thought to myself and then somehow? It got serious?? I honestly don’t know what this fic is, but I’m chucking it at everyone anyway.
Also, I changed the whole “Atlas and Mantle are immediately submerged in water” plot point because it’s my coping mechanism and I get to choose the canon we ignore.
***
Once upon a time there were two villains having a Very Bad Day.
The first, Arthur Watts, had survived an explosion, being buried under rubble, and the threat of a ten-story drop only to find himself suffocating amidst a magically produced fire. A horrible way to go, all things considered. Painful, of course, but more importantly, no self-respecting man should die with soot on his clothes.
Or leave behind a charred corpse.
In fact, Watts had just begun to acknowledge the full indignity of his death when the momentum he'd felt — just there on the periphery of his awareness — suddenly ceased, Atlas crashing into Mantle and throwing him with a squawk in the process. His head took a nasty hit against one of the desks, the smoky gray of the room growing darker, and by the time Watts had come to, the fire had been replaced by water.
Ice-cold water, lapping up to his knees.
"Well," he said, lifting a sodden boot. "I suppose this is an improvement."
***
Elsewhere, James Ironwood — former General of the now sinking Kingdom of Atlas — was lying facedown on the stone of the outer vault, contemplating his choices. Upon reflection, no, he didn't regret what he'd done, but it would have been nice if things had turned out...any way other than this.
"Fuck," he said to the empty hall, enjoying the reverberation. He deserved that much at least.
In time, Ironwood was able to pick himself up off the floor, supported as much by the fact that he'd been knocked out by his own blast as his shaky, barely-there aura. Up the elevator running on emergency dust reserves, through the corridors that groaned ominously under damaged supports. Ironwood headed towards the military headquarters purely out of habit and as he did the sound of water grew stronger, almost like waves, until there was an inch of it across the floor, more trickling in from the staircase. Ironwood had been watching his boots splash with each step, almost mesmerized, and didn't look up until another pair unexpectedly entered his view.
Watts froze in the act of wringing out his pantleg, eyes wide. His expression, the water, how the hallway tilted downward at a slight angle... it all felt like something out of a dream. Ironwood just watched as Watts watched him, until his eyes traveled to the gun clipped on his belt. Ironwood hadn't even realized he'd picked it up.
"Here to kill me, James?" Watts said.
"No." He knew it was true as soon as he'd said it. The mere thought of starting another fight right now was... exhausting. "Do you intend to kill me?"
"Oh really. Does it look as if I'm in a position to fight you? Do use your head for once. I have no weapon, no aura — damn fire ate it all up — I feel as if I've swallowed a hot coal, I am wet — "
Ironwood turned partway through the ramble, meandering back up the way he'd come. He'd passed through two checkpoints before realizing that Watts was not only still talking, but following him.
"What do you want?" he asked, more to shut the man up than out of real curiosity. If Watts was capable of reading the difference between the two, he didn't show it.
"Cinder."
"Cinder?"
"I don't make a habit of allowing people to try and murder me without consequence, James!"
"She's gone."
"Yes, thank you for that stunning bit of info! There's no possible way I could have realized that for myself. What's gotten into you? They left us, fool. Salem, Cinder, Neo, Emerald, even your so-called allies... they all deserve the worst that we can grant them. Though right now, I'd settle for wringing that idiot Pietro's neck. Ten years I gave to that research and he rendered it obsolete with a single report, all because he wanted to play father to some stupid hunk of metal. I never would have gone to Salem if — " Watts cut off, hands balled into fists.
Ironwood just blinked dazedly, coming to a halt. He searched his uniform, the scroll he'd stashed there miraculously whole. Dimly, he registered that he should be feeling some sort of emotion right now.
"I can do that," he murmured.
"What?"
But Ironwood was already keying in the code, the desire to complete a task, any task, taking hold. Watts looked on, mouth twisted in a deprecating sneer.
"I already took out communications, in case you failed to notice."
"But not the trackers I had installed in my top scientists." Ironwood held up the screen where a small, red dot was blinking. "Pietro's still here. Looks like he's out near the mine with a second aura signature. If you want to...?" He wasn't going to finish that sentence.
"I see," Watts said in a tone that heavily implied he didn't. "And you'd just give me this information out of the evilness of your heart?"
Ironwood considered that. "I killed a man yesterday, tried to kill two others, and was ready to bomb all of Mantle to keep the rest of my Kingdom safe. I don't care what you do with the man who betrayed me."
"...fair enough."
Except after five steps Ironwood realized that Watts wasn't following him. He was looking down at his arms, still as a hunted hare.
"You put trackers in all your scientists?" he asked.
"A requirement I implemented after you went missing."
"Ah! Ingenious. Lead the way then."
***
The way led to the tundra, an environment that neither of them were prepared for. Watts was wet from the waist down and Ironwood had long ago learned that snow and metal didn't mix. Neither had the aura for the kind of storm that was raging either. Luckily, the panic of Salem's invasion had left plenty of vehicles to purloin and soon they were speeding East with the heat on, the faint beeping on Ironwood's scroll growing stronger.
He'd felt the impact of his city crashing down and the two of them had clamored out of Atlas' husk, dropping into rubble and cracking ice. Still, the true destruction wasn't evident until they were moving away from it. Through the rearview mirror, Ironwood could see pillars of smoke from fires that the water hadn't yet smothered, dark shadows that could only be grimm, and Atlas itself, plunged halfway into Mantle. It wasn't noticeable from this distance, but all of it was sinking.
"I was lucky," Ironwood said, his voice hollow. His eyes flicked back to the expanse of snow ahead of them. "If Atlas had tipped the other way, the vault would have flooded. I'd have drowned."
Watts snorted. "I'm lucky. That damned water put out Cinder's fire. I'd have burned."
Neither felt particularly lucky and for fifteen more minutes, neither was keen to discuss it.
***
Once upon a time, two heroes were having a Very Bad Day.
"You've got to be shitting me."
Maria paused in the act of bandaging Pietro's leg, mechanical eyes narrowing at the two figures that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Watts sucked in a breath at the duo. Ironwood gave a small, awkward wave.
Then he nodded his head at the scene: one old, exhausted woman and a paraplegic currently bleeding into his chair. "So... going to kill him?"
Watts ground his teeth. "Well now that just feels like a fool's errand. Look at him. He's pathetic!"
Pietro was slumped at an uncomfortable angle, sporting a gash in his leg and an impressive display of bruises across his face. Maria, in contrast, seemed to have only lost her hair tie.
"Pathetic?" she spat. "Your lackey did this!"
"Who?"
"Angry girl with the creepy arm."
"Ah, it all comes back to Cinder." Watts pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, thank you for recognizing that I was her superior, but no, I didn't send her to kill the likes of you. Must have done it on her own, the little idiot. Don't believe me? I was in jail at the time, if I recall correctly. Isn't that right, James?"
"You were helping me hack Penny."
Maria let out a skin-crawling cackle. "Why do you think the girl was here? She blew a hole in the bottom of Amity! Penny tried to hold us up, but..." she swallowed, still pressing against Pietro's leg, but turned warily towards them. "You hacked her? You did that? What precisely do you think happens when a man who never learned to apply aura as a shield crash-lands in this hunk of junk!"
"I expect most men in that position perish," Watts said smoothly. "The fool is lucky to be alive, but he won't be for much longer if you keep trying to staunch the wound with your soiled gloves. Move aside."
"Get away from me!"
"Oh, put your stick down, you old bat. I'm trying to help."
"Why?" Ironwood hadn't realized he'd spoken until Watts was glaring daggers his way.
"So I can kill him later myself!"
Still surreal. Still dream-like in its absurdity. Ironwood listened to the bickering between Watts and... Mary? Maria? He wasn't even sure. He wandered away, content to gaze out through one of the windows at his Kingdom. Or what was left of it. He idly massaged his left arm, trying to rid himself of a pain that wasn't there, and when the howl of a grimm reached them across the snow, he shivered.
His unlikely companions screamed at each other loud enough to reverberate through the whole building. There were the sounds of two bodies trading blows, but only for a moment. Pietro, voice groggy and high-pitched with terror, demanded to know where his daughter was.
"She's dead," Ironwood said. He didn't turn to see their expressions, didn't need to. "Winter she... she defeated me as the Winter Maiden. That can only mean one thing."
"One thing to you, perhaps." Ironwood did turn then, watching stoically as Pietro tried to right himself in his chair, Watts cursing as the leg continued to bleed. "Where is she? I want to see my little girl. I can heal her, fix her — " he broke off, doubling over with a cough that splattered more blood into his hands.
"Maybe you could have," Watts said, a cruel satisfaction in his voice. "If her little friends hadn't made her human."
Some of the pieces fell into place then. His Lamp, long missing, had apparently wound up in Neo's hands, then Salem's, before it was finally used by Cinder. Watts described — with immense pleasure — the plan the group had concocted and the wish they'd asked of Ambrosius. He'd been a bit preoccupied with bomb duty to learn the details, but he knew that Cinder lived and Ironwood, it seemed, knew that Penny had perished. What a tragedy. Do you know how to bring back the non-mechanical, Doctor?
Ironwood honestly thought the old woman was about to kill him, murderous intent put on hold only because Pietro collapsed then, curling in on himself as sobs wracked his frame. The only words that escaped the mess of tears were "Penny" and then "Maria," one hand reaching out blindly for comfort. Pietro found it, the two holding onto each other as Watts sat at their feet, grinning up at the display.
Ironwood thought only, So that is her name.
The other, crucial bit of info was that everyone was gone. Dead or evacuated, it didn't matter. As far as any of them knew, they were the last four in Atlas, with Salem on her way to destroy whatever kingdom next took her fancy. It was over. They'd lost. And despite the horror of it, the realization was oddly freeing too.
When Maria asked in a tone edging on hysteria what precisely they were going to do — because it seemed this was a "we" situation now — Ironwood suspected she meant in the short term. What were they going to do about their wounds? The grimm? Finding and reaching the others? But those were foolish concerns, the thinking of someone who'd never had a kingdom's life in their hands. Ironwood knew there was only one answer here, the same one he'd had from the start.
"You can do whatever you like," he said. The metal of Amity sparkled against the rising sun, leaving splotches of color behind his eyes. "I will defend Atlas."
