#I should be doing so many other things

[hiding-under-the-willow]

Okay so things have mayhaps gotten immediately out of hand with this au.

But! Yippee!! Main hermit ghosts design lineup!!!

[thornsnvultures]

you know a video game is good when you have two full pages of math equations and a headache

[seyaryminamoto]

Okay. I wasn't gonna respond to this, but considering it's in the only tag I visit on Tumblr and this was right up there at the top, it feels like pretending I didn't see it isn't a strat I should stick with :')

I hope I understand where you're coming from. I am perfectly willing to give you the benefit of the doubt in terms of NOT thinking this is some attempt to tell Sokkla fic writers or artists what to write or draw.

Nonetheless, while some of your reasoning is clear here, I think it would be fair to explain at least my point of view, and my position, pertaining as to why I portray Azula as I do.

This is bound to get long (as everything I do always does...).

First point: my tomboy credentials. For all my childhood, I was far more likely to relate to boys media, to enjoy stuff that was classically marketed to boys, to like action toys over dolls, and, of course, despise the color pink (ngl... I still am not a fan :'D). I resented family members who should have known I was NOT into feminine things and still proceeded to give me traditionally feminine clothes or toys (particularly makeup) for my birthday or Christmas that I straight-up never used because I didn't like them.

Now that I'm grown? I still wear no makeup. I still wear comfort over fashion (I in fact do not understand fashion, we are incompatible, I suck at designing clothes because I simply do not have a sense of fashion as refined as that of many other fanartists). Any friend groups I'm part of, predominantly comprised by guys? I'm not the girl they wanna date, I'm the average girl who's "one of the boys". To go even DEEPER into Seyary lore? I straight-up had a period during my teenage years where I questioned my gender identity without even knowing I was doing it. It took a ton of introspection, lots of thought pertaining gender roles and dismantling my concepts of traditional masculinity and femininity to realize that I was fine with my assigned gender and to accept that society's constraints and expectations did not codify who I was, or how I related to being a woman.

All this to say... if I were the kind of writer who exclusively writes what she knows, and nothing more, my version of Azula would probably align with what you've outlined here. Because that way, my version of Azula would just be a projection of myself. But I'd dare say... that would not be compatible with my idea of fiction, of character exploration and development. If every single character I write about is just me in a different universe, I'd never get to experience and explore what life could be like if I'm in someone else's shoes. And that's what fiction has always been for me, ever since I was an 8yo and the most exciting book in my life was White Fang. If a book could show me what life was like for an Alaskan wolf, a life I would NEVER experience personally, then it felt like the perfect means to produce empathy and improve my ability to relate to others, by experiencing thousands of lives that were not within my reach.

Writing Azula as a feminine character has made me a better writer. It has forced me to look at a character I relate to in many other regards, and appreciate the way she approaches her femininity, canonically. It has allowed me to understand that while some classic feminine things will never be my cup of tea, they don't have to be stuff I systematically reject, the way I used to back when I solely wrote tomboy main characters (which... is what I used to do right until I started writing about Azula). So that's one personal reason why this characterization of Azula is something I genuinely care about and cherish!

Second point: while you're not saying all available content is pointless because of Azula being feminine, I'd dare say that the best way to show us the virtues of a more masculine Azula would be to write her yourself. Maybe you already have, and I haven't seen it. But along with this, there are other things to consider: anything you post online will reach a massive audience that may not enjoy your ideas as much as you do. Much as you like the idea of masculine Azula, other people won't, and they might just drop by your favorite fics or the ones you write yourself to say the classic fanfiction reader line: "this is OOC". I've seen people rage at the characterization of Azula, when paired with women, because she's characterized excessively masculine and it only enforces stereotypes and heteronormativity, where two women cannot possibly be feminine and in love, since one pretty much needs to be "the man" of the relationship, a notion that a lot of people take issue with (rightfully so, imo).

Point here is to say... you have your reasons to want this. Other people have their reasons not to do it: mine were exposed above. While I can tell your intent was to bring up the possibility and compel people to try something different, I have to say in my personal case, my portrayal of Azula isn't the way it is out of instinct or impulse: I have given it thought, I have put in plenty of effort to characterize her as I do. Not everyone's cup of tea? That's fine by me. There's plenty of fics out there, and I'm sure something will eventually work for people who can't stand what I do. But my personal characterization choices have been given plenty of thought, and I'd like to think this is the case for most writers, whether they adhere to your interests or not. If you give this version of Azula all that thought and decide on portraying her that way, all the power to you. That doesn't mean our "empowering feminine Azula" is any lesser. All interpretations and headcanons are valid.

