#and I have just been thinking about atla a lot lately

[superarti]

Okay so I don't know how into Tugs you are, but I've been thinking about it like all day yesterday and I Love love love Atlas I think she's so cute and I really just want to know more about her lol.

Like, I wanna know how all the star fleet interact with her and the Zeds view.

(also tis I, 6lovelytenders, coming in from the main blog)

Gosh where do I begin…

So Atlas Star, daughter of Captain Star is a spitfire of a child who seeks adventure. She has an affinity for animals, I mean her best friend is a seal named Freckles.

Her favorite activities is collecting treasures on the sea floor and exploring the river. She’s an outdoorsy kiddo who sometimes pretends she’s a survivalist.

Hercules and Tencents are like her brothers and often time she’s with Tencents or Sunshine on an adventure.

Lately she’s been learning to speak Welsh from O.J. And loves to listen to his stories as she dozes off in the sun leaning on his railing.

Her and Grampus love to dive and she goes on little rides with him, sometimes they like to spy on the Zeds to make sure they’re not up to something.

Big Mac is often the one who tells her off when she’s about to do something dangerous and often times she’s well to listen, she looks up to him.

Top Hat and Atlas are a fun duo, she thinks he’s silly most of the time but also respects him. He thinks she’s a bit too much of a ruffian but admires her bravery and steel.

Warrior is like an uncle to Atlas and she loves to share her stories or treasures with him. The two are a lot alike. She learned a lot about work ethic from him.

Overall the Star Fleet is her family and when she gets out of school or any free moment she has she’s in the water.

As for the Zeds they don’t pay too much mind to her but her antics and spying can often annoy them.

Captain Zero is always telling Star off about keeping “The Little Rugrat” away from his docks, lol. However he can’t help but be a little fond of her rebellious and bold attitude. It’s a rare attribute.

Zorran couldn’t be more annoyed with her, she’s foiled a plan or two of his due to her spying antics with Grampus. Imagine a child being your rival.

Zak and and Zug don’t have much of an opinion on her beyond just finding her irritating and meddlesome.

Zip won’t get near her since the harpoon incident one faithful night of him trying to be up to no good as orders from Zorran. Got him pretty good with it… He pretends to hate her but honestly he’s scared she knows how to sink him.

Zebedee and Atlas have an equal stand, he has no outward opinion but that’s because she saved him during a storm when visibility was low. She saw him but he didn’t see the rocks of the shallower waters. With her handy flare she fired it off and yelled out to him to turn starboard. In nick of time too because otherwise he’d been turned into toothpicks.

Overall the Zeds view her no better than the rest of the Stars. Except for Zebedee, he owes her one bit time.

And… that’s pretty much it.

Of course her and her dad are as close as can be, he may not be perfect, but to Atlas he’s her whole world… Minus well be the best dad ever.

[biitchcakes]

Somebody show her Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I don't think she'd ever turn it on for herself, or how much she'd even hear about it in the first place. But if someone stuck it on for her, got her into watching it. . . I just know she'd love it.

[petricorah]

Sokka was used to the cold.

He’d spent his whole life in it. He was born into frigid and bitter temperatures. He was used to breathing burning crisp air into his lungs, used to walking when he could barely feel his feet, used to sleeping surrounded by ice, and used to the coldness that struck deep into his heart while staring out over the empty tundra. He loved it. Just the feel of winter winds whipping through his hair made his spirits soar, smiling despite the pain of icy gales against his teeth.

And then.

He melted, slowly. Traveling the world had been quite the culture shock, and he had taken some time to adjust to no longer being surrounded by snow, but he grew to love the pleasant lukewarm air and the ability to wear short sleeves. But the firebender was another thing entirely.

Being close to Zuko was as uncomfortable it was so hot. The man’s very skin was a furnace that radiated heat, and somehow, it made Sokka’s own cheeks and chest burn for reasons he didn’t understand for years. But he got used to it. Despite how stubborn he was, Sokka was good at adapting. He was still from the water tribe, after all. Soon, the heat pulsing off of Zuko as they brushed shoulders or fought side by side wasn’t unnatural. It became welcome, especially…

Well. It was purely strategic to put their sleeping bags side by side, because once the campfire died down, laying by Zuko with their shoulders almost touching was the only way to stave off the brisk night air.  

He wasn’t sure when it changed, when the embers of their friendship sparked into something more. They’d travelled the world together, trying to rebuild the world ravaged by the Fire Nation. Zuko refused to stay behind a desk, and Sokka refused to let him go at it alone. And slowly but surely, Sokka forgot what it was like to be cold. What it was like to not have Zuko by his side, to feel his warmth surround him like he was the center of a fire, the comforting lull of heat as he hugged him, that fiery, caring temper, and blazing hot fingers interlaced with his own.

And now, he was back in the Southern Water Tribe.

Alone.

And he has never felt so painfully…cold.

[freakurodani]

biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig stretch

[hiding-under-the-willow]

This is going to be an incredibly personally specific rant about conflicting headcanon ideas with a poll at the end so if you like clicking buttons there's a reward at the end for reading lol

Anyways so like essentially this is a little dilemma I'm having regarding like my personal headcanons regarding certain connections between Markiplier TV and Who Killed Markiplier, specifically. Uh. Bim and Dr. Iplier's connects to the latter.

Okay so hear me out. Dr. Iplier is a little bit more straight forward. His last name is straight up Iplier. I generally consider actor Mark to be Mark Iplier. So. Simple question. Are they related in some way? Simple dilemma, would not be surprised if other people have drawn this connection before. Bim is a bit sillier, a bit more tied basically just specifically to the way I draw him actually and has nothing to do with canon lol. Um. The first time I drew him I gave him the same mole I give Damien and Celine (and Dark) without really thinking about it and then I never took it out of his design bc it grew on me too much. And now i can't stop thinking about it. So uh. Same question. Is he in some way related to Damien and Celine?

So. Okay. Option A) They are related. Iplier is like a cousin of Mark's a few generations removed or some shit. Same vibe on Bim's side. Maybe the reason they're both a little strange and unusual is related to their familial connections to the manor. Maybe they know a bit about the whole ordeal with the manor, maybe they don't. Maybe their relation played a bit of a role in them getting hired by Wilford and Dark. I don’t think Wilford would seek them out intentionally, maybe (again assuming familial relations to the manor has had some effects of them) he was drawn to them bc of their connections to the manor. And I don't think Dark would be quick to turn them away either, I think he's the kind of guy to not exactly be good at setting boundaries between his professional and personal life all things considered, and so yeah being able to keep and eye on he and Mark's strange relatives by keeping them on the payroll probably isn't something he's opposed to. Absolutely not a headcanon that's supported well by anything in canon, definitely verging on au territory, but certainly raises the opportunity for some interesting character interactions. Also if you're into the whole headcanon that Yancy is one of Mark and Celine's kids and that he ends up at the studio when he gets out of prison well then this meshes well with that too. Half the studio is made up of Dark and Mark's strange relatives at that point lmao

Option B is, obviously, that they're not actually related, they're just like that lol. Bim just happens to have that same mole, look fairly similar to Damien. Still raises some interesting opportunities in terms of character interactions, and makes things align a little more with canon. Then with Dr. Iplier. Obviously you could just say that Iplier's name being that is like. A coincidence. Personally I think that's a boring take. So here's my twist on it. Dr. Iplier is a stage name. He's one of those celebrities who has like a real actual name but literally no one knows it even his close friends call him Iplier it's that much a part of his identity at this point. How'd he pick it up? Oh, idk, maybe he picked it up from an actor who did an obscure and short lived theatrical performance portraying a doctor character back in the 1920s. Who's to say 😊. Anyways I think both Mark and Dark would hate this for very different reason. So it's got a lot of comedy potential.

Okay so obviously all of that is like simplifying all of that a lot. My opinion is generally a little more loose and complex too. Like, either of these sets of headcanons can work in different situations. Like. In Inheritance I'm not planning on writing either of them as being related to the wkm cast, because it just doesn't quite work with what I'm going for there. But in the Unsolved AU I've thought that (if I ever wanted to connect it more seriously to canon) it would make some interesting drama if they were related to the wkm cast in some way, and it came out when they ended up at the manor for one of their episodes. I can also see a version of that au where that isn't the case so, y’know. Honestly most of the time when I'm coming up with stuff or writing scenarios I keep it intentionally vague. Not leaning one particular way or the other. Like there's a scene in the one-shot I've been writing where Mark breaks character for a moment because he briefly has a moment where he looks at Bim and all he can see is Damien. And I just am leaving it up to the reader to take a stance on that. Not taking a hard line on whether that's because Bim is in someway related or if he just looks like that. Mostly because I'm not particularly biased to one interpretation over the other in that scenario. It works either way, even if it has slightly different implications. I can also see a combination of the two working in different scenarios, Iplier being related but not Bim and vice-versa.

