#<- present also :) but atlas is a separate guy

[silveredcircuitry]

a moth to LCD screens cracking cocoon to a cold room these wings only serve to carry you to light you knew that from the start and you crawled in anyway

[tmpestuous]

moth to a flame - 3

series masterlist

summary: bucky barnes was the love of your life, and you were his. there was no denying it. but after two years of dating, you found yourselves on different paths and decided it was best to go your separate ways. the only problem was how drawn you’d always be to him even after moving on.

pairing: College!Bucky x Reader

chapter warnings: mentions of alcohol, angst and sadness, Atlas is kind of (really) an asshole, possessive/protective Bucky (because he deserves a warning), verbal argument 

word count: 4.5k

a/n:  A bit of a longer update after the long wait! Things are getting juicy… I hope you guys enjoy &lt;3

“does he know the pictures that you keep?”

Bucky had really held out on his personal promise to himself to move on, though the process had never been more challenging. 

He was no stranger to girls lining up for him; it was a common occurrence before he met you. As soon as word spread about your breakup and your moving on, it hadn’t failed to start once again. Bucky had been on constant dates, maybe bringing a girl or two back, though he never had them stay. He had felt as though he was just borrowing some friction from strangers. It was his way of distracting himself from the evident resentment he had for his own actions, how easily he let you slip out of his fingers.

The truth was that none of the girls Bucky had spent time with could ever distract him from you. He was bored because none of them were as interesting as you. They weren’t as smart as you, as humble as you, as caring as you. They weren’t you. They never would be. 

But Bucky promised. He promised he’d be there for you, and he couldn’t fulfill that promise if he didn’t move on.

Recently, Bucky was seeing a new girl: Sharon. He had met her in one of his classes and much to his luck, Steve actually knew her and told him that she was a really nice girl. Bucky had never anticipated getting involved with someone like Sharon, and if he was being honest, he’d assume she was more Steve’s type and vice versa. Nonetheless, he really enjoyed getting to know her. 

He knew his feelings for you wouldn’t subside so fast, but he didn’t find himself comparing Sharon to you while he was with her. That gave him a glimpse of hope, a glimpse of finally pulling himself from the hole he’d been stuck in for so long. It was a foreign feeling—the thought of letting you go—but given the fact that you had already done so, it was the right thing to do. 

About three weeks had passed since that night after the party, the night you told Bucky you needed him. Since then, Bucky had seen you about half as much as usual. Natasha said you were caught up on finishing your research for your major, working endlessly on preparing the presentation you needed to give at the university’s annual research seminar. Plenty of research journal editors would be in attendance, hoping to find a research study worth publishing. You wouldn’t stop until you ensured your research was perfect. 

Bucky knew once you got immersed in your schoolwork, it was difficult to pull you away from it. He’d seen it plenty of semesters prior, and he couldn’t blame you. You were one of the smartest people he knew, a quality of yours he never failed to admire. 

He decided not to seek you out as he usually would have when you were together, but rather forced himself to try and be a better friend for you. Bucky wanted to be someone you could trust without worrying about old feelings or possible conflict arising. He owed that much to you after you made it clear you didn’t want to lose him despite everything. He also knew he was on the same page.

When Natasha had invited him up to your shared suite as they walked together after class, he politely declined. Bucky was well aware you wouldn’t be in much of a mood to talk or pay attention to anything other than your task at hand. You had always valued how much he appreciated and understood your work ethic, never overstepping. Bucky didn’t want to push that boundary now. 

As Bucky continued his trek back to his residence hall, Natasha made her way up to your suite. Much to her surprise, Atlas was in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water as he noted the redhead’s presence.

“Hey, Nat,” he greeted with a half-smile.

“Hi, Atlas,” she returned the greeting. “Is Y/n in her room?”

Atlas nodded, “She’s just finishing up her report. Seems pretty stressed, so I’m just waiting out here for her to finish before we go out to eat.”

Nodding at his response, Natasha made her way to your closed bedroom door. You could never be mad at Natasha for checking on you, especially when she would never let you live it down if you had been. Nonetheless, she was your best friend and you knew she only had your best interests in mind, so you always made an exception for her. 

You were about to complain, assuming it was Atlas behind the door, until you saw Nat’s head peek through. 

“You know, I’m surprised you’re alive and well with how long you’ve spent in this room,” she teased.

“Hi, Nat,” you said, rolling your eyes playfully with a smile. “I’m on the last page of my findings and then I am free.”

“Until tomorrow when you have to present said findings.”

“I didn’t need the reminder,” you said with a whine. “I really need this presentation to go well or I’ll cry.”

“And it will,” she said, letting herself in the room and taking a seat on your bed. “Now why are you letting your boyfriend bore himself to death outside?”

“Well I told him not to come over,” you noted as you returned to typing away on your laptop. “I can’t focus with him ogling me the entire time.”

“Am I not ogling you?”

“It’s not the same, Nat,” you said, flipping a page in your research notebook. 

Atlas hadn’t been in your best graces for a while. You were taking your work more and more seriously as the days went by, dedicating a lot more of your free time to finishing up wherever you needed to. He wasn’t too fond of that, constantly asking you to take a break when you knew you didn’t need one or telling you to take a day off when you knew you couldn’t afford to. 

You were pretty adamant on making this research as thorough as possible, with little to no errors to account for. The competition for a publisher’s attention this year was strong, with big brains like Tony Stark and Bruce Banner giving presentations as well. You couldn’t stand to look pathetic or basic next to them. 

You didn’t ask for much. It’s not like you didn’t take any breaks or completely cut off all contact with the real world. But your time to work was the time you allotted for it, and being distracted wasn’t in your best interest. You had just wished Atlas would understand that rather than nagging you to spend time when you spent more than enough time with him at all times.

“He’s trying, at least, Y/n,” Nat urged. “Don’t shut him out.”

“I’m not,” you replied shortly. “I just shouldn’t have to explain my boundaries all of the time. I appreciate him being here and he could sit in here while I worked if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. That isn’t my fault.”

Giving in, Natasha sighed. “Is it a bad time to talk about Bucky?”

Furrowing your eyebrows, you looked over at her.

“What’s up with Bucky?”

“He’s seeing someone, just thought you should know.”

“Oh,” you said before turning back to your work. “Good for him, he deserves it.”

“That’s it?” 

“Yes..?” You said, genuinely confused. “I moved on, why shouldn’t he?”

“No, no, I just expected more questions is all,” Natasha put her hands up in surrender. “Are we seeing you after you’re done with your date later?”

You nodded, your eyes not diverting from your work. “Yeah, I shouldn’t be long.”

Patting your shoulder, Natasha left your room.

Bucky moving on was a good sign, but ignoring the weird feeling in your stomach was difficult. You shouldn’t be bothered by it, but for some reason, you were. It felt strange, thinking about Bucky being involved with someone else.

Those thoughts were only selfish, though, seeing as you were in a relationship of your own with a completely different person. Second guessing your decisions always got the best of you and moving on was one of those choices you vowed not to fall back on. Not again.

Was it wrong to feel this way?

**

You had finished your presentation about an hour later, heading out to eat with a slightly heated Atlas, a demeanor not really hidden from anyone. 

“Are you okay?” You asked him as the waiter left to get your check. “You’ve been off since we left the dorm.”

“Yeah, I’m good,” he responded with no hesitation, his tone short. “Just thinking.”

“About?” You inquired.

“Natasha spent some time in your room and you didn’t complain about being distracted then,” he finally admitted. “So how come it changes with me?”

You sighed. “Atlas, I’m sorry, it’s just not—“

“Would you have complained if it was Bucky?”

Shaking your head, you sighed once again. “Yes, I would have. Where is this coming from?”

“Just wondering.”

This wasn’t the first time Atlas had been bothered by something before dropping Bucky’s name into the conversation. It frustrated you, especially because it made you feel awful that he’d compare himself to your ex when you were committed to him. You had your moments of doubt, but you knew who you were loyal to and in what capacity.

“I said that I’m sorry,” you urged once more. “I could have phrased my words better, I just got irritated with you asking me when I’d be done every five minutes. I finished, I’m here with you now. Let’s not fight about it.”

Atlas nodded and took his card out as the waiter came with the check, paying the bill before you both left. 

The car ride back was fairly silent. You could understand where you had gone wrong, but you also felt a bit suffocated every time Bucky had been brought up by Atlas at any given moment.

Bobbing your knee anxiously up and down, you tried not to get stuck in your own thoughts but it was an evident failure. As soon as Atlas parked the car in front of the boys’ dorm, you looked over at him.

“You’re not coming?” You asked.

“I have some fraternity event to attend, so I can’t go,” he said calmly, but you could tell he was still upset. “Text me when you get back to your room.”

“Oh, okay,” you said in defeat, not wanting to argue again. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, right?”

“You know I wouldn’t miss it,” he said as he nodded, catching your attention once more before you exited the car. “Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have talked to you that way.”

“It’s okay, I’m sorry too,” you returned. “I don’t want to fight with you. At all.”

“Me neither,” he agreed. Hesitantly, he bit his lip and you could tell he had something else on his mind. “Can I ask you a question?”

Once you nodded, he turned in his seat to face you.

“Do you keep any photos of you and Bucky from when you were together?”

Furrowing your eyebrows in confusion, you shook your head. “I’m confused.”

“While you were working, I noticed you were getting a few texts. I went to silence your phone but I noticed Bucky’s contact picture was still one from when you were together. With your head on his shoulder and him kissing your head. I just wondered if you still kept any other pictures.”

Shaking your head once more, “I don’t have any pictures. I just haven’t changed Bucky’s contact at all.”

He nodded. “Okay. Thank you for answering.”

You kissed his cheek before getting out of the car without another word, Atlas driving off as soon as you closed the door. 

Sighing a third time to yourself this late afternoon, you walked up to the building and entered luckily as someone opened the front door. 

You hated yourself for lying, but it’s not like you were holding onto old pictures with Bucky on purpose. You just hadn’t deleted any pictures, and for a while, you were harping on the idea that you two would realize you made a mistake and get back together.

Another fight with Atlas over Bucky would drain you. You moved on from him, you weren’t enticed by seeing him or tempted to get back with him. Bucky was one of your best friends and that wouldn’t change with a relationship. Provoking another fight would have ended badly.

At least that’s what you convinced yourself of.

You were grateful Atlas was opening up to you more while also acknowledging your feelings, though the road was still rocky. Times like this only made you constantly think about how you’d never have any issues like this with Bucky, but, of course, the circumstances were different.

Atlas was good to you. You both had your moments but he treated you the way you’d want to be treated. He understood you (for the most part). You once again felt bad about him comparing himself to Bucky, and hated yourself whenever you also did so subconsciously. Nonetheless, you were glad you could both somewhat talk about it and move past it. 

Taking the elevator up to the boys’ floor, you walked down the hallway and knocked three times, shoving your hands in your jacket pocket before Steve opened the door.

“Hey there, little genius,” he greeted you as you shook your head and walked in. “Ready for tomorrow?”

“I hope so,” you breathed out, seeing everyone seated in the living room. “I’m sandwiched right in between Tony and Bruce in the schedule which is not daunting at all.” 

“You have nothing to worry about,” Sam said, taking a sip of his Coke from his seat on the couch. “They’re in a totally different field of study, you’ll do great.”

“Thanks,” you acknowledged before noticing one blue-eyed brunette missing from the bunch. “Where’s Bucky?”

“He’s out with Sharon,” Steve said, sitting next to Natasha at the same time you sat in the love seat next to Pietro.

“Sharon as in Sharon Carter?” You asked.

“Yeah, why?” Steve retorted.

“Oh, no reason,” you shook your head. “I’ve seen her around campus before. Didn’t know she’d be interested in Bucky.”

“Yeah, they’ve been seeing each other for about a week or so,” Sam said while he typed on his phone. “He seems pretty interested.”

“That’s good,” you said, genuinely happy Bucky was moving on. 

You didn’t want him to be stuck on you if you had moved on. It didn’t seem fair nor did it ever make you feel good, especially remembering how anxious you felt before telling him yourself. Bucky deserved to be happy, and that was all you cared about.

After a few games, the group trying to get you to spill all the contents of your research, and a movie, you called it a night. You had also left before Bucky had made it back, missing him by a few minutes since you knew you had to be up early before your presentation. Plus, Bucky would be there to support you so you’d see him then. 

Walking back into his suite, Sam, Steve, and Natasha were still in the living room to see Bucky before retreating to their beds as well. 

“Hey, loverboy,” Sam teased. “How’d it go?”

“Pretty well, actually,” Bucky shrugged his jacket off, hanging it in the closet. “I kind of lost track of time. What’d I miss?”

“Not much,” Nat picked her phone up. “We were just waiting for you to get back before going to be—“ 

Cutting her sentence short, the guys all looked at her.

“What’s wrong?” Bucky asked first, though they were all curious.

“Y/n mentioned Atlas not coming over because he had a frat event, right?” She asked, her tone coming off hesitant.

“Yeah,” Sam answered. “But she said he didn’t specify what it was, assumed it was some meeting or somethin’.”

“What’s up, Nat?” Bucky inquired once more, seeing the redhead’s face change into a slightly angry one.

“He looks shitfaced drunk in this story,” Natasha said, showing her phone screen to reveal a very wasted Atlas in a picture. “How is he gonna do that the night before Y/n’s big day?”

“Maybe it’s an old picture?” Steve suggested, obviously searching for the best justification.

“Definitely isn’t,” Bucky shot it down. “I had heard about a party but I assumed he was here with you guys.”

“Atlas always gets hungover after a drunken night,” Natasha said next. “Y/n’s presentation is at 8:00AM tomorrow and those frat parties never end earlier than like 4.”

