#like fr though the show would've been so much better off if it had never pandered to game stans

[endiness]

i don't care about the hair and wardrobe that much, but i have to say it lowkey makes me wary that freya's said part of ciri's new look in s4 was inspired the games because, like. full offense to its stans, but hands down the vast majority (if not all) of the bad decisions the show has made can be tied back to pandering to game stans tbh. and i do include hiring hc and demayo within that.

[valentine-writes]

hii!! i was wondering if you could write headcanons for like the main four spider-kids (miles, gwen, pavitr and hobie) with a reader who like smacks people when they laugh really hard? preferably w/ a reader thats a spider-person but its up to you! :3

aggressive affection!

「 tws + notes: no tws, unedited, dude used once in a gender neutral way, mentions of bruising and minor injuries (but nothing crazy), spider-person reader, reader forgetting that being a spider-person makes them stronger,,, um. (°ー°〃) oops!!! 」

「 gn!reader, can be platonic or romantic <3 」

↳ ft. gwen stacy, hobie brown/spider-punk, miles morales, and pavitr prabhakar

author's note: YES I CAN YES I CAN!! this prompt iz so funny AUWWUDH I HOPE I DID IT JUSTICE!!! つ﹏⊂ also super excited 2 get to write more of them becuz AWUDGWAAHWGHWAGUAGH I LOVE THESE CHARACTERZ SMM,,, also excuse me if there's more repetition or typos than usual,,, im eepy ( つ᷄ ‸･ )

GWEN STACY headcanons

▸ the first one to fall victim to your little habit. she doesn't mind in the slightest, mainly because she's generally pretty welcome to friendly touches- even if it is slightly more aggressive than she had expected. frankly, you could've literally bitten her and she probably would've reacted the same.

she's a little awkward about it at first, pausing mid laughter as you deliver playful hits to her shoulder and bicep. she playfully shoves you away at first, like, "haha– what– what are you doing–" but quickly warms up to it

▸ here's the thing though. she 100% will do it back. if you're both joking around and losing it over something, you end up hitting each other through laughter. and it'll INTENSIFY. at some points, everyone's wondering if you two are actually beefing or not ur not. itz the way u show affection 2 one another,,, in the strangest manner

when you're assigned on missions with her, you usually end up chatting– and then you find something hilarious to giggle abt and everything goes off the rails

y'all will return to HQ bruised asf like "nah man the anomaly didn't even touch us."

jessica and miguel DEF pick up the fact y'all goof off and beat each other up before even locating the anomaly HWJEJNDNE

unfortunately– gwen is slowly paired less with you on missions becuz of this. they can't have you distracting one another a girl can never have fun fr </3

nothing that some good behaviour can't fix! just try not to give each other a complete smackdown while on duty and you'll be paired together again in no time! hopefully...

▸ both you and gwen forget that being spider-people involves super strength. and though you're both used to taking a blow or two, it stands plain and obvious that the two of you can get carried away. gwen especially. she's just a little rough sometimes– not like she means to be.

sometimes, the dull ache from the bruises she left leave you wondering if you're both a little too funny for your own good. at least she makes sure to take care of it and hold back,, when she can.

when it's your turn to get carried away, she sees your eyes widen as you splutter a million apologies to her. but every time you deliver one hit too hard, she insists it never hurts much as you think.

"dude, it's okay. you can chill out." gwen reassures. "besides, i'm built tougher than that."

she flashes a grin at you, and it's almost convincing. like she didn't even feel a thing. you know better though– gwen definitely has days where she's more sore than she'd like to be because of you. not like she'd ever admit. she likes the random play fights between the two of you.

though, you will admit that the amount of trips to the infirmary in search of ice packs is getting just the teeniest bit absurd. people are starting to ask questions at HQ-- which is fine. the frozen bag of peas gwen offers to you for your injuries works just as good as any ice pack ...it's been sitting in the bottom of her freezer for God Knows How Long but you don't need to know that

HOBIE BROWN headcanons:

▸ you see how this guy interacts with people???

hobie's used to friendly touches, and initiates physical contact without overthinking it. that little shoulder shake he does w/ miles makes me smile everytime i heart hobie. ALSO AAUWHEHWH LEBRON AND DWAYNE'S HANDSHAKE BEING HOBIE'S AND PAV'S?? I ADORE.

you really think something as little as a few friendly punches and hits bothers hobie "forehead-kissing-the-homies-goodnight" brown??? /lh + /hj but man platonic physical affection hobie. like. hear me on this one.

▸ he's 100% cool with it– actually initiated it before you did. nothing crazy, a light smack on your back or arm as he laughed with

eventually, while joking around with you, realized you had the same habit

you end up hitting each other quite a bit– but he's not as accidentally aggressive as gwen is. laughing with hobie won't get you hospitalized, he's cognizant enough with his strength to know how much to hold back.

