#orangepanic

[atla-milf-month]

Saw you want suggestions. I bet Grandma Yin was really pretty when she was younger. Look at those eyes! I wonder what she got up to?

Thank you! I'll make sure to include her in the promo! o7

[devildogdemon]

Thank you so much for answering and gahhhh, I honestly didn't think I would enjoy this scene so much more than I already did. It always felt so perfect, though I will never forgive your torturous talent of writing the slow burn marathon that preceded it /hj.

Deep down, I feel like I always knew the flashlight held more meaning and power than it seems. But please forgive my surface-level ass for not seeing how beautiful, empowering, and romantic all in one it truly was until you spelled it out for me just now lol.

Your intertwining of their character arcs is so fascinating the more you describe it. It's just impossible for me to not see this story as their greatest journey in life (at this point in the timeline at least lol, I need to read your other fics!) . You fleshed them both out so brilliantly, and made their bond on this journey so magnetic and fulfilling. And may I just say, Asami's kiss being spur-of-the-moment was always something I enjoyed most about this. But hearing you say "without realizing it she's finally dropped her walls. Kissing Iroh now feels so natural that she's doing it before she has a chance to tell herself no." ARGGGHHH I'm totally not 🥺'ing at reading that rn ❤️‍🔥 Not to mention Iroh's own reaction, thought process, and the tacit deep connection between them before they come up for air and speak to each other.

I am sorry for the pain that writing kissing scenes causes you! This one especially, all those re-writes that must have driven you crazy! But please know, there's not a single thing I would change about it. "It felt like being seen. Like coming home." I don't think anything sounds more perfect than that, especially for my girl Asami!

And may I concur that the humble, serene ending establishing their proper communication is an absolute lovely note to end on? I mean, the only thing that could make it better is an impromptu dumpling date request from Iroh 😉 I will admit I'm a sucker for "The chaos is finally over, wanna go out?" But I don't think I've ever enjoyed it more than with these two, at the end of this life-changing journey you took me on with them 🥰

Thank you so, so much again, for the answer, and literally every other word you write. The Irosami crowd will never serve under a finer Captain 🫡

For the DVD commentary please! From a fic which reading was one of my favorite experiences all of 2022 🫶 (not exaggerating in the slightest)

AWOL, Chapter 44 (Spoilers):

“Is that why you’re here?” she asked. “To offer me a job?”

“No, actually.” Iroh reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out. “I came to bring back a prototype. I believe I took excellent care of it, but I wanted to return it to its rightful owner as soon as possible.” He opened his palm to reveal her portable light. “A brilliant inventor let me borrow it, but I understand it’s one of a kind. A museum will want it one day.” 

He thought that her invention belonged in a museum? It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her. Without thinking Asami threw her arms around Iroh’s neck, stood on her toes, and kissed him soundly on the mouth. 

It took Asami a second before she realized what she’d done. She hadn’t thought about it at all, but it seemed like everything had so suddenly changed that she had just… slipped. So much for being better than that. She felt her face grow hot. Asami lowered herself down, arms still around his neck, and forced herself to open her eyes. Iroh was staring at her with a combination of shock and unmistakable delight. He chuckled quietly, almost to himself. Then he leaned down, slowly, and pressed his lips to hers. 

His kiss was soft and brief, almost tentative. Iroh pulled away and searched her face, curious, as if determining the result of some important experiment. Asami gave him a stunned smile and he nodded slightly. Then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again, this time more firmly. His mouth was very warm. Her nose filled with the smell of him as she closed her eyes; fresh soap, the barest hint of cologne, and something else underneath that she liked but couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was just his own scent. Her heart thudded in her chest as his lips parted hers, gentle yet insistent, never rushing. Exploring. Familiar, yet new. She pulled him into her, finally remembering to kiss him back, to kiss him, to kiss Iroh, her Iroh, again and again and again and again. The fabric of his collar was rough against her fingers. He pressed her close, and she felt the portable light dig slightly into her back. Nobody had ever kissed her like this before, steadily, patiently, thoroughly. It felt like being seen. Like coming home.