Maria's mouth dropped open and Watts stared. Even Pietro ceased his crying long enough to suck in a breath.
"Defend it from what?" he asked.
Ironwood shrugged. "The grimm. Salem. I don't know. I don't care. To quote a former friend, I have never wavered in defending the Kingdom of Atlas against its enemies and I don't intend to start now. This is my city and I won't leave it."
"It's sinking!" Watts cried, overlapping with Maria's, "We need to help" and though so much softer, quieter, more innocent than the spittle Watts was scattering across the floor... that single word sank its teeth into Ironwood. The woman may as well have stabbed him.
"Help?" he said. "Help? I tried to help! Everything that I have done in the last two days — the last two years — my life! — has been to help not just Atlas, but everyone I feasible could. Don't talk to me about help when you and Ms. Rose did everything you could to stop me. I had planned to help the world and you all lied. You betrayed. You set your weapons against me and kept me from saving what parts of my Kingdom I could. Tell me again: what precisely did you do to help?"
He'd crossed the distance, one hand on his holstered gun and the other leaning against Pietro's chair, using it to leverage himself down into Maria's space. Ironwood didn't need to see her eyes to know the emotion they held.
"I," she spit, "didn't try to bomb a city."
And just like that the fight in him was gone. It had barely existed in the first place. Ironwood straightened, swaying slightly on the balls of his feet. "No. You didn't. So it's as I said, go help if you want. If you can." His gaze slid to Watts. "You were one of her men. That says it all." Pietro. "You helped them reveal Salem to the world. Will she have time to destroy the other kingdoms before the grimm do it first?" Maria. "And I don't know you, but you don't earn a prize like that without seeing combat." Ironwood lifted his metal finger, tapping it against Maria's goggles. She flinched away. "Can you honestly say you haven't made mistakes?"
"You and I are nothing alike!"
"I didn't say we were."
Ironwood turned and walked away, as steady as he could manage as the world grew a little darker, despite the sunrise. Behind him Watts' voice rang out like a shot.
"So that's it then? The captain goes down with his ship? You idiot!"
He paused. "Not quite. It turns out I'm not the only idiot around these parts. Ms. Rose left the vault open." One last turn to savor their shocked expressions. "That's where I'm going. There are still plenty of airships if you'd like to leave, but just remember: they abandoned you too."
Perhaps he should have been surprised that by the time his boots hit the snow, three more footsteps were sounding behind him. Frankly, in fourteen hours time Ironwood would barely remember their conversation, let alone everything that came after it. One of them drove back to the sinking city. Someone tested the ice before they cautiously crossed it. Someone else dispatched the stray grimm foolish enough to get in their way. Ironwood saw and heard none of it. He walked with the determination of a wind-up toy, wobbling now that he'd reached the end of his string. Cool blues, a shining gold, and then beautiful, miraculous grass. Ironwood ignored the murmurs of amazement behind him, dropping directly to his knees.
When his palms hit the ground, only one was capable of feeling how soft it was.
I need to update my arm, he thought, even as he curled into a ball and passed out.
***
When he woke they were already running out of time.
For the first two days Ironwood barely spoke to the others and thus he never quite figured out why they'd stayed. Had it been hopelessness? Spite? The all consuming thought that there was nowhere else to go? That Atlas, for all its rubble and slowly rising water, wasn't any different from what the rest of Remnant would look like soon?
Why not here then?
Especially when the vault, filled with wildflowers and an endless sun, made for such an enticing retreat.
"Soil's farmable," Maria said, running some of it through her fingers. It was a statement of fact, nothing more, and the three of them stubbornly ignored the implications of it.
"There's — " Pietro coughed, self-consciously clearing his throat. "There's plenty to salvage. Machinery to pull water from the humidity in here. First aid supplies. We could section off an area for our wa — "
Watts seethed. "If you finish that thought I will — "
"What?" Maria arched a brow. "Kill him? Like you've been saying for the last day?"
Day? Ironwood blinked. How long had he been out?
"I will!"
"Like you'd be able to. Just try it, beanpole."
They argued, and they threatened, but none raised their hands to one another again, and when they finally dispersed across the kingdom to collect what they could, none of the acknowledged what it was for.
Ironwood waded through the remnants of his home and didn't think about building another. Because the idea alone was absurd.
"Don't let the door slam shut," he'd said when they’d first left, nodding to the stone slab that had appeared after Penny had first arrived. Ironwood watched the three exchange glances, unsure if he was joking.
Fuck if he knew.
***
Those four days — or five, if Ironwood counted the one he'd lost — were conducted in a strange state of frenzy. None of them were in a position to be working on such a project, but when had the world ever cared for their needs? Pietro stayed behind in the vault, cataloguing what they'd found and making lists for what was still needed. His chair, while dynamic, wasn't meant for the sort of terrain Atlas had become and his wound was still healing.
He also seemed to appreciate the privacy, frequently mourning his daughter with an honesty that made them all uncomfortable.
Maria went off to do the Gods only knew what, disappearing for hours at a time, then coming back wet, cold, and carrying little. Though she always had information. Which parts of the city were too grimm invested to traverse, which were now completely underwater, which were too unstable as Atlas tilted like a ship, disappearing beneath the waves. It gave them all focus and, surprisingly, something like hope. Whatever else she carried was usually small, such as the seeds filched from the bio laboratories.
"Couldn't take them all," she said, critically surveying the land, "what with so many of the labels getting lost in the crash. Don't want to eat something your lot has experimented on."
"You should. If we're lucky you'll mutate into someone bearable." Watts, taking stock of the clothing they'd gathered, didn't seem to realize that Maria was flipping him off.
He went on a deep dives (sometimes literally) for salvageable tech, most of it of a practical nature, but other pieces... not. Nothing had shifted Ironwood's world view quiet like day two, walking in on Watts looming over Pietro, assuming there was another fight brewing... only to overhear them exchanging theories, the conversation filled with as many insults as legitimate claims. Still, the seeds of camaraderie were there, and were perhaps easier to grow than originally thought. After all, Watts had once been one of them and Pietro, for all his heroics, had once entered Ironwood's office with a manic gleam in his eye, rambling about giving an aura to a machine. Defense technology at its finest!
What was it Glynda had said? Ah yes, agreeing with young Ms. Nikos about how "wrong" it all was. But desperate times, desperate measures and all that.
They'd had that discussion, of course. Soon after Ironwood awoke, talk of Amity began again, this time about whether it was possible to send another message. With enough time and effort, not to mention luck... a short one, perhaps, and only sent to an individual scroll. But what was the point? Who would they call? When no one could — or would — answer that question, the idea was dropped.
In the days since, Ironwood had fantasized about messaging Glynda. One of the few who'd ever been a true friend, perhaps the only one left alive who might care that he was still among the living... if Ms. Rose's message hadn't killed that too. Not that it mattered. Even if Amity wasn't a hunk of metal gathering ice, Ironwood hadn't a clue what he might say to her.
Dear Glynda,
Thank you. Sorry. Good luck.
Sincerely,
General James Ironwood
P.S. If things had ended differently, I would have asked for a second dance.
How ridiculous.
So he walked the broken streets of Mantle and climbed the streets of Atlas, more and more of it disappearing every day. Their hoard grew though, born of not just military property, but personal belongings as well. It wasn't as if anyone was coming to claim them. Unless more magic was at work, both cities would be miles beneath the ice before anyone crossed the border again. Still, Ironwood would always pause before packing away what he found in the hastily abandoned houses. Bedding. Utensils. The literal shirt off someone's back. He'd changed into jeans and a thick sweater the second day, taken from a collection of civilian clothes he'd placed into a locker years ago and promptly forgot about. The uniform felt... obsolete now, no matter that his goals remained the same.
He'd encountered Maria on one of those trips, admiring a basket of yarn in some nameless Atlesian's living room. Her shoulders had tensed at his approach, but she just snorted at the sight of him.
"You knit?" he asked, unsure of what else to say.
"No."
"Crochet?"
"No."
Ironwood didn't know any other crafts that involved yarn. "Then why are you taking it?"
Maria hummed. "Just a thought. That I might, someday, try to learn." She shook a book she’d pulled from the basket: Knitting For Beginners.
A stray thought indeed. The thing they still didn't talk about. The closest they got was on the fifth night when an explosion sounded outside, massive enough to unsteady them even deep within the vault. By the time all four of them had made it out and onto one of the roofs, the sky had turned a sickly yellow, followed by black tendrils that raced, turning, back and around on each other until everything went dark. The only light came from what little electricity they had running on generators and a red aura, pulsing from the West.
From Vacuo.
Realistically, it might have meant that they'd won. It wasn't as if Ironwood had any idea what the death of an immortal witch looked like. But the night wore on and they had no idea because that unnatural, starless black never receded. In time, Pietro wandered off and returned with two bottles he'd pilfered from somewhere, cracking the tops off on the side of his chair and passing them around.
They still didn't say it aloud, though the sky and the alcohol said enough already. Ironwood kept his eyes on the watch his mother gave him, hours ticking by until sunrise was long overdue. Atlas felt even colder now and that red, seeming to inch closer, sent a different kind of chill down his spine. The grimm that still prowled below had taken off hours ago, summoned by some unheard call.
Ironwood downed the dregs of his bottle and threw it into the city.
"Come on," he said. Ordered maybe, or asked. He wasn't sure he knew the difference anymore.
Blankets. Glasses. As many non-perishables as they could find. Generators. Tool kits. The building blocks of renewable energy. Clothing. Decorations. Wood to build small, individual dwellings.
Watts hoarded laptops and a small mountain of batteries, never showing them what he was working on, intensely protective.
Maria grew obsessed with entertainment, snagging every book, game, and video until there was a veritable library piled on the grass. She kept muttering about deserving a real retirement.
Pietro built a shrine to Penny, a simple stone monument to the left of the doorway. He tended to organize their supplies there, occasionally reaching out a hand to brush the code he'd inscribed with a laser. Whatever meaning it held, Ironwood couldn't read it within the ones and zeros.
And he... he found a cat. His last day, picking his way across dwindling islands until his eyes found the small, electrical fire just out of the water's reach. The cat had wedged herself into the rubble above it, trying desperately to keep warm.