Third point: I am not entirely sure why this is a subject exclusively and personally expressed towards Sokkla and Sokkla alone. I saw someone else bring up something along these lines recently, also specifically leveled at Sokkla, and I don't have a clue if that post is what inspired you to make this one... but I struggle to believe that Sokkla is the only ship that portrays Azula with evident femininity. I doubt Jetzula makes her look any manlier. I've never seen anything Azulaang where it looks like Azula is more masculine than in Sokkla. And this is just talking about straight ships: most lesbian ships I've seen for Azula actively avoid portraying Azula as more masculine than she canonically was. They've had discussions and arguments about it too, as far as I know. Why is the Sokkla community the only one that needs to address the "masculine Azula" concept? Characterization is not locked down to shipping preferences. I'd dare say you'll find a lot of differing characterizations between different fic writers within Sokkla alone, more so all fic writers who work predominantly with Azula. It's hard to believe we're all doing the same thing. Ultimately, targeting this expressly towards Sokkla doesn't make a ton of sense to me since I don't think we, in particular, are portraying Azula in any way that breaks belief that much more than what other ships do (say, if our feminine Azula felt more like the most obvious feminine character in ATLA, Ty Lee? I'd get it. But... I've never felt like that's what we're doing. So I don't think I understand why Sokkla in particular needs to change this).

Now, then... perhaps the part that's most important:

Fourth point: the specific statements you wrote in your post.

"Would she clash with her mother if she returned?" Nothing about this statement requires for Azula to be more masculine. Azula's relationship with Ursa is canonically contentious regardless of how feminine or masculine she is. I think their problems were not about how Azula carried herself in that sense, and they were juicy enough on a storytelling level that adding this extra flavor to it might just reduce a complex dynamic between these two characters to "I can't stand that you're so manly when you should be a traditional girl like me", which takes away from the very fucked up fact that canonically, Azula lines up PERFECTLY with what Ursa and the Fire Nation should have wanted out of a princess, and even then, her mother never showed her the love and affection Azula was led to expect based on her culture and society.

"Would someone like Iroh or Zuko show sexist tendencies?" This one in particular bugs me, because even if I expect it was not your intent, it very much sounds like only if Azula were more masculine would she fight against sexism. As someone who very much wrote her embracing her femininity while being down to fight anyone who looks down on her for being a woman, I think I can attest that fighting sexism is not a masculine trait. Beyond that? Zuko and Iroh absolutely show sexist tendencies in the show already. Iroh did, Azula was disgusted by it (doll scene?). His preference for Zuko absolutely can be read as having sexist undertones, his dismissiveness of Azula for being a dangerous and active element in the war, rather than a wallflower who sits pretty in the Palace doing nothing, also can be read as sexism, especially considering how adamant he is about Zuko taking her down.

As for Zuko, he mocks Katara for being a "big girl", he dismissively acts like Mai should like seashells because "girls like this kind of stuff" and gets angry when she doesn't (even though he has a scene in the previous season where he dismissed seashells as trash, meaning he should be HAPPY to have something in common with Mai but instead he's angry because she's not conforming to his idea of what a girl should be like :'D), he tells Aang that "little girls won't save him" in the Kyoshi Warriors: in short, Zuko canonically is sexist enough that Azula, canonically, would be such a wrench in his worldview, feminine as she is, that he'd likely resent her plenty already for branching out of the traditional femininity he expects she should abide by and won't. Which... is why he'd want to "put her in her place." It all ties up rather neatly.

My point here is that Azula would not contend with sexism against those two in any more significant ways than she already does: there's enough sexism canonically, coming from those two, that a feminine Azula already has to deal with, whether directly or not. There's no reason why they would suddenly become MORE sexist if she's written to be more masculine, they're bad enough as it is already.