When they finally parted, Iroh was grinning, gold eyes alight. He rested his forehead against hers, their noses just brushing. “Okay,” he breathed.

“Okay.” She felt like she was spinning. 

“For the record, I refuse to pretend that didn’t happen this time.”

“Yes,” Asami laughed, a little breathless. “That definitely happened. Actually, I think the other one happened, too.”

“Good,” he said. “I liked the other one.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Ahhhh omg thank you. I still love AWOL so much even though my writing has evolved a little since then.

So as you know this is the end of the fic where 44 chapters of mutual pining come crashing down.

“Is that why you’re here?” she asked. “To offer me a job?”

“No, actually.” Iroh reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out. “I came to bring back a prototype. I believe I took excellent care of it, but I wanted to return it to its rightful owner as soon as possible.” He opened his palm to reveal her portable light. “A brilliant inventor let me borrow it, but I understand it’s one of a kind. A museum will want it one day.” 

I wrote AWOL more or less in order, but the idea of Iroh borrowing Asami's newly invented flashlight was a late add. I write Iroh as kind of tactile and Asami as a gift-giver in her love language, so her giving him the light and him touching it to find his way home (to her) was I thought a nice way to bring them back together. His comments about the light belonging in a museum are also meant to show his shift in mindset from Asami being something he wanted (him vs Mako) to someone valuable in her own right, independent of a relationship. Which is essentially Iroh's character arc in this fic - going from being very focused on his own feelings to really, truly putting someone else first.

He thought that her invention belonged in a museum? It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her. Without thinking Asami threw her arms around Iroh’s neck, stood on her toes, and kissed him soundly on the mouth. It took Asami a second before she realized what she’d done. She hadn’t thought about it at all, but it seemed like everything had so suddenly changed that she had just… slipped. So much for being better than that. She felt her face grow hot. Asami lowered herself down, arms still around his neck, and forced herself to open her eyes.

And here we have Asami's. Her journey in AWOL is to let herself be open to love. I absolutely wanted the kiss at the end to be driven by her, and to be something she doesn't overthink - not in the way Iroh kissed her before because he was desperate, but because without realizing it she's finally dropped her walls. Kissing Iroh now feels so natural that she's doing it before she has a chance to tell herself no.

Iroh was staring at her with a combination of shock and unmistakable delight. He chuckled quietly, almost to himself. Then he leaned down, slowly, and pressed his lips to hers. 

His kiss was soft and brief, almost tentative. Iroh pulled away and searched her face, curious, as if determining the result of some important experiment. Asami gave him a stunned smile and he nodded slightly. Then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again, this time more firmly.

For the actual kissing I liked the idea of it being the opposite of what had happened before. Part of Iroh putting Asami first is now making sure she wants this. He kisses her a little and sees what happens. Only when she's obviously happy with it does he go for it. But Iroh being more of an actions-over-words person and my own personal dislike of stopping the action to have characters say "may I kiss you?" I wanted to do all of this silently.

His mouth was very warm. Her nose filled with the smell of him as she closed her eyes; fresh soap, the barest hint of cologne, and something else underneath that she liked but couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was just his own scent. Her heart thudded in her chest as his lips parted hers, gentle yet insistent, never rushing. Exploring. Familiar, yet new. She pulled him into her, finally remembering to kiss him back, to kiss him, to kiss Iroh, her Iroh, again and again and again and again. The fabric of his collar was rough against her fingers. He pressed her close, and she felt the portable light dig slightly into her back. Nobody had ever kissed her like this before, steadily, patiently, thoroughly. It felt like being seen. Like coming home.

I re-wrote this like 14,000 times and still hate writing kisses. Kisses are so fucking hard to write.

When they finally parted, Iroh was grinning, gold eyes alight. He rested his forehead against hers, their noses just brushing. “Okay,” he breathed.