“You really think he’s gonna bail? No way,” Sam interjected.

“Wouldn’t be on purpose,” she locked her phone and set it on the coffee table.

“He’s not gonna bail. Let’s not put that into the universe right before tomorrow,” Bucky said, making his way to his room after saying his goodnites.

He had only hoped for your sake that Atlas would show up tomorrow. Bucky’s protectiveness over you would never subside, relationship or not, and he knew just how important this research was to you.

Not having someone you hold with such high regard to support you would only hurt you. Bucky’s never wanted to see you hurt, especially not by a boy. He made the grand effort to always see your perspective on things, even when you disagreed, just so he’d never hurt your feelings or make you feel small. When it comes to anyone else, he’d be damned to allow that either. 

He really hoped Atlas would come. You deserve that much.

The following morning was excruciating for you. You hadn’t remembered the last time you woke up this early, and it wasn’t even on purpose. 

Your body decided to wake you up at 5AM before proceeding to not let you fall back asleep before your 6:30 alarm.

Already off to an amazing start to your day, Atlas wasn’t picking up his phone, Natasha and Wanda had already made their way over to the boys’ dorm to make sure they were ready, and you were running slightly late.

Check-in was at 7:30, and you walked in at 7:45. 

Amazing. Just amazing. 

After you checked in and made sure all of your work was ready to go, you peeked out into the lobby to see if you could catch a glimpse of anyone.

Bucky and Natasha were standing in line together, looking around just as anxious as you were.

“He has to show up, Nat,” Bucky pushed. “He’s not gonna just bail on her like that. It’s not like him.”

“It’s 8:05 and he isn’t here, Bucky. I’m not all too sure he’d be this late when Atlas is always at least 5 minutes early to everything he shows up to,” Natasha countered. “I swear I am going to kill him when I see him.”

On the opposite end of the doors, you couldn’t make out what they were talking about, especially more focused on trying to contact your boyfriend who was nowhere to be found. As soon as you were about to try once more, one of the moderators tapped your shoulder to let you know to take your seat. 

You sighed and shut your phone off. You had reserved seats for everyone ahead of time, so it’d be no problem for him to show. He was just late, and he’s never late.

The anxiety was eating you alive as you waited for the seminar to start, and it only grew as everyone before you was presenting. 

Looking back to check on the seats, you saw everyone seated but Atlas. Catching Bucky’s eye, he could definitely tell how you were feeling and what you were thinking. He always somehow had the ability to see right through you, and a pep talk from him wouldn’t sound too bad right now. But Tony Stark was just about to start his presentation which only meant you were next, and Bucky shot you a thumbs-up, mouthing ‘you got this’ before you turned back around in your seat. 

As Tony wrapped up his presentation on the ever-expanding world of artificial intelligence, you mentally prepared yourself to give the best presentation you could ever give in your entire college career. 

Your friends gave you looks of encouragement as you walked up to the stage, gathering all of your information as they put your presentation on the screen. 

The anxiety didn’t get the best of you at all. You felt a lot more confident once you had started speaking, knowing every single detail inside and out about your research and your presentation. 

Atlas hadn’t shown up throughout it all. It bothered you in the back of your mind, but it’d be improper to let something like that stump you in front of an auditorium filled with so many people smarter than you could imagine. Overall, you felt confident with your discussion, even surprised by receiving the second standing ovation of the day (which you concluded was only because you went after the Tony Stark), and tons of praise as you returned to your seat.

Feeling as good as you possibly could, Atlas was the last thought in your mind. You were definitely upset with him, but the high you felt from excelling in something you spent so much time and effort on completely overshadowed the current resentment brewing. 

What you hadn’t realized was Atlas slipping in about 20 minutes after your presentation concluded, your focus too centered on Bruce’s presentation on gamma radiation to look over your shoulder.

Bucky, on the other hand, was more than glad to address the elephant in the room that decided to right next to him. 

“You smell like alcohol, Atlas,” Bucky spat at him in a whisper, then grasping Steve’s attention from his other side. 

“I came as fast as I could—“

“Yeah, well you already missed it. She shouldn’t even see you like this to begin with,” Bucky stood up and walked out of the aisle, waiting for Atlas to follow shortly after.

Sighing and exiting out of the auditorium behind Bucky and Steve not too far behind the both of them, Atlas ran a hand through his hair. As soon as they were out of the auditorium and walked out of the building, Bucky turned around to face Atlas. Steve stayed towards the entrance, knowing Bucky could handle it.

“Look, Bucky—“

“No,” Bucky cut him off right away, placing his hands on his hips and staring at Atlas in disbelief. “She doesn’t deserve that, Atlas. At all. I’m more than positive she can and will give you this entire lecture herself so I’ll save you the dramatics, but you can’t seriously expect to show up in the state that you are to try and support her.”

“I didn’t have time to shower, I ran all the way over here—“

Bucky scoffed. “And you still couldn’t even bother to show up on time, huh? An hour and a half. An entire hour and 30 minutes passed before she got on that stage, and you weren’t here.”

“I’m sorry, Barnes, but is Y/n my girlfriend or yours?”

Rubbing a hand across his face in frustration, Bucky did everything he could not to land a clean punch on Atlas’s face for his sake and yours.

“She’s your girlfriend, Atlas,” Bucky answered. “That’s the problem. She’s giving a presentation on something that could give her the opportunities she may have not even dreamed of, and her boyfriend shows up hungover, smelling like alcohol, and late. I was here on time. We all were because that’s the kind of support she needs and deserves. Not what you just pulled.”

It was Atlas’s turn to scoff now, putting his jacket back on. “What is it that you’d like me to do, Barnes? Completely bail on the whole thing? You should at least appreciate the fact that I showed up.”

“I don’t, though, and I won’t. You should leave,” Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, and Atlas could tell he wouldn’t let him back inside that building. 

After taking a deep breath, Atlas gave in and walked away. He knew he didn’t stand a chance against Bucky, to begin with, and he was actually well aware you wouldn’t appreciate your boyfriend fighting with your best friend. Atlas’s thoughts also very much got the best of him, assuming you’d take Bucky’s side over his in a heartbeat. 

Bucky wasn’t happy. He also hated the fact that he still felt so protective over you, but he knew that you deserved better. It was a good thing to do as your friend nonetheless. 

Inside the auditorium, you had noticed Bucky and Steve’s absence, meeting Natasha’s eyes but she seemed as lost as you were. Slipping out of your seat, you walked out of the auditorium, seeing an annoyed Steve and even more annoyed Bucky walking back into the building.

“Go out for a smoke, boys?” You asked them playfully, trying to alleviate the clear tension in the room. Bucky’s eyes softened at the sight of you, making your cheeks feel a bit warm, but you pushed the feeling aside. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, little genius,” Steve pulled you in for a hug. “Nothing to worry about, we just needed some air.”

You nodded as you pulled away from Steve and hugged Bucky next. Steve made his way back inside, but Bucky tugged on your wrist before you could follow. 

“What’s wrong, Buck?” You asked as he looked a bit hesitant to speak to you, not even meeting your gaze entirely.

“Do you love him?” he asked, his voice nothing higher than a whisper.

“What?”

“Atlas, do you really love him?” he asked once more. “And does he really love you? Because I can’t stand by and watch you get anything less than what you deserve, Y/n.”

Bucky’s voice was low, only loud enough for you to hear, and his face was dangerously close to yours. You genuinely couldn’t tell what was happening, or what he and Steve were actually doing. His gaze finally met yours directly, his eyes more grey than blue today.

“I know you have all our pictures and our texts,” he spoke once he realized you wouldn’t. “I know you have your doubts, and hell, do I have some of my own. But regardless, if I’m gonna see you with someone else, I need it to be someone who cares for you, who adores you, who loves you. Does he love you, Y/n?”

Looking straight into his eyes, you nodded. You didn’t even think about it, give it a moment, or second guess it. Going with your gut, you nodded. He nodded once in response.

“Okay, then. But the next time he treats you like this, I might have to take matters into my own hands, prinţesă.” 

Bucky let go of your wrist, and the both of you walked back inside although the presentations were already over. Everyone was scrambling toward the exit so you and Bucky stayed back to wait for everyone else. 

You couldn’t help but think about the last 5 minutes that had just unfolded, while Bucky was pretending as if nothing happened. Draining couldn’t even begin to describe your day, between Atlas flaking on you, you having to present months-long research in front of hundreds of people, and Bucky making you the most speechless you had ever been in your entire life, you couldn’t fathom what was going to happen next. 

The rest of the group quickly made their way towards you and Bucky, each of them giving you a hug, Sam even giving you a “celebratory” pat on the head. You all walked out together, Natasha walking in the back with you as everyone walked ahead and talked amongst themselves. Nat caught your eyes focused on Bucky in his usual, quiet state, listening to everyone else talk with a stoic face that’d make anyone else assume he was in a bad mood. 

“What were you and Barnes talking about?” Natasha asked you, snapping you from your train of thought. 

You weren’t too sure if you should say anything, not exactly knowing how Bucky felt anymore. He was seeing someone, but he had never been so openly protective of you in that manner, let alone warning you of it. It also didn’t help your extended confusion about everything else going on in your head about the situation. 

“He was just apologizing about Atlas not showing up,” you responded quickly, wanting to get away from the group for a bit before going out to dinner. “I’m gonna change out of this outfit before we go out, is that okay?”

Nodding right away, Natasha gave you a side hug as you walked in the opposite direction of the group to your dorm. Bucky couldn’t help but watch as you left, hoping he didn’t overstep, though he really had no regrets.

As you walked into your room, you saw Atlas sitting on your bed, remembering you had given him the key to get past the front door. 

“Hey, swee—”

“Where were you?” you cut him off, not wanting to hear the pet names and soft talking. 

“Y/n, I’m really sorry, okay?”

“That isn’t what I asked you, Atlas,” you said sternly, not letting your guard down. You couldn’t help but think about what Bucky said earlier, about deserving someone who cares about you and loves you. “I trusted you. You told me you’d be there and you missed the entire thing. All of it. I can’t do this if you’re gonna give me absolutely nothing, Atlas. It’s draining.”

“I’m giving you nothing?” he spat in response. “You still love Bucky, Y/n—”

“Bucky is my friend, Atlas. Yes, we dated, we dated for two whole years, but I am with you and you are the one I want to be with. He asked me if you loved me today and I told him you did because I really do believe that you do. I love you too. But I felt so embarrassed today knowing that my boyfriend couldn’t even bother to show up to one of the most important events of my career. I needed you there. I need you, period, and I don’t even know why you didn’t show up. Tell me why.”

He was quiet. You were tired of talking about Bucky, you were tired of him thinking about Bucky. If you had decided to be with Bucky, you’d be with him right now. But you aren’t. You had your own faults, as did anyone, but you really wanted to make this relationship with Atlas work. You couldn’t just break it off over miscommunication and unwarranted jealousy. 

But he didn’t say anything. He didn’t answer and it hurt because you were well aware he did not want to tell you the real reason he didn’t show up.

“Nothing?” you asked, trying to prompt him to speak, but he didn’t.

Feeling the tears well up in your eyes from the sense of betrayal, you sighed to yourself. Still nothing. As a tear fell down your cheek, you wiped it off quickly, not wanting to be vulnerable in front of Atlas at the moment. 

“I need you to leave.”

“Y/n, please don’t do this,” he pleaded.

“Oh, so he does speak,” you said with an intentionally snarky tone. “Leave, Atlas. Please.”

While you were trying your best to hold your composure, Atlas put his jacket on and left you alone in your room, where you evidently crumbled. Closing your bedroom door, you slid against it down to the floor, choking out a sob. You stayed there for a couple of hours, consumed in your thoughts that you couldn’t even begin to interpret.

After a while, you grabbed your phone, calling the familiar contact that you’d probably regret afterward. A few rings and the familiar voice responded.

“Prinţesă? Where are you? I was just about to go and find you since Nat told me you were in your room—” Bucky rambled until he heard a sniffle. “Y/n? Is everything okay?”

“Can you come over please?” your voice cracked as you sniffled once more, still getting over your crying fit.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be on my way, okay? Don’t worry.”

After he hung up, Bucky rushed over as fast as he could, avoiding all the questions everyone was asking him before he walked out of the door. 

He knew he was digging himself into a deeper hole than he was already in, but he couldn’t help it. All Bucky cared about was your well-being, and he was more than positive he’d do anything to ensure it was preserved and protected.

So when he rushed into your room and saw you crying and shaking on the floor, he knew he had to make sure this never happened again.

–

Very happy with the course of this story and I already have the next part planned. Thank you for reading!

tags: @jessybarnes @cjand10 @blulemonades @sebsgirl71479 @eclecticpatrolroadlawyer @a-serene-place-to-be @paulasocean @rebloggingmyrecs @sarapolare @barnesselo @roofwitty779

[destiny-in-the-universe]

New Introduction [Searching for Moots]

Good timezone, my lovely dreamers!

It's been a long while since last I'd been active in tumblr, but I figured getting to meet new people would be worthwhile as I've made my comeback!

To start, I answer to many names but primarily- you can call me Clay or Danny. I hoard names like a possessive dragon (/lh), but that's also in part due to my kin-list and I carry their names around proudly. (And also the fact I'm a system)

I'm bodily an adult, 23 years old to be exact and counting! I use they/them pronouns, though neos are fair game at times (such as pup/pupself and ghost-themed pronouns).

Now, I am a multi-fandom blogger and enthusiast of neurodivergent content- especially as I connect to a lot of characters.

