#when someone finds out that his closests allies have just betrayed him and that he has a secret daughter somehow

[rosalesbeausderholle]

Girls, gays, I've read The Locked Tomb books and I have to say this... everytime Gideon shows up I just want her to shut up. I'm so glad everytime she's gone again it's like omg the cringey humour is gone... bless... John is like that too but at least I'm supposed to hate him...

[derww]

DAY 7: ALIANCE

First time meeting with Zam after revival, Wemmbu is really easy to agree to work together. He has no real allies; he has no gear; he has nothing against Zam, and Zam wants to kill Minute, and Wemmbu always wants to kill Minute. Well. Maybe not always always, but still pretty often.

And Zam is such a great to discuss it too: they instantly find themselves on the same wavelength and spend several hours discussing killing methods and the degree of their effectiveness against a known paranoid, and then switch to the issue of mass murder.

It's not like Wemmbu had many options there, but he actually enjoyed it in the end. It was cool sometimes, to speak with someone who would actually understand you.

Being alive again, he has little to no wishes except for revenge and power and humiation for all his enemies. He was a god, he is the god, and he had to regain his power and wipe everyone who dared to step on his way. He is so much more than they all, and he was ready to make a huge bet if it meant that he would snatch victory right from Minute's hands.

And he meets Zam and all his people and piches the idea, and it sounds so fucking insane and unreal, but Wemmbu knows: it'll work. All of them are crazy enough to agree with him. And he smiles and laughs because, oh, had he finally found some actually competent allies?

It's easy to believe the players exactly because they are evil. He is evil too. They have common goals and enemies. Sometimes it's just as elementary as it goes.

It's Mapicc who does all talking instead, and he does a good fucking job. He convinces almost all of the neutrals and even Minute's own allies and teammates. As the cherry on the cake, he wins over Minute's closest friends, with whom he has been since day one. Wemmbu can just go and reap the fruits, and he is pleased.

All this is worth the opportunity to see minute shocked, desperate, and betrayed. He looks at Wemmbu as if unable to comprehend reality. Wemmbu smiles back at him. And LifestealOwner shakes his hand, and he feels the return of his own power, and he is truly in the right place.

Its always great to be a god, really – different level of the existing and his native harbor. He thinks out a plan for the rest of the season, considering every possibility, even that his immortality will be bypassed by a chunkban. He laughs and smiles, and bombs fly from the sky, crushing reality into a crater. People try to kill him, but it's not like they have even a chance. He walks around the server as if on his own domain without armor and with bare feet, and he is where he should be.

He stays allies with the players – they were quite useful, after all, and loneliness was making him bored. He wanders around the server with Zam, pushing him further and further into madness, he gently strokes Ro's hair, whispering mantras in his ear, he laughs at bacon, but - he comes when Minute attacks Mapicc, and Minute is forced to leave, and Wemmbu stays, watching as Mapicc breaks a wooden path. And no matter how wrong it sounds, he stays fair till the end.

It feels... strange. They were so much lesser than him, but he still listens to them.

It's temporarily, he says confidently. It's temporarily its temporarily its temporarily-

Before meeting with LifestealLord he writes down all his hexes and commands and codes and leaves them under obsidian between bedrock. He writes coordinates to Ro. "Go there if I'm dead,"  thats what he says and nothing more.

Maybe, at the end, he was much more of a human than he wanted to admit. Maybe he was not a god, but the player.

[siunytoons]

guys guys guy

(reblogs r appreciated btw)

What if the life series went backwards

Enter secret life:

tame, people just milling about, doing tasks and stuff, making friends (except scar). The watcher, the secret keeper is the surrounding aspect. The closest the watchers have EVER been to the players.

People start dying, starting with a girl with no allies and a pumpkin themed house. Falling into the endless void. She can't share her secrets there.

Alliances stay steady. People begin killing each other, until only 4 remain. Two out of three of a band with no songs, one who lost everyone, and one who had nobody until the end.

Scott, inherently loyal, thinks "gem deserves this win more than I do" and sacrifices himself.

The two defeat the final band member, a note of melancholy in the air as they stare each other down. How could they betray each other?

Pearl, having lost her alliance, her mounders

Scar, who never had anyone

Both finding kinship in their loneliness

Pearl falls, scar wins

The villainy he was forced to commit means nothing now. What's the point of being victor with nobody else to celebrate

The clock strikes twelve, and suddenly

Tick tock

Everyone wakes up with a clock in their heart and only enough hours to get them through a day.

Scar remembers. Of course he does. How could he forget the secret he kept? How could he forget that it got him nothing?

He joins a family, their namesake becoming the very thing that ticks, every second inching towards their doom. The clockers.

Scott, who sacrificed himself, has a vague feeling in his heart. A feeling that maybe something came before this, before this endless tick tock.

Martyn comes along, they band together. Become the 'mean gills'. Martyn, who tried to kill him. But Scott is ever forgiving, isn't he. Always kind. Perhaps that's why the watchers do not like him. How could he have sacrificed himself previously? It makes no sense, this was a death game! He didn't follor the rules of red.

Strange how martyn and Scott teamed up, the one who was all bark and bite in a previous life, and the one who's final act was one of loyalty.

TNT falls from the sky, raining down like almighty retribution. Alliances are strong, and yet so subject to change.

Kaboom

And then there were three.

Impulse, the band member who perished before he could help his friends.

Scott, the fourth placer, who sacrificed it all for another

Martyn, a man plagued by visions of watchers. Whispering in his ears. Telling him secrets.

Scott calls for sentimentality

Martyn has another idea

And then

Tick tock

And then there was one

The tug of a string, hearts tied together.

Soulmates

People begin searching immediately. Searching for the one they've been bound to by the threads of the universe.

They all find each other.

"but why didn't pearl stop taking damage?"

Scott wondered. Why should he be with someone so careless? He would be vulnerable! And she had no regard for his own safety when she paraded around the server. She didn't even look for him!

Scott ran off with martyns soulmate. Perhaps there was some lingering resentment towards the man. Lingering from what? Scott didn't know.

Pearl was lonely. Pearl was so, so lonely. Ostracized by her soulmate, and the rest of the server, she became the 'scarlet pearl'. A witch who lived in a tall tower, torturing her soulmate who had cut ties with her all but literally (the string of fate still wrapped around them, their health symmetrical).

Pearl finds some solace in Scar, who's soulmate, a strange bird man named grian (who always introduced the games. Why was he always doing that?) ,was cheating on him with another. Two lonely people.

One with an alliance that fell apart.

And one with nothing at all

Strange how the roles had reversed since a previous season.

Scar still remembered.

The ranchers were out first, it seemed that after Lizzie died that first season, a canary named Jim took the brunt of death's grasp. He was out twice in a row first! In double life too. That's got to mean something, right?

Chaos followed that. People dying left and right, pairs of them.

And then there were four.

Cleo, a zombie who's soulmate wasn't her favourite man.

Scott, a man who felt uncared for by his soulmate, and cast her out, condemning her to loneliness

Martyn, a man who remembered his previous life, who messed things up with his soulmate after being the cause of her first death

Pearl, a lonely, slightly crazy woman who's only friends were wolves. They were her soulmates, she said.

Pearl was ruthless, killing martyn and Cleo with her army.

Scott was heartbroken. His soulmate, his true soulmate, Cleo, had died to the hands of his literal one.

Heartbroken, disguising his squalor with a self sacrifice, lit the TNT below him

2nd place again. In double life. How funny was that.

Pearl only saw the tnt until it was too late.

"tilly death do us part" and ode to Pearl's first wolf

Kaboom

Pearl awoke. She remembered everything. She remembered scott, how he'd sacrificed a win. For her. Maybe, she thought, maybe he still cared for her back in a previous life.

Maybe he could care for her in this one

They teamed up. Scott felt a connection to pearl, a melancholy one. It was as if she was literally tied to him by a string. Weird.

Scar followed another path of loneliness. Perhaps his family back in the land of ticking time was a fluke. Perhaps his was a face only a mother could love.

With 6 lives under his belt, and nobody to call a friend.

Martyn joined the southlanders, their name quite literal, having built their base in the south corner of the map. He was still plagued by the watchers voices, telling him what to do. They spoke in riddles. They spoke of Scott, a previous ally, of grian, his latest one.

Last Life was the bloodiest of them all. With so many lives to lose, people began treating them as a resource. Trading them around, destroying them.

A wither here, steady alliances crumbling to the ground. Blood, betrayal. Even greens and yellows weren't safe, having been inflicted with the curse of the Boogeyman.

And then there were 4. There always seemed to be. Limited Life was an exception. It always seemed to be.

Perhaps Scott knew in his heart that this had happened before. Perhaps he was tired of sacrificing himself for others. His closest ally was dead, and he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

And he finally won.

Only to be taken out by an otherworldly force

The same one that plagued martyn. The one that told him to kill, that told him to destroy. The one that spoke of Scott with venom, as if he had wronged them.

And then came third life.

Scar was prepared for another lonely season. Of course he was. It would be no different to anything else. He was cursed to remember all the games.

And then grian, the one who had stolen his first life in Last Life. His soulmate in double life. His (lame) gang member neighbor in limited. Grian, who ran the games, who always treated scar strangely.

He killed him on accident.

Swearing his loyalty, grian promised to be in scar's service until he lost his first life.

They went to the desert, and monopoly mountain was born.

Scott teamed up with the resident canary. Perhaps it was pity, perhaps it was love. He wasn't sure. But maybe Jim wouldn't be out so early.

Pearl wasn't there.

Martyn swore his undying loyalty to a king.

Scar died a second time. Grian did not.

And so grian served the first red life on the server

Scar and Grian quickly became the villains. A lifestyle scar was woefully familiar with. It reminded scar of his time during the first season. The one where he was dragged along by a statue into becoming the villain, only to win.

Death after death after death. Red winter. The desert blew up. grian blew up. The flower husbands died.

Soon enough, it was only Scar, Grian, and Bdubs left.

Bdubs had killed someone for a clock. Perhaps it was for old times sake. Something about bdubs holding a clock reminded him of the bdubs he once shared a brothership with. Perhaps that's why he killed grian, knowing he wouldn't be fast enough to grab the 'no kill slip'.

He murdered bdubs soon after. Brothers by everything but blood. Blood that now stained the sword he held.

Grian was livid. All that time serving scar, and for what? To get murdered by him over a piece of paper?

"you may slay me and take the enchanter"

But he couldn't. He couldn't just do that.

The two walked to the desert.

A ring of cactus.

Scar was tired. He had won once before

He pulled his punches, bumped into the cacti on purpose.

And in the end, covered in poppies and lilacs. Just like the beginning.

Grian wept.

Scar smiled. He died smiling. He died knowing that grian would win.

The desert winds whipped at grian's face as he buried scar. The poppies and lilacs at his grave, a testament to his partner.

The desert winds that accompanied him on his fall down monopoly mountain.

And thus the cycle begins.