▸ then again, there are times where you get carried away. hobie's quick to shake it off, not feeling the effect of the hit until later– if you notice and apologize, he'll just shake his head and shrug

"nah, nah– it's fine." he insists, chuckling a bit as he rubs the spot where you smacked him. "there's been worse."

and yes, objectively, you know that's true– but you both fight villains in your everyday life. of course there's going to be worse than just a hit too hard. he won't accept an ice pack– but will joke that you could just kiss it better instead

that earns a groan from you, smacking him again in the arm for good measure as he snickers

MILES MORALES headcanons:

▸ doesn't hate it!! not against it!!! find it surprising at first. he didn't expect a playful punch to his arm in response to his little joke, but watching as you giggled uncontrollably, hitting him lightly– he decided that he didn't mind too much

he knows you don't mean any harm, so it's cool with him! he's rolling with the punches literally every time you two are losing it

▸ if you land a smack on him that ends up being a little too hard, he'll definitely try to play it off awkwardly, rubbing it and nervously laughing when you ask if he's okay

"oh sh–" you promptly stop, your smile fading as concern floods your face. he winced slightly at your last hit and it was much to obvious to ignore. "you good, miles? i am so sorry–"

"me? yeah, yeah– it's cool!" he replies dismissively, giving you the lightest punch back. miles laughs nervously at your completely unconvinced expression.

"bro. cmon. be real."

"that? hah– nahh. barely felt it." spoilers!!! he felt it

you keep it in mind to dial it back a bit when with miles, because he barely hits back and hates admitting when it actually hurts.

you'll get an occasional "ow–" with a little chuckle, but he refuses to acknowledge that you might be a bit too rough. he jus doesn't wanna hurt feelings man :(

you're his friend who gets a little too carried away sometimes– and that's fine!!! besides, he can't let gwen and hobie have all the fun.

"you holding back on me?" he asks you, noticing your hits have gotten weaker.

"what's it to you?"

"i can handle it. 's fine!! really!" miles says. there's a beat of silence as you stare at him incredulously.

"and you didn't bruise last time?." you ask, raising an eyebrow.

"yeah."

"...say swear."

miles raises his hands, sighing. "ok, look–" HE WANTZ 2 ROUGHHOUSE W/ HIS FRIEND TOO OK (*ﾉε｀*) besides. u and gwen and hobie seem to have so much fun w/ it,,

▸ because of his stubbornness, you oblige, pulling your punches just a little less when having a little laughing fit with him.

as a result, miles develops a habit deflecting your hits while absolutely losing it. gently shoving your hands away as you smack him, both of you doubling over laughter

miles will say sumn he knows you'll find a lil too funny and just,,, *cue continuous hitting and blocking as he predicts literally Every Movement you make* he's literally learned to parry becuz of u HAJWBDKDNEN

PAVITR PRABHAKAR headcanons:

▸ the type to pretend to beat up his friends while making punching noises when he's bored

he's just lightly tapping u with his knuckles going "pow– pow pow– bam–" under his breath HANWJENDN IM SORRY I FIND THIS FUNNY. i also. do this. (｡･･｡).

and ur like "...uh. ok."

he's def not opposed to it!! when he has the energy, he's all for it!!! pavitr's playfully hitting, shoving you away, gasping for air as the two of you giggle over something that's only really funny to the two of you.

he's pretty energetic most of the time, and it manifests as you "brawl" with each other as you laugh over some stupid joke.

▸ when you hit him a little too hard, most of the time, he doesn't even notice until the aftermath manifests as a bruise or two on his arms– but even then he doesn't care.

however,,, there are occasions where he initiates it, laughing and smacking you– and when you're laughing with him, raising your hand to hit back, he'll gasp dramatically, recoil instantly and get all dramatic about it i'm projecting all the things i do onto pav i bet u cant tell /sarc

pav the minute you decide to try and get him back– bar for bar, word for word:

he's just a little guy,, a little guyy,,, nooo,,, itz also his birthday,, he's a little birthday boy– HWJWBDN SORRY THIS IS SO UNSERIOUS

this is a bit that he drags on FOREVERRR like itz the funniest thing in the world

▸ ALL of his hits are a little too hard. he does the fake beat up thing a lot but when you two are roughhousing, you're the one reminding him to chill out through stifled laughs

he'll immediately soften the blows quickly at your request, knowing it's probably best for you to remain as uninjured as possible when not doing mission. can't have your shit rocked before you even face a villain!!! his hits end up somewhere between hobie's and gwen's– an almost perfect middle (*´꒳`*)

almost.

occasionally, he'll literally just... take the hits. not like miles where he's deflecting. he's jus standing there laughing while you smack him. which is a concerning sight for anyone who isn't used to your antics!!!

this happened in hq once and peter b, who happened to be walking by, lowkey thought you were straight up attacking pav

upon hearing the two of you giggling though, he figured that he wasn't witnessing an act of violence and didn't have to step in

[y-rhywbeth2]

Yanno, you're the person I thought to turn to first when confronted with this. We've never spoken, but hello, I love your lore dives to death.