Fun Things About Me

✦ I'm bilingual, knowing both English and Spanish

✦ I'm a fanfic writer. Mostly specializing in AU's, angst themes, and recently- working on two crossover projects

✦ I have multiple disorders (auDHD, suspected BPD and DID, and diagnosed with MDD)

✦ Current Fixations are Teenage Superhero Cartoons

✦ I'm a roleplayer! (I can be a bit picky with who I roleplay with, and maybe further down the line- I can send out a request)

✦ Profound animal lover. I don't claim to be an expert-

✦ I kin hard.

Fandoms I Am a Part Of

[Key - ♡ (Active Fixations), ✩ (Dormant Fixations/Will Talk About Them if Asked), ➶ (Casual Interests)]

♡ Danny Phantom

♡ American Dragon: Jake Long

♡ Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja

♡ Kim Possible

♡ My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

✩ Gravity Falls

✩ Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus/Riordanverse

✩ Laika Films (Coraline, Paranorman)

✩ Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss

✩ Doctor Who

✩ Anime (Mob Psycho 100, My Hero Academia, The Promised Neverland, Hetalia, Death Note, Disastrous Life of Saiki Kusuo, Fruits Basket, Black Butler, Wolf Children, Studio Ghibli)

➶ Warrior Cats

➶ Supernatural

➶ Merlin

➶ Sherlock

➶ K-Dramas

➶ The Owl House

➶ She-Ra: Princesses of Power

[Ask if there might be others I've missed!]

Current Projects

Independent Fanfics

✦ tell me atlas, what is heavier (the world or its people's hearts?): Danny Phantom - [Canon Divergent Timeline] -Angst/Whump Trope. The Guys in White manage to capture and detain Danny Phantom, alongside kidnapping securing Tucker, and what follows- well, it's only a matter of time before the truth spills out. - Work in Progress (Unpublished)

✦ DannyMay 2024 - Danny Phantom. A series of one-shots surrounding the fandom Danny Phantom. - Work in Progress (tag: dannymay2024, personal tag: PENDING)

✦ Bad Things Happen Bingo - Fandom One-Shots. A series of angst-filled prompts based on the Bad Things Happen Bingo card. - Work in Progress (tag: PENDING)

Crossover Fanfics

✦ Unlocked Doors AU (Mystery Kids AU) - Danny Phantom, Coraline, Paranorman, and Gravity Falls. Two years have passed since the fated summer trip to Gravity Falls, Oregon, and well- now Dipper and Mabel are returning for the new summer. When a group of untimely teens also end up spending their summer in the seemingly quaint town, nothing will ever be the same. - Work in Progress (Unpublished)

✦ [UNTITLED] (Secret Trio AU) - Danny Phantom, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, and American Dragon: Jake Long. A sudden, unexpected turn of events leads to three teenaged superheroes meeting. It goes about as well as you could expect. - Work in Progress (Unpublished)

✦ [UNTITLED] (Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons) - Rise of the Guardians, Brave, Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon. A new threat has presented itself across the world, and somehow- it leads to a group of young adults coming to cross paths. - Work in Progress (Unpublished)

[A rules/guidelines of my blog will be posted separately!]

[psn-stalling]

//Pssst hi. Hi guys.

Okay so I've been seeing a lot of soft resets recently and it's made me think. I'm NOT going to soft reset this Atlas because of like a lot of reasons but I'm still not really happy about how I played him at the beginning of the blog and how short of a period of time that was despite how important it is to his character. So!!

Wondering if you guys would be interested in a completely separate "Ollie" blog! It would still be an Atlas but I feel like it would satisfy the urge to fix the rougher start while also like. Presenting how he used to be without affecting this Atlas!!

Also he'd probably have completely different development because I feel like him just developing into how normal Atlas is sounds a bit pointless because. I have normal Atlas for that already!

So I just wanna know what you guys would think of that!!

[gaybd1]

I really love when your headcanons line up with real canon! What are your thoughts on Sokka being Suyin’s dad? Also, most of Team Avatar was bad at parenting. Were Sokka and Zuko any good?

thanks so much for noticing that actually!!! lol it’s important for me that my headcanons for stuff lines up with canon as much as they can? bc it makes it more realistic to me so I try to fit everything in that it like fills in the gaps of what we know from canon. and LUCKILY with post-canon ATLA and pre-LOK there a LOT of opportunity!!!

SO!

1. Is Sokka Su’s baby daddy??

I’m gonna say yes EVEN THOUGH he’s married to Zuko and Toph is OBVIOUSLY a big ol’ lesbian because like where else would she come from then?? To me, Sokka was a sperm donor situation because Toph asked and he felt bad about the situation she had Lin in (I have a separate bc for that) so as her gay best friend he was like “alright I’ll give you another baby and you can try this again”

2. Is Sokka a good dad??

Not to Su. Like, he wasn’t physically around and he didn’t see himself as her dad? He didn’t feel obligated bc that’s kind of the agreement he had with Toph. Like this is YOUR kid. Su knew about him but felt kind of the same way.

To Izumi? YEAH. He was really there for her a ton and family was really important to him growing up. He learned from Hakoda what to do and what not to do, and he was really intentional about always being present for her. Like, he stayed in the Fire Nation WAY MORE after she was born. He was always very close to her, I think she was closer to him than to Zuko actually, and I also think Sokka was definitely the best dad of the Gaang.

3. Is Zuko a good dad??

LISTEN.

I LOVE the guy.

But No.

He tried, and his heart was in it, but he was always super busy running the Fire Nation, and this guy is like the king of workaholics.

ALSO he has a LOT of issues from childhood and with his own dad that he never 100% worked through so it was hard and he was pretty distant.

But when Izumi was little, she didn’t notice. She knew she had two dads who loved her and would do anything for her.

[themculibrary]

Nick Fury Masterlist 2

part one

a direct phone line to a mob boss (ao3) - lilyfarseer clint/phil E, 13k

Summary: Clint, in a quest for coffee, accidentally stumbles into a mob turf war and saves a mob boss named Nick Fury. Fury gives Clint an IOU in the form of a cell phone with instructions for Clint to call if he ever wants to cash in a favor. After a decade of unfortunate events, Clint accidently types, “I want to be happy”. From there, a strange number of things start occurring, starting with a text back of “Understood”, and followed by a series of strange happenstances. Then there is that really handsome guy whose apartment he accidentally crashed into with big blue eyes who sometimes asks Clint, “Are you happy?” Which really, what exactly is Clint supposed to say to him?

Agent Fury, Director Fury, Fury Nicholas J, Nick (ao3) -  R_o_x_x_a_n_n_e G, 907

Summary: Nick Fury tries to cope with Maria Hill's death, the new threats in his world and his own vulnerability.

And a game of chess

all the days of our lives, phase 1 (ao3) - ElrondsScribe pepper/tony, jane/thor, clint/laura, ian/darcy, wanda/vision, sharon/steve, bucky/natasha N/R, 41k

Summary: An Avengers-watch-their-own-movies fanfiction. I know it’s been done before, but I wanted to try it with a more expansive audience. In addition to all the Avengers (both retired and active) you’ll find Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Laura Barton, Betty Ross, Helen Cho, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and even Ian Boothby.

Post Captain America: Civil War. AU, obviously. All ships in the tags. Please do enjoy! Warning: there will be a bit of language.

First up: Captain America: The First Avenger

a place to lie low (ao3) - Sholio T, 5k

Summary: Two separate Hydra-hunting missions converge, and Nick Fury and Sitwell end up getting Sam out of a tight spot. Looks like they’re all going the same way for a while.

avengers at disney world (ao3) - ctxrover clint/natasha, steve/bucky T, 70k

Summary: Fury’s fed up of the Avengers not behaving like a team, so he’s sending them on a bonding trip to Disney World with Hill as their babysitter. Meanwhile, Coulson rarely gets to spend time with his kids so he takes them to Disney World. The problem? They’re going at the same time as the Avengers-who don’t know of Coulson’s survival. Some sort of AU. Clintasha. Some Stucky. Rated T.

avengers watch captain marvel (fanfiction.net) - Roxas Itsuka T, 30k

Summary: Called forth by an unknown being. The Avengers are made watch a movie about a hero who came not long before them. Fury and Goose present also. No pairing.

beneath the shadow of atlas (we’re all just chasing stardust) (ao3) - GrimRevolution G, 2k

Summary: Carol’s gone. She went back to space.

What the hell was Fury supposed to do about the alien cat?

Don't Bet With Nick Fury (ao3) - Westgate (Harkpad) clint/phil T, 1k

Summary: Phil loses a bit to Nick, and the payoff is more than annoying than a Duran Duran song from the 80s. He and Clint have to go to his High School reunion. It's a little bit Grosse Pointe Blank, it's a little bit badass Phil. Clint thinks the whole night is a success.

easy work for easy pay (ao3) - AustinB steve/bucky M, 45k

Summary: Bucky’s working his way back up through the ranks at S.H.I.E.L.D. after a mission took his left arm and Stark gave him a new metal one.

So when Fury tasks him with integrating the newly defrosted Captain Rogers into the 21st century, he jumps at the promotion.

magic isn’t the answer to everything (only some things) (ao3) - melonbutterfly loki/tony E, 25k

Summary: In which Tony is pregnant, everybody else isn’t (except for two weeks but it doesn’t count), Fury’s chair gets abducted, there’s some panicking, a little textspeak, some overprotectiveness, a lot of tuna, and no fainting.

Nick Fury (ao3) - untilweseeawingshot pepper/tony G, 1k

Summary: Fury pays a visit to the tower and suddenly gains a new friend.

nick fury is an asshole (ao3) - pastelfalcon phil/nick/melinda G, 417

Summary: Nick has been away for awhile and Phil is (understandably) pissed off about it. Melinda is, as always, the most level-headed.

Nick Fury's Missing Eye (ao3) - apollothyme bruce/clint, steve/tony G, 1k

Summary: Inspired by this memo where The Avengers form a band just to piss off Fury.

Service Dogs for Superheroes (SDfSH): Nick Fury (ao3) - literally_no_idea T, 3k

Summary: When Carol comes back to Earth, the first thing she does is meet with Nick Fury. Well, at least, that was the plan.

somewhere in the dark (ao3) - flipflop_diva steve/natasha E, 13k

Summary: In the weeks following the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson spend their days tracking down leads to the winter soldier’s whereabouts. But when Nick Fury shows up unannounced one night with the news that Natasha has gone missing, plans quickly change. And soon it becomes a race not only to find her but to figure out the circumstances around her disappearance. (And, of course, for Steve, it might be time to figure out how he finally feels about her.)

still life with flerken (ao3) - copperbadge G, 1k

Summary: Nick Fury: soldier, spy, strategist, cat dad.

the story behind the man: iron man 1 (ao3) - Anothershadow24 bruce/tony T, 34k

Summary: A year after the so called ‘Civil War’, the six original avengers, plus Sam, Wanda, Vision, Fury and Hill, get locked up on a room to watch a stack of films about one Tony Stark.

through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered (ao3) - indiefic E, 98k

Summary: Set post-Captain America: the Winter Soldier. Steve’s been lost since they thawed him out. When he discovers Peggy Carter is still alive, he’s even more lost. Sometimes reuniting with the love of your life isn’t happily ever after. Sometimes, it’s the very beginning of the hardest thing you’ve ever done.

((or, that one fic where Bucky’s medical records are missing. Tony thinks Fury’s growing super soldiers. Fury thinks Steve has an illegitimate daughter. Natasha knows a lot more than she’s saying. And everyone’s afraid of Peggy.))

Numerous flashbacks to the Captain America and Agent Carter timelines.

[ramrodd]

Ayn Rand - What Is Capitalism? (full course)

COMMENtARY:

Here's the thing about Ayn Rand: her Objectivism is essentially the epistemology of the Harvard MBA program. 

That's how you can justify paying a CEO of a publicly  equity enterprise traded on the NYsE 250 times the floor salary of means of production. The essence of Free Market economics is captured by her definition of Capitalism. The Studio Executives in the Hollywood Writers Strike accept Objectivism as divine enlightenment. Their business model is based on Objectivism's Eternal Truth of Jach Welch's example of corporate stewardship. Objectivists are the literal Looters described in Atlas Shrugged, but they believe they are the Good GUys. Or, like the Atlanta 19, they didn't care: they just wanted to keep Trump in the Oval Office. Objectivism is the business model of the Harvard MBA program and the Ivy League Socialism of the John Birch Society.

Any Rand gave an address like this to West Point in 1974 which is available in Philosophy: Who Needs It? It's a lecture on Objectivism, Everything she did from the moment she presented Objectivism as the rational alternative to Communism at Petrograd University during the Leninist phase of the Bolshevik Revolution as cultural warfare on campus. She was the living essence of Objectivism in what would become Soviet Russia and if her mother hadn't got her a visa to America, she would have eventually been liquidated in the Gulag.

So, she's really kissing the collective ass of the assembled Cadets at a time in post-Vietnam America being in the military was unpopular for their age group. Among other things, they had short hair, which the ticket to getting laid began with hair like the Beatles. One of the reasons why National Guard pukes from that era hated Vietnam combat vets was that the combat vets had long hair and the white National Guard pukes who had signed up in the National Guard to avoid going to Vietnam while beginning their business careers  still had short hair after I got back from Vietnam with long hair.