She was as black as the sky above them and Ironwood was sure, when he reached out, that she'd run, terrified of his prosthetic hands. They certainly weren't any warmer, but she weakly crawled into them nonetheless. Ironwood held her securely against his left side, where his heart and flesh were, and thought with an absurd, internal laugh that he'd at least saved one.
There was so much left to do still, but their time was gone. That evening, eating what little they had the stomach for, water began to pour from the vault's elevator. First a trickle, then a deluge, until there was a sizable waterfall to admire. Ironwood sat on the steps with his unnamed cat on his shoulder, watching inevitability creep towards him.
He could still lie though.
"There's still time," he said, addressing the three behind him. "If you head up the elevator shaft and down the west hall, you can still break the surface. Find one of the remaining airships. Fly away."
Watts scowled, avoiding his gaze. He remained leaning against the doorway though.
Maria and Pietro exchanged glances.
"I'd carry you," Ironwood offered to Pietro. They both knew it would be a death sentence with their combined deadweight, but he'd do it anyway.
"No," he said softly. "I did all I could already."
Maria. She was harder to read with those goggles, but it wasn't peace on her face. Guilt, more likely, but that had never stopped any of them before.
"It's damn cold out here," she muttered and marched back to the grass. Pietro followed her, Watts trailing not far behind. He turned back though.
"You coming?"
Ironwood didn't answer and eventually Watts left, heading into the meadow that stretched until you lost sight of where you'd been — and then reappeared there. A tiny pocket dimension, born of a magic now lost to this world. Ironwood figured that a bit of water and ice couldn't break it.
Probably.
He watched the flood cover the floor of the vault, then lap upwards, one stair at a time. There was a part of him, a part unimaginably tired, that thought he might just sit there. Keep rooted until the water was so high it was too late to do anything. That would be easy. Fitting, even. Shouldn't he go with his kingdom?
But then the cat — his cat — dug nails into his shoulder and Watts said something that made Maria screech. Ironwood sighed.
There were still things to protect, simple as that had become.
He turned his back on Remnant, now encased in an eternal night, and walked to the three who remained, cowering in an eternal day.
Ironwood allowed them one last choice and when they all nodded, he kicked the vault door shut.
#tw suicidal thoughts#rwby#fic things#rwby fic#Ironwood#Watts#Maria#Pietro#idk what this IS#post-apocalyptic RWBY I guess#with a side of questionable people not talking to each other#Anonymous
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humaniterations (dot) net/2014/10/13/an-anarchist-perspective-on-the-red-lotus/ this article from oct 2014 is very dense — truly, a lot to unpack here, but I feel like you would find this piece interesting. I would love it if you shared your thoughts on the points that stood out to you, whether you agree or disagree. you obv don’t have to respond to it tho, but I’m sending it as an ask jic you feel like penning (and sharing) a magnificent essay, as is your wont 💕
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i know this took me forever 2 answer SORRY but i just checked off all the things on my to do list for the first time in days today so. Essay incoming ladies!
ok im SO glad u sent me this bc it’s so so good. it’s a genuinely thoughtful criticism of the politics in legend of korra (altho i think its sometimes a little mean to korra unnecessarily like there’s no reason to call her a “petulant brat” or say that she throws tantrums but i do understand their point about her being an immature and reactionary hero, which i’ll get back to) and i think the author has a good balance between acknowledging like Yeah the lok writers were american liberals and wrote their show accordingly and Also writing a thorough analysis of lok’s politics that felt relevant and interesting without throwing their hands up and saying this is all useless liberal bullshit (which i will admit that i tend to do).
this article essentially argues that the red lotus antagonists of s3 were right. And that’s not an uncommon opinion i think but this gives it serious weight. Like, everything that zaheer’s gang did was, in context, fully understandable. of course the red lotus would be invested in making sure that the physically and spiritually and politically most powerful person in the world ISNT raised by world leaders and a secret society of elites that’s completely unaccountable to the people! of course the red lotus wants to bring down tyrannical governments and allow communities to form and self govern organically! and the writers dismiss all of that out of hand by 1. consistently framing the red lotus as insane and murderous (korra never actually gives zaheer’s ideas a chance or truly considers integrating them into her own approach) 2. representing the death of the earth queen as not just something that’s not necessarily popular (what was with mako’s bootlicker grandma, i’d love to know) but as something that causes unbelievable violence and chaos in ba sing se (which, like, a lot of history and research will tell you that people in disasters tend towards prosocial behaviors). so the way the story frames each of these characters and ideologies is fascinating because like. if you wanted to write season 3 of legend of korra with zaheer as the protagonist and korra as the antagonist, you wouldn’t actually have to change the sequence of events at all, really. these writers in particular and liberal writers in general LOVE writing morally-gray-but-ultimately-sympathetic characters (like, almost EVERY SINGLE fire nation character in the first series, who were full on violent colonizers but all to a degree were rehabilitated in the eyes of the viewer) but instead of framing the red lotus as good people who are devoted to justice and freedom and sometimes behave cruelly to get where theyre trying to go, they frame them as psychopaths and murderers who have good intentions don’t really understand how to make the world a better place.
and the interesting thing about all this, about the fact that the red lotus acted in most cases exactly as it should have in context and the only reason its relegated to villain status is bc the show is written by liberals, is that the red lotus actually points out really glaring sociopolitical issues in universe! like, watching the show, u think well why the fuck HASN’T korra done anything about the earth queen oppressing her subjects? why DOESN’T korra do anything about the worse than useless republic president? why the hell are so many people living in poverty while our mains live cushy well fed lives? how come earth kingdom land only seems to belong to various monarchs and settler colonists, instead of the people who are actually indigenous to it? the show does not want to answer these questions, because american liberal capitalism literally survives on the reality of oppressive governments and worse than useless presidents and people living in poverty while the middle/upper class eats and indigenous land being stolen. if the show were to answer these questions honestly, the answer would be that the status quo in real life (and the one on the show that mirrors real life) Has To Change.
So they avoid answering these questions honestly in order for the thesis statement to be that the status quo is good. and the only way for the show to escape answering these questions is for them to individualize all these broad social problems down into Good people and Bad people. so while we have obvious bad ones like the earth queen we also have all these capitalists and monarchs and politicians who are actually very nice and lovely people who would never hurt anyone! which is just such an absurd take and it’s liberal propaganda at its best. holding a position of incredible political/economic power in an unjust society is inherently unethical and maintaining that position of power requires violence against the people you have power over. which is literally social justice 101. but there’s literally no normal, average, not-politically-powerful person on the show. so when leftist anarchism is presented and says that destroying systems that enforce extreme power differentials is the only way to bring peace and freedom to all, the show has already set us up to think, hey, fuck you, top cop lin beifong and ford motor ceo asami sato are good people and good people like them exist! and all we have to do to move forward and progress as a society is to make sure we have enough good individuals in enough powerful positions (like zuko as the fire lord ending the war, or wu as the earth king ending the monarchy)! which is of course complete fiction. liberal reform doesn’t work. but by pretending that it could work by saying that the SYSTEM isnt rotten it’s just that the people running it suck and we just need to replace those people, it automatically delegitimizes any radical movements that actually seek to change things.
and that’s the most interesting thing about this article to me is that it posits that the avatar...might actually be a negative presence in the world. the avatar is the exact same thing: it’s a position of immense political and physical power bestowed completely randomly, and depending on the moral character and various actions of who fills that position at any given time, millions of people will or won’t suffer. like kyoshi, who created the fascist dai li, like roku, who refused to remove a genocidal dictator from power, like aang, who facilitated the establishment of a settler colonial state on earth kingdom land. like korra! she’s an incredibly immature avatar and a generally reactionary lead. i’ve talked about this at length before but she never actually gets in touch with the needs of the people. she’s constantly running in elite circles, exposed only to the needs and squabbles of the upper class! how the hell is she supposed to understand the complexities of oppression and privilege when she was raised by a chess club with inordinate amounts of power and associates almost exclusively with politicians and billionaires?? from day 1 we see that she tends to see things in very black and white ways which is FINE if you’re a privileged 17 yr old girl seeing the world for the first time but NOT FINE if you’re the single most powerful person in the world! Yeah, korra thinks the world is probably mostly fine and just needs a little whipping into shape every couple years, because all she has ever known is a mostly fine world! in s1 when mako mentions that he as a homeless impoverished teenager worked for a gang (which is. Not weird. Impoverished people of every background are ALWAYS more likely to resort to socially unacceptable ways of making money) korra is like “you guys are criminals?????!!!!!” she was raised in perfect luxury by a conservative institution and just never developed beyond that. So sure, if the red lotus raised her anarchist, probably a lot would’ve been different/better, but....they didn’t. and korra ended up being a reactionary and conservative avatar who protected monarchs and colonialist politicians. The avatar as a position is completely subject to the whims of whoever is currently the avatar. and not only does that suck for everyone who is not the avatar, not only is it totally unfair to whatever kid who grows up knowing the fate of the world is squarely on their shoulders, but it as a concept is a highly individualist product of the authors’ own western liberal ideas of progress! the idea that one good leader can fix the world (or should even try) based on their own inherent superiority to everyone else is unbelievably flawed and ignores the fact that all real progress is brought about as a result of COMMUNITY work, as a result of normal people working for themselves and their neighbors!
the broader analysis of bending was really interesting to me too, but im honestly not sure i Totally agree with it. the article pretty much accepts the show’s assertion that bending is a privilege (and frankly backs it up much better than the original show did, but whatever), and i don’t think that’s NECESSARILY untrue since it is, like, a physical advantage (the author compares it to, for example, the fact that some people are born athletically gifted and others are born with extreme physical limitations), but i DO think that it discounts the in universe racialization of bending. in any sequel to atla that made sense, bending as a race making fact would have been explored ALONGSIDE the physical advantages it bestows on people. colonialism and its aftermath is generally ignored in this article which is its major weakness i think, especially in conjunction with bending. you can bring up the ideas the author did about individual vs community oriented progress in the avatar universe while safely ignoring the colonialism, but you can’t not bring up race and colonialism when you discuss bending. especially once you get to thinking about how water/earth/airbenders were imprisoned and killed specifically because bending was a physical advantage, and that physical advantage was something that would have given colonized populations a means of resistance and that the fire nation wanted to keep to itself.
