#korra and hunter parallels

[findmeinthefallair]

@fangirling-heart thanks to your comment, I've put some puzzle pieces together!

It's parallels time, with more therapisting.

Now, I dislike most of LoK's writing but for once, the episode "Korra Alone" wasn't written by Bryke and they brought in a waaaay better guest writer - one of the original A:TLA writers in fact - Katie Mattila, in to portray trauma and trauma recovery pretty well.

I basically found more evidence to back up my metas (how did I not sit down to do this before??). Here is a list Korra's important scenes in more or less chronological order, while I add on some more pre-timeskip Hunter commentary.

First of all, Korra's basic needs have to be met before any other breakthroughs can be reached:

Her parents (*cough cough Camila and Darius anyone?*) keep watch over how she eats, sleeps as comfortably as possible, and connects with others, while Katara does her best to restore her mobility.

Hunter would want to help with rebuilding, go to school, play flyer derby, and most of all carve palismen. And at his core he wants to learn and explore more than anything. But as I've said before, I suspect both his mind and body will collapse from awful depression as was the case with Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, who has C-PTSD just like Hunter.

He would also have increased irritability and frustration due to simply not being able to carry out whatever tasks he knows he wants to do, like Korra in this scene:

With Korra at this stage, it was a largely physical issue (being unable to stand and walk), while Hunter's arc would be about tremendous psychological impact e.g. the depression causing him to oversleep and physically slow down.

We see Korra being overwhelmed and experiencing emotional "flooding" when coming in contact with swamp water or when Toph tries to bend the liquid metal out of her body. The Hunter version would mainly involve touching palistrom wood. It's about a sensation so powerful that it can time travel you back to reliving the original event, as if it were in the present here and now. Both Hunter and Korra experienced a "big T" event: possession and poisoning respectively.

But the consistent love and community around him, despite his initial isolation, is what leads him to what I think will be the first breakthrough: seeking therapy. There's no way he would be doing that so soon after leaving The Collector's palace, and as counterintuitive as it sounds, one actually has to be a certain level of "well" in order to reap the benefits of therapy.

In parallel to starting with his therapist, he would be able to start paying some attention during Hexside classes, insisting on taking initiative with some rebuilding efforts, and practising flyer derby, though I think he may refrain from accepting Dell's tutelage this early due to that area holding the worst memories.

Speaking of flyer derby:

If anyone in a practice match uses Abomination Magic, it might be very bad for him. For all you know, even the sight of his friends' and opponents' palismen might set off intense irritability in him. I don't even know if holding the flags will be bad because he might have a mental image of clutching poor Flapjack again.

Korra had the freeze and then fight response with an opponent rushing at her during firebending training, which was her next main hurdle after she could walk and run again. She had a visceral intrusive image of Zaheer charging at her in battle.

But just like how she is no longer wheelchair-bound, Hunter would have begun undertaking some tasks, hanging out with friends, and importantly no longer isolating or oversleeping intensely like before: this is because he starts to feel like there are a few things that he can still control.

But an example of something that is beyond control is:

Korra being overwhelmed by her past just as she was going to enter Republic City to train with Tenzin like the old times. She vividly sees her poisoned self standing on the rocks, and makes a U-turn to then train alone by herself on her own terms. Things simply cannot be just like the old times ever again.

Perhaps the Hunter parallel of this would be when he first experiences unpleasant sensations and emotions in therapy, yet is able to not be flooded badly - this matters, no matter how small the moment seems to be.

And as Dana said, he chose to have his hair cut short again. Just like:

Korra did this after she right before she went off on her own to use fighting rings as a substitute for Tenzin's training and supervision.

Perhaps around the time Hunter gets his new haircut, he has agreed to see Dell and be open to whatever Dell wishes to share. Maybe he'd be ready to start conversing with the Bat Queen too, and start to learn how to carve.

It's kinda like how Korra finally went into the Spirit World again to make further efforts to regain her Avatar State.

ohmygod the spirits are like palismen in these shots

But being in this much close proximity to palismen would still bring back his darkest memory in a visceral way. This is where helping Camila at the vet would be incredibly beneficial as exposure therapy because the larger human realm animals provide enough "distance" from smaller palismen, yet the tasks of tending to their needs can bridge the gap between him and calmly interacting with palismen. At this point, he is still not close to carving Waffles.

I think Hunter's therapist would, after a few months, recommend the fantasy version of EMDR therapy as an intervention a bit later on, after he has stabilized to enough extent to give this a shot. Without getting really technical, EMDR scenes could easily play out like Eda's vivid dreams of fighting and then befriending her owl beast: because this technique is said to replicate REM sleep and its positive effects. It allows a person to process trauma in a controlled environment with an equipped professional.

This would look a lot like Hunter actually taking on Belos in a fight, in his own mindscape - like Eda wrestling with her owl beast in her own mind. We would probably see all sorts of memories from the palace, of monster Belos hurting him. The toughest battles would revolve around Flapjack's death, whereby we would see possessed Hunter all over again in Hunter's mindscape.

It happens to Korra in a similar way, where she (and us viewers) sees her old poisoned self instead of the fighting ring opponent:

At some point, a spirit beckons her to go to the swamp which Toph lives in (idk, I have a cute image of Stringbean helping her witch's adopted brother get out of the house to go to therapy...? It might parallel moments Luz had with Flapjack):

Her old self appears again in the swamp fight scene:

the swamp water has turned to the same kind of metallic poison she is terrified of, and it pulls her in.

You literally just need to change this imagery to Hunter versus his old possessed self, in his mind. This represents his subconscious fighting his conscious mind. But all the while, his therapist will be making sure he is stabilized if the EMDR gets too much.

Him progressing through the EMDR sessions can allow him to bond with Dell as he was meant to, parallel to Korra's many battles with herself leading to meeting Toph and receiving Toph's help.

Above, Korra is unable to tolerate Toph's efforts to bend the remaining poison out of her body, because the trauma sensations are too visceral.

She is frustrated when Toph is upfront about Korra's fear and isolation (as a parallel, I can see Hunter being so frustrated with trying to carve that he seriously considers abandoning palismen-carving for good):

Later on, Korra enters the swamp alone while having to run errands for Toph:

And is pulled into a flashback after the swamp's spooky aura has taken effect (Interestingly, Toph later says that the swamp is trying to get Korra to face her fears):

The shift that happened was that Korra was thrust back into reliving the memory accurately, instead of her traumatized subconscious fighting against her. Notice how her old self is now chained up and hanging from the ceiling just like what originally happened, instead of rushing at her for another fight.

What would be the Hunter equivalent? I think that instead of seeing him fighting his possessed self again, this time we'd only see his current self witnessing the original memory - watching his possessed self, and Flapjack's death - play out. And this shift happened because Hunter is healed enough at this point, to take a full look at this worst memory. He would be devastated all over again, but not flooded like he was all those months ago. Previously, his subconscious served to protect him from being overwhelmed by the pain of the memory, until he was ready to take a good look at it and accept that it happened.

Korra became more open to more of Toph's advice, making her way out of excessive isolation and fear. Toph even had her own version of Dell's "let the past stay in the past" to say to Korra.

Last year I talked about an eventual breakthrough that Hunter can have via the EMDR, where he can say farewell to Belos and integrate his complex grief about Belos's death (link is here), and I feel like he would've needed to do this before being able to carve Waffles.

As Dell so rightly put it in Elsewhere and Elsewhen, the past can stay in the past and that's what EMDR therapy champions.