[eternitas]

Friendship questions: All of “Green: Truth” for Ava?

OC Questions On Friendship and Companionship

Thank you for sending this in annon!!! this was a LOT of fun! and i am so so sorry for the late reply QwQ

Green: Truth. (all of these answers will disregard any behavior during work, undercover missions or anything else related to it)

How honest is your OC with their friends? Do their friends see them as inscrutable and difficult to get to know? Or as an open book - someone with their heart on their sleeve perhaps? Is the assessment of your OC’s friends or companions completely accurate in this regard?

It seems to be a common attribute among Rains to be both incredibly open and yet never truly letting someone in. While Ava is honest and doesn't particularly hide things from his friends and family there are just some things he simply does not speak about. He is usually easy to read, as there is no reason for him to hide his emotions and when he does, it is usually less out of an attempt at deception and more because he likes to sort himself out first, before he gets aonyone else involved in his turmoil. For those who know him longer and closer it is easier to pin point how Ava feels, even if his mannerisms seem to become more reclusive when he is troubled. Squad 4 and Squalo in particular have no trouble reading Ava even in situations where he himself is struggling with sorting himself out. They also know to give him space when this happens. It's not out of maliciousness, it's more because he has never truly learned how to deal with more negative emotions in a healthy way.

Does your OC ever tell their friends “white lies” to spare their feelings? Perhaps about their appearance or personality? If so, what was a recent example of this? If not, then how do their friends find this unflinching honesty?

This completely depends on the individual. For someone like Leo who is a big tall tree with soft mushy feelings he doesn't mind sugarcoating his words or speaqking white lies. He is also very careful with his wording towards Squalo, as he wants to be as clear as possible and not relay anything that could be misinterpreted.

Lorenzo can get fucked lol.

But in all seriousness Ava usually stays rather honest. He doesn't feel like he has to hide anything and if there is something he would like not to speak of he honestly just says that. This trait is usually taken as a very positive side of his as he never forgets to be polite in his approach.

Does your OC have any secrets that they fear their friends discovering? Is there something in their past they wish to conceal? Or shameful feelings in the most secret depths of their heart which they fear would horrify those closest to them? What do they think would happen were those secrets to be revealed?

There are a few things that Ava hides. In some cases he doesn't even know himself why. The abuse he suffered from their uncle and the subsequent emotional damage, that lead him to psychologically cling to a single aspect of his identity, triggered by an incident, in which he was accidentally hit with the 10 year bazooka, switching places with his older self, being rescued by his older brother and becoming enamoured with his strength. The incident in which he was tortured excessively by an illusionist, that it lead to severe insomnia, sleep deprivation and nightmares, followed by his plea to Mammon to teach him how to detect illusions so that over several years he became a human illusion detector. His deep romantic love for Lorenzo and his desire to be with him, pretending to have a normal civillian relationship, while he is very aware of the impropability of such working in the Varia. He doesn't talk about them, but he also won't throw a tantrum if someone who knows these things tells them to someone else. He just himself simply refuses to speak of them.

Does your OC believe that honest communication is essential in order to have trust in a friend or ally? Have they ever been betrayed or let down in this regard? Did that relationship ever recover?

Ava is definitely a big believer in honest and open communication. He of course understands that there are things people wish to not talk about and he'll never force or demand peoples secrets, but he wishes for people to be honest about their feelings. This is one of the majour reasons why he and Lorenzo end up clashing so often. Lorenzo is incredibly dishonest. He can not openly speak about many things and it ends up with him saying a lot of things that he doesn't mean or that he simply says to achieve a goal, like people leaving him alone, for example. Ava wishes for Lorenzo to be more honest and trust him, so that he doesn't revert to these tactics. It really upsets him.

What is the most difficult thing your OC has ever had to tell a friend or companion? How long did it take them to broach the subject? What was that person’s response?

Ava has had multiple almost confession moments. But each time Lorenzo caught him or covered his mouth and told him to not say it. If he did, no matter how badly he wants to say it, they'd never be able to return. They'd have crossed a line and beyond that line is nothing but despair.

The one thing he was actually able to say out loud, which was very hard for him, was begging Squalo to not participate in the Rainbow Trials. Too strongly does he still remember the Ring Battles and no matter how much he trusts and believes in Squalo, that trauma will never leave him. He begged his brother to not go, to stay and please not leave him alone-- but there was nothing Squalo could do.

And once again he was rewarded with his brothers death.

[riacte]

Martyn’s a survivor.

He likes quick paths, he likes knowing everything, he likes cutting corners and being smart. Everything he does is calculated, he’s shifty and suspicious even of his closest allies, and he’s quick to leap into action— too quick, in fact.

And Martyn knows he’s a terrible soulbound to Cleo. They’re both stubborn as hell and he won’t apologise for the first session, and now he went and actually killed her (killed them both) when she was literally trying to reach out on their halfway bridge. They have rough edges that rub on each other just the wrong way, and yet Martyn can’t hate her because she’s a twin mirror of him. She’s a survivor, and naturally he’s her “burden”. Hating her actions will be like hating himself.

So Martyn likes being independent. He roams around the server, uses his quick tongue to gain favours and make trades, yet he isn’t afraid to banish those who bring harm (Pearl’s desperate face comes to mind). He’s a loose cannon with no strings attached.

And yet— Ren.

In his defence, the first time Ren was kind and offered shelter to a lonely wanderer, so how could Martyn resist?

In his defence, Martyn wanted to kill Ren for real, wanted to betray Ren, he’s a survivor after all— but his hand shook. He couldn’t do it.

In his defence, the second time Ren looked so poor and desperate that Martyn couldn’t help but toss those nether warts at him.

In his defence, the moon favoured Ren, whispering to Martyn to follow Ren till the end.

In his defence, the third time Ren comes to find him in the Ancient City. He’s broken hearted and seeking out a companion. And Martyn can’t help it, really. Not when it comes to Ren.

In his defence, Ren is too kind and trustful for his own good. It gets him killed. Literally. He needs someone who’s quick-witted and suspicious. He needs someone who won’t hesitate to raise a sword for him.

In his defence, Martyn knows Ren isn’t capable of true betrayal. He always feels bad about it, always does. Ren’s harmless. Martyn’s a survivor, and he knows Ren’s harmless. It’ll be too easy to take advantage of that old dog, and Martyn knows. Maybe Ren does as well.

Martyn’s a survivor, but he dedicates time and effort and resources to Ren. Doesn’t think, he just does. He indulges Ren in his crazy ideas and theories, he passes resources to Ren, secret gifts from one to another, he sticks to Ren’s side, he fights for Ren. It’s irrational. It’s even a little foolish.

Martyn can survive on his own. Heck, he can survive with anyone he chooses to if he learns to be a bit less stubborn and a bit more gentle. And Ren can definitely live on with someone else. He’s so sweet and excitable and people can’t help but be drawn to him. They can both live without each other. There’s no invisible string tying their hearts together, and this time there’s no entity slyly pushing them together.

And it’s not like they go out of their way to find each other like some sappy romance story. Each season they start out on their own, they stumble into each other, they smile, they leave. And it’s not like some— some fucking chosen soulmate bullshit because Martyn’s a pragmatic person; he doesn’t have time for idealistic crap that doesn’t have practical benefits. And it’s not like they intend for them to have a bond that transcends seasons. They just do, as naturally as the snow falls, as naturally as the moon rises.

It’s inevitable, in a sense, the way they fall towards each other when problems arise. They don’t try to, yet when they pass by each other, they cling onto each other. They choose to do this. They choose to not run away.

Martyn’s a survivor. He can survive without Ren, he can live without Ren.

But does he want to?

Can he bear to leave him behind?

(There’s a tower burning, Ren is setting himself on fire to melt the cold in his heart, and Martyn doesn’t think, he just runs.)

(The warden is screaming and everyone’s running up the stairs in a panic, someone grabs Martyn’s arm and it’s Ren, it’s him and it’s him, and they stare at each other, wide-eyed and breathless like pieces falling into place.)

(There’s a lone shadow in the river, dipping underneath the water to collect salmon, and Martyn can’t help but watch. Doesn’t think, he just does.)

Fuck the whole soulmates thing. Fuck the whole chosen soulmates thing. Martyn doesn’t care, he doesn’t want to care.

But he runs after Ren anyway, the hero saving his prince from the flames of his own dragon. He tries to engage with Ren anyway, and Ren happily obliges, and Martyn blinks and it’s like the universe has subtly shifted. Martyn roasts Ren, Ren roasts him back, and Martyn likes being smart and cutting corners but he also likes wasting time with Ren. Ren, with his wagging tail and silly shades and goofy smile, with his ludicrous but entertaining plans that don’t always work, with his dramatics and kind soul and eagerness to help everyone—

In Martyn’s defence, it’s Ren.

So how can he not?

[attibar]

So about the Betrayed/Revenged route

Working on that last gif got me thinking of the old topic of discussion that is the Revenged route of THSC. When you go read the discussions you’ll find a lot of the following:

- “Reginald was completely in the right to betray Henry. Some random guy comes in and takes his hard earned leadership pretty much using him as a hostage.”

- “Henry straight up killed Right, Reg’s closest ally and friend of course he was justified in his actions.”

- “Henry hadn’t proven his loyalty nor skill to the clan yet, Reg is only looking out for the clan’s best interest.”

 Now before I continue I just want to be perfectly clear about something: Reginald is one of my favorite characters in the game. He is a bastard weasel man and I love him for that. And for a while I also agreed with the above statements. Then I did some thinking, and some overthinking. I want to make a case against Reggie’s actions that day. Buckle up this is gonna be long.

Let’s go through each of the reasons above.

“Reginald was completely in the right to betray Henry. Some random guy comes in and takes his hard earned leadership pretty much using him as a hostage.”

While it is true that this happened think of it this way:

Reginald was the one to offer leadership in the first place. Henry didn’t ask for leadership at all, just took Reg up on his offer. Now yes you could say that this was to prevent the clan from not having a leader (with Right being dead at the time), they have a hierarchy to prevent this. In all routes where Reginald and Right are gone, Sven takes over, and does have some competency with being able to continue the rocket launch on schedule and keeping the clan together. So either Reginald had little faith in Sven, or he’d rather follow some dude about to arrest him over getting thrown in jail. Maybe not even The Wall since there’s no evidence of his incarceration there. He had only himself to blame for that.

“Henry straight up killed Right, Reg’s closest ally and friend of course he was justified in his actions.”

Bit of a hot take here, but I don’t think Right’s death had anything to do with Reg’s betrayal. Listen to his speech that he gives Henry before letting go; “...See, without you, I become leader of the Toppat Clan again.  I just wanted to look you in the eyes as I took it all back.” He makes no mention of Right, which you’d think would’ve been one of the first things considering the latter is his most loyal ally. But he didn’t, not a single word of the matter. This was not a betrayal out of revenge for Right.

“Henry hadn’t proven his loyalty nor skill to the clan yet, Reg is only looking out for the clan’s best interest.”