So. Just. I'm trying to do some crazy shit with my fic. I've been deep diving. And well... The Second Sundering. Are we just... did that happen in BG3? XD It seems like a big deal that happens a few years before current day, which is during things like Blood in Baldur's Gate, and all the stuff with Durge and Gortash. And just... eh?

I'll leave it there for now and ignore all the smaller side questions I'd love your opinion on sometime.

Hi! So BG3 is very shrodingers canon, and FR video games - while official licensed products - have a very vague and loose relationship to main canon (are the events of, say, Hordes of the Underdark or Icewind Dale II canon, or no? Hard to tell though it mostly seems to be no. The outline of the original Baldur's Gate games is, for better or worse canon (most original players traditionally vote 'worse'), but the actual game 'Baldur's Gate' and the published canon 'Baldur's Gate' are different beasts.

So official canon says that we had the Second Sundering, the dead three are back, Torlin Silvershield became Chosen of Bhaal for a brief period of time before his murder, and the Dead Three are back together and walk the world Time of Troubles style in order to get around Ao's new restrictions on divine interference for [mysterious reasons]. Ed Greenwood suggests that despite being the self-styled leader, Bane is unlikely to have come up with the idea himself, which makes me wonder which one did.

BG3 seems to have had the Second Sundering: I'm pretty sure there's a book that mentions it in-game, and Bhaal and Myrkul are showing too much power for vestiges. We also have a line from Withers, if it's still there, that the three are walking Faerûn in 'mortal' form (which, based on the last time they did that is not to be confused with no longer being gods or being at all easy to kill, just means they're hanging around in physical form and their power and divine senses are limited).

But it says that and then doesn't actually seem to think about it. It's like the Sundering happened, but not necessarily exactly the way it happened in canon? Mmm I don't know.

The manifesting and power we see is a little to high imo.

Like Myrkul taking full avatar form through Ketheric requires a ritual and for him to sacrifice and burn through the souls of many of his faithful to start and sustain it, Ketheric alone shouldn't be sufficient I don't think? - and I'm not sure Myrkul can even pull it off anymore, because he may no longer have the requisite claim over the souls of the dead due to Kelemvor being in office.

(... random off-topic but honestly I'm now thinking that the Rite of Ascension would've worked better for me if it was trading 7007 souls to the Dead Three for fuel...)

I can kind of excuse Durge's (rather unnecessary in light of the Second Sundering) existence as Bhaal prefering to work from the shadows, so using his child as a figurehead works... But then Sarevok says something about how Bhaal lives again through Durge and they will enable him to walk the planes once again and... First, Bhaal is already resurrected, and secondly, he deliberately chose to leave the planes. None of that made sense! We can almost wave the first bit as metaphor (unless Bhaal is inhabiting Durge as a host-avatar 'he lives through you' makes no sense because he lives again as himself right over there in the corner) but the second bit nah.

Bane enjoys personally leading his own armies and such, which makes Gortash playing figurehead a little less likely than Durge doing so, but he has been noted to have learnt caution after the first fiasco... And/or the other two have put him on a leash or something.

There's also the possibility that the original Chosen are serving as hosts for the deities, which is a headcanon I'd enjoy being true, but the fact that their consciousnesses aren't being repressed while their gods assume direct control makes me think it's unlikely... Although the feral ending does kind of support the idea for Durge, at least. Technically hosting the Lord of Murder should kill you, but being not entirely mortal does give you an exuse.

As ever; basically, just make your own canon. 'Your realms' as it's termed. God knows I'm working from 'my realms' for the BG3 in my head and I'm still considering just porting the events of BG3 back to the 1300s where neither the Spellplague nor the Sundering happened so I don't have to deal with this headache.

[kraviolis]

This sort of question is probably a little controversial but I feel like I want to ask after seeing your response to some comments about Greg being a good dad and I kind of assume you also have the opinion the gems made some bad decisions with Steven.

If it was actually possible for Steven and Rose exist together could she have been this as bad as all parties involved perhaps worse? As a matter of fact, was her giving up her life really the "right" choice? Asking this because I got the impression from some people give off the implication that her being around would have made things worse and giving up her life was actually good since she was unable to change, which I don't know about that since I feel like there is a disagreement somewhere and then there's the whole point of her death being a tragedy and stuff.

i love you for asking me this. i love rose quartz. i will always talk about rose quartz. i am a rose defender until i DIE

i think rose would've been the same kind of parent as greg. overall pretty good, but would make a lot of mistakes that would affect steven's entire life going forward. but that's pretty much every parent who was traumatized by their own parents. i don't think she would do any worse or any better than greg & the gems as a parent.