Being able to complete the carving of his very first palisman must have been a moment of collective joy and connecting with the people he loves at a whole new level, like what happened with Korra when 1. she was receptive to Toph's metaphor of the banyan tree, and then 2. chose to be found by Jinora, Ikki and Meelo:

After this comes yet another amazing breakthrough where he gets his sigil removed, or replaced with the Flapjack tattoo (depending on how you voted in this poll):

It will no doubt be scary. This will be a bigger version of how he stepped over Belos's goop form in King's Tide, to walk through the portal door into the human realm.

But as was the case with the beautiful LoK scene above, Hunter will have connection (family and friends) and courage to see him through it. Both those qualities are exactly what Toph implored Korra to seek out in order to heal. His friends also went to get Flapjack tattoos, after all.

And that's a wrap.

What do you guys think? Hope you enjoyed reading this spontaneous very hyperfixative meta.

I never asked before --

Do reply/comment and elaborate! I'm curious to see people discuss this

[raayllum]

it’s high key really annoying the attention toh gets on this website while no one acknowledges tdp exists

Yeah, sometimes I wish TDP got more recognition and appreciation in a fandom space for its storytelling (the parallels, the worldbuilding, the mature theme explorations) simply because we haven't had a western kids' show go this hard since TLOK (even if I think Korra stumbles in a lot of ways) and arguably ATLA in its explorations of war and morality, two things that TDP is obsessed with, as well as a sometimes overwhelming discussion of Grief.

However, to be frank, while many teen and adult fans of kids cartoons say that they want darker themes and storylines, what that usually means, I think, is more akin to something like TOH or She Ra, in which you know 1) your favourite characters will always typically survive with maybe one or two minor parental or villainous exceptions, and 2) one or two characters in an otherwise fairly cookie cutter 'good guy' cast will have a redemption arc or be quirky morally dubious in a way that's played for comedy, and there will be a handful of significantly "Oh Shit!" darker or creepier moments. The characters are mostly teenagers, the heavier plot stuff is regulated to a few standout episodes, with most of the other conflicts being things like figuring out how to make friends or struggling with not fitting in or deciding what you want to do with your life. And those are all good explorations, and it's not as though TDP doesn't touch on some of that (Callum is finding his place in the world, Rayla is 'changing careers', Ez struggles with his new responsibilities and not fitting in, Soren - like Hunter - leaves an emotionally abusive relationship with a parental figure).

But I think it's TDP's attachment of all of those things to morality that makes the emotional stakes higher and less comforting and/or comfortable for people who are, likely, going to fiction for escapism rather than exploration. (To be clear: one is not better than the other, I just know what my personal preferences are.) Rayla's 'career/schooling' change is whether she's going to kill people for a living; Callum deciding what sort of mage he's going to be is rooted in deciding how much he's willing to either slowly destroy himself or take on the impossible, both with some dire consequences; Ezran not fitting is is also tied to having mysterious, unknown magical powers the story still hasn't fully explained the root cause of. Yes, the three main kids are typically good people who want to do the right thing, but that's much easier said than done (Ezran burning the monster soldiers, Callum's ruthlessness, Rayla's self sacrificial tendencies manifesting in destructive ways). TDP is never going to have an episode of "I lied to my friends because I wanted them to think I was cool or not a nerd" or "I'm scared of them preferring someone else over me" or "I need to learn how to be a good friend" (hi TOH with like 5 episodes and She Ra).

Like Rayla lies to the boys, but that's because she isn't sure how to tell them that her father murdered theirs and made them orphans, and she's worried it will accordingly be a wedge between them.

Like, there's hardly any episodes of TDP that don't talk about grief or death or both in some manner. The show consistently explores unreliable narrators across all sides of its ethical spectrum(s). S4 has a subplot regarding religious traditions and the ethics of the death penalty. Most of Arc 1 and now into Arc 2 sees good people with good intentions or understandable motivations doing pretty terrible things to either themselves, the people around them, or both. The death and body horror imagery aren't one offs, but consistent series defining elements that are always treated seriously. Villains aren't people who don't love their families (or anyone) and good guys aren't good because they're good friends to one another. It's more complicated than that, from the body swap and discussions of the soul in S1, to the cycle of violence laid out explicitly in S2, to explorations of punishment and exile in S3.

Overall, I'm fine with the success and appreciation that TDP gets; some of my students watch it, actually, which makes it useful in some of our lesson discussions. Because TDP is a good show for kids, yes, but it certainly never pulls its punches in forcing all of its ensemble cast through the wringer.

TLDR; due to age demographics and tonal differences, particularly in character conflicts, themes, and amount of Lore, I'm not surprised at all that TDP is pretty underrated on tumblr. Again, doesn't mean these elements of 'maturity' make it Better (although I do think it's written more cohesively than She Ra and more consistently than TOH in its set up and payoff), I just know where my (and many other's) preferences lay accordingly, and am not surprised at the split.

[fukia]

Fionna & Cake final thoughts , opinions and nitpicks lol

This will be unorganized and random and stinky, sorry

• great pacing first 2 eps

• good ideas

• ignoring multiverse saturation, is p decently done here!

• I miss Neil Patrick’s take on Gary/gumball- he sounded so freakin princely :(

• marshall sounded kinda less mischievous than he used to? Like vocally more down or something- I’m super glad he had the same actor tho lol Donaldddd

• I miss old Prismo voice too but I know why these didn’t work out

• Hunter’s voice either could’ve gone for a deep gravely stoicism or could’ve just been w/ the same actor as Huntress Wizard

• Scarab is ehhh- decent design but feels kinda out of place for adventure time- voice is similarly the same offness too, reminded me of kinda bad anime dub voices, it doesn’t feel intentional to the right extent —- either make a more surreal villain or a funnier one, his presence was rather generic

• the spooky faces and scurrying beetle of scarab was kinda funny

• lemongrab. Why justnonce roiland.

• I will end my life a million aeons over for Orbo - bluey’s dad: “say goodbye to your legs!”

• mmmarceline dress

• bubblegum mmmmilitary

• I wish we saw the fucking MOON vampire

• MOON vs STAR (super cool naming if the uh tarot thing is carried on here I legit don’t know if star is an actual tarot card lemme check)

• ORGALORG WHYYYYYY

• marshall n Gary was sweet- but I really wished they played up the bitter exes part before they did just the fluffy dating, bring a bit of parallel consistency

• fionna was good acting! The crying bit made my heart ouches- Character herself was a tad frustrating at times admittedly

• cake is great still - cake and vampire king hilarious

• why no “the star”’s actual dad :(

• BETH SHERMY GIBBON YES YES YES- back to old adventure time: I love the intro theme for Beth and shermy, it’s so melancholic and desolate, cold, with backgrounds that make this so fascinatingly depressing a turn for the land of oo (happy endings impermanent- life goes on kinda deal, so cool, so consistent with adventure time’s own concepts & “everything stays”)

• Simon and Betty made me emotional

• uhh how old was Betty when she starting dating simon? Just offhand lol I’m sure it was fine

• Golbetty had beautiful scenes

• way better simon and Golbetty than that weird adventure time published comic I’m sure some of you read

• the animation is great on some places, other times while well made, feels out of place for adventure time; like it’s trying too hard to be pretty (not the Ice Prince song, stuff like that made sense for adventure time)

• like some bits reminded me of Steven universe’s inconsistencies (same bits that made me really really dislike some of adventure time distant lands’ execution)

• [funny nitpick incoming] like there were points where the characters had really big eyes even tho they r supposed to be dots (not when exaggerating certain emotions cartoonishly, I meant prolonged); adventure time’s deal is keeping them small and kinda hard to decipher

• some bits were just a tinnny too anime that it bothered me, just some! Anime is cool!!!