"Would her own struggles with misogyny lead to a deeper understanding of Katara?" I'd rather not repeat myself by saying Azula doesn't need to be masculine for this to happen, hence, I'll focus on the flip side of this statement: Katara, if anything, is the one who would get a ton more growth and development if this happened because, as much of a poster child of feminism as she is portrayed? The only sexism she ever contended with was the very blunt and direct Water Tribe sexism. And the shallow way in which it gets resolved (Sokka gets over it because a single girl beats him up, Pakku trains Katara after realizing she's the granddaughter of the girl he had feelings for, and then isn't shown taking ANY other female students in the same class as Katara and Aang anyway) doesn't suggest that Katara gave that much thought to sexism besides whenever it affected her personally. She never acknowledges Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom sexism. In fact? Her readiness to support Zuko when he asks her to "help him put Azula in her place" even tells you that Katara isn't paying attention to the sexist undertones in anything that isn't directly affecting her. While yes, Azula and Katara absolutely could build a rapport and a respectful relationship based on fighting sexism and dealing with this crap, this actively requires for Katara to expand her understanding of sexism and actually realize that it doesn't always turn up in the easy-to-detect format she's been dealing with thus far. So the sexism Azula would face would not look like what Katara has faced: we very much saw what Fire Nation sexism looks like already, and we saw Katara being utterly uncritical of it even when it was right in front of her. This is a bigger deal for Katara than it would be for Azula, masculine or feminine.

"Sokka's arc of unpacking his sexism would be further showcased here. With a partner that eschews gender norms." Considering how poorly handled and quickly resolved Sokka's sexism was by canon? I don't even think this is necessary or even something that the story, as was told, requires to be explored much more. I mean, it COULD be, but namely if you're not working within the constraints of making post-canon or parallel-canon stories. He never displayed any manner of disapproval of Toph's more masculine tendencies, which should go against his idea of gender norms if his sexism had been any deeper than a matter of pride or a means for pissing off his sister. So you'd have to write a version of his story where Sokka's sexism comes from a deeper, more complex place, so that a single encounter with a warrior girl isn't enough for him to just change his mind permanently, to the point where he never picks on his sister over sexist reasons again. You absolutely could argue that swapping Azula and Suki as "the one who made him stop the sexism" is doable (I know I did it!), but again, it's not something beyond his grasp with a feminine Azula, and considering how utterly unbothered he is by Toph's tomboyish, far more classically masculine behavior, it doesn't feel like Sokka is particularly adverse to girls who showcase any kind of affinity towards masculinity (... conversely, he and Aang are by far the male characters with the most "feminine" traits, and he doesn't exhibit any kind of embarrassment or shame over that either, meaning, he's nowhere near as dreadful when it comes to gender norms as many sexist assholes are nowadays.)

"There is also the whole unpacking of fire nation customs and what Azula would follow and what she would break away from." In this specific subject? There's a lot of stuff Azula needs to change her mind about in the context of a redeemed or on-her-way-to-redemption, as she usually is in Sokkla stories. The FN sexism that canon refuses to acknowledge can be acknowledged in fics, but you'd definitely risk what I think a lot of people thought I was risking when I started my big fic: Azula's agenda to defeat misogyny should not be the crux of her development, not in place of actually understanding the many regards in which the Fire Nation is fucking up and needs to change that go far beyond the subject of sexism. I personally used sexism as the first thing that triggered Azula's dissatisfaction with her nation... it was only a starting point, though. While it's not a subject that should be set aside or ignored in the long run, the Fire Nation's militaristic, invasive, violent culture requires for so much inspection, reflection, deconstruction and reeducation that I feel like, if done right, the sexist elements would fade in importance as Azula comes to understand all the levels of wrong her nation is/was incurring in.

Fifth point... yeeeeeeeeeeeeah, I told you this would get long...

The truth is that Azula exhibits very few "masculine" traits while exhibiting many feminine ones throughout ATLA's canon. And I put masculine in quotation marks because... what exactly is so masculine about her? She's ambitious. She's ruthless in combat. She's a great military strategist. She's arrogant. She's a leader. She set a doll on fire as a child. Lots of girls I know who are perfectly content with their gender identity as women have told me they beheaded their Barbie dolls as kids. Me? I didn't do it, actually, wild as that may be considering I 1000% would label myself as a tomboy who liked action toys far more than Barbies. Which makes me think that even the burning of the doll isn't a specifically masculine trait... much like the others aren't. Ambition is not exclusively male. Ruthlessness isn't, either. Military competence isn't (in fact, I'd dare say this show proposes it's female, since the only Fire Nation leader who gets anything done is the fourteen-year-old girl :'D). Leadership isn't. Arrogance also isn't. There are other female characters in fiction who embody some or even all of these traits. There are women in real life who do, too. None of it sounds straight-forwardly masculine to me. You'd have to adhere to extremely restrictive traditional feminine and masculine values to read any of this as exclusively masculine and nothing more.