i think that’s the best lens thru which to analyze bending tbh! like in the avatar universe bending is a tool that different ethnic groups tend to use in different ways. at its best, bending actually doesn’t represent social power differences (despite representing a physical power difference) because it’s used to represent/maintain community solidarity. like, take the water tribe. katara being the last waterbender, in some way, makes her the last of a part of swt CULTURE. the implication is that when there were a lot of waterbenders in the south, they dedicated their talents to building community and helping their neighbors, because this was something incredibly culturally important and important to the water tribe as a community. the swt as a COLLECTIVE values bending for what it can do for the entire tribe, which counts for basically every other talent a person can have (strength, creativity, etc). the fire nation, by contrast, distorts the community value of bending by racializing it: anyone who bends an element that isn’t fire is inherently NOT fire nation (and therefore inherently inferior) and, because of the physical power that bending confers, anyone who bends an element that isn’t fire is a threat to fire nation hegemony. and in THAT framework of bending, it’s something that intrinsically assigns worth and reifies race in a way that’s conveniently beneficial to the oppressor.
it IS worth talking about how using Element as a way to categorize people reifies nations, borders, and race in a way that is VERY characteristic of white american liberals. i tried to be conscious of that (and the way that elements/bending can act in DIFFERENT ways, depending on cultural context) but i think it’s pretty clear that the writers did intend for element to unequivocally signify nation (and, by extension, race), which is part of why they screwed up mixed families so bad in lok. when they’ve locked themselves into this idea that element=nation=race, they end up with sets of siblings like mako and bolin or kya tenzin and bumi, who all “take” after only one parent based on the element that they bend. which is just completely stupid but very indicative of how the writers actually INTENDED element/bending to be a race making process. and its both fucked up and interesting that the writers display the same framework of race analysis that the canonical antagonists of atla do.
anyway that’s a few thoughts! thank u again for sending the article i really loved it and i had a lot of fun writing this <3
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As much as I adore Miraculous, the canon series doesn't really know what it wants to be.
One minute it wants to be a "silly" romance/action cartoon, that literally has the villain say "why do all these heroes have to be so heroic?!"...
The next minute they want a cinematic universe, a movie taking place in another universe, lore that makes no sense (even with what has been explained), and possibly "redeeming" absolute monsters cause being a bratty teenage girl is worse than grown adults emotionally manipulating teens to do what they want.
Love your fan work btw!
Thanks!!!!
And yeah.... Miraculous's problem is that it really needs to pick a tone.
Episodes like Gigantitan don't always work with episodes like Chat Blanc.
Now, I don't think we should go super dark! I really don't care for fan things like "everyone fucking drowned in Syren!". If you wanna go that dark, then fine. I can appreciate darkfic. I mean, I was in the mlp fandom my dudes. Cupcakes? Rainbow Factory? Great dark concepts that have minimal basis in Canon.
But I do think there needs to be balance.
Of course a show like ATLA is a great example! The cast of kids, a lot of fun adventures and humor and yes lame moments. But the stakes are high and real. And the character development builds on itself. Some characters are very different from what they began as! And that's a good thing!
ML though.... The serious and goofy have a disconnect. And the character development is slow. It's happening, but it's slow. And most of the changes to the status quo are.... Short lived. The potions? We've only seen half of them. New Heroes are usually there for an episode or two. Some classmates we barely know, but they keep throwing new ones at us. Lila isn't a character, she's a plot device*.
Season 4 has the most shakeup to the dynamics, but it's season fucking four. And even that didn't go right since Lukanette and Adrigami were sunk immediatly!
I do think ML should have had more dedication to what it wanted to be. Either lighthearted romcom with superheroes, or action show with a romance subplot.
*this is one reason why whenever I have a scene with the whole class, I acknowledge Lila. She speaks up and interacts with them, even if the attention isn't on her. In Canon, she only exists if she's making the plot happen.
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Crossing Lines (3/?)
Pairing: mob!Bucky x fbi!mob!Reader
Word Count: 2,601
Recommended: 18+ readers
Summary: A sudden and unsettling event rocks the underworld, and Y/N is immediately called in to prepare for what’s to come. What she isn’t prepared for is James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, also known as the new head of the Brooklyn mafia clan. When these two get shoved into a world of danger and deceit, will they ever learn to trust each other? Or will they be doomed from the start?
Warnings: Blood, gore, violence, angst, swearing, implied torture, kidnapping, suggested smut, mentions of familial loss
A/N: Ok, so I’m a bit nervous for this one, but I’m just happy I was able to get it out today. Now, to start packing so I can get back to my college! All mistakes are my own. The GIF is not mine, so credit goes to the original creator!
Series Masterlist
Two days after I had barged into my father’s home, my phone rings, and I stupidly answer without checking the caller ID first. If my father knew, he’d have my head for being careless.
“Y/L/N here.”
“You need to come in as soon as possible.” Coulson’s voice sounds serious, and I straighten up instinctually. “Fury has requested you.”
“On my way.” I tell him before hanging up. A quick message to my bodyguards later and all four of us are piling into the car. Hunter gives me a small glare as he moves into the driver seat. I smirk back.
“See, Hunter. You’re driving me. Don’t look so upset about it now.” He sends me another glare that has me chuckling, easing the prickle of nerves that rests under my skin.
During the drive to the estate, I find myself zoning out. The moment I step out of this car, the moment that a plan I’m not entirely aware of will fall into action. A feeling in my gut settles heavily and some part of me knows my hands are going to get dirty soon.
Like usual, we pull in front of the stairs leading into the estate, and my guards escort me in. Once I’m in, I’m led the familiar path towards my father’s office. Three out of four of my group stop where the other guards are posted, and I head through the door. I falter slightly, seeing both my siblings, Hill, Coulson, and my father but continue on just as quickly.
“You have a way in.” Fury starts, not wasting time, while also pushing a thin file towards the edge of his desk. I grab it and flip it open. “Your team will stay here during your assignment. Hill will drive you to where your vehicle will be, your new identity is in the glove compartment. Once you leave the premises, you won’t be able to have any contact with anyone in the Clan. I thought you’d like to see the twins again before you left.” I give him an appreciative nod, keeping myself firmly planted where I stand so I don’t run to my sister and brother.
“Who’s he?” I ask, in reference to the man in the folder.
“A known HYDRA affiliate. Your way in is capturing him and delivering him onto the Barnes territory. Oh, and they just want him alive when you get there. Better for information.” I smirk slightly. There it is.
I look over the file again, memorizing everything about this guy, before I close it back up.
“Can I say my goodbyes, now?” I ask with a slight hitch in my voice.
That’s all Wanda needs to hear before she’s sprinting over to me. I stumble slightly when she reaches me, then lock her into a tight embrace. I feel a third party join the hug and move to let Pietro in as well. It’s not long before I feel the chill of tears seeping through my shirt. The sting of fresh tears burns my nose, and I will them not to fall.
“Please, be careful.” Pietro practically begs. In order not to start sobbing, I can only nod into his chest.
I eventually push myself away with a shaky breath. “I will try my best. Promise me you two will stay safe.”
“It’s not us,” Wanda sniffs, drying underneath her eyes. “That you should be worried about.”
I give her a sad smile before it suddenly drops and I’m looking between them. “Promise me. I need you to promise me you’ll be ok.” I whimper as a single tear rolls down my face. The reality of what is being asked of me comes crashing down and I need to make sure I don’t worry about them. I need to know my little siblings will be safe from HYDRA.
“Promise.” Pietro and Wanda whisper sadly with tears streaming down their faces.
I nod while drying my face before looking directly at Maria.
“Hill.” I start, masking my vulnerability. She nods once in acknowledgement. “I assume there is a bag with my necessities for this mission.”
“Yes, and the Barnes family also has some things for you on arrival.”
“Then let’s go.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A semi-long trip, an outfit change, and an equipment exchange later, and I’m on my way to some second-rate club on the outskirts of NYC. When I pull in, I’m not shocked when I find the parking lot mostly empty. After coming to a stop, I run through the mental file I have on this guy.
Target: Ian Quinn (with his brown hair and smug smile I memorized from his photo)
Occupation: Disgraced billionaire, but still has money. Is believed to be working with HYDRA for extra money as well as to help his business; has most likely been given access to classified info
Location: Club Atlas, low security on premises, cameras only at the front entrance and boss’ office door
Other: Seemingly a sucker for a damsel in distress
I groan to myself as I throw the car door open. My simple black heels, with one strap over my toes and the other around the ankle, click on the asphalt as I fall into the role of the meek and timid persona I am adopting for this part of my op.
I try to tug the dress down as I walk closer to the bouncer, making me seem uncomfortable. He eyes me skeptically before asking for my ID. I pull out a fake and hand it to him. With only a quick glance, he nods then motions for me to head on in. I slowly walk across the sticky floor as I make my way towards the bar. The bass of the music send strong vibrations into my ears that seem to resonate through the rest of my body. The few patrons that are here either sit at the booths lining the walls or writhe on the tiny dancefloor. However, Quinn is nowhere to be found.
I adjust my dress again once I reach the bar, then continue looking around.
“Can I help you, little girl?” The bartender asks in a condescending tone.
Yeah, I’ll take a glass of the fuck off, please. “Oh! I- uh- I wa-.”
“Is Mikey giving you a hard time?”
I turn around with wide and fearful eyes to meet two blue ones. Ian Quinn.
“I-I, no! No, I was just startled is all.” He smiles softly but with a twinkle in his eye that unnerves me. I turn back to the bartender. “I’ll just have some tonic water with a lime for now, please. I’m just waiting for someone.” I tell him softly even though I want to punch the sneer he gives me right off.
“So...” Quinn says grabbing my attention. “Who are you waiting on?”
“Oh, uh, I was supposed to meet a date here that I met online. But, uh, this isn’t how he described the place.” I chuckle shyly.
“Well, until they get here, why don’t I keep you company.” He states with a smug grin. It wasn’t a question.
I giggle, my fingers tucking on a loose strand of hair. “That’d be fine.”
“My names Ian. Ian Quinn.”
“The billionaire?” I question with a gasp of awe that I force out of my mouth. “I can’t believe it. I’m Rissa.”
We shake hands before my drink is placed in front of me. After 30 odd minutes of Quinn talking about himself and flirting, I glance at my phone and sigh.
“Ya know. I don’t think he’s coming after all.” I mutter sadly.