ALSO. ANYONE WHO SAYS ROSE NEVER CHANGED IS AN IDIOT FR. DID YOU WATCH THE FUCKING SHOW?

honestly though rose being around for steven would be a net positive, in my opinion. just because she'd actually be able to EXPLAIN everything to steven. i have 0 doubt that rose would actually tell steven everything when he got older. greg himself said that rose tried to confess everything to him but he didn't care about her past.

like 50% of steven's trauma could've been avoided if rose had been around to just explain everything. if she was there and stepped up to the plate and bore that responsibility that everyone thinks she would've shyed from then i think it would've been better for everyone in the end than how it was in canon.

and rose WOULD. SHE WOULD!!! she loved steven more than fucking anything. you cannot tell me that she wouldn't do everything in her power to take any and all burdens from his shoulders. the song "love like you" is LITERALLY from rose's POV. she hated herself and she loved everyone else.

that's something people REALLY fail to grasp. rose fucking hated herself. not entirely consciously, maybe, but her death was literally a suicide. people can try to twist the narrative any which way but no one can say that she did not purposefully end her life because she thought the world would be better without her.

this probably is so messy and disorganized. im coming down from my adderall rn but im so passionate about rose quartz and love talking about how she wasn't perfect but she was a good fucking person and she's not the monster people make her out to be she just made mistakes and spent her whole life trying to atone for them and how steven followed in her footsteps in more ways than one

[nono-bunny]

Thoughts from watching the ATLA live action!

Episode 2:

So I guess no intro every episode? A shame, but understandable (we literally got it twice in the first one lmao). Hopefully it's back in season 2!

Ah, so this is the aforementioned diary related hissy fit I've been hearing so much about! It is pretty funny tbh lol. Anyway, no, Iroh, Zuko had it right actually lmao, Aang is a coward! It's just... A bit strange to include that here given that his biggest running away incident isn't present in this show? So like. Yes, animated Aang absolutely is a coward, as to this one? It remains to be seen ig, so far he isn't that much, actually, which just makes Zuko seem wrong when in the animated show he would've been 100% correct

OwO what's this??? An Aang thats being proactive and interested about learning and how to control and best use his powers??? You love to see it.

Alright so. Truly I don't know what people are talking about in regards to Katara? Her sense of adventure and tendency to get in trouble while doing reckless things is still absolutely present- those are also important things about her, not just being angry and nurturing! This is a Katara that presents and composes herself differently, and yeah, it's a bit strange! But she still feels like Katara, just... A quiet Katara! She's much less out there with her emotions, which. I do miss a bit ngl, but it's a really interesting direction for her that feels like it's inevitably gonna lead to a major explosion, probably around the time of TSR too! So idk, its really not as big of an issue to me as it seems to be to other people ig. She and Aang were changed a lot- with Aang I do think it's absolutely a positive change because I hate him in canon, but with Katara I just think it's really interesting and worth giving a shot to because it doesn't seem wholly out of pocket or to be leading nowhere, not when you know that her highest emotional points still lie in wait and might, in fact, hit harder if they were a complete deviation from normal to this otherwise calm character. It may still flop and fail, but I genuinely do thing they're building up to something with her and that it's worth giving a chance to.

Kanna once again being the goat!! Idk that I talked much about her during the last episode but I think it was mostly just because I didn't really have any notes lol, I just enjoy her expanded role a lot! The entire legacy of the southern bending being lost in favor of the northern one is a thing I've seen talked about a lot, so I actually really like that there's at least one moveset from the southern style that's preserved here. Of coursing losing "I'll save you from the pirates" is a great personal loss, but I've already seen The Scarf scene so I'm glad at least there was a more or less equivalent replacement lol

Burying Gyatso is a great addition!!!

Blasphemy!!! No such thing as "chicken"!!! What is this abomination Sokka speaks of here???

God everything about Kyoshi Island, including Suki, is just... 😍 I really do love that this Aang is capable of like. Relating to others, being understanding and persuasive and cautious. It's certainly like. A whole different person aside from brief moments of silliness and levity, but it works much better for me because, again, this is a level he never reaches in the original even at the end of his story even though he SHOULD'VE.

Iroh is fr so weird with how direct he is, I just. Can't get used to it- literally his only eccentric quality atm is being a bit of a gourmand, it feels really off. For all his talk about being able to know how to talk to people to get what you want, Zhao sees through him super quick, because like, c'mon, literally who wouldn't??? It was super obviously a lie and. It's all so bizarre, he feels WAY too serious for this point in the story and it genuinely really takes me out of every scene he's in.