And just so, you have Azula seemingly perfectly comfortable wearing a very feminine swimsuit, as well as a very feminine party outfit afterwards. She's shown wearing make-up most times she's onscreen. She goes to the spa for hair combing, to have her nails filed, her feet scrubbed. When told she's the prettiest and most perfect girl in the world, she says that Ty Lee is right about all those things, and she says she loves being a Princess who gets worshipped by people...? I'm just saying... I don't see remotely as much rejection and distaste towards traditional femininity in this character, IN CANON, as I do in one like Toph, who, even as a tomboy, would wear dresses on occasion and allowed Katara to put her through a spa day that, while in the end she enjoyed, clearly isn't something Toph is anywhere near as interested in as Katara is.

None of this means your interpretation is baseless or not allowed: what I'm saying is Sokkla fans are not interpreting Azula as they do out of nowhere. The show's characterization supports this interpretation fairly well. If you want to explore a more masculine version of Azula, that's fine, if you want stories where that's how she's characterized, good luck finding them and better luck yet writing them yourself... but this portrayal is not coming out of nowhere. It's not fickle, it's not a matter of projection or forcing of traditional feminine values where they don't fit: you actively would need to construct a masculine Azula from the ground up. I'd honestly think setting up a masculine version of her would require far more thought and work and careful writing than a feminine one, because you'd need to be very thoughtful about how she's portrayed or risk making her feel like a whole other character (as always, I fall back on Toph. I feel like the contrast between Azula and Toph is the perfect example that shows the difference between being a driven, violence-ready feminine-leaning girl and a driven violence-ready masculine-leaning girl).

So. Yeah. If you got through all that, great. Sorry for taking up that much of your time, and I hope this helps you see my side (at least mine, no idea if other Sokkla shippers feel as I do). I'm not saying your idea has no merit... I'm just saying our work across the past decades has plenty of merit of its own.

As a last thing... if you didn't want this kind of discussion (I don't know that you did), do keep in mind that tagging posts with ship names this way very much invites discussion. I wouldn't have said anything if I hadn't come across the post in the Sokkla tag as I did. You're welcome to continue headcanoning whatever you'd like, but while some people who see your posts may resonate with your ideas, others won't, and if you're not interested in dealing with the second group, probably consider the effect your post will have if you drop it in a fandom tag before posting it.

Sokkla fics almost always have Azula being a feminine woman. Most times in an empowering way.

But consider:

A more masculine Azula. She rejects some traditional aspects of the fire nation culture and gender norms.

Would she clash with her mother if she returned?

Would someone like Iroh or Zuko show sexist tendencies?

Would her own struggles with misogyny lead to a deeper understanding of Katara?

She could wear her hair short and if she marries into the SWT could wear a wolf tail.

Sokka's arc of unpacking his sexism would be further showcased here. With a partner that eschews gender norms.

There is also the whole unpacking of fire nation customs and what Azula would follow and what she would break away from.

@latetree123 @chaosmagetwin @wingchunwaterbender @zuko-always-lies

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

[skellagirl]

played DA2 for the first time and romanced the possessed bisexual poor little meow meow who's totally down for firebombing a walmart

[hinamie]

congrats on your recovery n all yuuji but unfortunately for you I thought the scars were cool >:/

[uncanny-tranny]

I recently had to do a project in one of my psych classes, and man, I knew that CBT was used for every little thing, but seeing over and over, "do CBT! CBT is the best for every mental illness!" was so jarring. I'm absolutely biased because of my own experiences, but I just don't think it's as universal a treatment model as it's touted.

If you didn't benefit from CBT, it's not because you're lazy or didn't try hard enough or lacked intelligence or foresight into your own needs. Frankly, it's a therapy model that (I think) shouldn't be the only readily-accessible model and among the only therapy models covered by insurance. Some of us should not be treated in a CBT model and that's okay. It's not a sign of poor character or unreasonable demands, and if you don't think it's a model that works for you, then it's your right to express that!

[turtleblogatlast]

I love Raph and haven’t said that enough so to be more specific I love that Raph is a soft boy who loves bear plushies, a gross boy who eats an assortment of things that are definitely better left alone, a smart boy who is more than capable of taking down villains through planning and fortitude alike, a strong boy who is dedicated to training his muscles and fighting prowess, a teenage boy who loves his brothers but is more than happy to tease and roughhouse with them, an angry boy who sometimes lets his anger take a hold of him to cover the fear, a gentle boy who is generous with hugs and affirmations to those he loves, a capable boy who takes on more than should ever be expected of a teenager, a good boy who just wants to be a hero and slowly comes to realize the cost of that duty, a good boy who has no reservations about putting himself in the way of harm coming to his family, a good boy who’s a great brother and son and person and deserves only the best the world has to offer.