And Ayn Rand was kissing their ass in a way nobody else did and there is a certain percentage of white Americans at that time who would discover a kindred spirit in Atlas Shrugged and that's probably about the same 13% that will remain committed to Trump forever. Including the West Point Corps of Cadets.

in 1976, 80 Cadets were separated for Honors violations, They had apparently put their understanding of Objectivism into practice and were called on it. what they got called on is what people don't like about Ayn rand. The thing is, the entire Corps of Cadets was tainted by Objectivism and, as far as I know, it is still an element of the West Point culture. The flame out of the ccareers of David Petreaus and Stanley McChrystal are delayed effects of Ayn Rand's Objectivism at Wes Point: they were both on campus that year  

What is important to understand is that Ayn Rand's idea of Capitalism is basically the opposite side of the same sociological doin as Marxism, Anthropologically. This is also true that Marxism is the opposite side of the same coin as the Scientific Management at the core of the Harvard MBA program  Marx and Fredrick Winslow Taylor shared the same fallacy that Capital/Management and Labor are metaphysically antagonistic agendas and both violated Fayol's management principle of Esprit de Corps o, The fact is that both systems ar ideologically static with the mechanical economics of the steam engine (The Harvard MAB program now reflect's Ray Dalio's Transaction Theory, which posits the T Model Ford as the economic engine. The spark plugs simulate the interpleural impulse of American constitutional capitalism and is superior to Marxism in that regards).

And that's the business model of the Studio Executives in the Hollywood Writers Strike, the Objectivist side of the negotiations.

The business model of Fran Drescher and SAG is the Quality Assurance protocols W, Edeards Deming perfected in Japan and brought back to the Fortune 500 HR community, which force fed workers with Team building and the HR mantra du jour. The Quality Assurance business model Deming brought back from Japan was based on Esprit de Corps. What the Objectivist CEO's thought Quality Assurance meant that they could use the productivity gains to reduce payroll and dismantle unions as part of the Objectivist capital utilization policies of executive compensation 250 times the floor wage.

Ayn Rand's idea of Capitalism is that it is a religion and that it must be worshiped from the Church of Reason. Like Supply Side Economics, Soviet Marxism is based on Reason. That's the point, that's what Marx proposed to do: to create a society that conforms perfectly to Reason. He proposed to employ Reason to eliminate the contradictions in the material market place and we'd all live happily ever after, thanks to dialectical materialism.

Objectivism requires a slavish conformance to the dialectical materialism of Pure Reason.

Everything about Objectivism is a defense of her core value, The Virtue of Selfishness. This essay is a case study in the properties and characteristics of the libertarian logic that white neurotic middle class children of Country Club Republicans embraced as content for their debates on campus with liberals who employed Hegel to examine the human condition until Vietnam and the draft added an emotional urgency that Trotsky satisfied in the moment. Like William F. Buckley's seminar on Fascist sophistry, Firing Line. Objectivism offered slogans and sound bites that could be memorized as a substitute for critical thinking and deployed in campus debates or Harvard MBA case studies.

Objectivism is the epistemology of the January 6 rebellion. Objectivism is all about the emotional investment of the cult member. In business, Objectivism manifests as an ethical system based on taking a penalty in golf even if no one is watching. Objectivism is how Jesus describes Corban in Mark 7.

The intellectual dishonesty of Ayn Rand's Objectivism is on display in Virtue of Selfishness with her definition of "selfishness" as "concern with one's self interest", which she claims is the dictionary definition.

It is half of the dictionary's definition, "...without regard for others" is the second half of the definition. This is her emphasis on the rights of man as the essential component of a just society without regard for the social contract that provides the cultural field to incubate and sustain those rights of man, All those things she claims only Philosophy and Reason can give us occur with in the cradle of the social contract, good, bad or indifferent.

 The Declaration of Independence is based on the proposition that a social contract that promotes diversity is a capitalist tool and the entrepreneurial impulse the spark plug of freedom, liberty and Democratic Socialism of the Quality Assurance business model of Fran Drescher and SAG.

[cheswirls]

opened main gdocs writing folder so here we go again

i have folders in this main folder for all the properties i have 10+ docs for but i rly need to do anything else so im only gonna dig at stuff at the bottom of this main one

holy fuck there's a lot of magi.

tswf is still there and i'll be damned if i never go back to that one. loved the set-up so much w/ sinja adopting aladdin. i think i had jaf as an emt bc i remember he was gonna copy rly bad w the stress of the job by relying on drugs. there was some plot w alibaba getting into trouble but i dont remember with who or what besides kassim was involved. there were sooooooo many storylines for this one. i wanted sin to have an unusual major for uni and idk if i picked a legit job you need engineering bg for or if it was a trade school thing bc it sounds like one. have it written he's a tech that takes care of removing armed explosives stuck in the ground that never activated for w/e reason. it wa ssupposed to have him out traveling a lot but i never did pick a real world location for the setting so ig he could be in the area or even the same country. damn all of these plot pts are depressing af. there are 71 pages in the doc.

haikyuu atla au :) this is oldie but goodie. i do still adore atla aus set during the 100 yr war that could've happened bc it doesn't interfere w canon at all. where ur blorbos from other fandoms are jus some Random Guys. read an iwaoi fic like this and it was so good. i think i wanted to emulate that could-have-been so while plotting i came up w reasons for why someone impt would go mia and such. it was boku/aka set in the northern water tribe not long after the start of the war. bokuto was an envoy from omashu tasked with acquiring help and allying with the nwt. akaashi was the crown prince who by the end of the fic runs off w a team during one of the first and only fire nation attempted invasions. it was going to end with bokuto finding his betrothal necklace among the rubble and going after him.

there was a sequel i prolly thought more abt at some point than the original, considering theres a separate doc w writing already in it. the premise was switching pov of akaashi and bokuto, except akaashi's was in the past depicting he n his team assisting in the war efforts (and running into semi ig. some sort of firebender) and bokuto's pov starts with his reunion w/ akaashi and continues in present. think i was inspired by a lauren oliver novel tho idk which one. the time difference appealed to me. anyway at some point in the present they run into fire nation deserters kenma and kuroo and roll out w them (jeong-jeong is still the first deserter a la canon bc these 2 kill every witness and fake death to get away). and uhhhh i remember it ends at the swamp. with akaashi deciding to stay at the swamp in some bout of hopelessness. bc its far too soon for them to do anything to impact a war that will rage on for another 80+ years and the swamp is considered "safe and distant" and peaceful to an extent. lotta fun there would love to write both of these

i still have the bnha aristocats!au set during ww1 france and also they are not cats. still seems like a fun idea but idc abt bnha at allllllll anymore so perhaps i will axe this one.

everything else is 2020 which i think is safe. there's a couple dcmk ideas i wanna go back to. one of them is a pkmn au so :))))) yea. i think it was kaito&shiho on the run from team rocket for diff reasons and shinichi gets roped into helping them by being their third/traveling companion. fun stuff. the other was an attempt at a realistic kaishin run-in that i hadn't seen done before (or that i liked the execution of) so purely self-indulgence. kaito and ran are paired for a uni chem project and the topic they're presenting ends up being the key to solving a murder case. fun stuff :)

i had another magi longfic idea where al tharmen is a doomsday cult disbanded and aladdin is the young ward they worshiped as the chosen messiah as the son of solomon. he's taken in by ja'far who has to socialize a kid raised from birth by a cult. the only stand-outs i remember is playing around with trans!titus and him and sphintus having a baby near the end of the fic. titus becomes like a brother figure to aladdin n him and schehe live across the hall. sinbad is mia but still involved enough in ja'far's affairs to be a nuisance even from overseas. there was smth there abt a reunion between the two but it wasnt a sinja story. that one would be fun but the research aspect gah damn

i'm sure i have more fic ideas lurking in my tumblr drafts from years ago but idk idk this is long enough as is. i do remember the big toaru au (there were 3 but this was the Big tie-everything-in-canon-together one) where all the lvl 5s have to work together as they're hunted by aihana etsu. wanted to finish reading gt novels before diving in and that never happened but hooooooooly is that post long af under a read more i was not messing around w plotting. the other was a scifi attempt w astral buddy cast i would still love to revisit.

everything else is still recent enough that i dont hate it haha. not sure why the last three paragraphs other than rambling abt old ideas ive never revealed before. there! have at it

looking @ old fic i started when i was 14/15 is so funny bc im realizing once again why i never mark fics as abandoned even if its been literal years since i've touched them. specifically i was checking docs for stuff i started and either did or didn't post to ffn.

and its like. nothing is bad??? like i can see where my outside-the-box ideal of fic writing comes from. not just fics but writing in general, i'm p sure. even if it's a total cliche plot setup, there are details on each that rly make it stand out like oh yeahhhhhh i did have this great idea once upon a time.

funny too bc was it executed well in prose??? no absolutely not i wrote like shit when i was 15. would i revive an idea one day and revise it to be less cliche or cringy while still keeping the stand-out elements??? yea maybe. i might. everything i'm currently working on that i started from 2021 up to now still holds my supreme interest, but like i'm not gonna say never.

esp since i write fic first and foremost for my own need and specifically what i like to read, it makes it impossible to consider an idea i've thought extensively about "not worth writing anymore". anyway not making this too long i jus found everything interesting to consider

[rataltouille]

FORCE MAJEURE: NOVEL INTRO

[this is my original work, do not use / repurpose / plagiarise in any form]

GENRE: literary fiction.

SETTING: south india, early 2010s.

POV & TENSE: dual pov; present tense + third person limited.

STAGE: prepping for camp nano [my current goal for camp is 10k!]

THEMES + AESTHETICS: fatalism, chance and luck, the duality of everything, corruption, chaos vs order, manipulation, power, sacrifice, loneliness, free will, love vs obsession. the sound of waves crashing against rocks, sitting in an empty house and watching a watery dawn, saltwater seeping into your pores as you swim deeper and deeper underwater; driving through neon cities under a full moon, laughter mixing with the bright sounds of people, the buzz of contact in a room full of strangers.

CONTENT WARNINGS: cults and religious trauma, implications + discussions of emotional abuse, terrible parents, manipulation, gaslighting. [note: this wip is very new so more content warnings may be added as i go]

SUMMARY:

when twins ananya and naveen get separated while escaping their home, they find themselves in completely different places—one stumbling onto a hidden commune by the beach, the other pulled into a group of thieves in the city. this story is a dark coming-of-age where the twins must confront their obsessions with things they can’t control and what they’re willing to do to belong.

aka “i know everything happens for a reason but what the fuck”

CHARACTERS:

omg my children <3 [all picrew credits to @/sagravi’s picrew!]

ANANYA [pronounced as: uh-nun-yah]

she/they [she’s very non-binary but doesn't have the term for it in the book? so in my head she uses she/they but in the book uses she/her]

looks like she can kill you, will instead make you fall in love and slowly [and unknowingly] break your heart <3

“have you ever seen a woman so beautiful you started crying?”

unintentionally funny. says something mean and people will laugh not realising she actually meant it

carries around a lot of anger about the multiple ways in which people have wronged her and now and then just goes feral [as she should, really]

aroace and has a very longterm, very on screen crisis about it. what i learnt from this is that i cannot write an uplifting aroace story and tbh i don't know what that says about me as someone who’s also aroace.

very emotionally attached to her parents :) very emotionally detached from people in general :) suffering™

does not have a good time

NAVEEN [pronounced as: nuh-veen]

he/him [also very non-binary]

looks baby, is actually very sad

“i do not have a fake social media personality. i am genuinely this mentally ill in real life”

unintentionally unfunny. he cries himself to sleep at night because his puns weren’t well received [me too honestly]

very queer!! he’s mspec but doesn’t label himself, and honestly king <3 he also gets caught in a bisexual love triangle. the way i was anti-love triangles until this guy appeared🧍

was always the twin who was idolised and seen as the family’s future which not only put a lot of pressure on him but also strained his relationship with ananya in unexpected ways which is just :(

does not have a good time

literally i fell in love with the twins so quickly; they are so cool and are most definitely my genvy. their relationship is very central to the story despite them being separated for the most of it [if the story plays out that way]. i’m excited to actually start drafting to learn more about them + their dynamic!!

SO HOW’D THIS HAPPEN?

so a few days ago my brain said “new fun ya contemporary concept about queer twins in high school” and then within five minutes of its existence my brain also said “contemporary ya my ass it’s now adult litfic deal with it” and at this point i’m just like. okay.

this book is my second novel and also my *bangs posts and pans* camp nano wip! [please as if i haven't mentioned this seventy times already] coincidentally my academic year + finals also end on the first of april so this is such a perfect time to start a new project!!

ALSO i’m jumping on the trend of making a temporary taglist for weekly updates like all the cool, sexy writeblrs who are doing it [read as: atlas fam] so!! let me know [dm/ask/reply/mention in reblog] if you want to be added to the camp nano taglist!! if you want to keep up with the wip after camp, you can ask to be added to my general taglist. heads up that i won't be tagging my general taglist for the weekly updates!!

everything about this project is tagged as force majeure and the writing updates as force majeure update. also here’s the link to the very very in-progress playlist. you can send me an ask / message me if you’d like to be added to my taglist or have any questions about the project. and that’s about it for now!!

[itsclydebitches]

No one should of trusted RWBY+ with fucking anything, let alone saving the world (LIKE REN SAID THEY SHOULDN’T BE MAKING DECISIONS ON) and now look. Two cities destroy, millions dead or homeless, and Salem half-way to completing her goal that might get everyone killed. Yeah, Ozpin totally should apologize for not trusting these idiots.

At the very least the story might have pulled some plot strings to "prove" that Ozpin should have trusted them from the start. Like with Oscar succeeding with Hazel. We know that success required him to go OOC and that in a story with more consistent characterization/realistic reactions from its cast, Oscar would have definitely failed... but that doesn't erase the fact that he didn't. No matter how badly executed, the story essentially argues, "Oscar was right to trust Hazel because look, Hazel helped him" and we might have gotten something similar with the group: "Ozpin was wrong to mistrust them because look, when they learned the truth everything got better."

But, uh... things got so much worse.

