#master's call [ ic ]

[stromblessed]

Mizu was wrong to let Akemi be taken because they both deserve better

First, a confession. When I saw this for the first time:

I was relieved. I knew that was what Mizu was going to say and I felt like it's what I would have said in that situation too.

When Akemi does this:

I cringed, because if we know anything about Mizu, it's that she (1) isn't quick to make friends (though to be fair, even though Akemi did try to kill Mizu, so did Taigen - multiple times! - and look how that turned out lol), and (2) doesn't take orders.

So when Akemi and Ringo and later Taigen get angry at Mizu, are they being unfair?

Sure, Mizu isn't obligated to treat Akemi - or Taigen or Ringo or anybody else - nicely, or to serve them, or to be honorable, or be a hero to them, or whatever. No human being is obligated to any other human being. We all have the choice to do whatever we want to anybody else. But the point of flawed characters in storytelling is the tension between those characters and their potential. Their growth into someone who can choose the higher, harder path, who chooses to be obligated to others, who chooses kindness and compassion.

Because Mizu's problem isn't revenge. Nobody is preaching at Mizu that revenge isn't the answer. Her circumstances do suck, her life has been incredibly unfair, she is marginalized, and as far as we and Mizu know for most of the season, she is a child born of violence and no one is saying that that violence doesn't deserve to be repaid in kind.

Mizu's problem is isolation. And the fact that she thinks she has no responsibility toward her fellow human beings, because her hatred of her own circumstances and her having no life outside of her quest devours everything else. This is a problem because it turns Mizu into the worst version of herself. A version that hurts the people who like Mizu, the people who care about her.

Practically, Mizu has just taken on an entire army almost by herself. She's hurt. She's exhausted. If she were to defend Akemi now, it'd be yet ANOTHER fight, this time against horsed and armored samurai.

But that's not the reason Mizu gives Ringo. Mizu's ability or willingness to fight isn't even on her mind. All she says is, "She's better off."

"She's better off" is Mizu deciding what's best for Akemi. Akemi's entire story is about her being a caged bird longing to fly free.

One after the other, every man and woman in Akemi's life makes her decisions for her. She has to grovel and smile prettily and lie through her teeth just for the chance to be heard. Mizu judges Akemi for being a rich princess who isn't being more grateful for what she has, all without understanding Akemi's situation, and without any curiosity for why Akemi feels the way she does. From Akemi's perspective, Mizu is just one more person (one more man!) in a long lineup who ignores Akemi's wishes and (casually!) makes a decision for her that impacts Akemi's life greatly.

In the end, even Seki concludes that Akemi should get to decide what's best for Akemi. What others think that Akemi SHOULD want does not matter compared to what Akemi wants for her own life. As Madame Kaji said - Madame Kaji, who despite calling out the weirdness of Akemi's situation as well as the childishness of her decision to run away - is the only person Akemi meets who doesn't try to make decisions for Akemi, but instead only challenges Akemi to work for and be worthy of what she wants - she needs to decide what she wants for her own fucking self, and then take it.

Mizu being born female does not make her automatically wiser for letting Akemi be taken, and it does not preclude her from having a hand in giving Akemi back to her jailers. A patriarchy that Mizu knows full well would stop Mizu from achieving her own goals if she didn't present as male.

Mizu is still understandable here. She just had to kill Kinuyo, a disabled girl sold by her father into prostitution, a girl in a situation so far beyond Akemi's worst imaginings that I can practically feel Mizu's world being rocked just by comparing them in her mind the way she most likely is. That still doesn't make it right for Mizu to let Akemi be carried off to be sold into marriage by her father against her wishes. Those "good options" Mizu thinks Akemi has don't exist, no more than they ever existed for Mizu. Akemi and Mizu both have to get creative, make the best of their circumstances, take dangerous risks, and break rules in order to have any control over their own lives.

Even on my first watch, when at first I thought that Mizu had made the right decision and that Akemi was being unreasonable, Akemi screaming Mizu's name while being dragged, LITERALLY DRAGGED, back to her father was haunting as hell.

Mizu had the power to help Akemi, and simply chose not to.

Mizu lets Akemi be taken, Akemi who has just begun to trust Mizu. Mizu calls Ringo weak and quickly - seemingly easily - turns her back on him. Mizu values her quest over Taigen's life, after Taigen has endured days of torture to protect her, and she not only risks his life in the process, but doesn't tell him that Akemi is engaged to someone else, or that she came looking for Taigen, or that she is in danger.

Mizu's sword breaks because it is too brittle. Too pure. Too singleminded. Mizu only melts down the meteorite metal when she mixes the metal with objects from parts of her life that have nothing to do with her quest. Objects from the people she cares about, and who care about her.