• I was really expecting or hoping for a Korra styled multi-season just with lesser episodes

• the resolution was… kinda haphazardly handled

• same with some of the final themes, like w/ simon n betty

• adventure time is kinda known for being almost ambiguously optimistic so the whole super happy thing was kinda strange to me

• I know like it shouldn’t have to be the same as adventure time obviously, but that was the general identity of adventure time; the cosmic ambiguity with absurd humor delivered nonchalantly

• like I think of patience st pim’s ice domain during elements and the melancholic quietness of it - also PATIENCE ST PIM WHYYYYY I LOVED YOU (patiencevstheempresscough)

• ORGALORG COME BACK TO MEEEE

• yes it was a great thing to have this miniseries I enjoyed many parts

• the music was fucking fire!!!

• where was the dr two brains reference ? -3-

[ur-local-demon1]

Luz and Hunter

Lunter shippers are not welcome here btw, this post will be proving the "sibling dynamic" claim, because I saw a post saying they just didn't see their relationship this way.

Wittebros

Starting off, Luz and Hunter are meant to parallel the Wittebane Brothers. Luz is a human on the boiling isles, like Philip, and Hunter is Caleb’s clone. Luz and Philip have some similarities, they’re both humans from Gravesfield who got to the boiling isles by “mistake”, as in, they shouldn’t be there. They both tried everything in their powers to get home and communicated with the isles to learn about Glyph Magic. The similarities pretty much end there, since Luz didn’t try to unalive Hunter or the entirety of the Boiling Isles. 

Ironically enough, we know as much about Caleb as much as Hunter knows about himself (almost nothing). Philip says Hunter looked the most like him, and it’s true, the resemblance is creepy af, but I also like to think it also applies to his personality, almost all the other Grimwalkers were. Once again, basing myself off of things Philip said because he is our only 99.9% reliable source to who was Caleb. He says “It hurts every time he choses to betray me,”. He’s referring to the time Caleb chose to give up witch-hunting as he fell in love with a witch and all the times his clone learnt the truth about him. Caleb’s morals and affection for witches and palismen continue to live on through his clones. 

How they see each other

In thanks to them, Luz tells Hunter she considers him to be a part of her family now, and Hunter starts crying since he doesn’t have a biological family and this is coming from who is technically his first ever non palisman friend. We see in the montage part of thanks to them, Hunter looking at the drawings the others did of their family, and obviously he feels bad for them, but it’s clear he wishes there was someone in the boiling isles worrying about him and wondering where he is. They’re family, and written as such. 

I’m one of the followers of the person who this post is dedicated to, and if they do find it, I hope they learned something and don’t get offended about what I’ll say next (they seem like a very open minded and calm person so): “This is just how I see/interpret the dynamic” and this isn’t how the crew/cast interpreted/wrote the dynamic. Luz and Hunter see each other as family (aka, siblings), and so does the cast, because we know damn well Hunter’s VA didn’t change his name on Twitter to “Hunter Noceda” for the ship. I know me of all people should be open minded and mature about ships that go against canon, but never when it erases representation. I love how Lunter shippers watched the owl house, saw Lumity, the only healthy woman loving woman ship that Disney has, heck, the only bisexual woman in a cartoon that hasn’t dated men, and they went “let’s ship that one with a man, it’s totally okay because she’s bi! :)”. And when I say love, I mean other words I can’t say because I’m not supposed to get angry. I’ll just leave Lunter shippers who think like this with this message: Go take that fake inclusivity of yours and go show it off to someone who cares because I certainly don’t. If we wanted yet another boring m/f ship with a bisexual woman in it, we would’ve watched the first seasons of the legend of Korra.

[ellyawn]

Ayleen Shepard Character development

First thing, my english is rusty, long time I didn't write a big text like that. Since few months I have a character idea for Vampire: The Masquerade v5 : a woman doing videogames streaming and extremes sports who will be embrace by a Malkavian fan.

As a result, she would "obtain" a mmorpg vision of the world (name on the top of the people, music when a fight start and many interaction like crying for xp/drop or not understanding why the coteries doesn't accept her group invitation XD)

So I started to work on a design but I wasn't convinced

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Having no one to make me play vampire, I put her in waiting because I storytell a Chicago by Night campaign with very active players ^^

But last week one of my player proposed to storytell a Hunter: The Reckonning game... and in my head it was : maybe I could play her human story with that ! So here we go :D Since the story will be happen in parallel to mine, in the same city, events will be link ^^ And my idea of character became the little sister of Andie's (one of my player) best friend : Miakoda Shepard.

Their father is Iroquoian while their mother is French, Miakoda learn the way of the chamans, is a nature photographer and fight for the natives americans rights. So Ayleen is younger and doesn't have the same character, she love doing extreme sport, pushing her limit, and playing videogames so she start streaming, becoming famous really fast.

Doing a pinterest to put all the idea of design in it, I realized that Ayleen is totaly a modern version of Korra (Avatar: The Legend of Korra) XD Now I have to find a great illustration or draw her myself ^^;

And I have already start her playlist, some musics are more for her vampire version (like The World) but it give a good idea already

As you can see, I have still some way to improve her story (I must create her bests friends, I hesitate to make her a twin sister, I must add drama, etc) and I will work on that this weekend ^^

[honeyapplepi]

Masterlist + Requests

( requests // closed )

> If any of the links aren’t working please tell me, so i can fix it. Also my default for my headcannons is gender neutral, so if you would like a specific gender please specify that in your request.

> I might not write your request if it doesn’t inspire me or i don’t feel comfortable writing about it. It might also take me awhile since writing can take me anywhere from a day to a week depending so please be patient.

[what I DONT write]

> There might be more stuff i don’t write for, but just didn’t think about it before. So, if you have something your not sure if i’ll write it send me a message asking about it or just go ahead and request it and i might do it if i feel comfortable.

incest

non-con

yandere

characters under 15 if it’s romantic (with exceptions to the Dream SMP)

smut

anything to do with pregnancy

[ Shows I Write For ]

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Legend of Korra

Hunter x Hunter

Haikyuu

Ouran High School Host Club

My Hero Academia

Dream SMP (Not a show but someone suggested it. I won’t write for the actual people though, but i will write their characters)

> AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER <

< ONE SHOTS / IMAGINES

SUKI : Sokka x Reader (i’m not 100% what pronouns i used or if i used any tbh)

•

> DREAM SMP <

I have specific rules for requesting the Dream SMP so please look here for them.

< HEADCANNONS

S/O THAT CAN RESURRECT PEOPLE: sapnap x gn!reader

PRISON MATES: (PLATONIC) dream x gn!reader

< ONE SHOTS / IMAGINES

Y/N NEVER DIES!: (PLATONIC) Sapnap, Dream, George x gn!reader

SLEEPY BOIS SHENANIGANS: sleepy bois x sibling!reader (gn)

PARALLELS FROM ANOTHER LIFE: sapnap x gn!reader, mason x gn!reader, james x gn!reader

A LONG AWAITED HAPPY ENDING: sapnap x gn!reader

< SERIES

THE FALL OF L’MANBERG: (PLATONIC) Dream SMP x gn!reader Completed: 1. | 2. | 3. |

THE KNIGHT’S COURT: Sapnap x gn!reader, wilbur x gn!reader ongoing: 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | 10. | 11. |

•

> HAIKYU!! <

< HEADCANNONS

HOW THEY CUDDLE: Oikawa, Bokuto, Tendō, Asahi, Hinata, Kenma (separately) x gn!Reader

THEIR FAVORITE MOVIE: Bokuto, Tsukishima, Oikawa, Akaashi, Sugawara, Ushijima, Kageyama, Iwaizumi

DOMESTIC HEADCANNONS (KARASUNO): Karasuno Boys, Coaches, Managers (separately) x gn!reader