[stealingyourbones]

Never will I stop with the steadfast notion that folks in the DPXDC fandom should interact with at least some form of canon DC media.

There are comics, tv shows, radio dramas both old and new, podcasts, movies, magazines, so much shit that intentionally avoiding the media is simply preventing yourself from spawning new ideas and gaining a new appreciation for a fandom that you’re already in.

The Superman Radio Show has episodes 11 minutes long. A lot of the TV shows don’t have episodes that surpass 30 minutes and most are nearly fully clipped on the official DC YouTube channel. The amount of fan made motion comics is astounding. The amount of fanmade animations is equally as incredible.

[aroaceleovaldez]

I was reading a post about CoTG and I realized: Rick has seemingly started to write every character pairing with the exact same dynamic, and he's not good at writing that dynamic and it doesn't make sense for 90% of the characters he writes it for.

It's that very specific dynamic of one half of the pair who is almost aggressive to the other party - "teasing" them constantly/insulting them, affectionately punching/judo flipping/maiming/etc, seemingly almost always exasperated with the other - and said other party usually just accepts this treatment or blanketly views it fondly, and may generally be framed as more incompetent than their partner and a little bit of a doormat (particularly relating to being insulted/teased/etc by their partner).

We start seeing this dynamic in HoO with Percy and Annabeth, as a sort of semi-inconsistent twist on their rivals-to-friends-to-lovers dynamic from the first series. Then the dynamic pattern develops further with Leo and Calypso. Then Magnus and Alex. Then Nico and Will, particularly in TSATS. And now in CoTG, it's Percy and Annabeth again but even more in this direction.

I know people have talked about Nico and Will's relationship over the series rapidly being shoehorned into Percabeth Two™, and it's extremely apparent in TSATS that Rick's doing it on purpose (including directly quoting Percabeth scenes but minorly tweaking them to be Solangelo). But recognizing it as an overarching trend in Rick's later books honestly reminds me a lot of how Rick started trying to apply the "Percy Formula" so-to-speak to nearly every protagonist in HoO (and then try to replicate similar character archetypes with Magnus and Apollo's narrations - moreso Magnus in being jaded and sarcastic, very much trying to be first series Percy. He only sounds unique because Rick failed at making him Percy 2. Apollo is more akin to later-series Percy characterization of being goofy and incompetent. Apollo [and Zeus] even got retconned to give Apollo a more similar backstory to Percy's). Rick seems to have decided that he thinks the audience wants this specific dynamic but 10 times over, except he's not good at writing it the first time because it's a bastardization of the time he did a different thing okay.

And Rick also seems aware of that too! Because he retconned Calypso and Leo at the end of TOA, probably because he realized how absolutely awful it was reading when they were written with that dynamic of Calypso just functionally hating Leo and constantly being aggressive towards him! The only time Rick's actually made the dynamic even semi-successful was with Magnus and Alex, because it actually fits within their characters, their dynamics with each other, and their environment. Alex beheading Magnus on the regular works out fine because there are no repercussions to that in Valhalla, Magnus will be fine, so it does genuinely come off as humorous. And Alex has been effectively established to be abrasive at times but have her genuine feelings shine through regularly, and that meshes well with Magnus' jaded-and-aloof-but-quietly-very-empathetic character. And Magnus has been established to, yes, not be great at combat, particularly compared to Alex. They are the only time that flavor of dynamic in that form was effective and cohesive.

Percabeth is no longer rivals-to-friends-to-lovers badasses on equal levels with shaky pasts who finally found some form of permanence with one another. Now it's super smart doting and affectionately aggressive girlfriend and her silly goofy 50%-of-the-time incompetent boyfriend who she judo flips/pushes off cliffs/etc - but affectionately~! Solangelo is trying to riff off of the early series "Poseidon & Athena are enemies" dynamic that Percabeth had but with Apollo & Hades being "opposites" but learning to accept each other, except it ends up with Will just coming off as a huge asshole and Nico being retconned to a complete doormat about it - when prior to that those characterizations would be completely contrary to their established characters (even just from TOA!). Calypso in HoO gets retconned from her PJO characterization to being snooty and aggressive, and Leo's false persona gets merged into his just normal personality except he just also becomes a doormat but more goofy than Nico with occasional haha-dark/depression-humor! Which Nico also got. Which was also a bastardized Percy trait that got redistributed.