All I'm saying is - Mizu doesn't have to be a hero. But she is the better version of herself when she reaches out to help and connect with others. When she's just a decent, kinder human being. And I think that's what this story is telling us that we should want for Mizu.

[starry-bi-sky]

"Stillborn? No, still born" Danyal au -- VLAD MASTERS THE BITCH HIMSELF

*Points at Vlad* THIS MFER GOT SOME TEEFS TO HIM. !! Okay okay, Vlad Masters in the stillborn au is different compared to most of my other aus in the fact that I am far more heavily leaning into his original ambitions of wanting a family and being desperately lonely. Because you know what wanting a family implies? Wanting to be a parent.

Fucked up father figure that could've been Vlad. Complicated love-hate relationship between the only two halfas in existence.

Danny hates Vlad, but he hates even more that he's genuinely considered his offers of mentorship. Vlad is the only halfa around, and they both have fire cores. Danny has these powers he doesn't understand, can barely comprehend some days, and can't control. But Vlad does. Vlad can. And Vlad wants to help him. He's the only other person who can get close whenever Danny runs too hot. Whenever his igneous hair cracks, splits, and spits back out into magma and his friends can't get close, Vlad can.

His hair is made of magma, which runs so hot that people need specialized suits in order to get near it. He physically cannot get close to the living as a ghost unless he's calm enough for his hair to cool into igneous rock. Which isn't as often as he would like. And sometimes he's too hot for other ghosts to get near unless they have fire cores -- which Vlad has.

There have been many times when Danny's having a meltdown (literally) and gone somewhere to be alone, to let his anger and hurt and loneliness overflow and spill out, that when he's come back to, Vlad's right there with him as an anchor. It's desperately frustrating, it's the only time they can get along. They don't say anything, Danny just turns and clings onto the only person he can touch as a ghost.

Its not fair. Vlad wants to kill his foster dad, and Danny can't let him do that. But he wants to be trained by the man, he wants his help and wants what he can offer. But Vlad can't step away from his revenge long enough to let him. It's just not fair. He thinks for a moment that maybe it could work, and then Vlad does something to remind him that no, it can't.

Vlad Masters sees too much of himself in Daniel Brown -- from the way he holds himself, to the defenses he puts up, his quiet anger that builds and builds and builds until it explodes. That simmers beneath his skin. All the way down to the fact that they have matching cores. This boy is cut from the same cloth as him, and by god does he want to help him. He's always wanted to be a father, and Daniel Brown is too much like him for him to ignore. He genuinely, truly cares about Danny and his wellbeing.

He wants to help him, child just let him help you. Let him kill your foster dad so he can adopt you himself and help with these powers that terrify and intrigue you -- he knows what that's like to have something that you can't control, to have a heat that you can't cool down from. "We're in the same boat you and I, let him help you please."

But his methods are all wrong, and Danny is too much like him -- stubbornness and all -- for him to agree when they oppose each other so greatly. But again, Danny is much like him -- which means that Vlad is equally stubborn, and in every single one of their fights he's parental. He's annoyingly parental. He drops his interest in Maddie to focus his efforts in trying to coax Danny onto his side. It's like trying to get a traumatized cat to trust you, and on some levels it works. It's like he makes some progress, and then moves too quickly and the cat immediately runs off and you have to start back from square one.

TL:DR; Vlad and Danny both want to find family in each other but they're too different to get along and ultimately they are doomed by the narrative to be at constant odds with one another unless one of them is changes, and it doesn't matter who.

[mothiidae]

just met the main group and it the dynamic feels as if yakou is the babysitter to a bunch of errant detectives.

close ups of each of the characters are below because damn, i did not plan for how long this would be

[perenial]

What are good books about explorers, if I may ask? I'd love to get into some harrowing survival (or just trying to survive) stories.

HI ok these are all heroic age antarctica-centric bc that's all i've had rattling around in my brain for a solid year and a half now so if anyone has non-polar recs pls feel free to throw em in the replies lmao

if we're talking harrowing survival there's nothing more fucked than shackleton's trans-imperial expedition aka endurance and the ross sea party. the classic here is endurance by alfred lansing (and ofc south by ol ernie shackles but i feel like his own account is less approachable to a first time reader) but i also highly recommend the lost men by kelly tyler-lewis for the ross sea party half of the story that often falls to the wayside.

