#fic: biomimicry

[tadaxii-i]

Barty "Don't you dare look at me that way" Crouch and Evan "I don't need reminders of how you don't feel the same" Rosier

[tadaxii-i]

Me at myself (I began writing my long ass fic two years ago and realised in the meantime that panda and evan are not like this actually at all and what the fuck was I doing? So now I have to gently nudge them into the right direction because past me is dumb)

some of y'all fundamentally misunderstand my favorite characters but im being sooooo normal and mature about it. i haven't even killed anyone yet

[ultra-phthalo]

The kind of stuff I'm looking into and writing about rn for the short Delphi story. ([Not my art] - Exploring Our Fluid Earth - Nematocysts diagram) My notes on what I remember about nematocysts.

[tadaxii-i]

May I add my own fic?

James : no I don't like Regulus, what do you mean?

Also James.

james: no, i don't have a crush on regulus??

also james:

[eliza-who-smiles-at-death]

new Worm plotbunny: Great Responsibility

beware big canon spoilers ahead

-Butcher comes from Zion, and the Warrior and Thinker have the same shards even if they use them differently, so Eden must have a Butcher-equivalent

-multiple-earths deals with dimensional/multiverse stuff

-marvel has the concept of Spider-totems, cosmic forces that weave the Web of Life and Death, select champions of each universe or cluster of universes

-Great Weaver, upon Entities' arrival, glimpses the earths of Worm and weaves the threads of fate together so that the local dimensional cluster will have a spider-champion

-Cauldron, before Manton's defection, discovers a single "living" shard in Eden, is somehow able to distinguish it from the others in a way they havent been able to before or since

-gives it to a subject, they get distinctive silver bio-electricity, ability to enhance cognition speed, transfer of shard connection and consciousness upon death to a nearby parahuman

-when they, and each successive inheritor dies, theres always someone specific nearby to inherit next, sometimes almost as if by fate :p

-gets transferred seven times, picking up various powers that stack or complement each other but don't necessarily have a unifying theme

-seventh holder dies in Brockton Bay after Taylor triggers, when she is the only person nearby in the alleyway, and before she arrives they thought the legacy might die with them. she goes to help immediately, and they laugh weakly about the others being right, that somehow fate always guides the power where it needs to go

-Taylor becomes the eighth holder

-power-reduction and stacking upon transfer means she ends up with essentially miles morales' powerset, plus biomimicry tinkering that for "some reason" ends up being focused on spiders/webs, plus her bug control

-She limits herself so people don't examine her "grab bag" too closely, staying within theme at the behest of the first user, who won't tell her about Cauldron but asks her not to use his electricity for fear of Cauldron recognizing it

-she only uses spiders instead of all bugs; she keeps the invisibility a secret; she doesnt adhere objects to each other, only herself to objects; she explains away her danger-precognition, balance, and sensory abilities as an extension of her bug-sense or as the result of practice and training; she doesnt use the bio-electricity; the various stacking brute packages are easy to explain as one brute ability; she only uses the tinkering for webs or for things that she doesn't use publicly; she doesn't join the wards

-because all the holders are heroes, they work more cooperatively than the Butchers and don't drive her insane, and shes able to push out their influence the way she does with the butchers in a couple fics because of the Queen Administrator shard

-Danny ends up getting fatally wounded by the Nazis pushing at the Dockworkers for influence, gives Taylor a version of the "with great power" speech before he dies

-She goes by Weaver of course

-Black-and-silver costume, sorta like if miles's costume from Spiderverse replaced red with silver and had spider-gwen's hood

-eventually adds the extendable gliding membranes

[ghost-throat]

welcome to my tumblr

this is not a minor-friendly space. my blog, my writing and my art are 18+. i ask for minors not to engage with me.

my name is elle, i am 26 and primarily use they/them pronouns. this blog is lgbtqa+ friendly and no place for racism, bigotry or any other form of oppression.

the tag for my art is #ghost throat art

the tag for my writing is #ghost throat writing

i am not new to tumblr per se but haven't used the platform since 2015, so please bear with me as i try and figure everything out.

you can always message me or otherwise notify me about tags i missed or tumblr etiquette i am unaware of.

i am also not a native speaker so grammar and spelling mistakes in my writing might happen. feel free to correct me.

my twitter

my ao3

i write ghostxsoap aswell as ghostxreader and soapxreader. below you will find a list of fics i am especially proud of, more of my work is on my ao3.

all of these fics are explicit. some of them contain triggering content, so please read the tags on ao3.

real people - my ongoing coffee shop fic (nsfw ghostxsoap)

medical melancholy - age gap oneshot (nsfw ghostxsoap)

biomimicry - professorxstudent oneshot (nsfw ghostxsoap)

two man advantage - hockey au oneshot (nsfw ghostxsoap)

devil's advocate - jealousy fic (nsfw readerxghostxsoap)

needed - enemies to lovers fic (nsfw readerxsoap)

from eden - ghost is readers neighbour fic (nsfw readerxghost)

normality - military ghost civilian reader fic (nsfw readerxghost)

the rules we make - long, slowburn fic (nsfw readerxghost)

[bacchicly]

BIG TROUBLE IN RIVER CITY: A GARVEZ CASE FIC (PART 7) 

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7

Paring: Penelope Garcia x Luke Alvez

Summary: The team makes a plan to trap the unsub and delivers the profile. This is a “happier” (i.e. there is no talk of Luke and Pen breaking up) / stand alone version of the case fic which suddenly appeared in the middle of my lovers to friends fic (Deep and Crisp and Even). 

Words: 4000ish

Content This Chapter: Mentions / examples of fat hate. Sweraring. Mentions of CM type violence / themes. Luke thinking about how much he loves Penelope - while trying to keep their relationship a secret.