“Okay.” She felt like she was spinning. 

“For the record, I refuse to pretend that didn’t happen this time.”

“Yes,” Asami laughed, a little breathless. “That definitely happened. Actually, I think the other one happened, too.”

“Good,” he said. “I liked the other one.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Overall I like that the end of AWOL is kind of quiet. They're not tearing each others' clothes off or anything. Just a good, solid kiss to know how they really feel and then a little "okay." If anything I think the mutual okays with their heads together is the real finale of the fic. They are both, finally, on the same page. But just in case that wasn't perfectly clear Iroh wants to make sure. He's learned his lesson about kissing someone and not following up about what it meant.

[sooz-again]

For @atlararepairmonth week 4, spirits. Jet/Agni, in which Jet is the Kemurikage.

[btheleaf]

As a Pema fan and expert, I'm curious your opinion on how Pema takes so many people becoming airbenders but not her. I imagine her relationship to bending and particularly airbending is rather complicated. Thoughts?

First of all, thank you 😂 my obsession has granted me a new title it seems. Pema Expert :)

Answer under the cut

When Pema was a child, of course she wished we was born with an element. What kid doesn't? She was born in the Earth Kingdom and throwing rocks around is COOL.

As she got older, she saw the pressure that all the benders were under to try and master their elements or use them in their daily lives for work. She was born into a family of non benders and primarily surrounded herself with non benders. She harbored no resentment for benders but was glad she wasn't one. She just wanted to be herself and was content to be how she was.

Pema becomes an acolyte because she falls in love with the teachings of the air nation and their way of life. In the acolytes, she finds herself as a person, she finds freedom, she finds joy and happiness, and she finds Tenzin. Never once did she wish for an element when she was getting everything she ever wanted without one.

The only time she ever truly wished she was born with an element (as an adult) was once after Book 2. A spirit pulled Oogi into the ocean mid-flight, and she had to pull Tenzin from the water after he exhausted himself from rescuing the kids and trying to save Oogi. He wasn't responding to CPR, and in that moment she never wanted anything more in her entire life to be a waterbender. He coughed up the water eventually and didn't die, don't worry.

When Bumi first shows his element in Book 3, Pema is shocked at first and then very disturbed by the development. Bumi and her were the only nonbenders in the entire group, and now it's just her and the acolytes again. To her, he basically left her alone with all these damn benders.

She jokingly tells Bumi how uncool it is that they can't bond over being nonbenders anymore and Bumi just,, fully starts crying. Pema is shocked and confused as he breaks down and tells her that she deserves it more than him, that she should have been an airbender because she spent her life studying the culture. He's afraid that she'll resent him now because of it.

Pema smiles and hugs him and tells him that she doesn't want an element, even if it's air. She hardly has time to raise four young children and support Tenzin when he's nearly dying all the damn time running around on Avatar business. She doesn't have the desire or time to learn an element.

She tells him that she doesn't want that responsibility, and she's actually sorry the element fell to him because she knows that he's proud of his illustrious career in the UF as a nonbender. He cries even more when she says that, and that solidifies the fact that she doesn't want an element.

She's glad the harmonic convergence skipped over her.

[krastbannert]

13, 42 for Maiko?

13. Do they have potential to be toxic if they’re usually healthy?

Yeah. They definitely do.

Neither of them are incredibly good at expressing their emotions. Zuko is passionate and loud, but also very rash and temperamental, Mai is quiet and composed but that means she holds everything back until she explodes. When they fight, they fight. And it's not pretty. So I would say what toxicity their relationship does have is less like not supporting each other or being controlling or dishonest or anything like that - if these two would be toxic, it would be due to lack of communication. (Good communication, specifically - Zuko yelling and Mai not talking is not a good combo. And yeah, Zuko does, canonically, get jealous. So maybe a little of that, too.)