HOW THEY CUDDLE PT. 2: Tsukishima, Sakusa, Kuroo, Osamu, Atsumu (separately) x gn!reader

YOUR RELATIONSHIP AS SONGS: Oikawa, Bokuto, Sugawara, Tendō, Yamaguchi (separately) x gn!reader

HOW THEY BREAKUP: Kageyama, Tsukishima, Bokuto, Ushijima (separately) x gn!reader

KISSING THEM IN FRONT OF THE TEAM: Hinata, Tsukishima, Tendō, Iwaizumi, Akaashi (separately) x gn!reader

HOW THEY PLAY THE SIMS: Hinata, Tanaka, Nishinoya, Atsumu, Bokuto, Lev, Kageyama,Iwaizumi, Tsukishima, Osamu, Semi, Matsukawa, Kuroo, Daichi, Kindaichi, Yamamoto, Kenma, Yamaguchi, Yaku, Ennoshita, Akaashi

CUTE INTERACTIONS (TIMESKIP): Sugawara, Kenma, Oikawa, Tsukishima x gn!reader

THEIR NICKNAME FOR YOU: Bokuto, Oikawa, Sugawara, Matsukawa (separately) x gn!reader

WHY’D YOU ONLY CALL ME WHEN YOUR HIGH: Terushima, Suna, Atsumu, Osamu (separately) x gn!reader

CUTE COUPLE PHOTOS: Oikawa, Matsukawa, Iwaizumi, Hanamaki (separately) x gn!reader

< SMAUS

IT’S THE WATTPAD VIBES FOR ME: Kenma x fem!reader discontinued : 0. The Plastics | 0. Kenma’s Gang | 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | 10. | 11. | 12. | 13. | 14. | 15. | 16. | 17. | 18. | 19. |

< ONE SHOTS / IMAGINES

PLEASE STAY: Oikawa x Gn!Reader

“I LIKE YOUR VOICE”: Kenma x Gn!Reader

[rockingthegraveyard]

Not sure if you got my last ask or not (if so feel free to ignore this) but I am also a fan of both SPN and LOK and I was wondering what your take on John - Zolt, Bobby - Toza, Dean - Mako and Sam - Bolin parallels are (if you have one). I personally find it interesting how well the dynamics fit but I suppose both are similar stories.

I did kinda answer a LoK/SPN related ask here.

You mean like in a au situations???? ‘Cause that’s all I can think about now, Mako and Bolin in a loosely based spn au. 

Mako and Bolin who are orphaned by a demon (or w/e) who are adopted by the hunter (Zolt) who exercised it. Only Zolt isn’t some saint or much of a hero. He’s part of a hunting community and if he’s honest a couple of raised soldiers and “fun sized” monster bait might be worth the work in taking them in. Of course Mako is the bumper between Zolt and Bolin so he’s harder, more stunted and angry than his little brother. While Bolin tries his best to give as much light in their little dark world as he can.

And Toza, a borderline retired hunter. He shouldn’t be in the field with his fucked up knee but he’s still touching elbows with fellow hunters and picking up the cases he can work. He doesn’t pay much mind to who is there and usually it’s pretty clear who calls dips on what case. So Toza is a little surprised when he runs into another hunter but not as surprised as he is that said hunter is 15 years old.

So begins the reluctant adoption of Mako and Bolin because kids shouldn’t be working this life, what the fuck???? Biggest problem? They’re basically owned by a hunting gang, second biggest is Mako’s trust issues especially with any and every other hunter. Good thing Bolin falls in love with Toza instantly and Mako can’t help but eventually fall in line. And Toza gets them out in some way, idk, maybe I’ll think of that later.

And they all retire ... mostly. Toza has a home and is more or less settled. He tires to keep Mako and Bolin to stick to local cases but that doesn’t stop Mako from running off every now and then, purposely not taking Bolin when he can get away with it. But they’re out as they can be without actually quitting.

Until they meet an angel???????? Or a witch?? Oh no wait, maybe certain member of the hunting community pick up some witchcraft  and taught the boys a thing or two, useful things that can ease a hunt every now and then.

Anyways, obviously Korra isn’t human, and maybe Asami is a civilian until she isn’t?? Either way Korra would def be as much as “Cas” as she can be in this situation only she doesn’t get with the “Dean” of this story. Not that he did in spn, right??? Lmao, basically the ‘Cas” of the story gets with the “Charlie” of the story.

I got a little carried away, idk if this is the answer you wanted but I just fell down my little au hole.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

My pitch for an alternate version of the Star Wars sequel arc (Episodes 7-12):

(NOTE: Aside from some characters being reused, this is completely separate from the actual sequel trilogy) 

1) All six movies comprise of one arc but episodes 7-9 and 10-12 can be seen as their own trilogies. Think of this like a TV show season; the first half of the season is different from the second half. 

2) The initial main protagonists are Ben Solo and Rey Nebula, Luke Skywalker’s proteges and the top two students of the reformed Jedi Academy. However, there’s a change in protagonists after episode 9, which I’ll explain when I get there. The main protagonists from episodes 10-12 are Nico Palpatine (Emperor Palpatine’s granddaughter), Finn (a former stormtrooper), Poe Dameron (a Mandalorian bounty hunter), and Rose Tico (an inventor from Coruscant).

3) Episodes 7-9 focus on defeating the last of the Imperial forces (renamed “The First Order”) and Luke ordering the capture of Nico Palpatine, the last of Emperor Palpatine’s line. The trilogy is set up like a traditional Star Wars story; Empire and Sith are the villains while the Republic and the Jedi are the heroes. However, in episode 8, we start to see the cracks in the story. Nico, despite being a Palpatine, is revealed to be a scared, severely depressed young woman who is trying to escape her legacy. She’s not interested in the Sith or even avenging her grandfather, she just wants to live her life. In addition, it’s revealed that there’s unrest in the Republic with Leia’s government becoming more unpopular each day. The main concern is that, in their quest to stamp out all traces of the Galactic Empire, people are fearing that the New Republic is on the road to becoming a fascist dictatorship as well.

4) While all that is going on, Luke learns about this “Force boogeyman” who has resurfaced. This boogeyman, known as “The Equalist”, is a legendary figure who is feared by both the Jedi and the Sith. Apparently, they have survived for thousands of years (using the Force to extend their lifespan) and they have an intense hatred towards both orders of the Force. The Equalist is the main antagonist of the sequel series. 

5) The big reveal in Episode 9: Rey Nebula, who was presented as the main heroine of the sequel series, is revealed to be “The Equalist”. She entered Luke’s academy with the intention of infiltrating the Jedi Order and destroying it from within, as well as getting close to Luke. In addition, she’s the one who has been influencing the political unrest in the New Republic. The reason for her hatred of the Jedi and the Sith is that she was part of an ancient order of Force users that predated the Jedi and the Sith (think: Dai Bendu). Her order, instead of emphasizing the differences in the Light and Dark sides of the Force, preached a “Grey” interpretation that believed the Light and Dark sides worked in tandem. Rey reveals that her order was destroyed by both the early Jedi and Sith as they felt threatened by the “Grey” interpretation of the Force. 

6) Some dialogue I came up with for Rey/The Equalist: “When the universe was first formed...do you think the Creators had a set of morals in mind for the Force? The answer is no...we were the ones who gave meaning to the Force. The problem is...we couldn’t agree which interpretation was correct and, as a result, millions of people died. Over a difference of faith. How pitiful.” / “The Jedi preaches that the Dark Side is evil. The Sith preaches that the Light Side is evil. But yet, despite the differences in your religions...you both agreed that my people were a threat. We were a threat...for believing that the Force was neither good or evil. For our beliefs, you sentenced my people to death.” --> author’s note: If this sounds like Pain from Naruto or Zaheer from Legend of Korra, I admit that they were inspirations for the Equalist. 