“I’m sorry, Rissa.” Quinn says with concern, though I’m sure it’s just an act. “You don’t deserve to be stood up like that.”
I hum thoughtfully. “Ian, I don’t usually do stuff like this but there seems to be no point in us just sitting here. Would you, I don’t know, possibly, want to come to my place? It’s, uh, it’s not far from here.”
He smiles. “I’d love that, Rissa.”
I smile back, ignoring the bile rising in my throat. We pay for our separate tabs before I’m leading the man to my car. He closes the passenger door and I turn towards him. He faces me with a flirty smile before leaning in for a kiss, only faltering when he feels a prick on his neck. Before he can understand what’s happening, he’s slumped forward in the seat.
“Thank fuck.” I breathe out, pocketing the needle, before driving off.
I’m able to find a rather vacant one-star motel and get a room for one night. Luckily, it’s on the ground floor making it easier for me to drag Quinn in without causing any raised eyebrows. I hastily change out of my dress and heels into a pair of jeans, a tank top, my leather jacket, and some combat boots. I give myself a once over before I hear a faint groan come from the bathroom.
I smirk then throw the duct tape and zip ties I had taken out once I got Quinn into the room, tossing them into my backpack. At the sound of another soft groan, I saunter my way to the bathroom.
Ian Quinn is barely regaining consciousness from his place in the bathtub. My eyes glance over his ankles, five layers of duct tape and two zip ties binding them together. I used two layers of duct tape and a zip tie to bind his wrists behind his back so he can’t try to escape. Not to mention the duct tape I put over his mouth.
“Morning, sweetie.” I chirp as his eyes begin to flutter open. “We have a lot of work in store for us. Well, for me. Bet this isn’t what you had in mind.” I smirk down at him, well Rissa does.
Quinn starts squirming while attempting to glare at me, eyes still half-closed because of the drug I gave him.
“You can’t get out of this.” I purr, sensually dragging my finger down the side of his face. “I want an in. And you, you’re how I get it. And don’t take this too personally, you were just the easiest of HYDRA’s scum. Still important though.” His brows furrow as he thinks over the information I just gave him. Good, that’s the point.
While he’s distracted, I pull out my switchblade.
“Now. They just need you alive.” I quip, flicking the knife open. “Not unharmed. And don’t worry, I won’t let you die. Not yet, at least.”
His eyes widen in fear right before I’m digging my blade into his side. The duct tape muffles his screams as the blood drips into the bathtub.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I take a big gulp of the coffee I had purchased through a drive through, glaring at the sunlight. I really do hate pulling all-nighters.
I cross the line of my father’s territory and take a deep breath. There’s no turning back now. As I inch across the Brooklyn Bridge, No Limits by Zayde Wølf plays through my speakers. While the lyrics only sort of apply to my situation, the beat is enough to keep me awake as I inch through traffic. Well, maybe it’s the double shot of espresso I had added to my coffee.
The occasionally soft thumping of an item, or person, shifting in my trunk is enough to assure me he hasn’t escaped. Though, I doubt he could, especially with the drugs running through his system at the moment.
The neighborhoods are bright and lively as I drive by, but I keep my guard up. I cannot get caught now, I’d receive no help if that was the case.
Following my father’s directions, I eventually pull in front of a warehouse. The second I get out, five armed members of the clan approach me.
“Who the fuck are you?” One asks, pulling the cigarette from his mouth.
“I’m here to speak with your boss. I have something that is of interest to him.” I tell them as I cautiously round my car.
“You don’t deal with the boss man. You deal with us.” Another pipes in, giving me a slow once over. I resist the urge to shudder or punch him.
“What’s goin’ on here.” Another man walks out of the warehouse. His blond hair is pulled into a half-ponytail while the rest brushes his shoulders. I note that he’s slightly taller than Steve is, if I recall, and has a slightly broader build.
“I’m here to speak with Barnes.” His men all stiffen at the mention of his name. “I have a gift for him.”
“Show me.” Blonde says. I shake my head.
“It’s for your boss, only.”
With an annoyed snort, blonde turns around with a shake of his head. “Your funeral.” I hear him mutter as he walks in, causing the men to chuckle.
A few minutes later, I lean on the side of my car with my arms crossed, tired of having to wait. Five minutes later and I get annoyed.
The doors finally open as a flood of people I don’t recognize walk out of the building. Sam and Steve follow. The group causally surrounds me as I hold my place against my car, showing I’m not intimidated. The two men I know stop closely in front of me.
“You have some nerve, I’ll tell you that.” Sam quips before movement behind him catches my attention.
“Some nerve indeed.” Barnes adds. I give him a smug smile. “I hear you have something for me.”
“Something or someone.” I state as I push off my car.
The men immediately go ridged, watching every step I take towards my trunk. Barnes follows me with his eyes. Blonde stops me before I throw the trunk open and does so himself. His eyes widen when he sees my gift. Rolling my eyes, I push past him and drag a semi-conscious Quinn out of the car. I pull him to his feet and walk him forwards before throwing him down in front of Barnes. James’ eyes rake over the blood-stained clothes, and the cuts and bruises on his face.
“Ian Quinn.” I start. “Known HYDRA affiliate who’s been able to pay off any arrest warrant issued. He’s said to have been in contact with the top brass as he’s been a critical part in their financial endeavors.”
“So why give him to me?” Barnes questions skeptically.
“I’ve heard what they did to your father and I knew if I had any chance of being able to take them down with any help, it would be with you and your clan.”
“And why would you want to be part of the Clan?” Steve pipes up.
“HYDRA killed my parents in cold blood. I want every single one of them to rot six feet under.” I tell them, maintaining the cover Fury gave me, though there’s still an element of truth.
James nods looking back at Quinn. “You do all this yourself?”
I roll my eyes but nod back. “He’s only valuable alive, that doesn’t mean unharmed.”
He hums. “What’s your name?”
“Rissa, Rissa Maximoff.”
“Thor, show Rissa to my office while I deal with him.” Barnes says, motioning towards Quinn.
Blonde, Thor, nods then roughly grabs my arm and drags me inside. Once inside, Thor sighs.
“You’re a brave thing aren’t you, fiery one?” I chuckle at the nickname.
“I guess you can say that.”
He leads me through the warehouse and past a few offices until he opens a door and ushers me inside. It shuts with a soft click, locking me inside.
Part 4
Tag List:
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@broco8
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#marvel#my writing#writers#writers on tumblr#bucky barnes series#bucky barnes x y/n#bucky barnes x you#bucky imagine#hbc bucky barnes appreciation days#mobster bucky#mob!bucky x reader#mob!bucky#bucky x female reader#bucky x you#Bucky#bucky x y/n#bucky barnes au#Bucky Barnes
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Why Qrow Shoulda Not Been Involved After Vol3
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again:
I think Qrow would’ve been saved from being stilted in his development if he did not show up after vol3. As much as I love the absolute mess out of the man, Qrow really would’ve been better off not travelling with the kids.
I had said before that Qrow should’ve stayed behind in Atlas, with Ironwood. After Beacon’s Fall, Qrow decides that he’s better off helping Ironwood with getting the communication towers up, help locate the other relics, etc. with other things that’d happen in Atlas.
While the kids can have their own independent development / adventures without Qrow’s influence, and just try to do everything together as a team, Qrow and Ironwood are working together. Not only are they working on their tasks at hand, but also their sour relationship.
They don’t hate each other, but they definitely couldn’t stand each other. But it didn’t stop them from working together. With Oz gone and Glynda staying in Beacon to fix everything, Qrow and James only have each other to rely on.
Que the two having their usual spats and bickering, only for it to eventually develop into understanding when they come to realize that they’ve only each other to lean on for help. Yeah the Ace Ops and Winter are their, but the magnitude of this type of mission(s) weighs heavily and mainly on both men.
As they focus on each other more, the more Ironwood can gradually begin to stop relying on his fleeting hope that Ozpin will return. Qrow doesn’t have to suffer with the truth yet, keeping his upbeat attitude, but it can tone down a bit as he also feels a sense of emptiness without Ozpin. But nonetheless, the two men share a type of fear that’s more emotional, redirecting their attention onto each other. At least being each others’ crutch, things were admittingly more bearable.
And as time goes on, experiencing their highs and lows among their missions and side-quests that pull them aside to attend to, Qrow and James could call each other friends. Ironwood respects Qrow more than before, but he won’t admit that out of pride. Meanwhile Qrow is warming up to James, still being a little shit but he’s being more playful than painful.
I wanna say SOMETHING happens in their story together, a big changer that causes the two men to be a tight duo. It could be a villain that caused this closeness, or some type of life-threatening mission that pulls them closer. Whatever started it, it ended it with Qrow and Ironwood becoming way closer than before, finally trusting each other to have each others’ backs and trust their actions with no worries.
Ironwood had finally let go of his need for Ozpin, as well as Qrow. They’ve become each others’ equals, comfortably reliable and thoughtful of each other. Qrow is always seen with James, as is James with Qrow.
It finally leads into where they reunite with the kids. There’s no fucking mecha fight in vol6 because one of the kids (probably Weiss) uses her big brain and writes a letter to Ironwood to get them access into Atlas.
Qrow meets the kids first, appearing in glorious fashion to kill the Grimm that raided Mantle. Ruby and Yang have a reunion with their uncle, he leads them to Atlas’ ivory tower, reuniting with James again.
During their time there, Ruby and Yang take note of just how close Qrow and Ironwood had become. They would’ve brushed it off as mere friendship, but the stolen glances they make at each other and the way they stand so close together, makes the girls think their own uncle is having a thing for the general. It’s weird at first, because of how they’re unsure of trusting Ironwood. But they completely trust Qrow, which makes the general trust dynamic a little awkward.
While the kids could find it easy to tell a lie to Ironwood, Qrow knows when his nieces are not telling him the truth. Especially Ruby, who couldn’t lie to save her life without stumbling. He drills them for the truth, to which Ruby cracks and tells him everything. Oz is alive, they’ve lied about the Relic, and they know the truth of Salem’s morality.
Qrow’s the one to be stunned and horrified, but he’s keeping his cool. He can handle news like this, and to not freak out his nieces, but he’s already trying to figure out how to tell Ironwood. He tells them that he’s telling Ironwood regardless, and while they protest, Qrow did not want to hide the new info from his friend. (So think of it as the girls feeling bEtRaYeD by their own blood.) But Qrow’s only doing it to help build the alliance with James that they’ve should’ve made the moment they got to Atlas.