Now we don’t know much about Henry’s leadership between ITA and FTC, but there are somethings we can glean. Let’s look at the clan’s behavior towards Henry after ITA and FTC.

This screenshot is the aftermath of RPE in ITA. Does the guy on the right look like he’s being led by someone who sucks at leading? It’s too bad we can’t see the other Toppats’ in the foreground very well to see their reactions.

Then you have Thomas Chestershire’s bio card:

He’s also quoted in TCW saying that he thought that Henry was a great leader and wondering why they were dethroning him.

And then we have the Betrayed route in FTC. The Wall contains many criminals with many being Toppats, members of one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the series. It’s known that there hadn’t been a successful escape in 50 years. It’s that tight of security. Yet the clan didn’t hesitate to head on assault the place in an attempt to free Henry, their leader at the time. If Henry hadn’t proven his loyalty and skill to the clan, why would they go out of their way to risk their lives against one of their largest enemies? TCW route is proof that they’re willing to turn against a bad leader with no hesitation.

Then there’s the betrayal itself. It is a stark contrast to the way Henry gets ousted in TCW. It’s private, only him and Reginald, no other Toppats around to interfere. Once again, if Henry wasn’t trusted as a leader, why the secrecy? Simple: Reginald had no justifiable reason in the eyes of the clan and he knew it. Reginald is cowardly, not stupid.

Going back to his speech, you know what else wasn’t brought up? Henry’s skill in leadership/loyalty to the clan. If Henry was a bad leader or was shown to be untrustworthy, why not mention it? Not even a reason you suck speech. The only thing Reg says in his speech is that he wants his power and authority back. Nothing else.

Another thing to note, if even more minor: is the contrast between Henry’s infiltration into the Airship in ITA and Revenged. In ITA, we do see Toppats besides Right try to help Reginald: the Toppat controlling a crane, and a group at the end pointing guns at Henry. Now look at Revenged when Henry busted in again. It’s just Right this time. Not a single other Toppat came to Reginald’s aid. This was after Reginald betraying Henry. Just food for thought.

TLDR: Yes, Reginald did everything wrong. Do I still love him? Yes. Do I still love to annoy him in fanart and fanfic? Double yes.

[persephones-wren]

Could you write a Kaz Brekker request where the reader and Kaz are more than friends but not lovers and the reader is a Crow and therefore, can handle things for herself so she doesn't tell Kaz when a friend's ex is threatening her but Kaz ultimately finds out when the ex comes to the Crow Club and Kaz handles it since as much as he knows she capable, he is still protective of her and it leads to them finally becoming official?

Protective (Kaz Brekker x Reader)

I'm sorry about the ending, I couldn't find a great way to finish it- but maybe I'll fix that when I can think of something. Besides that, I hope you like it! :)

Warnings: depicted abuse, mentions of sedatives, misogynistic language (please let me know if there's any more)

Genre: not fluff

Word Count: 2705

You had a confusing relationship with Kaz.

It was an odd “more than friends, less than dating” relationship. It made sense, considering in the Barrel, women were more property than anything else. Besides, leverage was a thing everyone wanted on Kaz, even his closest allies. He wasn’t going to put himself in a position that made him anyone’s puppet. You didn’t exactly need him to declare you untouchable, anyway; you were usually more than okay with skirmishing with the Dime Lions and others that happened to be in your way.

You had never expected him to help you handle things that you could do alone.

It had been one of your wealthier friends, who helped get you out of the Menagerie. She had dated Zachariah Alix, a man with power and influence. She had usually dealt with his off-putting advances and abuse, but even you, who couldn’t see her often, could tell she wasn’t happy.

“Break up with him, then.” Your voice echoed in her private chambers as she sighed, multiple emotions running through her expression.

“Y/N, I just, I can’t. We’re already supposed to be married soon. Criminals in the Barrel are lucky in the way that you’re allowed to love who you please,” and damn your head for immediately thinking Kaz, “but merchers, well, it’s not that simple.”

“You callin’ me a criminal?”

“Yes,” she muttered, and you laughed, “but that’s not the point.”

“Are your parents forcing you to marry him?”

“Not exactly, but there’s going to be a lot more pressure if I break up with him.”

“Alright, well...from the list of merchers we’ve stolen from-'' she shot you a look, “sorry, sorry. It’s true though. I’m sure there’s someone on the list that’s for you.”

“I’ve got someone in mind already.”

“Well, that makes things easier, doesn’t it? Break up with him and get with the other guy. No parental pressure. Why do you need my advice, then? I get caught here and I’m as good as dead.”

“Okay, okay! It’s not parental pressure,” she lowered her voice, guilt painted across her face. “He’s going to stalk me if we break up. He might kill me. I don’t know what to do.”

“Alright,” you mulled it over. “That’s different. What can I do for you, then?”

“Can you be there when we break up? Moral support? And perhaps, well...if it wouldn’t trouble you, maybe do a little something to get him to leave me alone.”

“Like beat him up. It won’t trouble me,” you had answered. “Sure, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” she sighed in relief. “You’re the best, Y/N.”

“It’s nothing.”

…

“I don’t think we should continue on like this.”

There was a tension-filled silence, before Alix spoke again. “Why not, sweetheart?” He advanced towards her, and you had to prevent yourself from physically cringing. You were mostly moral support, and there to defend your friend if she got into deep shit, but, well...hopefully it wouldn’t come to revealing yourself.

“You- get off of me,” she pushed him away harshly. “You don’t get to talk me into forgiving you again. You are a child. You hit me and scream and throw tantrums. I want to be with someone who loves me, not someone who treats me like his mother. So that’s it. Get out of my house. We’re breaking up.”

There was another silence, before he spoke up again. “You little bitch,” he snarled, and grabbed at her dress, “you think you can just break up with me? No one’s ever going to be there for you. I’ll kill you and blame it on some Barrel thug. Check yourself, you’d be nobody without me.”

His hand closed in on her neck, and she looked to you, panicked. You put a finger to your lips before you snuck behind him, flicking off the safety and putting the pistol to his head.

He froze.

“Drop her.”

He did, and she slid down against the wall, tears streaming down her face. You had never intended to let it get that far, and it hurt your heart- but you had to deal with him first.

You knocked the gun into his head and used your elbow to knock him to the ground, putting a foot on his chest.

He looked up at you, terrified. What a coward.

“Too bad your daddy never taught you how to use guns,” you taunted, and grinned. “You leave her alone. She’s broken up with you. Get out of her house.”

“You’re Brekker’s whore, aren’t you?”

Your grin grows incredulous. You apply pressure to his chest steadily, and he wheezes, but he still continues.

“Yeah, look at you.You’re all upset, aren’t you, girl? Bet you’re sold out to half of the Barrel by him. Brekker likes his Kruge.” His eyes scan from underneath you. “Can’t say I’d blame him if he wanted to keep you as his personal pet, though.”

You scoff. “Careful what you say, I’m the one with a gun,” you remark, and you click a bullet into place for show, before taking your foot off. “Get out. If you touch her again, it’ll be more than me you’ll deal with.”

He scrambles upwards and disappears, and you hear the front door open and shut. You sigh.

“I’m sorry, I never intended for him to get that far. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” your friend sighs, hands lightly touching the bruises on her neck. “I think I’ll be okay. Thank you. What about you? You’re not-”

“I’m not with Kaz.” You help her up, and she smothers out her dress. “If Alix ever bothers you again, let me know.”

“Of course. I doubt he will. Thank you again, Y/N.”

…

He never did bother her again, but you- you were a different story. Every day, now, Kaz would offer you a note with some vague taunt on it.

“I’ll kill you.”

“Brekker’s slut! Slept your way to the top!”

“Let’s fight without a gun next time. I’ll have you pinned underneath me.”

“I’ll sedate and have my way with you. You still know some things from the Menagerie, don’t you?”

You had brushed off most of the taunts and threats, but they might’ve been starting to impact you, just a bit. You had assumed that Kaz had never read the threats. Each time, he would hand you the note with no expression.

Today’s note was a bit different.

“Y/N. Another note came in for you today.” He set the note on the table.

“Huh? Oh, thanks.”

You picked it up and unfolded the note, shielding the back of the paper with one hand. Kaz was clever, one of the many things you liked about him. You were sure that he’d try and read the back of the note if he could.

“Let’s meet on your territory. Crow Club at eight, in the alleyway.”

“Got yourself a boy, Y/N? These notes have started coming in every day,” Jesper whistled next to you, eyes scanning over the note. You look up, and Kaz is gone, watching from more of a distance. They’ve got it completely wrong.

You glance back down, and fail to notice how Kaz’s fingers tighten on his cane. Your laugh is dry, and you shake your head. “Nothing of the sort.”

Jesper ignores your denial. “Well, whoever he is, he seems awfully persistent. He wants to meet at the Crow Club, in the alleyway? Kinda sweet he wants to meet on your land, but why won’t he come in? He afraid of us, or somethin’?”

“Something like that,” you affirm.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to meet in here, either,” Inej says.

“Especially not with him here,” Jesper adds.

Your eyes meet Kaz’s across the room, and you both stare for a moment before he turns and looks away.

“Maybe.” Your answers are ambiguous, and you’re sure both Inej and Jesper want to know more, but you need to prepare for tonight.

“Sorry, guys. Excuse me.”

…

You have three throwable knives strapped into your boots, a small handgun holstered in your coat, and a syringe full of clozapine tucked up your sleeve. You’re prepared to take Alix down easily. You don’t exactly intend to shoot him, if only to make sure that the Crows don’t have a bigger target on their back from getting involved with the wealthy, but- well, you can’t deny it’s good to be ready in dire circumstances.

It’s 7:58 by the time you’re heading out to the back of the alley. You’re hiding behind the wall, just about to step over, but there’s already voices conversing there.

Did he bring backup? You grimace. You hadn’t considered that he might not fight fairly.

“Did she send her boyfriend after me ‘cause she was too much of a pussy to show?”

“I’d be careful what you say about Y/N.”

That’s Alix, and Kaz.

You’re not sure what you’re supposed to feel. He never did these kinds of things for you, never declared you his, but- you could handle this yourself. You didn’t need his protection, and you didn’t need him going out to deal with things because of one creepy ex.

Or, your thoughts betray you, you’re worried for him, because this could be a trap.

He glances over at the wall, where he seems to know you’re standing. It’s a warning glance, one to be quiet and let him deal with it.

“Aw, Brekker, you sweet on her? And here I thought it was a one-sided thing. Too bad I’m gonna ruin that pretty face of yours.”

Alix comes swinging. Kaz doesn’t say anything in reply, and instead jabs his cane forward, right into his stomach. He stumbles backward, and Kaz is still poised, waiting.

“I thought you were going to be more of a challenge than this. Even a fool knows not to attack first.”

“I’m no fool, Brekker. Don’t make any more sudden moves, or you’ll be shot. Do you know how easy it is to hire hitmen?”