So. Y’know for all intents and purposes I'm not literally interested in taking a particularly hard line on this actually. This post is silly. I just wanted to put these ideas out there really, and also find out how these thoughts fared with the public so 👀

[xxgoldie]

went to karaoke and someone sang crush by david archuleta so now im thinking abt lighter romance enthusiast lorenz also listening to the most pining songs just the sappiest playlist known to man

as usual, i am Obsessed with lighter being down bad. he's such a fucking dork, i need him. have been listening to a variety of love song playlists for the last few days as i write this and its not helped the brainrot. cw: none, pure fluff, gn!reader wc: 444 (or 618 with the bonus)

when he's out and about, he tends to listen to metal and rock, the same kind of stuff that's in his demo trailer. it gets him in the right headspace for his champion duties. when he's alone, though? his headphones are playing exclusively sappy glitter-gel-pen love songs. he would rather die than let anyone know, he has an image to upkeep - wouldn't even put it past him to have a second spotify account, bc u know the girls will bug him to see his wrapped every year.

within the love song genre, his favourite songs are ones that remind him of you.

his listening history is an amalgamation of different musical styles, but what he really pays attention to is the lyrics; if there's a song that really captures the way he feels about you, or one where the singer describes their lover and they're similar to you, he can't help but put it on repeat. he also loves duets - just like with romance movies, he loves imagining its the two of you in that situation. when he's deep in crush territory, he'll even make a playlist of those songs (it's long - can't help that every other song reminds him of you).

when you're finally together, he's more open about his love of love songs. it may take a bit into your relationship, during some late-night conversation about your respective silly behaviours when you were pining over each other, for him to show you the playlist, titled with just your initial and a heart emoji. but even before that, if you happen to play any of the songs he secretly listens to, you might catch him singing along under his breath (lowkey this post every five seconds). you might chalk it up to him picking up the words of songs the girls listen to, but that's because you don't catch the way he looks at you with the lyrics on his lips.

there are other times where he'll slide up behind you in your kitchen, arms around your waist and head propped on your shoulder, the domesticity and the fact you're wearing his tshirt getting to him. he's not much of a singer, but he'll hum one of those songs in that moment (his voice has a lovely smooth n deep timbre, so his humming sounds Heavenly in your ear). he might get a little embarrassed if you recognise the song and start humming along with him, or god forbid singing, but he'll still sway the both of you along to the music. he's not much of a dancer either, but he can figure out a midnight slow dance in the kitchen for you.

bonus!! a few songs i think he'd listen to, tho kinda influenced by my own music taste (+ spotify links): kiss her you fool - kids that fly (he has it on loop when he's psyching himself up to ask you out) meteor shower - cavetown davy crochet - the backseat lovers (perhaps i'm biased on this one bc i crochet) stitch me up - set it off can't help falling in love - elvis presley cloud 9 - beach bunny ("even when we fade eventually to nothing / you will always be my favourite form of loving" really hits with his whole 'dying for love' thing) love grows (where my rosemary goes) - edison lighthouse paper rings - taylor swift jackie and wilson - hozier (there's a lot of hozier in his playlists, but he really likes the thought of a family with you, even if that's only a couple lines of the song) valentine - atlas sweet tooth - cavetown ("guess i must be satisfactory / you said you love me exactly the way i am" takes him Out i can just feel it) would you be so kind - dodie

[knight-dwx-09]

Hiding (Not Really) From Them

Jaune cleave a Beowolf in half with a great sword that wasn’t a Croceo Mors. As the last Grimm evaporates, he let his eyes roamed a bit to search for any Grimm left in the area.

Jaune: Okay, that should be the last one of them. Now, I just need to back to the village to report the situation and grab my payment.

He sheathed his sword into the scabbard on his waist.

Jaune: I should wait for her to call me before I leave, today is Friday so it will be any second now.

Right on cue, his scroll began to rings, causing him to smiled brightly as he pick it up to reveal smiling Neo on the screen.

Jaune: Hello Neo!

Neo: *Waving*

Jaune: So, where are you now?

Neo: Atlas

She speaks thanks to the device on her neck that try to predict what she want to say into text-to-speak. It’s not perfect but it’s still good enough to communicate without hand gestured or typing on a scroll.

Jaune: Cool, no pun intended, any luck on stealing from the criminals and finding the information for other artifact?

Neo: Couple stupid idiots, one even use just one password and one pin for all of his money and secret document. As for the latter, none. You?

Jaune: Same, just a couple of Grimm and protecting Villages, haven’t see much from Salem’s cult as well. Seems like they went into hiding after I destroyed a lot of their camp.

Neo: And you aren’t being too hard on yourself, right?

Jaune: They weren’t much to exert me that far. I don’t even have to rely on Lyssa to fight them.

Lyssa: *Speak in Jaune’s mind* Damn right you are, these weakling are even worthy for master’s skills, let alone to withstand against my power! And worry not Neo, I ensure you that I will keep tabs on master’s health and force him to get enough sleep and nutrients!

Jaune let out a deep chuckle as he pat the sword on his back, which was wrapped in a bandage.

Jaune: And Lyssa told me she’s going to protect me and make sure I don’t slip back into my old habits. So, really, you don’t have to worry about me anymore.

Neo: That’s good to know, because I promised if I ever saw or know that you are awake late in night, swinging your sword like a madman, I WILL go to your current location and suffocate you in my thighs or tits, pick your funeral.

Jaune: *Chuckle nervously* You make it sound like it was a threat.

Neo: Because it is.

Jaune: I will keep that in mind.

Neo: … I know this isn’t something for me to say nor that I really care, but shouldn’t you visit your friends by now? It’s been 6 months since you last saw them in the hospital.

Jaune: Believe me, I have been dying to do so. But you know, somehow, all of the mission I saw and get was in Vacuo or a remote area, and once every a blue moon that I have a mission in Atlas or Vale or Menagerie, my friends weren’t there. Just my rotten luck. Besides, they need rest after the war and I don’t think my absent will affect them that badly.

———

Yang: *Red Eyes and blazing hair* If I finally captured that bastard, I will make him have second thought about abandoning all of us ever again! Stupid Vomit boy, making all of us, including my sweet little sister, cry our eyes out!

Blake: I know I don’t have any right to judge him but I will help you on that, I will bring the handcuff and leash so we could tied him with us forever so he won’t be able to run away.

———

Jaune: Heck, I am sure they are really busy with their new life to even think about me. With Dust in the world become even more rarer after the final fight, Weiss is trying to find another source of resource to replace Dust while fix her family legacy. You even say that Ruby is helping out Weiss while keeping Atlas save. And that is a lot of work!

———

Ruby: I miss my Best friend, Weiss, I miss him so much. *munching on a cookies while snuggling with Weiss*

Weiss: I also miss him… *Whisper* Where are you my Knight… your princess is waiting for you to come back… *eating blueberry frozen yogurt*

———

Jaune: And I heard Kuroyuri are being rebuild! I am so proud of Ren and Nora, they could finally settled down and have a family. I do pray for Ren’s pelvis, I remember that Nora wanting to beat my family scored of 8 children.

———

Both Nora and Ren could be seen in Mistral, handing out papers with smiling Jaune when he still has the banana hair and written missing under it.

Nora: Have you seen our golden retriever son? I miss him so much! *Large tears running down her face*

Ren: Our boy have run away from us, we aren’t ready to let him go just yet. Is it because I yelled at him when we try to get Oscar back? I am sorry my boy for being too hard at you. *Lamented with black cloud over his head*

———

Jaune: *Shrugged* I am sure they are doing just fine

Neo: *rolled her eyes* And when are you gonna tell them about our relationship?

Jaune: When my jobs are near them. I just wish our scroll were destroyed in the last fight, I don’t even have their number to call them anymore.

Neo: Well, I just hope they would accept us being a thing, not that I care about their opinion on us.

Jaune: *Chuckled* I am sure they are already warm up to you, including you to them.

Neo flip the bird which cause him to laugh even harder.

Jaune: Anyway, I should get going now. I don’t want to worried the villagers with me being gone for a while now. Nice meeting with you, I will call you next week again, Neo.

Neo: *Looked down in sadness* I really miss you… I wish we could have gone together…

Jaune: …Me too… I also wish you could be my side… so I could talk together everyday and hug you all I want… and kiss you all day… but you already know why we separate for now, we have role to fulfill.

Neo: I know… it just suck that you aren’t there when I woke up in the cold, lonely bed, greeting me with that dopey, kind smile of yours to warm my day up.

Jaune: Well… maybe we can arrange something so we could spent a week together in the future

Neo: *Look up with a logging in her eyes and smiled* I would love that.

Suddenly, he can hear an alarm flared up on the other side of the call.

Neo: Well, it seems like they finally noticed their money is missing. They really should use it to upgrade their brain, I am surprised they managed to go this far with it.