The group drove Ozpin away rather than proving that they were actually different from everyone else who learned about Salem. Then they nearly lost the Relic at the farm. They tested the fragile trust between the kingdoms by stealing from Atlas and in doing so got a Leviathan to attack a city. Then they lied to Ironwood - the exact thing Ozpin supposedly shouldn't have done to them. They actively divided their allies - you know, the thing Salem wants. Not splitting the group to complete two separate tasks, Ruby - by turning on the Ace Ops and Ironwood. Ruby told everyone about Salem, which realistically should have caused massive grimm attacks across the entire world. They lost the Relic because they never bothered to put it in the vault. They also ended up losing the last question because of that. They lost the Staff because they stupidly took it out of the vault. Their Maiden was killed, again. An entire populace is displaced and currently getting picked off by grimm. They knowingly, willingly, and deliberately destroyed an entire kingdom when they didn't have to.

Oh, and then five out of ten “died.” If there was any part of Ozpin that held back out of worry for their safety, that’s been proven correct too. They weren’t strong enough, or smart enough to survive this war. Within just a few months they were (we’re meant to believe) killed. 

Putting aside, for the moment, that a story needs conflict and failure on the part of its protagonists, everything that has happened since Volume 6, to my mind, proves Ozpin right. Not just in terms of "Wow, when I tell people about Salem they hurt and betray me" but also "Wow, somehow I don't think this group of teenagers with one year of training is ready to be the linchpin of this war." Because that's what they wanted by demanding every secret: to be at the very center of the fight, to be making the tough calls, to play at being the world's hero. The problem is, their idea of a hero is still someone who fixes everything with an epic punch to the face. When that fails... they crumble. Cue Ruby sitting around in the mansion half the volume. Should Ozpin have trusted his inner circle? It's debatable. Lionheart ran to Salem the second he learned of her immortality, Qrow sunk deeper into his alcoholism and gave up the fight, but Ironwood took it in a stride and kept pushing forward. Theodore we don't know yet. So it's pretty up in the air whether that would have assisted Ozpin, or just made things worse that much faster, but then that's not really the question here. Should he have told the group? Should he have deliberately made these teens generals in this war? The plot says, "Absolutely not." Because when they made themselves the generals through force - stealing the question, lying to Ironwood, defeating the Ace Ops, hijacking Amity - things have consistently gotten worse. Nothing we've seen on screen the last three volumes says, "See? Look how much better things are once Ozpin was forced to trust love and put his faith in this team."

And what slays me is that the show so desperately tries to backtrack on this with the fight between Ren and Yang:

Ren: Are you kidding?! We don’t know the first thing about being Huntsmen. We clearly weren’t ready.

Yang: Were we not ready when we saved Haven? When we took down a Leviathan? We got the Lamp to Atlas.

Ren: And then we lost it! And after that, when we had to make real decisions, we got every single one wrong.

Yang: I’m not going to pretend like we did everything perfectly, but if we’d done nothing, things would be even worse than they are now.

Ren: How could they possibly be worse? We are stuck out here while Salem has the Lamp and Oscar. We’ve got no plan, no army.

Yang: We’ve got the Maiden!

Yang is forced to omit so much information to make the team look good here and Ren is only allowed to point out one (1) thing she omits: "And then we lost it!" Yang fails to mention that they didn't save Haven, Blake's army did. So yeah, one member of the team, but it's not like they got in there and kicked epic ass. Weiss nearly died. The Relic was only saved because Raven decided she didn't want it anymore. The group barely held their own and then won due to good timing and the bad guys taking each other out/changing their minds. They were going to defeat two Maidens? Lucky them one Maiden took the other out and then decided to hand them the Relic.

Took down a leviathan? Funny how she fails to mention that they drew the leviathan there in the first place and that Cordovin's drill is what did it in. Even Ruby's eyes is a single person ability that only works on grimm, not at all useful for the human-based problems Ren is talking about. They got the Lamp to Atlas? Yeah, and then you lost it. Getting it to Atlas is literally meaningless when the villains still managed to steal it, that victory a direct result of the group's stupid decisions. It's like going, "I successfully got water out of the boat" and failing to mention that the boat still sank. Oh, and also you could have plugged the hole at any point and just... didn't. The boat sinking is absolutely on your hands. When pressed just the tinniest bit, all Yang can come up with is that they've still got the Maiden, someone who will be attacked, hacked, and murdered by the end of the volume. Everything else? "but if we’d done nothing, things would be even worse than they are now."

That's a very big claim from someone ignoring all her failures. And of course, soon after this Ren dares to use Jaune's lack of training as an example of how unprepared they are (valid), he gets mad, the duo later tells him to open up more (he literally just did), and then the story drops his anger for a semblance upgrade instead. RWBY banks on us just believing Yang, carried along by everyone - all the way through to Nora - going on about how Very Very Wrong Ren Is - because if you actually consider these themes of trust and ask whether Ozpin was wrong to hold back... there's not a lot to challenge that decision. The go-to argument would be, "The heroes made things better once they knew the truth, ergo, they should have known the truth from the start" but the group has continually made things worse. It's not even a temporary problem anymore. No matter that they'll inevitably win, Atlas is gone. They've done irreversible harm to the world and yeah, they're trying to do good, they're trying, but this isn't the story of some teenagers forced into a conflict and doing what they can with the hand they've been dealt. This is the story of some teenagers who forced their way in, so when things go wrong... that's on them, no matter their intentions. They are now responsible, just as much as Ozpin was responsible. Except the story refuses to admit that, continually positioning Ruby as an innocent child in need of reassurance, not the licensed huntress who stole control from Ozpin, lied her way into a new inner circle, attacked former allies to avoid the consequences of her own actions, and presented herself as the world's savior... only to then cry because she never had a plan to begin with. We've got a fantastic story here about how Ruby wasn't ready, none of her friends were, and their naïve belief that they were the heroes of this tale - running after the White Fang, then Cinder, then Salem herself - has done incredible harm within a delicate, multi-generation war. We might have started telling that story if the group had actually sat with Ren's accusations and admitted their mistakes. Instead, we're left with this ridiculous claim that no matter how bad things get, it's always better than the alternative of the group not being involved at all. Because they're the heroes, remember. Their goodness they provide is, supposedly, inherent. The only problem is we no longer have a plot that supports this claim.

[dualcoindeity]

Okay so I decided to watch the video that pissed off @kob131 and well he’s wrong, the video was not a bad argument

It was an epic failure of an argument. 

For those who don’t know which video pissed off my mate here, well it was “RWBY Villains: The “Hero’s”” (I think that might be a spelling error she didn’t catch until it was too late to change the title) and well like I said it is an epic failure of an Argument. 

In this video, The Judgemental Critter attempts to argue that RWBY’s actions  made them look worse off than the Villians of the show with three questions; 

1) What did Team RWBY do?

2) Were they rewarded for it? 

and 

3) Were they punished for it? 

 and fails to make a point, aside from two things; Blake Slapping Sun (”My Emotional Harm” is not a good excuse to slap the guy trying to help your Blonde ditching ass) and Most of the events of the Atlas Arc (I’m of the position that Ironwood was more right than the Heroes, and he was only amped from Tragic Anti-hero to full blown tyrant because the writers failed to see why people were siding with Ironwood instead of RWBY). 

What does she get wrong well; 

Her Volume 1 example points out that RWBY failed to stop the Robbery, however with her own points they couldn’t because the only people present were Blake (who she made no mention of her trying to talk the White Fang out of doing Torchwick’s robbery); Sun (who fought off Torchwick); Ruby (who was knocked out) and Penny (who stopped the Robbery). 

Her Volume 2 example (which was not the mech thing that managed not to be reported on, which she would’ve gotten a point if she had brought this up) was them stopping the White Fang’s attempt at a grimm invasion. 

Her Yang Example (what I call her Volume 3-4 arguments because it mostly focuses on Yang): Kind of is an example of the meme; “Tell me you didn’t watch x without telling me you watch x”. Well she argues that Yang shouldn’t have been “rewarded” with a shiny new arm because she Broke Mercury’s leg. Three Problems; 1) Emerald used her Sembalance to trick Yang into doing it, 2) Mercury’s legs weren’t real and 3) She lost her arm trying to fight off someone from killing someone. Also yes Ironwood would’ve gotten the people who chose to participate shiny new limbs, because that’s how he rolls and he himself has Shiny new Limbs.     

Her Volume 5 example was The Heroes not doing shit to defend Heaven and she failed to mention; Leo (the headmaster) worked for Salem, Everyone in Heaven left, Qrow’s contacts were all dead because of Leo, Raven (wanting both the rewards for Biggest Bitch, Worst Parent and only anime girl to piss Knight off) decided to team up with Cinder to take the relic in an area where our heroes are not therefore they didn’t know it was coming (along with the White Fang Shit), and Yang was the only one who figured out Raven was the Spring Maiden and roasted her so badly she left. Not sure if I covered everything, but I believe I got the general idea on how she’s wrong across 

The Volume 6 examples were The Train (which you get to see a rare feat of an argument falling apart by the person talking about it in the span of seconds when she brings up the turrents, and as for the Relic, they don’t clam up about it they get everyone (except for the little old lady who was here for one purpose and fucked off for the rest of the show) off of one cart and separate that cart from the rest of the train) and The Airship (which mortal debates aside, she forgot Oscar has Ozpin inside of him (and not in the Catholic Priest way), and well Jacques is a dick who would most likely going to screw over Ironwood, so it was the only option, no one really saw the Grimm coming and Ruby did fix it by sacrificing her right to view the giant Tits of Jinn, unless she gets a giant load of Singles).

and

The things she did to screw up on the Atlas thing (which is the easiest thing in the world to do) was that she implied that RWBY didn’t do enough to stop Tyrian’s (who J.C non verbally implies unfairly had his stinger cut off by Ruby) and Watts plans, when they didn’t even know they were in Atlas, and Implying  that RWBY only carried out their plans so that Penny could have a functioning pussy so they could fuck her in a lesbian Orgy only the female fans of RWBY would be allowed to fap to when RWBY’s logic for opposing Ironwoods plan was that they wanted to save everyone.

In conclusion, this is one of the worst forms of criticisms I’ve seen on RWBY even though I myself am Critical due to the Atlas Arc and well due to RT being dicks (especially during the Vic fiasco). This is someone’s strawman of RWBY criticism. Please don’t attack J.C over this please. @kob131 if you’re reading this, you owe me one. 

[just-jordie-things]

#17 w/ sokka!! if you would like from your prompt list?

yes! my first atla prompt! lets goooo! got a lil carried away for a blurb tho

prompt 17: having to kiss to hide from the bad guys

___

How you and Sokka got separated from the others, you couldn’t quite remember.  It had all happened so fast, and you hadn’t been paying proper attention to what was going on.

One minute, you were browsing through a market in a more upper ring of Ba Sing Se, eagerly picking through a pail of strawberries to see if they were worth four whole silver pieces, and the next, Sokka was grabbing you by the arm and telling you to run.

It wasn’t until you’d run as far as your legs could carry you that Sokka had pulled the two of you into an alley that you could even ask.

“What... just happened..?” You asked, breathless, doubled over and trying not to heave as you panted.

Yes, you were very well trained in the arts of hand to hand combat, who learned from yours truly (Sokka, of course) but that didn’t mean you could break into a sprint for ten minutes out of nowhere!

“Fire Nation soldiers,” Sokka huffed, not sounding nearly as out of breath as he should have.  “I think they recognized Aang, they definitely spotted us”

“Well did they follow us?” You asked, suddenly bolting upright and peeking around the corner.  “There they are!”

Your eyes narrowed on the group of Fire Nation soldiers who were trying to casually sweep through the crowds of the busy market.  They stuck out like a sore thumb, but even in their poor attempts of blending in, the Earth Kingdom citizens didn’t seem to notice.

“We can take ‘em-”

“Woah there, tiger,” Sokka grabbed you by the arms and pulled you back into the hidden safety of the alley before you could do something reckless.  “Just let ‘em go, they won’t recognize us”

Sokka did this often, talked you down from jumping head first into a fight you probably could have won.

You pulled a face, but he wasn’t looking anyways.  His eyes were trained on the soldiers, tracking their every movement.

“If they won’t recognize us, then let’s just get going, we should find the others” You said matter-of factly, and again, made a move to leave the alley.

“We don’t know that!” Sokka hissed, grabbing you by the wrist and dragging you back towards him again.

If you weren’t so annoyed that he was being unreasonable, you might have flustered from how close he’d brought you, or how firm his grip on your arm was.  And he wasn’t about to relent either, since he didn’t trust that you wouldn’t make a run for it.

“We don’t know that they won’t notice” You argued back, keeping your voice low as not to draw any attention to the two of you.

Being alone in an empty and dark alleyway was suspicious enough, you didn’t need anyone seeing the two of you fighting over here.

“Spirits, for once can you please just do things the safe way?” Sokka asked, sending a short glare your way.

He paused for a moment, and his features fell as his eyes looked you up and down, like he was suddenly aware of just how close the pair of you were.  You were backed into a wall, and he was all but caging you in.  You quirked a brow back at him, a little amused from the way he’d freezed up, and he cleared his throat before stepping back.

“No, do go on,” You prompted, your brows furrowing as you stood up straighter.

Sokka put his focus on the Fire Nation soldiers scouring through the crowd, and swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Tell me about how reckless and unsafe I am”

“Like I have to do that,” He scoffed.  “You’re well aware of the way you act”

“Way I act?” You repeated in mock offense.

“Yeah,” Sokka says, scoffing again, and looking back down at you.  “The whole cutthroat thing”

“Sokka, what in the world are you talking about?” You asked, your eyes narrowing as you tried not to smile at him.