Content Overall Story: CM type violence / themes; unsub; sex (but can be skipped to or away from as I will put it in stand alone chapters - like PART 2); mentions/examples of fat hate.

✈✈✈

The ballroom is thick with tired wired cops.

The BAU Team take their seats in their own corner - no one looks particularly chipper but everyone is alert.  J.J. empties a big bag of M&M's into the ice bucket she brought down from her room and plunks it in the middle of the table.  Tara has snagged a handful before the plastic container has stopped shuddering from the mini impact - her hand bumping against Emily's on exit.

"So?" asks Luke as he pulls out a chair for Penelope since her hands are full with the laptop she picked up from the tech nerve centre on the way, "What's happened. Matt says there's been another victim?  It seems fast."

Penelope is typing even before her butt hits her chair -  which Luke is now pushing in for her.  The team exchanges a hidden smile but Luke and Penelope are oblivious. Spencer catches a few of the uniformed cops smirking at his solicitous colleague; so he serves up a first rate Paddington / Prison Yard worthy "hard stare" on their behalf and is somewhat chuffed when the cops turn away and are suddenly pressingly busy with some investigative odd or end.

Rossi catches the exchange and pays tribute to Reid's chivalrous defence with a smiling nod. Spencer catches the unspoken praise from the elder agent with a blithe crook of his lips and a raised eyebrow.  The exchange is brief and further covered by the attention going to Prentiss' response to Luke's question.  

"We're not completely sure if this death is not due to natural causes - let alone connected to our unsub - although there are some similariti-"

Penelope's fingers keep flying across her keyboard even as she cuts off her boss. "Fat-ish. Thomas Green, age 34, was heavy for his height. But as far as I can tell he was unlikely to be someone targeted by our unsub - firstly not that the world does a good job of parsing these things - fat is fat in a lot of people's eyes - but Mr. Green was nowhere near as heavy as the other victims. Also, no significant other. No history of confidently dating around. No children.  Mother lives in Connecticut.  Lives alone. Good student. Participates in an intramural Ultimate Frisby league.  A member of several online gaming communities.  Enrolled in… his 1st year of an online Master's program…in…ahhh… Biomimicry?! Interesting. I am not saying Mr. Green is definitely not a victim but I wouldn't have flagged him as one based on what I am seeing."

Tara's question is directed at their Unit Chief but her eyes are glued worriedly on Penelope, "So - who did flag this death as a potential victim and why?"

Penelope growls.  “No idea. The ambulance report certainly didn’t set off any of the digital alarms I set.  Although one thing did rise to the surface with my collating program about 45 minutes ago - it seems like all the victims are at least tangentially connected to a municipal boxing program for under-priviledged youth.  Which - again as far as I can tell - is not the case with Mr. Green.”

Prentiss lets her breath out in a soft whoosh.  She hates that her agents may have gotten called out of bed for a false alarm - she would normally have been more circumspect but the local police chief had just been so adamant.  But now that they are up…

“That is a great lead, Garcia. To answer Luke’s question first.  As Rossi pointed out on the jet - this unsub is devolving so we have no way to estimate how quickly soon they will reoffend - but what we do know is there is something about the 6th of the month that is important to the unsub and that the shortest times between victims - without counting what we now realise were a couple who were killed on the same day - was just over 24 hours-”

“Which happened in November and was most likely an attempt to get back ‘on schedule’ ”, Spencer adds air quotes to the words in a way he would never do if not so tired, “after the first round of deaths that he didn’t manage to execute on the 6th of the month. But since the 6th of January isn’t pending, I do not think that duration is a solid predictor of the unsub’s current timeline.  I think looking at the more recent breaks is likely a better predictor - and that pattern suggests that - while devolving - the unsub will wait at least 4 to 6 days have past - my guess is as long as the unsub feels that their message was heard that will meet their needs enough for now and if - they are not able to hold on to January 6th - they will at least try to time the next death on the 26th as a stand in.  So I would agree with Penelope - I don’t think this death is a victim of the unsub - but since we are coming up on the 4th day without a death and the pressure of the holiday could accelerate the timeline in ways that are hard to account for…it might…” Spencer gives a meaningful look at the Agent who, once upon a time, was their press liaison.

J.J.’s starts to nod. “So far we haven’t talked very much about the press strategy - beyond agreeing to not take any precautions against the story being picked up and coaching the local PD’s press liaison to stick to the release - but maybe we should do a bit more to make sure the case is hitting the news in a way that could buy us some time?”

“Can you and Rossi go and-?” J.J. nods smartly as Rossi stands, his head cocked in a question that a defeated sounding Prentiss answers without him having to ask. 

“Yes.  It’s a go.  Can you brief J.J.? It needs to be part of the new press strategy and if we can catch the morning news cycle... The team and I will take exactly 15 minutes to sketch out a preliminary plan and then I will brief the Police Chief while everyone else will be ordered to sleep - we only have four hours until I’ve promised the profile.  Rossi - JJ find me here or swing by my room after you’ve dealt with the release - knock hard if you need to - we’ll need to swap details and it will be faster in person. Now - go!”

Emily Prentiss scans the room one last time and then sits with purpose pulling a pad of paper towards herself - her one concession to her own fatigue - and looks hard at her agents.

“Ok someone set a timer. Based on what we have profiled so far, we have 15 minutes to agree on how to best tempt our unsub into targeting Penelope as their next victim. We, ladies and gentlemen, are setting up a sting.”

✈✈✈

It’s Christmas Eve, 7 am, and the team stands in their usual semi-circle but the mood of the muttering cops is darker than even the BAU Agents are used to. Emily and the Chief of Police better arrive soon - this gang is antsy.