Jaune: Neo, what did I say about calling me in the middle of a heist?

Neo: Please, as if you have the right to say that, ‘Mister-who-call-me-even-in-the-middle-of-hoard-of-Grimm’.

Jaune: *Sigh* Fine, just be careful.

Neo: Who do you think I am? *Smirking smugly*

Jaune: Well, that’s it for this week. Don’t forget, it will be your turn next.

Neo: *Rolled eyes* I know, just make sure you remember this number.

Jaune: I won’t, love you dear.

Neo: Love you too. Also, Lyssa, take care of our reckless partner and don’t let him jump into danger.

The sword of destruction began to shine as a small girl appeared on its place and grab hold on Jaune like a Koala, head peaking out so Neo could see her.

Lyssa: Don’t worry, this foolish master of my will not endanger his life as long as I am still by his side.

Neo: That’s good to know… see ya next week.

With the call ended, he gripped his scroll until it shattered under his hand.

Jaune: Well, are you ready for our next mission, Partner?

Lyssa: I want to sweet chocolate cake first! It has been a week since I had one and I believe I deserve one.

Jaune: *Chuckled* Okay, lets ask the chief if the place had any bakery or a cafe.

With that, the wandering knight set forth on his journey even after the war ended 6 months ago, leaving (Not Really) his friends behind as every single one of them have something in mind which they are gonna do to the knight if they find him, if, since it seem like Fate or Gods itself have another thing in mind for him and have taken a liking at his funny story unfolding. But we will see what the future’s hold for them.

[demaparbat-hp]

Hi Dema!! Your art is fantastic and even the lineart is awesome! Solid and confident in where it's thick and where thin. I really like how your style has characters look more realistic and they have specific consistent features. Your blog has a pleasant atmosphere, and you're skilled in weaving AUs! There's a lot of details and structure, and I'd like to ask if any of them have a full story arc? Could you do a list of all of the AUs? Is there a motif that you especially like that repeats in any of the AUs? And whenever you add comments to my stuff in the tags I literally smile, it makes me want to keep at my plan to create everything I have in mind. So I'd like to spread this joy! I hope you have a nice day! (from late-draft ^^)

Hello, Late-Draft! I wasn't expecting this ask at all but I'm so glad to have received it!

First of all—I'll try to hold myself back from giggling like a schoolgirl. I'm having a sempai noticed me moment over here and that's just embarrassing. So give me a second to compose myself, if that's alright?

Okay, I'm back.

Now, on to business.

Character design, especially when it comes to facial features and how they're unique to each person, has always been a passion of mine. I always try to have a solid design for each character. I choose which features feel like the character in question, which face feels natural to draw, and go along with it. I love drawing Katara as much as I love drawing Zuko. Meanwhile, I seem to be on a never-ending battle against Sokka's features. Woes of an artist, I suppose.

Character design is actually one of the reasons I love your work so much, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm currently experimenting a bit with a different style... Hopefully it won't be long before the artwork is done and I can share it over here. I'm so excited for everyone to see it!

Now it's time for the reason we're all here.

I have said it before and shall say it once more: AUs are my lifeblood.

I love them so much! Building them, daydreaming the scenes, thinking of the characters and how they differ from their canon versions. The arcs and the themes and the worldbuilding. Building AUs is my passion, and I have so many of them!

There are a lot of motifs and themes that tend to repeat themselves in several of my AUs, I believe.

You'll notice that most of my stories are Zuko-centric, with a heavy emphasis on grief and humanity. There's the question of what makes us human and how to move forward when the whole world seems to push you back. I put a lot of stock in metaphors and symbolism within the narrative itself. I'm especially interested in the nuance of war and how it affects people emotionally, physically, and psychologically

I also tend to reutilize some elements of the lore and/or worldbuilding! Such as the Painted Lady's backstory, or the existence of War Children within the ATLA universe.

Now, the list!

I think I'll start with my current project, if that's okay :)

For the Spirits (New Gods AU)

Zuko was a child when he met Agni. Then, the spirits started coming to him. Eyes hidden in the hallways, voices pleading for help, for recognition, for remembrance.

Zuko could see Agni. He could see the broken remains of a Great Spirit and the empty smiles of amnesiac ghosts.

And they could see him in return.

I've been working on this AU for a long time, but only now did I get the chance to start writing the fic (linked up there!). I'm extremely excited about FTS and where the story will lead us in the future, but I'll try not to spoil too much.

It's a Zuko-centric story, with a heavy emphasis on Spirits and humanity. I'd like to add a warning for depression/mental health issues.

To Hesitate (Lee & Kya AU)

As she watches Lee and Kya avoid each other's eyes from across the room, the phrase comes back to her, swift and silent:

"To hesitate is to lose."

.

As Song treats the victim of an unfortunate interaction with a rare poisonous flower, her day takes an unexpected turn when it becomes apparent that the old man's nephew and her assistant have history.

A vivid history.

The Lee & Kya AU is a vibe, a feeling. It's probably one of my oldest AUs out there as well as one of my dearest.

A classical Lee and Kya From The Tea Shop AU, full with wholesome fandom tropes such as: fake (but not really) dating, fake identities, Ba Sing Se shenanigans, vigilante stuff, White Lotus missions, Iroh is a great Uncle, Zuko is an awkward turtleduck, and, of course, the fluffiest fluff you'll ever see.

Other than that, Lee & Kya is probably one of the less plot-focused AUs I have. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't scenes I can't wait to write or a canon divergence or two where Zuko is concerned.

(I have another fic posted but I'll leave that one to the end. You asked for a full story arc and, oh boy, does Soundless deliver.)

Kintsugi AU

Closer to being canon-adjacent than canon-divergent, Kintsugi is yet another Zuko-centric AU (and are we not noticing a pattern over here?).

I'd love to explain it in depth, but I believe the caption of the artwork linked above does a better job at explaining than I ever will.

Kintsugi is the art of decorating your scars with pieces of Agni.

In the Fire Nation, the amount of golden marks are a sign of status. Only the Royal Family can afford to seal every single wound with Kintsugi. Such is the weight of this tradition that, among the ones with Agni's blood, it is the highest mark of dishonor to have a natural scar, for it proves you aren't worthy of the privilege.

After the Agni Kai, Ozai forbid Zuko's scar to be sealed with Kintsugi. The boy wasn't worth his title, his traditions or his pride. Zuko would be broken, but he wouldn't be beautiful. Not anymore.

(And sometimes it's easier to pretend he never was)

Kyoshi Warriors AU

One of my absolute favorites!

In this AU, Ursa took Zuko and Azula with her when she was banished, so they could start anew. With help from Iroh and the White Lotus, she managed to relocate her freshly burned eight-year-old child and her crying daughter to Kyoshi Island.

Years later, when Avatar Aang and his companions first arrive at Kyoshi Island, they're met by the Kyoshi Warriors and their leader, Noriko of pale skin and warm brown eyes.

The Gaang leave Kyoshi Island many weeks later with a new companion. And if Jian Li, with his war paint and his scar and his dual dao, gives the island that he has called home for so long one final, longing glance as they fly away on Appa, they pretend not to notice.

Hunters AU

We're starting to dwelve deep into dangerous waters!

This is a Katara Joins Zuko In His Quest To Find The Avatar AU, with a twist!

This AU was born as a writing experiment. What if we take Katara's character, and change one of her core characteristics? Katara, who looked up to the Avatar as a saviour figure, now blames him for leaving and allowing the Fire Nation to wage war on the world.

Then comes Zuko, a banished Prince with a crew full of traitors and his own agenda. Zuko wishes for nothing more than to dethrone his father and end the war. He is a White Lotus member, an honorable, driven young man, and he has a plan.

The catch? He needs to take the Avatar to his father if he wishes to regain his title and be able to rightfully take the throne. Oh, and he will deliver the Avatar to the Fire Lord—but nobody said it had to be in chains.

Halfblood AU

I watched Blue Eye Samurai a few months ago and it destroyed me. The idea of a half-blooded child dead set on getting revenge for their very existence stuck with me, and this AU was born.

Kanna made a life for herself in the Earth Kingdom after leaving the North. Katara was raised by her grandmother in a small village, being taught to hide her bending if she wanted to live peacefully in a place she was only half of. Her mother had died in childbirth. Her father, a nameless warrior from the Southern Water Tribe who had loved Kya and left her behind, didn't know of Katara's existence.

Katara took over Kanna's clinic after she passed away. Always taking care of others. Always suppressing her need to bend. Always wishing for more.

One day, he arrived. A half-child, just like her. But while she was of Water, he was a son of Agni. He was searching for the man who brought him to this world. The man who scarred him. The man whose face he couldn't recall, whose name he did not know. The man whose specter had chased his mother to her grave. The man who would die at his hand.