There’s a faint look of surprise in Kaz’s expression before it smooths back into calm. “Well, to be honest,” he smiles pleasantly, “I thought merchers were above such methods.”

He’s glancing at you again, before his eyes move over two guard towers.

He’s pointing out to you where they are. Shit, what do you do? You’re no Inej, who can scale the walls and take them down silently. You’re no Jesper, who can shoot them with precision. You’re not going to be able to take out both snipers quickly enough. If you kill Alix and Kaz doesn’t dive behind the wall in time, he’ll get shot.

You let out a silent sigh. If only you could get both Kaz and Alix behind the wall, then you can get rid of the problem at its source, and then fuck the hitmen. They’re not going to kill Kaz if they can’t get paid.

“The rich are never above any methods. The only thing the rich care about is eradicating the criminals that roam the streets. I thought I was gonna get Y/N, and I could take her back to Tante Heleen,” he grinned, “But you’ll be worth a lot more. Wonder who’ll lay claim to you first.”

Kaz doesn’t say anything, just puts his hands behind his back, as if he’s waiting to be cuffed. But he gives quick signals to you, right before Alix steps around to secure the bonds- a quick countdown. He’s expecting you to shoot.

“No plans up your sleeves this time, Dirtyhands?”

You suddenly fire at Alix’s shoulder, a scream tearing through his throat as the cuffs drop to the ground. Kaz dives towards the wall, grabbing his cane along the way and breathing hard next to you.

Somehow, your aim remains true, and when you peek over the corner, you see Alix desperately trying to grasp at his wound. A grim sort of satisfaction greets your expression.

“Should’ve shot him in the head,” Kaz looks on with you.

“I’m trying not to paint a bigger target on our backs,” you explain, before you remember you’re supposed to be mad at him. Damn him for taking the fall for you. Did he know it was going to be a trap?

“Why the hell would you confront him alone? I had it handled, Kaz.”

“Not now..” His stare is directed at the shadows. And before you can get another word out, both of you are headed to his office.

The brisk walk is silent, and the tension could be cut through with a knife. At last, you reach his office, and he shuts the door, and sits down at his desk. You stand in front of him.

“Care to explain why you decided to confront Alix by yourself?” “I read the notes. I knew it was a trap.”

This doesn’t make you feel any better. “So you read the notes, where he called me a whore, a slut, your personal toy, and you don’t decide to tell me? You let it continuously happen, and then when the note comes today, you decide to go and white-knight for me because protecting me is a better idea than consulting me, huh?” you scoff. “That’s bullshit. You know I can handle myself. There’s a reason you chose me to be a part of the Crows, is there not? Or is what Alix said true? Did I sell myself to get to the top? Become your bitch?”

“I knew you could handle yourself just fine,” Kaz says calmly. “I didn’t want you to get hurt, because you didn’t consider the fact it was a trap. You could’ve died.”

“I would’ve been fine alone. Just because you’re the one who accounts for everything doesn’t mean I don’t use my head.” You know you’re being unfair, he’s right about the fact that you thought the fight was legitimate, but you could’ve saved yourself all the same.

“I’m not saying you don’t use your head, I’m saying that the probability of you dying if you went alone were much higher. I wanted to help you, save your ass back there,” he refutes.

“I would’ve died. So what? Deaths happen all the time in the Barrel! I die, and what?”

He doesn’t say anything.

You give a sardonic laugh. “I’m just an investment to you. I do what you want, with no question or hesitation, because I put my faith in you. My death just means the loss of a good soldier. I’m replaceable, though. My opinions are invaluable, so you don’t talk to me before you do shit. I’m always going to be underneath you, just a pawn.”

“You’re assuming things.”

“Like what, then?”

“Have you considered the fact that I was there because I wanted to help you? Because you’re a part of my Crows, and I don’t take anyone threatening us too kindly?”

His admission has you pausing, but he continues. “You die, and what? Forget what I may feel. What about Inej and Jesper? What about Nina, Wylan? I don’t want you to be underneath me. I see you as an equal.”

“I-”

“That’s why I was there. Because I-” love you, he nearly says, but he stops himself. “I protect the people I love.”

“And I’m someone you love,” you state quietly.

“Yes.”

You’re not sure how much you must have pissed him off to make him an honest man, but you can’t help smiling a little. “Saints, Kaz, at least ask a girl to be yours before you tell her you love her.”

“Fine. Y/N, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Who the hell are you and what have you done with Kaz Brekker?” You grin.

“Stop dodging the question,” he bites out.

“Yeah, I will,” you sigh. “But don’t get yourself killed, and especially not over me, please.”

“Well, darling, I think it’s fair of me to ask the same thing for you- don’t be reckless. People die far too easily in the Barrel,” he responds.

There’s another small silence, before you speak up again.

“Kaz. Thank you.”

He’s slightly surprised at the genuine warmth in your eyes, quickly replacing the anger that was in them before. He shrugs a little.

“It’s what lovers do, right?”

“Yeah,” you answer. “Lovers.”

Lovers, indeed.

[snackleggg]

City of splintering hopes: Chapter 1 "Frosty conversations"

~~~

Ao3

~~~

Frostbite quickly seemed to realise what he had said and stopped talking, immediately dropping his usually happy attitude. Danny was still processing what he had said.

"Hey Frosty?" Danny asked during one of his semi-regular visits to the Far Frozen.

"Yes Great One?" Frostbite replied as he finished up checking that Danny had fully recovered from a terrible case of the ghost flu he had caught a few days ago.

"You and the other Yetis seem to know alot about my hybrid physiology when I don't even know that. How come?" Danny asked. It was an innocent enough question. Jazz had pointed it out just before he left for his visit and he hadn't been able to shake it from his mind since.

"Well, of course!" Frostbite said with a boisterous laugh "You think you are the only Halfa to have ever allied with our tribe? We have always been friends to your kind Great One!" Frostbite said back with a carefree kind of happiness before he realized what he had just accidentally spilled.

Now they stood there in heavy silence as Danny processed the meaning behind Frostbite's words.

"Other Halfas!?" Danny all but screeched as he nearly fell from where he was sitting with the realisation of what Frostbite said.

Frostbite looked uncomfortable to say the least. He seemed to look around at anything but Danny as he replied "Y-Yes of course! You didn't think you and those two others were the only ones of your kind." Suddenly Frostbite looked Danny in the eye with concern "Did you Great One?"

Danny couldn't reply.

By the heavy look Frostbite was giving him it seemed like there was something deeper to this subject than he was realising. Danny just shook his head.

"Mmm no, the only other Halfas I've ever met were Dani and Vlad" Danny said matter-of-factly. By the look Frostbite was giving him it was obvious he was missing something, some unspoken fact that hung in the air just out of his reach.

Frostbite suddenly broke from his gaze as he huffed while looking to the side "That Plasmius should be ashamed of himself to even dare call himself a Halfa. He may be there biologically but none of his actions reflect on your people" Frostbite said with a tone of bitterness, a tone that was slightly sharper than the bitterness he usually talked with when talking about Vlad.

"Yeah, totally agree, 100% but back to the topic at hand I have a people!?" Danny's brain was trying to understand this new revelation. In a way it answered alot of questions that he had never really thought about. How were the ghosts able to tell he wasn't a full ghost. Why had Pointdexter known to call him a Halfa as if it was a common term. Why ghosts just didn't seem all that surprised about the existence of some weird hybrid. Of course Vlad could've had a part in that but Vlad was always too busy in his cheese castle plotting revenge to really interact with many ghosts outside of hiring them to do his dirty work.

But it also brought up a while slew of new questions. Where had these other Halfas come from? Definitely couldn't be another lab accident caused by his parents. Why wasn't there any information about the existence of ghost human hybrids on earth if there were enough Halfas around to be considered a people, a kind, not just an anomaly that repeated a few times but by the sounds of it some sort of society? And most importantly, where were they!? Danny had never ran into anyone like himself apart from Vlad and Dani.

He looked at Frostbite, trying to pick which question was the most important to ask first. It seemed Frostbite was blissfully unaware of his internal struggle as he just went on.

"Well yes Great One. The Halfas were a strong and prosperous people.... I suppose there isn't really a way for you to know that but I am surprised this is the first you are hearing about this" Frostbite said awkwardly.

Danny probably looked like a fish with how much he was opening and closing his mouth without a word coming out. Finally he managed to say something past his shock.

" 'were'?" Danny asked, his hopes at meeting someone like him suddenly beginning to die.

Frostbite just nodded, avoiding looking at him again as a sorrowful look came upon his face "Yes, Pariah Dark" Frostbite said the name like it was something foul and Danny was inclined to agree "wiped them all out when he sensed they would be a threat to his throne"

Danny almost snorted at that.

Pariah Dark sounded like a character in a tragedy or a myth in that context. In trying to stop Halfas from dethroning him he was indirectly responsible for a Halfa dethroning him. Okay maybe not responsible, Danny would've done it whether the race of people had still been around or not but still the irony was there. So was the karma.

Then he focused on the more depressing part of what Frostbite had said.

"Oh" so there really wasn't anyone else. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

"But!" Frostbite said, a little bit of a cheer coming back to him "the ruins of their old city still stands! Maybe, if you are interested in knowing more, you could visit them? Of course everyone here in the Far Frozen would be more than happy to recount stories of other Halfas to you Great One but our knowledge is limited. Even with our friendship with them, they were always a secretive bunch" Frostbite explained.

Danny didn't really know what to think of the offer. It wouldn't be the same as actually talking to another Halfa but it would still be something, right?

"I'll... think about it" Danny said.

He had gone through too many revelations in too short a time span and he really just wanted to crawl into bed and take a nice long nap, which he could do since it was the weekend.

"Of course Great One. It is entirely up to you what you do" Frostbite said with a smile.

The rest of the visit seemed to fly by but the conversation he had with Frostbite was stuck at the back of his head. He kept on wondering about the other Halfas.

Were they nice? What kind of society did they have? Had they ever been to Earth or did they live exclusively in the Ghost Zone? Why were they as secretive as Frostbite said? Even to their own allies? Why had Pariah felt so threatened by them? Were they really that powerful? What will I find if I go to these ruins?

Even after he left to go back home the thoughts of a people just like him, a people long gone, lingered in his mind.

He was distracted.

He knew Frostbite and the other Yetis had noticed it even if they didn't comment on it but Jazz was alot more proactive about these sort of things. She noticed the far away look Danny had as they were eating dinner and afterwards pulled him off to the side as their parents went back down to work in the lab.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Nothing" Danny mumbled. He didn't know if Jazz would understand his dilemma. Sure he was born human but thinking about the possibility of other Halfas, even if he hadn't been born one, it made his core clench with a need to learn more, to find them

"It's obviously not nothing, you've been distracted ever since you came back from visiting the Far Frozen. What happened?" Jazz asked.

Danny couldn't meet her gaze. He didn't know how to fraze it, to tell her about all the spiraling thoughts in his head, the confusing feelings in his core.

"Danny" Jazz said seriously.