So Qrow does, sitting James down and tells him everything. He roughly begs James to not freak out, after seeing the pang of terror on his friend’s face. James feels a multitude of things all at once, only being able to ask why the kids weren’t truthful from the start. Qrow explains their reason, James feels more unsure of himself again. This is where James’ mettle starts to fester, and Qrow is fully aware of this passive semblance. At least now, openly acknowledging James’ semblance can help James try to control it and not let it overpower his reasonings. And now, he has Qrow to hold him to it.
So James knows now, though he is obviously ashamed of the kids for not telling him anything earlier. But out of respect that he has from Qrow, he’s not going to cast them aside to pursue his own plans. He works with them, but now he’s much more critical about what they do. While Qrow can tell that Ironwood is more sour towards the kids, he at least appreciates that he’s still willing to work on new ideas to save Atlas.
James doesn’t hold them back from doing whatever they can for Mantle. If anything, he still feels no need to do much for the city below, but he let’s the do as they wish. It could still paint him as being villainous, even though he’s not really doing much to be a villain. If anything, he turns his attention to Atlas and starts planning to help his people, evacuations or surrendering the Staff.
It puts a strain on the family relationship. Team RWBY knows Qrow’s relationship with Ironwood has been thorough, yet they feel betrayed that their own uncle is choosing James over them. Qrow isn’t doing such a thing, still wanting to help both his nieces and his friend at the same time. Knowing RWBY they’d pressure Qrow to make a tough decision or else. He doesn’t want to lose either, and thinking of choosing one over the other causes him to retract within himself, drinking more than he needs to.
A lot of angst, lot of hard feelings, lot of bad thoughts.
(I’ll reblog with more ideas later, I just wanna post this now bcuz it’s long.)
#rwby#alternate ideas#ironqrow#qrow branwen#james ironwood#au#just my ideas and opinions#you don't hafta agree!
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I just want to say, before I say anything, I'm not accusing you of saying this and I understand that you feel how you feel. I'm just asking this in a very general way and was wondering your thoughts. Why is it so verboten to think Zuko might have had a slight crush on Katara? There seems to be a rush to not just deny it but to treat it like it's some sort of horrible thing to even suggest it and I'm not sure why that is?
Katara is presented as a beautiful, lively girl who is a powerful bender. Why wouldn’t Zuko be a little starry eyed over that? It doesn’t mean she likes him back. Idk, I’m not exactly sure where my point is, except that being shouted down for just advancing the idea that maybe Zuko had the hots for Katara is a little frustrating? I’m not saying he was wacking off in his bunk thinking about her or expected to get some while they were hunting Yon Rha.
Also, unrequited crushes happen in ATLA-verse? Toph/Sokka anyone? Why does that never get screeched on but saying “Hey, Zuko loved Mai but he was probably looking at Katara and thinking ‘noice!’ a couple of times” the worst thing in the world? Is it the Water Tribe/Fire Nation thing? I mean, if it’s that, I wish people would just say that and stop screaming at people for their headcanons and whatnot. [theend]
Lol do not worry anon I know this isn’t an accusation!! Not only have I myself never perpetuated this rhetoric, but I don’t think I’ve really heard it before! Maybe once or twice?? I might just keep to chill parts of fandom, lmao, and that’s why I’m not very familiar with it. But I’ll do my best to theorize what may spark conflict based on the info you provided me!
(I’ve talked very briefly here about Zuko having/not having a crush on Katara before, if you were wondering.)
My main guess is that it’s not the headcanon itself that makes people frustrated, but how some shippers probably treat the HEADcanon as canon-canon (not an issue exclusive to Zvtara, btw; all big fanon ships have this problem - Zvkka, anyone? lmao). I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with headcanoning that Zuko had a crush on Katara! But in that same vein, there’s nothing inherently wrong with others acknowledging that the headcanon has no basis in canon either, if that makes sense. And headcanons don’t need canon basis! Headcanons are fanon! That’s why they’re so much fun! I ship Kuzaang like there’s no tomorrow, but I can also acknowledge that there wasn’t anything in canon that demonstrated Aang having a crush on Kuzon. Kuzaang is strictly fanon, and I love that about the pairing! It means I have incredible free reign, hehe.
But yeah. I don’t think it has anything to do with their different nations! Like I said - it’s probably solely an issue of some shippers (and undoubtedly just a loud minority) treating the headcanon as canon.
I don’t think saying “Hey, Zuko loved Mai but he was probably looking at Katara and thinking ‘noice!’ a couple of times” is the worst thing in the world, lmao. I do want to make a distinction here, though; this example you provide is actually an example of aesthetic attraction, which is not the same as a crush (crushes are indicative of romantic attraction)! So saying/headcanoning that Zuko thought Katara was pretty (as anyone with a brain would say, let’s be real) does not actually equate to him having a crush on her.
But back to the crush headcanon. I mentioned that I (personally!) don’t think it has canon basis. I will admit that I am not alloromantic, so crushes in themselves are a little confusing to me (I mean,, people just randomly like someone?? based on their appearance?? without even knowing them?? hell nah), but even disregarding that, I don’t think it would make much sense within canon for Zuko to have had a crush on Katara.
Again, disclaimer: there’s nothing wrong with the headcanon! Fanon is meant to contradict canon! To expand canon! To rewrite canon! Fanon is transformative. That’s the entire purpose of fanon. Go wild with that headcanon!! Make art!! Produce fics!! Support content creators!! Hell yeah!!
So what do I mean when I say that I personally feel there’s no canon basis for Zuko having a crush on Katara? Well, for one, he joined the Gaang in episode 12 of Book 3. That’s episode 52 of 61 overall. So in everything prior to that, Zuko not only has no idea who Katara is but he is also neck-deep in imperialistic rhetoric (you know, racism, superiority complexes, all that jazz. not fun for anyone non-FN). No possible crush there. In “The Western Air Temple” episode itself, Katara (understandably) threatens Zuko. She means what she says, and I think Zuko recognizes that. A crush there wouldn’t make sense - they’ve only properly met this second time and Katara (understandably) hates Zuko’s guts for what he’s done to the Gaang and to her personally.
Episode 53 is “The Firebending Masters” - Zuko’s too hung up on his firebending not working to think about anything else (Katara obviously still does not trust him yet, either, meaning Zuko is pretty much on edge around her. again, she threatened him, and Zuko no doubt took her threat seriously).
54 and 55 are “The Boiling Rock” episodes; not only are these Maiko-heavy but also in general… I mean, Katara’s not really in them. At least not from Zuko’s POV. So nothing implies a crush there. And then after those episodes, it’s worth considering that Zuko probably thinks Mai is dead. That he left her, the girl he loves, to die at Azula’s hands. We know Zuko tends to hold guilt to his chest, so concluding he blamed himself for Mai’s “death” is not illogical. Why would he all of sudden switch his sights to Katara, even if it was just a simple crush? While he’s grieving? That doesn’t track to me.
And then, of course, “The Southern Raiders.” This episode has been talked about to death, so I’ll keep it brief, lmao. I will draw attention to only one line, spoken by Zuko:
This isn’t fair! Everyone else seems to trust me now! What is it with you?
As we all know, TSR was not a flattering episode for Zuko. He was a racist asshole to Aang and - as aforementioned - acted as if he was entitled to Katara’s trust. Obviously, Zuko grows through the episode, and we see by the end that he respects Aang’s wisdom and respects Katara’s decision to walk away from Yon Rha (which is awesome!! I adore this brief but incredibly crucial arc of his!!). But my point is that nothing demonstrates romantic interest from Zuko to Katara. If anything, his initial motives are pretty damn selfish (i.e. demanding her to trust him because he feels like he “deserves” it already).
Emphasis on “initial” motives, of course. Obviously he grows more sincere!! (Tis the point of the episode for Zuko.)
So they end TSR on new, peaceful terms. Personally, I don’t think their relationship would be magically sunshine and roses after that (Zuko did some fucked up shit to the Gaang, lmao), but I do think things are getting better between them! Still, there is nothing indicative of a canon crush.
Next episode, in EIP, they scoot away from each other at the possibility of being together, yk? That doesn’t mean they hate each other’s guts, lmfao, but EIP is meant to depict imperialist Fire Nation propaganda - who wouldn’t be uncomfortable with that? Like, the entire Gaang is demeaned in that play. There’s nothing romantic about it. It’s a similar situation later with June - this is a lady that doesn’t know anything remotely personal about Zuko or Katara. Of course they’d react in a horrified and flustered manner when this - for all intents and purposes - total stranger suggests that they’re together! That’s creepy as hell! Definitely not indicative of a crush, lmao. And considering that the Gaang never teases Zuko about having a crush on Katara (compared to how I think Toph teases Katara about Haru?), i.e. the people who know them the best, there’s no reason for the audience to think anything is going on between them.
For other references, here are a few addressing EIP, June, etc.
And after all that… Well, now we’re in the finale. What time is there for romance? There’s a reason the canon couples don’t reunite until after the war is won! (Minus Sukka, I guess, but they’re not professing their love on the battlefield, per se, lmao.) Zuko chooses Katara to go with him because she’s a powerful waterbender and the only person who’s been able to handle Azula in the past (besides Aang, arguably, who’s obviously occupied with Ozai), not because he “likes” her in a romantic sense.
All of this is to say that to me, Zuko having a crush on Katara is strictly fanon. Which is awesome! Fanon is fantastic, and I actually really like these types of headcanons (like, Teo having a crush on Aang? GOOD SHIT). Some people are just jerks about it. That said, I can still understand why people might get frustrated by those who preach this headcanon as if it’s pulled straight from the text itself. I absolutely think it’s ridiculous to harass others over a headcanon (which unfortunately you see on both sides of the ship war), but in that same vein - of course it’s frustrating when those loud few act like their fanon is canon and proceed to shove it down others’ throats, lmao. It’s an imperfect situation, basically.
TL;DR - The headcanon in itself is great, and no one should be getting freaking harassed over it. But it is strictly fanon, so when some shippers treat it like canon, that’s understandably going to frustrate the rest of the fandom. Headcanons are a double-edged sword, lmao.