7) Ben Solo goes from the main male protagonist to the secondary antagonist of the series. Although he starts out as an honorable Jedi, he becomes swayed by Rey’s mission to destroy the Jedi and the Sith once he learns their “hidden history” (namely, the destruction of Rey’s old order of Force users). He also becomes disillusioned by the New Republic when he learns about the war crimes and atrocities that the Rebels committed during the war with the Galactic Empire (history that was also buried by the New Republic). Ben feels betrayed as he was taught that the Jedi and Rebels were pure heroes, leading to him joining forces with Rey. So in this version, Ben’s turn to darkness comes from his inability to see the world through a grey perspective; he’s stuck in a black-and-white moral mentality that makes him unable to comprehend the nuances of war and politics, which then leads to him helping Rey in her dangerous revolution. 

8) Nico Palpatine goes from a supporting protagonist to the main protagonist of the series. Although she’s treated with much hostility from Luke Skywalker in the beginning, Luke slowly warms up to her when he realizes she’s nothing like her grandfather. Also, when we get to know more about Nico, we learn that she has a strange connection to the Force. She’s as powerful as Emperor Palpatine but she doesn’t feel a strong connection to either the Light or Dark sides since she was never formally trained. As a result, she’s developed a sort of “Grey” relationship to the Force, just like Rey. However, Nico’s pure heart clashes with Rey’s thirst for vengeance, which leads to them becoming archenemies. 

---------------------------> side note: my fancast for Nico is Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing from Iron Fist) 

9) Finn, Poe, and Rose are all elevated to co-protagonists in episodes 10-12. They start out as supporting allies in episodes 7-9 but are elevated in importance when they befriend Nico and form her inner circle. So if Nico is the Luke of the sequel series, Poe and Rose share the Han Solo role while Finn fills in the Leia Organa role. In this alternate version, Rose is an inventor who sells state-of-the-art weapons to the New Republic, Finn is a former stormtrooper who has enlisted in the New Republic’s army, and Poe is a Mandalorian bounty hunter who specializes in hunting down Sith lords. 

10) Just as a side note, I pictured Finn being more important than Poe and Rose since he also has a subplot where he learns that he’s Force-sensitive.

11) Episodes 10-12 focus on Nico, Finn, Poe, and Rose trying to stop Rey, Ben, and their faction from destroying the Jedi, the Sith and the New Republic. We learn that Rey’s grand plan is to cause as much unrest in the New Republic as possible, causing the Republic to fall into a civil war. Combined with the ongoing war against the First Order, this would eventually lead to the Republic collapsing into complete anarchy. So as a stark contrast to the original and prequel trilogies, our main villain isn’t a fascist dictator but a vengeance-fueled anarchist who wants to destroy all traces of the Jedi and the Sith. 

12) Fates of the OG trio: Han Solo is killed in episode 8 during a battle with the First Order. His death sends Ben Solo into full despair, which Rey takes advantage of. Leia Skywalker is killed in episode 10 by Ben. Leia tries to convince him that Rey is the real threat and, in response, Ben stabs her through the chest (so she gets Han’s death from TFA). Luke Skywalker heroically sacrifices himself in episode 12. He destroys a Death Star-type weapon that Rey had taken control of while still inside. 

13) There’s a major time jump between episodes 9 and 10 because Luke Skywalker has taken on Nico Palpatine as his protege  Episode 10 takes place six years after episode 9 in order to explain how Nico is suddenly a capable Jedi, as well as how Rey and Ben were able to raise an army while hiding in the shadows. 

14) The ending scene of episode 11 is Luke Skywalker naming Nico Palpatine as the next Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. When Nico protests, saying that she should be disqualified due to her lineage, Luke reminds her that his father was Darth Vader. He says something along the lines of, “You may be a Palpatine by blood...but you’ve proven more than once that you are your own person.” He also says that the Jedi could benefit from Nico’s “Grey” view of the Force since she could teach about the Dark Side without falling into it and becoming a Sith.

15) Showdown in episode 12 is split between Nico’s confrontation with Rey and Ben, as well as the New Republic engaging the Equalist Army. Both conflicts are resolved in a way to symbolize that the galaxy is willing to make an effort for peace. First, the New Republic is assisted by the factions that were threatening to break away, signifying that Rey’s plan for complete anarchy has failed and that the New Republic is whole again. Second, after Rey is fatally wounded by Nico, both women decide to sit together in peace and discuss their place in the universe. Before she dies, Rey says that Nico has a chance to be better than her predecessors and to not repeat the mistakes of the past Jedi. 

16) Ben survives but is imprisoned for life due to his actions in episodes 10-12. 

17) Ending of the series: Nico takes her place as the new Jedi Grandmaster, Finn joins the Jedi Academy, Poe is made a leading general in the New Republic (the first Mandalorian to take on the position), and Rose becomes a Senator. 

Some more thematic stuff I forgot to add:

* Aside from being “Grey Force” users, I wanted Rey and Nico to parallel each other in the sense that they both are the result of a hateful environment. Rey’s people were senselessly destroyed since their beliefs were feared while Nico’s very existence made her a target of the galaxy’s hatred. 

* In the original trilogy, the main sin was pride. In the prequel trilogy, the main sin was envy. For this sequel series, the main sin is wrath (Luke hating Nico’s existence before getting to know her, Rey’s hatred fueling her anarchist campaign and Ben’s anger after learning the hidden history of the Jedi and the Republic)

* The first half is set up as a traditional Star Wars story in order to set up the contrast of the second half. We go from having a Skywalker as the main protagonist to a Palpatine as the lead, the main villain isn’t a Sith but someone who challenges the beliefs of both the Jedi and the Sith, and the conflict isn’t about toppling an empire but making sure the current regime survives the unrest. 

* EDIT: Another thing I forgot to add. The conflict between Rey’s Grey Order, Jedi, and Sith was inspired by real-life religion. Rey’s order is a Pagan religion while the Jedi and Sith can be seen as parallels to Catholicism or Christianity (both orders believe in the Dark-Light belief of the Force, but differ on which side to follow). The destruction of Rey’s order is a parallel to the Inquisitions. 

[rotationalsymmetry]

Avatar and Korra and gender roles (pt 1 of 2)