The answers were hidden in a small teashop deep within Ba Sing Se. Lee offered her a way out, and Katara took it.

Soundless (Uiscefhuaraithe)

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe has hands scarred by fire and great talent, though no teacher.

Zuko is a mute War Child, a herbalist and healer, and the Blue Spirit. He bears the mark of fire, and the scar of the blade that took away his voice.

The first time they met, the Blue Spirit had just saved her, tough not before her hands got burned. The second time they met, his name was Lee, and he was healing her.

They live in war and they will fight, if not for the world, then for themselves.

You asked for a full storyline, and I shall deliver!

Soundless is probably the only AU I have fully planned. Three-books, Azula redemption arc, role-reversals and all.

This AU has everything. From travelling through the Earth Kingdom together, to odd character team-ups that somehow manage to work, and a major goal/conflict to resolve.

Zuko and Katara must find their way to Omashu in an Earth Kingdom ravaged by war as they also grow to understand each other, themselves, and the world around them. They meet with new and old alliances, keep their ears open for rumors of the Avatar (They say he is an airbender, Lee. Do you truly belive that?), and do their best to always be two steps ahead of their pasts.

Meanwhile, both the Northern and Southern Water Tribes are searching for the runaway heiress, Aang must find his way alone on this new, hostile world, and Azula must face the revelation that, despite what her father has stated for the last two years (liar, he lied at her! Her! He lied he liedliedliedlied), her brother might just be alive.

I'm sorry for making this such a long answer! I just get very excited about these subjects and don't know when to stop. If you made it all the way down here: thank you again.

I hope you have a good day ❤️

[lynzishell]

Prev // Next

Transcript below the cut:

Atlas: Should we head back? Asher: Not just yet. I, um, actually want to talk to you about something. Atlas: Okay. Asher: Right. Okay. The thing is, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and… Atlas: And?

Asher: And I want us to have kids.  

Atlas: Oh.

Altas: Ash, I don’t— Asher: I know.

Asher: I know we already decided we weren’t going to, and I know I said I was okay with that, and I meant it at the time, I did, but I don’t think I am okay with that anymore, and I know you’re worried, but honestly you’re the most caring and nurturing person I’ve ever met, and I know you’d be such an amazing father, and there’s no way anyone could ever feel unwanted by you, least of all—

Atlas: No. It’s not that.

Asher: What then? Atlas: [sighs] Is this really the right time to be talking about this? Asher: Well, that’s the thing, we don’t really have a lot of time. My eggs… I have exactly one year, three months, and six days to either use them or donate them before they’re destroyed.

Atlas: [let’s out a forceful exhale] So, it’s now or never? Asher: Only if we want biological children. Atlas: Only if we want… shit. SHIT.

Atlas: Ash, we just quit our jobs! It’s going to be hard enough to stretch our savings to last us a year, which is hopefully enough time to finish this game and market it and release it and HOPE it’s successful enough to make money. It’s one thing to take this kind of risk when it’s just the two of us, but to bring a child into it just feels… irresponsible. And we’re already looking into a bigger place, but then we’d need an even bigger place. But it doesn’t even matter because our savings will already be drained between the procedure and a surrogate and doctor’s appointments and furnishing a nursery and baby formula and diapers and a million other things I haven’t even thought of yet.

Asher: I hear you; I do. And we can talk about all of that, but it’s not really worth the stress unless we’re serious. So, can we just put a pin in it for one minute and pretend that money is not an issue? Atlas: I don’t think I can do that. Asher: Try? Please? Just give me sixty seconds and answer one question for me. Atlas: [sighs] Okay.

Asher: Do you want to have kids with me?

Atlas: [nodding] Asher: Yes? Atlas: Yes.

Asher: Oh, thank god!!

Atlas: Can I get back to panicking now? Asher: Not yet. Can’t we just enjoy the rest of our vacation and panic when we get home?

Atlas: No.

Asher: Do you still make anything off that app you made forever ago? Atlas: Hardly. But I could revamp it. And I could probably do some side jobs here and there. Asher: I could sell a bunch of my art on Plopsy. Atlas: That’s a good idea.  

Asher: It’s not gonna be enough, though, is it? Atlas: I doubt it. How do we even do this? Where do we start? Asher: I’m not sure. We should talk to my mom when we get back. Atlas: Oh, she’s going to be excited. Asher: Very. I’m kind of excited too. Atlas: Me too. This is going to be one hell of a year.

[longing-for-rain]

https://www.tumblr.com/atla-confessions/759438562978562048/zutara-and-azutara-both-agree-katara-would-have?source=share

Do a post on this please I don't have the energy

I see this sentiment a lot lately, and yes, it is frustrating. But I’m going to talk about it because it perfectly illustrates the way (kataang) fans take power away from Katara’s narrative and reduce her complexity as a result.

For those too tired to look at the OP (understandable) it’s an anon saying that both Zutara and Kazula would be problematic and harmful to Katara because the Fire Nation would never accept her, and that she and her family would always be in danger yada yada blah blah.

And honestly? I agree with that. It would be dangerous for Katara. But if you think that would stop Katara, you fundamentally don’t understand her character.

Do you really think Katara is some poor little damsel who needs to be protected at all costs and sent away to live a quiet life in the countryside? No; that’s never been Katara. Katara wants to fight and she has never backed down from a challenge. It’s who she is.

Katara is the girl who left her home to travel across a war-torn world to chase even a chance that she could play a part in ending the war. She’s constantly putting herself in dangerous situations because she follows her heart, she does what’s right even if it’s a risk to her safety. The Katara we know from ATLA is not some demure, unassuming girl who would be happy to sit back and become known for her healing above all else while her friends fought in her place. Katara would have hated to see her future as it was written. She is loud. She is proud. She is a fighter.

Katara not only accepts a challenge; she’s eager for it. She’s strong, she knows it, and she isn’t afraid to use her power for good.

I know someone is going to jump in the comments and accuse me of “shaming” Katara for her “choices” (nevermind the fact that she’s a fictional character so every choice she makes isn’t her own; it’s a narrative chosen for her by the male writers) but I’m not even saying that being a healer is inherently weak or bad. I’m saying it’s not Katara.

It’s a shame that so many people are willing to overlook the butchering of her story just because they’re so protective over canon and are completely unwilling to engage with it critically.

This sentiment reflects the issues many fans have with canon kataang, because it’s a very common misogynistic trope in media. A female character can be strong, but it’s only temporary. We can see her fight and triumph, but at the end she’s expected to give that up for marriage and motherhood after the war. Her identity is reduced to her relation to a man. She isn’t expected to retain her strength; she is expected to accept a quiet recognition while the world sings the man’s praises.

That was the fate of Katara in canon. And it is a disservice to her character. Katara would have wanted to continue to fight, because the fight wasn’t over. Anon’s recognition that Fire Nation nobility would have an issue with her holding power shows they understand that too. So why do you think Katara would be fine with sitting back and letting that happen? Why do you think she’d let that scare her away? Not my Katara.

Especially when love enters the picture. Let’s say Katara did canonically love Zuko, or Azula, or anyone outside of her nation for that matter. Yes, it would be more difficult for her. But do you really think Katara would back down for that reason?

In fact, do you realize how insulting it is to imply that she should to anyone in an interracial relationship? Or a same sex relationship? Yes, societal pressure and bigotry make them more difficult. But it doesn’t make them wrong. And the idea that it’s selfish or wrong because it’s endangering the family is insulting.

Especially in the case of Kazula. The Fire Nation is canonically homophobic. There would be danger and backlash for any same sex relationship, especially involving a member of the royal family like Azula. So…what then. Are gay people supposed to stop existing? Is Azula supposed to just never date or marry because it would be too dangerous?

Yeah, no. 0/10, trash take, do better.

(This part is mostly a joke but I also want to point it out)

The anon also implies that Katara’s canon relationship (with the Avatar) wouldn’t also carry the same risks. Which it would, probably even more so. Katara could be used as leverage against Aang by people trying to get to him. I mean, it already happened in canon.

And quite frankly, Aang was pretty useless at protecting Katara in that situation. Look at his face. Literal baby goo-goo-ga-ga shit. She’s lucky Fong wasn’t willing to actually kill her and that she was safely underground when Aang had his Spirit Tantrum because she would have been dead meat. So if your argument is that poor helpless little Katara would be sooooo much safer with Aang, I’m really not convinced.

If you’re going to decide who to ship Katara with based on who can protect her from danger the best, well…

I’m just saying 🤷🏻‍♀️🍵

[nyxshadowhawk]

A Retrospective on Harry Potter

Why did I like it in the first place? What about it worked? Where do I go from here?

I have decided to give up Harry Potter.