But he was making eye contact and his eyes were so goddamn blue-

“Fifteen minutes ago we were strawberry shopping, what’s cutthroat about that?”

“Well- you’re- very particular about your strawberries”

You rolled your eyes at him, knowing his argument had failed.

But you kept to yourself, and turned to check on the soldiers.

They were definitely gaining on you, they were just a few feet away from the alley, and it was only a matter of time before you were caught.  Even if they didn’t recognize you and Sokka, you were still two suspicious looking teenagers hiding in an alley.

“They’re getting closer, we should hide,” You said, tugging on Sokka’s arm, trying to get him to follow you further down the alley.

His head swiveled between you and the guards, unsure.

“Maybe there’s a way out down this way,” You added, tugging a little harder.

You wanted him to give in to reason, but even if he didn’t follow you, you wouldn’t be able to leave him here.  Feelings aside, you could never abandon him.

“Sokka-”

“Fine, let’s go” He said.

You resisted the urge to sigh in relief as you both made a break for the end of the alley.  It was dark, not lit at all, and the canopies from the surrounding buildings blocked most of the sunlight from getting in.

Sokka remained close behind, one hand on his boomerang the whole time he followed you, just in case he could hear footsteps behind him.

But it was you who perked up to the sounds of heavy footsteps, and you froze in place, your hand seizing Sokka’s arms and also making him stop in his tracks.  He looked at you wildly, confused at first, but you put your finger to your lips and nodded in the direction of the way you’d just come from.

Sure enough, he could hear the group of men coming your way, in slow calculated steps.

“They’re trying to sneak up on us” You whispered, but you were mouthing the words more than speaking them.

“Follow me” Sokka mumbles back, and he takes your hand before swiftly continuing down the path.

Unfortunately, it leads you nowhere.

Well, technically, it leads you to a dead end.

“A wall!” Sokka hisses, gesturing to it as though you couldn’t see.  “We’re stuck here!”

You frown back at him, and then let go of his hand to reach up in an attempt to scale the wall.

Sokka rolls his eyes before smacking your hands.

“Hey!” You hiss, annoyed, but still trying to keep quiet.

“You’re not gonna be able to climb that, dumbass” He seethed back.

You huffed, defeated, and your worried eyes turned in the direction of the guards who were certainly gaining on you.  You couldn’t see them yet, but it was only a matter of time before they wised up and used their firebending to light their path and catch you.

“What now?” You mumbled, glancing around you in hopes you could find some place to hide, but there was nothing but brick around you.

What a perfect time to be a non-bender.

You couldn’t tell whether or not Sokka was scheming.  He had a look on his face, the one he got when he was concentrating really hard on something, but he wasn’t saying anything.

You figured you’d just have to fight your way out of this one and hope you’d emerge unscathed.

But then Sokka turned to you, his eyes lit up but his expression nervous.  Your own eyes widened, not exactly excited for whatever crazy idea he’d just thought of.

When his hands reach up to cradle your face- his touch gentle but still present- he was certain your own eyes couldn’t possibly get any wider.

The logical part of you wanted to smack him and ask him what the hell he thought he was doing.

But the rest of you was turning into putty in his hands.  Literally, as soon as he’d touched you it was like you’d began to melt-

“Do you trust me?” He asked, his eyes flickering between yours.

You nodded, without hesitation.

“With my life”

It all happened at once- or so you thought.

The Fire Nation soldiers’ steps grew heavier as they neared, surrounding you.

And Sokka’s lips crashed into yours.

You’d had a feeling it was coming, but it still made your breath hitch in your throat.  On instinct, your hands grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him into you with so much strength that your body was slammed into the brick behind you.  Both of you grunted from the force, but it didn’t slow either of you down.

Sokka was a good kisser, you thought, forgetting completely that you were kind of risking your life over a dumb camouflauge such as frisky teenagers.  

You’d known you’d had feelings for Sokka for quite some time now, but you hadn’t realized just how bad you had it for him until now.  Hell- you needed him.

You revelled in how soft his lips were- and wondered briefly if he’d been using chapstick- and how perfectly they molded into yours.  How it felt like he poured passion into every lengthy and heavy kiss he gave you.  You maybe even whimpered a little, returning his kisses with fervor and delight.

Just as one of your hands latched around the nape of his neck, fingers itching to reach up into his hair, the Fire Nation soldiers made their presence known.

A bright flame erupted before you, which broke you and Sokka apart as you turned to look at the men as innocently as you could.

All at once, the looks of pride on their faces fell, and you wanted to laugh at the way they grimaced, and some shielded their eyes after seeing a young lady in the arms of her lover, both you and Sokka looking very disheveled and very out of breath.

“Spirits! What in the world are you two doing back here?” The man in front- maybe he was a General, you didn’t know, you didn’t care- asked.  He sounded irritated, which wasn’t how a man who was about to arrest you usually sounded.  You felt you were in the clear.

“Uh, what does it look like?” You asked coyly, smirking and raising a brow.

Sokka’s face turned bright red, and the sight made you melt again.  Even if he’d only been kissing you for show, you could still make him blush.

“Some privacy, gentlemen?” You asked, far too casually in Sokka’s opinion.

He turned to you, giving you a pointed glare that screamed ‘don’t over-do it’, but you ignored it.

“Miss, you and your boyfriend shouldn’t be back here-” The possible Fire Nation General started to argue, but you cut him off, boldly.

“Is it a crime, sir?” You asked curiously.

Your hand loosened it’s grip on Sokka’s shirt, before smoothing over his chest.  You didn’t know it, but your palm left a trail of goosebumps in it’s wake.

A few of the soldiers shuffled backwards in an awkward fashion, only sticking around as they waited for their superior’s command.

“Could we get that privacy now, please?” You asked, adding a sweet lilt to your voice, only furthering this innocent facade you were going through with.

“It’s not safe for you to be alone in the dark” The man in charge spoke in warning, but soon turned to walk away.

Sokka’s jaw dropped as he watched the soldiers leave, before turning back to look at you.

“I can’t believe that just worked”

“It was your plan dummy,” You giggled, and wrapped both of your arms around his neck.

He reciprocated immediately, his hands finding your waist and drawing you in closer, making you grin.

“Now shut up and kiss me again,” You said quickly.  “It’s only a matter of time before the others find us too”

The Water Tribe boy didn’t need to be told twice, and he wasted no time in meeting you halfway and kissing you passionately. ___

xoxo ~ jordie

[zukkacore]

Whitewashing in AtlaLok: the Western & Christian Influence on s2 of LoK

Ok, so i’m not a big brained expert on all things indigenous or even all things asian but I do think bryke's christian & western worldview seeps so far into season 2 of LoK that i think out of every season it’s by far the most unsalvageable out of everything they’ve ever done in the Atlaverse and is a very insidious kind of whitewashing. I know that sounds hefty but here’s what I mean

For the record, I’m a mixed filipino person & while there is religious diversity among filipinos, more than i think ppl realize or that the catholic majority is willing to let on, when we were colonized a large percent of the population was indeed forced to convert to catholicism so that’s my background, & i don’t know everything about taoism or the what the tai chi symbol represents but the way Bryke westernize the concept of Yin and Yang is honestly… kinda bewildering. They get so many details about yin & yang wrong?? & Yes, it’s possible they could’ve been trying to create their own lore that differentiates itself from the traditional depictions of Yin & Yang, but in the end i think it doesn’t matter b/c the lore they invent is a very obviously western interpretation of the concept of “balance”.

The most important and honestly worst change they make is that concepts of “light” and “dark” are completely oversimplified and flattened to represent basically “good” and “evil” (which, the light and dark side are a bit more complex than representing just “peace/order vs. Chaos” like the show might imply but we don’t even have time for that, but is funny how they get the genders wrong. Like. Traditionally, light is usually coded masculine and dark is usually coded feminine, but never mind that, that’s just a tangent). This really simplifies the nuance of the s2 conflict and makes it a lot less interesting, not to mention just—misrepresents a very real religious philosophy?

And for the record, a piece of media going out of its way to do "the show, don’t tell" thing of stating in the text that “oh, light and dark are not the same thing as good vs. evil” without actually displaying that difference through the writing is just lip service, and its poor writing. A lot of pieces of media do this, but i think s2 of LoK is particularly egregious. The point of this philosophy of balance is that you aren’t supposed to moralize about which side is “good” or “bad”, or even really which one is “better” or “worse”. Even if the show states the concepts are not interchangeable, if the media in question continually frames one side (and almost always its “chaos/darkness”) as the “evil” side, then the supposed distinction between “light vs. dark” and “good vs. evil” is made moot. And besides the occasional offhand remark that implies more nuance without actually delivering, Vaatu is basically stock evil incarnate.

This depiction of conflict as “defeating a singular representation of total evil” isn’t solely christian, but it is definitely present in christian beliefs. And I think those kinds of stories can be done well, but in this case, in a world filled entirely of asian, Pacific Islander & inuit poc, to me it feels like a form of subtle whitewashing? B/c you’re taking characters that probably wouldn’t have christian beliefs, and imposing a christian worldview onto them. Not to mention removes what could have been an interesting conflict of any nuance and intrigue… and honestly, sucks, because I do think s2 has the bones of an interesting idea, mostly b/c there are potential themes that could’ve been explored—I know this b/c they were already explored in a movie that exists, and it’s name is Princess Mononoke! It has a lot of the same elements—tension between spirits and humanity, destruction of nature in the face of rapid industrialization, moral ambiguity where there are no easy or fast answers and both sides have sympathetic and understandable points of view. (Unsurprising b/c Miyazaki is Japanese & Japanese culture has a lot of influence from Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, etc)

Bryke’s western & christian worldview also totally seeps into the characterization of Unalaq, the antagonist of the season which is a real problem. I’m in the middle of rewatching s2 right now and what struck me is that….. Unalaq comes across kinda ecofash AND fundamentalist which is 1) seems like an odd combination but maybe it really isn’t? 2) i think is a really tacky choice considering that the water tribes take the majority of its inspiration from inuit and polynesian indigenous cultures.

I honestly forgot abt this but Unalaq gives this whole lame speech abt how the SWT & humans as a whole suck b/c of their lack of spiritual connection & it was really eerie to me b/c "humans are morally bankrupt and they must be wiped out/punished for their destruction of the environment" is total ecofash logic bc it blames all of humanity for damage caused by those in power—be they capitalists or whoever. It’s a worldview that blames the poor and powerless for something they have no say in, and has real eugenics undertones bc with every implication of culling, there has to be someone who appoints themself the job of culling—of who is and isn’t worthy of death.

This belief also struck me as......... kinda christian in it's logic as well which is WEIRD b/c once again........ their cultural inspirations are DEFINITELY not christian...... The whole "man is inherently evil and must spend their whole lifetime repenting/must face punishment for it’s wickedness" thing and the way that christianity treats humanity as born with original sin or inherently corrupt—as well as above or separate from nature are really stronger undertones in Unalaqs worldview....... which isn't really an indigenous way or thinking.

I'm generalizing of course but from what I have seen from the indigenous people who speak on this is that (feel free to point out or correct me if i’m mostly generalizing abt Native Americans and not other indigenous cultures & there are some differences here) is that while native tribes are not monolithic and do vary wildly, there are a lot of common threads and that reverence and respect toward nature and your surroundings is an important tenant of indigenous beliefs. (I specifically remember the hosts on All My Relations saying essentially that we humans are a part of nature, we are not separate from it, and humans are not superior to animals—I’m paraphrasing but that is the gist of it)

So, yeah, I think it’s just really distasteful to write an indigenous character who is characterized in a way that’s way more in line with a christian fundamentalist & wants to bring about a ragnarok style apocalypse end of the world when that isn’t really a tenant of our beliefs? (btw, the way the end of the world is framed is also kinda fucked up? If i were being charitable, I could say that maybe s2’s storyline is a corruption of the hindu depiction of the end of the world, but even that sounds mildly insulting for reasons I won’t get into b/c i am Not The Expert On Hinduism. I will say that once again, the framing of the concept is all wrong, the show views the idea of apocalypse through a very western lense)

To wrap this up, I think the depiction of Unalaq could *maybe* work b/c he is the antagonist, so someone who strays from the NWT cultural tradition in a way that makes his view of morality more black and white wouldn’t be a *horrible* idea for the bad guy of the season. Especially because the introduction of capitalism to the A:TLA universe could probably cause a substantial shifts to… idk, everything i guess, b/c capitalism is so corrosive. Like. Sometimes people are just traitors. I do think it would be interesting to portray the way capitalism manifests in a society without white christians. Like… I do think there are a lot of ways secular christianity and capitalism are interlinked. But Unalaq is not portrayed as an outsider, he’s portrayed as hyper-traditionalist in a way that’s vilified? I guess rightly so, he does suck, but it’s just hard to conceptualize how a person like Unalaq comes to exist in the first place. In the end, I don’t really think it makes sense, in a world without white people, I don’t really know where this introduction of black and white christian morality would even come from in the avatar world?

TL;DR, Bryke applying western christian morality & world views to non-white characters in a world where white people have NEVER existed to affect our beliefs is a subtle form of white-washing. It imposes simplified “good vs. evil” world-views & cultural beliefs onto its characters. Any attempt to represent or even just integrate our actual beliefs into the A:tla lore are twisted and misrepresented is a way that is disrespectful and saps out any nuance or intrigue from the story, and alienates the people its supposed to represent from recognizing themselves within the final product. And Finally, on a more superficial story level, these writing choices clashe with the already existing world of ATLA--and is honestly just poor world-building.