and we can't talk abt shackleton without getting into scott & the terra nova & the race for the pole which WILL take over ur life if u get into it lol. the worst journey in the world by apsley cherry-garrard is required reading (and so is cherry by sara wheeler, possibly my fave biography of all time), and for a more general overview a first-rate tragedy by diana preston is the absolute gold standard. for amundsen ask @roaldamundsen there's the last viking by stephen r. brown which i haven't read yet but i've heard v good things about (nb: u may be recommended roland huntford's books when it comes to amundsen. read them if u want but he's got a Thing against scott which in turn distorts how he approaches amundsen but then again every polar biographer wants to make tender romantic love to their special little guy so)

OH and we can't forget the northern party aka six guys in a hole (NOT sexy) (well–). there are banger first-hand accounts (especially raymond priestley's) but weirdly enough my fave when it comes to this part of the terra nova story is a polar affair by lloyd spencer-davis, which is technically abt the sex lives of adélie penguins. it was the first book i read connected to terra nova and although it leans more popular history than rigorous biography or historical analysis it rly primes u to understand the fricative relationship between the expedition's two intertwined objectives – scientific advancement and imperialist glory – that were the root of most of their issues.

outside of endurance & terra nova i'd be remiss not to rec The gateway book to antarctic history, the madhouse at the end of the earth by julian sancton. i should have put this first bc this is genuinely one of my fave books of all time, polar-related or otherwise. it's a comedy it's a tragedy it's an adventure it's an insight into colonial ambition (although imo this aspect could have been pushed further) it's a romance for two specific guys it could easily be a musical it might be adapted into a tv show or movie in the near future?? it's an absolute trip i rec it to anyone who stands still enough to let me shove a copy in their hands. read madhouse NOW

finally i want to give a shout out to the australasian antarctic expedition which in comparison is less insane than everything else here but it's entirely possible the guy who was once on the australian $100 note ate his dog handler. so like. read alone on the ice by david roberts

(ps. for more boat books see @jesslovesboats's banger posts ✌️⛵️)

[al-luviec]

id like to thank ninjago episode snake jaguar for everything but nothing all at the same time

[thecreatorfromgallifrey]

Tensimm fanfictions make me cackle

[robodove]

(the first two are old!)

two posts in one day?! Anyways I would like to share some more studidness. I have. a little bit of headcanons. Niece he is referring to is libber btw ... I need a hc name for the former master of ice I just keep calling him "ice"

text to the pictures + ramble below!!

Dr J: What are you laughing about?

FIM: A-ah, er.. Maybe it's because I've been spending too much time with my niece but... Your old pair looked so angry. But these ones look much happier.

--

Zane: Where did he go?

Dr J: he's dead.

Zane: Can't we fix him too?

Dr J: no.

Zane: I do not understand.

--

Anywho, I'm sure it's explained in canon and I'll look like a fool when I get to the episode in my rewatch but I've always figured Zane had to have some sorta reaction that caused Dr J to install him memory switch. In this, it's his constant questioning of where Ice is after his death. I can't imagine being so overcome with grief would cause a good reaction to it. He doesn't to it in any sort of spite he just hurts so much at the mention of him, he wants to move on and isn't sure Zane can. I guess, in this it means that he sorta wiped his memory before installing it?

And to bring up the other thing about Ice and Libber being related! It's based on literally nothing but the fact they stood next to each other so often in the flashbacks + similar colors. Also I think it'd be funny for Jay and Zane to have some big "WE'RE RELATED???" moment.

[jaxxsoxxn]

That one scene from Hercules the Disney movie

Captain cold : I can’t believe you’re getting so walked up about some hero

Captain boomerang : this one is different. He’s honest and sweet. Captain cold : oh please 

Captain boomerang : he would never do anything to hurt me 

Captain cold : he’s the flash 

No, 'cause Boomer is probably so defensive about it. Cold would rather die than admit he cares, but he saw how Speedster can and will fuck you up, so whenever the two r just chilling around him, he gets full-on nitpicky.

Because of Flash's speed healing, I honestly doubt he has a lot of scars, especially from Digger, but the other way around? It's never anything too dangerous, usually a smaller cut that healed badly in the prison or something alike, but he has more than many scars from our fav Speedster. It's nothing that's too noticeable usually and his biggest harm was breaking his nose once or twice, which with how many times it was broken already makes it less than worth noting...

...for anyone, but Leonard Snart himself and his picky nature. Does he intend to make Flash feel bad with his snarky comments? Not exactly, but he's happy with it, even if they won't break up. Golden Glider absolutely adores it and tries her best to comfort Digger by saying "It's just in his big brother nature", but she's also not sure about what Flash wants from this relationship.

I wrote before that the JLA would need some time to understand that Digger is dating him without a second reason, but the Rouges? Some of them would eventually accept that Captain Boomerang and The Flash are dating just because they like each other and no-one is planning on changing their sides, even if Boomer is already on the grey-ish spectrum (tho most Rouges enjoy being on the grey-ish spectrum), some of them would never understand.