J.K. Rowling’s reputation now stinks to high heaven. At this point, she is quite indefensible. And even if that weren’t the case, she is not someone that I would want to associate with anyway. Meanwhile, the internet has not only turned against her, but against Harry Potter itself. An innocent question on Reddit, about which Hogwarts Houses the ATLA characters would be in, got downvoted to oblivion. Innumerable Tumblr threads insist that fantasy fans should get into literally anything else (suggestions include Discworld, Earthsea, The Wheel of Time, and Percy Jackson). And now that Harry Potter is no longer a sacred cow, there has been a recent slew of video essays that rip it to shreds, attacking it for its poor worldbuilding, unoriginality, and the problematic ideas baked into the original books (like the whole SPEW thing), etc. Those criticisms always existed, but now they’re getting thrown into the limelight.

It pains me to see such an ignoble downfall of Harry Potter’s reputation. If Rowling had just kept her damn mouth shut, Harry Potter would have aged gracefully, becoming a beloved children’s classic. I'd still plan to introduce it to my own kids one day (after Rowling dies and the dust settles). It’s not surprising that not all aspects of it have aged well, since it’s been more than twenty years since its original publishing date, and everything starts to show its age after that long. I acknowledge that most of the criticisms of the series that I’ve seen lately are valid, and I’ve read plenty of better books. And yet, when I return to the books themselves, even with the knowledge of who JKR really is inside my head, I still really enjoy reading them! There’s still a lot about them that I think works!

None of the other things I’ve read have had as collossal of an impact upon my identity, my values, and my own writing as Harry Potter. It’s hard to move on from it, not just because it’s something I enjoy, but because I have to literally extract my identity from it. I don’t know who I’d be without Harry Potter. I don’t know what my work would look like without Harry Potter. I don’t know how to carry it with me as just another piece of media that I like, as opposed to a filter for who I am as a person. So, with all that in mind, I have to ask myself why I liked Harry Potter so much in the first place. If I’m going to move on from it, then I have to be able to define and isolate the things about it that I want to keep with me. Something about it obviously worked, on a massive scale. So what was it?

It’s not the worldbuilding. The worldbuilding is objectively quite terrible, especially in comparison to that of other fantasy writers who knew what they were doing. At best, it’s inconsistent and poorly thought-out, and at worst it’s insensitive or even racist. Is it the characters? The characters are, in my opinion, one of the stronger parts of the story. But I felt very called-out by one of the many online commentators, who said that anyone who identifies with Harry is too cowardly to write self-insert fic. (I do not remember who said it or even which site it was on, but I distinctly remember the phrase, “Reject Harry Potter, embrace Y/N.”) The reason why people get so invested in Harry Potter’s characters is because they’re easy to project upon, and it’s possible that my love of Harry comes more from over a decade’s worth of projection than anything else. The incessant arguments over characters like Snape, Dumbledore, and James Potter ultimately stem from the fact that these characters do not always come across the way Rowling wanted them to. As for the writing itself, it’s decent, but not spectacular. Harry Potter is something of a sandbox world, with less substance than it appears to have and a crapton of missed opportunities, making it ripe for fanfic. For more than ten years, I’ve been doing precisely that — using Harry Potter as a jumping-off point to fill in the gaps and develop my own ideas, some of which became my original projects.

So what does Harry Potter actually have that sets it apart? Why are people so desperate to be part of Harry Potter’s world if the worldbuilding is bad? What, specifically, is so compelling about it? I think that there’s one answer, one thing that is at the center of Potter-mania, and that has been the underlying drive of my love of it for the past decade and a half: the vibe.

Harry Potter’s vibe is immaculate.

You know what I mean, right? It’s not actually a product of any specific trope, but rather a series of aesthetic elements: The wizarding school in a grand castle, with its pointed windows and torches and suits of armor, ghosts and talking portraits and moving staircases, its Great Hall with floating candles and a ceiling that looks like the night sky, its hundreds of magically-concealed secret doorways. Dumbledore’s Office, behind the gryphon statue, with armillary spheres in every single shot. Deliberate archaisms that evoke the Middle Ages without going as far as a Ren Faire: characters wearing heavy robes, writing with quills and ink on parchment instead of paper, drinking from goblets, decorating with tapestries. Owls, cats, toads. Cauldrons simmering in a dungeon laboratory. Shelves piled with dusty tomes, scrolls, glass vials, crystal balls, hourglasses. Magical candy shaped like insects and amphibians. A library with a restricted section. A forbidden forest full of unicorns and werewolves. That is the Vibe.

There are five armillary spheres just in this shot. They are unequivocally the most Wizard of tabletop decor.

There’s more to it than just the aesthetic, though. The vibe is present in something that writers call soft worldbuilding.

There’s a phrase that writers use to describe magic systems, coined by Brandon Sanderson: hard magic and soft magic. Sanderson’s first law of magic is, ��An author’s ability to solve problems with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.” A hard magic system has clearly-defined rules — you know where magic comes from, how it works and under which conditions, how the characters can use it, and what its limitations are. Examples of really good hard magic systems include Avatar: The Last Airbender and Fullmetal Alchemist. If the audience doesn’t understand the conditions under which magic can work, then using magic to get out of any kind of scrape risks feeling like the writer pulled something out of their ass. It begs the question, “Well, if they could do that, then why didn’t they do that before?”

You may come away from that thinking that having clearly-defined rules is always better worldbuilding than not having them, but this isn’t the case. Soft magic isn’t fully explained to the audience, but that doesn’t matter, because it isn’t trying to solve problems — its purpose is to be evocative. Soft magic enhances the atmosphere of a world by creating a sense of wonder. If your everyman protagonist is constantly running into cool magical shit that they don’t understand, then the world feels like it teems with magic, magic that is greater and more powerful than they know, leaving lots of secrets to uncover. Harry Potter, at least in the early books, excels at this. The soft magic in Harry Potter is what got me hooked, and I think it’s what a lot of other people liked about it, too.

The essence of soft magic is best summed up by this scene in the fourth film, in which Harry enters the Weasleys’ tiny tent at the Quidditch World Cup, only to find that it’s much bigger on the inside. His reaction is to smile and say, “I love magic.”

That’s it. That’s the essence of it. You don’t need to know the exact spell that makes the tent bigger on the inside. You don’t need to know how Dumbledore can make the food appear on the table with a flick of a wand, or how he can make a bunch of poofy sleeping bags appear with another flick. You don’t need to know how and why the portraits or wizard cards move. You don’t need to know how wizards can appear and disappear on a whim, or what the Deluminator is, or where the Sword of Gryffindor came from. You don’t need to know how the Room of Requirement works. Knowing these things defeats the purpose. It kills the vibe, that vibe being that there is a large and wondrous magical world around you that will always have more to discover.

One of the best “soft magic” moments in the books comes early in Philosopher’s Stone, when Harry is trying to navigate Hogwarts for the first time:

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk. —Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 8

Many of these details don’t come back later in the series, which is a shame, because this one paragraph is super evocative! It establishes Hogwarts as an inherently magical place, in which the very architecture doesn’t conform to normal rules. Hogwarts seems like it would be exciting to explore (assuming you weren’t late for class), and it gets even better when you learn about all the secret rooms and passages. The games capitalized on this by building all the secret rooms behind bookcases, mirrors, illusory walls, etc. into the game world, and rewarding you for finding them. The utter fascination that produces is hard to overstate.

Another one of the most evocative moments in the first book is when Harry sees Diagon Alley for the first time, after passing through the magically sealed brick wall (the mechanics of which, again, are never explained). This is your first proper glimpse at the wizarding world and what it has to offer:

Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, “Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad....” A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon.... —Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 5

What works so well here is the magical weirdness of wizardishness juxtaposed against normalcy. Eeylops Owl Emporium is just a pet shop to wizards. A woman makes a very mundane complaint about the price of goods, but the goods happen to be dragon liver. Broomsticks are treated like cars. All of these small moments contribute to the feeling of the wizarding world being alive, inhabited, and also magical. It gets you to ask the question of what your life would be like if you were a wizard. What do wizards wear? What do they eat? What do they haggle over and complain about? What do they do for fun?

In Book 3, Harry enjoys Diagon Alley for a few weeks when he suddenly has free time, and we get to experience the wizarding world in a state of “normalcy,” when he isn’t trying to save the world. He gets free ice creams from Florean Fortescue, gazes longingly at the Firebolt, and engages with delightfully weird people. He’s a wizard, living a (briefly) normal wizard life among other wizards in wizard-land. And that is fun. It’s so fun, that people want that experience for themselves, enough for there to be several theme parks and other immersive experiences dedicated to recreating the world of Harry Potter.

One of the greatest things about Universal was its phenomenal attention to detail. You can hear Moaning Myrtle’s voice in the women’s bathroom, and only the women’s bathroom. The walls of the Three Broomsticks have shadows of a broom sweeping by itself and an owl flying projected against the wall, so convincingly that you’ll do a double take when you see it. Knockturn Alley is down a little secret tunnel off of the main street, and that’s where you have to go to buy Dark Arts-themed stuff. It’s really well done.