42. Who is the sensible mature one?

I would argue Mai, personally. I think Zuko is smart - a lot smarter than many people seem to give him credit for - but like I said above, he's a little rash and temperamental, and while he can definitely be mature and make hard decisions, he can also act purely on instinct. I think Mai is more the one who sits back, thinks about the possibilities a bit more, and makes the "mature" choice.

(Which is something, I think, that she has to un-learn to an extent as she grows up - she has to unlearn how to always be the quiet thinker, and has to learn that sometimes, it's okay to act on instinct alone.)

------

Asks came from this ask game!

[backwards-blackbird]

@orangepanic I'M FUCKMIGJ DYING

When people see the Lieumon ship for the first time.

[erisenyo]

FANDOM TRUMPS HATE: ATLA OFFERINGS ARE FINALLY HERE

There are 43 offerings for the ATLA fandom this year (whooo!!)! Listings can be found here, and the browsing period is Officially Open, with bidding beginning Tuesday!! (February 25 - March 1)

There are some truly amazing offerings for this year’s @fandomtrumpshate charity auction. Click their names below to check them out!!

Offering fanfics…

ksx_22 (@asayyun14 - works here) is offering a <5K word fic (up to E)

appalesbian (@appalesbian - works here) is offering a 5-10K word fic (up to E)

EnsignAdano (@bohemian-rhapsody-in-blue - works here) is offering a <5K word fic (up to M)

bran4ever (@whatsitnot - works here) is offering a <5K word fic (up to T)

mango (@asfearlessasamango - works here) is offering a 10-20K word fic (up to E)

Rubikanon (works here) is offering a fic of 20-50K words (up to M)

MuffinLance (@muffinlance - works here) is offering a <5K word fic (up to T) [Muffinlance is also offering the next Kindling AU installment and to finish the current book of Towards the Sun as separate auctions]

1Temmie_Official1 (works here) is offering a fic of 5-10K words (up to M)

RuinQueenofOblivion (works here) is offering a fic of 50k+ words (up to T)

sulkybender (@sulkybender - works here) is offering a fic of <5K words (up to E)

babydollbucky (works here) is offering a fic of <5K words (up to M)

K.I.N.G. (@lesbiancocksucker - works here) is offering a fic of <5K words (up to M)

KingSirakh (works here) is offering a fic of 5-10K words (up to E)

chromeknickers (works here) is offering a fic of 10-50K words (up to E)

prongsprose (works here) is offering a 5-10K fic (up to M)

tay (works here and here) is offering a 5-10K fic (up to E)

agustsea (works here) is offering a fic of 20-50K words (up to E)

possibilityleft (works here) is offering a fic of 5-10K words (up to E)

orangepanic (@orangepanic - works here) is offering a fic of 5-10K words (up to E)

Eevylynn (@eevylynn - works here and here) is offering a fic of 5-10K words (up to E)

Erisenyo (@erisenyo - works here and here) is offering a 5-10K word fic (up to E)

So many amazing creators and offerings, right? And they're definitely worth checking out, so many people are volunteering their interest in creating for specific types of content, like f/f ships, ace/aro character interpretations, rare pairs, and so many other things!

Find the fanart listings here! And the fan labor ones here!

(And if you're not in the ATLA mood--there are SO many fandoms represented in the event, I bet your current interests are in there too :))

[nyamadermont]

Rec list for lok fics 👀

Buckle up, Buttercup!

I have read so many fics over the past four years that I cannot possibly do everything justice. The little fics that fit into very niche interests. Long fics that require some hefty time investment. While I include one unfinished work here, there are several more that are excellent. 

These are not ‘random’ choices, but neither are they in any serious order on this list. They range from stories where The Ship is the Point to ones where Yes There’s a Ship in Here Somewhere to Friendship is a Ship, and one where the only ships are ones in the water. 

My primary ship is Kyalin, so expect to see that one pop up more than once. I’ve left so many off this list - you’ll notice I don’t have a single Korrasami fic here. There are some excellent works that sail on that ship.

I was going to hold myself to 10. But I just couldn’t.