Lines are being drawn between those who think this case should be a priority and those who think it's a waste of police time. Both the pro and anti factions' beliefs seemed to have become more entrenched since the Chief of Police got off the phone and announced that the coroner suggests that, while not releasing any official cause of death yet, last night’s fatality is likely due to complications from a head injury incurred during a recent Ultimate Frisby match and not the result of poison. 

Luke resists glancing past Tara and Dave to check on Penelope for what feels like the 5 billionth time since they took their places.  

Instead, he glares down at the taupe industrial carpet and tries to discern what the muttering is actually about… but his brain won't cooperate. It just keeps gnawing on whether the red and white dress was the right choice after all…maybe he should have insisted she wear the black one…what if these fuc-…officers… don't take her safety seriously enough? What if because she looks too much like a candy cane… and those shoes? What if…instead of listening to the briefing… they all just stare at her amazing legs and chest and cherry red lips and fantasize about how she looks good enough to…

Luke mentally gives himself a kick in the groin and forces himself to relax his hands which have balled back into fists. 

FOCUS, ALVEZ.

The plan makes sense.  It’s a good tactical plan. He could…WOULD…protect her.  They all would.  But wouldn't it be better to have the local cops giving their all too? 

Damn.  They should have chosen the black dress…. 

No. The red and white one makes sense for the plan.  …the damn fucking deadass…

At dinner last night, Prentiss had asked Luke to tackle the job of adding to the profile in a way that will reach the cops like J.J.'s assigned partner - but when things shifted and it became clear that this would not only be the delivery of the profile but also an outline of the planned sting …the role had not exactly taken away from him. Matt and Rossi had made it clear that they had that side of it covered - so his job was now to introduce the details of the plan in a way that would win over even the most cowboy cop and introduce the key elements tactical language that will be understood and instinctively taken as orders by the majority of those in the room.  He had also tagged on an extra personal mission to the task he had been given - he had to win them over but do it all without revealing the true nature of his current relationship with Pe- the principle. 

It had taken a couple hours but they had finally settled on two possible approaches and he was ready to go with either depending on how the Chief of Police wanted to play it.  Emily was briefing him now.  He had to be ready to wing it.  He wished they would-

It’s not often wishes are granted in this job - but Luke’s is when his boss strides angrily into the room almost herded by the Chief of Police who is sauntering smugly behind.  Luke watches closely as Emily crosses to them.  Her manner is professional and serious… brusque… tense…almost defeated… but then in a moment when her back is to the crowd and her face is to the team just for a second she cracks - smiling at them - beaming - almost bouncing? Like she just got told that Santa is real and he's bringing her tequila and scantily clad lovers to find under herChristmas tree.  The look hits Luke hard - like a slap of sleet in the face. He is suddenly reeling in a new unexpected direction and he doesn't know what to make of it.  Should he dance or puke?

The Police Chief's demeanour is not opposite from their boss' slip but the look he is giving his officers is pure "I'm in charge and you better not give these people shit or I am going to be very disappointed - not because they don’t deserve it - but because it’s a privilege of my rank."

Apparently it’s a go.  

Puke.  Definitely puke. 

Curse it all to hell and back on a pink unicycle. 

Fuck.  Even her elaborate cursing has rubbed off on him! 

“Alright!  Listen up!”

The Chief of Police’s strong goading voice cuts off Luke’s thought and he pushes everything but the moment away.  Game time.  

“You may not know, but I - despite my open and cooperative nature - was less than pleased when the Commissioner decided to call in the FBI.”  The cops laugh. Their Chief amiably shushes them with his hand and carries on,  “but, despite my objections, I have been ordered to let Ms Prentiss here and her FBI Behavioral Specialists to present the findings of their profiling exercise to all of you. Now I am not sure if I believe any of it - I leave it to you to judge for yourselves - but the one bit of credit they deserve is that while they were rambling on during the preview for the brass…I came up with plan to catch this bastard - some real Texan style “don’t mess with us” policing which I know y’all will like. Now, I may not believe in all the wishy washy stuff - but I will say that they know a good idea when they hear it - and I hate to admit it - but they’ve even added one or two improvements - so stay quiet for their little presentation - then we can get to the action.”

Emily's face is somehow both hard and soft in its determination.  Her hair falls sharp against her cheek as she lets space come between the words just spoken and those she will say next…then…like a flip switches..with a swift jutt of her chin and a tightly bowed smile - she breaks the silence she created. Heads whip in her direction.

“Despite your Chief’s somewhat lacklustre introduction - you should listen to what we have to say. We’ve done this a lot. A lot a lot.  And I can tell you that the information we can share can save lives. Those of potential victims - yes.  But cops’ too. We don’t want anyone missing Christmas dinner because they didn’t listen today… and since your boss has a plan…” 

Luke purposely turns away from his boss and steps away from his spot with the team - clenching his fists and jaw and then a bit too purposely relaxing them. He is not quite standing with the cops now - but almost… Matt throws an angry look his way that is so brief it is likely missed by most, then jumps into the frey without missing a beat:

“Your boss plays by a different playbook than us - but the two outlooks can work very well together and the plan is a good one - but it will work better if you understand a few things about the target.”

Rossi jumps in now.

“Like many of you here, we believe the target is physically fit and has taken great interest in improving his physique over the years.  We believe he is likely caucasian - between 6’1 and 6’3; potentially with a slim but strong build. Although - physical characteristics may differ so don’t rule out stockier or more sickly individuals.”

The cop who had been J.J. 's interviewing partner calls out from the back of the room “Isn’t poison usually a woman’s or weakling’s weapon?  What makes you think that this person is male and fit?  I mean - if this is really murder and not some huge hoax or lab jumping to conclusions  - wouldn’t it make sense for a woman to be killing these people - like that nurse? An ‘angel of mercy’ type thing - putting people out of their misery?”