Another thing that contributes to the vibe, in my opinion, is that the wizarding world is slightly macabre. They eat candy shaped like frogs, flies, mice, and so forth, and they have gross-tasting jellybeans. In the film’s version of the Diagon Alley sequence above, there’s a random shot of a pet bat available for purchase. In the third film, when Harry is practicing the Patronus Charm with Lupin, the candles are shaped like human spines. In the first book, this is Petunia’s description of Lily’s behavior after she became a witch:

Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that school, and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! —Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 4

I remember reading this for the first time, and it just kind of made intuitive sense to me. I suppose it fits into the “eye of newt and toe of frog” association between magical people and gross things, but somehow it works. Unfortunately, this is retconned later with the knowledge that wizards can’t use magic outside school, but before that limitation gets imposed, the idea of Lily amusing herself by turning teacups into rats seems like an inherently witchy thing to do.

That association between magic and the macabre shows up elsewhere, as well. In The Owl House, Luz’s interest in gross things is one of the things that marks her as a “weirdo” in the real world. When she goes to the magical world of the Boiling Isles, weird and gross stuff is absolutely everywhere. That world’s vibe leans more towards the macabre than the whimsical, but it works because you sort of expect the gross stuff to exist alongside the concept of witches, and that they would be an intrinsic part of the world they inhabit. You don’t question it, because it’s part of the vibe.

(The Owl House is one of the few things I’ve encountered that has a similar vibe to Harry Potter, but it’s still not the same vibe. In fact, The Owl House outright mocks the expectation that magical worlds be whimsical, and directly mocks Harry Potter more than once. The overall vibe is much closer to Gravity Falls.)

The Harry Potter films utilize a lot of similar soft worldbuilding with the background details, especially in the early films that were still brightly-colored and whimsical. For example, the scene in Flourish and Blotts in the second film has impossibly-stacked piles of books and old-timey looking signs describing their subjects, which include things like “Celestial Studies” and “Unicorns.” When Harry arrives in the Burrow in the same film, one of the first things he sees is dishes washing themselves and knitting needles working by themselves, taking completely mundane things and instantly establishing them as magical. In that Patronus scene with Harry and Lupin, the spine-candles and a bunch of random orbs (and the obligatory giant armillary sphere) float around in the background. One small detail that I personally appreciate is the designs on the walls above the teacher’s table in the Great Hall, which are from an alchemical manuscript called the Ripley Scroll:

It’s all these little things that add up to produce The Vibe.

Obviously, much of the vibe is expressed very well in John Williams’ score for the first three Harry Potter films. The mystical minor key of the main theme, the tinkly glockenspiel, the strings, the rising and falling notes that mimic the fluttering of an owl, the flight of a broomstick, or the waving of a wand. That initial shot of the castle across the lake as the orchestra swells, as the children arrive at their wizarding school:

If you grew up with Harry Potter, just looking at this image gives you The Vibe. The nostalgia hit is definitely part of it, but The Vibe was already there, back when you were a child and you didn’t have nostalgia yet.

In my opinion, only Williams’ score captures this vibe — the later films, though their scores are very good, do not. But the soundtrack of the first two video games, by Jeremy Soule (the same person who did Skyrim) absolutely nails it. This, right here, is Harry Potter’s vibe, condensed and distilled:

This is why I feel invalidated by the common advice “just read another book.” I have read other books. I’ve read plenty of other books, many of which are wonderfully written and have left an impact on me. But there’s still only one Harry Potter. To date, there’s only other book that has filled me with a similarly intense longing for a fictional place, and that is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. That book deliberately prioritized atmosphere over everything else in the story, and actually lampshades this in-universe. The Night Circus has a plot and it has characters, but it’s not about its plot or characters. It’s about the setting and its atmosphere. It swallows you up and transports you to a fictional place that is so evocative and so magical that you just have to be part of it or you’ll die. And even then, The Night Circus has a different kind of vibe from Harry Potter. In this particular capacity, there’s nothing else like Harry Potter.

The thing is, I don’t think Rowling was being as deliberate as Erin Morgenstern. (In fact, given many of Rowling’s recent statements, I question how many of her creative choices were deliberated at all.) She was throwing random magical stuff into the background without thinking too hard about it, which works when you’re writing a kids’ story, but stops working when you try to age it up. Actually, scratch that — soft worldbuilding is definitely not just for kids! The Lord of the Rings has a soft magic system, for crying out loud, and Tolkien is the original archmage of worldbuilding. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that prioritizing atmosphere over meticulousness is bad worldbuilding. That is a valid way to worldbuild! Not everything needs to be clearly explained, not everything needs to make sense. The problem is that Harry Potter doesn’t balance it well. Certain things do have to be explained in order for the magic to play an active role in the story (and the setting of a magic school lends itself to that kind of explanation), but no rules are ever established for the kinds of magic that need rules. When you begin thinking about the rules, you’re no longer just enjoying the magic for what it is. At worst, you begin running up against the Willing Suspension of Disbelief.

It wasn’t actually the “aging up” of the story that did it in, per se, but rather, the introduction of realism. The early books were heavily stylized, and the later books were less so. A heavily stylized story can more easily maintain the Willing Suspension of Disbelief. That’s why, for example, you don’t ask why the characters are singing in a musical — you just sort of accept the story’s outlandish internal logic, and the inherent melodrama of it doesn’t take you out of the story. Stylized stories are more concerned with being emotionally consistent over being logically consistent. The later Harry Potter books changed their emotional tone, but without changing the worldbuilding style to compensate.

In addition to the more mature themes and darker tone, Harry Potter introduced more realism as it went, but Rowling did not have the worldbuilding chops to pull this off. There’s the basic magic system stuff: When you begin thinking about it too hard, something like a Time-Turner stops being a fun magical device, and starts threatening to break the entire story. Then there’s the characters: Dumbledore leaving Harry on the Dursleys’ doorstep in the first book is an age-old fairy tale trope that goes unquestioned, but with the introduction of realism in the later books, it suddenly becomes abandonment of a child to an abusive family. The exaggerated stereotypes of characters like the Dursleys become tone-deaf. The fun school rivalry of the House system is suddenly lacking in nuance. And then there’s the shift in tone: The wizarding world that we were introduced to as a marvellous place is revealed to be dystopian. You start thinking about how impractical things like owl messengers are, you start wondering if Slytherin is being unjustly punished, the bad history appears glaringly obvious, the quaint archaisms become dangerously regressive. Oh, and the grand feasts are made through slave labor! The wizarding world suddenly feels small and backward instead of grand and marvellous. J.K. Rowling’s bigotry throws it all into an even harsher light.

This is why I’ve always preferred the early books and films to the later ones. There’s a lot of things I like about the later ones, but they’re not as stylized — they don’t have The Vibe. Thinking about things too hard is just a necessary condition of adulthood, but it’s still possible to tell a dark, mature story that is highly stylized. I really think JKR could have better pulled off that shift if she was a more competent worldbuilder. But it is painfully obvious that she did not think things through, and probably didn’t understand why she had to. In her defense, she did not know that her story would end up being one of the most scrutinized of all time. As it stands, her strength in worldbuilding was in the softer, smaller, deliberately unexplained moments of magic that were there just to provide atmosphere. And there were less and less of those as the books went along.

Pretty much all the Harry Potter-related content released since the last film — including Cursed Child, Fantastic Beasts, Hogwarts Mystery, Hogwarts Legacy, Magic Awakened, and that short-lived Pokemon Go thing — have been unsuccessful attempts at recreating The Vibe. In fact, the only piece of supplemental Potter content that I think had that Vibe down pat was the original Pottermore, back when it was more of an interactive game. And of course that got axed. That was right around the time things started going downhill.

Some of the art from Pottermore’s original Sorting quiz.

So what now? Well, that’s the question.

I think I can safely say that The Vibe was the reason I liked Harry Potter. It’s the thing I still like the most about it. I’ve spent years chasing it, like an elusive Patronus through a dark wood. If I can capture and distill that Vibe, and use drops of it in my own work, then perhaps I won’t need Harry Potter anymore.

I'm gonna write the story that I wish Harry Potter was, and when I'm a famous author, I won't become a bigot. I'll see you on the other side.

[jaune-submissive-and-breedable]

Merry ChristmAss

(Canon divergence, obviously)

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"Thank you all for inviting me over for Nondescript Winter Holiday, Ms Rose" Jaune said as he sipped his hot coco. A large blush covered his face as he sat on the living room sofa. "And this hot cocoa is amzing, Ms Belladonna"

Flanking him from all sides were Team Rwby's mothers, sipping hot chocolate and chatting with the flustered blonde. After the fall of atlas, his Everafterian adventure, and the the shell shock of returning home, he was glad to have some company in during the winter festivies. With Ren and Nora enjoying their own date and team RWBY no to be found, he'd being lying if he wasn't a little happy that their mothers invited him to spent the holidays with them. Even if it was a little weird.