So that’s my personal theory as to why people get pressed over this headcanon. If anyone else has a different idea, please feel free to rb/comment with it!
#also anon you 100% do not have to agree with any of this!! tis just my own thoughts and theory 🥰#amy answers#anon#amy analyzes
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Issues with the Tyzula ship that Tyzula shippers/fics typically avoid
Stereotypical Tyzula Ty Lee: “Azula-san, I completely forgive you for everything you ever did to me or my best friend and have always loved you unconditionally. I will help you become better if it means risking the quality of my life, my other relationships, my sanity, and even my life. I will magically be able to help you deal with your myriad of mental issues as if you always only needed love/affection instead of real medical help. I will always love you even if you don’t really change your behavior or worse, remain the same power hungry bitch you grew up to be. I love you ‘Zula.”
Look, I am not opposed to Tyzula for I actually think that they had a real friendship, even if there was a massive power imbalance, that got fucked up by Ozai’s abusive teachings and Azula trying to act as her sovereign and friend at the same time. But there is a tendency among Tyzula shippers/fics to make Ty Lee forgive Azula way too easily, make Azula not deal with her flaws or make (proper) amends to Ty Lee and Mai, retcon Azula into a soft baby who didn’t do anything wrong other than get abused, and/or gloss over the issues between the two.
For example, If Tyzula occurred pre-Boiling Rock like some fics imply, do you think it would have been consensual? Especially considering that there has been a massive power imbalance (Azula is Ty Lee’s Sovereign) since their childhood that Azula took advantage of even then; Azula forced Ty Lee to join her squad at firepoint; and Ty Lee is deathly scared of Azula? And if it happened post-Boiling Rock there is a massive power imbalance in favor of Ty Lee since the moment Azula “acts up” (it doesn’t have to be a big thing since Ty Lee is scarred shitless of Azula) Ty Lee can either call Zuko to jail her and/or have Aang de-bend her. There are some Tyzula fics that properly deal with, imo, the pre- and post-Boiling Rock power imbalances but most of them just gloss over them. Not helping is the fact that comics imply that the two never had a real relationship at all and that Ty Lee is still deathly afraid of Azula, willing to chi-block Azula the moment she is anything other than docile.
Also, how come most Tyzula shippers/fics don’t touch about LOK’s Turf Wars said about Sozin outlawing homosexuality and the implications it has for a lesbian/bisexual Azula? If Azula, who tries to be the model princess in a post-Sozin Fire Nation, can’t even realize that using fear is not a good way to maintain relationships, how would she deal with the fact that she has feelings for girls? Most of the Tyzula fics or headcanons I have read don’t seriously deal with the fact that either Azula is deep in the closet and/or suffering from serious internalized homophobia and would not likely express her sexual preferences in public unless she was in an extraordinary situation or got serious therapy plus years of self-reflection/character growth. Not to mention the fact she would be one of the leading perpetrators of homophobia by virtue of being Ozai’s right hand general/advisor.
So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic friendship/relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community and most likely will never see their ship be canonized? And yes, some of my own fanfic works do contain Tyzula so feel free to call me out if I am being a hypocrite and holding people to standards that I can’t uphold.
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This was a very interesting submission, Anon, and I don't think you're "in the wrong" here, even if I don't necessarily agree with you. At least you're polite, so I won't swear at you xD I'll sum up your points for clarity's sake
"Tyzula shippers make Ty Lee dumber and ready to do anything for Azula. They write stories without depth and without adressing the imbalances in their relationship"
Here's my personnal opinion on that: this kind of drama/angst is hard to write, and I don't want to waste my time for 10 chapters while they're angstying over whether or not to love each other. Mental health issues are hard to write too, and I want azula to be happy, so I can just make them dissapear. I completely acknowledge it isn't the most realistic kind of writing, but I don't care, I just want to have fun. I wouldn't pretend it's canon either.
Now, some Azula fans are just biased towards her, and like to pretend her canon character did nothing wrong and is purely a victim and is owed Ty Lee's love. I'm not gonna shit on them, in the grand scheme of things it's quite inconsequencial, but I don't think that's accurate.
"Tyzula shippers make it happen even if Azula is still a "villain" and hasn't redeemed herself for her sins"
I can link this to my first point a little, and erase all moral complexity for the funzies while acknowledging it isn't canon. But there's also the fact in ATLA, Ty Lee has little to no redemption arc herself. She just betrays azula, and then the good guys accept her and mai with no problem? We could interpret that as "she was always supporting Aang's cause and hated azula secretly since forever" but I don't think that's very correct, because Ty Lee never shows any sign of it, never talks treason, never helps the good guys while azula isn't looking (unlike mai!). The only thing that could possibly make her betray Azula, in my point of view, is seeing her other best friend almost die to her hands. And even then, it isn't a moral choice. I firmly believe Ty Lee was just as indoctrinated in the Fire Nation's ways as everyone else there. And that she actually supported her nation and obeyed Azula as her commander not only because they were friends, not only because she had to, but because she was loyal to her nation. And the only reason I can see her go to the good guys' side at the end of atla was simply because of self preservation with a side of unbrainwashing from FN propaganda
So, in conclusion, I don't think Ty Lee is a completely good character, and I don't think she has a problem with Azula's crimes.
"There is a power imbalance"
I'm not going to deny that. But who told you all relationships with a power imbalance are inherently bad? They're more likely to be toxic, but they won't always be. If the person with the upper hand is respectuous and nice, everything works out perfectly. It's more of an advice towards people who don't have the upper hand in their unbalanced relationship, and who could get taken advantage of. But Ty Lee is smarter than she looks, and I believe she would know to stay away from that.
Pre-boilling rock, there is indeed problems with them getting together, but they're not due to one of them being toxic. Azula is Ty Lee's princess, and it isn't her fault. She was literally raised to lead. And Ty Lee was raised to follow. We see that despite that, Azula still considers Ty Lee as her friend and gets her in her team in a nice way. But it isn't her fault she was raised in the middle of a war and sees the will of the fire nation as more important than anything.
Additionally, I don't think Ty Lee hated Azula, for the reasons I mentionned before.
Post-boilling rock, I just don't think Ty Lee would be scared, or cruel enough, to jail or unbend Azula for no reason. Because, again, I don't think she hates her.
"The fire nation is homophobic"
As is usual with me, I loathe the comics and don't consider this as canon. It doesn't even make sense, apart from saying "fire nation's evil, they're homophobic now too" to be honest, if anyone's gonna be homophobic it's gonna be everyone, cause there was no gay representation in atla.
Oh, and f*ck this, I hate homophobia, I don't want my fictionnal worlds to have it too. It's dumb as shit and everyone is gay in the Fire Nation. There.
"So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic friendship/relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community and most likely will never see their ship be canonized?"
You do have a valid point that some tyzula shippers have the same problem as some azula stans, as in that they put her on a pedestral and say she did nothing wrong. But some also just don't want to bother with that and just want to write fluff, and that's fine. There are way worse things they could be doing.
It is true that Tyzula is kind of a controversial ship, and for this reason I don't think you should care too much about it. Bullying people never help anyone, and criticising tyzula shippers will only push them back in their fandom spaces and make them unable to tell apart genuine, objective criticism and mean bullying.
I don't want Tyzula to be canon, btw. Well. For me canon kinda stopped at the end of atla, so everything is possible after this point lol. Not that I even care much about canon.
You are not an hypocrite for liking tyzula and criticizing it. You can call out the behavior of people in your own community, it's perfectly fine and should be encouraged. I'd pay more attention to your opinion too, because I know you don't just dislike the ship and want to find any reason for it to be "problematic"
I'm gonna put that submission in the Tyzula tag, if anyone in there feels offended by that do let me know. I don't intend to shit on this ship at all. Also, if anyone wants to add points or give me perspectives I didn't think about go ahead!
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in a way, both Ruby/Oz have their confidence broken when they learn a certain truth involving Salem: her being immortal/hermothersfate but while Ruby does get shaken by salem , she recovers quickly and strives to keep fighting. Ironwood, on the other hand, chooses to act like Ozpin and focus on putting off the problem as long as possible; by taking Atlas into the stratosphere, he is basically running away from Salem and giving her free rein on Remnant, and time to further build up her forces.
Yeah, this is a mad simplified and straight up misinformed ask, anon.
Starting with Ruby/Ozpin, it’s not that their trauma is done different in the same scenario, it’s that Ruby straight up ignores her trauma when it exeeds more than five seconds. Not only that, bu Ozpin never stopped fighting. He literally brought a time of peace by the time the show started. He created the Academies, Maidens, was behind many historically significant events with him being behind the idea of the creation of Atlas according to James in V7.
Ozpin kept fighting and gave the people he was protecting the means to defend themselves. Huntsmen were trained to fight the Grimm, the kingdoms were built to protect the innocent who would’ve been killed out in the undefended villages that exist outside these safe zones, either by bandits or grimm. He locked the relics away so Salem could never get them to rule over the people, he trusted a few close allies with most of the truth, and his flaw was not trusting them with everything, but that flaw is both explained and justified. When Ozpin tells people the whole truth, they either abandon the fight or straight up betray him.
And he does this all while still trying to believe in the good of humanity. He’s faced with the serious trauma that his wife and abuser literally cannot be killed, that she will forever follow and hurt him (Imagine Blake and Adam but if Adam was immortal and their abuse had gone on for centuries rather than like five years), and yet he still tries again and again to keep fighting. Because if he gives up, humanity will be destroyed by Salem.
Ruby keeps fighting, but she’s not fighting well. Her brief breakdown over the death of her mother feels unearned because she doesn’t know Summer. Her mother died when she was very young, since she apparently couldn’t even talk yet according to Yang. Summer is more of an abstract figure rather than a direct relation to Ruby, and any moment to help built up Ruby’s feelings and relation to Summer before V7 was a five minute gravescene that felt more like a tribute to Monty, and moments given to Yang. The worst part of that scene wasn’t that Ruby was upset over someone she doesn’t even know, but that Yang, the girl who did know Summer, had hardly any relevence in that scene apart from comforting Ruby.
And in the end, it didn’t even matter! Ruby got right back up again and starts acting like a cocky little shit in the Ace Ops fight. Where was the sobbing girl from five seconds ago? The one who had her eyes start doing light shows and supposedly stop working? Cause that’s not the Ruby we get right after.