A ripple goes through the crowd.  It’s one thing for the Chief to be rude to the FBI - but an officer doing the same is not amusing anyone.  Firing up some? Yes. Raising the ire of others? Sure. But amusing? No one. 

Spencer fixes the cop with a stare he perfected in the prison laundry room. 

“There’s no hoax or lab error here, Officer.  There is someone out there who has tragically cut short the lives of - by all reports - and you were at the interviews, Officer - we have a lot of reports - cut the lives short of twelve very happy people who just also happened to be fat.  None of them needed to be ‘put out of their misery’.  There is someone out there who has killed twelve people - that is already two more than the BTK Killer and six more than the Son of Sam - and we are all here to work together to stop them. None of us are going to let this person get away with it.  We’re all better than that - all better than him.  But, you know what?? You’re right, statistically, women do choose poison as a weapon more frequently than males. According to the imperfect but apropos 2012 Federal Bureau of Investigation Supplemental Homicide Report, while guns are technically the weapon of choice for both genders in the US - even though quantitatively way more men murder using poison than women - one way of looking at the numbers lets us state that women are 7 times more likely to choose poison as a weapon than a male offender. However, Officer, there are several elements of these murders and the letter that was sent to the Coroner’s office that tip the scales towards not only a male - but one who will appear physically fit,” Spencer leans back - his face finally dropping the fury and animating as he settles into his explanation - the thrill of explaining the profile apparent even though his countenance is still as tough as nails, “In the letter, the unsub presents the murders as part of a mission fueled by-”

Penelope cuts him off: “Hatred. Hatred of Fat People. People like me.” 

Penelope’s voice rings across the room.  She is suddenly so much more than just herself - she is mother, sister, favourite aunt, beloved fat-friend, their grandmother, their third-grade teacher, the bullied fat kid from their gym class - she is the prompter of half hidden derisive smiles and a reflection of some people’s biggest fear - some of the cops start to phrase the denial “You’re not-”... 

The look Spencer gives Penelope is inscrutable as he picks back up the thread of his explanation. “Yes.  Although I was going to say ‘a mission fueled by a desire to serve society by ridding it of those he sees as harmful’ - which on its own is not enough to deduce gender but it is the way the mission is phrased “The health of our city deserves better.  We are at war and you are either on the side of science or against us.” 

Prentiss takes her turn now - her arch voice steeped with confidence in her team and her own professional expertise: “It may be stereotypical but evoking the language of conflict instead of care - the attempt to appear detached and scientific - the lack of reference to children and families - even the use of “nay nay” which alludes to the late great John Pinette’s standup all point towards a male voice; but it is a detail from the crimes themselves that point most directly to the gender of our unsub.” 

Tara takes the floor now - arm sweeping in an arc to a photo of one of the marks found on a victim’s belly - her expression wide and open: “Serial killers fall into several broad categories when it comes the motive - which differs from the organised vs disorganised types most of the public are familiar with.  At first, the note and the targeting of fat people seemed to suggest that our killer fell into what we would call a ‘mission oriented killer’ - someone motivated to kill by their beliefs and a desire to ‘purify’ the human race of those they see as harmful or lesser.”

J.J. chimes in “You have all heard of this type of person - people moved to violence by hate and fear.  White supremacists - anti-semites - rival gangs.  The public and the unsub are familiar with these types of criminals and while hatred is part of the reason why these killings are happening; we believe the ‘war on the obese’ alluded to in the letter is being evoked primarily as a cover to hide the true motivations of the unsub; likely even from himself-”

“And,” says Tara still pointing at the photo, “it is this mark - this hickey - that we know the unsub left on the bellies of at least three of the victims that suggests most strongly that not only is the unsub male, fairly tall, and fit - but that the motivation for these crimes is much more personal than a hatred fueled mission to rid the world of people because they are fat.”

1 - 2 - 3…Luke waits for the penny to drop and then speaks up…turning his back on his team…stepping further into the midst of the cops… positioning himself as one of them… they rarely rehearse the giving of the profile ahead of time - but last night Emily had drilled him and Penelope on this next crucial bit…

“Our target has not killed these mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and husbands and wives and boyfriends and girlfriends because they were fat - no.  He is killing them because they are fat and happy and loved.  Many of the victims were not just in happy relationships - but in happy relationships with someone that society might say they didn’t deserve because they were fat and their partner was conventionally attractive. This has lead us to believe the unsub killed not because he hates fat people - but because he finds at least one fat person attractive but can’t be with them - maybe because he is afraid to admit it or because the person rejected him - but for whatever reason hates himself for wanting them - and hates every fat person who has what he wishes for.”

He looks across at his woman then. Even if they hadn’t been ordered to... Hadn’t rehearsed it… Luke doesn’t think he could not look at his Penelope in that moment; he struggles to keep his expression as neutral as possible - setting his jaw in a way that Emily had promised just hinted at a hidden longing - not his real feelings of loving this woman so much he can hardly stand being this far away from her. His heart asks to pound but he controls his breathing and genuine response as best he can; wildly hoping that the love he feels isn’t as nakedly apparent to the cops as he is sure it must be to his colleagues. 

Penelope is in her element and follows the script exactly.  Badly hiding a cheeky ‘you wish Newbie’ laugh and then turning to smile at everyone gathered wide and bright - her face radiating light and hope and her own secret sauce of knowing cheeky innocence - they are in the palm of her hand. 

