#avatar i hardly know her
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paracosmicka · 1 day ago
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sonic tma au? 👀👀👀👀👀
OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I’VE POSTED IT ABOUT IT EVEN THO I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF ABOUT MY SONIC/TMA AU
Okay to start out with, I’ve been calling the “Primal Fears au” and it started out as a working title but I don’t really have any better ideas and the tag I have on all of my posts about this tma au is #primal fears au (idk how to imbed a hyperlink into text but like if you go into the search thingy over my blog and just type that tag in you’ll see all my previous posts about it that are from OVER A YEAR AGO IT’S BEEN SO LONG 😭)
Okay uhhhhh idk how to organize this so just get ready for a shit ton of sketches and art lol
here are some more fleshed out character sheets (than my very post about them) for Sonic and Shadow, they’re not final yet tho obviously
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was fighting demons drawing Shadow’s main design for some reason
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general sketch ideas for Sonic and Shadow
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And my favorite part of this au is that I just get to categorize all the Sonic characters into which fear entity would they serve so here are some character sheet ideas:
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Okay this last one is Infinite and I know he’s not everyone’s favorite bc he’s just so…..mid ig in the games but redesigning him as an avatar of the Spiral has been so fun. Also bonus points if you know what Doctor Who episode I stole this dialogue from lol:
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and finally I thought I’d just share an idea I had of a “cover” for my Primal Fears au
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Okay I think those are all the presentable sketches I have but there are so so so many more ideas I have and it’s not going to help bc I’m feeling the annual urge to relisten to The Magnus Archives again especially bc the new season of The Magnus Protocol comes out soon.
But yeah anyway feel free to ask any questions/share ideas if you’d made your own TMA/Sonic au I love yapping about horror and this au is like my child. Actually that’s not a very good analogy bc all of my sonadow aus are my babies. I just love sonadow sorry I will continue to be insane
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hypnoticsphere · 3 months ago
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she last on my avatar till I…. airbender….
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rifari2037 · 5 months ago
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The idea of her being mother figure is challenged right from episode one when Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.
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Okay, that's right! That's spot on! I don't deny that Aang makes Katara act like a child again for a while.
Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.
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Katara : Fire Nation. Sokka : We should tell him. Katara : [Yelling.] Aang! There's something you need to see. Aang : [Aang runs to them from the airball court, still playing with the hollow ball. Cheerfully.] Okay! Aang : [Happily runs up.] What is it? Katara : [Innocently holds her hands behind her back.] Uh... Just a new waterbending move I learned. Aang : Nice one! But enough practicing, [Excited as he turns around and start walking away.] we have a whole temple to see! Sokka : [Brushes the last of the snow from his head and shoulders.] You know, you can't protect him forever.
It's only the third episode, but Aang's childish attitude already makes Katara act like a mother protecting her child from reality. Katara also has to calm Aang down when he goes into avatar mode, it happens several times like it's her responsibility to do so.
Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.
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Katara : [Resumed filling the pot with more vegetables.] Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun. Aang : [Disappointed.] Well, neither does carrying your basket. Katara : [Annoyed.] It's not my basket. These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon.
This scene actually piss me off, like, if I were Katara I would mad too! And again, Aang's irresponsible and childish behaviour forced Katara to be responsible for doing the chores. If not her to be mature, who else? Sokka who is busy with his misogyny towards the Kyoshi warriors? Or Aang who is busy having fun with his fans?
Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.
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Aang ran away after someone blamed him for something he actually did a hundred years ago. Katara must find him in the storm, then help him dwelling with his past.
And it happens again in The Awakening. Aang runs away and triggers Katara's another trauma that forces her to grow up, which is being abandoned by the person she cares about (her father). Katara (Sokka and Toph) must find him and save him.
Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.
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Katara : [Disappointed.] Wow... there's hardly any in here. Aang : [Lashes out.] I'm sorry, okay! It's a desert cloud; I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?! [Pointing his staff at Katara.] What are you doing‌?! She returns his attack with a shocked look on her face. Katara : Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.
Katara is the only one who can keep the Gaang out of the desert. If she doesn't act mature and responsible with the Gaang, they might not survive. And what does Aang do? Get mad at her for losing Appa, while Katara is not to blame for it.
Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.
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Katara : Aang, we do understand. It's just ... Aang : Just what, Katara? What? Katara : We're trying to help! Aang : Then, when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it! [Walks away.] Katara : Aang, don't walk away from this. [Walks toward Aang.]
I love Katara, you know, that's why I really don't like Aang pointing angrily at Katara and blaming her every time he got emotional, when Katara didn't do something wrong and just wants to help him. Is this a healthy relationship?
Aang reminds Katara that she's just a child in the first episode, but unfortunately, the Gaang (especially Aang) once again forces Katara to be motherly in the next episodes.
Does she like being motherly? No, she doesn't. She wants to have fun too, but if she did, the Gaang would be screwed. Being motherly is not just her nature, but the Gaang (except Suki) forces her to be more mature than the others narratively.
Actually, that's why I like the idea of Momtara and Dadko. In my opinion, this nickname is not to make her forget she is just a kid. Instead, because the narrative itself always shows Katara forced to act motherly toward Gaang, 'Momtara and Dadko' shows that is not only Katara's responsibility to do all chores.
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Calling Zuko Dadko is also reasonable, because he is narratively more mature among the Gaang (except Suki). He focuses on Aang's training and worries that Aang will fail, just like what father usually do to his son.
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More than that, Katara doesn't need to act motherly with Zuko - he is the one bringing her things and preparing what they need in their journey contras with what Aang did in Kyoshi Island. And they act more like equal partners toward each other, rather than mother and son.
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Oh, it's true that Aang makes Katara child again in first episode. But it's weird to defend Kat/ang and hate the narrative of Katara being motherly at the same time, when the Gaang (especially Aang) often forced Katara to act motherly.
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system-to-the-madness · 4 months ago
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Heart to Heart - Zuko x Reader
Word Count: 2 870 Warnings: mentions of war and death Summary: Zuko and you share a quiet moment at the Western Air Temple A/N: Can be read as a oneshot; Part Five of the series Perfect (10 times Zuko thought you were perfect and the first time he told you)
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“So, you decided breaking into a Fire Nation prison would be a good idea, huh?”
Zuko sat at the edge of the ruin of the Western Air Temple, looking out into the valley, his feet dangling in the air. At the sound of your voice, he looked up.
“Well, perhaps not a good idea, but we ended up with pretty good results, I’d think,” he answered, watching as you sat down next to him, your knees pulled up to the chest as if you were cold.
“True, I’ll give you that,” you admitted with a smile. “And I think it’s definitely gotten you some sympathy points from Katara.”
“You think,” Zuko asked hopefully. “I desperately need those. She hates me!”
“Give her time,” you said nonchalantly. “To her you embodied pretty much all that is evil, topped probably only by your sister and your father. She’ll come around.”
“How about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do I embody all that is evil to you, too?”
You turned to look at him, taking in his appearance for a good while, making him self-conscious under your intense eyes.
“For a while you did, I guess,” you answered eventually.
Okay, not the answer he had hoped for, but what had he expected? That you confessed you had always known he was good at heart? Hardly. He had tried to capture or kill the Avatar and his friends a few too many times for that.
“But Katara didn’t see you put yourself in danger to free Appa,” you continued. “It made me doubt the things I knew about you. The conversation you had with your uncle did, too.”
Zuko nodded, turning to watch the sky. A few clouds drifted past, thousands of stars lighting up the night.
"I made a lot of mistakes," Zuko admitted. “I can’t blame any of you for not trusting me, for not wanting to trust me.”
“Things are changing, you know,” you told him, reaching over and gently nudging his shoulder. His breath hitched at the soft contact. “You helped Aang to gain his confidence back about Fire Bending. He still has a long way to go, but it’s amazing that he agreed to try it again in the first place. And it’s kind of reassuring that you’re drawing your power not from anger anymore.”
The last sentence made Zuko smile a little.
“It feels different now, my Bending,” he explained. “Before it always felt violent, and… sort of hard, I guess. Like volcanic glass. Even when I trained it always felt like with each shot I fired, I was kicking or punching against a wall. Now it feels like it’s flowing, somehow. Like the heat and the fire is not some wild animal I have to force out, but a power that bends to my will.”
“That does sound like a big difference,” you agreed.
Zuko shrugged. “I’m still not as powerful as Azula though,” he mumbled. “I had hoped that with the new technique I might gain some ground on her, but it still feels like she’s miles ahead of me.”
“Right, you encountered her when you went ‘fishing’, right?” You drew quotation marks into the air, making Zuko roll his eyes in amusement.
“Yeah, she almost would have caught us, doubtlessly to put us in a snug little fishbowl where she could tease us the whole day.”
“This might sound like a stupid question, but,” you hesitated for a moment, “what would you do if you were more powerful than her, powerful enough to easily best her.”
Confused Zuko turned to you. “What do you mean?”
“I mean… would you try to kill her? Capture her? She’s your sister after all. Even with all the messed-up things she’s done, nobody here expects you to kill her.”
Zuko turned back to look out over the valley. You were right. All this time, for years, ever since childhood, ever since she had first beaten him in training, he had wished he would be good enough to overpower her. But then what?
“I don’t know,” he admitted, “I don’t know what I’d do.”
For a moment he just looked out into the canyon. In the starlight he could faintly make out the other buildings hanging from the ceiling into the abyss. What had it been like when the Air Nomads had still lived here? Every window of every tower must have been lit up, thousands of lights like a mirror of the sky above. Had Sky Bisons roamed between the houses? Drifted slowly through the night? What other animals had populated these temples? Had it truly been as peaceful as he imagined it now to have been? Zuko inhaled deeply.
“The thing about Azula is… I was always chained to her in a way.” He could see you furrowing your brows at him questioningly from the corner of his eyes. “There were no kids my age living in the palace, but Azula had two friends, Mai and Ty Lee. And I was always expected to play with the three of them. Often, I thought it was stupid, they made me feel stupid. I was older than them, and had other interests, but it almost seemed a game to them to find something I hated or would humiliate myself doing… Mai was the only one who would speak up for me sometimes. But only when it was about smaller things; she was too scared of Azula. I can’t blame her. Actually, I ended up dating her for a while.”
“You had a girlfriend,” you asked, but Zuko didn’t notice the hesitation in your voice.
“Yeah, we were together for a while after… after I betrayed my uncle. But I ended things, to join you. She saved our lives, on Boiling Rock. She stopped the guards from cutting the line to the gondola.”
“She sounds like a good person, and brave,” you said quietly. “You must miss her.”
Zuko stayed oblivious to the unasked question in your statement.
“I don’t know… not really. If I’m honest, I’m not even sure why I was together with her,” he shook his head. “It sounds cruel, but the only reason why I got together with her was because it felt like the right thing to do, after returning home. I knew she had always liked me, and somehow, I thought if I were dating someone, it would stabilize the life I was hoping to live. I like her, yes, but not the way you’re supposed to like the person you’re dating. I’m just sorry I was selfish enough to hurt her without a second thought.”
“You’re young, all of us are. I think it’s inevitable to make mistakes when it comes to things like love. Only the luckiest ones can claim to never have hurt someone,” you tried consoling him.
“The thing is, I knew it was going to hurt her. But I kept doing it anyway. Maybe I was hoping my feelings would catch up eventually, but they never did.”
They couldn’t, Zuko thought to himself. Not while the idea of you had taken root in his heart. The thing that made him feel almost the guiltiest, was that even though you were hardly anything like what he had imagined you to be, he still felt enchanted by you. Glancing at you from the corner of his eyes, he only felt his sentiment confirmed. You were sitting there, wrapped in a thin coat to protect you against the chill of the night air, hair dancing slightly in the wind, face glowing from the fresh air and eyes reflecting the stars above. You were beautiful like this, perfect and beautiful. He was sure to never have seen anyone who was as beautiful as you in that moment.
“As I said,” you interrupted his train of enamoured thoughts, “we all make mistakes.”
“Some more than others,” Zuko frowned.
“That’s not what I meant,” you quickly denied. “I didn’t mean-”
“I know, don’t worry,” Zuko sighed. “I’m just upset with myself. I think some things were inevitable along the way. I mean, everyone grows somehow. But breaking Mai’s heart really wasn’t necessary. I could have avoided that if I had been a little more confident in myself.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” you agreed, clearly not sure what else you were supposed to say.
“I’m just hoping, Mai somehow knew we wouldn’t last,” Zuko continued absentmindedly. “We fought, quite often actually. I know I can be difficult, but it also often felt like she didn’t even try to understand me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like… I know I can get jealous easily, so her anger at me for those instances was probably justified but… sometimes I just need time to think, you know? Not about something specific but… for example there was this war meeting and Azula was invited but I wasn’t. I was upset, because it made me feel like my father was rejecting me all over again, as if I weren’t good enough for him. I was upset and Mai… I know it wasn’t easy for her to see me like that, but it felt like she was trying to distract me so hard. Every time I had a problem or was concerned or worried about something, she tried to cheer me up and distract me, instead of allowing me to just give those feelings space.”
“I know what you mean. Sometimes you just want to give those feelings time, to process everything. Even if it’s difficult. But like you said, it probably was really hard for her to see you unhappy,” you offered your own thoughts, making Zuko nod.
“I guess you’re right. But we ended up getting into disagreements over things like that more and more often. Even if I would have stayed, I don’t think we would have been together for much longer.”
For a while silence settled over you, as you watched the night sky. Zuko wondered why the hell he had just shared all his relationship problems he had had with Mai with you. Maybe because he hoped you would understand him better if he did, would see him more as a human with emotions than the antagonist he had been for you over the past months.
“How about you,” he eventually asked, not sure if he even wanted to know the answer. “Do you have anyone special?”
You shrugged as if it wasn’t somewhat weird for him to ask that.
“Not really. I mean… being on the run from the world’s most powerful army makes it kind of hard to form any meaningful relationships outside of the group,” you answered. “And I don’t mind, really. I’m not like Sokka, who can just flirt with every girl he sees. I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with someone who I haven’t fallen in love with.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“No,” you shook your head, “you?”
Zuko turned to look at you again, taking in your form sitting beside him, knees still pulled up to your chest, chin resting on them, eyes fixed on a point far away.
“No, I mean… maybe once,” he answered. Was he in love with you? He certainly didn’t know you well enough to be in love with you, right? Maybe he was?
“If you don’t know, you probably weren’t,” you chuckled, turning your head to meet his eyes. “I think you’d know when you fall in love.”
“It’s difficult, okay,” Zuko defended, making you laugh quietly.
“Or maybe you’re just bad at figuring out your own feelings,” you offered with a teasing glint in your eyes.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Zuko grumbled and turned his head away embarrassedly. Another gentle shove against his shoulder made him look back at you.
“I’m teasing,” you told him, with a soft smile that made his heart melt. “I’m sorry if I-”
“No, I know, don’t worry,” Zuko took a deep breath. “I’m just not used to being teased without it being with some kind of ill intentions, I guess.”
“Well, Sokka’s gonna get you used to that real quick,” you laughed. By all the spirits, he loved your laugh. “He’s brilliant when it comes to making plans and coming up with ideas, but he’s also the biggest goofball I’ve ever met. He cares more than he tries to let on and is one of the most reliable people I can imagine when things go south.”
“We fought my sister together,” Zuko recalled. “It was weird, a few weeks ago we would have ripped each other apart, but when we went up against Azula together, he really had my back… he makes it very easy to trust him.”
“He does, doesn’t he,” you agreed. “He might not outright say it, but he really appreciated you going to look for his father with him. Thank you.”
“I’m just glad I was able to help. There have been enough families that got torn apart because of me. Knowing I could help reunite at least one is… it feels good.”
You grinned at his side. “It was a brave thing to do, to break into that prison just like that.”
“Brave? More stupid than anything, but thanks.”
“Bravery and stupidity are not as far apart as some would like to believe,” you chuckled, making him smile.
“My uncle would like you,” he confessed, watching your smile shift into a questioning expression. “He’d probably share his wise phrases with you all day long.”
“Your uncle sounds like a good man,” you said, and Zuko nodded.
“I think, I understand him better now than I did before. He lost his son in the war, and he was never the same again. I think, he developed a strong dislike for any kind of conflict and when my father exiled me, he decided to come with me… I don’t know why, maybe to save me from the fate Lu Ten met… I think Uncle Iroh was more a father to me than my own father ever was. It’s strange seeing Sokka and Katara with their father, seeing what normal parents are like with their children. It makes me mad at my father, that he wasn’t like that. Mad and… vulnerable, I guess.”
“I can’t imagine what that’s like,” you mumbled. “I don’t remember much of my father, but even my stepfather was always caring towards me. I’m sorry you didn’t get to experience that.”
“I guess, over time I’ve gotten used to it. Which didn’t stop me from begging for his approval, I’ll admit that. But now… I just hope I can see my uncle again and apologize to him for all I’ve done. After all these years that he accompanied me… I don’t know how I can make up for all the support he has given me, and how I betrayed him.”
“I’m sure when the time comes, you’ll know what to say and do. I think your uncle would be proud to know how you finally stood up for yourself.”
Zuko nodded thoughtfully. He just hoped your words would come true. He didn’t even know where Uncle Iroh was right now, whether he was even alive. If he ever got to see him again… how was he supposed to make up for all his uncle had done for him? How could he ever earn his uncle’s forgiveness after that terrible betrayal?
“Can I ask you something?”
Zuko perked up at your question but nodded.
“Earlier you said… you said your father exiled you,” you carefully asked. “I’d understand if you don’t want to talk about it but…”
“No, it’s fine,” Zuko shrugged. “What do you want to know?”
“Mostly just… what happened?”
“It was… foolish, both of me and my father. It started over-”
Before Zuko could even really begin telling you his story, Toph’s voice carried through the night.