And her keeping fighting mentality? That’s going to get innocent people killed. It’s not a new flaw that Ruby has, she has the tendency to rush into fights without thinking, but the problem is that the show never treats it like a flaw. She jumped at the Deathstalker and nearly gets herself killed? Weiss saves her and that flaw is never chastised, only brought up in what was meant to be a moment of self reflection in V5, only for Ruby to keep doing it. She went to follow White Fang members in V2? She gets trapped underground and captured, needing her team to come and help her. She jumped into the fight with Tyrian despite Qrow repeatedly telling her to stay away? She distracts Qrow who has to save her, and then gets poisoned by Tyrian and almost ends up dying.
In V7? There is no other option. If there was a way for RWBY and their allies to keep fighting Salem’s forces and protect those being evacuated, that would lead to some credit to Ruby’s argument, but there isn’t. Ruby wants to keep fighting, and once again isn’t listening to realistic counters to her argument. They can’t keep fighting with Ironwood’s armies decimated, they can’t keep fighting with the Ace Ops exhausted and one having her Aura already shattered, they can’t keep fighting with the immortal witch that they know can’t be killed coming personally to the battlefield, nevermind the fact that a rogue Maiden and a seriously dangeorus criminal who nearly killed Ruby and Yang are already in Atlas.
Ironwood’s plan is cold and is an unfortunate plan that will get innocent civilians killed, but the fact of the matter is that it’s the only plan they have that doesn’t end in their immediate annihilation. I hate people saying that he’s running away, he’s retreating. He is making a tactical retreat so that they can build their forces and have time to plan a counterattack, time that they don’t have because the immortal witch who wants to kill them all is literally on their doorstep.
If Ruby had figured out that maybe her Silver Eyes could hurt Salem and suggested that, maybe they would’ve had a way to repel Salem even if they couldn’t defeat her. But Ruby hasn’t bothered to properly harness her powers outside of one lecture from Maria and barely beating the Leviathan before Cordovin had to come in and kill it for good. Ruby didn’t bother to further train her powers in the training montages we were given this whole volume, she’d rather be a Huntress and enjoy the benefits while simultaneously lying to her employer about the war he’s fighting in.
In conclusion, fuck outta here. Ruby isn’t this pure soul who’ll always keep fighting, she’s a flat character who refuses to acknowledge her flaws and gets away with being a wholeass hypocrite by being sad sometimes.
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(Imperialism etc anon) Ok I get where you're coming from! Thank you for being understanding. While Zutara is obviously not inherently racist or anything there are zutara interpretations that *are* racist (example: fire lady katara which I can get into) and it does need to be acknowledged that Zuko's status as fire nation royalty does create a power imbalance between him and Katara. Now, this is a conversation that has a lot of nuance to it but it seems like the people harassing you are (1/2)
(2/2) just repeating some genuine critique they saw without understanding what it means just to say that they're right, harassing people in the process. I did not have that context when sending that first ask and I apologize, since anons harassing you and others are clearly doing it out of bad faith. I just didn't like the leveraging of concepts that really matter in real life (colonialism, etc), ykwim? But I get what you were trying to do.
hey anon I’m finally getting to you after 84 years XD
so first off, I want to be careful about how I approach this because I understand that as a white person (even if my ancestors experienced imperialism) in the US I absolutely benefit from imperialism and don’t want to like, idk, whitesplain XD so if anyone gets annoyed with any way I say anything, just lmk and I’ll rework it. and I also do understand that these are real world issues that are far more consequential than messaging in media (although I do think it’s very important that we challenge messages in media because of media’s influence on our thinking and politics).
but before I talk about zuko and his relationship to fire nation imperialism, and then later fire lady katara and why it isn’t INHERENTLY racist but definitely can be, I want to talk about the atla fandom and how we got here. like, why I assume that most anons who come at zutara shippers are asshats acting in bad faith. if you already know fandom history, skip this section.
1. atla and the fandom has always been kind of shitty and racist
so IDK if everyone is familiar with the history of the ship war in atla fandom, but it’s regarded as one of the nastiest ship wars in fandom history which I agree lol. atla’s creators were some of the first to interact with the fandom the way they did - back then it wasn’t all that common for creators to get into twitter feuds with fans and boundaries were respected more than they are now imo. but for better or worse, and it is a mixed bag, bryke interacted with fandom a lot. certainly at cons but also on social media.
but honestly things really got extra mean in fan spaces when bryke made a “joke” atla season 4 slideshow out of fan art (some of which was really sexual in nature and totally inappropriate) that mocked fans’ creations, but especially zutara fanart and zutara itself. it was pretty tasteless especially considering how most zutara fans were teen girls, and featured some art of sokka saying that if you think zuko and katara would be good together, you’re doomed to have failed relationships. that’s where the whole “dark and mysterious” bs came from, which does describe some zutara fic but not even most of it lol. I actually do respect bryke a lot despite my criticism of them, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over that shit. like even if you hate zutara, even if it’s a joke, we were kids. and they were adults, and the whole thing was nasty.
however, the ship war was chaotic and messy, but it does feel worse now. maybe it’s because back then the fandom was MOSTLY teens and kids, and I don’t think that’s true now. we were all trying to prove our ship was best with like, content from the show and theories and all that, and now it’s like... whose ship is ~problematic lol it’s a show by white us americans appropriating from various cultures impacted negatively by us/british imperialism that they then profited off of, of course it’s racist. that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about that, and in fact many poc have been saying this shit for years - that atla is racist and colorist at many times (guru pathik anyone?) and no one really listened.
if fans are complaining only about zutara, then I’m automatically writing them off as being insincere or ignorant. and since most of these people are anonymous, I have no idea if they are having substantive discourse about colorism in avatar or cultural appropriation (even if it is mostly appreciative). if you are on anon, I have no context about what you actually think except for what you give me. and that definitely is how I view anons in general but especially within the atla fandom because for all 13-ish years I’ve been in it, it’s been messy. that’s why zutara fans have isolated ourselves from the rest of fandom, because the rest of fandom has been really nasty to us. like did we give back some nastiness? absolutely.
but I would hazard a guess that most anti-zutara shippers don’t know about the conversations we have had in this community to make it safer for people of color, conversations that centered poc and woc especially. hey, that’s okay - not to compare zutara to r*ylo because eurgh but like, idk what discourse the r*ylos have about their community. no idea, I don’t go looking for it. and I don’t go to the tags and harass r*ylos - even though they harass the fuck out of everyone else.
2. so zuko and his privilege
undoubtedly zuko as fire lord is in a fairly privileged position LMFAO. but during the show zuko is very clearly exiled - he holds very little political power in the fire nation EXCEPT for during the first season when he is in command of a ship that ozai gave him on a punishment quest lol like yeah he does terrible things and he of all people would not excuse his actions even if he was a traumatized kid, that’s the point of his arc - that he got some exposure to the rest of the world and worked to be better. and the only reason he was exiled at all was because he cares about people - he didn’t question fire nation supremacy at 13, but he sure did question the morality of his people being lead to slaughter.
but after zuko and iroh defect from the fire nation and stop hunting aang, he has next to no power, in any kind of way. like the guy is a political refugee. and yes, he goes back to the fire nation for like five minutes before realizing that he hates everything about fire nation hegemony and that he wants to end his father’s reign of terror, like that isn’t exactly someone who is going to be well esteemed by the powerful elites when he returns and takes the throne.
and I disregard the comics because they suck lol but zuko does have power as the fire lord, but he limits his power. like compared to ozai, phoenix asshole? azula? for the rest of the world, zuko is kind of an ideal leader for a former colonizing/imperialistic nation to have - someone who worked to end that tyranny, who is anti-imperialist, who believes in justice and equality, who wants to make things right for the peoples who his family oppressed.
I do think it is important to talk about power dynamics and imbalances in relationships - for instance, one could argue that mai is at a significant disadvantage in her relationship with zuko. sure she is from a powerful family but not as powerful as zuko’s. sokka? hah forget it. he’s just as disadvantaged as katara is politically speaking. toph? well, she’s definitely not as powerful politically as zuko - her family tried to silence her for years because of her disability. and oh, she’s disabled so it might be ableist for zuko to strike up a relationship with her when they’re both adults. forgetting of course that toph and sokka and katara and suki and mai are not going to be shy about their wants and needs, that these relationships are not likely to be coercive by nature of the show they’re in and the characters they involve. this is not bill clinton with monica creepiness. like, you’d have to write the relationship that way.
the only person who arguably has more political power than zuko is aang. I guess zuko can’t ever be in a relationship with anyone other than aang. and zuko’s family massacred aang’s people so I guess we can’t ship zukaang. now I know you’re not saying that, context matters. power dynamics are important. but you can’t take away the agency of characters - katara, who is essentially a princess, has agency and can choose who she wants to be with. strictly speaking, aang is more powerful than anyone in terms of political power - he’s the avatar - and of course the dynamic is different by nature of aang not being from a line of oppressors, but there still is a power imbalance in their relationship. and I don’t know how many k/ataang shippers have discourse~ on that. not that I really feel like they NEED to, um idk what they talk about lol I’m not in those circles.
3. fire lady katara is in the eye of the beholder
so fire lady katara is not inherently bad or racist, it’s essentially like saying michelle obama shouldn’t have been first lady of the us (now I get that like the obamas being in power didn’t mean black people are not marginalized lol). you can have conversations about whether or not individual versions of fire lady katara are fucked up, and I’m superrrr open to that because I’ve seen it be kinda shitty before. i’m just gonna leave this link to @shewhotellsstories and her post on this.
but often times katara as fire lady is very dominant in global/fire nation/water tribe politics, she’s a game changer ambassador (that is probably the most popular headcanon I see), she holds on to her culture (and many fans have designed her being in her wt colors, zuko is respectful af to her, she and zuko spend extended periods in the swt, etc. like... it just depends on the way it’s written.
also leaving this response by @avatarnerdkiller to the idea of katara being a prize figurehead.
anyway, thanks for your patience anon and I am curious to see if you see this or even feel like responding after all this time XD
#atla#petty fandom drama#zutara fandom#zutara#fire lady katara#discourse sigh#racism#fandom racism#asks#anonymous
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