“Sounds crazy doesn’t it? But as someone who is somewhat fat and has been labelled as very fat throughout my life - I can tell you that men see and treat fat women differently. There are men who are genuinely attracted to me - probably some of you here are - and some might not even feel shame for it… but that is not as common as you think.  I have been treated as though any attention shown to me was a favour - and…you know what men can be like when they think you owe them. But those men are players and reasonably easy to spot - and they are often not particularly worried about their genuine attraction or lack thereof - I’m a piece of ‘easy ass’ - nothing more - nothing less.”  

Just for a flash, Luke sees a ripple of memory wash across Penelope.  Is she thinking of how the man who shot her used her surprise at being found attractive by someone many would think was ‘out of her league’? He feels the familiar cocktail of relief that he is dead and the wish that he had been the one to pull the trigger. 

“Nothing worse than what most women deal with.  No, the worst are those that genuinely are attracted to me…may even date me happily for awhile…until..”, Penelope takes a sharp breath - sucking in oxygen like she’s drowning - but then comes back her voice hard and true - with the line they crafted and practised,   “Contempt.  Disgust. Shame. Ugly ugly feelings towards their own genuine attraction to my fat body… and you better believe that many of them found it more comfortable to blame me - punish me - than to confront their own reactions that they wouldn’t think twice about if only I was a size 2.  Cowards.”

Rossi speaks up then - his voice an echo of so many fathers telling their kids that the bully is far more afraid than they are - he directs his words directly to the cop who asked about poison being used by women. 

“The observation from earlier does apply - because while we believe that the unsub is of a certain height-”

Spencer pipes up -  “to be able to kneel before his victim and place his mouth to their belly and give them a so-called last ‘love-bite’-”

Rossi gives him an indulgent look but takes back the floor “-and is possibly physically pleasing…but don’t doubt for a moment that he isn’t a coward and a weakling… and between your Chief and our team… we have a plan to use his desire and his fear to trap him..and SSA - Ex-Army Ranger - Alvez is now going to tell you all about it.”

✈✈✈

So, while Luke outlines the plan which will see Penelope and himself reprise their act of being a happy couple visiting a boxing gym -across town, a man is filling syringes.

To be continued…

Master List | List of One Shots & Happy Versions  | Micro-Garvez

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[lokgifsandmusings]

Definitive Ranking of Book 4 Episodes, #3/13

3. 4x10 Operation Beifong

Toph’s mothering skills wow everyone. Zhu Li is the world’s worst saboteur. All the tropes get busted. The spirits give no shits about anything.

Okay. If you’ve been following these definitive rankings, you know that I have one main issue with Book 4: while Kuvira worked very well as a foil for Korra, and a way to externalize Korra’s *internal* struggle, Kuvira in her own right is a little less successful, since everything is framed as being about the Beifongs for her, and that thread gets effectively drop-kicked.

For that reason, I objectively know that “Operation Beifong” is an issue with the whole of Book 4 considered. It’s essentially the culmination of the Kuvira/Suyin tension (which I’d argue is far more important and central than her relationship to Baatar), and the rationale for why she didn’t get her ass kicked by Toph at the end of the episode was more or less, “the script said not to.” I mean “leave it to the kids.” 

See, it had to be reserved in its climax because Kuvira’s downfall had to be saved for Korra. Which is fine; protagonists should be considered first and foremost when writing antagonists. But it also meant that the high-high-high emotional and personal stakes of this episode for the characters were always set to fizzle. In fact, the only tension that paid-off here was Lin working through her fractured relationship with her mother, and even that just ended on the note of Toph saying “maybe if you don’t hate me it’s fine.” Sadly for our unsung hero, that’s the happiest resolution she’s ever going to get.

Oh wait, Bopal forgave each other too. And you can make the argument that this was the climax of Bolin’s maturation arc: we saw him rise to the occasion in 4x07 and take charge in a way he hadn’t before, but his decision to save Zhu Li at great self-risk fully demonstrated his moral fiber. I personally think that he already exhibited these traits, he’s just a bit easily led (giving people apples = helping them...just don’t look to the right or left or ask the deeper questions), but fine.

I guess my real frustration is for Suyin and Kuvira’s characters here, who you could easily view as the primary “actors” of this episode’s A-plot, especially given the number of scenes throughout the season we were given to set up this tension. Suyin gets practically no resolution of any sort from this episode, or frankly this season. She escapes imprisonment, sure, but what it boils down to is that she fights Kuvira and quasi-loses, then flees, only for her moments in the finale to be focused on forgiving Baatar and destroying the spirit gun. Sure, she played her part in taking down Mega Maid and was the one who led Kuvira off with that super-memorable-and-not-at-all-just-a-never-replaced-placeholder line, but I fundamentally don’t understand why so much emphasis was placed on her and her point-of-view in this conflict. And it’s one thing if it’s Suyin telling Korra a backstory to set-up the final conversation, sure. It’s just....consider how many scenes we have to explain away that have *nothing* to do with Korra’s arc, including the entirety of this episode.

I guess it kind of reminds me of the Winterhell plotline in GoT Season 5, where it’s an uphill battle to argue that Sansa was the protagonist because Ramsay had 5 or 6 scenes dedicated to his fraught relationship to his dad. In this case, it’s not that Korra ever stopped feeling like the protagonist. It’s just that if we’re going to have so many non-Korra (and frankly non-Krew) characters cannibalizing our screen-time, can we at least give them a complete story?

I know I’ve talked about how it’s a problem before given Kuvira’s arc, but yeah, it’s a problem for Suyin too. It’s honestly a problem for the entire Beifong clan, since other than Suyin and Baatar’s weird “we’ll get through it” scene, the strife that had consumed their family wasn’t really given any kind of space tp land. They’ll get through it. Nifty.