So, what I really love about Legend of Korra is how they handle gender. For context, I’m going to start with how Avatar: The Last Airbender handles gender. ie, they start not so great and then get better. Two of the best female characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender were originally intended to be male characters: Toph and Azula. Aang’s earthbending teacher and Zuko’s sibling who always does everything better than him, could have both been male, and were originally intended to both be male. Let’s look at Season 1 from that angle: what female characters do we have, and could they have been male instead. Katara? Probably not -- she’s Aang’s love interest. (Also, a story about Aang, dude-version-of-Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Iroh -- and because this is the first season we’re talking about here, Zhou -- would have been really blatantly lacking in female central characters.) Suki? Well, they make a huge deal about the Kyoshi warriors being female, so I’m going to say that yes, Suki has to be female, or else you don’t have an episode there. (Similar for the hoard of girls that follow Aang around in that show.) Plus, she’s a love interest for Sokka. The fortune teller is in a conventionally feminine role. June (June shows up in Season 1, right?) is debatable: I think there’s strong vibes of “let’s create a sexy female bounty hunter” with her that you don’t necessarily get with female characters in later seasons. Borderline. Yueh is a love interest for Sokka. That waterbender healer at the north pole, what’s her name, has to be female. While getting sent off from the South Pole by their grandfather would have been both interesting and possible, having their grandmother around while the men were off at war isn’t exactly a hard choice. In contrast, for male characters: Aang didn’t have to be male. Sokka didn’t have to be male, although certainly being male shapes his character a lot. Zuko didn’t have to be male, and Iroh only has to be male if you insist on having a power structure where men become rulers by default (a plausible but not essential assumption for a fantasy story.) Ditto for Ozai -- actually, a female Ozai wouldn’t even have had to change the story that much even in a men-have-power-by-default context. I mean, he is an usurper. King Bumi. Jet and most of Jet’s crew. The leader of the pirates. (Can’t remember offhand if all of the pirate crew are male.) Paku absolutely has to be male in order to have Katara’s “girls can be fighters” north pole plotline, but he’s the exception. Haru and his dad -- and none of these are a problem on their own, specifically Haru and his dad both having Earthbending is kind of a parallel with Katara and her mom having Waterbending, but still the overall picture is one of an awful lot of male characters except when there’s a specific reason for characters to be female. The freaking cabbage merchant. All of the leaders of everything, are male -- even the head of Suki’s town is a man. And this isn’t just inherent to a patriarchal setting: gender norms aren’t gender universals; you can have a world where for instance most blacksmiths are men, but every so often you have a woman who was married to a blacksmith but then he died, and she took on his trade, things like that. There’s always exceptions. (Especially for outlaws, like Jet’s gang and the pirates and the prisoners in the Avatar Day episode.) You can have girls and women doing boy things and man things without it being a girl power aesop each time. It can be just a “this is how it’s done in our village” thing. Then, in the second and third season, there’s a change. Toph, who didn’t have to be a girl. Azula and her mooks, Mai and Tai Lee. The bureaucrat who stamps people’s passports on the way into Ba Sing Se is an older woman. We start seeing female Fire Nation soldiers. Things are more even.

[laufire]

hellooo for fandom ask meme- atla?

Top 5 favourite characters: Sokka, Azula, Toph, Ty Lee, Mai.

Other characters you like: practically everyone. Aang, Zuko, Katara, Suki, Yue, Jet...

Least favourite characters: Ozai sucks, obviously xD. And frankly... though I love other parts of him, I have to say Iroh has not aged well in the rewatch. I hate how creepy he was with June, the bounty hunter. And I side-eye his attitude towards Azula vs. Zuko.

Otps: tbh nothing really makes it to OTP levels, BUT in this rewatch I’ve found myself appreciating Aang/Zuko and their dynamic and parallels all the more. I don’t ship them during show-time (I watched the show when I was 10-12 and it’s kind of hard to ship Aang at that time lol) but as adults I could tbh; their dynamic is just incredibly well-written. Other of my fave ships are Sokka/Suki/Zuko, Sokka/Yue, Azula/Sokka, Azula/Mai/Ty Lee, and Jet/Katara.

Notps: nothing gets to NOTP levels, though over the years I’ve decided to keep away from both Aang/Katara and Aang/Zuko discourse LOL.

Favourite friendships: Zuko & the Gaang, Toph & Aang.

Favourite family: Azula & Zuko. I love disfunction xD.

Favourite episodes: the Boiling Rock and Azula’s coup in Ba Sing Se.

Favourite season/book/movie: season 2 >>>>>>> (late s3 was... disappointing in some areas. AKA the Dangerous Ladies).

Favourite quotes: Aang talking to an asleep Zuko in the Blue Spirit episode vs. Zuko talking to an asleep Aang during the blizzard about Azula ( “She was born lucky. I was lucky to be born.” That whole speech is A Lot); “pride is not the opposite of shame, but rather its source”. And of course, “can your science explain why it rains?” “YES IT CAN”.

Best musical moment: the Avatar state theme always gets me.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: the Dragons episode (I looooove dragons).

When it really disappointed you: the Dangerous Ladies’ endings (Azula’s is utterly undignified, Mai’s is dull, and Ty Lee’s is kinda heartbreaking but presented as triumphant aka what I hate the most xD).

Saddest moment: Zuko going back to his father in s2.

Most well done character death: Jet’s.

Favourite guest star: Jet I guess? I never know how to take “guest star” in shows like this.

Favourite cast member: didn’t Serena Williams voice someone? The guard that was nice to Iroh so he spared her? There you have it xD.

Character you wish was still alive: Jet, if only for The Drama LMAO.

One thing you hope really happens: ........ I just hope the live-action reboot doesn’t make concessions and they write what THEY want to write.

Most shocking twist: hmm. Can’t really remember anything.

When did you start watching/reading?: I watched the show more or less as it aired, the first time.

Best animal/creature: Appa, DUH.

Favourite location: Ba Sing Se. So damn creepy, such good plots.

Trope you wish they would stop using: tbh the thing that annoyed me the most is when they tried to ~recreate the... effect some of ATLA’s characters had with LOK’s and utterly failed ¬¬ (Bolin annoys me in particular. It’s a good thing I’ve never seen anyone in fandom explicitly compare him to Sokka LMFAO). And I want to clarify I don’t say this as a way to hate on LOK, because I love LOK (and Korra is my favourite character in the whole ‘verse). But that part annoyed me xD

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: it falls on that category of “children show that NEVER talks down to children” and I’ll always love it for that.

Funniest moments: Sokka was sincerely funny and enjoyable. And the show was great at visual/physical humor, especially with bending.

Couple you would like to see: Sokka/Zuko or Azula/Sokka, Just Because LOL (and I really hope the reboot doesn’t erase Jet/Katara tbh).

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: n/a. Well, actually, that’s wrong. I’d love to see Brandon Soo Hoo to join the cast as ANYONE, just because I want to see Brandon Soo Hoo on-screen again :P

Favourite outfit: Azula’s Ba Sing Se outfits. And the ones on the beach episode.

Favourite item: Sokka’s boomerang, OFC. And his meteorite sword.

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: nope.

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I’d love to be an airbender (I just want to flyyyy).

Most boring plotline: n/a.

Most laughably bad moment: Ty Lee’s ending. A character that valued individuality so much she left a family because there was nothing differentiating her from her sisters ends in a uniformed order where every girl looks the same. O-fucking-kay.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: Zuko’s banishment flashbacks *sniffs*

Most layered character: Aang and Zuko, IMO.

Most one dimensional character: cabbages man, but we love him so xD

Scariest moment: Zuko’s Agni Kai. Poor dear.

Grossest moment: that weird deformed panda spirit comes to mind.

Best looking male: I actually have some Issues(TM) about how they’re drawn as grown-ups LMAO. Hmm. Between Sokka and Zuko I guess.

Best looking female: 12-year-old me had a mini crush on the Dangerous Ladies LOL.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): see above.

Favourite cast moment: n/a.

Favourite transportation: Appa.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): there’s a lot of great ones but I’m going with the dragon dance.

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: n/a. Though if we get into LOK I would have a few LOL.

Best promo: n/a.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I liked it from very early on, but I remember starting to Love It in Jet’s episode (Sokka and his ~instincts! Tragic ship with Betrayal(TM) and irreconcilable issues! My catnip).

[findmeinthefallair]

Masterpost of My Hunter Metas

Here's the list, up and running right before the year ends!

All drawing upon lived experience combined with past experience and knowledge from training and working as a therapist.

These should be in my "reblogging for World Mental Health Day" tag too.