“Katara made hot milk with honey for everyone!”
“Let’s talk another time,” Zuko offered, getting off the ground. His feet felt strange, standing on solid ground again after dangling in the air for so long.
“Another time,” you agreed, taking the hand Zuko had offered you and let him help you to your feet.
Your hand was small and cool in his, and he had to resist the urge to keep his fingers closed around yours, just to feel your skin against his for a short while longer. When he hesitantly let go of your hand, it felt like a wave of ice was spreading from his heart, and he immediately ached for any sort of contact with you again.
He really was an idiot, wasn’t he, he wondered as he followed you past some rubble back to the others, who were sitting around a campfire. Seeing all these people, who so willingly had adopted him into their group, another ache, the warm and gentle kind, spread through his body. After all this time, for the first time in his life, he felt like he truly belonged somewhere. He had earned his place in this group. And when you motioned for him to sit down next to you and offered him a cup with steaming hot, sweet milk, he couldn’t help but think that he didn’t want it any other way.
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hazashiovo · 1 year ago
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korra (legend of korra) x reader angst to fluff 🙏🏻
I gotchuuu 😉👍
Korra x reader
+slight Kuvira x reader cause I have a huge brain rot for her🥲
Angst to fluff,mentions of trauma,long fic because it has plot in it.
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Korra has been...distant.
Ever since Zaheer and the red lotus poisoned her and forced her to fight in the avatar state she's been different,to you and to her family.
She doesn't eat,when she sleeps she has nightmares, she doesn't talk to you...and it's worrying you so much,your heart aches each time she sends you away with her deafening silence.
You try talking to her about Asami's accomplishment or Mako's new job,even how Bolin made a name for himself.
But each time she'd have that empty look in her eyes,as she sits in that wheelchair she despises so much.
Sometimes you wish you could read her mind,chase away the memories that are tormenting her.
"Please Korra,I'm begging you,try...for me,just...I know you can do it." You sit on your knees,hands on her knees. Eyes looking at her pleading.
"I'm not who I used to be, (Name). Stop trying to save me." She turns her head away, avoiding your pleading eyes.
"That's not true,and you know it!" You cup her cheek, bringing her face closer to yours,yet your eyes hardly connect with each other.
She grabbed your wrist, pulling it away from her face."I don't need you and your pity, so find someone else to nag and leave me alone already!" Korra snaps,anger running trough her body.
Your eyes whiden in shock and you feel like she squeezed your heart with her harsh words.
"Do you even love me?" You bite your lip, waiting for an answer you know you won't get.
You avert your eyes from her face. Disappointed with her lack of will to be with you.
"That's what I taught." You get up and turn around ready to leave. Ready for a new start away from here,from Korra.
"(Name) i-" she wants to get up,run after you ,hug you and tell you she loves you more than herself. But she can't even gather her words properly.
You stop for a second , wishing to hear those words,only fooling yourself further.
.
.
With time Korra started getting more ambitious. She wanted to return to the person everyone knew her as. The avatar.
Her wish to prove to you that she can do better was growing by the day. Even so,the last time you spoke to here was the day you left, a day she still regrets even now.
Sometimes she would just feel like giving up,but you reminded her who she was doing this for,giving her the will to fight.
It's been a year since you've left the south pole. Being there with the shell of your lover was too much for you to handle.
Since you returned to Republic city you've been reunited with Bolin, helping Kuvira restore order to the earth kingdom.
It really took your mind off Korra. Now that you joined Kuvira, you got stronger. Unlike someone,you didn't let your trauma and past tragedies hunt you anymore.
"Well done (Name), you're getting stronger by the day." The dark haired woman smiles, hand laying on your shoulder proudly.
You wipe some sweat of your forehead, smiling back at her. "That's the goal I'm reaching for." She nods, looking at your form.
"I remember the first time Bolin introduced you to me and my cause." She wraps some bandages on her wrist, preparing to spar with you, "You were so lost." You watch her moves carefully, getting in a fighting stance.
"Im not the person I used to be." You speak,words giving you a sense of deja Vu.
Kuvira lounges , throwing some big stones at you. You grin, dodging them.
Once you find your opening,you make some ice disks and throw them at her.
Kuvira bends herself an earth wall,then throws it at you.
You make yourself a wave of water,going around Kuvira's wall, your water wave is circling the older woman. Once water is all around her ,you let it fall,and freeze, traping her in ice.
You move towards Kuvira's frozen body. "You cold in there?" A smug smile adorns your face as you slightly bend down to meet with her face. Your hands lazily lay on your knees.
She smirks,your metal collar suddenly pulled towards her. "Don't get to cocky now. It's just the first time you finally got to beat me. Let's try it with metal bending next time hm?"
You roll your eyes, releasing Kuvira from the Ice cage that kept her down. "I'm confident in myself,but not that confident yet." arms crossed as she rubbed some sore spots on her cold hands.
"Can't you have some faith in yourself?Keep going like this and you won't be far from becoming my second in charge." She smiles.
You smile proudly, happy you can finally accomplish something more for yourself.
.
.
Another year passed,with you growing stronger and smarter every day,but the taught of your former lover never ceased to fade. Even now ,her return growing closer by the day. You wonder how she's doing, from what Tenzin has told you,she's having a great recovery.so far. Finally able to walk again.
You worked hard to become Kuvira's right hand,and you're now closer to your goal than ever.
So many cities you helped bring back order and balance , so many lives you saved while being part of this cause.
Unfortunately, Kuvira soon has to step down from her spot,the council finding a new king for the earth kingdom while your boss brought peace wherever she went.
.
"Oh and Flying monkeys!" You blink, looking at Bolin. "Isn't that what Avatar Aang had ?" You raise a brow,not remembering how this conversation even started. "That is so incorrect." Bolin crosses his arms. Looking ready to give you a lecture. "Avatar Aang had a flying Lemur AND a bison as his animal companions. Not a flying monkey, (name)." You roll your eyes. "Whatever you say rock brain." You smirk noticing his anoyed expression. "Hey! How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?" He pokes you in the waist,making you joilt up. "Stop that!" You glare at him,poking him back.
The two of you go on like this for a little while, attracting a few stares to yourself.
Until someone clears their troath.
"Am I interrupting something?" Lin stands towering over you and Bolin, giving you a bored look. "Chief Beifong!" Bolin is quick to bow down, dragging you with him.
"You little-" you stop yourself, locking eyes with the police chief, now giving her an awkward smile.
"If the two of you are done acting like monkeys,could you follow me?" You and Bolin now stand straight, noticing Lin's mood is lower than usual.
"I can't stay for chit chatting,maybe (Name) could solve this? I remembered I was supposed to meet with mako,like 30 minutes ago." The brunette boy gives you a sorry smile as you glare at him. "How convenient." Your comment followed by narrowed eyes,sent chills down his spine. Bolin took a quick look at chief Beifong,then left.
"Good. I wanted to speak to you anyways." You raise a brow curiously at the older woman's words. "You did?I mean ,you do?" She nods,not saying another word until you get to a remote Cafe.
The two of you sit down in a corner, quite remote from the rest of the people in the public space.
"So ,what did you want to speak to me about Chief?" You start, looking at the window.
"It's about Kuvira." Your face turns to Lin as she got your interest.
"What about Kuvira?" You tilt your head.
"I'm worried she won't step down and allow the prince to rule the earth kingdom." Lin stops,as a waitress brought the two of you two cups of tea,"Kuvira seems to take great pride in what she accomplished,but I don't think she's willing to stop there. People of earth empire call her The Great Uniter." The chief looks at her mug, waiting for you to respond.
You fiddle with your fingers, searching for the right words to describe Kuvira's wishes. "She has done so much for the earth kingdom,and she's a strong woman,in combat and in mind,the name fits her ,if km honest."
You stop to drink a little from your (chosen) tea, "And I know it's not my place to talk but...ever since Korra is gone,the people see Kuvira as their savior."
Lin sighs, "Kuvira is forcing people to do labor work for her , threatening them with their lives." You whiden your eyes at the words spoken from her.
"I know how she can be..harsh,.but she wouldn't do such a thing." Your gaze moves to the window.
"She is manipulating you (Name), because she knows how strong you are. Should I also remind you how you used to date the avatar?." You close your eyes tightly, trying to push away the taughts of Korra. "Why do you think she chose to have you so close to her? If Korra ever becomes a problem for her,she'll have you as leverage." Lin's fist tightens, looking at your expression.
"It's not true. If you saw the way she acts...you wouldn't say that.Kuvira wouldn't just use me like that." She sighs at your way of defending Kuvira. How could you defend such a woman?
"Everything Kuvira does is for a reason,keep that in mind (Name)." Lin gets up and leaves some money on the table.
You remain there , trying to piece together your racing taughts.
.
And just like Lin said,once it was time for Kuvira to back down and allow the prince to rise,she made the announcement that from then on the earth kingdom would be under her rule.
The rule of The Great Uniter.
This got you contemplating ever joining her,it doesn't feel right with you.
Bolin chose to stick around,but you wanted to leave. Being in a situation like this was too much for you.
"So you planned to just abandon me?" The person you didn't want to see the most right now was behind you, leaning on your door frame.
"This isn't right,Kuvira." You stated, covering your arms as you turn to see her.
"This is exactly what's right for the earth kingdom. I can't let that spoiled Prince destroy everything we accomplished." She pushed herself of the door way, moving closer to you.
"It doesn't feel right,I can't fight for something that doesn't feel right with me." Kuvira sighs. She places a hand on your shoulder. "I know what I'm doing,but I can't do it without you by my side. We accomplished so many great things together." She starts slowly guiding you towards a window. "Just look at how much good we did" her hands point at the window. "The land is safe again, raiders are not attacking innocent people or stealing. What more could you ask?" you look at one of the cities she got back and supplied,it looks at peace. What if she was right?
You bite your lip, "What happens with the people after we leave?" Her eyes meet yours,
"We give them a job, something to do to make the earth kingdom a better place,even the raiders."
Even if your gut tells you not to trust her,your mind reminds you of the great things she did so far. Kuvira never left you down.
"Are you telling the truth to me?"
She smiles, holding eye contact with you.
"Why would I lie?"
.
.
This is getting out of hand, Kuvira wants to attack Zaofu, Suyin's home simply for not obeying her terms.
"Kuvira this is madness,you can't do this!" You enter the command center ,she dismisses the people that were in the room, leaving you two alone.
"No. It's necessary for me to do this. Once Zaofu finally surrenders to me I get total control of the earth empire."
You scoff at her words.
"Do you even hear yourself?" Pacing around the room,you can't help but glance at her troops just outside.
"I thought you were with me on this, remember everything we fight for." Her armor slightly clangs as she walks towards you.
"I fight to make this world a better place,you fight to take control and rule and empire, excuse me but there's a difference." You move away from her,scoffing at the taught of helping her bring Zaofu down.
Kuvira glares at the back of your head.
"I'm doing this because no one else was willing to. And I have to make some tough choices that many wouldn't,why can't you see?" The tall woman runs a hand trough her hair, trying to calm herself down.
Now it all makes sense,Lin was right and you were stupid for doubting her.
"I'm leaving and you can't stop me. Not this time." She sighs, once you start moving towards the door, two of her metal bands parts push you to the wall,hands stuck above your head.
"Let me go."you glare at her trying to get away from her metal.
"I expected better from you." She shakes her head disappointed. You look around the room, trying to find a water source, yet nothing in sight.or reach
"Lock her up tight. Make sure she gets no visitors." Kuvira calls for two of her guards.as they take you away,you see the shrinking image of Kuvira's disappointed face.
.
.
.
You watch as Korra fights with Kuvira for your life,and Suyin's.
She got so much better,but there's still something wrong with her you just know it.
Kuvira seems to have the upper hand,until Korra knocks her down. She was so close,but she hesitates suddenly, giving Kuvira the opportunity to trap Korra.
"No!" You scream,Kuvira turns her head to look at you,a smile adorning her face. Looking around desperately,you see a little source of water, hopefully close enough to you.
You move your hands that are tied behind your back to use the water,creating a razor form to slice trough Kuvira's metal.
You take off running, attacking Kuvira with spikes of ice.
The metal bender pushes herself away from Korra , creating a shield for herself.
Kuvira Is pissed,how could you escape? Are her soldiers good for nothing at all? More importantly,what are you going to do?
You create a big ice shield that goes all around to fit you and Korra trough,finally getting to touch her after so long.
"Korra please get up!" You cradle her head in your arms as her upper body lays on your thighs (Kuvira is jelly~~) she opens her eyes,bright blue eyes you would lose yourself in.
"I came back for you." She smiles touching your face lightly,fearing you might be another one of her illusions. Your eyes whiden, smiling at her words
"I shouldn't have left you in the first place." A tear falls on her face (imagine Kuvira trying to break the ice while those two have their moment ☠️)
"I didn't mean anything I said that day,I'm so sorry,I didn't mean to send you away." Korra gets up,now on her knees ,face to face with you. Her hands cup your face, staring at you lovingly." I Love you." Hearing those words,you jump on Korra,giving her a big hug.
You sniff, smiling at her. "We should really focus on getting out of this situation now." Your voice cracks as you joke.
Korra stands up,ready to fight once more, her will stronger than ever.
.
.
.
I originally wanted to write something else,but this plot came so I just rolled with it. ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠˘⁠_⁠˘⁠)⁠┌
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randxmthxughts · 2 years ago
Text
Chosen by Eywa - The Dream Hunt - Chapter 1
chapter 2 →
summary: eywa makes no mistakes... in the midst of his preparation to become the future olo'eyktan, neteyam is told to be with a chosen mate. guided by the signs of eywa, tsahik picks y/n, a woman orphaned by the war, whose heart already belongs to another
contains: arranged marriage, mentions of war and grief, angst, one-sided enemies to lovers
wc: 4.6k
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a/n: i just wanted to say a major THANK YOU for 4k and for the support you have shown for this series before i even posted anything 😭 i hope this meets your expectations, and i am very excited for the next chapters
chosen by eywa masterlist | general avatar masterlist
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Eywa makes no mistakes. Y/N had clung to these words her whole life, since the day her parents were taken by the merciless war against the sky people. She found comfort in knowing that her journey was already prewritten, destined for a greater purpose. But she had never expected for Eywa to turn her world upside down, forcing her to question everything she believed in, and lead her to a love that she never imagined possible…
The scent of smoldering herbs filled the air, mingling with the soft groans and hushed whispers of the healers attending to the small party of warriors. Y/N's deft hands worked quickly, spreading the last thick layer of healing poultice over the gash on his arm. He winced at the searing pain, then let out a weak chuckle at his own reaction.
"Mawey," she murmured to the injured warrior, her voice sweet with warmth that she failed to conceal, “We are done.” Their eyes met briefly, and a blush crept up Y/N's cheeks.
She turned away, to hide a small smile that tugged at the corners of her lips, and stepped closer to Kiri to search for another remedy in their shared basket. Neteyam, sitting beneath his sister's tender ministrations, winced slightly. His eyes then spotted Y/N, who was rifling through the herbs and ointments, though her thoughts seemed to drift somewhere else.
“What are you looking for?” Kiri asked, poking her head out from behind her brother.
“Oh,” Y/N turned, flashing the siblings a sheepish smile, “Was just making sure that we had enough eanean.”
Kiri nodded, though she was hardly convinced. Having worked with Y/N side by side for years now, she had grown to read her subtle moods. Over the past few months especially, with the increased work, the two women had become closer, and Kiri had suspected that there was something going on between Y/N and Kaye, the warrior she was just tending to. But she ultimately decided not to intervene. 
“I still don’t understand how you even crossed paths with those skxawngs at the Eastern border,” Kiri returned to the conversation she was having with her brother.
"They were lying in wait," Neteyam answered, his gaze still fixated on Y/N, "I don't know how they figured out we'd be there today, but they attacked us from above."
"That's very bad," Kiri sighed, applying fresh bandages to his back, “What if there were more of them?”
She circled to stand in front of her brother, while her eyes darted around the spacious tent. The healing tent had been expanded due to Mo’at’s request, who had decided that the old one was too cramped. Mo’at also took on more students because of the attacks from the sky people, and the clan now boasted a larger number of healers than ever before.
"We probably wouldn't have made it out alive," Neteyam sighed, disappointed. 
The future Olo’yektan saw no point in hiding the intensity of the day’s event; he had barely escaped his own death earlier. He was assigned to lead the party, and the weight of bringing his warriors to safety was heavy on his shoulders. How could he ensure they would never end up in the same situation again? Getting trapped by the sky people, almost facing death. He couldn’t help but feel insecure in his own ability as the future chief, maybe he wasn’t ready to pass his Dream Hunt yet.
Kiri's shoulders slumped in response, though the answer wasn't difficult to guess. She stole a quick glance at Y/N, who seemed to be frozen in place, listening to the conversation. If anything happened to Kaye, if she lost another person she loved to the war, would she be able to bear it?
The familiar touch of Kaye's hand on her back broke Y/N out of her thoughts. As he passed by, uttering a grateful "thank you," she blushed deeply, but the worry in her eyes was not lost on Neteyam.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
Y/N dipped her feet into the cold water, feeling the soreness starting to slip away from her body. The river was serene, calming her, as she had been on her feet all day, working under the watchful eyes of Mo’at and tending to the injured warriors. Kaye, who sat next to her, nudged her thigh with his. She could feel the warmth of his body against hers, his canines peeking out with a small smirk.
“You know I don’t like it when you are upset with me,” he said, nudging her again playfully, “Y/N.”
Her ears twitched, as she turned to look at him with a hint of annoyance at how unserious he was being. He had accidentally blabbered about his stupid idea to take on two geared up sky people at once and almost lost his arm during the encounter.