In my brain, I know that this is a shortcoming of Book 4. It’s one of the primary reasons I feel this season needed a draft #2 (I suspect Bryke would have preferred a longer time-line and a heads up about resources as well). And yet... I love this episode. I LOVE this episode.

No you don’t understand: every minute, every aspect of this episode, I love.

Well, I feel rather tepid about the B-plot actually, so let’s knock that off first. It’s just the planning for an inevitable Kuvira invasion in Republic City. Varrick introduces Asami’s hummingbird suit and I have to assume does all the talking because of the voice actors involved (you *use* John Michael Higgins when you have him, and I’m wondering if Gabriel was limited to a set number of episodes). I liked the instantly photoshoppable blueprints that were held up, but remember thinking how ridiculous this biomimicry was given how completely energy inefficient hummingbirds are. I try to at least make sense of it as a suitable countermeasure to Kuvira’s spirit cannon in my newest fic, though.

(x)

Wu suggests evacuating the entire city in case Kuvira attacks. I guess in fairness they didn’t know the two-week timeline of the planned invasion, so it’d seem feasible to be able to craft that strategy, but you’d think fortifying the borders (with the help of Izumi’s troops, like she promised) would have taken priority. Personally I’d be doing everything I could to keep the fight out of my country’s population center. But it was a simplistic idea to show that Wu was actually concerning himself with the safety of others, and that Mako is an easy-to-impress boyfriend.

Finally, Korra decides she’s going to enlist the help of the spirits to defend the city, and they tell her to fuck right off because even though Kuvira is using vines to her own ends, helping the other side would be just as bad, or something. In other words, the spirits continue to be butts, and the entire thing went a little like this:

At the time this aired, I actually thought this was going to set-up a moment like the trees arriving at Helm’s Deep, but no. The spirits really didn’t want to be involved. Sucks to be human.

Like, all of this was fine. I can nitpick military decisions and engineering details, but it was fine.

It just was heavily overshadowed by the most wonderful, complicated familial dynamics.

The shining star was Lin and Toph, as it should have been. For Lin to be in a place where she’s risking her job (again) to save Suyin and is going to these extreme lengths given where they had started a few years before is nothing but touching, especially given how Suyin is more or less living the idyllic life (her rich-ass mom bought her a city to run, she’s got a loving husband and a bunch of kids, etc.) and Lin is still, ya know...

But her relationship with Toph...just murder me.

Every dang conversation they have with each other is more painful than the last. It’s made so clear how much Lin truly loves and respects Toph, and is just desperate for her approval in some ways, but there’s been so much hurt in how Toph brushed off her feelings over the years and is unwilling to actually state her own (you know you’re an INTP when...), that Lin can’t help but be closed off and sardonic. Then you’ve got Bolin picking at the baby daddy wound, Toph just randomly volunteering the information, and...

Toph: Lin, I can feel your enraged breathing from here. Just say what you have to say and let's get it over with.

Lin: Just get it over with? Yeah, let's not linger on the fact that I grew up without a dad. No need to get all touchy-feely about it. Just one of those things, right?

I have to imagine this was Toph’s general approach to parenting, and gods, Mindy Sterling SELLS the hell out of how deeply Lin feels things but how unable she truly is to express herself. As a brief side-note, I do have to imagine that Lin the detective *did* figure out who her dad was, since she doesn’t react to that information itself, but more to why the fuck Toph is willing to talk to Bolin of all people when it was kept from her previously.

Toph: Hey, I forgave you for all your garbage a long time ago and Su and I worked things out. You're the only one who wants to hold on to this family drama nonsense for the rest of your life.

Lin: Forgave me for what?! And not knowing my dad is nonsense to you? It was pretty important to me. And until now, you would never even discuss it.

Seriously, forgive her for what? Toph, again, just wants to avoid and evade the whole “feelings” piece of this. But keeping in mind that it’s been like TWO DECADES since they’ve talked, for Lin to be able to spit this all out and call her mom out on her dismissiveness is huge. HUGE.

Lin: You know, after Su and I patched things up, I thought, "maybe I should try to reach out to mom." But now that we're together again, I remember why we stopped talking. You make me furious and you don't even know why. And when I tell you, you don't care. Once we save Su, you and I are finished.

Toph: If that's your decision and it makes you happy, then fine.

Treat yourself and listen to the voice acting, because the way Philece Sampler does this little inhale and the break in her voice when she says Toph’s line is tragic, simply tragic.

Toph. Just tell your daughter you fucking love her and you care. You obviously care; you’ve been creeping on her in the swamp for years. And Lin just putting it all these raw emotions out there.

I know I’m gushing, but this is so fractured and so beautiful and if they could just flippin’ COMMUNICATE we can *see* how they care about each other underneath. It’s not a witchy-Repunzelesque mother situation or anything about escaping toxicity, but more a mother and daughter with a Shakespearean flaw that prevents them from having a happy relationship, at great personal cost.

And yeah, somehow Lin finds it in herself to apologize for snapping, and Toph just ends on the whole “if you don’t fully hate me, I’ll take it” note. In one episode we watched 20 years of hurt acted out, and it never felt forced or even a little dumbed down for the Y7 audience as like, Asami saying that she “should” try to forgive the dude that wanted to murder her sort of did (frankly that Hiroshi dialogue was all a little wonky if I really want to nitpick).

The second most important relationship in this episode was, of course, Suyin vs. Kuvira. What’s interesting is that the decision to engage with Kuvira instead of sneak away wasn’t made until after Bolin and Opal decided to go after Zhu Li, so it was a little passive on Suyin’s part, but once that fight started, nothing else mattered. Not a single word was uttered and yet you could *feel* how charged and fraught it was. Which yeah, maybe it’s reading a little too much into subtext, but there is something THERE, damnit.