[ljf613]

Colonization & Imperialism in ATLA

One of the things I’ve noticed in fandom complaints about the ATLA comics-- namely, “The Promise”-- and subsequently, LOK’s worldbuilding, is the way the narrative handles colonization. 

I see a lot about how what the Earth Kingdom chose to do with the former colonies is “none of Zuko’s (or Aang’s) business.” (I also see people talking about how Katara would never support colonialism, in any shape or form, no matter the circumstances.) 

And I just.... don’t vibe with those ideas? At all? 

Like, I definitely have problems with the comics-- especially “The Promise,” where all the drama centers around Miscommunications of Epic Proportions and could have been resolved in Part One if all the characters just sat down and listened to each other (not to mention that Aang would never have agreed to make that promise, nor would Zuko have asked it of him (Sokka would be a more obvious choice, but that’s a different discussion))-- but I never had any issues with their worldbuilding. 

I love the idea of Yu Dao, and the fact that the narrative acknowledges that a new kind of world has new kinds of problems. It makes sense to me that we can’t always just “give back the land we took.” And I found the idea of the end solution being  “give the people who live there their own country” really cool and empowering. 

So I want to talk about why I feel this way. About what kind of real-world parallels can be made here. About some little-known bits of world-history that compare. 

(Please note that for this meta I am only going to be discussing the relationship between Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. As far as I am aware-- and I could be wrong-- there is no real-world genocide quite comparible to what Sozin did to the Air Nomads, and most of the people alive in ATLA were not actually around for or involved in that. And the relationship the Fire Nation has with the Water Tribes-- and that the North and South have with each other-- is worth a whole separate analysis, and doesn’t deserve to just be shoved into this one.)

(Disclaimer: While this is in response to some of the interpretations I’ve seen on this site, it is not meant to discount or invalidate those fans’ views-- I’m just trying to show my take on it. I am a firm believer in the power of active discourse, and the value of looking at the same scenes through different lenses, rather than just getting one opinion and accepting it as Absolute Truth.) 

The main thing I notice in general ATLA discourse-- and not just on this topic, but in any sort of meta about the Fire Nation, colonization, and global impact-- is that the fandom mostly compares the war and its after-affects to real-world Imperialism, the Age of Imperialism, New Imperialism, and Colonization. 

And I understand why that is. In the grand scheme of world history, that era is still fairly recent, and we are still dealing with the afteraffects from it. It has shaped the Western World’s worldview on every level. (Not to mention that the Euro-centric way we’re taught history means that this piece of world history is the one we’re most exposed to, and so have the most understanding of and room to analyze/criticize.) 

However, there are a few issues with sticking only to this perspective. 

First off, the Age of Imperialism was a direct response to the Age of Exploration. This was the period of time when white Europeans sailed around the world acting as though they were discovering new places and pretending that there weren’t already existing civilizations there. 

[ID: Two dots meme, edited so that Guy A says “i’ve discovered a NEW WORLD,” Guy B replies “you didn’t discover ****,” and Guy A insists “i’ve discovered it” / End ID.] 

Now, I’ve mentioned this in passing, but the world of ATLA doesn’t appear to have had an Age of Exploration. There’s no vast “undiscovered” land masses, the four nations have always known about each other, and they all have a shared language. 

The whole foundation for the Age of Imperialism was “oh, look, there are all these ‘unexplored’ lands with resources ripe for the picking (who cares about the indigenous people, they’re just simplistic savages who don’t know what’s best for them), let’s see which European country can grab the most land first.” 

This was a race. This was sudden. This was Europeans coming in and taking over while viewing the natives as bothersome pests. This was about multiple major world powers competing over resources. 

This was not 100 years of active warfare between a single conquering country and the very people they were trying to conquer. 

The parallels don’t hold up. 

Secondly, by focussing only on this one kind of historical narrative, we ignore any others. 

I will admit that I have used the word “imperialism” in reference to the Fire Nation a time or two. However, upon further reflection, I realize I didn’t really mean imperialism, which is actually a fairly modern concept. What I feel the Fire Nation is really an example of is centralism and expansionism-- two ideaologies that have been a way of life for conquering empires throughout history. 

(I am in no way qualified to explain the differences between these concepts-- I recommend doing your own research if you’re curious.) 

The Persian Empire. The Greek Empire. The Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire. The Mongolian Empire. The Russian Empire. The First French Empire. 

You could take any of these (or numerous others) and make an interesting analysis between the similarities and differences between their behaviors and that of the Fire Nation. And maybe I’ll do that someday. 

However, I started this to talk about Yu Dao and all of the other so-called colonies (I really feel like territories would be a better word, but, again, that’s a whole ’nother discussion), and I’d like to focus on that. 

FYI, here’s a basic history refresher: If two countries are at war, and then they decide to end the war, neither country is required to return captured territories. They can make a treaty and agree to do so, but there is no obligation to. The Fire Nation didn’t just march in and say, “this is our land now”-- they fought for it. They captured that land. Just because the war is over doesn’t mean they need to just give it back. 

Like it or not, that is the way the world operated for thousands of years, and so that is the interpretation I’m working with here. 

In any case, “The Promise” actually presents this as a three-way conversation. There’s Zuko (and, by default, the Fire Nation), Kuei (and, by default, Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom), and the people of Yu Dao themselves. 

(My understanding of the Earth Kingdom’s style of government is that it’s made up of a large collection of different ethno-cultural regions who all answer to Ba Sing Se.) 

I’ll let Sokka explain it: 

[ID: Comic panel from Part Three of “The Promise.” Sokka and Katara are talking, both in obvious states of agitation, while Suki and Toph are looking at something in the background. Sokka is saying, “Let me see if I got this. The protestors and the Earth Kingdom Army want the colonials to go, the Fire Nation Army wants the colonials to stay, and the Yu Dao Resistance just want their city to be left alone?” Katara responds, “Yes!” / End ID.] 

The people of Yu Dao don’t care about the war. They don’t even really care who’s in charge. They just want to be left alone. 

This speaks to me on a very personal level, so I’m going to make another real-world comparison here: 

My ancestors first came to America to escape from the poverty and opression they were experiencing in a place known as “White Russia”-- that is, Belarus. To be clear, I am not talking about the country “Belarus,” but the region, which includes the modern-day countries of Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Moldova, as well as parts of Poland and Russia. 

I looked up White Russia, trying to find out how much information someone who didn’t grow up hearing stories about what it was like (that is, most of the people reading this,) might have. I didn’t find much. Most of what I found talked about political ideologies and such-- things that your average poor peasant, struggling just eke out a living, didn’t have much energy to care about. So let me paint a(n oversimplified) picture for you. 

Imagine you’re a poor shoemaker in a small town on the Russian border. You spend your days hard at work, trying to earn a living to support your wife and nine children. You’ve never left the town you were born in. One day you get the news: Russia and Poland are fighting again. Your two oldest sons (ages 15 and 17) are forcibly drafted off to fight in the Russian army; you never see them again and have no way of knowing if they’re dead or alive (they’re probably dead). Poland wins-- this time. Congratulations, your town is now part of Poland. 

Does suddenly being Polish make a difference to your life? Not in the slightest. Two or three years down the line, you’ll go back to being part of Russia again. This is the third or fourth time you’ve seen your town switch hands, and you can’t say you prefer one government over the other. It doesn’t really matter who’s in charge-- you’re still faced with crippling taxes, forced drafts, and various other forms of oppression. (It doesn’t help that you happen to be part of a persecuted minority.) 

(This is why I have many ancestors who may never have left the town they were born in, and yet records show that they were born in one country, got married in another, and died in a third.) 

This is the kind of worldview through which I am looking at Yu Dao. (Obviously, it’s not an exact parallel, but neither is the standard “colonizers vs oppressed natives” lens.) 

My ancestors eventually got fed up with the treatment they were receiving from their respective governments, and left to build a new life, in a new place. But the citizens of Yu Dao don’t have anywhere to go. The only two real world powers in this story are the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, neither of which has ever before expressed any true interest or concern in the actual people of Yu Dao. 

The Earth Kingdom didn’t really care about the city before the war-- they were just another poor, struggling town, whose citizens were barely able to make ends meet. And while the Fire Nation may have helped the place grow into a bustling town, they also established a hierarchy that did not serve in the citizens’ best interests. 

And so, in “The Promise,” these citizens’ frustrations come to a head. “Enough,” they say, “we don’t want to be used as a pawn in your games anymore.” 

And Zuko and Kuei (and Aang) actually listen. They say “we need to start thinking about these people as people, not as symbols of one side or the other. It’s time to give them a say in their future.” 

And a new country-- a new way of life-- is born. 

(Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But it is constantly evolving and changing, trying to do better, be better. And that’s more than you can say about most of the other countries in this world.)

[ghostietoasty]

Why Sherlock Holmes FGO is Sus: Theories and More

Before I begin, I’d like to give thanks to my wonderful friend for all the points, art, and info searching that have been made to produce this piece, I can’t appreciate you enough for the effort you put in. 🥺🙏💕

Alright now on to it!

INTRODUCTION: Humble Beginnings (Identification of the Abnormal)

If you’ve played the app Fate/Grand Order for a while you’d know about the Heroic Spirit we first encounter in a hole within Camelot’s dessert whilst going to the Atlas Institute. Smart, handsome looking, and sharp enough to discern our True Name, this man of mystery has been seen as an oddball by many long time players of the game. There are many aspects about him that raise doubt about his credibility, is he truly what he wants us to think he is? That servant is Sherlock Holmes (Ruler) and there are many theories about him having some secrets, about him either being a Foreigner class, Beast class, or something else entirely. We are attempting to catalogue all this information in one place for maximum clarity.

SECTION 1: Other Character’s Reaction (First Impression is the Best Impression) *WARNING LOSTBELT 1 AND 2 SPOILERS AHEAD*

From the first encounter in Camelot right until the end of Lostbelt 2, there are many instances of characters reacting to his presence in….interesting ways.

Bedivere, when first coming in contact with Holmes in Camelot says that "I suppose I've never really been good with people like him. He reminds me of Merlin."

It could refer to the mysterious manner in which both Holmes and Merlin conduct themselves, but better to keep in mind that Merlin is a Grand Caster, and that he manifests as a servant due to specific circumstances (he is not dead).

In Camelot, Mash assumes that Holmes must be Caster class and that the original novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle must have been biographies penned by Dr. Watson under a pen name. Holmes corrects her, saying that: "My true identity, my essence, is slightly different from what you may think. And sad, but that is not the purpose of our gathering here today."

This dilemma is also present in the Sherlock Holmes Trial Quest (which mostly tackles the debate of whether he's a fictional character or someone who actually existed). Holmes has a line where he says:

"Ah, yes. I mentioned I was a Caster. Forgive me, I lied."

This is however immediately followed up by:

"A jest. My apologies. I couldn't help myself." 

This sort of backpedalling raises a doubt as to whether he was really Caster class before, so the nature of his former class is still a mystery. He later mentions that his Ruler class is the World telling him that not all illusions and dreams need to be laid bare.

When meeting with Salieri in Lostbelt 1, Holmes introduces himself as such:"I'm Sherlock Holmes, Chaldea's administrative advisor. I became a servant through unusual means, just like you."

Salieri was only summonable as a servant  because of his reputation caused by the fact that he killed Mozart. He is under the effect of Innocent Monster. It can also be said that Salieri is a lostbelt servant and is significantly more sane than he would have been in a normal summoning, that was the unusual summoning that Holmes was refering to. Does this mean Holmes is not from Proper Human History? 

Sigurd (who's under the control of Surtur), while attacking us in Lostbelt 2 says this: "So, a human and two Heroic Spirits. No, wait. Neither of you are pure Heroic Spirits, are you? You've both got something else mixed in. Hehe, hybrids then. Interesting" 

This is in reference to Holmes and Mash, who are alongside the master at this moment. Mash is a demiservant (human+servant) hence the "Hybrid" comment makes sense, but Holmes? What is the "something else" mixed in with Holmes?

Later in LB2, Holmes requests the assistance of Scáthach-Skadi in beating Surtur. Skadi says that normally she would never pay mind to what a mere Heroic Spirit had to say but: "...but in your particular case…I sense wisdom in those beautiful eyes. You remind me of Baldr, god of light." Quite a bit later, she also has this to say:"Perhaps those piercing eyes of yours in fact surpass Odin's? Mystic Eyes, perchance? ….No, that's not it. They merely reflect your wisdom born of human history's cumulative accomplishments."

She says that's not it, but the fact that it was the first thing she thought of shouldn't be ignored. 

Baldr is the god of light. Holmes' attacks consist of beams of light, and his cane lights up when he's using it in battle.

In Norse legends, Odin is said to have sacrificed one eye to the spring of Mimir in order to get ancient wisdom, the ability to perceive everything in the world. 

SECTION 1.5: More Reactions (From JP Only)

Since it is JP only and there is no official translation for NA yet, this information cannot be 100% confirmed in any way. (Most of this is from Reddit translation done by fans). But as these are also important, it's best to put this information separate section.

Moriarty's interlude involves him finding a micro-singularity in London. At some point the transmission between Chaldea and the master gets cut and Moriarty reveals he created this scenario, made the singularity and everything to get one on one time with the master. He tells us not to trust Holmes. When the time comes, we as master should choose Moriarty over Holmes. 

It has to be kept in mind that Moriarty is not a good guy, he is a character created entirely to oppose Holmes so it is natural that he doesn't trust him. For all we know, it is just emotional manipulation. 

Moriarty's very nature is tied to being the antithesis of Holmes. Holmes might theoretically go against us for the sake of humanity while also trying to keep us safe (the master is in a way, a Watson replacement to him after all) while Moriarty would gladly let humanity burn for the sake of us but also for the sake of being completely opposite to Holmes and keeping his identity as such.