It's exhausting. Rick write more than one relationship dynamic you can do it I promise

[scribbling-dragon]

you know that moment when tango's floating away in the newest wild life episodes? yeah what if ranchers stared into each others eyes while that happened

[thriftybruce]

practicing drawing their older versions, ill keep at it

[shrimpchipsss]

layout of the bamboo house from the scum villain donghua

[somegrumpynerd]

Cross has trouble getting to sleep alone in his room and goes looking for a distraction, but ends up finding a solution for both of them

[starry-bi-sky]

tales of the passerine - danny fenton being bruce wayne's first kid

okay okay. so this is like a continuation/elaboration of my oneshot/prompt i wrote about the idea that Danny was the first batkid. We have a lot of aus where he joins the family after the rest of the bats do, right? So hey! Lets shake things up a bit. Danny is the first to be adopted by Bruce Wayne.

Danny's parents and unfortunately Jazz die shortly after the events of TUE -- how so? I was gonna say an ecto-filter explosion, that would call back to the TUE explosion and trauma behind that. But lets do something new! Carbon-monoxide poisoning.

It's not too unexpected for something to break in the Fenton house, especially with the Fenton parents' questionable understanding of proper weapon handling and lab safety. The water heater broke from a stray shot by one of the weapons, and was promptly MacGyver'd incorrectly. Danny went to stay with Tucker for a guys' night, and came back to a dead silent house.

(Danny's neighbors got a very unfortunate shock when he ran to the next house over in hysterics.)

There was a lot of shuffling around with CPS, the police. People had to be called in to handle the equipment in the lab, and the GIW was rumoring to show up in aid to clearing the scene. When Danny heard of that, he immediately went and dismantled the ghost portal to the best of his abilities. He burned the physical blueprints of all his parents' inventions, their blueprints on the ghost portal, and their most dangerous weapons were destroyed beyond recognition. Anything to prevent the GIW from getting their hands on his parents' tech.

It opened up another investigation, but he was not under the list of suspects. He was placed in the care of Vlad Masters, where they then went back to the rebuilt castle mansion in Wisconsin. Danny, terrified of the future that has once passed and may do so again, shuts down in his grief. Inadvertently, he ends up somewhat repressing his ghost half. Something Vlad, who is grieving Madeline but relishing in Jack's demise and his custody of Daniel, is not very happy with.

Vlad's... gone into a bit of a mental health spiral. He's becoming increasingly possessive over Daniel, the final remnants of his friends and a liminal being like him. He doesn't like that Danny's repressing his ghost half -- both out of genuine concern as a ghost, but also because of his desire to control Danny and groom him into the perfect son. If you ever had a phase where you read Dark SBI found family fics, first off; me too bro, and second off; those are the vibes I'm thinking of.

Danny's mentally shut down from grief! And fear. He's dropped into a bad depressive state -- paralyzed with grief and the terror of the inevitable. Clockwork saved his parents because he believes in second chances, but what's the point of that when his family ended up dead anyways? Danny doesn't wanna believe that he's destined to become evil, and he's holding out onto that hope, but it's a thin line, and he feels utterly hopeless and trapped. He hasn't used his powers or ghost form since he trashed the lab, and Vlad has alarms set up to prevent him from trying to escape.

He's also unintentionally cut off Sam and Tucker -- both of whom are so scared and concerned for Danny too, and are trying their damndest to reach out to him. He keeps ignoring their texts. Danny basically haunts Vlad's manor. He goes out to eat if he has to, attends parties Vlad drags him to, and stays in his room all day if he can.

At parties, Vlad doesn't allow Danny to leave his side, or really talk to anyone -- not that Danny wants to. A product of Vlad's increasing possessiveness. Well, he almost doesn't let Danny leave his side. Danny has a habit of slipping off to hide somewhere for the parties whenever he can, and Vlad reluctantly allows it so long as he stays alone.

This becomes an advantage when eventually, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after missing for years, and holds a bright charity ball to celebrate the return. Vlad has been chomping at the bits to get his hands on Wayne Industries, and with the return of its owner there is no better opportunity to wipe out his rival. He goes, and he as normal, brings Daniel with him.

Vlad thinks Wayne will bleed his little heart out for Daniel's poor orphan sob story -- he's a fellow orphan himself, after all. He's not wrong; Wayne's little heart will bleed, just not in the way that benefits him.