"Think nothing of it, Jaune" The chirper and perky voice of Summer Rose said. She sat down a platter of cookies infront of him, giving him a generous view of her bust before she headed back to the kitchen "It's the least we can do for you since you've been keeping our girls safe all this time~"

To his left sat Kali Belladonna. She place a gentle had on his thigh and smiled, "And no need to be so formal my dear, we are all friends here, so first names are fine~"

*After all you won't be speaking for long* She thought as she decretely licked her lips.

Jaune sipped more hot cocoa and sighed. True he was present for aa lot of their adventure, but in truth he didn't feel worthy of their praise and addoration. In fact, ever since he got back he's constantly began doubting himself as a hero. If he was a hero, why was everything so hard, why couldn't he protect anyone.

As if she could sense his inner termoil, Willow took up residence on his right. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, her other hand rubbing his other thigh.

"Jaune..." she started, "You may not know it, but you've change alot more lives than you believe." A blush graced her pale as she continued, "I can say for certain you've change mine."

From the other side, Kali watched with a cheeky smirk. "Easy there, Willow....Otherwise he might not want the present we got him~"

Jaune perked up at the word present. Even though he's been through hell, a fairytale world with an annoying cat, and the faced down the immortal grimm queen, he's still a child at heart.

"You got me a present?!" He squeeked, barely containing as he bounced in his seat. The sight and reaction of the boy sent pangs of lust through the bodies of Willow and Kali. Both women leaned into his side and began attempting to calm him down.

Hearing the commotion, Summer returned with a smile on her face. " I never tire of seeing kids jump for joy during nondescript winter holiday~" She sat on the coffee table in front of him as she continues "Yes, we got you a gift......In fact, I think IT'S TIME!!"

Jaune was confused as to why she yelled, but quickly came to the assumption that his friends were in another room with his gift. He kept is innocent smile until he saw two figures walking into the room. One being Raven Branwen, bandit queen and biologic mother of Yang. The other the immortal grimm queen herself, Salem.

"Surprise~~" she sang with a smirk as she watched Jaune get up to confront her, only for Willow and Kali to pull him back into his seat.

"Now now, that won't do~. And i came all this way just for you too~" she pouted playfully

"What is she talking about?!" Jaune demanded as he looked at the other three present.

The women smiled and rose from their positions joining Raven and Salem in front of him.

"Well...I know who stressed you've been lately, and I know we all grow tired of this war. I swear Ozpin is just gonna get our children kill in his wars, just like he did my Tai.." Summer growled before her smile returned "so I made a little with Salem here, and she agreed to stop her war on Ozpin..But." she booped his nose again "You have to do something for her~"

While his training and experiences told him to run and get reinforcments, his curiousity told him to wait and see what the grimm woman wanted. If he could end the war without anymore blood shed, he do it. Even if it ment his sacrifice.

"Alright, what does she want me to do?" he replied, patiently waiting for a reply.

Salem smiled and chuckled at his agreence. She closed the distance between them and pulled his chin upwards so his gaze met hers. "Tell me boy are you familiar withwhat your generation calls "Cake"?"

He nodded slowly.

At his confermation, she stood up and turned around, the rest of the women joining her. Before he could ask what they were doing or what this had to do with her request, he watched as each of them dropped their bottoms exposing their fat milfy ass to him.

"Ah...a....aa..." he stammered repeatedly, making the five women giggle.

"As for what you must do, dear boy, You must devour my "cake" until I'm thoroughly satisfied~" Salem purred

"And as a reward for your heroic deed, you can eat all of ours for dessert~" Kali purred next, giving her bellabooty a mighty slap to make it ripple.

Jaune sat on the sofa dumbfounded. After everything he's been through, everything he's seen, nothing could have prepared him for this. He had five curvy milfs standing with their asses out and telling him to eat them. He pinched himself to ensure he wasn't dreaming or still in the Everafter. He would slap himself until a shadowy tentacle wrapped around his arms and dragged him forward until he kneeled before Salem's massive pale moon.

"What are you waiting for?" She teased as she looked down on him. She placed one of her deceptively strong hands on his head and pushed him into her ass.

"Bon appetite~"

_____________________________________________________________

Yes, I made an entire prompt around this image I had commissioned.

Anyways, please support the artist Prayforcummies. They did a really great job on it, and I should probably get one for team RWBY and Cinder since, you know...Salem's here

[critterbitter]

Do you think you'll draw the nimbasa trio catching their first Pokemon that's not their starter on their journey?

Definitely! It’s just a matter of getting there, haha. I am but one vaguely man shaped blob with a hyperfixation. Mortal needs like sleep and hand pains stop me from vomiting every brain idea I have.

I actually got this question multiple times, so to answer! I am not going to be drawing the nimbasa trio getting another pokemon until their late teens unless a brainworm strikes. (So no new pokemon during the current snapshot series haha.)

Why?

From a canon perspective, well:

Most npc trainers you meet on route have 2-4 pokemon, so I’m gonna try to keep within that amount until the trio settles in Nimbasa and have the revenue/space to upkeep a full pokemon team.

From a meta perspective, wellllll:

Another caught pokemon means character development, and I, ah... right now, I just wanna draw a candle, a zebra, and an eel. I love painting. But fitting seven or more characters on a canvas is, er… Make me draw more guys and I’ll melt like a vanniluxe on a summer day.

If people are curious for some pokemon headcannons though (note that this is not canon— pokemon gave me a puddle of information, so I’m taking the shovel to dig an ocean.)

- ingo saw a colony of dwebble collecting rocks while in the desert, and he’s been enamored ever since. He’s been trying to convince a dwebble to join his team for a while. Unfortunately, Ingo’s very excited and dwebble are naturally shy. (It doesn’t help that litwick can get mean when jealous.)

- emmet loves double battles and teams up with a lot of wild pokemon— but he doesn’t click with anybody until much further in the future. Me thinks his expectations are a tad too high from having such a good start with tynamo. He’s worked with multiple growlithes and thinks Helping Hand is the coolest shit ever.

- emmet’s first “caught” pokemon would be archen. More like “lab grown” and “lovingly hatched”, but it’s the thought that counts. Thinking once again about squab archen…

- elesa found her two emolga in the trash. She was going to release them after fostering, but got attached.

For future plans:

(The pokemon the twins live with and are officially part of the team (named at what stage the twins meet them! Note that everybody becomes fully evolved at somepoint.)

Ingo— litwick, dwebble, drillbur, and axew.

Emmet— tynamo, archen(lint roller), joltik, and durant.

They also have pokemon coworkers that don’t live with them, but agree to help in battles for exp and wages— kliklank twins, garbadore, shelmet and karablast, boldore (atlas), and gurdur)

And for our favorite electric gym leader:

Elesa— blitzle, the emolga twins (em and molga), stunfisk, mareep

(She has pokemon coworkers Eelektross (eela), zebrastrika (motorbreak), and Galvulanta (Lanta) who have a similar set up to the twins— the pokemon agree to work with Elesa for exp and wages, but otherwise have their own lives.)

(Fun headcanon: pokemon who are raised by humans tend to keep human nicknames. It’s not always the case, but it’s a common enough trend for research studies.)

[infoglitch]

Goodbye

"when one joy, one love, one source of happiness ends, a new one begins."

(a formal apology to any nuts n dolts fans who did not want to see a 3-pair of their favorite ship and Jaune.)

@spahhzy, @epic-arc. This war has been on pause for a long while. And I hope you've got your rest, because it's season two now. And I'm the god damn BBEG.

October 31st. modern day.

Ruby: Jaune, it's been five years.

Jaune: I know, I just.. I need to do this Ruby.

Ruby released a sigh from her side of the scroll call.

Ruby: alright. Just don't be late for my birthday Vomit boy.

Jaune: wouldn't miss it for the world Crater face.

Jaune hung up as he got in his car. He inserted the keys with the engine roaring to life.

~~~~

Seven years ago. Beacon.

Penny: friend Ruby, may I inquire who this friend is?

Ruby: ah sure, Penny this Jaune. Aka vomit boy

Jaune: t-that was one time!

Penny: understood friend Ruby. Salutations friend Jaune. I am Penny Pollendina. It is a pleasure to meet one of Ruby's friends!

Penny stuck out her hand. Jaune looked at it before grasping.

Jaune: it's nice to meet you too uh.. friend Penny? Nice to see Ruby isn't just stuck with my team and hers- OW!

jaune yelped as penny grabbed his hands with an almost BONE CRUSHING strength as she began to shake his hand. When she let go jaune yanked back his hand and began blowing on it.

Jaune: ah, ah, AH, ah-ha that's a lot of strength for young lady.

Penny: "a lot of strength for a young lady" is that a problem friend Ruby?

Ruby: no of course not.

Jaune: I just meant for your p-physique you got a lot of strength... Then again I was surprised too when I saw Ruby carrying her weapon.. until I saw she had a good bit of muscle. Your clothes are really good at hiding how strong you are you know that Ruby?

Ruby: well what can I say? I like surprising my enemies.. and sometimes my friends.

Jaune: well it works!

Penny: it is extremely beneficial. when an enemy underestimates you they tend to not take you seriously which can be very dangerous if they find out their opponent is far more strong than they thought

Ruby: why thank you Penny.

Penny: anytime friend Ruby.