As weird as it is for Suki to still get offended when Sokka respects her position and calls her a warrior, the Sukka here IS really funny and fun to watch haha!

Katara is genuinely so sweet with Aang here, idk I just really enjoyed that scene! Do kinda wish we'd get to see Katara drop her water orb lmao, I keep waiting for it to happen and it just never does. She IS a natural prodigy, but I think the original show demonstrated a bit better how much she struggled without any guidance by having her fail her forms rather than just fail to get anything to happen.

It's the intro air scooter scene!!!! Also I'm really enjoying how Katara's right here about Aang being good with people, and how I noticed it myself as well!

Suki trying to flirt with Sokka is so cute oml

Aang being TOO powerful and unable to control his bending is actually such a good idea!!

Omg finally Iroh feels like Iroh!! Who knew all that was needed was literally just for him to talk in Pai Sho metaphors again lmao. Tbh, maybe just literally ANY metaphor whatsoever was missing, oof

Interesting to have Suki take off her makeup right before battle, or like. At all during her first appearance! Not really like, bad or good, just an interesting choice I felt was worth mentioning because it certainly hit me as very different

Hey, uh, Kyoshi babe, you're 100% correct and I enjoy seeing you yelling some sense into Aang but. This is the wrong Aang for this??? Like he literally never ran away it's so bizarre how they keep acting like he did when the original was all too happy to drop that angle when he consistently did. Idk it kinda feels like him not technically running away was maybe like a last minute rewrite or something? It's weird and doesn't gel with how people keep treating it- especially Kyoshi, who was there and should know he legitimately had no intent on turning back from his duties at any point. I love love LOVEE this scene but? It doesn't fit in this version of the story, sadly

Wait why the fuck can Kyoshi see the future?? This is so weird, like I get that it's his call to action and a way of pointing them to the NWT given that they haven't really talked about going there yet but. It's a really weird power for her to suddenly have lmao (unless this is a thing in the novels? I wouldn't know, haven't read them, but somehow I feel like I would've heard about it)

Can I just say that I really like Yukari, and in particular her relationship with Suki? She's a fine addition to this arc imo, and really supports the whole "young people lead the charge on making a difference". Kyoshi Island's motivations for staying neutral in the animated show were of course understandable, but I like that here we can see there's a real conflict about it even before the gaang arrive there. It really endears Suki in a whole new way (tbh she's generally amazing here) and it will make it a lot more natural when we see her again in the following seasons! Also my own personal selfish wish is for the show to find a way to make her a part of the gaang for longer and earlier on. Like, as it stands, if there are three seasons, she might show up once again in season 2 and obviously join up with them in season 3 but. Boy do I want to see more of her, always have, always will! This show is genuinely such a prime opportunity to integrate her more info the story- make her have meaningful relationships with each member of the gaang, establish a role for her and what unique thing she brings to the group (special mention as always to @emletish-fish 's Stalking Zuko for having her be "the sensible one" which worked great)... Just. Make her matter for once, because I will never forgive nor be able to get over the way her existence was just completely ignored and essentially erased in LoK. Suki has always deserved better, right down to the way she was constantly brought back each season because everyone loved her, and I want this show to better reflect that that the absolute nothing she was given in LoK. Suki is a member of the gaang and she deserves to be treated as such, not just as Sokka's girlfriend.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled post!Sokka pissing off Zhao while using Suki's fan is something that can be so personal... Like, I can get into the symbolism here about the connection between these characters but. For anyone who knows where the show is going, there are no words necessary to understand why that interaction carries the weight it does. It's just... A beautiful, emotional little moment amidst some really solid fighting choreography! Of course Suki and Sokka working beautifully together was great, Yukari's fighting highly suggests she was a Kyoshi Warrior in her time as well (is... Kyoshi leadership a nepotism/family thing? Questions to ask.), and Momo getting involved were all great, but. That was really the highlight for me. It would be really impactful to anyone who knows, and to anyone who doesn't it's still just like. A really kickass Sokka moment

Also may I just say I'm very impressed with how far Sokka's come in less than two days? Like, of course it's probably not very realistic, but it absolutely supports what they're getting at here which is that Suki IS a great leader and teacher (the short scene with her looking over the other warriors' training and correcting their form was great), and that Sokka is ultimately just as competent a fighter as Katara and has the same natural talent and drive. Their little exchange about nonbenders having to work harder and be better felt very... Real in a way I can't quite express, and it felt like a very important thing that deserved to be acknowledged by the show. Sokka gets underestimated so much and reduced so frequently to being the meat and sarcasm guy, even by himself, so like. Sokka's arc is very important to me because of how often it goes unnoticed or unmentioned in the face of other, more visible ones... And I feel like they're doing a great job at adapting it, slightly modernizing him ("tastes like chicken" notwithstanding) and making him stand out more while keeping the core of it. Sokka's arc was something I was already slightly concerned with initially, and the "we're removing Sokka's sexism" rumors didn't help assuage my fears given how important it was to help set the stage for the kind of person he is, so like. Genuinely I have to give them kudos for finding a way to take it out and keep how he changes and what we ultimately learn about him as a character that didn't feel forced. This is kind of just? A great episode for all of the characters, they all flow much better individually and with each other, and I genuinely really enjoyed it for the most part as opposed to the first that was a bit stilted in a lot of places- but I guess it being mostly just. All of the exposition and Aang's backstory stuff was the issue, and when they let the characters just... Be, it all works really well!