However, the way Suyin’s entire family operated was just delightful. I love that Huan and Baatar Sr. were never expected to fight, and never shamed for it, and Suyin’s shrug to Lin when Baatar Sr. clung to the side of their cage in terror was just perfect. Yeah, they don’t conform to traditional gender roles, and it goes with no more comment than that shrug. Then Wing's “We can’t let Opal be the coolest!” was hilarious, and just felt...real. The Beifongs feel real, and I think that’s one of the things I appreciate the most about them. Dysfunctional, led by a hypocrite, fractured at the moment, but real. Though full disclosure: I’ve been known to call them “aspirational” in the past, if that’s any indication on why such dynamics appeal to me.

It’s worth noting that Baatar Jr. cleared the lowest possible bar possible in not wanting to murder his sister with his cannon. But fuck Zhu Li; she doesn’t even get a re-education camp. I don’t get Baatar Jr. apology (and I *especially* don’t get Kuvira apology), though given where he ends up (regretting his actions) we could have stood to see just a bit more of his reaction to the ensuing fight between his ENTIRE FAMILY INCLUDING HIS GRANDMA and his fiancé.

I should say the Zhu Li saboteur thread didn’t work super well, mostly because you’d think such a cold, heartless war machine could have thought up a better way to actually make the thing malfunction. Or just not have kept the missing pin on her body. Maybe she want to the Galen Erso School of Engineering Sabotage. But the reveal that she was purposely messing things up (and Bolin’s happy face) was lovely. Her devotion to Varrick is certainly not free of problems, but knowing she wasn’t on-board with fascism and actually jumped at the opportunity to undermine the campaign in a big way? I’ll take it, happily.

I’ll also ignore the possible implication that she only did it to save Varrick from more of Kuvira’s wrath, knowing how he’d operate on his own. Anti-fascist Zhu Li is the only Zhu Li. That’s the 2017 hero we need.

That finally leaves us with the Bopal plotline. I cannot believe the amount of hate that Opal got as this season was airing, but I have to think that on rewatches, especially in this cultural context, her point-of-view seemed a lot more reasonable, as well as her frustrations with Bolin. Yeah, her anger towards Kuvira at the very, very start of the season could be framed as a bit OTT and likely the result of loyalty to her mother (who wasn’t exactly the model of reason then), but after that... like, no! We *know* she’s seen prison camps, we *know* she’s learned about dissenters being dragged off, and when her entire family was captured (and to her own admission quite possibly being tortured or already having been murdered), her boyfriend came back and said he was responsible for it (oh Bolin and your logorrhea), but just wanted to pick up exactly where they were right away. And this was after he outright ignored her in Zaofu when she clearly lay out what was happening. Who the hell wouldn’t be pissed?

Frankly, Bolin should have been suggesting how they could save her family, so when she suggested that he should come with her to fix things, it’s...reasonable, even if high-risk. It would demonstrate that at the end of the day, he does have her back. I really have a hard time finding a fault in that.

I do think her line “he’s been in the polar bear doghouse long enough” was overly reductive. We can tell that the moment he was willing to get himself killed to save Zhu Li is the moment that Opal forgave him. Because it showed that his heart is always in the right place. He just sometimes needs a little coaching, and doesn’t do nuance well. If the people *he’s* seeing are happy, it’s difficult for him to think the campaign is doing something bad.

So really, I have zero problems with it. They were two young adults growing apart in a long-distance relationship, and the fact that this mission placed them decidedly on the same side and Bolin took initiative with it...yeah, it works. Their long-term is uh, well, let’s just hope they don’t find themselves in morally ambiguous situations too much.

Also I don’t want to sound like Opal is the font of wisdom and truth either. She can be bad-tempered, impatient, she can let her emotions guide her (though it never pushes into the hysterical woman trope), she can be biting and bitter and cutting when she wants; she’s a fully realized and fully fallible character. I just don’t happen to think she mistreated Bolin in any way during Book 4’s run.

The Bopal take-away, too, is important: women can assert their frustrations and that doesn’t mean their relationships will blow up. Too often we see narratives where women must stuff it, where their emotional needs are always always on a back-burner to the men that they’re with. It’s frustrating and I’ve had enough of it (I’m in a mood thanks to Supergirl lately), so this is dang refreshing. Bust ALL the tropes, Opal.

Frankly, bust ALL the tropes, Beifongs. That’s truly what makes this episode amazing. The central fight is between two women, one of whom is middle-aged and has children, while her husband and elder son (that isn’t Baatar Jr.) are guarded by her mother. There is a mother/daughter “reconciliation” that still ends with them both shoving their feelings down as far as they can go, though they at least achieved a less hostile relationship. There was the Bopal resolution, there was Zhu Li, not Varrick, taking on the role of the saboteur, and there wasn’t instantly a neat redemption for Jr. because he had one moment of human decency.

Yes, this episode was a little contrived in its existence, and it gave us a bit of a false resolution. But it was packed, exciting, and utterly transgressive, while also delivering a wallop of feels.