Finally Danny caved and told her about the conversation he had with Frostbite about other Halfas. He told her about his feelings and thoughts on the matter. It was like the dam that had been filling for the last few hours had broken and suddenly Danny was exasperated as he finished recounting everything.

"Other Halfas...." Jazz said thoughtfully.

Danny nodded. For some reason he felt guilty, he felt like he was betraying his family by trying to explore this part of himself.

Jazz, thank the ancients for the observation skills she definitely didn't get from their parents, noticed Danny's dip in mood and quickly went to comfort him.

"Hey, you shouldn't feel bad about this. It makes sense you'd want to find and learn about people who might've gone through similar struggles" Jazz said as she put her hand on Danny's shoulder, a grounding gesture which he was silently thankful for.

"But I feel bad about how if I do learn about this then I'll be keeping more secrets from mom and dad. I already feel terrible lying to them about The accident" Danny shrunk into himself. It's not that he wanted to keep lying to his parents but the perpetual fear of them not accepting him hung over his head heavily and he feared now that if he tried to explore and learn about these people who were like him it would only give his parents more reason to distance him from the family if they found out.

"Danny, look at me" Jazz urged and Danny barely managed to meet her gaze. It was determined and honest, an immovable rock he needed in the swirling river that was his thoughts.

"You don't have to go there if you don't want to but you shouldn't jump to the conclusion that it will only make everything worse. Think about it but don't forget that just as many good things could come from this as bad things" Jazz said and Danny nodded along. That made sense.

"Yeah. I guess the concept just kinda overwhelmed me" Danny said and suddenly he felt emotionally drained all over again.

"Go on, get some rest. Sleep on it but there really isn't a time limit" Jazz encouraged and she was right but Danny felt like if he did want to go then it might be better to do it sooner rather than later.

He crashed onto his bed not really knowing what to think. A few hours ago he was excited by the prospect but now he dreaded what he might find at those ruins, what secrets the Halfas kept hidden away even from those closest to them.

Danny almost laughed at the parallels as he thought about his own secretive situation with his parents. He was in no place to preemptively judge.

Finally he went to sleep.

Dreaming of a lullaby he never heard and a city of people he would never meet.

~~~

First | Previous | Next

~~~

I'll be tagging all content do to with this story with the tag City of splintering hopes so if guys want to you can follow the story easier. You can also use that tag for any questions or content you guys make of the story!

Hope you all like this first chapter!

[nachosncheeze]

The Family (Blindspot post-s2 fic)

A/N: I wrote something again! I've been marinating for weeks on the idea of trying to write something less angsty, without the foggiest notion what it might be. Happily this arrived just in time for the new year. Is this what you'd call fluff?