Oh my god Kyoshi is. Doing so much heavy lifting here, literally where was my girl for the entirety of the animated show, that Aang needed some major reality checks lmao. This is... A lot for the second episode when Aang is genuinely just still trying to get a handle on things, but I don't know that I really... Hate how she's preparing him and establishing the stakes? She's an absolute hardass here, but she's not overly cruel- she's genuinely trying to help as much as she can in her own area of expertise, because who knows when she'll next get to talk to Aang, and what if he never gets to hear this stuff? Would he just... Perhaps turn into who animated Aang did? Like, it's extremely harsh and kind of feels excessive for where the show and Aang are at right now, but... Genuinely I can't really say it's a bad thing for Aang to hear all of this, because I only know what happens in the universe where he doesn't. It's fucking tough to watch little Aang be verbally beaten down like this, but? Ultimately, what Kyoshi is saying are important things that Aang needs to come to understand sooner rather than later, and she IS trying to help, even if her way is harsh, so I can't really fault her for it too much because like. I understand where she's coming from all too well, both as someone who watched the original show and thus is aware of how tough the road ahead is going to be for Aang and everyone around him, and as someone who is a big OG Aang critic and wishes he could've heard all of this in the animated show. It's... A difficult scene to watch, but I don't think it's entirely without merit.

Holy shit I can't believe they kept Zuko trying to appeal to Katara even though they took out the pirates, I was genuinely surprised by that!!

Oh. OHHH. So. I was right about where they were going with Katara, wasn't I? I was fairly certain about it before, but how meek and unsure she is in battle despite how powerful she already is followed by a trauma flashback really cemented for me that they're leaning pretty heavily into the different ways Katara was affected by losing Kya. She's still very protective of her loved ones, she's still brave and powerful and driven... And, more than ever, she's also haunted by her mother's spirit with every step she takes. She's more afraid and cautious than her animated counterpart ever was, and it translates to her being "a doormat", but it's also... So clear to me she absolutely is not staying that way. This is the start of her journey, and it's just as valid as the original one. Seeing her stand against Zuko in the original show was never something that would've caused me to worry, but here I can feel her fear and how much it's holding her back.

Also, in their confrontation scene: Zuko is SCARY here! And that made this scene like. Genuinely really special to watch? Because I didn't even know that I was capable of finding Zuko intimidating anymore- he was always genuinely so honorable in the original that when rewatching you can kinda just... Very easily chalk his whole thing up to being misguided and lost- he does bad stuff, but when compared to the ruthlessness of the other villains he's barely a threat. But here Zuko is desperate, and he's scary, and he truly feels like a big bad evil guy when he's towering over non other than Katara who we so often get the best of him to the point where you kinda forget they weren't always matched in power and... This scene just. Really works for both of them individually, to show where they're at mentally and how they clash at this point in time... And, honestly? Knowing that this is an extremely temporary dynamic for them is actually really cool- that the next time they fight may very well be when Katara beat him? It's really cool. It doesn't scream Zutara, not at all, not in the way "I'll save you from the pirates" did, but? It feels important for them to have it, still- the Zuko and Katara dynamic always advances both of their individual stories, and this time is no different. It's... A bit hard to put into words just how visceral this scene felt and how excited it made me for both of their character arcs, as well as to the progress they're gonna make together, but. This was a great scene