Bruce sees Vlad and Danny approaching before they're even close enough to introduce themselves - and like with many of the children he will soon come to care for, it's like someone set a mirror into the past right in front of him.

Danny Fenton's suit is tailor-made for him, and despite the fact that it's his perfect size, the sag in his shoulders, the ducked down head, and the way he hunches into himself all pictures the image of a child in shoes too big for him. There's a far away, glazed over look in his eyes and grief marble-cut into the lines of his face. There's not enough makeup in the world that will hide the dark circles under his eyes.

("My nephew, Daniel Fenton." Vlad's hands are possessive on Danny's shoulders. Bruce immediately notices the way the boy tenses under his touch. "His parents passed recently, and as his godfather I was designated his guardian.") ("I'm so sorry, the loss must've been terrible.") ("Yes, carbon-monoxide poisoning caused it. Daniel was out with friends, when he came home... they had already passed.") (Bruce immediately dislikes that Vlad shared the details of their death unprompted -- he likes it even less when Danny flinches at the reminder and hunches into himself.)

Danny runs off at some point earlier into the charity. At this point, parties are still being held at Wayne Manor (because iirc google search mentioned that was a thing at first before it was changed), so he disappears and hides in one of the empty rooms nearby. It just so happens to be the same room Bruce Wayne hides in when he needs a break from all of the socialization.

Thus begins a long, long process of trust. Bruce can't reveal his hand as being smarter than he looks, but he can be compassionate. Kindness needs no measure of intelligence. He keeps Danny company for as long as he can before he runs the risk of being found.

Rinse and repeat. Vlad insistently wants Wayne Industries, and he'll go to as many Wayne parties as he can to get his hooks into the man. The problem is that Bruce Wayne is never alone, and getting him alone is impossible. Finding him too. It's like the man never stops moving. Always talking to someone, always circling somewhere. He orbits around the room as if he isn't the sun of the Gotham Elite's solar system.

Danny's had such repetitive behavior that Vlad never thinks to believe that Bruce Wayne is disappearing to go talk to him. That "Vlad's" son is even interacting with him at all. Danny never gives him a reason to think so, and neither does Bruce.

Danny doesn't actually acknowledge Bruce until a handful of parties in, where he hands Bruce a small slip of paper he smuggled in that says; "don't trust Vlad". Danny's face stays carefully blank, but he's so tense that his hands are trembling, and he's purposely looking away from him. Bruce plasters a smile onto his face, slips the paper into his pocket, and tells him "okay".

(he's been busy with his own goals with the mafia, but he sets aside time to investigate Vlad Masters. He was holding off. Until now.)

Danny does eventually start speaking to Bruce, he's starting to really like the guy. He's starting to see a little hope, even as Vlad is starting to get more and more agitated with him the more he refuses to use his powers.

He reaches out to Sam and Tucker again, and starts trying to reconnect with them. Vlad has spyware on his phone, and he limits the amount of times he can talk to them. A weird parental control lock of some sort that leaves a time limit on how long he can talk to them for. 30 minutes. Danny doesn't tell them anything about Mr. Wayne.

Danny, slowly, wants out of here, and he's slowly gathering the motivation to do it. Vlad is genuinely scaring him -- and Danny wonders just how truthful the past-future Vlad was when he told him that Danny wanted his ghost half separate. He starts trying to come up with an escape plan.

Vlad has anti-ghost wards everywhere around the mansion, and while they're always on, they boost to full power at sunset. The doors and windows are always locked, all main exits have alarms set on them. The only reason it's not super extensive is because Danny hasn't tried leaving at all yet, so Vlad hasn't had to tighten anything.

At night, Vlad locks the door to his room and puts up an anti-ghost ward around the room. The mansion is on the outside westward side of Madison, more entrenched in rural Wisconsin. The closest town is a four-way stop sign with one house on three corners, and an open bar on the fourth. Not much to go.

He refuses to go to Sam and Tucker; Vlad would look there first. It's too dangerous. Vlad would sound alarm bells and have a manhunt looking for him, Danny can't risk going just anywhere. Too much risk of being found, sold out, or caught. There's really nowhere for him to hide.

Until there is. Bruce is telling Danny about the history of Wayne Manor, and says, as casually as saying the weather; "The manor has dozens of empty rooms, I'm sure Alfred wouldn't mind filling another one if he could." And quietly, hesitantly, Bruce places a careful hand on Danny's shoulder, unrestrictive and gentle; "He wouldn't mind getting one ready for you if you need one."

And there it is. There's his out.

Danny, just as quietly, replies; "I'll keep that in mind."