~~~~

Five years ago. Atlas.

Jaune found himself awake one night as he heard a knocking at his door. He yawned as he got up.he walked towards his door and opened it to see Penny standing in front of him. Her face red.

Penny: friend Jaune.. I require advice on friend Ruby.

Jaune raised an eyebrow before moving aside and motioning her inside.

After a few seconds.

Jaune: so.. you're asking me advice on Ruby and how to ask her out? Why?

Penny: friend Weiss and the rest of team Rwby were already busy. Specialist Schnee was in a meeting so.. I figured I'd go to you friend Jaune. You've known friend Ruby longer than I have.. not to mention certain feelings you've had about friend Ruby.

Jaune blushed deeply as he looked at Penny.

Jaune: who told you I wanted to date Ruby?

Penny: you did friend Jaune. Just now.

Jaunes blush intensified as he face palmed.

Jaune: w-well.. from my experience with Ruby shes pretty dense. If you want to be with her I'd say be direct.

Penny: ah, that makes sense.. now if I may inquire friend Jaune. Why have you not taken your own advice?

Jaune: well.. it's complicated

Penny: it doesn't seem complex to me, you like friend Ruby romantically yet you have chosen not to pursue those feelings.

Jaune: well yeah but, think about it, I've known Ruby since Beacon, we hung out, we traveled together after the fall, we fought side by side, and I've seen a part of that has almost died before you returned. Seeing her happy when she's with you.. I can't just step in and tell her, that's just a piece of shit behavior.. plus, lets be honest I never had a chance to begin with.

Penny: ah, so what you are saying is you are defeated, friend Jaune.

Jaune: defeated?

Penny: you have convinced yourself that there is no conceivable possibility of you and friend Ruby becoming a pair. You have in a sense defeated your hopes.

Jaune:.. that, that definitely makes sense. But Even if I did try she'd say no.

Penny: even if friend Ruby did, what matters is that you tried, friend Jaune. And it is not as if it would ruin anything between you. You two are friends, nothing can shatter that.

Jaune: huh.. you sure about that?

Penny: affirmative. I do not need to run a diagnostic. For I am certain.

Jaune: huh.. thanks Penny.

Penny: anytime friend Jaune. And thank you for your advice. I am glad we could have this talk.

Jaune: same here Penny, same here.

~~~~

Ruby was pacing back and forth as penny watched.

Penny: Ruby I guarantee you this will go well.

Ruby: how are we sure, I mean me and you are dating and jaunes 100% ok with that, what if he's already made peace with that and moved on. What if-

Penny stood up and grasped Ruby's hand.

Penny: Ruby, you know friend Jaune, we both know Jaune. There is nothing you could say or do that would ruin what you and him have. If he has come to terms then he is still your friend. Nothing will change that.

Ruby: Right.. right. Thank you Pen.

Penny simply smiled at her before kissing her forehead. Causing Ruby to blush a little.

The door soon opened as jaune stepped in, he nervously waved at the two.

Jaune: sorry I'm late. Nora needed help with something.. what did you wanna talk about?

Ruby: well uh.. it's.. you might want to sit down for this jaune.

Jaune simply nodded as he sat down. With Penny and Ruby taking a seat beside each other.

~~~~

Jaune stopped his car once he arrived. He got out and looked at the massive cemetery. Made for those who passed during the silent war. Jaune began walking past each of them. Seeing the names of those who fell.

Arslan Altan.

Mercury Black.

Ghira Belladonna.

Raven Branwen.

Qrow Branwen

Maria Calavera

Athena Nikos.

Oscar Pine.

Pietro Pollendina.

Whitley Schnee.

Emerald Sustrai.

Winter Schnee.

Neptune Vasilias.

Taiyang Xiao long.

Many more names, some jaune recognized and some he didn't. But he stopped one he saw one in specific.

Penny Pollendina.

Jaune knelt down and looked at it.

Jaune: heya pen. How uh, how you been? Ruby is doing alright, she and Yang finally got to grieve together. You should have seen us all, we were letting out the water works.. especially Ruby. I'm amazed I cried the least.. maybe I just got to because hey, I haven't lost anything.. I'm the only one who didn't lose anyone.. but you probably don't wanna hear that so I'll just get to the point.. we miss you Penny. Ruby misses you.. I miss you.. everyone does. You didn't deserve what happened to you, you didn't deserve to die like that, not when you were finally able to be human. Not when you finally had everything you wanted.. you didn't deserve any of what happened, you were just a girl.

Jaune takes a breath as he felt tears beginning to well.

Jaune: I love you Penny, Ruby loves you. We miss you and.. we wish you were here. Ruby may have grieved but.. but I can't, not when you died by my hands, not when your blood stains my blade, not when I'm the reason your gone.. I can never grieve.

Not when you're gone because of my incompetence

[24hlevi]

— DROWSY

suki (atla) x gn!reader

genre: fluff

summary: fluff prompt "aw, did you miss me?" from my 2.5k event

warnings: none!

i am so in love with her

you laid on your cot, half awake as you tried to read the book you'd been attempting to finish for the past two hours. the light was dim in your little room, and while you wanted to go to sleep, you figured you could wait until suki returned. that was three hours ago. you eventually sighed and closed the book, tossing it on the ground beside you and rubbing your face with your hands.

you understood that kyoshi training was a lot, and with her helping the others she often returned late, you didn't mind it. except for days like this when you just wanted to sleep and not worry about training for a few hours until the next day. you rested your head on the pillow and sighed again before rolling over onto your side, closing your eyes.

it wasn't until half an hour later when you heard the door slide open, getting quieter the more it opened as if the person was being cautious. you were awake still, so you obviously heard it knowing it was suki thinking you were asleep. you heard quiet shuffling around the room as you kept your eyes closed, the sound of armor being placed on the ground and soon enough you heard the shuffling grow closer making you open your eyes to see suki about to lay down next to you.

"sorry, i thought i was being quiet," she said in a hushed voice.

"i've been awake the whole time," you answered in a mumble. you then held your arms out and she took it as a sign, letting out a little chuckle before laying down next to you and letting you wrap your arms around her.

"aw, did you miss me?" suki teased lightly, poking your cheek. "you don't have to stay up, y'know."

"i didn't think it would take that long," you replied with a pout. "but yes, i did miss you." you admitted.

"i know, i know, i'm sorry," she pecked your lips, her hands cradling the sides of your face. "i promise tomorrow won't go on this late. some of the girls are having a difficult time with it but i swear it won't go on this late again."

"it's okay, i understand," you said. "i don't mind it really, you have your responsibilities and duties." you smiled.

suki smiled back at you and kissed your forehead gently. "i love you," she whispered softly. "thank you for everything and staying here with me."

"i love you too," you whispered in response. "you don't have to thank me, though. i'll always be by your side wherever you go."

she pressed a quick kiss against your lips before pulling you closer to her, having your head rest on your chest while her fingers played with your hair. "you know, i was thinking," she started. "it's only if you want to but, maybe we could go somewhere."

"mm? what do you mean by that?" you asked.

"i mean, out of the island," she answered. "you could show me your hometown, or we could go up north. anywhere, really."

"you want to?" you questioned, eyes glancing up at her.

"yeah," she nodded. "i would like to."

you smiled and nodded. "then, i think we should. it'd be fun, and i'm sure my family would love to meet you. especially as the great warrior you are." you said.

"i am a great warrior, aren't i?" suki claimed with pride.

"don't get cocky just cause i said it."

"i know, i know. you love me, though."

"i do."

[saijspellhart]

Netflix Avatar Series - An extremely succinct review

It’s fucking good. Go watch it.

I’d write a whole ass review detailing why, but it’s late and I’m tired. I have so many thoughts about the series, and critical break downs for why I think a lot of the creative decisions worked. And even thoughts about how I think it could have been improved.

But overall I was not disappointed by this show. And if you love avatar Kyoshi from the novels… well let’s just say the creators were paying attention to the novels, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yang Chen, Roku… ;3

Please try to go into this series with an open mind.

It’s not a shot for shot remake. And honestly who would fucking want another Lion King situation.

Anyway. Loved this ATLA series almost as much as I loved the original cartoon, and I hope they get a season two.