Hunter Takes A Big Risk in "Labyrinth Runners" (and It Pays Off)

The significance of Hunter expressing a clear, resounding "No"

A Look at Hunter’s Complex PTSD (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Big "T" and Small "t" Trauma

Colour Theory Ramblings #1

Colour Theory Ramblings #2

Therapist Analysis of Hunter’s Mental Health in "For the Future"

Who the Kids Are at Their Core, Beyond Their Good Deeds

Memories and Traumatic Grief

Palismen, Connection and Integrating Grief into A New Life

The Onscreen "I Wish You Were Here" vs. The Offscreen "I Hurt You"

Hunter’s Possession Scenes and the Theme of Enmeshment

Retraumatization vs. Self-Soothing (Part 1) (Part 2)

Hunter's Body Language

An Uncommonly Discussed Trauma Symptom

Outfit and Hairstyle Changes in Hunter's Character Design

Bonus Rambling About His Hairstyles

Hunter's Experiences After Belos's Death

(Addition re: Grimwalker Graveyard)

(Addition re: A Fear of Touching Palismen and Interacting with Palismen After Flapjack's Death)

(Addition re: Early Days of Palisman-Carving)

Separate Meta About Luz's Behaviour in "Reaching Out": A Parallel to the Start of Hunter's Recovery After Belos's Death

Luz and Hunter's Shared Trauma After Placing Trust in Belos

Watching and Dreaming: Luz, King and Hunter Experiencing the Loss of Their Father Figures

The Confusion of Looking Back on the 'Love' Shown by Belos

The Hand Motif in Hunter's Character Arc

Hunter's Character Arc: A Hopeful Narrative a.k.a. my infodump about cinematography

Hunter Emotionally Shutting Down in "Labyrinth Runners" and "For the Future"

Left Alone (with Palismen)

(Added on 4/22/24) Parallels with Trauma Recovery in Legend of Korra

(Added on 10/31/24) Add-On about the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems (While I Ramble About My Personal Favourite Hunter Outfit

Any further edits or updates shall be added to this original post instead of via reblogs. I'll make sure to show which dates the edits were made on. It's likely I'll put a few up over time as I read more mental health books/publications which could lead to more light bulb moments!

Oh, this son of mine...

What a beautiful story his life tells us.

After the upcoming new year celebration, I'll put them on Ao3 as well as per a mutual's suggestion (thanks for suggesting! <3).

Stay weird! I wish y'all a good 2024 and beyond! 🦉🏠🐦🧙🏻‍♀️🔮🧹

[preppymayhem]

5, 8, 21, 36, 40, 46, 51!

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

I have never been a superly monofannish person, and I have written for a fair number of fandoms, but discounting fandoms that I was assigned for fic exchanges I have written for Gundam Wing, Fullmetal Alchemist, Escaflowne, Mighty Ducks, Inuyasha, City Hunter, Dawson’s Creek, Avatar the Last Airbender, Sailor Moon, Ouran High School Host Club, Eureka Seven, Steven King’s IT/IT (2017), V (2009) and due to my one lone Beronica Fic, I guess you can say I have technically written for Riverdale. About a month ago I orphaned a lot of my older works because they had become a bit incongruous with what I want attached to my name, so not all of those fandoms are still present on my AO3.

Fandoms that I’ve written exclusively for Yuletide as my main assignment are:  Soul Eater, Diana Wynne Jones’ Archer’s Goon, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Claymore, Drive Me Crazy, and Notting Hill.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

Well this is a fun story, but it is sort of a set of factors that brought me to watch an old 90s teen soap opera in this the year of 2018/2019. I should start by saying back when I was a part of the actual target demo for teen shows I only watch Buffy and didn’t deign to watch any of those other inferior teen shows and actually counted not being a weekly viewer of Dawson’s Creek as a point of pride. (It was very much one of those “I’m not like those other girls” nonsense attitudes, oh bb!Kristen you stupid, stupid girl). I did however osmose certain things about the show because at that time, you just sort of did. So how did I go back and actually watch this show well….

The first factor was that in the back half of 2017 I had the weirdest dream, where I literally dreamed the plot of my current WIP Boy Problems for Disney’s The Mighty Ducks which I had not seen or thought of in years (God told Joan of Arc to save France, God tells me to write steamy obscure dudeslash fic, Thanks God!). 

The 2nd Factor was that in like October of 2017, I watched Riverdale which I binged and then kept through to the winter finale of season 2 and then 5 months later thinking I was free (spoiler: I was not in fact free) and I started sort of following it and now I am here sort of following it week to week, but mostly mocking it while dreaming of my super gay alternative, and being increasingly annoyed with the fandom’s tendencies to make superficial comparisons to other show, a fandom trend I have always hated and that harkens back to Zutara fandom in ATLA (Zutara is not 1xr or Van/Hitomi, thanks). 

And the third factor was that way back in like July or August or some time there was a clickbait article that was basically TV shows characters that should have ended up with someone else/wrong endgame pairings which I clicked mostly because I wanted to see what they wrote about the How I Met Your Mother finale (I love reading takes on the HIMYM finale, I find it fascinating) and well the clickbait article stated that Dawson/Joey should have been endgame. This intrigued me because it contradicted everything I had ever heard/osmosed about the show.

So I decided that I would watch it to draw my conclusions and to see if what I had heard was wrong (which I thought was a possibility because I don’t by my nature trust giant ship fandoms like PJo was back in the day, it’s something I still sort of keep to this day), and I was like I will mock it and at the very least I will be able to have ammo against stupid fandom comparisons and due to a shared actor, maybe pick up good screen caps for like a moodboard for The Fic that had now progressed from being a dream to a thing that actually exists. 

And so I started it and as God would have it, I got invested, and now find that the Clickbait article was wrong, fandom needs to shut up Bughead/Barchie/Jeronica is not like Pacey/Joey thankyouverymuch, and I can’t use caps for a mood board because I would just cry and can’t associate anything from the show with anything else. 

So that’s story about how this dumb binch got invested in Dawson’s Creek years after everyone has moved on!

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

No Joke, the first fanfic that I wrote down and then posted was a Sailor Moon/Gundam Wing crossover that was basically just a retelling of the story of Sailor Moon with added giant robots. If you are like “Please tell me it wasn’t Senshi/Pilots” I am afraid I can tell you that (The pairings were if I recall Heero/Serena, Duo/Amy (What?!), Wufei/Raye, Trowa/Lita (cause they were both tall) and Quatre/Mina (Oh Quatre sweetie, I’m so sorry)) I killed Mamoru, and Relena just didn’t exist because this was set more in the SM universe than the GW one so I just brought over the pilots. It was multi-chaptered and I wrote a chapter a day. I wrote five parts of it covering all 5 arcs of Sailor Moon. 

Yes, I was totally better than those other girls as you can see. And no, those fics no longer exist online. In my defense I was 15 years old, I had not yet realized I was a lesbian and if I were to write that story now it would be Usagi/Relena because that story would be effing amazing.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

I enjoy a long slice of life romcom if I’m honest. The plotting of both my longest fics (Boy Problems and Living Arrangements) are the sort of stories that i love to write and come the easiest to me. I am also partial to quiet thematic characters beats and fics that explore characters putting things back together which if I can ever get back to 1xR as a ship that inspires me, I would love to do just a slice of life romance of them paralleling and finding their way back to each other. Also just cute romcom premises are always fun.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

I am so off and on when it comes to prose. Like there are times where I can do it and I love it, and other times it’s a struggle and I have to fight from just making everything dialogue (I maintain confidence in my dialogue.)

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

I think both Boy Problems (Mighty Ducks) and Living Arrangements (Dawson’s Creek) are the most apparent clear examples of where I am right now as a writer, but they are longer and the fandoms aren’t super in anyone’s face. I would say of my shorter one-shots, Save the Last Dance (Gundam Wing) and Once Lost, Now Found (City Hunter) are the most emblematic of me as a writer and my approach to characterisation. I also every once again get into to hugely stylistic gen pieces that I generally feel very proud of like Creation in Nine Acts (Avatar the Last Airbender, a mock creation myth for the Avatarverse, written before Korra was a thing but was not meant as the literal creation myth anyways) and State of IT (IT a short vignette from IT’s point of view.