The ball starts rolling.

Now I've been trying to summarize this au as much as possible for length convenience, but Vlad has been steadily growing more and more controlling. More emotionally manipulative. More agitated at Danny for not using his powers.

He wants Wayne Industries under his thumb but he's been steadily growing more and more concerned with Danny. He's started grabbing him, yanking him around, shaking him; trying to goad him into using his powers. He gets angry when Danny doesn't react, or tells him he doesn't want to use his powers. He hasn't outright attacked him, but he's getting there. This has been happening over the time it takes for Bruce to indirectly offer Danny sanctuary at his home.

It all comes to a head when Vlad stops going to parties at all -- something Danny has to pretend he isn't upset about -- because Vlad doesn't want him around other people anymore. Vlad rarely goes now without him, and only leaves to go to a Wayne function or to handle something at VladCo.

Danny can't wait for Vlad to leave long enough to escape. So he leaves during the night of a big storm. Vlad's locked him in his room, but Danny doesn't bother trying to go for it; he goes to the alarmed window instead. Danny's been repressing his ghost half so long that he can't access his powers immediately anymore -- he can feel it, he knows its there, but he can't quite reach it.

He breaks the lock by hand.

Immediately the alarm goes off through the entire castle, filling the room with red, and he scrambles for the rope the Wisconsin Ghost left for him a few months back. Danny's already out and climbing down the side of the castle before Vlad even reaches his door -- the only good thing about the entire room being ghost-proof is that Vlad can't get in that way.

The rope ends before it reaches the bottom, and he's still twenty feet in the air. It won't kill him if he lands it right. Danny takes his chances, and drops. He breaks his ankle, but he survives.

And he fucking books it to the back garden. He hears Vlad shrieking over the thunder and rain.

I'll save the full experience for a future oneshot, but Danny makes it out into the nearby woods and forcibly experiences what it's like to be in a horror game, trying to hide from the thing that's hunting you. There's only one thing going through his mind; "i'm going to die"

I have this mental image for this scene. Very stereotypical horror imo. Where Danny is hiding behind a tree, with a hand over his mouth, and Vlad is a few feet away from him, glowing ominously red through the trees, trying to search for him.

Danny doesn't get away from this unscathed, but he does get away alive. That's all he could ask for. He gets away by getting his ghost half awakened long enough to transform into Phantom and fly to Gotham.

But he gets to Wayne Manor, he gets to Bruce. Or, at least, Alfred answers the door from his insistent pounding. Danny's just in tears and Alfred gets him in the living room, wrapped in a towel, with ice on his swollen leg before he has to step out and alert Bruce.

Bruce already breaks multiple traffic laws on a nightly basis. And that's just with the sheer existence of the batmobile itself, not including the speeding and military artillery attached. He breaks double the amount trying to speed back to the cave and get out of the suit.

Right off the bat: Bruce will know, at least before Dick enters the picture, about danny's powers. He'll figure out something considering the fact that Danny traveled from Wisconsin to New York in a single night. That'll be a bit of complicated affair, but I've already got something in mind.

Actually it'll probably be very soon after Danny joins the family, because Bruce tries to offer to fight for custody for Danny - the state Danny was in at arrival is clear enough evidence for a trial. But Danny immediately shuts it down, says it's not going to work and then Vlad will know Danny's with him and he won't be safe. He tells him that Vlad cannot know Danny was with Bruce.

Danny's biggest regret was not telling his parents he was a halfa, and while he doesn't want to tell mister wayne (yet), he does tell him about Vlad being one. He needs to know why Danny can't be seen with Bruce. So he tells him, and Danny's current plan is to just hide out from Vlad until he turns 18. That way, he has no more legal jurisdiction over him. After that? He's not sure.

And to wrap this up, since this has already gotten very long and I can make more posts about this au later; I've thought about it, and I'm going to say that Danny does become a vigilante before Dick enters the scene. He goes by, as you probably guessed; Nightingale. "Gale" for short.

[clfixationstation]

idk if this is a hot take but I don't think Armin is friendly. I think people find him generally off-putting. Like, people think he looks sweet, but also find him strange; for the topics that interest him, the way he didn't stray far from Eren (& Mikasa) socially, and his general demeanor.

I think that as Armin established himself more as he grew up, he developed better interpersonal skills that compliment his rhetorical prowess. I think he's the type of person who sees value in life and in minimizing harm. He offers kindness to his friends and understanding to all. But I don't see him as particularly "friendly"