Set broadly between the second last scene of 2x22 and the first scene of 3x01. Jane-centric but there's Jeller and Allie and Conor in there too. Happy new year folks :)

~~~~~

Jane didn’t know much about family. Her team was the closest thing she could ever remember having to one, but everything that happened after Mayfair, after the CIA, even in the weeks after her return seemed to suggest that family was fickle, fleeting. Then she met her real family, a brother she was bound to by history and by blood, and through good and bad she thought she’d begun to understand, especially when he'd stood up to their so-called mother. But then that same brother joined that same so-called mother in trying to murder millions of people, and they never got a chance to find out if blood could love strongly enough to forgive each other's mistakes. (Hers was a very grave mistake. He was right to feel betrayed, although it didn’t excuse the attempted mass murder.)

And then Kurt said those three words, and a day or two later she said four back, and a new and puzzling sort of belonging began to unfold.

She worried that they were moving too quickly; it was Allie who told her to get over it. “Kurt said the same thing a few weeks ago,” she said, and smiled a little at the poorly-hidden anxiety that ghosted over Jane’s face. (It was not unlike the look he’d worn.) “I think he was afraid of scaring you off,” she offered as reassurance. “But I’ll tell you what I told him: you guys have danced around each other and put this off through so much, you have a lot of time to make up for. You two are great together, don’t overthink it.”

In the final weeks as Allie’s due date approached, they were already engaged. The trip to Venice had come together surprisingly last-minute; a break for the two of them ahead of his impending fatherhood, because who knew when he’d be able to get away again? She wasn’t expecting his proposal, and truth be told she wasn’t sure he was expecting it just then, either. But something about the city and the night air and the lights provided just the right kind of magic, and before she knew what was happening, the hand that held hers was tugging her to a halt and he was asking the question. There wasn’t time for a ring, but what would she have done with one anyway? Everything she needed was already holding her hand. (He would later admit that he had felt bad when she declined his offer to go shopping, but that he had also kind of adored the little furrow in her brow when she resolutely asserted that the traditional two-rings style would only have been a hindrance, because how was she supposed to punch anyone with a diamond on?)

By the time the call came that Allie had gone into labour nearly a week early, and two days ahead of his scheduled departure to Colorado, there hadn’t been a question. (At least not in his mind.) His face was a frantic mix of emotions as he stuttered something about go-bags and airports, and she placed her hand on his forearm and stood herself in front of him until he met her eyes long enough to take a few deep breaths, at which point his expression melted into a warm but nervous smile. “I’ll call the airline, and work,” he said, “you drive.” She was hard pressed to keep her eyes on the road when she heard him say, “Two tickets,” and “Yes, she’ll need the time off too.”

If three’s a crowd then four was a throng. And so she found herself in a waiting room, sitting nervously beside Conor as they, well, waited. She’d only met Conor a few times before, and her impression had always been of someone a bit stoic. A man of not-too-many words – not unlike Kurt, she mused – but perhaps less commanding, and she had a sense that he was simply reserved rather than walled-in the way Kurt was. (The way he was to everyone but her, of course.) But as they sat in the waiting room together, he engaged her in easy conversation, less about what was going on down the hall and more about general topics – his own family, his and Allie’s work, life in Denver, places that she and Kurt should see, and that maybe they should go together. It was an excellent distraction, and it made her feel welcome.

When the nurse came to tell them they were being asked for, he nervously rubbed his palms on his knees as they both stood, and they exchanged a look that was both reassuring and seeking reassurance. They walked down the corridor side by side, but as they arrived at the room the nurse had indicated, her steps slowed and she stopped in the doorway behind him. Kurt was half-seated on the edge of the bed, his left leg tucked up in front of him, left arm around Allie’s shoulders, and his right hand placed gently on the baby in her arms. A rush of a million emotions flooded Jane’s body at the sight, too many to name. (But among them, she was absolutely certain, were both joy and deep-seated fear – which was really saying something.)

The subtle shift in Kurt’s face when he saw her standing there – it was impossible that he could look any happier or more lovestruck, and yet somehow, he did – told her everything she needed to know about what he wanted for his family. Of course she needed to be there, for him; he truly wouldn’t have wanted, nor stood for it being any other way. And so she was there, the fifth person in the room. (Even if she did feel a little more like a fifth wheel.)

When Allie called her over and asked if she’d like to hold the baby – Conor was right there; she wanted Jane to go first? – her nerves returned and gripped her so solidly that she was surprised to find her feet carrying her forward of their own accord. She stepped hesitantly up beside Kurt, unsure of what to do with her hands as he gently accepted his daughter from Allie and slid forward until his other foot hit the floor. He placed the tiny bundle in Jane’s arms – how could a human be so small? – and stroked the little pink forehead with one finger while his right arm came around her waist. She was sure the little one would start screaming the moment he passed her over – she was a stranger, after all, and can't newborns tell? – but when the fat little face just scrunched up for a moment then relaxed with the biggest yawn and the tiniest sigh, everything changed. Jane didn’t think she’d ever felt bigger or smaller than she did at that moment, and when she looked up at her fiancé in wonder, she could swear his face would split open if he smiled any harder. She found herself misty-eyed, and utterly at a loss for words.

She looked down again at her future step-daughter’s face, and then around at each of the others in the room, almost as overwhelmed at their expressions as she was by the little girl herself. Conor had mirrored Kurt's earlier position on the opposite side of the bed, his arm around Allie’s shoulders, a warm and genuine smile on his face and an encouraging nod in her direction as he watched her cradling the sleepy infant. Allie looked exhausted but she glowed, all pride and love and welcome, and seemed just as gratified and truly happy to see Jane holding her child as she had looked when she was passing the baby to Kurt. And Kurt, he was misty-eyed himself, beaming down at both of them, the two greatest loves of his life. She was supposed to be there, of course she was. And then she found her words.

“Hello, little one,” she murmured with a smile, “welcome to the family.”

[ratsoh-writes]

Two words: nerf war

Do you mean:

Because that’s what’s going to happen. You put my men in a nerf war and blood and betrayal will happen. I’m not joking.

Anyways this ask is so beautiful that I’m going to do everybody.

Sans: he actually gets really into the war and will last about halfway using his sneak ability until Coffee snipes him down that is.

Papyrus: he joins the jock squad with star, lilac and Jupiter and they all end up rushing the enemy until they inevitably get gunned down together, but what a way to go man

Star: he was the last of the jock squad to go down. Star only lasted so long by deciding to do a fancy midair maneuver that made him evade the first wave of nerf bullets 

Honey: not even two seconds in, and he’s getting pinned down and shot in the forehead by charm.

Red: him and oak team up in order to take out thier brothers first. What they never expected was for edge and willow to team up as well. They suffer a humiliating but very entertaining death

Edge: he was suprisingly the one to suggest that he and willow team up and target red together. Edge knew his brother would aim for him first and wanted to use willow as a secret weapon to snipe red out when he rushed over.

Mal: he, lord and wine all form the betrayal squad where they ended up getting knocked out early on, but have a good time “accidentally” leading the others to the remaining survivors hiding spots lol. They are the most hated in the group

Cash: he was immediately sniped by coffee before cash could even move. There can only be one jokester in this war!!! Cash spends the rest of the game trying to track coffee down despite the other going full stealth mode. He doesn’t care if he’s technically dead, he needs revenge!!

Oak: he was planning to just let someone shoot him on the beginning, but red convinced oak to be his meat shield help him take out edge first. Well look how well that worked out

Willow: he only went along with edge’s plan to betray him at the least second, what willow didn’t expect was for edge to have the same idea. After taking red and a suprised oak out, edge is just one second faster and manages to shoot willow pint blank in the chest.

Charm: he knows like half the group has beef with his perverted a*s, so charm decided to at least take down someone with him. And the guy who happened to be closest was honey lol. Right after honey gets shot, charm is obliterated by a wave of styrofoam bullets from everyone else 

Sugar: he knew everyone had beef with charm, so instead of shooting, sugar booked it as far as he could. Unfortunately he picked the wrong direction and got mowed down by butch.

Lord: he gets peer pressured into joining the betrayal group with mal and wine and spends the rest of the game sulking because they got mowed down by butch early on

Mutt: he spends the whole damn game doing his best to dodge everyone’s assassination attempts so he can get one shot at butch. Just one! Unfortunately mutt got sniped by coffee before he even got close

Wine: he has more fun messing with people as a dead person so wine formed the betrayal squad and set it up so that he, mal and lord all get taken out early on. Now they lead the others to everyone’s hiding spots and spread misinformation. Good times lol

Coffee: he is the snipe master. Coffee is an amazing shot and sneaky as hell. Unfortunately he’s no match for the absolute unit that is butch. Coffee come in second place though and accounts for almost a fith of all the deaths

Pop: he tries to be sneaky and find a good hiding place but was discovered and sold out by wine and mal.

Rythm: one of the many deaths of the first wave of destruction by butch. Rythm takes Pluto and gets a higher vantage point with him so they can watch the show

Pluto: he also got nailed in that first wave by butch and the others. Pluto’s biggest mistake was standing next to charm lol

Jupiter: he was the man behind forming the jock squad. When him, papyrus, star and lilac survived the first wave of ballets, Jupiter immediately recognized butch as the biggest threat and hoped that all four of them rushing him would take him out. Well that went well

Peaches: another victim of the first wave of bullets. Except after seeing snipe go down, peaches just decided to intentionally die with him lol

Rancher: he was another victim of the betrayal squad lol. Rancher is pretty a pretty good shot and found a great hiding place to hunker down in. He would’ve nailed coffee if wine hadn’t popped behind him making him shriek

G: this idiot decided to go straight for the mafia boys and didn’t even make it two steps before getting half a dozen nerf bullets stuck to his face

Green: he’s much much smarter than G. especially since he used his own brother as a meat shield lol. Green managed to take out slim at the exact same time slim hit him with a nerf bullet. It was very dramatic and now they’re besties

Snipe: he literally just drops his gun the second the game started, held out his hands and leg death reclaim him as the bullets started to fly.

Bruiser: he needed someone to blame for his brothers death, so bruiser figured the most logical option was ace. Unfortunately ace was ready for him and used butch as cover leading to bruiser getting gunned down of course

Ace: he narrowly escaped butch and bruiser in the first round and managed to last a long time by using sneak attacks. Unfortunately he eventually gets sniped by coffee 

Slim: in a scene straight out of a western movie, slim and green both shot at the same time and nailed each other in the forehead at the same moment. Double kill

Butch: the big daddy of the gum fight. Butch wins by a landslide. This man is a deadly machine with insane reflexes, great senses, and deadly aim. Not even coffee could hide from him. It also helped that butch could reload in just moments

Boss: the most surprising team up of them all, boss and basil! Those two never shared a word, they just unconsciously decided that this was thier ally. They manage to take out several of the others before eventually getting sold out by the betrayal squad and gunned down by butch

Lilac: he was so happy to be included in the jock squad that lilac wasn’t even mad when he got taken out. He thought the nerf war was insanely fun!

Basil: when boss glanced at him and didn’t immediately shoot, basil knew he could trust this man. He mostly followed boss around like a lost puppy the entire game before getting taken out with him

Rust: after seeing his brother get taken out, rust was a man on a mission. And his goal, take down coffee at all costs. Poor guy didn’t even five minutes before becoming sans one and only victim

Noir: he manages to find a good hiding place and avoids the first wave. Except noir and coffee both picked the same spot. There could only be one and coffee was just a second faster than his best friend lol

[hunxi-after-hours]

Ok going off that Yan Wushi ask and the Betrayal™️ I gotta ask your opinion. When I read the buildup to that, Yan Wushi showed up and is truly surprised Shen Qiao is happy to see him, even eats from a bowl of food that he finds disgusting for Shen Qiao. And then betrays him - and to me that almost read as Yan Wushi was starting to realize he liked Shen Qiao and flipped out and so betrayed him to reject those feelings? Though it seemed like he had already set up the meet with Sang Jingxing so I’m probably reading too much into things. Doesn’t change how awful an act it was but could kind of color the motivation of why he did it, so it’s less that he got tired of him and more that he was lashing out.

I mean, let's look at the scene:

sldkfsldkjf when did I start doing close-reading of 《千秋》 passages rip

晏无师抚上他的脸颊，禁不住轻轻叹息：“阿峤，你怎么总这么轻易就相信别人？” / Caressing his cheek, Yan Wushi couldn't resist sighing, "A-Qiao, why do you always trust people so easily?"

沈峤蹙眉：“我以为我们是朋友。” / Shen Qiao furrowed his brows. "I thought we were friends."

晏无师微微一笑：“这该怪你自己，你若不是说出朋友的话，我兴许还要晚一些才会对你动手。本座何许人也，哪里需要一个武功都恢复不了，有门派归不得，人人耻笑的落魄之人来做朋友？” / Yan Wushi smiled slightly. "You can only blame yourself for that. If you hadn't said 'friend,' I might have moved against you later. What kind of person am I, to need someone who cannot recover their martial skill, who cannot return to their martial sect, who is mocked by all and abandoned by the world, to be his friend?"

沈峤不说话了。/ Shen Qiao no longer spoke.

so in the fanwai, it's made clear that Yan Wushi traded Shen Qiao for his former sword not because of any fondness for the sword, but precisely for its rhetorical value in breaking Shen Qiao: look at you, you're worth no more than a sword I don't even care to use. Yan Wushi came to Bailong Temple deliberately looking for Shen Qiao in order to betray him, but if we take him at face value, he wasn't completely resolved to do so until Shen Qiao made the mistake of calling him his friend