Warning: Nearly all of the canon compliant / conforming / complicit / contrarian fics here probably should wait until you’ve finished the whole series.

brave soldier girl, comes marching home by @toastweasel A realistic portrayal of Lin from the time she was hurt by Su through the end of the 3rd season, except she’s an alcoholic. Lots of trigger warnings, but absolutely worth it. Not a ship-focused story.

KyaLin’s Travels by @slowdissolve Part 3 of a series that tells the story of Lin & Kya, starting a while after the end of the series. Part 18 (!) is the only unfinished entry here. The first fic I commented on, and my original door into the world of fanfic.

Her Favorite Mistake by @wishingforatypewriter The first Linzolt (Lin/Lightning Bolt Zolt) story caught my attention for its sheer off-the-wall-crackiness. The author’s intelligence and humor won me over.

The Bender Suicides by Aiffe This is set right after Season 1, and is obviously not happy. But it’s one of the best under-1000-word stories I can name.

The Scars that Made Me by @sanrielle Lin Beifong’s story in Lin Beifong’s words, toward (but not quite at) the end of her life. Well-worth reading more than once.

Blossoms Softly in the Mountains by archer_nebulae This is a story of Huan and his father, set in Season 4. An interesting look at two mostly side-lined members of the Beifong family.

I Made a Difference to that One by @whattheflameo A modern non-bending AU that works remarkably well. Unfinished, but it remains one of my absolute favorites. I even shared it with my children, I love it so much. And there are dolphins, which is its own plus.

How I Always Loved You by @orangepanic The story of Yasuko and Hiroshi. At least so far as I’m concerned. I don’t give a flying fig if “canon” ever comes along and tells a different story.

Blazing Sunsets by @orangepanic This is the fic I read when I need a laugh. Lin and Bumi get up to shenanigans following the series finale.

Song for Our Daughter by @cobaltzosia Opal Beifong is just about the right age to have something of a different origin than the series leads us to believe. Canon contradictory, but an amazingly nuanced, poignant, and eminently hopeful story.

Inheriting the Wind by @athoroughlycommonpotato Tenzin’s story, from the death of his father up to just before he breaks up with Lin. Lovely, lyrical writing.

Discover (we can do it together) by @frooopsen A story from The Ship is the Point list, we have: Lin/Pema. Modern AU. Another comfort fic for me.

An Annotated Bibliography of the Wars of Unification by HopefulPenguin A non-story fic that’s just what it says on the tin: a bibliography. This author put together a series of what academic writing in the universe might look like following the events of LOK.

So there ya go, a baker’s dozen of fantastic fics.

Have fun reading!

[chocolate-cringymuffin]

Art for "Smoke" by @orangepanic

Art Title: A new beginning.

Fandom: Legend of Korra.

Warnings: Violence/captivity/torture/psychological torture/canonical character death/suicidal thoughts/suicide attempt.

Comments: This is specifically inspired by the chapter called "a new beginning" almost at the end of it. I struggled to imagine a proper attire so I used a discarded concept of clothes for Asami from the art book and for Iroh I tried to use something discreet yet practical and comfortable, so I went for a coat. They are dancing in this scene.

@wipbigbang

[linnorabeifong]

”what like it’s hard?” Heavens I need Lin in a legally blond au, she excels so effortlessly.

💗🤍💗

Also anyone seeing this post should go read orange’s fics….

DVD COMMENTARY (Blazin Sunsets)

Bumi blinked at it. It looked like she’d won every round. “Um,” he said quietly. “You’re not, you know…”

“Of course not,” Lin snapped. “How in spirits’ name would you use earthbending to cheat at cards?”

Thanks :)

Gosh I still love this fic so much. One of my absolute favorites.

I wrote Blazing Sunsets for the Avatar Rare Pair Shipping Challenge in 2021. At the time I didn't ship Lin or Bumi with anyone and I think was just scrounging for characters who didn't have canon ships and mashing them together to see what happened. Which, to be fair, I still do. But this was definitely one of those fics where I started out ha ha ha what a crackship! and by the end of my own fic I'd sold myself.