#13: 4x08 “Remembrances”

#12: 4x11 “Kuvira’s Gambit”

#11: 4x09 “Beyond the Wilds”

#10: 4x07 “Reunion”

#9: 4x06 The “Battle of Zaofu”

#8. 4x12 “Day of Colossus”

#7 4x01 “After All These Years”

#6 4x03 “The Coronation”

#5 4x04 “The Calling”

#4 4x05 “Enemy at the Gates”

Book 2 ranking/essays found here

[tadaxii-i]

just wrote the best rosekiller for my fic

Evan groaned at him. “He’s your best friend. You can’t do that to him.” “Barty, stop being a cunt.” Pandora groaned, grabbing at his arm, but Barty doubled down, dangling the letters over his own head. Evan decided it was enough. He didn’t know what kind of bug had stung Barty to make him so shitty that day, but he wasn’t going to stand for it. With one hand, he grabbed at Barty’s wrist, and with the other, he pulled at the hair on the crown of his head; he looked him in the eyes, raising a brow. “Barty.” A full body shiver struck Barty, in that moment, and his entire body seemed to fall limp; Checkmate. “Rosie,” Barty gasped, breathless, and he sat back on his heels, pretty eyes huge and glittering. He was a puppet, and he fucking sat on Evan’s command, and oh, fuck Pandora for being in the room with them. And fuck himself for never having gathered up the courage to just- eat. To eat and feast on Barty’s flesh, to breathe in his soul and feel his skin and bone and marrow crackle and spread under his fingers, to dig in and just rip it all out, everything that is human and mortal and completely superfluous and to just skip to the fucking essential. To feel and smell and taste the oozing blood on his tongue, to relish in the metal and the fact that it was Barty’s, shit, he burned with it. He yearned and he shook with it, and his fingers hurt from where they were touching, touching, digging- “Rosie,” He breathed again, faint, and his irises flowed full of stars - his entire face did, morphing into quiet and soft and giving, and shit, Evan felt heady with it, the power. He felt as though he could ask anything, and Barty would answer. He would execute and bend himself over and puke it all out, all he ever had to give and all he ever will. And maybe he would- do it, that is. Maybe Barty was made to answer to him, and maybe he was no one else’s to have. “Rosie, you’re-” “I’m?” And he could see Pandora step out of the bed, from the corner of his eye. “You’re digging your nails into me.” He whispered, like it wad anything but painful, and the warm blood pooled under Evan's nails. Fuck. Fuck!

- Biomimicry by painted_by_a_memory

[tadaxii-i]

GIMMIE MORE BLIND REGGIE HE IS SO BBYGRL

ANYTIME

okay headcanon time (we're going with biomimicry reggie)

Regulus doesn't like the false idea that blind people have to touch your face to see you.

because it's false, yeah?

and it's gross - you don't know where their faces have been.

especially since he doesn't see them, anyone could have dirt on their faces and - no

so he doesn't do that

esp since he's a bit of a clean freak sometimes

but he does it to Pandora

It's only her

and it's because she asked, too

when it happened, she led his hands to her face and waited patiently

her face was soft, and cute, and Regulus really liked being so close to his friend, so he does it when she asks, or when he needs to ground himself

After he starts dating James, though, he does it to him too

it's less about recognition and more about love

it's an affective touch, and James preens under it

(Reg also likes having his love pliant to the touch)

He's also a little shit

absolute asshole

bothers people about his disability all. the. time

makes the dumbest 'blind' jokes with the worst delivery ever

it makes Sirius want to rip his hair off

Regulus has sensory issues

it's something he's lived with his entire life, and he's okay with it

but as a child, sight was the least disturbed sense for him

so losing it, and having to rely on the things that would get him hyperventilating? not cool

He has never touched denim without wanting to rip his fingerprints off

and kissing or licking sounds are such a no no

he literally has to take time off sometimes

he, of course, gets absolutely shamed by his family for it

he has an irrational fear of touching new things because he's scared he won't like the texture

he just deserves all the hugs in the world

As Evan placed Regulus' fingers on the blanket, he shrieked, rushingly jerking it away. Evan cackled.

"I will kill you." Regulus grumbled, obsessively wiping his hands on his trouser legs.

It's not like he had issues with blankets, really, but this one was beyond gross! It had sorts of fabric bumps all over its surface, and it was woven with scratchy wool, the kind that would creak if you rubbed it between your fingers. Ugh.

[tadaxii-i]

Okay *heavy breathing*

This is official (official!!!) art for my blind Regulus Jeggie with background Wolfstar, Dorlene, Rosekiller and Lily exploring her sexuality, gender non-conforming Sirius, and lots of Black family drama/insights.

This is one of my favorite scenes of the whole fic

First chapter should be out in a week or so? (I am so scared ahhh)

(okay update it's here)

[tadaxii-i]

I've done it folks.

I've snuck some Bowie lyrics in a marauders ff.

I am the standard

[tadaxii-i]

OMG OMG OKAY OKAY I'M CALM

but uh, I finally posted chapter 1 of Biomimicry?? I am so nervous it's not even funny.

It's blind!reg jeggie with like, lots of cool stuff and I am feral

it's a gift for @queerregulusablack ahh i'm scared

okay bye *flees the scene*

[tadaxii-i]

Last line tag

Thx for the tag @seductive-snail <3

Barty exhaled, and handed out the two packets. Remus pocketed them.

“And you’re not telling Sirius anything. He doesn’t like me smoking.”

“Boring.”

“Also,” Remus twitched up as he was walking away. “This is all to protect Regulus, right? No one else knows. Not family, not friends, and absolutely not academic superiors. If Dumbledore hears of this, I’ll kill you two dead before I die myself. Got it?"

They nodded, sharp, and Remus extended his hand, wiggling his fingers. Evan pushed in a packet, sighing. Remus trotted off with a wink.

“Fucking hell…” Exhaled Evan.

Yeah. Fucking hell.

Barty and Remus interaction 🕺

Npt: @greenvlvetcouch @euphorial-docx @sequinhaze

[tadaxii-i]

Guess who finished camp nano at 35k words today? On a jeggie ff, on wolfstar angst, may i say. so proud, so touched, so glad this is my life

[tadaxii-i]

After 23k painful words, I'm finally done with chapter 3 of Biomimicry. Writing Blind!Regulus is so much more fun than I thought.