and you know, I think there are multiple valid interpretations here. all of this is still 100% compatible with Yan Wushi's project of breaking Shen Qiao--all of the friendliness, the companionship, just preparing Yan Wushi to drive the knife deeper into Shen Qiao's back. 众叛亲离 is the chengyu that comes to mind--betrayed by the masses, abandoned by those closest to you; Yan Wushi might be one of the last people Shen Qiao has left in the jianghu right now (though "has" is questionable), so he deliberately and cruelly weaponizes Shen Qiao's trust in a brutal lesson

or, alternatively, Yan Wushi came with the intent to kidnap Shen Qiao and betray him, but Shen Qiao's speech earlier about being friends shook him so fundamentally that he felt the need to call it out. I do think it's worthwhile that Yan Wushi specifically targets 'friendship' in his lines--this 'friendship' is the accelerant in Yan Wushi's betrayal, this 'friendship' is precisely what Yan Wushi is rejecting, thoroughly and definitively. because friendship is trust, and trust is a knife in the hands of someone you turn your back on, and while Shen Qiao believes that there are people in the world you can willingly hand that knife to, Yan Wushi believes that there are none. this goes all the way back to their fundamental disagreement, the scientific experiment of Shen Qiao, the most foundational theme of this novel

so is there a version of the story where Yan Wushi was so alarmed at the very possibility that he could have a friend, not a disciple, a friend, not a grudging ally, an actual friend that he promptly stabbed potential friend in the back? yes. absolutely. I 100% buy Yan Wushi being enough of a disaster in denial to do that

is there another version of the story where Yan Wushi remained completely unmoved by Shen Qiao's trust and overtures of friendship? yes, absolutely. I 100% buy Yan Wushi being enough of a cold-blooded, cold-hearted character to do that (that's what his character arc is for, and ho buddy it’s coming for him with a five-sided vengeance)

whichever version you prefer is up to you! once again, I love how tantalizingly opaque Meng Xishi made Yan Wushi, so I'm having a grand time bouncing between interpretations as the mood moves me

[zuko-always-lies]

Why Azula Staying a Villain Will Only Lead To Bad Stories Part 2: Negative Effects on Other Characters, World Building, Lore, and Thematic Expression[Submitted by justanotherthrowaway1950]

Part 1 Link: https://zuko-always-lies.tumblr.com/post/662081384160067584/why-azula-staying-a-villain-will-only-lead-to-bad#notes

I know already in part 1 how I briefly mentioned how keeping Azula a villain causes everyone to start acting stupid and incompetent (and thus denigrating them and their arcs/character growth) whenever Azula is involved so Azula can remain a credible threat despite The Gaang all being masters in their respective fields and having the resources of several nation-states at their beck and call plus a PMC (The White Lotus).

But I understand that I didn’t go into details and so my analysis was lackluster at best and very controversial at worse. So I am going to go into detail based on importance and with that said here I go.

Zuko (The Search)

Realistically, other than some minor complaints most people agree that TV!Zuko’s arc is one of the greatest in Western Animation. For the tale of someone who had at times almost given into his abuse and conditioning but, with the help of loving Uncle, his travels, and mercy/compassion showed to him by his enemies/future friends, he had managed to overcome it and start the journey of not only becoming a better person, but also help his country heal after several decades of propaganda and brainwashing.

And part of said arc is what he comes to realize about Azula: that she is not worth emulating; that she is abusive to him and the people he cares about like Mai and Ty Lee; and that she (a genocidal authoritarian colonizer) needs to be stopped and locked up by any means, even if it hurts him. For it is the only way that the world and his country can achieve peace and balance once again…that is until Azula starts showing signs that either she has realized the error of her ways or that she wants to take a new path, but needs help finding it.

But, in an effort to allow Azula to become a villain again, Bryke has Zuko engage in several actions that not only betray his character growth, but worse, aren’t really explained and negatively reflect on him.

Like, during that conference concerning Yu Dao where Zuko “realizes” that the sorry state of his nuclear family negatively reflects on him, why would Zuko care suddenly about what his subjects think of him? 

Did Zuko forget that basically he not only betrayed his nation and caused them to lose a war they had already won, but is also forcing them to pay reparations (as is said in North & South)? 

And that he is going to remain a pariah in his subject’s eyes until he manages to undo the decades of brainwashing considering his only real allies are foreigners, Iroh (who is just as much of a traitor in the FN’s eyes as Zuko), and Mai (who committed treason that led to the FN’s lost) & Ty Lee (who did commit a less extreme version of treason but immediately post-war left to join a foregin military/PMC, which would look suspect in the populance’s eyes)?

But things really start to go sideways when he goes to Azula’s asylum to get Azula to extract intel from Ozai about Ursa, allows the two to talk alone, and foolishly wheels Azula alone while promising to move her back into the palace.

Like when he went to the asylum, how come he didn’t ask them about Azula’s treatment and whether it was safe to take her out to see Ozai (her abuser and co-conspirator), let alone take her back to the palace? Maybe he would have found out she was being abused in the asylum and he could have done something about it so Azula and her fellow inmates could be treated better.

But maybe not considering it is Azula and she deserves to be abused for making Zuko’s life hard from the moment she was born.

Like why would he allow Azula and Ozai to talk alone considering their conniving natures and the fact that they are the two biggest threats to his regime (at least politically)?

Why would he wheel Azula alone, especially after Ty Lee told him that the chi-blocking is wearing off? For I know this depends on how much Ty Lee knows about chi-blocking and its effects (I’ll talk about this more in Ty Lee’s section), but Azula has already shown that she is still hostile/violent towards Zuko. That in combination with her previous showings of being able to escape nearly any situation she finds herself in should have made Zuko wary of being alone with Azula when the chi-blocking wears off instead of trying to have a soft brother-sister moment.

And then that whole sequence where Azula breaks free, and manages to burn every single letter in Ozai’s chest, save for the “Zuko is Ikem’s bastard” letter before blackmailing him into going on the search free, unbound, and with dignity. *Sigh*

Like why would Zuko shoot a fireball of the perfect size and speed that would allow Azula to break free of the chains on her legs instead of, I don’t know, calling the rest of his elite guard to subdue Azula? Especially after she has managed to bullshit instant lighting out of nowhere and thus has tricks that Zuko does not know about?

After Zuko had caught up to her and found out that she had supposedly burned every single letter and tried blackmailing him into going on the search for Ursa free and unbound, how come Zuko didn’t pat her down? For even if he had no way of knowing that she had that “bastard” letter, wouldn’t it be wise to check if she hid any letter on her body? 

I mean this is one of the most trickiest characters in the franchise so why not be extra cautious?

And the whole blackmail situation? Look I understand why Zuko agreed to Azula’s terms for who doesn’t want to find out what happened to their beloved mother? But doesn’t Zuko have a responsibility and duty to the world and his subjects to make sure that Azula remains in jail until she at least tries to reform herself? 

I know this sounds callous, but the moment Azula tried blackmailing him, he should have told her that finding Ursa was not worth letting Azula free and should have jailed her again. For why run the risk that Azula could do something horrible or escape? I mean what could go wrong if she escaped…?

Also, even if she had to be free, unbound, and travel with dignity, why didn’t Zuko have a small platoon with him? For even if he did have The Avatar and the world’s greatest waterbender by his side, shouldn’t Zuko have taken precautions in the event that Aang and Katara got separated from them, leaving just him (I know Zuko is stronger than Crazy!Azula but not to the point that she couldn’t cheapshot him) and Sokka (I know he is a badass, but as of current canon he is still weaker than Crazy!Azula) with her?

But most galling is the fact that he made this decision unilaterally without asking Mai and Ty Lee for their opinion, or, if he was adamant about agreeing to Azula’s terms, not providing them with 24/7 security until Azula was safely back in the asylum and/or prison.

For Azula was not just Zuko’s abuser, she was Mai and Ty Lee’s abusive friend and commander before almost killing Mai (The Boiling Rock Part 2 script said Azula was going to generate lightning) and then throwing the two into jail for life.

Considering that Mai saved Zuko’s life, that Ty Lee saved Mai (who is the love of Zuko’s life) and is part of Zuko’s current protection team, and that the both of them are closest thing to childhood friends that Zuko has, why didn’t Zuko treat them with the respect they deserved? Especially since post-redemption Zuko is someone who is supposed to be empathetic and caring?

But moving on to the rest of The Search, how come after Zuko found out about the “bastard” letter, how come he didn’t burn it? For even if he did want to find out the truth, isn’t it more important that he prevents a civil war by not allowing his “illegitimacy” to become public knowledge. At least until he can give power to Iroh in the case that he was truly a bastard?

Or, even if he didn’t want to burn the letter until Ursa confirmed the accuracy of it, why would he allow Azula to keep it on her person? I mean, what would have happened if she had managed to escape with it on her person? 

Sunshine and roses or a bloody civil war that threatens to undo everything Zuko and his friends fought for in the war?

Which ties into my last point about Zuko’s behavior in The Search (and to segue way into Smoke and Shadow) why the hell did Zuko not chase after Azula?!

For even if he would be risking his life and potentially Noriko’s, couldn’t Zuko have seen the danger in letting Azula free? Especially considering as far as he knew she still had the letter on her person?

Or, once Ursa had her face and memories restored, how come he didn’t leave Katara with Ursa and her family, and search for Azula with Aang and Sokka?

Did Zuko forget that it was all his fault in the first place that his life, as well as Noriko’s, was in danger and that he had a responsibility to the world, his country, and his friends to make sure Azula got back into his custody?

But anyway, even if Azula was still free, at least Azula is no longer a threat to Zuko, his regime, and/or anyone he cares about? 

Right?

Zuko (Smoke & Shadow)

After searching for Azula for a couple of weeks, he goes home and tells Ursa that he “tried.”

But did he really? Cause if we take his word at face value do you know what that means?

(Note: I think his statement could be interpreted to mean that Aang, Katara, Sokka, and him spent weeks searching the old fashioned way. But if that was the case he really didn’t try considering all the options he had. So I am taking Zuko’s statement at face value.)

That means a mentally broken Azula with no allies or no resources, managed to avoid an Avatar State powered seismic sense, June’s shirshu, Toph’s seismic sense, as well as anyone Iroh and/or the White Lotus sent over to help Zuko find his sister.

Do you know what that implies about the competency of everyone involved? How bad that makes them all look?

Anyway moving on, it appears that not only did Zuko fail to issue a public proclamation that Azula had escaped but also failed to give Ty Lee and Mai (and their families) protection. 

For if he had issued a proclamation maybe Azula would have been found earlier instead of being able to break six girls out of her asylum or manipulate the New Ozai Society (NOS)/Safe Nation Society. And in regards to Ty Lee and Mai, even if he felt they didn’t need protection while Azula was free but by his side, the moment she managed to escape him, he should have given them and their families protection.

For Zuko didn’t know that Azula wasn’t seeking revenge; as far as he knew she probably was going to kill everyone between her and the throne, including everyone who betrayed her. And even if Zuko hadn’t seen Mai since their break up, Ty Lee is part of his detail and thus Zuko should have realized how paranoid and scared she was and asked her what he could have done to alleviate her fears as well as her best friend Mai’s as well.

And Zuko still makes similar grave errors even after he finds out that Azula is behind the kidnappings and after he had found out that she had been manipulating the NOS/Safe Nation Society as part of a long-term plan to turn Zuko into a tyrant.

For after Kiyi’s kidnapping, instead of issuing curfews, searching Caldera City citizen’s homes without cause, and engaging in mass jailing of anyone who was on the streets when the Safe Nation Society was rioting he should have called all of the Gaang and had Iroh call the White Lotus before starting an all out manhunt for Azula and her followers.

And he especially should have done this after she told him his plan and he found that Aang had gotten knocked out by Azula’s henchwomen.

For not only has Azula basically gotten rid of his trump card over her (lighting redirection), she has become the GOAT lighting manipulator and H2H fighter in ATLA. That, combined with her and her Fire Warrior’s smoke bending abilities, makes them the biggest threat to Zuko’s throne and world peace. 

Thus, Zuko should have spent every waking moment hunting down Azula instead of doing stupid shit like going on a diplomatic trip to the South Pole. 

For I admit the image of the leaders and the most important people in the four nations eating with each other is a powerful one, but it is still hollow as long as the biggest threat to the post-world order is still roaming free and plotting to bring it to an end.

Aang (The Search)

Right off the bat when Zuko told him about the whole blackmail situation he should have either said ok but call in Toph as well as anyone else who he thought was needed or told Zuko that finding his mother was not worth it since the was a chance, no matter how small, that Azula could escape and put Azula back in the asylum himself.

For yeah, I know the first point sounds OOC but Aang out of all people should know how dangerous Azula is (the lighting wounds on his left foot and back say hi) and thus take the proper precautions. 

And yes, I know the second point sounds really OOC but doesn’t Aang know that his duty isn’t to his friends but to the world? And thus even if it hurts, he has to prioritize the world’s safety over his friend’s well-being and thus not allow arguably the most dangerous (both politically and bending wise) non-Avatar person in the world any chance of escaping?

Especially when it appears the only thing Azula regrets is losing and not any of the actions she took during the war?

But alas, this blatant disregard towards his duty as an Avatar continues not only when he finds that “bastard” letter with Zuko, but also when he fails to give chase to Azula after helping Ursa restore her face and memories.

For even after Zuko refused to burn the letter because he wanted to find out the truth, Aang should have taken the letter and burned it, or at least not let the letter get back into Azula’s hands.

For if that letter ever became public, it would ruin everything that Aang fought for in the war, for either Iroh (an old man who has no inclination to produce heirs as far as canon is concerned) would have to take the throne to prevent Ozai and/or Azula for taking it or it would cause a massive civil war considering Zuko is already on thin ice with his subjects.