What I most wanted in this story was the dynamic between Lin and Bumi. It was less about the setting of Blazing Sunsets, though that helped, and more about how to get the two of them into a situation where they realize they're not as different as they might appear. In this scene Lin replaces Bumi's losing streak at a poker game and by the time he comes back from getting more liquor she's won every hand. I love it for the "what, like it's hard?" dynamic of Lin fitting comfortably into a world Bumi thought she was unfamiliar with while at the same time keeping her own integrity of, obviously, never cheating at cards.

Send me a snippet of my own work and I'll tell you about it.

[sooz-again]

At long last, the portrait of this handsome boy is finished.

Close up underneath the cut, along with all the wacky versions this went through to reach this point.

And now, the bonkers evolution that this portrait has gone on.

Cookie Monster!Jet courtesy of @orangepanic

And lastly, my absolute favorite version of the drawing, done by my six year old:

[btheleaf]

Found from this post

Use this picrew to make yourself and your current blorbo, then tag some mutuals

I just had to do it when I realized the arrow tattoo was an option. This was as close as I could get to Tenzin’s facial hair lol

Tagging: @dont-blame-it-on-the-kids @lis-muerta @novaae @nyamadermont @orangepanic @desidarling123 @oldandirrelevant @linnorabeifong @wonderful-anarchy @yell0wsalt @atuats-sidechick

And open tag for anyone who wants to participate

[krastbannert]

5, 28, 49

5. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

No. It's more like @authorjoydragon's squishmallows take over my side of the bed every night and I'm left with about 1 inch of space before the edge of the bed.

28. How are you, really?

Fuckin tired of living in a hotel room, that's for damn sure.

49. What does your last text say?

I congratulated my sister on graduating college (not typing it out because I can't be bothered and because it has potentially identifiable info that I don't want online).

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Asks came from this ask game!

[thebxghag]

An IrohSami commission done for @orangepanic !! Thank you so much once again, I had lots of fun with this one!

For anyone else interested, my commission pricing sheet can be found on my blog as my pinned post!

[wishingforatypewriter]

Okay, a few hours ago I didn't know Jargala existed and now I need to push her on my character board jsjs

How did you start shipping it with Viper? I'm curious👁️👁️✨

Hi!!! Jargala is such a great character! I wish we had gotten to see her in the series proper and not just in the comics!

I actually started shipping her with Viper because there was a fandom event coming up (I think it was Avatar WTF Weekend) and I needed a new ship that had fewer than 10 fics on ao3. By that point, Linzolt actually had too many fics to qualify. In the end, I came up with a couple of different possibilities including Ozai/Ukano (Mai's dad) and Wuvira, but Jargala and Viper was the most interesting option to me.

So I wrote Crime Lords for the event, mostly as a thought experiment, and fully intended to leave it at that. But then @orangepanic egged me on and I ended up shipping them for real and writing more fics about them.

And that is the story of how I found my rarest pair lmao.

[zuko-with-a-mullet]

Six Sentence Sunday- Tagged by @jerk-bending. ---

He managed to dig and crawl his way out of the mountain of debris, dirt and dust lodged deep under his fingernails and in the pores of his skin. Cries and groans for help began dying as the light of the surface breached his vision. There was the scraping of ash in his throat as he coughed and gasped for fresh air finally free from the rubble. And he sat there, hunched over and cross legged next to the spot where he pulled himself free, dazed and covered in a layer of dust that coated his freshly shorn hair and all the way down to his metal-toed boots. The siege was over.

Months after the siege, Jee was reassigned to a post fitting his recently demoted status of ‘disgraced lieutenant’, blockade duty under the command of Captain Zhao. ---

I'm supposed to tag six people so- @firelord-frowny @jerk-bending @orangepanic @crookedmouth-mountainbones and... @firelord-frowny @jerk-bending again!