“The Great Mother may have looked after you today, but it won’t always be so,” she said firmly, “I lost my parents to a slip-up like this. Eywa does not intervene in these matters.”
“I know,” Kaye cupped her cheek tenderly, recognizing the reminiscing in her eyes, “I will be more careful.”
She leaned into his touch, eyes closing for a moment with a small sigh. Her mind wandered back to the memories of her parents. It was a pain that never fully went away, a constant ache that still kept her up at nights.
“I worry about you, Kaye,” she murmured.
“And I worry about you,” he replied softly, his thumb rubbing circles on her cheekbone, “Which is why I think it is time to tell my family about us.”
Y/N blinked at him, feeling the familiar spark of hope ignite within her, but she quickly pushed it aside. She had heard these words from Kaye before, a promise that he had broken time and time again. His family held importance in the clan, his parents were strict, determined to arrange a mate for Kaye, just like they did for the rest of their children. And she was never worthy of their attention. She had nothing to offer to them. Kaye knew that too well, but he continued to give both of them false hopes of a bright future together.
“You don’t have to, it is no rush,” she mumbled, wondering if her devotion to him would ever be matched, “I don’t want you to fight with your parents.”
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
Like in the womb of Pandora, surrounded by the elders and the Tsahik, Neteyam proudly wore the white paint on his body as he silently took a seat in the middle of the circle. His mother lingered behind with a mixture of worry and pride on her face; she had looked forward to the day her firstborn passed the Dream Hunt, but the earlier encounter with the sky people had shaken her slightly. What if Neteyam was too tired and wouldn’t survive his uniltaron? Jake threw an assurring arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his chest, and she gratefully complied, peeking at her son with a smile. Jake was grinning, confident that Neteyam, who had already accomplished so much at his age, would pass his trial with ease. He had prepared for it for months, what’s one more rite?
The chanting began to pick up with the beginning of the ritual, and knowing his role too well, Neteyam opened his mouth willingly when Mo'at approached him with a glowing worm hanging from her fingers. The worm wiggled around as Neteyam closed his lips around it and chewed it down. The smoke from burning herbs filled his nose and eyes, burning all the way to his lungs. 
The chant grew louder and more hypnotic, and the taste of the worm on his tongue numbed his buds like a torch. Neteyam felt his body vibrate involuntarily, and as his father placed an arachnoid on his neck, he felt it stung him twice mercilessly. Neteyam squeezed his eyes shut, blocking out the noise and the pain, as his mind began to slip into a trance. He could feel his lungs give out with a sharp pain and as he desperately gasped for air, it seemed like he was falling, spiraling down with nothing to grab onto. His heartbeat suddenly was louder, faster in his ears, thumping in a rhythm as he plummeted it down. The world went dark, and when he opened his eyes, Neteyam saw himself in the forest, surrounded by mist.
His body went limp for a moment, bright sunlight blinding his vision. He gathered his energy and barely moved to his feet, when with a sudden gust of wind, a banshee flew right above him, so close to the ground that it almost threw him off. Instinctively, Neteyam reached to cover his eyes with his hand, and then he was no longer himself.
His body ached, as it began to stretch out. His hands were growing, transforming into wings, as venom flowed through his blood, he was suddenly floating above the forest. It was like he was on the back of his ikran but the feeling was more intense. Unmistakably, his mind was no longer his own, Neteyam saw and felt through the banshee.
A rush of adrenaline burst through him, and Neteyam, for the first time in his life, was free, as he soared through the sky. He couldn’t express it, but he could feel it somewhere in his heart that this is what he was meant to be. One with Eywa.
As he flew over the trees, he spotted and neared closer to himself. His own Na’vi body stood small and fragile from the new point of view. But there was also somebody else standing next to him. A woman holding his hand. She was laughing, her voice vibrantly filled his ears with a pleasant sound. A long necklace wrapped around her neck and hung all the way down to her stomach, adorned with big beads, glistening under the sun, and blue feathers. Her hair was let down in soft waves, and her face… When Neteyam tried tracing her features, he realized he couldn’t. The image began to slip away from him, and he felt his body betray him once again…
Suddenly, his eyes flew open, the darkness of the cave enveloping him. His trembling body was arched, palms digging into the soil beneath him, sweat rolling down his face in big drops. Neteyam took a moment to regain his breath, heart pounding.
“It is finished,” Mo’at’s voice broke the silence, words echoing through the cave.
Neteyam winced slightly at the loudness and rubbed his eyes to regain his vision. He could feel the eyes of elderly on him, then the relief in his mother’s voice, as she rushed to his side. Her hands reached for his face, massaging his temples.
“Did you see your spirit animal?” Neytiri asked with a smile, her eyes brimming with curiosity.
Neteyam nodded weakly, a small smile of his own stretching across his lips. 
“I saw an ikran… I was the ikran!” he exclaimed, his laughter filling the cave.
Jake and Neytiri joined in his giddy laughter, the rest of the circle smiling in approval. Neytiri pulled her son into a tight embrace.
“We are very proud of you, son,” Jake said, crouching down next to them and patting Neteyam’s head, knowing exactly what he went through.
“Thank you,” Neteyam smiled, then as if he remembered another vision from his Dream Hunt, continued, “But I saw something else too!”
Mo’at approached him hastily, making a room for herself, as she splayed her fingers against Neteyam’s face. She peered into his amber eyes with curiosity, urging him to continue.
“I saw a woman,” he smiled, the memory returning to him, “She was holding my hand… well, the hand of my Na’vi body.”
Neytiri gasped softly, her eyes widening with shock. Mo’at’s expression remained stoic, though she gripped Neteyam’s shoulder. 
“Did you recognize her, child?” she questioned, concealing her surprise.
“No, I couldn’t see her face,” Neteyam shook his head with a slight disappointment, “She was a Na’vi woman. But I couldn’t see her clearly.” He looked to his father, seeking answers, but found only confusion there. 
Neytiri and Mo’at shared a knowing glance before rising to their feet. Neytiri brought her hands to her chest, anxiety etched onto her features. Jake registered it immediately, now alerted too by their reactions. 
“Is something wrong?” he whispered to her.
She looked back at him, confusion marring her expression. She wasn’t really sure what it meant, only knew that Eywa very rarely sent a vision during the uniltaron. Mo’at circled around Neteyam, the air thick with tension. He waited patiently, his eyes trained on his grandmother, though he was already a little worried by how long she waited to speak. She took a step back and motioned for him to stand up. He complied, his body still weak.    
“The Great Mother had blessed you with another vision, a peek into your destiny,” Mo’at’s tone was serious. 
Jake’s ears perked up, unsure if it should excite him or scare him. He looked around the cave, seeking for a similar reaction, but everyone except him and Neteyam seemed to have an idea of what it meant. 
“What does it mean, grandmother?” Neteyam asked carefully.
“It is time, Neteyam,” Mo’at spoke with a glimmer of pride in her eyes, “The Great Mother thinks you are ready to take a mate. Your journey begins now.”
Neytiri wrapped her arms around her son once more with a bittersweet smile. She seemed relieved by the explanation. Neteyam, like the perfect son, had passed every rite on his own. Now it was time for him to face the rest of his challenges with a woman by his side, someone he would love and cherish. He wouldn’t have to be alone anymore. Jake watched with the same confused expression on his face, ever so often glancing at Neytiri to try and understand how he should react.
“If you have already chosen a mate in secret from the clan, you must reveal it now, child,” Mo’at spoke again. 
“No, grandmother, I have not chosen,” Neteyam shook his head firmly, “I am not mated with anyone.”
“Very well,” Mo’at heaved a sigh, then tilted her head slightly, “Do you have anyone in mind for the role?” 
“No,” he shook his head again, this time slightly embarrassed by his own answer. It was the only thing he lacked so far, “I didn’t have time for that.”
The words brought a pang of guilt to his parents. They both lowered their ears immediately, feeling fully responsible for raising their son with such a weighty burden on his shoulders.
“Good. Then the search begins,” Mo’at announced, “You will hear the answer soon.”
Neteyam felt his heart sink. His mouth hung open, as he looked around the cave for support but the elderly only seemed content with the decision and began to disperse. He would hear the answer? Were they going to decide for him? Of course, arranging bonds was quite common and successful in his clan, especially within the line of Olo’eyktans. Their mates were chosen carefully, keeping in mind that the couples had to be strong enough to lead their people through thick and thin. But he was content with his life as of now, exploring the forests and working on his skills. Neteyam didn’t feel ready, despite his vision. He glanced at his father, who was now frowning and clearly holding himself back from speaking, biding his time until they were left alone to discuss the matter further.
“Neteyam, you should go to the celebration, your brother and sisters have been waiting for you this whole time," Neytiri spoke softly.
"But mother -" Neteyam tried to protest.
"No buts, boy," his father interjected, “You did well. Go celebrate."
“Fine,” Neteyam nodded, his voice falling to a whisper.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
It has been a few days since Neteyam passed his Dream Hunt, but he was already impatient for his grandmother’s decision. It could take her months to make it, yet he couldn’t help the anxiousness. Was he too late to choose a mate for himself? What made it worse was the conversations he overheard between his parents. He tiptoed around the corner of his family tent, his mind already racing with conflicting thoughts. He had gathered every argument and piled it into a high tower, ready to unravel it onto his parents, but as their voices grew louder, he couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"I can’t believe you’re going along with this, Neytiri," Jake's voice echoed, his tone growing more exasperated by the second. "He should have a choice in who he wants to spend his life with."
"He didn’t make a choice in time," Neytiri replied, her voice firm, "But the Great Mother has. A mate has already been chosen by Eywa.”
“And what if he doesn’t like this arrangement? You were in his place once,” Jake was upset. He had never expected Neytiri to agree with Mo’at’s decision.
“Ma’Jake,” Neytiri sighed, “Eywa makes no mistakes. Neteyam received a clear sign, it would be foolish to ignore it.”
Neteyam's heart skipped a beat at her words. His mother seemed determined that it was the right step to take, and deep down, he thought he agreed with her. He had to trust in the wisdom of Eywa. Yet, Neteyam was scared because of his own helplessness. 
“I don’t know…” Jake trailed off. 
It wasn't fair play, arguing with Tsahik’s decision, with Eywa’s signs. Jake may have lived on Pandora for over 20 years, having been reborn as a Na’vi, but he still felt like an outsider when it came to the traditions of the clan. He wasn’t going to enforce his opinions with his position as Toruk Makto and go against everyone. But he also didn’t want to see his son suffer.
Neteyam sighed before stepping into the tent and revealing himself. Both of his parents stiffened, having suspected that he overheard their conversation. He felt caught between two and he had no other choice but to put a stop to it.
“‘Itan,” Neytiri’s expression softened, sensing the uncertainty in his eyes. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I know that you might feel confused but I believe that accepting Eywa’s sign will lead you to being a strong leader someday. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices, but ultimately the Great Mother looks after us. Our fate is already written.”
“Whatever your grandmother decides, you don’t have to go along with it, if you don’t want to, Neteyam,” Jake added with a strained voice, “Trust your heart.”
Neytiri nodded with a small sigh. She too was conflicted, torn between her trust and her love for her son. The vision during the Dream Hunt was a rare blessing, and Neytiri didn't want Neteyam to miss out on it.
“You have been destined for greatness, ‘itan,” her expression softened, “We will be with you every step of your journey.”
“Thank you,” Neteyam looked between his parents, “But I decided to accept the sign. And I want to make you proud,” he added, his voice barely above a whisper.
Jake and Neytiri exchanged a glance. Neteyam could feel the weight of his clan's expectations heavy on his shoulders, like he couldn’t refuse, no matter how much his parents expressed they would support him. Now, as he looked at their worried faces, he knew he had to put his own desires aside for the sake of his people. 
“Grandmother sent me over to get you. She has her answer,” Kiri’s voice trembled slightly as she delivered the news, interrupting their moment.
Her ears were flat against her skull, face etched with worry for the burden placed upon her brother. She could only hope that he would be happy and at peace with whatever will be decided.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
One man's joy is another man's sorrow. 
Becoming the future Olo’eyktan’s mate, getting accepted into his family, being his family, filling the hole left by the death of her parents. To be granted the ultimate praise and be chosen by Tsahik, be approved, be enough. After losing everything, it all seemed too good to be true to Y/N.
Her heart sunk deep in her chest, voice hitching in her throat before words of protest could even escape. How could she agree to being with Neteyam? Sure, he was handsome, skillful, he was respected and would be sweet to her. But he wasn’t Kaye, wasn’t the one she wanted. Not the one who promised to be hers. No. It was going to be Neteyam, the future Olo’eyktan. The guy who had grown up with the eyes of the whole clan on him. Who was performing all the time, concealed his true feelings. Someone whom she didn’t know well, whom she never saw that way. 
“Y/N, do you accept?” Mo’at asked, her voice louder this time.
Y/N’s thoughts raced faster at the gravity of the question. Mating with Neteyam would fulfill her duty to her people, a duty to carry on the traditions, an opportunity to belong, to be part of something bigger, greater. To finally feel useful, be able to give back to her clan. She glanced at Tsahik and could see the disapproval etched on the older woman’s features. 
Any girl would kill to be in her position. It felt like a slap to even consider rejecting Neteyam, Mo’at was convinced that her grandson was going to be everything and more. She had seen him in her visions since even before he was born. He had a strong heart, was destined to be a leader, guide his clan to a better future, make a happy one for himself too. 
The atmosphere was thick with anticipation, each breath Y/N took felt like a burden on her chest. Jake and Neytiri, who stood nearby, waited patiently, hoping for the answer they wanted to hear but also expecting the one they feared. It was hard to tell apart which was which. Y/N stole another glance at Neteyam, whom she had greeted only a few minutes ago, just before his grandmother revealed her vision of Y/N being mated with him. He looked guilty, chewing on his bottom lip, muscles tense, as he desperately seeked for a reaction from her, anything. He felt the guilt eating away at him, he wasn’t blind, Neteyam had seen they way she was around Kaye. He just couldn’t understand why they had never announced it to the clan. Maybe things wouldn’t be so difficult now… 
“I-I,” she stuttered, “I don’t know what to say, it is a great honor but…”
“But you deny?” Mo’at raised her eyebrows in disbelief, completely baffled with her answer.
“No - yes,” Y/N stammered, shaking her head, “I am only saying that there are many women in the clan who are worthy of becoming the mate of the future Olo’eyktan. Women better than me, who would know how to lead a clan.”
Mo’at pursed her lips together, clearly dissatisfied. Y/N wanted to scream, to run away, to hide from the responsibility that was thrust upon her so unexpectedly. Neteyam's eyes bore into hers, pleading silently for a chance. But she didn't know him, not really. How could she possibly agree to mate with someone her heart didn’t long for? Neytiri shifted uncomfortably, nudging Jake to do something, anything to ease the situation. He sighed, stepping forward to Y/N.
“I know it can be hard to let people take care of you, kid, but sometimes it is okay to let yourself just be,” he placed a hand over her shoulder, his features etched with sincerity, “Your parents were great people. I thought very highly of them, I truly mean it.”
“I know, Olo’eyktan, they respected you too,” Y/N nodded weakly. 
Ever since their passing, Y/N could feel Jake’s protective gaze on her. He had been looking out for her for years now, making sure that people in the clan treated her well. It was him who had asked Mo’at to take Y/N as a student because he saw the potential in her to help others. But now, it was time for him to be taking all that back, and the realization made her heart clench painfully.
“I’ve never told you this but before your mother passed away, I was there with her,” he paused for a moment, “She asked me to take care of you, to make sure you had a place in the clan. And I know of no better way to fulfill that wish than this.”
As he spoke, Y/N's felt like shrinking under the weight of his arm still resting on her shoulder. She couldn’t tell him that her heart belonged to someone else, someone she could never have because she had nothing to offer. Nothing to give, nothing to make his family think she was worthy of him.
“The sign of Eywa was clear,” Neytiri chimed in, drawing attention back to her, “Neteyam had a vision during his Dream Hunt. He saw his mate.”
“But that’s… that never happens during Dream Hunts!” Y/N seemed baffled too.
She looked at Neteyam, hoping for a further explanation, but he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Shame and pressure showed on his face, as if the argument made by his mother put him into an even deeper pit of despair. 
“It happens rarely,” Neytiri continued, then smiled softly, as if catching up on with her own thoughts, “Very rarely, Eywa sends these signs to exceptional Na’vi. It must be her way of saying that it is time to let somebody else help him on the rest of his journey.”
Useful. It was the precise word Y/N used, whenever she asked for Tsahik’s help during the lessons. When her eyes would go red from the amount of tears she shed when she felt unwanted. When she hid herself from the man she loved because his parents would never accept her. Y/N had always been a hard worker, eager to prove herself in the clan, but no matter how much she did, it never felt enough.
Neteyam watched her with fear and desperation. Now the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to make things work. The pressure of being the perfect son, the future leader, was a weight that he needed to share with someone strong.
Then they saw it. A single atokirina’, a sacred seed that had last appeared to Y/N on the day her parents were killed, floated around her, casting a soft glow over her features. For a moment, nobody spoke, watching the seed with adoring smiles. Y/N's expression softened too, feeling as if the Great Mother herself had blessed her. Eywa had spoken.
“It seems like Eywa tries hard to convince you, my child,” Mo’at's words were soothing, her voice softening as she spoke with adoration for her world.
"To be chosen by Eywa is a wondrous thing,” Neytiri added with a grin.
Y/N’s gaze met Neteyam's, his eyes searching for any sign of what she was thinking. Did he feel the same pressure as her? Did he want this, or was he as trapped as she was?
“Is this really how it works?” Y/N asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“Eywa speaks to us in many ways, my child,” Mo’at nodded.