Trickster, for one, adores the fact that he can now hang out with the Flasher and just fool around! He's pretty fond of it and Boomer looks 100 times happier than before, so he's okay with it as long as it won't mess up anything.

Mirror Motherfucker- I mean, Master likes that he can annoy Barry more, but his fun is usually cut short because if there's one thing this man can do, it's running. The second Boomer is ready for their date or just happy to get somewhere else, he disappears. Him and Mirror boy ain't becoming besties any time soon, sadly. Lisa, who adores M&M(s), is a little sad because of it.

I feel like Captain Cold could warm up to the idea- (haha, get it?) but over all, he would not be a fan. You can see your totally-not-friend get his ass handed by a guy this many times before not trusting him with said totally-not-friend.

Weather Wizard would take a hot moment to warm up to the Speedster, but in the end, he'd be happy for the two (CC: Et tu, Mark?). He is the one and probably only Rouge that is willing to listen to Digger's rants about speedy. He's not trusting Barry per se, but he's not unhappy about the two together - even if there's no gain for him in it.

Golden Glider, a sour sweetheart she is, acts way more happily about it than she is - if she'll learn that Mark gets the juicy info from Digi, she's silently seething. Might be a little too much like her brother sometimes...

Heatwave, gods bless him, is slightly bitter about the fact that the Suicide Squad knows before them. Like, what do you mean people that kidnapped you know before us, your friend- he means, coworkers! He sulks a little, but as he's pretty happy for Digger, he is not as happy for Flash.

Also, a lil thing:

(expect possible ColdWeather/Hail aka CC x WW in the closest future <3 bc i lov 'em

Also the chatfic will happen!! I'll post the link to it, bc this mf is going to be on ao3, sorry <3 ships expected: Boomerflash, HarleyIvy, Flag x Deadshot for fun, Mirror Master x Golden Glider possibly, ColdWeather/Hail probably

It will be a chiller, easy to read and write ff! More info later <3)

[diaryofawallfly]

gently hands renfield a box with a little kitten inside

"No-- oh no," he carefully take the kitten in hand, "I can't, really," he tries to hand it back, distraught, "I can't."

[iniziare]

Tag drop: Jing Yuan (incomplete, but the rest will be added behind the scenes) (... and a little return of Yelan's aesthetic, for I've missed her desperately)

[sclfmastery]

"Call me 'babes' one more time. You won't listen to me, you never do, because I don't flatter you or indulge you in your ludicrous illusions."

Coward.

"But it's creepy, and that's coming from me, 'honey.'"

When you pet-name an enemy at the end of your direct or indirect gun-barrel, it's creepy. And when are you not in control of me?

"So before you get back to your Bridgerton beat-off fantasy, take note."

A shrug.

"Or be the bigger monster. The biggest! The thing you're always scared you've already become."

"I don't care anymore, Doctor. You finally drove me to indifference. 'It's you! Hi! You're the problem, it's you!'"

The Master briefly shimmies to the pop song perched on his tongue. He sucks air in through his teeth.

"Giiirl, cringe! Bye-bye, then."

Later days, Oncoming Whatever.

[temporarypenintraining]

Love being one of the like, 5 people who like Vex unironically (and ship him with the Ice Emperor).

[autisticmight]

thinking of him (my ninjago oc from 2011)

[bolides]

@slaughterlocked said: [TOUSLE] (sender ruffles receiver’s hair.) for james!!! | parent & child prompts

after hours clean up would be an exhausting chore to some, but at fredbear's, there was always f̷u̶n̷ to be had. it was definitely more fun than going home, for sure.

leaning his weight against the broom in his hands, laughing fills the air -- sharing stories of crazy parents populating the restaurant in days past was one of his favorite past times. while in the middle of recounting a particularly exhausted father they had to wake up at closing time, a hand presses onto his dark mop of curls, sending them to and fro, eliciting even further laughter.

"hahaha, hey!! cut it out, this hair takes a lot of work, and i won't see you trying to comb out all the tangles, pops!"

[dawnedon]

"Chief, I need this hat for my dad. He's been flaking league meetings for the last fifteen years, now—" Roark Needs the link.

"I'll see if I can find where I bought it from. It was a while back, but I knew I needed it the second I saw it. It really is the perfect hat." Sadako, in Dawn's phone, is already going to work. "If anything, if I do find it again I can just buy it and ship it to your address? Something like that. Whatever wo-"

"Wait. Did you call me chief??"

[thecreatorfromgallifrey]

VERY IMPORTANT NEWS, THREE LITTLE WORDS HAS A FOURTH WORK !!

AND IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!