Ngl it's really funny how everyone is flying in this adaptation

God I already miss Suki :(

Not really... Sure about why Sokka changed him mind about sticking Aang when he mostly hung out with Suki this episode, it seems mostly like he and Katara just want some more adventure, which is cool and not an issue at this point but? The episode seems to try and imply they're both there for Aang or for the world when it's pretty clear that isn't quite it, not yet, so it feels like it comes out of nowhere and a bit out of place. I do wish that angle was allowed to be a bit more present, because so far it just feels like either the characters are unaware of it yet or that the writing isn't and thus it's never gonna get addressed. In the animated show Katara was much more obviously self interested during parts of the first season, and Sokka was mostly there for her- which I liked, it gave room for both of them to grow into this new family unit they're creating with Aang over the course of the show! Here it seems like both of them initially wanted to help Aang and found they liked the adventure, and their goals on this adventure often feel a bit inconsistent? Katara is very obviously enjoying the freedom, but she seems to be more willing to go along for wherever because the plot aligns to make things she achieved herself on her road to becoming a master waterbender just... Happen to her? She didn't aquire the waterbending scroll, she didn't suggest and advocate for going to the NWT, they're just things that happen and suit her goals really well! In that sense she feels a bit less driven, as she doesn't have to be- she's obviously dedicated to training and becoming better, but she less creates opportunities rather than fall upon them, which? I'd find it a bit hard to buy this Katara stealing, and I guess maybe she doesn't suggest the NWT because as established they don't know what state its in and she's a bit more risk averse than in the original, but... While her taking less initiative isn't necessarily a bad thing here (again, so long as it is a part of her arc rather than a continuous state), it muddles her motives a bit and serves to make the group dynamic a bit confusing. Is she there for Aang? For adventure? For waterbending? For herself? Of course it's ultimately all of those, but. I think presenting all of them right at the start makes her motivations a bit too confusing, especially when paired with Sokka who, in this order: wanted to abandon Aang out of caution, wanted to help Aang because it'd be the right thing to do, wanted to abandon Aang because he wanted to go back home, and then after hanging out with Suki for an entire episode was suddenly worried about leaving Aang alone. Their connection didn't really deepen in any way, so it feels like his motivation is much less about Aang but about what he could gain, except he doesn't frame it like that either! Idk it's confusing, and genuinely I can't tell if it's just. Bad/inconsistent writing or if it's meant to be A Thing, like, Katara and Sokka trying to find their reason for "abandoning" home. I can certainly twist the events to be that if I think about it enough, as I just did, but... Ultimately I do think there was a bit of a failure here with presenting too many motivations and not committing to any single one. It's both way too complex, and also not complex enough to work, and so in the end it's just confusing. It's truly not that big a deal but the conversation at end of this episode on Appa didn't feel authentic or earned to that episode I just saw, which was the real issue imo. I desperately hope this isn't the end of these two trying to justify their journey, and that thus turns out to have been intentional, but frankly... I do just have a feeling it was a bit of unfortunate mangled writing.

That said, I'm actually not really feeling Zhao? I've read a post that said he gets progressively more hateble as opposed to the original where he started out as immediately hateble so I'm curious if that's what's gonna happen to me too! It was cool to see Ozai though for sure haha!

I do have to shout out the way Iroh and Zhao interact with this forced politeness as something that stood out to me in an extremely good way- it's stilted, and awkward, and it's 100% meant to be, and it worked fantastically with the contrast to Zuko's being so direct and brash. I'm not like, an expert by any means, but I do have an interest in Japanese culture and it definitely felt reminiscent of the way respect and politeness is so important and entrenched in the culture right down to the language structure- it felt a bit like Zuko was just talking casually until Iroh came along and started talking in keigo, if that makes sense to anyone? Might be talking out of my ass here but that's what it reminded me of so I thought I'd mention it. It was really interesting to see regardless!

Anyway I liked this episode a lot more! It still had its issues, but they feel more like growing pains here if that makes sense? There's definitely a sense that this show is slowly getting comfortable in its own skin as a separate entity from the original, so I hope that trend continues! Evidently the direction they're going here is not for everyone, but everything I've seen so far does feel extremely like it ultimately came from fans who have their own opinions on the original show rather than people just looking to make bold new twists. A lot of the changes here, while they might initially feel blasphemous, are also ones I'd have made to the original, and the ones that aren't don't feel like they're made thoughtlessly. I'm not happy with everything I've seen so far, but I'm absolutely excited to keep watching because I genuinely do have faith in this show managing to pull off the big swings they're taking.

Also, I think it's important to note- I'm the biggest Kataang hater, I hate them, truly, I do! And yet as strange as it is and as much as I hate to admit it? There was a genuinely cute scene between Katara and Aang this episode, and if they make their relationship a bit more equal going forward... While it likely still won't make me ship them, I do genuinely think I could stomach seeing them end up together if they stay away from the worst aspects of the ship in the original show. I won't be happy about it, ever, but. There's something to be said for them managing to make it tolerable even for the biggest opposers of the ship. I still hope it won't happen! But if it does... I hope it's done tastefully and in a more thought out way than it was originally.

[spookberry]

I like to be positive and imagine that most people understand that she is a complicated character with good intentions even if her actions weren't always good,, however, there is a select group of people that keep trying to Argue with me that she's actual like satan reincarnated and pure evil because she "started a war". Like god forbid a woman do anything fr

No but actually it's absurd to me the way supposed fans of the show will critique Rose Quartz and her actions in the exact same way the diamonds view Pink Diamond. "She just had to be the rebel kid and start a war meh meh meh" like are you White Diamond??? Cuz thats literally white diamond's belittling comprehension of the situation and it's pretty clear that she and the other diamonds are WRONG for that.