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chapter 2 →
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signfromeywa · 2 months ago
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AUNGIA TA EYWA (A SIGN FROM EYWA)
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Chapter 07: Back in the enclosure
Description:
Anastasia Novak is a behavioural scientist tasked with socializing a captive Na'vi on behalf of the RDA. The longer she works with the Na'vi and the closer she gets to him, the more she has to rethink everything she thought she knew and redefine her morals and values. Can she just carry on like this, or will she follow her heart?
Content: Rating +18, Avatar fanfiction, human x Na'vi ship, Na'vi captured
Characters: Human OCs: Anastasia Novak, Steven Turner, Patra// Na'vi OCs: Ean'tu,
Word Count: 3439 
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❗️English is not my native language! I apologize very much if it reads a bit bumpy here and there.
I’m a German author and this is the first time I’ve tried to translate a story I’m working on into English and upload it. I still hope you enjoy it.❗
The airlock opened and Ana stepped into his old enclosure with Ean'tu by the hand. After a few more weeks, the cultivation of the new plants had finally been completed and Ean'tu was able to move back into the old enclosure. Ana had been eagerly waiting for this, it gave them more privacy but also more space and comfort for the Na'vi. Thanks to the great trust Ean'tu already had in Ana, they were once again able to move on foot. There had been no need to sedate him or use other heavy measures. He trusted her and had walked calmly by her side back to his enclosure. It was always a big risk, Ana was aware of that. He could try to escape at any time, which she would even understand. The desire for freedom certainly burned deep in his heart and Ana felt the same way. This thought was also growing in her mind. The Na'vi could not stay here forever. That wasn't right.
Turner called over the radio: "Novak, everything okay so far?"
"Yes, we arrived safely at the enclosure, you can give the all-clear." Ana replied and Ean'tu looked at her. By now his English wasn't bad at all, she could hardly believe how incredibly quickly he was learning. Communicating with him had become so much easier but also more intimate.
"Was that the other minder of mine?" he asked quietly, still with a strong accent despite his good English.
"Yes, that was Turner, he wanted to know if everything had worked out." Ana looked up at Ean'tu, he hadn't been able to hear the radio because she had a small headset in her ear.
"I'm sure he just wanted to know if I'd done something to you." He still didn't trust Turner and obviously didn't like him. So far, he had also refused any contact with Turner.
"No, he knows you won't hurt me, he's on our side, even if it's hard to believe." Ana stroked Ean'tu's hand and then led the way. "Look, they really did grow the plants in question."
Ana tried to lighten the mood a little. She knew they were still in a prison, but they had to make the best of it. Ean'tu walked past Ana, over to the plants and stroked the leaves. She could see a slight smile on his face, which then gave way to a dull, sad look. Did he remember his home? Should Ana perhaps ask or was that inappropriate and would only open old wounds?
To her surprise, Ean'tu herself began to tell the story, "Sa'nu and I used to go out a lot to collect these leaves. She was a good teacher, she taught me how to weave."
"Your mom?" Ana came over to him and also touched a leaf. He nodded sadly. "Where's your mom now?"
"I hope with Eywa..." it was almost a whisper from Ean'tu, his words sounded sad and heavy. Ana didn't know what exactly they meant, but she thought it had a similar meaning to when people wished their loved ones were in heaven. She would not realize how serious the words really were until much later.
Ean'tu seemed to be grieving. Ana would have liked to know so much more about his childhood, but she didn't dare ask. It just didn't seem to be the right moment. The Na'vi closed his beautiful eyes for a moment and seemed to pause. Then he took a deep breath and turned to face her again.
"I can show you how we weave ribbons." he struggled to smile to hide his sadness.
"I'd love to learn from you." Ana was excited by the idea. So far, Ean'tu had only learned from her and she had felt bad about imposing her culture on him. It was only appropriate that she also learned to understand the Na'vi and their way of life.
Ean'tu nodded. "Okay, I'll look for some nice leaves later so we can start tomorrow. Today I would like to ask you for something."
Ana listened with interest. "Yes?"
"My hair is soft and beautiful again thanks to you, I wonder if you can put it back together for me?" he took his hair and held it together in a half-up hairstyle.
"Yes, I can do that if you like. Tell me how you want it, I'll help you." Ana was proud and honored. It was the first time Ean'tu had actively asked her for help. "I have to get out of the enclosure in a minute, we've got a delivery. I'm sure I'll find everything I need there."
These were the things Ana had asked for. They included all sorts of things. From fabrics and materials to clothing. She didn't know what the Na'vi normally wore, so she had asked her secret contact. They gave her a rough description and Ana had to choose things based on this rough information. She hoped he wouldn't hate the things she had chosen.
"Okay, I'll wait for you at the tree." He smiled at her again, with that warm, friendly smile. Every time he did, her heart leapt for joy. He touched her on the head, almost as if he wanted to stroke her cheek, which was unfortunately not possible thanks to the mask. Instead, he stroked her neck and turned away to go to the tree. His only place of retreat.
Ana breathed a heavy sigh and tried to ignore the longing tugging at her heart. It was wrong, she kept telling herself so as not to lose her reason. Then she too made her way through the airlock to accept the delivery she had ordered.
When she arrived at the top of her department, Turner was already waiting for her among a pile of delivery boxes. He had a digital clipboard in his hand and seemed to be checking that everything was there.
When Ana came into the room, he looked up from his work. "Out of the enclosure so soon?"
"I want to get some things out of the boxes, I hope everything I asked for is there." Ana walked over to the boxes, put her hands on her hips and looked at the mountain of boxes. With a bit of bad luck, it would be a while before she found what she was looking for.
" Have you seen, the plants have settled in well in the enclosure, they look great."
"Yes, Sky has already had a closer look at them too. They were very satisfactory. The responsible staff have done a good job." Ana took the first box, opened it and looked through the contents. "You could take the other boxes from the pile and put them in a row."
Turner nodded and set to work. She was grateful for his help, the boxes looked heavy. "What exactly are you looking for?"
"I requested hair accessories for Sky and some clothes." Ana stuck her head up to her shoulders in one of the boxes and rummaged around.
"I'll help you find it." Turner also opened one and rummaged through the contents.
After what felt like a while and three boxes later, Ana emerged triumphantly. "I've got it!" she pulled the hair ornament out of the box and held it up solemnly. Then she turned to Turner? "So, have you had any luck yet?"
He also straightened up, but shook his head. "No, not yet. I'll try the last box." He opened it and began to search. "I have to say Novak, that's a lot of stuff I don't know what you want to do with."
Ana grinned and came over to Turner. "I won't be able to do anything with it either, but I'm sure Sky knows exactly how to process all the materials. Otherwise, he and I will figure it out together."
Turner paused. "I think that's what you were looking for. At least that's my guess."
He pulled out a pair of pants, they were made of light beige fabric and were very breathable. On Ean'tu they would fit loosely, comfortably and give him enough leg room.
"Yes, exactly, then the other parts should be in there too." she leaned over to the box and picked out the second part of the set. It was also a loose fabric that was wrapped around the chest and fastened at the neck. "I hope he likes it, definitely better than the old leather rag he's wearing now." Ana stroked the fabric.
Turner nodded in agreement. "I think he'll be pleased, at least you've put some thought into it and I'm sure he'll appreciate it."
"Good, then I won't keep him waiting any longer. Take a break, you've done a lot of work. The break will do you good." She smiled gratefully at Turner. Ana knew that he organized and worked a lot for Ana and Ean'tu. Without him, she wouldn't know how she could manage it all, he was a good ally.
Turner looked at her hesitantly for a moment. "Are you sure you'll be all right?" he still seemed slightly worried.
"Yes, you can trust Sky. Just like I do." Ana assured him.
He sighed. "All right, but be careful. I'll be in the canteen."
Ana nodded and grabbed all her things and her laptop, then went back into the enclosure. She had put the clothes and hair accessories in a smaller cardboard box to make them easier to transport.
Packed full, she arrived at the tree in the enclosure, where Ean'tu had said Ana would find him. Before she had walked the last few meters, however, someone grabbed the box. Ana looked up and saw Ean'tu standing behind her. She hadn't even heard him approach her. He was always so gentle and quiet.
"I'll take something for you." he said kindly and smiled.
"That's sweet, thank you." Together they walked to the large trunk of the tree and set the things down. Ana sat down on a raised root while Ean'tu looked curiously into the box.
"What did you bring?"
"Clothes." Ana answered him and he looked at her questioningly. "For you, I think it's time you get rid of that old leather rag and get something new."
Ana pointed to the old loincloth Ean'tu was wearing. It seemed to be made of leather, was very old and looked torn. It must have been long at some point, but now it didn't even go down to his knees. The shred of leather just about did the job.
"That's thoughtful of you, what did you bring me?" Ean'tu squatted down in front of the box and was very curious.
"Go ahead and take it out. It's yours anyway..." Ana squatted down in front of it and watched as the Na'vi carefully took out the fabric. First the pants. "I don't know if you like it, it's certainly not the same as what you wore back then." Ana sounded uncertain.
Ean'tu noticed this. "Let me put it on right now." He smiled at her happily. "Wait here."
He stood up and disappeared behind the tree. It was so wide that he could easily hide behind it to change his clothes. When he had his pants on, he came out. "There's a hole missing for my tail." He turned around to show the problem. The waistband of the pants was still below his tail and he held the pants tight.
Ana took a pair of scissors out of the box and approached him. "I'm cutting a hole, please don't move."
The Na'vi was nervous about having a sharp object so close to his tail, so to be on the safe side he held on to it as well.
Ana quickly made a small cut, "Try it now and if it's too small, carefully tear the fabric a little."
Ean'tu nodded and put his tail through the new hole, it fit well and he was finally able to pull his pants up properly.
"Sorry, I didn't know exactly where the hole needed to be, so I didn't include that, now at least we have it just right." she smiled at him. "So... what do you think?"
The Nave squatted a few times with the pants. The pants were very loose and airy and followed his every movement without any problems. "The fabric is very soft and I can move around easily. I like it a lot."
Ana was relieved. She had been worried that it might come across as insulting if she simply brought him human clothing instead of his traditional clothes, but he seemed to take it positively. He went to the box and pulled out the fluffy top. "What's this?"
"Oh you don't have to wear it if you don't like it, but you wear it sort of like this." Ana indicated how to wear it on herself.
"That's unusual for us, but I'll try it on." With Ana's guidance, he skillfully wrapped the top and tied it around his neck.
Ana smiled at him a little more dreamily than planned. "It looks really good on you, you look very pretty in it."
Ean'tu looked down at himself and stroked the soft fabric. "It's definitely something different." Then he looked at Ana. "Thank you for thinking of me." he returned her gentle smile.
They both blushed and Ana sheepishly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's the least I can do for you."
Ean'tu came to her and knelt in front of her to look into her eyes. "I know you feel guilty about what the sky people are doing to me... but you're not like them."
Ana held her breath and returned his gaze. He had seen through her. In fact, she felt terribly guilty that Ean'tu was trapped here. It wasn't right, but she felt so powerless.
She pressed her lips together in dismay and smiled wanly. "That's sweet of you to say... but I work for those monsters..."
Ean'tu did not take his eyes off her. His reddish eyes were still on her, with all gentleness in his gaze. "Ana..."
The way he pronounced her name, only he had that certain sound with his accent. It made a pleasant warmth rise in her.
"If it wasn't for you, I might have already given up all hope. Eywa... my home... everything is so far away and out of my reach. But your big heart has given me hope again. I will not give up." He then said and touched her chest again, where her heart was.
Ean'tu was such a good soul. Ana didn't deserve that and yet she was happy about his words. She was glad that he hadn't given up yet, even though the situation was so hopeless.
"Would you like to... do my hair? I'd be delighted." He smiled at her encouragingly.
Ana felt ridiculous for moping around like this, even though he was the prisoner here. So she finally shook off the gray clouds that were clouding her mind. "But of course. Sit down, I've brought a few things especially for this."
Ean'tu sat down expectantly and happily. Ana took all the things out of the box that she would need to fix Ean'tu's hair.
He patiently held still, using his hands to gently instruct her where he wanted the half-open plait and what he would like to have braided. Ana did her best. His hair was a little rougher than hers, if only because it was curly and therefore much harder to tame. But after a few attempts and some back and forth, she had the hairstyle done. Finally, she fetched two more things. One was a tablet, from which she used the inside camera so that Ean'tu could look at herself.
"What do you think? Did it turn out right?" Ana watched as the Na'vi looked at himself in the tablet.
He turned his head from right to left and looked very satisfied. "Yes, it's perfect, thank you very much." he breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently it was a great relief to have his hair out of his face in a proper hairstyle. Before he could stand up, Ana held him by the shoulder.
"Wait, I have something else for you, close your eyes for a moment." She had hidden something behind her back.
Surprised, Ean'tu remained seated and closed his eyes. His tail twitched back and forth excitedly. Ana approached him and pulled out a small pearl necklace for his hair. It had a drop-shaped pearl in the middle, which was meant to lie in the middle of his forehead. It was a hair ornament she had made herself. When the secret contact told her that Na'vi liked to wear homemade jewelry, the idea came to her.
When she had attached the pearl necklace to his hairstyle and the pearl was perfectly centered on his forehead, she allowed him to open his eyes. "You can look now."
He opened his eyes and looked at himself in the tablet. His mouth was slightly open and he looked enthusiastically at the pearls on his forehead. "Pearls..." he said, amazed and delighted at the same time. "How beautiful." He touched them carefully.
"Do you like it? I made it myself." Ana came to his side and looked at his reflection in the tray with him.
" If I like it?" he turned to her, "Of course! I love it!" he beamed happily at Ana's face, which now made her beam with delight too.
"I'm glad, I wasn't so sure it was the right thing. I'm glad I could make you happy." She was just about to turn away to put away the rest of the utensils she had used for Ean'tu's hair when he held her by the wrist and turned her to face him again. Then he took her in his arms. He wrapped both his arms tightly around her and snuggled up to Ana.
Ana was a little taken by surprise at first, but then she also put her arms around him as best she could and pressed herself into the embrace.
"Thank you..." Ean'tu murmured into the hug and Ana's heart began to beat excitedly again. A hot blush rose to her cheeks. She had never been this close to the Na'vi in all this time, but it felt great. He was warm and his skin was soft. Even though he was so much bigger and stronger than her, his embrace was cautious, though not lacking in intimacy. Their bodies snuggled together seamlessly.
She felt the Na'vi breathe a sigh of relief beneath her hug. As if it was exactly what he had been longing for. Ana allowed the hug for as long as he needed it, because apparently he really needed it. She wanted to give him the closeness he had apparently missed so much.
Hesitantly, almost reluctantly, he released Ana from the hug. "..." he wanted to say something but seemed to swallow it.
He still had his hands on her hips. Ana stroked his cheek lovingly. "What is it Ean'tu, tell me."
He lifted his eyes and looked at her, slightly embarrassed but also a little sad. "I was just thinking... it would be nice... if we could do this more often."
As soon as he said it, a blush crept onto his cheeks. Ana was also surprised by what he had said and her heart reacted strongly to it. Why did she react so strongly to Ean'tu? Why couldn't she turn off this feeling in her heart? What they were doing here was no longer professional. It no longer had anything to do with her work, but she couldn't escape it either. She was spellbound by the Na'vi.
She lowered her eyelids sheepishly, "If that's what you want."
Ean'tu reached for her hand and gently stroked her fingers. "Is that what you want? I don't want you to be uncomfortable... because... I'm not human."
Now Ana suddenly looked him in the eye. "That's not it! I don't care if you're human or Na'vi!" She put her hand on his chest and could feel his strong heart beating. "What matters is what's here Ean'tu. I like who you are."
Moved by her statement, he bit his lower lip and suppressed tears, she could see it in his eyes. He was very emotional. How could she have ever believed he was aggressive? He was probably the exact opposite.
"I see you, Ana." he said softly, his voice quivering slightly, as emotional as he was at the moment.
Now Ana felt a heavy emotional sigh, which she suppressed. There was no way she was going to come close to tears now. She had to pull herself together. But her heart was heavy and the longing pulled at her more and more. Almost whispering, she answered him, "I see you too, Ean'tu..."
Tag list: @twisteduniverse5 @yukilaaw @mooniequeen @anemonelovesfiction @talialobi @gimmebones715 (If you want to get added, comment it under the post)
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s10127470 · 4 months ago
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Danny Phantom vs. Hazbin Hotel: Afterlife Designs
Happy Halloween folks!
This is my first time doing a special post for a holiday.
And for today, I wanted to have this discussion about a topic I had with some friends.
Specifically about two animated shows that both focus on an afterlife.
A poorly-defined and explained afterlife.....
Those two shows are none other than Danny Phantom and Hazbin Hotel.
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However, one is able to get more across about that afterlife simply through its character design, while the other doesn't.
And if you haven't guessed already, it's the former.
But before we discuss how DP is able to get across more about its world simply through its character design (along with just having far better ones than Hazbin), first we need to talk about why both these shows have poorly-defined afterlives.
Danny Phantom’s was the result of conflicting visions.
Those being between the show’s infamous creator Butch Hartman, and its main producer and developer Steve Marmel.
Butch wanted the series to be relatively episodic and comedic, while Steve wanted it to be a little more darker and put more emphasis on story and world-building.
This resulted in Steve, along with most of the Season 1 and 2 crew, to leave the show.
There’s also the fact that Nickelodeon didn’t want them to mention the obvious, hence why despite the show being about ghosts, there was hardly ever any mentions of death in general.
And this wouldn’t be the last time they’ve done something like this.
Fellow Nicktoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender, famously killed off the character Jet, who was a one-off character in Book One before becoming a major character in Book Two.
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When making his death scene in the episode “Lake Laogai”, Nickelodeon wanted the crew to make this scene more ambiguous.