However he does raise valid points, how was Holmes able to rayshift? This part was never explained, and he also mentions that his hypothesis has a fatal contradiction in the fact that Holmes risked his life to save ours. What can be inferred from this is that Holmes is a good man and is on our side, but there is something very weird about him that should not be ignored.

In Lostselt 5 it is mentioned at one point that Zeus called Holmes dangerous, he mustn't look at Zeus or the other gods and that his eyes are enemies of the world.

It has to be mentioned that this is some heavy emphasis on Holmes' eyes (Skadi mentioned Holmes' eyes twice, and she was a god as well). Is it because of the nature of Holmes that he is the one that reveals all truth? Is that in some way detrimental to gods, magic and the world in general?

Recently, from Holmes' skill upgrade interlude there was a section about Holmes saying that he is always an ally of justice and that while he may be on our side, he is still capable of evil but it doesn't change the fact that he is our ally. Even then it seems he has some secrets that can't be understood by himself.

By now with the presence of Dr. Jekyll and Helena and their recounts on what happened, it is confirmed that Holmes was actually "alive"(?)

Some of the adventures penned by Dr. Watson were actually censored versions of the original happenings, which were magical in nature.

Holmes was traumatised(?) by Helena's death back when they were both alive. He swears he would never let that happen again. (remember what happened in lostbelt 2…)

It seems that Holmes himself is not fully sure of what is secret about him. Since he utterly dislikes talking about something without being 100% sure about it (this tendency of his has gotten us in trouble before) plus his general secretive nature, it can be said that this is why he wouldn't talk about that.

SECTION 2: Weird Things That Holmes Does (And Other Questions)

Heroic Spirits are anything but normal, but there are few servants who break the norm even further, and Holmes is one of them.

Holmes is able to Rayshift (presumably) from London, to Camelot, and then to Shinjuku. There are very few servants who are able to manifest themselves. 

Musashi also appears here and there, but it's not a deliberate choice on her part. She is not able to predetermine her next destination. 

Arthur travels from a parallel world to this world, but this is due to "chasing after a certain powerful antagonist, evil omen" - so he tells.

Beast class has the skill of Independent Manifestation which would allow the servant to manifest anywhere they'd want. Merlin, Tamamo Vitch and Shiki possess it. However, it has to be noted that Holmes' rayshifts have a significant toll on his saint graph, as he is unable to fight or defend himself by the time we meet him in Camelot. While normal Independent Manifestation shouldn't lead to the depletion of the user's saint graph. Holmes' class is unknown at the time of his rayshifting. 

At the time of summoning, Heroic Spirits usually reveal their class and True Name (there also are exceptions to the rule). At the time of his summoning, Holmes doesn't reveal his Class: "Are introductions necessary? I am a detective. If you were expecting a hero, my apologies...But if you wanted a detective or an investigator, you drew the right card."

In the case of EOR Servants whose names haven't been found, they reveal their class.

Who summoned Holmes? The only thing we know regarding his presence was that it was first clearly there when he tampered with information in London.

Holmes' illustrator is Yamanaka Kotetsu, who was also the illustrator of the beasts Tiamat and Goetia

The artists who design and illustrate the characters tend to do it in groups of servants who are related to each other in some way (Pako with Arjuna and Karna Chacha and Nobunaga; Miwa Shiro with Brynhildr and Sigurd). It is strange that Kotetsu designed only Holmes, Tiamat and Goetia.

(NEW ADDITION) It should also be noted that as an illustrator Kotetsu has had previous works in a Lovecraftian Guidebook and is also the artist to the Alien God Preistess, somewhat showing how their work leans more to the outerworldly.

SECTION 3: The Design

It is a very commonly noticed fact that Holmes' coat in his third ascension has a very similar shape to that of the Foreigner card artwork.

The pattern work on the coattails of the foreigner art and the inside (blue) part of Holmes' coattails have a very similar, if not exactly same pattern running down the entire length of it. The sphere summoned in Holmes' Noble Phantasm also has the same pattern on its sides and front.

There is a "fog" around Holmes in his third ascension, which is reminescent of the smoke in the card art. (Also can be the London smog).

The glowing section of the abdomen of the being reminds one of the metallic corset that Holmes wears. 

There are 4 notches of smoke on either side of the being (total 8), under their cape. If we stretch our interpretation, then it could mean Holmes' arms and the metal arms that he has is also equal to 8.

In that tangent, the shape of the coat is also similar to that of Saver class Buddha, the fantasy trees from Lostbelt 3 and 4, and the Shadows made by the 6th imaginary element.

The Endless Knot / Shrivatsa symbol on his shoulders is one of the many references of his connection to Tibet (faking his death after the Final Problem). It is an important symbol in both Jainism and Buddhism.

Some of its interpretations include:

The eternal continuum of mind.

The union of wisdom and method.

Since the knot has no beginning or end it also symbolizes the wisdom of the Buddha

the endless cycle of suffering or birth, death and rebirth within Tibetan Buddhism.

The cane that Holmes wields has a pattern on its handle in the shape of a Prayer Wheel. 

However, we are not able to find the meaning behind the script on the cane. Both of us attempted to translate it but failed. If anyone can translate the meaning it would be greatly appreciated.

The holographic books in the base of the unidentified sphere have a pattern on their front that greatly resembles a lotus. 

In Holmes' third ascension, there are a number of magical circuits on his coat.

The circuits are almost only on his left side, with very few circuits on his right side. It's not like it was woven into it, were that the case the circuits would have been all over his coat in a more even distribution. It's almost like an impact radius.

The circuits are very similar to the ones visible on the title screen of the lostbelts, as well as the patterns seen on the fantasy trees.

CONCLUSION SECTION: Something's Up (It's Big Brain Time)

It's clear that something is very strange about Holmes, from his interactions to his design, it's clear that there is too much effort into throwing these hints that it's not just a red herring.

Is he a Foreigner? Beast? Counter Guardian? Some other unknown extra class? It cannot be said at the moment. Holmes' role as a revealer itself is dangerous to mystery and magic, so it can be anything.

 It is also not necessarily true that just because Holmes has all these abnormalities, that he will betray us, or is on the side of evil. When has there been a clear cut side of good or evil anyway? It can be argued that we are the villains in some way, as we bring about the end of these timelines to safeguard our own proper human history. 

Holmes has always been on the side of humanity and will continue to be, the question is what the reveal will be, why and how. That, only time and future chapters can answer, all we can do is speculate.

[bunnyywritings]

Hey!! May I request headcanons for azula and mai (separate) with a female s/o who has a death note that’s basically Ryuk’s death note pwease! Basically I thought that if the death note was a thing in atla it would of been a relic from the spirit world and it would kill anybody except for the avatar (cause they’ll just get reincarnated)

fem!s/o with a death note

[a/n: this is such a rad crossover request, thank you anon! It was incredibly hard to find gifs of mai without zuko in them but anyways, enjoy! -your truly, bunnyy -`ღ´-]

azula

✧ she never believed that the death notes actually existed

✧ Uncle Iroh had told her and Zuko stories of the elusive death note and how they were heavily gate kept by spirit gods of death

✧ she shrugged off the silly ghost stories and went on with her life

✧ that was until she met you

✧ “Ryuk, I’ve already given you more than enough apples for today.” You sighed

✧ “oh come on! Just gimme one more, they’re just so juicy.” the deep and gravelly voice had caught her off guard

✧ “Okay, fine.”

✧ when she rounded the corner, there you were stood all alone...looking up at a floating apple? that was slowly disappearing???

✧ “Now that you’ve got your treat, focus. Zuko said that we needed to write General Zhao’s name in the death note before sunset.” Her eyes widened when a...well when a monster had appeared in front of you and finished off the apple

✧ “Why’re we working with that little twerp anyways?”

✧ “Cause if you want to keep eating those delicious apples, I need money. So come on.”

✧ there was a couple of things running through her mind: you were absolutely gorgeous, death notes were real, she just saw a shinigami creature, and her brother was in town

✧ she had seen you once again a couple of days after General Zhao’s sudden and untimely demise, you were at the market picking out some apples

✧ “Those apples seem like a fine choice.” You jumped at he sudden presence beside you

✧ “O-Oh well yes, they’re quite delicious.” you glanced upwards, just above her head

✧ ‘azula, 85 years’

✧ “Isn’t that the twerps’ sister?” Ryuk asked from besides you

✧ “Well I would assume so, seeing as your friend enjoys them so much.” She smirked when she saw you tense up

✧ “What?! There’s no way she can see me!” The shinigami in question crossed his arms skeptically

✧ she leaned in close to you, “I know you have a death note, I saw your friend the other day too. The ugly looking one.”

✧ “Ugly?!” Both you and Ryuk shouted in unison

✧ “Who are you callin’ ugly?!” he growled

✧ at first, Azula just wanted to use her for her own bidding but as she started to actually get to know you...she fell in love with you

✧ she learned about how the relic had been passed down to you and how you only used it on people that truly deserved it which she respected

✧ she’d always ask if you’d write her brother’s name in it, to which you always declined

✧ “You can see how long I’ll live right? How much time do I’ve got left?”

✧ “Baby, you know I can’t tell you that.” she would always pout when you said that

✧ dating you also meant she was basically dating Ryuk

✧ “Hey Azula?”

✧ “What is it Ryuk?” she didn’t bother looking up from her book

✧ “Would ya’ so me a favor and buy some apples...we ran out.”

✧ “Hmm...no.”

✧ “Oh come on~ I’ll tell ya’ how many years you’ve got~”

✧ she had never gotten up quicker in her life, of course Ryuk never told her though, claiming that he had no idea of any such deal

✧ you know what happened to her when she was younger and the psychological trauma it caused her

✧ you would 1000/10 write her dad’s name in the book and make him die a very slow and painful death

✧ a messenger hawk sent by Zuko had arrived to inform the both of you that Ozai died while in prison

✧ “Oh dear...that sounds horrible.” you patted her back, cue Ryuk chuckling somewhere in the background

✧ “You didn’t have anything to do with this (y/n)...did you?” She had a tiny smirk on her lips

✧ “Hmm? Uhm nope, no I uh-I don’t think so.” She held your face in her hands and smashing her lips against yours in a heated kiss, taking you by surprise

✧ “So, does this mean you’re not mad?” You asked as you both breathlessly pulled away

✧ “Quite the opposite really.” She sat back against the couch and pulled you onto her lap, “Why don’t I show you how I feel about it.” She held the back of your head and pulled you into another kiss

✧ “Really? You have to do that now?”

✧ “RYUK!!”

✧ “Yeah, yeah...I’ll go.”

mai

☸ despite her disinterested attitude, she’s very interested in the notion of the death note

☸ “Where are you taking me Ty Lee?”

☸ “You’ll see.” She rolled her eyes at her bubbly friend but let herself be tugged along to Azula’s meeting room

☸ once inside, her eyes landed on the most beautiful human being she had ever seen

☸ you were lazily leaning back against the seat, feet thrown up on the table and talking to Azula about something

☸ “Oh Mai, there you are! This is (y/n), she’s gonna be apart of our team from here on out.”

☸ when you looked up, you pulled your legs off of the table and sat up straight, eyes widening and a pink tint ever so present on your cheeks

☸ both Ty Lee and Azula noticed instantly

☸ well...so did Ryuk

☸ “OOH~ look at you, somebody has a crush~” This made your cheeks a flaming read color

☸ she loved your aesthetic, even if you were in fire nation clothes, you made it look so goth/alt (lowkey Misa vibe) she also really liked Ryuk

☸ it was a mistake ever introducing the two

☸ Azula would put the two of you (again, technically three cause of baby boy Ryuk) on missions together

☸ “I know what you’re trying to Azula and it’s not gonna work, so knock it off!”

☸ “I have no idea what you’re talking about Mai.” She feigned innocence as she called you over.

☸ “Yeah?”

☸ “Oh nothing really, I was just wondering if you could go with Mai to pick up more supplies?”

☸ “Oh, of course. Sounds like fun.” When  you grinned, Mai turned a deep shade of pink

☸ she hated running errands with you because it felt so domestic

☸ she finally had enough

☸ when you were picking up some fruit, mainly apples, and placing them in your basket, she tapped your shoulder

☸ “(y/n)..”

☸ “Yes Mai?” You looked up at her with those doe eyes and she just couldn’t control herself, she gripped your chin between her index finger and thumb to tilt your head upward

☸ you blushed but didn’t make a move to get out of her grip, your eyes giving her the ‘go ahead’ and she timidly leaned down and softly placed her lips against yours

☸ her heart was beating even faster when she felt your velvety lips move against hers

☸ the two of you would be such witchy/cottagecore lesbians(or bisexuals), don’t @ me

☸ once the two of you left that toxic little group, she’d very much enjoy having her own adventures with you

☸ she’s not a very PDA person so don’t expect too much from her in public but she has no problem giving you all the kisses you want while closed doors

☸I think the both of you would have such a chill/fun relationship

☸ she would definitely bring you to the jasmine dragon for no other purpose than to show you off and make Zuko jealous

☸ boy did that backfire

☸ you end up being good buddies with him and Iroh

☸ “You’re not jealous, are you?” You asked, amusement clear in your voice

☸ “Of course not.” She huffed, crossing her arms. “I’m not stupid. Why would I be jealous?”

☸ You saw through it and chuckled softly at her pouty face, leaning forward and placing a sweet kiss on he puffed out lips

☸ “I’ll always love you and always you, Mai. Don’t over forget that.” She blushed and looked away

☸ “God you guys are so mushy, I’m gonna throw up.”

☸ “Shut up Ryuk, go bother Zuko or something.” Mai scoffed as she leaned forward for another kiss