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

I don’t know if this a thing I love or hate, but I am tired of fandom’s missives of you MUST COMMENT/KUDOS on everything you read. Comments/kudos/likes/reblogs on fanworks (not just fic) are great, but I don’t think that anyone is obligated to do any of those things. I think what I would rather do than rant or gush is to say that I think if you are a creator try to at least find comfort in validation of respecting and loving your own work. Write for yourself first and foremost. I think when I let go of the need for validation was when I really allowed myself to grow and appreciate myself as a writer. I wasn’t worried about what other people would think but just if I can read this and enjoy it and allows me a little more time thinking and writing about characters that I love than I am good, and I post it as a sort of second thought for if I enjoy it there may be others (even if it is one other person). So I guess I would leave it at that. If you’re a reader, don’t worry if you don’t leave feedback, no one is owed it and you don’t have to give any if you don’t feel that you can. And if you are writer, I would urge you to focus and write for you first and foremost and treat any feedback as a sort of treat on top of the pride of knowing you saw something through.

[mandi-cakes]

Vampire Hunter D fanfic and character stuff

Since my 'Retribution' fic is already out there, it's a bit easier to share plot and characters outlines from my VHD fanfic scribbles, with emphasis on D and my oc. I'll try to make this spoiler free, at least for the major parts of my first story; all my other stories that come after 'Retribution' are either works in progress (The Noble Heart, and a prequel short story) or having their outlines worked on.

I dabbled in fanfiction when I a teen. It was shit, let's not speak of it. But I do like writing, as crappy as I am at it. With VHD fanfiction (which I liked reading when I was younger), I got slapped with an idea after reading volume 5 of the manga. I was like "this is my calling, I have to do this". Commence my fapping, slapping the fandom with my nonsense.

VHD: Retribution is the beginning of my Vampire Hunter Chronicles, where D meets another hunter, Nadia (my oc), whom he seems to have a connection with but can't think of why. Not too long after their initial meeting, Nadia is attacked and nearly killed by a jealous admirer. From there, as he helps take care of her, D discovers Nadia's past and how he knows her. To put it simply, Nadia had meet D as a little girl when he finds and returns a doll she lost, then met again in passing when she was a teen - although he didn't know it was her at the time. During that second encounter, when she finds out who D is, that's when Nadia decides she wants to be like him; she was absolutely star-struck and idolized him (hello, fellow fangirl). 

Skip to the meat of the story... 

Nadia hires D to help her with a hunting job, one she knows she can't pull off alone because she'd likely die in the process. It also means facing her past...oh, hey there skeletons in the closet! There's more to Nadia than meets the eye. She's more than some lost dhampir child adopted by a human who then grew up to be a hunter like her childhood hero...she's a runaway experiment meant to mimic the success that was D so her Noble father and the rest of her family could regain their ranks within the Greater Nobility. If that's not enough trouble, guess who's visiting when D and Nadia arrive to do some vampire slaying? A few old friends from D's previous hunts, and big papa Drac himself. 

Imagine Drac musing to himself as D walks in, with Nadia making her own grand entrance later on, "Aw, how cute, he brought his girlfriend along..." 

One big family introduction, hooray.

This is where it gets a little weird. It's kinda like VHD meets Doctor Who, a lot wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey stuff. 

Nadia didn't meet D first when she was a kid...D met her first. How?

I won't say more, I want people to find out by reading it. And don't mind the smut...I wanted to take a crack at it, and then, like with crack, I got hooked. It happens...

The rest of the Vampire Hunter Chronicles, chronicles (wow, *slow clap* I'm clever) D and Nadia's lives together, the trouble that comes along for the ride, as well as their kids (yep, mmhmm *nods*, they have kids...because of course).

Main Characters:

D - He needs no introduction. Vampire Hunter. Hot as fuck. Sassy, and a bit of prick. Has a big sword (*cough*) and a talking hand. Secret cinnamon marshmallow. 

Nadia (my oc) - Vampire Hunter. Hot as fuck. Sassy, and a bit of prick. Not so secret cinnamon marshmallow. Also works as a foster mother and runs a children's home. My personal headcanon is that D is bi (specifically sapio, 'cause if no-one's gonna write then I will), 'cause come on...D can have anybody he wants, and probably has. But I don't focus that on him as much as I do Nadia who is the same. And of course I put her with D...she's my oc, I do what I want. But that comes with a price. What's does that mean, you ask? 

Tragic past. BECAUSE OF COURSE. 

Met D as a kid. Completely hero-worshiped him. When she meets him again as an adult, she realizes that heroes can have their flaws like everybody else. For awhile, thought D was a bossy jerk, but with a nice streak since he saved her life. Then he fucks up while trying to help. 

Why? 

Because he doesn't listen. 

The issue? 

Nadia has PTSD and has certain triggers. 

Why? 

Tragic past that includes child abuse (includes older vampire brother nearly drowning her out of jealousy (causes a fear of water)), and witnessing her mother and her first husband (and unborn child) being murdered.

However, yes, Nadia and D eventually fall for each other. Do they bone? Yes. Then something shitty happens. She feels guilty about it. Oh, hi there anxiety! And D being salty about it makes matters worse. Then commence bashing of the heads. At first she's in love, then thinks he's an even bigger bossy jerk. And then they're stuck traveling this way. 

So much salt. 

What's the cure? 

More tragedy! 

Won't say what that is 'cause spooooiiiiileeers!

Did I mention she has neat fire powers? No? Nadia has neat fire powers. 

Nadia's background?

Child of a vampire and a human. 

Her mother is Hispanic (both Latin American and European) while her father is a Noble of Russian descent - ancestry from the part of Russia that bordered China; so that side of her has some Chinese, as well as some Japanese (Ainu), in it. Her birth name is Anastasia Aurelia Drakonovich Indrikova. 

I have all kinds of reasons for this, the main one being that I got hooked on Russian history as a kid after seeing the movie Anastasia - hence why I picked the name and made my own slight parallel of that legend.

Nadia's physical description?

I like girls with ample boobers and nice hips, athletic builds with secret muscles.

Like if Major Kusanagi did the fusion dance with Yoruichi Shihōin and had a baby with Avatar Korra. 

And Avatar is where the idea for Nady's fire power comes from. 

All that fire bending and the ass kicking that comes with it. Although, the fire isn’t like normal looking fire - it’s mainly black, and tinged with an orangey/gold (orangey?)

So yeah, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that Nadia's fighting style is a cross between D and Korra, with dual laser swords (Star Wars!! (and Defiance)).

Their kids? 

A lot. A troupe of foster kids, a few being unofficially adopted. Then there's their biological kids: Devan (names after D, and Nady's adoptive father), Deana (named by combining D with Nady's real name), and the twins - Mari and Lio (short for Mariana (Nady's mother's name) and Aurelio). Devan and Deana will be expanded upon in my third story while the last two will come when I start writing my fourth. The twins are a bit complicated to discuss so I'll save them for another time. All in all...

D and Nadia...these two precious dorks, have utterly consumed my life. I fucking love them.

[findmeinthefallair]

@emerald-entrails-hunter

[findmeinthefallair]

Wait, I know another reason why Hunter's fall from grace was so ouch for me..

Because it had a familiar ring to it

Tahno muh boi from about a decade ago (who is still my angry Waterbender kid) went through the same thing