Which the crew themselves would go on make fun of in the penultimate episode of the series, “The Ember Island Players”.
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In the case of Hazbin Hotel, this can be all blamed on VivziePop.
Viz is famous for not exactly being that good at storytelling.
And this is especially the case when it comes to world-building.
She has a bad habit of revealing major details about the world in her chats and streams, and then never bothering to actually implement them into the show.
And when she eventually does implement those details (whenever that'll be), who knows if she'll even keep those details intact.
But with that out of the way, let's talk about the actual character designs.
Color Scheme:
Color schemes are crucial for character design because they directly influence how viewers perceive a character, conveying their personality, mood, and even their role in a story.
The ghosts of Danny Phantom and the sinners of Hazbin Hotel have a primary color: Green and red.
Largely thanks to the realms they inhabit: The Ghost Zone and Hell.
The sinners of Hazbin have been heavily criticized for their heavy use of red in their designs, and the fact that it's prevalent with many of the characters, can make looking at them a bit tiresome.
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But the ghosts don't have that problem....
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While their primary color is green, if you notice, the amount of green each ghosts has tends to vary.
Some have green eyes like Penelope Spectra, Ember McClain, The Fright Knight, Johnny 13, Walker and even the titular Danny himself.
Some have green hair like Kitty.
Some have green eyes and hair like Skulker and Youngblood.
Or in the case of The Dragon Ghost, scales.
Some have green skin like The Lunch Lady and Technus.
Hell, some don't even have any green like Vlad Plasmius, Sidney Poindexter and The Box Ghost.
Ghosts also have other colors to help balance out of the green.
Skulker for example is primarily made up of gray and black, with a little bit of blue and the aforementioned green.
Another thing that makes the green works is that it's shown to be part of the ghosts' physiology.
While you could argue that this applies to the sinners as well, since they have red in their eyes and hair, but look at these background characters.
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There's hardly any red on them.
So this only really applies to the main ones.
(And also yes, just like everyone else, I do agree these guys have far better designs than the main cast).
Body Types:
If you know Viv, you'd know that one of her biggest criticism is her lack of body diversity.
Her characters are infamous for being INSANELY skinny.
Sure you'll get some characters like Adam, Verosika Mayday and Vortex, but they're the expectations.
Actually now I think about it, I think Helluva Boss has more diversity in body types present.
Most of the secondary characters and even I.M.P. themselves have differing body types from each other.
But the ghosts....
Actually, scratch that....
EVERYONE in Danny Phantom have unique and differing body types from each other.
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The Danny Phantom characters would definitely pass The Silhouette Test.
The Hazbin characters would barely pass.
Outfits:
A character's outfit can really go a long way.
As it can tell you what a character is like by just looking at them.
Each of the main ghosts get this down right.
Even if you haven't watched Danny Phantom, one glance at each of these guys have already tell you what their deal is.
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Skulker is a high-tech hunter.
Sidney Poindexter is a nerd.
Ember is a rockstar.
Johnny is a biker.
Technus is a technological genius.
Desiree is a genie.
Walker is a prison warden.
And The Box Ghost is a total loser.
But if someone who hadn't watched Hazbin Hotel looked at the characters, I'd highly doubt they would be able to get a read on what their deal is.
Maybe except for Charlie and Husk.
There's also the fact that a good chunk of the main cast causally wear formal attire.
Which doesn't make them stand out from each other that much.
Some of the ghosts' attire also give hints to when they lived/died.
Desiree lived during The Ottoman Empire.
The Dragon Ghost lived during The Middle Ages.
The Lunch Lady and Sidney lived during the 1950s.
Johnny and Kitty lived during the 1970s.
And Ember lived during the late-1990s/early-2000s.
The sinners unfortunately lack that.
They don't really have anything that would hint or allude when and where they lived or died.
Physical Traits, Powers and Biology:
One small but strong detail that really makes and breaks the ghosts and sinners are their physical appearances.
While this does get a little muddled for Danny Phantom come Season 2, there is a pretty solid explanation for it.
Throughout Season 1, the major ghosts we're introduced to were either humanoid or animalistic in their physical appearances.
This was a small but subtle detail to imply that the ghosts were, well, the spirits of humans and animals that were once among the living.
However, everything changed with the introduction of Clockwork, the master of all time.
This was quite strange, since he was a ghost.
This only got stranger with the introductions of ghosts like Frostbite and Undergrowth, who despite being ghosts, were notably more monstrous than the ones introduced in Season 1.
However, I think having ghosts there are just monsters or Eldritch-like entities is actually pretty cool.
It really helps makes The Ghost Zone feel like it's own universe and not have it completely be connected to Earth.
Plus, this was actually kinda intended from the beginning.
In the pitch bible for Danny Phantom, The Ghost Zone (originally called The Unreal and eventually Ghost World) was not only suppose to be an afterlife, but also a realm of fantasy, being home to monsters, Eldritch beings, and even mythological creatures.
It seems that for Season 3, Butch decided to go back to that concept.
Mostly like to continue avoiding having to state the obvious.
And given that he would go on record years later to say that ALL of the ghosts of The Ghost Zone were just monsters, I can believe that.
The best showcase of this is in the episode, "Boxed-Up Fury".
In that episode, Danny seeks the help of the actual mythical Pandora, who had her legendary box stolen by Box Ghost, who used it so that could FINALLY be taken seriously by everyone.
Along the way, he faces off against a wide array of monsters from Greek mythology.
These included a hydra, a gorgon, a centaur, a minotaur, and a cyclops.
I think the reason why people took a problem with many of the new ghosts was because the show itself never really explained which ghosts were the souls of the dead and which ghosts were just monsters.
As for the sinners, they're explicit said to be a sub-species of demons that were once humans but died and were sent to Hell.
But with that being considered.....would you be able to see that by just looking at them?
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Due to how monstrous and animalistic they look, it's hard to see the sinners as being the living embodiments of once-living humans.
Made even worse with the fact that none of them have any canon backstories to possibly explain their appearances.
Or at least any that have been shown IN THE ACTUAL SHOW.
I know Danny Phantom has a similar problem, but remember, they were being restricted by a creator and a network that were too cowardly to address the damn obvious.
What's Hazbin's excuse?
Hell (heh heh), the sinners could've just easily been regular demons and it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Another thing to note about the ghosts and sinners are their biology.
The ghosts are able to fly, turn invisible, become intangible, immortality, and possess superhuman physicality.
Plus most of them to possess some kind of special ability.
Like Skulker and his ecto-skeleton with a variety of weapons, Desiree and her wish granting, and Johnny 13 and his Shadow that causes bad luck.
The sinners are......kinda lacking in this regard.
They have special abilities (albeit not as flashy or impressive as the ghosts), a few have the ability to transform into larger and stronger forms, and have animalistic tendencies.
And while we're on the topic of biology, we need to address the demon elephant in the room.....
As I just mentioned earlier, the ghosts are immortal, since they're dead.
And with the fact that the sinners are the souls of the dead, you would think they would be immortal too.
But if you've watched the show, then you'd know that isn't the case at all.
Although sinners can't age (dead and all), they can be killed via the use of the angelic weapons.
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Who thought this was a good idea?
Just like Mantis said, this makes no sense!
Plus it's totally redundant with the fact that the sinners are already DEAD!
I know some people are gonna bring up Coco, which had The Final Death.
But there, it made sense.
Those living in The Land of the Dead would fade into oblivion after getting forgotten by everyone in the human world.
But in Hazbin, what's their excuse?!
And don't even get me started on how Sir Pentious dies and ends up going to Heaven.....
Also before we move on, I did wanted to bring up a few cool things about the biology of the ghosts.
In the TV movie, "The Ultimate Enemy", we find out that....
-Although ghosts can't die, they can still age, albeit slower than humans.
-Even though they can't die, ghosts can still be badly injured. As we see with Future Ember (who had her vocal chords destroyed) and Johnny (who became a paraplegic).
-Ghosts can even reproduce, with the reveal of Box Lunch, the daughter of The Lunch Lady and The Box Ghost.
As for the sinners.....
They can't age, but they can still die (once again, makes no sense).
And as far as we know, they can't reproduce.....
Which is for the better because the last thing I need to see is Angel Dust being able to have kids.
Anyway, that's all I have for now.
I wanted to do something special for Halloween.
Let me know what you guys think about this post.
And also, let me know if there's anything I missed, because I feel like I missed something in this post.
But until next time.....
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weepingchronicles · 11 months ago
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yan!azula (atla) getting back reader 🙏🏻 (headcanons, or one shot please!)
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yandere azula x airbender reader (part 2) platonic or romantic tw/cw: yandere, choking, death threats, verbal abuse, possessive behavior a/n: erm guys.. it's getting kinda scary  😰 😰 (part 1)
being with aang and the others was unlike anything you've ever experienced.
when you first met everyone you were scared- but they all welcomed you with open arms. katara emphasized with you, having her mother also die at the hands of the fire nation. sokka tried to flirt with you, which you were oblivious to, until aang and katara told him to knock it off. after that, you became like katara to him, like a younger sibling who'd he protect.
you were so naive to the world, never stepping foot outside of the fire nation before.
when aang had told you his story, how he was in a iceberg for 100 years and was the avatar, but more importantly one of the last airbenders- you could hardly believe it.
the more the gang told you their stories, the clear it became that the fire nation had took away your parents, your culture and your freedom. you knew azula was evil, but you still believed you had no other choice but follow her.
you told aang that you had no airbending ability, you thought you'd be discarded away, just for being useless
but aang did no such thing, just offering a smile and saying he's just glad he has someone from home.
and you did feel at home.
You woke up to shaking, and your eyes immediately lit up. For a minute, you were back in the palace. Azula waking you up so she could sleep beside you. It was when we were in our younger years and Azula would wake you up at odd hours of night, slipping with you under your blanket. You assumed it was because she had nightmares, you did too, but you never dared ask her about it, fearing you'd end up with a scar like Zuko's.
You woke up from your flashbacks and took in to the actual scene in front of you. It's Aang.
"What's wrong?" "It's someone. They're following, come on, we need to get onto Appa."
You all pack your sleeping bags and ride on Appa. It's still the middle of the night, and the cooling wind blowing past your hair is not making your exhaustion any better.
Finally you all spot a place to settle down, it's in a middle of a forest which will be hard for anyone to navigate through
You lay out your tents and sleeping bags again to finally rest. You find yourself somewhat missing Azula, when she would be nice for once and fall asleep beside each other until morning. You push back those thoughts, remembering how she treated you. If she really cared she'd let you go and be happy.
With all these thoughts swirling in your head, you don't notice yourself start falling asleep.
You feel a hand on your mouth causing you to snap your eyes open. There she is, Azula. It's only been a week and she's already found you. Your eyes look to where the rest of the gang were sleeping but instead they're gone!
"Aw, don't look so surprised. You really thought I wouldn't go looking for my favorite pet?" The nickname made you cringe and Azula removes her hand from over your mouth, but both her knees restrain your arms to the ground.
"Where's Aang, Katara and Sokka!?" You spit out, but you instantly regret when you see Azula's sly smirk turn to an expression of jealous rage.
"Really? I could kill you right now but you're more worried about your friends!?" Before you could reply, her hand slapped over your neck, squeezing around your throat. Perfect manicured nails dug into your flesh, practically leaching the breath you had left in your lungs out of you. Azula's eyes leaked of fiery rage, pure fuel and the truth is you've never seen her like this. She's dangerous, more dangerous than ever before but she is not as calculated. You knew that Mai and Ty Lee couldn't defeat the Avatar on their own so she must know that, but instead she came for you.
Still, your heart ached for your friends, the only true ones you've made all your life. You yourself felt a fire deep inside you, not as fiery as Azula's, but it was ignited when you first met Aang.
"Please.. don't hurt them." was all you could manage out before you start turning purple. Azula's face turned shocked, like she couldn't believe you care more about your friends than her. She dropped her claw-like grip on your throat, you let out a gasp of air before rolling to your side and coughing.
While you were coughing, Azula let go of your arms and stood. "(Y/N), they don't truly care for you. At least not like I do, look at what I have done for you! You really think a pesky water tribe girl, a non-bender and a 12 year old Avatar really care for you? Tell me, do you really think the Avatar would save you if you weren't from the Air Nation?"
You were on your side, refusing Azula to see your face. Was she right? It's true that Aang came for me because we are both air but Aang is a good person! He would definitely rescue me even if I were someone else.. right?
You felt Azula's hand cup your cheek and turn your gaze towards her. Her eyes now are half-lidded and the fire was just warmth now.
"(Y/N), please, come home now and we can forget about this. This is silly." She tucked a piece of hair away from your face, which would have been loving but all it made you feel was owned. Like you were a pet, something to leash and expect obedience from. You wanted to show her you were nothing like her, and she did not own you.
Without even thinking you smack her hand away, a surge of strength powering you as you stand up. You moved to shove away Azula but as you did so, a gust of wind flew her back more than 8 feet away from you.
What?
You look down at your hands and back at Azula wobblily getting up, pure shock but also confusion on her face.
You turn around, hearing a familiar girls voice calling you.
"Katara!" You yell, running back to her. "Come on, we have to go! This girl somehow took away my bending." The girl Katara was saying about sounded Ty Lee but you knew you had to get out before Azula fully recovers. You finally made it back with the others and flew away safely on Appa. You look down as fly away, Azula's form getting smaller and smaller by distance. Aang speaks, finally pulling you you of your daze.
"(Y/N), are you okay? How did you manage to fight off Azula?"
"I.. I don't know." The group looks at you with confusion but you're more confused than they are.
You were safe from Azula for now but you knew she'd be back for the Avatar, especially now since he wasn't the only Airbender..
And that's a wrap! Sorry it took so long, I got really busy and I couldn't figure out an ending I liked. Comment or request whether you'd like reader to fully escape Azula or not, or something completely different!
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lou-struck · 5 months ago
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Cancellation Comfort Part 2
Featuring: Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belpheghor 
Part 1 HERE
Part 3 to come
~ One of the things I hate the most in this world is when the same person repeatedly makes plans with me and then flakes on me the day of. One of my primary Love Languages is Quality time, so it really stings to get all ready and excited to go somewhere only to get the call an hour later to cancel. 
~ This is how the Obey Me Boys would treat you after you were flaked on. 
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Satan ~
A large log crackles under the heat of the fireplace as Satan eagerly flips through the pages of the latest novel he has been devouring when he notices you scampering around the room collecting your things. 
He recalls telling him earlier that you are going to the Carnival with your new Witch friend and are so excited to get to know her better. As adorable as your excitement is, he has a bad feeling in his gut, he knows this witch well and she is a notorious flake.
But as he watches you eagerly search for your wallet, he can’t bring himself to warn you. The last thing he wants to do is put a damper on your good time so he keeps his mouth shut and hopes that this new friend of yours has changed.
Just as he reaches the last few chapters of his book, he notices that you are still waiting in the other room to be picked up.
Lowering his novel, he focuses all his attention on you as you try and fail to get ahold of them, getting sent straight to voicemail every time.
Are they just flat out ignoring you?
His wrath comes alive and it takes everything in him to not tear his book into two. His hands are shaking as he places a bookmark between the crisp pages and he slams it shut. The loud noise captures your attention and you look up at him with guilt on your features.
It’s almost as if you think that it is your fault your friend decided to cancel on you. 
His heart feels so tender he cannot be angry at all. His arms wrap around you as he  softly pets your hair, in the same manner he does to the cats at the animal shelter he volunteers at.
“They aren't worth it Mc,” he murmurs, “Forget about them and you and I will go and have our own fun.” 
He may not be used to the whole ‘comforting humans’ thing but he can tell from the thin smile that appears on your lips that he may be starting off on the right foot.
Asmodeus ~
 He had helped you get ready to go to Bar Trivia with a witchy friend of yours who apparently goes every week. You just looked so cute he wanted to keep you all to himself but he understood the importance of getting to spend some time with others.
You left him earlier tonight with a kiss on the cheek and the eager promise that you  would tell him any juicy gossip when you got home. 
The Avatar of Lust could hardly contain his excitement so he took his energy over to the Fall in hopes of getting equally as interesting tea to share with you at the end of the night.
But he hadn’t even made it through the front doors when he notices someone familiar standing in line.
His peach colored eyes narrow as he recognizes your friend standing in line with several other witches and lesser demons he couldn't care to remember the names of without you.
He pulls out his DDD and checks your location (because obviously you share them with eachother) and sees that you are still at the Bar you were supposed to meet them at.
It breaks his heart when he sees your little sheep icon exit the bar and slowly walk back toward the HOL
Although he is not one for Cardio, Asmo turns and starts to run towards the little blinking icon. Heels be damned. He moves through the streets like a comet until he sees You, still clad in his jacket walking home at a snail's pace. Quietly sobbing into the sleeve.
The sound breaks is heart and he calls your name 
You turn at the noise, and he sees that there is more than just puffy eyes and runny makeup on your face.
He sees embarrassment.
He wastes no time scooping your into his arms and putting his manicure to work scratching your back. “Oh Hon… I’m sorry.” he frowns into your neck. 
You sniffle and tell him everything about how the group had planned to go clubbing instead and forgot to tell you. You look so dejected and mention that you never should’ve left the HOL tonight. 
“Mc, you look so cute.” he smiles tilting your chin up so you meet his eyes. “It would be a waste to have you go home and sulk after all my hard work. How about this? I’ll take you out on a special little date and by the time I'm done you wont even remember those Witches names.”
He can tell from the look in your eye that you are more than happy to accept his invitation.
Beelzebub~
Today is the day, the snack subscription box he ordered from the human world has finally arrived. He is nearly giddy as he rips open the massive box and dumps its contents on his bed. And as he looks over the mountain of treats and sweets, he feels as if he is looking over it like they are the spoils of war. 