The war wasn't a fucking game. I don't understand how anyone can watch steven universe and not comprehend that Rose started the rebellion and founded the crystal gems, to Protect! The! Earth!!! Regardless of whether her initial love of earth and desire to spare it came from a more self-centered view of existence she still knew the colony was wrong, so she set out to stop it!! That is just blatantly good. The way people spin this to be a negative point of her character leaves me just incredulous. Rose can be spoiled and childish, but that was not the reasoning behind rebelling. It is the diamonds who treat her like a spoiled child with a toy and it's the audience's job to understand that that was them belittling and ignoring her.

Faking Pink's death to become Rose Quartz wasn't just a silly little Hannah Montana bit she did where she got to enjoy the luxuries of a being a diamond while playing pretend citizen and having her little sapphic frolics in the woods with Pearl. It was a War Strategy! She was her own built in spy and double agent. She was was an activist within gem bureaucracy as well as someone actively protesting on a ground level. It didn't matter how the crystal gems viewed Pink because that became a role she performed so she could HELP them.

We know blatantly thanks to Pearl that once it became clear that bureaucracy wasn't working that she gave up on that avenue. It's boiled down to something easily watched with an 11 minute episode however, it's clear Pearl and Rose had talked about the plan before hand. So it wasn't something she did on a whim. It was a Political Move. That maybe killing off an Important figure such as Pink Diamond would allow the fight to fall more into the crystal gems favor. It wasn't just her being silly and forgoing the privilege's of being a Diamond, it was a Threat. A statement that said "if I can shatter Pink Diamond, I can shatter any diamond, so you better fucking listen to me."

And sure you could argue here that it was a dumb plan, personally I think its pretty clear that she was desperate and if she rebelled As Pink the other diamonds would've just stepped in and "grounded" her and the war would've been lost entirely anyways. Hell Pearl even says as much. If Pink Diamond proved incapable of following orders with the colony any power she held over it would've been taken form her, Earth woulda been another one of yellow's after that. So she makes this extreme choice to make a statement out of Pink Diamond instead.

The statement has unexpected consequences. However and this is important to keep in mind, this is a story. And there's a foreshadowing set up here. Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz has to lose. It's how the story works, and how she fails is supposed to make something clear to the audience. And that is that shattering the diamonds isn't the answer. It was Never the answer, not with Pink not with White or Blue or Yellow, and that's why the finale of SU is the way it is imo. So people that are mad at Steven "forgiving" the diamonds yall are also stupid.

Anyways back to Rose. She isn't perfect, obviously, she makes choices that ultimately cause future problems for those she cares about(though arguably she had no idea the war would ever Come Back, she spent thousands of years uninterrupted on earth before she had steven). But she is a war general, she is the leader of a doomed uprising. She did what she had to and she didn't always know whether what she was doing was right or not, because no one had ever done it before.

Can i go on a rant about Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond real quick?

[roseworth]

as much as i would love lady caine as the main antagonist in tts it wouldn't work because she is RIGHT!!!! she's not the Big Bad (though she has the skills + the drama), she's the underdog hero, i am actively rooting for her in the pilot!! she should lock up frederic and get justice for her father!

she should've been in the show more though. would've been a cool character arc - she could become (somewhat) less violent and happier & rapunzel could learn about corona and frederics real past and work to do better

also she and cass needed another homoerotic sword fight scene

okay you’re so right because if she had been the main antagonist i would be pissed if the show ended without regicide bc she deserves it ❤️

but fr she could have been such a good foil to rapunzel since raps went straight from the tower to being princess so she doesn’t really like… have a concept of money? nothing against her obv but it’s a lot harder for her to recognize that people are struggling since she’s never experienced anything like it first hand, and a lot of the stories eugene tells about his thieving days are the things that he stole for fun bc i feel like he wouldn’t really like to tell the “sad orphan steals bread because he can’t afford it” stories

so like caine could be more of a view into “actually the monarchy really sucks and lots of people are struggling” and rapunzel could learn about what her people need from her as queen, PLUS she could see more about how fred was lashing out after she was kidnapped and she could have a lil guilt complex over that then realize that the sins of her father aren’t her fault THEN still work to change it bc she cares about her people!!!! and always wants to do better!!!!!!!

also lady caine redemption arc?!?!?!?!?!!! realizing that it wasn’t rapunzels fault that frederic is an asshole sometimes, and recognizing that rapunzel is trying to make a change so nothing like that happens again hhhhh

also this is a bit unrelated but eugene knew her! and recognized her just by her voice! i want to know more and i always want more about eugene’s past and lady caine would be a GREAT way to do that (YES i’ve said this before but i will beat this dead horse til my arms fall off)