But instead of digging in like normal he decides to call for you, after all, you are from the human world and maybe you would want to eat some of these snacks with him. 
He pokes his head out the door, ready to call out to you, but you pass right by his doorway all dressed up. The first thing he notices is that you look good. 
Really good…
So good that for a moment he does not feel hungry at all.,,
“Oh Mc, you look really nice today.” he says with a bright smile. “Are you going somewhere?”
He notices the way his little compliment makes you grin as you stop and look up to him. Telling him that are about to get picked up for a meeting with one of the demons you are supposed to be working with for a RAD event at a new restaurant to go over some details.
Seeing you look so happy makes his heart feel full. But the cherry on top is that you offered to bring him back a togo order from the restaurant when you are done.
Needless to say, you left Beel feeling over the moon as he returns to oogaling his pile of exotic snacks. He even sets aside one package of one of your favorite candies and places it into an enchanted lock box so he doesn't end up eating it before you get home.
~
It’s been a few hours since he ate his snack stash and Beel is once again hungry. His stomach rumbles and he remembers that you are bringing home that togo order for him. Pulling out his DDD, he pulls up your location to see that your little sheep icon is at the House of Lamination. He walks down to the kitchen and finds you sitting up at the countertop, still in your outfit from earlier. He opens his mouth to ask you about the togo box but catches a glimpse of the frown you are now wearing.
He doesn't feel like eating any more.
How can he when you look so sad. 
Just then you notice that you are being watched and turn to see the Avatar of Gluttony. You are quick to apologize for not bringing any food home. But explain that you never actually left the house tonight. Apparently the demon you were supposed to be meeting kept you meeting for about two hours and then decided to cancel on you.
Hearing this, Beel just stands rooted to the floor in confused disbelief as he tries to wonder why anyone would want to cancel plans with you.
A small sound pulls him from his pondering and you shyly cover your gowling stomach and admit that you were so excited for dinner you didn't want to spoil your appetite. 
“You havent eaten?” he says softly. His brow furrows as he steps toward you and gently helps you off of the little bar stool you had been perched upon. “Lets go out and get something to eat.”
“Okay okay, but wait for just a sec Beel,” you say with a smile, clearly cheering up a bit. “I just need to put my shoes back on.” 
Belphegor~
The Avatar of Sloth is absolutely exhausted from his walk to the mailbox and is searching the HOL for the perfect spot to rest his eyes. His tired legs carry him clumsily to the living room where he spots you on the couch. 
His perfect resting spot.
Through his droopy lids, he notices that you are not dressed for bed, you look like you are about to go out somewhere. When he asks why you look so good, you laugh and say that you are going to a special concert tonight with one of your new friends. 
Apparently their boyfriend is in a new band in the Devildom’s underground. and you were invited to go backstage with her and watch them play and you are super excited to go. Your eye shine with a light of eagerness as you speak that makes belphie feel all warm inside. 
“That sounds like fun,” he yawns settling down on the couch next to you, his head finds its rightful spot on your lap. “When are you leaving?”
“About an hour, I just had to get ready a bit earlier since I needed to drink an anti siren song potion so I could listen to the band safely.” you say, your fingers already playing with the sleepy demon's hair. 
Your friend is dating a rocker siren guy? Why does that sound so familiar? Belphie tries to remember, but he is just so comfortable laying on your lap, he finds himself drifting off. 
~ by the time he wakes up, he realizes that he is still asleep on your lap. Immediately, his eyes open an alarm and he realizes that you are also asleep. 
You were so excited about going to your friend's concert that he would feel terrible if you missed it because of him. He is about to wake you up when he sees the screen of your DDD screen light up with a text from the demon you were gonna meet. 
Belphie would never call himself a snoop, but when he reads the name of the demon you were supposed to meet up with, everything clicks into place. 
He’s never liked that demon… Something about her just screams gatekeep.
He unlocks your device and opens the message. It immediately opens up to your text exchange with your ‘friend’ who basically uninvites you from the concert tonight since a human like you would never be able to appreciate such deep music. 
Belphie is furious to say the least, and even in the dim living room lighting he can see the drying tear streaks on your sleeping face. 
With a sigh he sets down the device and moves you into a more comfortable position on the couch. 
Revenge can wait, the first thing he needs to do is comfort his human and make sure that you know just how loved and appreciated you are.
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Tagging: @pixelcafe-network
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creampuffqueen · 7 months ago
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Cover Story
Yangvik Week day 1 - fake dating
Summary: At a party in the Earth Kingdom, Yangchen and Kavik are on a mission. When things don't go to plan, they have to think quick to keep their cover.
Word count: 4248
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“Traveling alongside the Avatar - what an honor!” The older Earth Kingdom nobleman smiles over his glass of rice wine. Kavik forces a smile in return, swirling the liquid in his own glass to obscure just how little he’s drank. This must be the third time he’s heard the same sentence in the last fifteen minutes. 
“Certainly. I enjoy the work.” The rehearsed words fall easily off his tongue, their smooth and gilded façade right at home inside the splendor of the royal ballroom of Ba Sing Se. “I am grateful to be a trusted companion of Avatar Yangchen.”
He goes to take a tiny sip of his drink, hopeful to avoid as much small talk as possible, but finds the wine frozen solid in its glass. Speak of the darkness. 
A subtle motion with his hand is all it takes to unfreeze his drink, allowing him to actually take a sip - though with the delay he knows it now looks like he just drained the glass. Before the nobleman in front of him can comment, though, his eyes are drawn to something behind Kavik’s back. 
Avatar Yangchen steps into place beside Kavik with gentle, measured steps. In the disgusting display of wealth here in the palace, she’s a yellow-and-orange breath of fresh air, both literally and figuratively. Kavik and the others had to dress up to attend this party. Yangchen, being an Air Nomad with no possessions to her name, did not.   
The nobleman bows deeply before her. “Avatar Yangchen, it is a great honor to see you here in the Earth Kingdom.”
Yangchen bows to him in turn; a smaller motion, but no less lacking in respect. “Please, Lord Bozhou, the pleasure is all mine. I do hope you don’t mind, but I must steal my companion away for a moment. We have something to discuss with Lady Gyeshe.”
Lord Bozhou (how Yangchen can remember all these names, Kavik will never know) nods quickly in response. “Of course, Avatar, please. I will miss his invigorating tales, but you must take care of business.”
“Thank you, Lord Bozhou,” Yangchen replies, hooking one of Kavik’s arms with her own. She pivots on her heel and drags him away. To the average onlooker, her pace looks easy and relaxed, but Kavik can sense the tension in her grip and in the way she steps. 
“He’s not going to miss me,” Kavik mutters quietly, trying to ease her with a bit of humor, “I was positively boring to talk to. And so was he, for that matter. Thanks for the save.”
“I didn’t come and get you just to get your sorry butt out of a conversation,” Yangchen whispers, in that eerie way of hers where her mouth hardly moves. “I just got the signal from Jujinta. We need to move quickly, but act as natural as possible.”
Kavik assumed about as much. If it were up to her, she’d revel in his small-talking misery all night. But they aren’t at the royal palace just to brush elbows with nobility. They have a job to take care of.
“You remember the plan?” Yangchen asks from the corner of her mouth as she smiles and nods at a group of Earth Sages they pass. 
Kavik dips his head in acknowledgement at the delegation from Omashu on the other side of the ballroom. “I do. I’ll wait for three and a half minutes exactly, counting from when the door closes.”
Yangchen doesn’t respond verbally, only squeezing his elbow where their arms are linked. The motion pulls them closer than before. Kavik tries not to notice. 
But as they stop to chat with Lady Gyeshe for a few moments, completing their cover story, he can’t help but notice that Yangchen still stays close, letting their shoulders brush together where they stand. 
She’s done nothing different to her appearance tonight. Her robes are the same as always. Her prayer beads lay in the same spot against her chest. Her hair is in its usual braid, swinging low across her back. And yet, Kavik can’t keep his eyes off her. In this room full of beautiful things, she’s still the most captivating.
“Don’t you agree, Kavik?”
Kavik barely manages to hold back a noise of confusion - something he’s had to train hard to achieve. With only a blink to refocus his thoughts, he manages to pull on his fake smile and nod. “Yes, of course I do.”
Yangchen pats his hand softly, one eyebrow raising a fraction of an inch. Nothing gets past her; she clearly knows he wasn’t listening in the slightest. Still, she plays it off with ease, excusing them once again from the conversation and leading Kavik towards the door of the ballroom, arms still linked. 
“Focus, please,” She admonishes as they exit, “We won’t get another chance as good as this one. If I don’t get Feishan some answers he’s going to get antsy, and we both know how that will end.”
“Sorry, I got distracted. It won’t happen again.”
“Distracted by what?” Yangchen asks lightly as they make their way down the grandiose hallway, “You were only looking at me.”
Heat rises in Kavik’s cheeks. He doesn’t answer. 
Thankfully, they arrive at their destination before Yangchen gets a mind to press for a response. The palace of Ba Sing Se is fancy enough that they have designated rooms just for freshening up; one for men and one for women. Nobles have been using the rooms all evening, keeping their looks fresh for a whole night of royal partying. Now it’s Yangchen’s turn.
“I’ll only be a moment,” Yangchen promises aloud, for the benefit of the guard outside the door and the noblewomen already leaving. 
“Please hurry,” Kavik urges in a similar tone, “I want to hear the end of Lord Bozhou’s story.”
Yangchen gives an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “I’ll be as quick as I can. It won’t kill you to stand outside for a minute or two.”
She steps away, and Kavik feels the absence of her at his side like a gaping hole. He’s so focused on her form retreating through the door that he nearly forgets to start counting, and he clenches his fist in frustration at himself. Keep your head on straight, you fool.
It isn’t difficult to feign boredom as he waits. Time passes so much slower when you’re counting each second. When he gets to three minutes he leans against the wall with a heavy sigh and begins to tap his foot. At three minutes and thirty seconds exactly, he pushes off the wall and heads back the way they came, ignoring the judgemental glare of the nearby guard. He can already imagine the gossip that will come from this. Some companion! Abandoning the Avatar at a royal function?!
Instead of heading back into the main ballroom, Kavik passes the grand doorway and keeps heading straight. He passes a few more rooms before he hangs a left, keeping his expression neutral, showing any onlookers only what he wants them to see: a man who knows where he’s going. A man who’s supposed to be there. Confidence is half the battle in infiltration. Act like you’re meant to be there and nobody will question you. 
The amount of royalty, nobility, and generally important people gathered in the ballroom means that the majority of King Feishan’s guards are close to that area. However, the young Earth King is a paranoid man, keeping guards posted all throughout the palace, just in case. But as Kavik makes his way to the target room, he doesn’t encounter a single one. Jujinta’s part has gone off without a hitch. 
Counting doors carefully to ensure he’s in the right place, Kavik at last stops walking, drawing his hand across the thick wooden door that should belong to the office of Minister Xahu.
That is, if he’s correct. He really hopes he’s correct. 
The door is locked, of course. Not an issue, though. A small pouch at his hip, carefully concealed beneath his clothes, contains enough water for him to freeze two long, thin spikes of ice to use as lockpicks. Kavik unlocks the door easily and slips inside the office, returning the water to its container and shutting the door behind him.
Barely a minute later, two small taps sound through the wooden panel, announcing Yangchen’s presence before she lets herself in. She conjures a flame to her open palm, illuminating the small office room around them, casting their shadows on the wall. 
She doesn’t bother with a greeting. “We need to hurry. Juji can only keep the guards distracted for so long without raising a proper alarm. I’ll take the walls in case the minister used earthbending to conceal anything. You take the desk and the bookshelves. Don’t move anything unless you’re sure you can put it back exactly the way it was.”
“I’m not an amateur,” Kavik reminds her, making his way to the desk. 
Yangchen uses her free hand to start tracing along the walls, feeling with her earthbending for any hidden pockets or seals. “I know that. I mean, this ought to feel natural to you at this point. We basically met in a scenario exactly like this one.”
She punctuates her last sentence by winking at him over her shoulder. Kavik refuses to react, even as he feels his cheeks begin to redden. His fumbling hands very nearly knock over a small carved badgermole statue. 
Kavik makes his way along the ornate desk, feeling with one palm for disguised seals or latches and using his other hand to tap a rhythmic pattern on the wood, listening carefully for any area that sounds hollow where it shouldn’t be. 
Nothing. Kavik grits his teeth, keeping his frustration in check. He moves on to search inside the many drawers, taking care not to disturb the contents. 
“Any luck?” Yangchen asks softly. She’s finished her check of the walls and is now inspecting the floor. The slide of her shoes across the polished stone floor makes a quiet rasping noise that prickles the hair on the back of his neck.
“Nothing yet. But these drawers are pretty full of papers. He might have tried to hide the records in plain sight.”
“Doubtful.” Yangchen peers over Kavik’s shoulder, glancing over the masses of files stuffed inside the drawer he has opened. This close, he can feel the ghost of her breath at the crook of his neck, feel the tiny puff of air she releases with every measured exhale. She keeps speaking, but Kavik finds it hard to focus on her words.
“Minister Xahu is the linchpin of this entire thing. He has spirits know how many people expecting their due, and he’s managed to keep it concealed from the Earth King for this long. Those records would have to be detailed, every copper piece accounted for. And he wouldn’t risk another minister or one of the aids accidentally stumbling upon them. They have to be hidden somewhere in this room.”
Somehow, Kavik manages to find his wits in order to give a proper answer. “You’re probably right. Let’s keep looking.” Yangchen pulls away from his shoulder and it takes everything in him not to utterly deflate in disappointment. 
With the desk proving a failure, Kavik heads to the bookshelves while Yangchen makes another pass around the walls. He lets himself fall into his usual rhythm, one developed years ago during his time as an errand runner in Bin-Er. Move quick. Keep your eyes open. Leave no trace.
Though, his jobs in Bin-Er rarely had such high stakes.
Almost six months ago, King Feishan had contacted Yangchen to report a discrepancy in the amount of gold he was receiving from the shang cities. He’d demanded the Avatar’s presence to prove his claims, so Yangchen and Kavik begrudgingly made the journey to Ba Sing Se. The first of many, as it turned out.
Feishan had the two of them count every last piece of gold he received in his latest payment and compare it to the reports they’d sent alongside it. A non-insignificant portion was missing. The king was furious. 
Now, they’ve nearly cracked the conspiracy. One of the king’s own economic ministers, a man named Xahu, has been allowing the shangs to siphon off city funds for themselves - and making his own pocket significantly heavier in the process. He demands a portion from each shang, as payment for keeping their theft off the records.
However, in order to keep track of exactly how much money is going where, Minister Xahu is certain to have his own set of highly detailed records. It isn’t easy to fool both the Earth King and the Avatar, and if the mission goes as planned, the minister will soon be seeing why.
Unfortunately, in order to justice to be enacted, the mission has to be a success - and the minister must be none the wiser that record of his activity has gone missing. At least, not until he’s put to trial.
Kavik is beginning to lose hope. Yangchen is on her third sweep of the office walls, and the flame in her palm is beginning to stutter. Not with exhaustion, but with frustration. Kavik himself has had even less success. Nothing in the desk, nothing in the bookshelf. The minister keeps his office sparsely decorated. They’re running out of things to search.
Yangchen flicks her wrist and the flame in her palm pulses bright, letting Kavik see the thin line of her lips, the deep furrow of her brow as she decides what they should do next. The glow from the fire makes her gray eyes look like molten pools of silver. For a moment, Kavik nearly forgets where he is.
“The plant. We haven’t searched the plant yet.” Yangchen brushes past him, making a beeline towards the towering fern in the corner by the door. Kavik spins on his heel and follows her, ready to assist in whatever way she needs.
With a swift motion, Yangchen grabs the packed soil in the ceramic pot and lifts, heaving the chunk of earth into the air. Instantly Kavik can see they’ve found their spot. A deep indentation is molded into the bottom of the dirt, roots growing around a distinctly block-shaped empty space. Kavik reaches into the pot and pulls out a dirt-covered wooden box.
Yangchen replaces the plant and the pair get to work, silently in sync. Kavik forms his ice-picks once more to unlock the box, and it opens easily under his practiced touch. The minister clearly thought he hid his secrets well enough that he only needed one lock.
The inside of the box is packed full with papers, an informant’s wildest dream. Kavik takes the top half and Yangchen the bottom, and together they sift through the papers at a breakneck pace, taking only the papers with the most damning evidence. Large sums, locations, actual names. Xahu has tried to play the game, but the older minister clearly knows very little about properly guarding secrets. Even the most amateur broker in Bin-Er knows not to use anything or anyone’s true name unless absolutely necessary. Kavik feels a bit like punching the wall. This is the man that robbed the Earth King right under their noses?
In only a few minutes, they’ve skimmed through the whole stack of records. Yangchen takes their evidence and tucks it into her robes, hiding the bulk of paper beneath the very forgiving outline of her Air Nomad clothing. Kavik puts the rest of the paper back into the box and relocks it. Yangchen lifts the plant again to let him replace the box into its hiding spot, cleans up the spilled dirt, and -
“We got it!”
Her arms are around his shoulders before he even realizes it, flinging herself at him with a wide grin, trusting he’ll catch her. Kavik’s hands land at her waist, holding her close for the brief moment of her hug. A triumphant smile of his own tugs at the corner of his mouth, the euphoric feeling of a job well done warming his chest. 
Still smiling, Yangchen reaches up a hand to tousle his hair fondly, making Kavik scrunch his nose in mock annoyance, even as his grin remains firmly affixed to his face. “Hey, it took me forever to get my hair to look this nice!”
Yangchen just ruffles his hair again, rolling her eyes. “I like it better this way.” 
Any retort Kavik had planned dies on his lips, his tongue suddenly refusing to make words as heat blooms in his cheeks. He watches, almost in slow motion, as Yangchen’s gaze veers away from his face. His ears - she must be looking at his ears, they’re probably bright red now and -
A palm slaps over his mouth. “Quiet! There’s someone outside.”
Kavik could kick himself. We just wasted so much time!
Yangchen steps out of his arms, nearly flattening herself against the door as she presses her ear to it. Kavik follows suit, straining to listen through the thick wood.
Sure enough, muffled voices can be heard, growing louder as the people advance down the hallway.
“Ready to get back to the party?” The first voice Kavik doesn’t recognize, but the accent is Upper Ring; the person must be nobility or close to it. Heavy footfalls nearly obscure the reply of the second person, but Kavik focuses with everything he has and manages to catch the second half of it.
“ - a moment, I need to check something in my office while we’re down here. Don’t wait, I won’t be long.”
Kavik’s stomach falls what feels like the height of the Northern Air Temple. The voice is unmistakable; he’s sat through enough miserable meetings with the man.
Minister Xahu is coming to check his office. The office where he and Yangchen currently are, stealing records that will get him sent to prison if discovered. 
Yangchen turns to face him with a blank stare. She doesn’t have a plan for this. They assumed the minister would stay in the ballroom all night. He’d have no reason to travel this far into the palace, not with all the food, drink, and dancing he could want in one place. 
Evidently, they were wrong. There’s no time to waste.
Kavik grabs the heavy chair from the minister’s desk and braces it beneath the door handle. That should buy them a bit of time as the minister struggles to push open the door. “Yangchen, is there any way you can earthbend us out of here?”
“Not without destroying the palace’s structural integrity,” She hisses in reply, beginning to pace. “And the walls aren’t thick enough for me to seal us inside, either.”
The office is sparse. There’s nowhere to hide. What excuse could they possibly give that would hold up their cover? Kavik’s mouth goes dry at the footsteps outside grow closer.
“Hang on, I’ve got an idea.” Yangchen grabs Kavik by both hands and drags him over to the desk. “You’re not going to like it. But trust me on this.”
“I think we’re a bit past caring about how I feel about a plan; tell me what it is.”
“You need to kiss me.”
“What?!”
Did he drink too much back in the ballroom? Did that plant have some kind of hallucinogen in its leaves? Did Yangchen actually just ask him to kiss her -
The door handle rattles, startling both of them. Yangchen’s head whips back and forth between him and the door. “Come on, it’s the only kind of cover that will make any sense!”
“But - I - what?”
The door handle rattles again. The chair budges a fraction of an inch. They’re running out of time. 
“Oh for spirits’ sake, I’ll do it then.”
Yangchen grabs both sides of his face and crashes their mouths together into the best kiss Kavik has ever had. 
Her lips are soft and warm and plush, pliable as they press into his, one hand coming up to tangle into his hair. Kavik stops breathing for half a second before instinct takes over and he’s kissing her back, imagining, if only for a moment, that any of this is real. Yangchen tugs at his hair and Kavik chokes on a gasp. She pulls him closer; his senses are overwhelmed by her. The scent of lemon on her hair, the heat of her body through her robes. He’s never been close to her like this before. He pushes her against the desk as the door finally swings open. 
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Kavik is loathe to pull away, but he does anyway, wondering what they must look like from the minister’s perspective. Blushing faces, wandering hands, messy hair - every bit the young, overeager couple caught in the act. 
“Oh! M-Minister Xahu!” Yangchen stumbles over her words, face flushed bright red. “What are you doing here?”
Kavik can tell the exact moment the minister realizes who he’s just stumbled upon. His green eyes nearly bulge out of his head and his eyebrows almost disappear into his hairline - impressive, considering how far its receded. 
“Avatar Yangchen! My… apologies for the interruption.” The man’s jaw twitches, clearly unsure of how to proceed. A typical couple would be reprimanded and punished for trespassing in such a high level area. But this isn’t a typical couple. This is the Avatar and her companion.
Finally, the minister seems to have decided to treat Yangchen as the Avatar. He bows deeply before them, the couple still tangled together on his desk, and does his best to sound polite when he next speaks. 
“Well, Avatar, this happens to be my office.”
Yangchen gives a surprised little gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. It’s one of the fakest sounds Kavik has ever heard her make. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t think - I mean, I didn’t realize this office would be needed this evening. You see, I just needed a bit of time away from the party and I asked Master Kavik to accompany me -”
“I understand perfectly,” Minister Xahu interrupts through gritted teeth. Kavik wonders just how much gossip is going to come from this. How long before news of this reaches the shang cities?
“Well, we should leave you in peace, Minister,” Yangchen says, pushing out of Kavik’s embrace and making a beeline for the door. She smooths her robes out as she walks, a flustered young woman trying to appear respectable - and not at all the spymaster checking to ensure the documents are still secured in her pocket. She gestures for Kavik to follow and he does as quickly as possible, eager to escape the fiery glare of the minister. 
Yangchen bows to him in the doorway, peering up at him with imploring eyes. “I trust this… misunderstanding will not be mentioned to others here at the palace?”
“Certainly, Avatar; you have my word.” Kavik bites his lip to hold back a scoff of disbelief.
“Well, in that case, we must be going. Have a wonderful evening!” Yangchen grabs Kavik’s elbow and leads him away, a strange repetition of the way they walked to the office the first time. 
It’s only after they turn the corner that both benders relax, Yangchen letting out an audible sigh of relief. “Good. He bought it.”
“Yeah. Quick thinking.”
She knocks their shoulders together, a small smile curling at the edges of her lips. “You did well, too. Good job making it look so real.”
Kavik can’t meet her eyes. His heart is still pounding too hard. “It was whatever. No problem.”
Yangchen pats at her outer robe again, making sure she still has the papers. “Now we can bring these to King Feishan, as well as the other shangs. We can finally put an end to this nonsense.” 
She keeps talking, but Kavik isn’t listening, not anymore. His focus is honed in on her lips, on the curve of her smile, on the flick of her tongue as she forms her words. He kissed that smile a few minutes ago. He kissed her because she asked him to, and he wants to etch the memory of it into his brain. 
He doesn’t know if he’ll get to kiss her again. Yangchen is clearly unaffected by it; just another matter of business for her. Kavik wonders if it’s stupid of him to hope she’ll ask him to kiss her again, even just for a cover story. 
“Hey, are you alright?”
Kavik jolts at the question. “Hm?”
“You’re not listening. There’s something on your mind. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he promises, willing himself to believe it. If he believes it, she won’t be able to tell that he’s lying. “I’m just still in shock we pulled that off, even with the hitch in the plan. Things rarely go that smoothly for us.”
Yangchen snorts in agreement, and Kavik’s heart flutters at the sound. “You can say that again. Come on, we’ve been away from the ballroom for a while. I’m sure we’ve been missed.”
They still walk with arms linked, even though the rules of propriety don’t require it at this point. It’s like neither can bear to let go. They step over the threshold of the ballroom as one, back into the gilded room of beautiful lies. Yangchen leans over to murmur something into his ear.
“You know,” She breathes from the edge of her mouth, a whisper of a whisper, “You’re not a bad kisser, Kavik.”
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runningfrom2am · 2 years ago
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kinda famous - d.s
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summary: after your debut album charts in the top 100, you somehow get invited to the obx3 premiere. you went there to make connections- but maybe not the exact kind you ended up leaving with.
wc: 2.6k
tags/warnings: no warnings! just a meet-cute :), drew x musician!reader
requests
nav/masterlists
February 16th, 2023
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Not a day went by this past year where you didn't consider yourself incredibly lucky. Your debut album saw some medial success, landing you in the Spotify top one hundred with the help of a TikTok trend to some of the lyrics from your first single. You could hardly believe it was real, sometimes. What always helped, however, is having connections.
Your best friend was a makeup artist to the stars. Working on movies like Avatar and even a few marvel films, but most notably and most recently, she's been working with Madelyn Cline. They've taken a liking to each other, having been in touch about every event, shoot, and movie she's been working on in hopes of having her new friend styling her look for the occasion. Luckily for you, your best friend is your number one fan- and hardly ever does she have a client who isn't forced to sit through your album while she's blending out the makeup on their faces or curling their hair.
Madelyn, apparently, had taken a liking to it. In the words of your best friend, "She was just gushing over it! She requests your music every time she's in my chair. I swear." So that, is how you ended up at the OBX3 premiere, shaking hands with one of the most beautiful actresses of your generation while she complimented both your dress and your music.
"I am seriously such a big fan. B/F/N put me on and I am literally obsessed." Madelyn smiles, dropping your hand.
"Oh my god, you're such a sweetheart- stop." You laugh, waving her off.
She smiles and leans in, resting her hand on your shoulder as she whispers in your ear. "Between us, I can't confirm anything just yet, but I'm working on getting you a soundtrack offer for season four."
You gasp, your hands flying up to cover your mouth to hide your shock. "No- you're literally joking!"
The blonde smiles and shakes her head, giggling and clapping her hands together excitedly. "We all listen to you on set- it's growing on the producers I think."
"Oh my god- Obviously I am so down! Allegedly, of course." You smile, winking at her.
"Yes, of course, Allegedly." She laughs, matching your wink. "I have to run, but we'll jump in for some photos together on the carpet, yeah?" Madelyn grins, giving you a quick hug and brushing past you in the direction of the curtain where everyone lines up for photos.
Feeling absolutely giddy, you're quick to lift your dress and shuffle over to the makeup room, where B/F/N was still working with some other clients doing some touch ups. "Oh my god!" You smile as you approach her chair, where she's just wiping up. You cringe internally at the sound of your music playing over her desk speaker, hearing the way you swore that the man you wrote this song about was the love of your life, and you'd be a fool to let him go. It wasn't long after the release that you ended up having to, discovering he was cheating on you with a girl from his hometown.
"Y/N! Hey girl! Did you get to talk to Mads?" She asks, looking back at you over her shoulder.
"Yes! And I have some serious tea to tell you later. Well- not serious, but good! It's definitely tea." You explain vaguely, knowing she'll understand.
"Yay! Okay, we'll debrief after." She nods. "Did you talk to anyone else?"
You instantly shake your head as she turns to face you. "God, no, I'm petrified." She doesn't answer, holding her finger up in your face and digging through her kit and pulling out a brush.
"Look up." She says, pointing to the ceiling and you oblige as she touches up the shadow under your eyes and brushes away some flaked mascara while she talks. "You need to. You've got to make some more connections- I can't carry you forever." She teases, placing the brush back in her belt when she's done. "They're a lovely cast, trust me."
You nod a little, taking a deep breath. "I just like... don't know what to do. Do I just walk around and talk to people?"
"That's the beauty of it! You're already doing it. Just show that stunning face of yours to the cameras with this beautiful dress, smile, make small talk, and opportunity will fall into your lap. I know you- everyone will love you regardless." She muses, quickly adjusting the waistline of your dress. "And report back to me- of course."
"You're not gonna come? I want some pictures with you. The world needs to see the artist behind this face." You grin, gesturing to your face of makeup and wiggling your eyebrows.
"Yes, of course." She giggles, smacking your shoulder playfully. "I'll change and come find you."
You smile and clap your hands together, bouncing in your heels. "Let's go together! I think I have to because I'm basically your plus one."
"No- absolutely not." She dismisses you quickly, closing up part of her kit and doing some quick organization. "You, my dearest Y/N, need to prove your independence in the industry. Just because you put out your Lover Era album doesn't mean you can't stand proudly on your own after the breakup. Your energy will draw all the cute boys to you. I just know it." She jokes at the end, but you know she's serious about her sentiment.
Your breakup wasn't fresh anymore- she was right. It didn't hurt and keep you up all night over heartache that you had assumed would never get better. You're thriving now, you feel like yourself again. "That's not why I'm here and you know that." You giggle.
"Of course not... It just would be a nice bonus." She shrugs. "Now shoo! You're distracting me. I'll see you in a few." She pushes you away, winking at you before returning to her cleanup duties.
You take a few breathes as you turn around, making a conscious effort to smile as you walk over to the curtain where crew is organizing people and sending them out onto the carpet.
Luckily, you spot the bar not far away, and quickly make your way over to grab a quick glass of wine before you have to step out. You try to sip on it casually, not wanting to draw attention to yourself, but craving the buzz and freedom that comes with being a little tipsy around strangers.
"You're Y/N L/N, right?" Someone approaches you, and you quickly turn to the source of the voice.
"Yes, that's me." You smile, securing your glass in one hand before holding out your hand to shake. The woman takes it, smiling politely as she shakes it.
"Lovely. We're ready for you whenever, just go check in with that lovely gentleman by the curtain and you're free to walk when you're ready." The woman smiles, quickly taking off to go deal with more crew business.
You lean back against the bar, nursing your drink still and glancing in the direction of the dressing rooms and hoping your best friend would walk out in time to join you. You give it another minute as you finish your drink, feeling adequately warmed by the alcohol in your system before approaching the curtain.
"Hey! Nice to meet you, I'm Y/N L/N." You greet the man with the clip board and he nods, giving you a thumbs up and holding the curtain back for you to step out. You take deep breaths and focus on smiling (and not tripping) as you take the few extra paces behind a wall before you'll be in view of the many cameras you can already see flashing at the cast and their friends standing already in their full view. You hear lots of voices as you walk up, but they somehow get a million times louder as you step into the lights.
This isn't your first red carpet, but it is your first premiere. Besides the backdrop curtain, they have a variety of props from the show, including the Twinkie itself, making you giddy with excitement. You make a mental note to yourself to not leave without a picture of you behind the wheel for your instagram.
"Y/N! Look over here!" You hear a dozen voiced calling your name and you decide your best move is to smile and wave, stopping and placing one hand on your hip and just glancing across the whole crowd of camera men and interviewers behind the small fence. You give it a few moments to capture hopefully enough photos for their portfolios before an interviewer pulls you over to chat with them.
"Y/N! So nice to meet you. You look absolutely stunning!" They grin, shaking your hand and holding the mic up to your lips.
"Hello! And thank you so much! It's lovely to meet you too. What's your name?" You ask, smiling at them and giving a quick wave to the cameras still flashing in your face as they record you with one closer up.
"I'm Noah. I'm with Netflix just documenting everyone here tonight." He grins. "So, we were all excited to hear you would be coming tonight! Are you a fan of the show?"
"Oh my god, I'm a huge fan." You gush, looking around at the other people on the carpet. "I was just so lucky to be invited- I was ecstatic when I got the invitation from Madelyn. So nervous, though. So, so nervous."
"I can't imagine!" He chuckles, agreeing with you. "If it makes you feel any better, we've heard from a few members of the cast that they were looking forward to meeting you."
"That does actually help a lot, thank you." You giggle, a blush covering your cheeks. "You mind telling me who, though? I'd love to know who wants to talk to me and who I should probably not bother." You joke.
"Oh, nobody to avoid here. This is one of the nicest casts I've ever worked with." Noah assures you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. "That being said, the boys seemed extra keen." He winks, making you laugh.
"Oh god, okay, I'll keep that in mind." You go along with it, looking around and seeing the rest of the cast goofing off a little ways away.
"So, I have to ask, Y/N- keep in mind you don't have to answer if you don't want to, about your breakup- how are you doing? Your album is absolutely amazing, you told a beautiful story, but we've all heard about what happened afterwards." He says, and you glance down nervously, trying to maintain your smile as best you can.
"Yeah, totally. Uh-" You pause for a second. Your ex has never been in the public eye- you were highschool sweethearts, which gave your album a sense of purity and authenticity that was almost rare in modern music. With that, however, comes a responsibility to keep him out of public scandal in the fallout of the albums success. "I am doing really well. I believe my ex is as well. Of course he was always a huge inspiration for me, and he always supported me and my dreams, so I know he's still cheering me on, which is a nice feeling." You nod, smiling as Noah drops his arm from around your shoulders, patting your back.
“Well, you’re stronger than I am because I would want him to be punching the air right now.” Noah laughs.
“No! God, no, I’d never want that for him. I wish him all the success in the world, which just means something different for both of-“ You try to explain, when you get bumped from behind and stumble slightly forward. You let out a little squeak and try to turn to look what happened when someone steadies you by your waist.
“Sorry, sweetheart. Didn’t mean to knock you there.” A man chuckles, making sure you’re steady before letting you go. You’re met with blue eyes that reflect the lights and the matching colour of his suit just beautifully, and you quickly recognize him as Rafe- quickly racking your brain for the actors name. Drew- yes. That’s it.
“No! No you’re fine- I was in the way.” You say sheepishly, laughing it off and adjusting your dress again.
“Drew, Welcome back! While I’ve got you both here,” Noah says, holding the microphone up to him as he nods, leaning down a little in anticipation of the question. “Have you listened to Y/N’s album? We were just talking about it.”
Drew nods, smiling and locking eyes with you again briefly. “Yes, of course. It’s both Maddie’s favourites right now, they’ve always got it playing on set. If it wasn’t so good I’d be sick of it.” He chuckles.
“Aw- thank you!” You grin. “Thanks for listening even if it’s against your will.” Your eyes connect again and you feel yourself blushing once more, he just has this aura about him that shows he’s really listening and really cares what you have to say. “Not to plug it here or anything, but we’re almost at ten million streams on spotify so I’m feeling really proud of it, it truly was a passion project for me. Sorry…” You explain, looking back at the interviewer again, trailing off when you realize you’re acting selfishly.
“No, don’t apologize. You worked hard on it- you deserve to talk about it.” Drew cuts in before Noah can speak. “Everyone stream it- you won’t regret it.” He says, pointing to the camera.
“Yes, absolutely.” Noah agrees. “We won’t take up any more of your time, but I’ll let you know we’re all looking forward to your next album already.” He smiles, giving you a quick hug.
“Thank you!” You wave as him and his crew are quick to move onto someone else. You take a deep breath, turning and jumping slightly when you see Drew still standing there, looking down at you as you clasp your hand against your chest. “Oh, gosh. I didn’t know you were still there.” You giggle, quickly adjusting your hair.
“Sorry.” Drew chuckles, holding his hand out to you. “We haven’t properly met. I’m Drew. Or you might know me as Rafe, I guess.”
You smile, taking his hand and shaking it. “Y/N. You might know me as the girl who got cheated on right after releasing an album about how amazing her relationship is.”
This makes him laugh, dropping his head back as he lets go of your hand. “Hey, it’s good to have a sense of humour about it I guess.” He says, locking eyes with you again. His charisma is truly captivating- it’s rare you meet someone in the Hollywood scene who seems to care about anyone other than themselves.
“I’m coping.” You shrug, laughing it off with him.
“Let’s grab a few pictures together, then maybe a drink?” Drew suggests, guiding you back towards where the rest of the cast was taking photos with the beat-up van parked on the carpet. “I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
“Yeah! Yeah- thank you.” You smile, glancing over your shoulder and seeing your best friend stepping out. She quickly waved at you, giving you an excited look and a thumbs up, which you return behind his back.
No doubt the pictures of this moment will embarrass you tomorrow, but at least the debrief with your best friend in the uber home will have a lot of good things to cover.
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taglist: @slut4drudy , @madelynie , @mutual-mendes , @sadfury (i just tagged some mutuals who like my other stuff so if you want to be added or removed lmk!!)
reblogs and feedback are very appreciated as always :)
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survivalove · 1 year ago
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Katara the selfcare queen
Every canon instance or mention (that i can rmr) of Katara indulging in selfcare in the middle of a war because I find it quite amusing yet fascinating.
I may or may not have made a post like this before but I wanted to expand on it.
1. Skincare routine
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In 1x14, The Fortuneteller, Katara reveals she has a special seaweed lotion that she carries with her for soft skin. (Avatar Extras also made a point of saying that it smells…?) She even offers to get Aunt Wu some, as if she has extra. So my question is, who is this plug that she gets her steady supply of seaweed lotion from? 😭
Real-life: Seaweed has been used in skincare for thousands of years, first recorded in ancient Chile. Nowadays, seaweed extract is pretty common in skincare products especially from emerging brands in Nunavik and Iqaluit, Canada.
My headcanon: This is probably a recipe Katara picked up from the older women of her tribe, so she just plucks some seaweed whenever the gaang stops by a body of water. And she definitely makes it in cute glass jars and shares it with her fellow healers in the Republic City Hospital ✨selfcare queen✨
2. Spa Day
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I just find this funny because when and how did she even find this spa? How long has she been going by herself? Look how comfortable she is like dhjfjcd she’s definitely a regular and they all know her.
Real-life: Saunas are pretty modern, starting up in Finland around 1112. (In canon, I think a firebender and a waterbender run a sauna in Republic City so hey.) Mudbaths on the other hand have been around for centuries and people have been doing it at any naturally occurring hot spring they can found. I don’t even have to tell you about massages so
My headcanon: Katara always knows where the spas and selfcare places are wherever they go. I definitely think she scooped up some stuff at the perfume abbey in season 1 (because she’s a kleptomaniac). I also headcanon she would have a spa setup in the back of Republic City Hospital because selfcare is healthcare too. Also, Aang gives her massages at home and he’s surprisingly good at it, but, Katara sucks at massages and Aang never lets her do it to him after that one time 💀
3. Yoga
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In 3x11, Nightmares & Daydreams, Katara teaches Aang yoga to de-stress in a hot spring. My thing is, when did she learn about yoga and how often does she do it? We needed the Katara yoga mini shorts special. The kids would’ve loved it.
Real life: Yoga originating from ancient India is practised in a variety of forms in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The poses they do are the Upward Salute and the Wide Legged Forward Bend.
My headcanon: I imagine Katara must have read about this at the Air Nomad Section of the Spirit Library, given the cultural heritage. Knowing her she found a yoga scroll and swiped it (can you say klepto?). This is another selfcare thing she does with Aang because it’s his culture! They do it every Saturday until he starts complaining about his old bones 😅
4. Hair care
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Katara also wears a special cap on her head when doing yoga which I assume is to protect her hair from the steam 🤔 I just found it very interesting since we hardly see her hair covered. Then I also realized Katara is the only character shown actually combing her hair and styling it like 4 times: from the bun-braid, to the formal earth kingdom look, to her fire nation look and finally the bun with her hair out.
Real life: I typed so many things and I finally found something similar called a chinoiserie satin skull cap? (sorry pic limit). It’s similar in design and even has a tassel like Katara’s. Focusing on her hairstyles, the signature ��hair loopies” are actually based on a traditional Inuit style known as qilliqti and her earth kingdom look is based on a traditional Manchurian style called liangbatou.
My headcanon: Like Katara’s mysterious seaweed lotion recipe, she probably makes several haircare products for herself, and has a major hair routine. So, it would make sense she wears protective caps from time to time. I also think both Hama and Katara are tied to the myth of Senna, the Inuit sea goddess, through the comb Katara uses which I headcanon is the identical comb Hama had in her home (again klepto).
If there’s any more selfcare moments I left out, please feel free to share or reply with your own Katara ✨selfcare queen✨ headcanons!
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irisfixation · 7 months ago
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so, you've been flirting back and forth with a self-proclaimed 'eldritch girl'. one thing led to another, and now here she is, in your state, on your couch. not entirely due to you, of course - she's got friends to see here - but you'd like to think your presence sweetened the pot.
you share a few more flirts, a 'this could be us' here and a blown kiss there, and then - quite out of the blue, she makes an offer.
"you know, if you want, i can rape you and rewrite your whole being" (her words).
she's leaning over you a little. you ask her if she's joking or being genuine, a little tremble in your tone, and she says nothing. but she gives a horny kind of smirk at you.
and you think ah fuck it, sounds hot and tell her to do whatever. you're a bored and depressed tranny in your 20s so of course you do.
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the sex is good.
really good, actually; you try to tell her as much in the moment, but the only thing that makes it past your lips are your drool and her tongue.
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next day. she's already left your place, and you're back to the typical rote and routine - dishes to clean, messages to check, et cetera.
you clean.
you eat.
you get ready for the oncoming week, even through the malaise.
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you're watching a dream. one that melts into itself, the way muddied watercolors do. it's hardly that exciting of a dream. no fantastical stories here, no surreal absurdity - just your daily life, broadcast on repeat. you witness it on autopilot and sped up, the avatars and faces of your friends flying past, and-
you look down. the memories keep playing on the tv in front of you, but you're separated from them. besides the screen, the room's dark. you're on your couch.
it's at this point you realize, in a manner that feels distinctly and cognitively wrong, that you never left this couch that night. you had sex with her, and then- then what?
you look back to the tv screen. it's playing a different dream now. a vision of you, right where you're sitting, dreaming. and her, sitting right by your side, her nails digging into you.
every night you return here. every night you forget. your heart goes cold in your chest; the tv shows night after night of you and her, right where you're sitting now. a silhouette falls over the tv for a moment - some part of you considers turning to look, but you're frozen in place.
she has her claws in you, in each of your dreams. or her nails, or... something convulsing, that you can't quite see. each time you realize and try to pull yourself out of that seat, to run out the door and call for help, to try and let your thoughts be entirely your own again, she grabs you - drags you back into the house - drags you back to that moment in time. that eternity.
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you stir. must've fallen asleep looking at posts again. feels like you had a bad dream; but hey, at least it was just a dream.
always kinda weird to dream about someone you know, though. maybe you should go and chat her up again, flirt some, see how much that weird dream lines up with reality. you've got nothing better to do.
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(A GAGGED VOICE WITHIN YOUR BRAIN TRIES TO SCREAM: "YOU ARE FALLING BACK INTO HER GRASP AGAIN, RUN")
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potato-lord-but-not · 11 months ago
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Potatolord Blorbo Tournament
Guys we have the opportunity to do the most iconic thing ever please. please vote for my wife she deserves it.
GIRLFRIEND PROPAGANDA IF YOU NEED IT ‼️
As previously mentioned: bisexual, gender I hardly know her, dancer, avid reader, theatre nerd, for the tma fans I’ve diagnosed her with being an eye avatar, they’re a discworld fan (she said she first read going postal to have an excuse to talk to me more. embarrassing for me that it worked), a Shakespeare girlie but in the cool and based way, Newfoundland lover (the dog btw) AND THEY’RE HOT WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO SAY
I trust that you’ll make the right decision. thank you.
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zvtara-was-never-canon · 21 days ago
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I'm not good at English, sorry. I have seen posts on tumblr from actual Tibetans, South Asians and Indians that the ATLA cartoon is nothing but a racist, colonizer cartoon. They said that the series about dreams and nightmares and gurus with chakras is a mockery of Indian culture and spirituality. The series about Theo and the mechanist is about collonization, cultural appropriation and erasure of culture. Zuko is a character that is meant for lovers of white imperialism ( as “Zuko's story” is unchallenging and bland. Zuko is a “Weeping colonizer and dictator”. Katara is a “white feminist” and Aang and the air mages are a mockery of Tibetan monks and their genocide.
what do you think about that?
As usual lets go through this bit by bit
1 - "I've seen posts from X group saying Y"
This is already not the greatest of starts to discuss whether something was racist or not, because the internet gives EVERYBODY a soap-box to stand on and shout at people from, and can give you the wrong idea that something is consensus among a group when it absolutely isn't.
I've seen the kinds of posts you've mentioned. I've also seen posts from people of these same cultural backgrounds with opinions that range from "Avatar is super a important, positive, nuanced depiction of asian cultures" all the way to "Can we focus on real issues that affect our communities and not on whether non-asians are allowed to enjoy a cartoon they watched as children without guilt/fear of being cancelled?"
Hell, there are works that we actually boycotted by some people groups that also have defenders amongst said groups. Sharing an ethnicity is not the same as sharing an opinion, and pretending otherwise does nothing to genuinely make people think critically about the media they consume.
2 - "They said that the series about dreams and nightmares and gurus with chakras is a mockery of Indian culture and spirituality"
They are correct, both in a neutral "Well duh, it was an actual joke" (there's nothing inherently racist about joking about a topic) and in a negative "It got a bit racist" way.
3 - "The series about Theo and the mechanist is about collonization, cultural appropriation and erasure of culture"
Once again, correct, but also missing the point. The entire message of the episode is that, although these people didn't MEAN to cause any harm, they still did, not out of malice but out of ignorance. They're destroying holy things because they don't know what's holy. They're in a place where they don't belong because they have nowhere else to go. Aang eventually makes peace with it, but he's obviously still upset. It's a genuinely nuanced topic and it was handled appropriately.
4 - "Zuko is a character that is meant for lovers of white imperialism because he's a sad dictator that is never challenged"
Ah yes, because nothing screams lack of challenge quite like being literally forced to live like, and amongst, the people that his nation/family/himself was harming so he'd realize they're human and deserve to not only to exist, but also to live according to their own culture, not his.
Nothing makes an imperialist happier than hearing the character that is supposed to be a stand in for them "We were taught that war was our way of sharing our glory with the world. What an amazing lie that was. They don't see our greatness, they hate us, AND WE DESERVE IT." Forgive me for saying it, but this hardly the Manifest Destiny these people are claiming it is.
5 - "Katara is a “white feminist”"
Literally what the fuck does that mean? Are they talking about FANON (especifically Zutara) Katara? The one that exists to be the pretty foreign wife that just absorbs her husband's culture and cuts all ties with her own because they're "barbar-" I mean, "sexist"? The one that falls in love with the Fire Nation for "treating women equally" (which they don't) even though she's banned from having that same treatment because of her race and that is never acknowledged? Because that's the only version of Katara that gets anywhere close to white feminism, and as the VICTIM, not the enforcer.
Canon Katara is a genocide survivor, the last person in her tribe able to engage with a particular spiritual part of their culture as the last waterbender, fighting against literal invaders and colonizers because she fully believes her tribe (and their tribal culture) deserve to survive. She's everything white feminism despises - a woman that doesn't need to be "saved" by becoming more like them.
6 - "Aang and the airbenders are a mockery of Tibetan monks and their genocide"
Ah yes, because nothing screams mockery quite like making something the biggest injustice in the show and that is constantly shown as a tragedy of unbelievable proportions and that can't be just magically undone/made better (until we get to the bullshit that was Korra at least).
Not to mention, getting immediately banned in China, a HUGE market that would have made them fucktons of money if the show had been a hit there, for not only daring to acknowledge that Tibetan people exist, but for also reminding us "By the way, China is killing them and that's fucked up." Truly the actions of evil colonizers that don't actually care.
7 - "ATLA cartoon is nothing but a racist, colonizer cartoon"
Let me tell you guys about two Disney cartoons made during WWII, Saludos Amigos and the sequel The Three Caballeros. They're nothing special at first glance, and don't really have a plot beyond Donald Duck (because OF COURSE the US character is the main one even when the focus should be other countries) getting a taste of latin american culture (aka learning a few words in spanish and portuguese, chasing after hot women in bikinis, seeing some pretty jungles, etc) and meeting two characters: Panchito Pistoles, the mexican dude that OBVIOUSLY has a sombrero and two pistols, and José Carioca (literally Joe from Rio), a smooth-talking, charismatic, but not at all trust-worthy guy that just has that air of a scammer.
These cartoons exist ONLY because of the american government, who, officially, "wanted to prevent latin america from siding with the evil nazis" - which is not a lie per se, but conveniently ignores the much more pressing reason: the US's cultural and economical imperialism that had the explicit intention of turning latin america into a bunch of puppet states that would buy whatever they were selling and support whoever they supported (culminating with the US funding actual dictatorships during the cold, which killed millions through multiple countries, including mine).
Disney was chosen for the job not only because of how rich and sucessful the company was, but also because people were less likely to think too deeply about a silly Donald Duck cartoon in which the joke is "Donald is annoyed/confused/flustered by his wacky, funny, super affectionate new friends."
THAT is cultural imperialism through and through. The movies obviously were not the cause of it, nor the biggest problem with it, but they are an undeniable result of it. They don't mention war or politics at all, yet wouldn't exist without it. They're meant to make people (both in latin american and in the US) see the dynamic of the US having all the power (economical, political, cultural) in this "friendship" as a good, totally harmless thing that would not (previously, currently and futurely) exploit.
With that context of what an actual piece of imperialistic propaganda (however "subtle") looks like and how it gets made: can ATLA, a cartoon made in 2005, by two nerds that just wanted to toy with some anime tropes/aesthetic and simplified lots of cultural/spiritual elements, that they actually had some obvious interest in, for the sake of not confusing their target audience of 7-year-olds, really be put in the same category?
Or is it simply a cartoon that had some flaws (like how chinese and japanese culture were far better handled/explored due to the stronger ties with the US, meaning the writers were more familiar with them) but was made with genuine love - and had the balls to actually go "Imperialism is bad, guys" in a scene that creators specifically said was a metaphore about AMERICAN imperialism and culture of "bomb the fuck out of everybody until the agree with us"?
Because remember: ATLA was being imagined, created and aired during the US's invasion of Iraq, post 9/11, and post the US screwing around in the middle east for decades and creating, helping out and/or siding with groups like the fucking Taliban, which was, to put it mildly, A Very Bad Idea. Even without direct confirmation from Bryke, it isn't hard to notice the parallel with the moral of the story being "Everybody would be better off if this imperialist nation could just mind it's fucking business."
Like I said, Korra is the show in which I see some influence from pro-american imperialism media that was replicated without much critical thinking - hence the 1920s american aesthetic, the far more western mindset clashing with the eastern setting, and the fucking statue of liberty knock-off because the US needs to be the good guy even when it doesn't fucking exist in that world.
Hell, fucking Dragon Ball Evolution is closer to US racism than ATLA ever got because the main reason it sucked was because it just HAD to ruin the entire setting by turning it into a generic, typically american story of the high school loser that gets bullied a lot but then ends up with the popular girl.
ATLA is imperfect, but it still deserves to be given quite a bit of grace, and praise, mainly because...
BONUS! Flawed media and even straight up propaganda are not inherently devoid of artistic merit
Back to Saludos Amigos and Three Caballeros: from what I've said about how it presented Brazil and the truly awful motivation behind it, some of you might assume these movies are loathed here, right?
Well, you'd be wrong. The Watercollor of Brazil segment and the character of José Carioca are almost unversally beloved, and for one simple reason: Disney got the vibe.
The music sounds great and fits with the time and place, José Carioca is based not only on a stereotype of Brazil but also in a popular trope that brazilian media loves toying with all the time, and even the art-style and the colors SCREAM Brazil. Regardless of the ethically abhorrent reason the US had Disney send artists to latin america, said artists did get genuinely inspired by what they were seeing. It's dated and wasn't without flaw even at the time, but it was sincere enough to actually connect with lots of us, and make some people in the US get a little interested in latin culture.
How many Jackie Chan movies had bits, or entire plots, that Did Not Age Well because they got very racist? How many of these movies made OBSCENE ammounts of money world-wide, including in China?
Hell, how many movies made by Disney (an american company) were SUPER successful in europe, despite radically changing european fairytales?
And I could talk all day about weird, problematic, or straight up racist depictions of Brazil in anime that are openly CELEBRATED in Brazil because we just like Japan that much and they clearly like us too.
Not a single piece of media nowadays, from any country, isn't directly or indirectly inspired by foreign media/culture in some way. ATLA just happens to be one in which that cultural mix/appropriation/celebration is one of the selling points - and it aged beautifully.
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