And once he had helped Ursa restore her face, he should have entered the Avatar State and used his seismic sense before entering his elemental shield to look for Azula. 

For even if Azula is mentally broken at that point, she is still a Top 4 fire-bender, at worst, in the world with a strong claim to the throne and thus should be his highest priority. Not staying by Zuko’s side, especially now that he has been reunited with his mother and can adequately protect Ursa and her family now.

Aang (Smoke and Shadow)

Assuming that we take Zuko’s comments at face value about how he tried, what does that say about Aang that Azula not only managed to escape his Avatar powered seismic sense, but also that even with his elemental shield providing unmatched mobility, he still couldn’t find Azula?

But moving onto something that requires no assumptions: what he did, or didn’t, do after finding out that Azula was behind the Kemurikage kidnappings due to working with the New Ozai Society.

Why didn’t Aang call in the rest of The Gaang and/or White Lotus to help apprehend Azula? For the worst case scenario has happened and Azula is actively working to restore the old regime (as far as Aang knows at this point), has become the strongest firebender and H2H fighter in the world, and has regained her sanity (as far as he knows).

Considering all the harm Azula has caused, and is currently causing, how come Aang didn’t take every measure to make sure that Azula would get back into their custody as well as make sure the kidnapped kids were in no danger whatsoever?

How come when he went into that room to help rescue the kids, how come he didn’t have his guard up or enter the room with his elemental shield up?

For Aang knows that The Fire Warriors have smoke-bending abilities, it was smoke (combined with volcanic gases) that had killed his predecessor, and that the Fire Warriors are seditious, mass child kidnappers in league with Azula. 

So why didn’t Aang take them seriously?

For if Aang wasn’t protected by the fact that he has to die as a 66 year old man (LoK), after the Fire Warriors had knocked him out, they would have killed him instead of monologuing just long enough for Mai and Kei Lo to save him by knocking out the Warriors.

And then what? A world without a fully realized Avatar that is liable to fall back into war long before his successor could be identified and become a fully realized Avatar. Especially if Azula had killed Zuko in after their tomb shuffle, leaving no one really able to fight back against The Fire Warriors as they consolidate power and restart the 100 year war as far as Aang knows.

But most galling in my opinion is how Aang doesn’t drop everything and lead an all out manhunt for Azula and The Fire Warriors, especially once he found out that their true goal is to break Zuko and make him into a tyrant. For Aang out of all people should know what Azula is capable of when she is “sane.”

So why does he fuck off?! 

What is he going to say when The Fire Warriors do something irredeemable and/or unfixable and so Zuko and him and have to explain to the world community why Azula got free in the first place, why they lied about her involvement with The Kemurikage kidnappings, and why she has managed to avoid capture despite no longer having a nation-state backing her (and her lack of resources in general considering she is a homeless, penniless fugitive), and the fact that she is no match for the Avatar State (or even a bloodlusted 4 element Aang)?

Mai

A lot of people hate on Mai, calling her a bad, high-maintenance girlfriend who doesn’t understand Zuko and an undeveloped character among other things.

But I think TV!show Mai was a loving girlfriend who was trying her best with a boyfriend dealing with trauma on top of his precarious position in court before ultimately betraying her and her country without any warning from her POV.

Moreover, for a tertiary character, I think her arc is short, sweet, and powerful: she was a girl who was heavily implied to be forced into an abusive friendship for the sake of her father’s political career in addition to having to suppress her true emotions.

But, thanks to her boyfriend having the courage to stand up against their abusers, she learns to stand up against her abuser, while also helping her real best friend find the courage to also stand up against their mutual abuser, and is on the path to healing and learning how to establish healthy relationships.

In other words, Mai learns that she doesn’t have to put her head down and ignore her emotions/capacity for love. And it is this realization that allows her to help create the promise for a better day for herself, her boyfriend, her best friend, and the rest of the world, including her own nation once they come to the same realizations as she has.

But instead of continuing on that path, the comics have her completely forget the realization she had and have her behave OOC, in my opinion, in several contexts.

For even if she, like Ty Lee, where completely done dirty by Zuko in that he let Azula free without asking them how they felt about it before losing her and having the gall to not assign protection to them and their families until he recovers Azula, it doesn’t excuse the fact she hid from Zuko/the proper authorities the existence of the New Ozai Society and that her father and “boyfriend” where members of it, with her father leading and funding it as well.

For it is quite obvious what are the out-of-universe explanations for why Mai didn’t go straight to the palace after The Rebound (so Azula, who no longer has a nation-state backing her, would have the means and funds to manipulate terrorist groups as well as house her kidnapped kids as part of a longer plot to make Zuko snap) and tell Zuko but there is no good-in universe answer that is inline with her previously established character.

For when did Mai suddenly care about her father to the point that she was willing to commit treason by supporting, or at least covering up, his seditious plot? 

For didn’t Mai, as part of betrayal at the Boiling Rock, essentially betray her father and the rest of her family in favor of Zuko?

Moreover, why would she prioritize her father and his potential political power considering what would happen if Ozai ever got back into power? For I know Avatar is a children’s franchise but I am pretty sure one of Ozai’s first acts once he got back on the throne after he had Zuko, Ursa, Iroh, Noren, and Kiyi killed, would be killing her and Ty Lee for their treason. 

Especially considering that if hadn’t turned when she did, half the Gaang would have died and Ozai would have very likely won the war. For without Aang learning lighting redirection, unless rock-kun (rock-kun is the younger cousin of Naruto’s swing-kun) intervenes much earlier, Aang dies to Ozai’s lighting spam and no one else on the remaining Team Avatar is a match for Comet!Ozai except in the very unlikely chance Katara manages to develop 24/7 blood-bending in the aftermath of her brother’s death.

But alas, Mai decides to act in an OOC manner and hides from Zuko the existence of The New Ozai Society/Safe Nation Society until her Zuko’s half-sister, along with her brother, have been kidnapped by The Fire Warriors after Zuko, Ursa, Noren, and Kiyi barely survived a New Ozai Society ambush.

And by barely, I mean if it wasn’t for the combination of Ukano’s monologue, Kei Lo’s last minute heel-face turn, and Zuko managing to bullshit the greatest non-Avatar fire redirection feat in the franchise, Zuko and his family would have been burned to death and/or brutally stabbed to death.

But even more galling, when confronted with her treason, Mai claims that Zuko out of all people should know how hard it is to betray your father as if there wasn’t a difference between betraying the all powerful ruler of your country who has a cult of personality, has burned you before, can quickly fire off lethal amounts of lighting on command, and has said before he wanted to kill you versus betraying your mentally and physically weak father who rejected being integrated into the new government and seeks to put someone back in power who would likely kill you for committing treason against him.

Especially that Zuko accepts her explanation and no one in-universe or the narrative never challenges Mai on why she committed treason again.

For I understand that Mai is a tertiary character, and thus can’t have the same narrative focus in regards to her redemption arc like Zuko. But if the narrative is going to treat Mai as a hundred percent redeemed good guy, she should be held to the same standards and be criticized when she acts in a villainous manner.

But yet again, the comics fail to challenge Zuko for almost restarting the Hundred Year War instead of calmly showing Aang and Kuei why he revoked his unconditional support for the Harmony Restoration Movement so why should we expect any “hero” to face any criticism?

Ukano

How come Ukano was willing to work with Azula to restore Ozai for the sake of his nation and family when not only is Fire Lord Zuko indebted to him for life due to Mai saving him at The Boiling Rock (not to mention Zuko offering him a job when his governorship disappeared after Bumi retook Omashu), but also when one of the first things Ozai would do after taking back power is killing Mai for her treason (imo, it is clear that after Zuko’s defection, the only punishment for treason was death, with no chance for life in prison like Iroh had)?

What is Ukano’s plan for dealing with a fully realized Avatar considering that Ozai with Sozin’s Comet got utterly stomped by Aang? I don’t think it is wise, or in line with someone leading a vast seditious conspiracy, to rely on Azula getting another cheap shot on Aang or The Fire Warriors able to get one over Aang using their smoke-bending.

Also, as a matter of storytelling, why should I root for his heel-face turn and acceptance of his prison sentence when one of the last things he does before being sent to prison is subtly imply that he was manipulated/coerced by Azula.

For in-universe, didn’t Ukano have several opportunities to tell Aang and Zuko about the kidnapped kids? And out of universe, even if Azula is extremely dangerous, it is kind of pathetic to hear a grown-ass man essentially be bullied by a bunch of mentally ill teenagers.

I mean how would you react if someone in a similar situation tried pulling Ukano’s excuse? 

Sympathy or mockery?

But in any case, how am I supposed to feel that even if Ukano has to go to jail, he at least did good by standing up to Azula and her followers if Ukano tries to deflect blame by blaming Azula?

I mean, would Zuko’s apology to The Gaang during The Western Air Temple felt as sincere if he blamed Azula’s manipulations and the promise of his father’s love for why he acted the way he did during The Crossroads of Destiny even if it were valid explanations for his behavior? 

Would the audience have so readily accepted Zuko into The Gaang if Zuko didn’t take sole responsibility for his actions?

Ozai & Ursa (The Letter)

Note: Ursa is a kidnapping victim who is highly implied to never had consensual sex with Ozai and thus her kids were highly likely to be conceived without her consent. The combined trauma combined with the fact that Ozai had all the power in the household in addition to his emotional and (heavily implied by artwork) physical abuse explains almost all of her bad parenting decisions and behavior towards Azula and Zuko…except for what I am going to describe below imo. So the point of this is just to make it clear that I don’t blame Ursa for what went wrong in Zuko’s or Azula’s life, for the responsibility solely lies on Azulon and Ozai’s shoulders, I am just criticizing one particular choice she made in-universe and the creators’ out of universe decision to make her act in that fashion.

Most people talk about the letter in relation to Zuko and how it affects him but I have a very hot take: the letter only really exists to allow Azula to be a credible antagonist during The Search considering her still mentally broken state and the fact that Zuko, Katara, and/or Aang where keeping eyes on her at all times. 

That and to also facilitate a means for Azula to get free of her restraints and eventually escape Zuko’s custody because without blackmailing Zuko, Azula would have never been free, unbound, and treated with dignity.

Also, the letter serves to unnecessarily woobify Zuko but that is not the focus of this post.

So with that in mind, let’s delve into what that letter implies Ursa’s and Ozai’s characters.

In regards to Ursa, I find it hard to believe that someone who basically begged for her son’s life and constantly shielded him to the best of her abilities would reckless endanger Zuko’s life by writing a letter that claimed Ikem, not Ozai, was Zuko’s father.

For Ursa, out of all people, should know that she, along with Zuko, only have value to the Royal Family if Zuko is Ozai’s kid. And that if Ozai was so inclined, he could have used the letter to kil Zuko and/or herself.

And even if it is a hundred percent Ozai’s fault that he used the letter as an excuse to essentially treat Zuko as a bastard (though personally I think Ozai just continued treated Zuko the way he previously did and just said that to further emotionally abuse Ursa), why would Ursa ever give Ozai the means to (further) torment her beloved son? Especially when she knows Ozai, and most likely Azulon considering how quick he was to order Zuko’s death to punish Ozai, has it out for Zuko?

In regards to Ozai, the letter, and what he did and didn’t do with it, makes him even more incomptenent than what previous canon suggested.

For even if he couldn’t have used the letter during Azulon’s reign to get rid of Zuko and/or Ursa (ex. Due to fear of retaliation from Azulon due to being a “cuck”), how come he didn’t use the letter to disinherit Zuko, instead of burning Zuko and having to cover it up?

Or, after Zuko went full traitor, how come Ozai didn’t use the letter to ensure that Zuko could never inherit the throne…at least through his claim as Ozai’s son (Iroh could have adopted Zuko and then abdicated in favor of Zuko)?

Iroh

I understand that Iroh is technically retired and doesn’t have to do anything. Moreover, I understand that the adults in child/teenage led action-adventure series can’t really be as proactive and/or responsible as IRL adults due to the constraints of the genre.

But Iroh is still involved in politics as seen by his willingness to serve as Zuko’s temporary Fire Lord when Zuko is gone. Moreover, Legacy of The Fire Nation does say that Iroh is still a White Lotus Grandmaster during the period the White Lotus becomes the Avatar world’s version of the UN Peacekeepers.

So with that in mind, we can criticize his lack of proactiveness in regards to Azula. For even taking away the assumption that Iroh offered the White Lotus’ help to find Azula after she ran into The Forgetful Forest, how come after Azula has been found to be masterminding the Kemurikage kidnappings, or after Azula revealed her plan to turn Zuko into a dictator, Iroh didn’t drop everything, call up the White Lotus, and lead a manhunt for The Fire Warriors?

For not only is Azula the biggest threat to world peace and balance in their world, she is the biggest threat to Zuko throne and safety. Especially after she has removed Iroh and Zuko’s one trump card over her (lighting redirection) and is arguably way stronger (at least as a combatant) than Ozai ever was.

For someone who lost his son and watched his beloved nephew be abused due to the effects of the Fire Nation’s imperialism and authoritarianism, why doesn’t Iroh make sure that the horrors of the past just stay in the past? Especially when he has the power, means, and connections this time around to make sure no one ever gets hurt again, not now and not in the future?

Ty Lee

In regards to The Search, Ty Lee was mistreated by Zuko when he first took Azula out without asking Mai or her about their feelings and then when he had the gall to lose her without granting her and Mai (and their families) 24/7 protection.

Though if Ty Lee is as much of a chi-blocking master as the narrative implies, when she warned Zuko that Azula’s chi-blocking was wearing off, she should have also warned him that there would be a period of time that Azula would be super flexible and have full control of her muscles and chi.

For even if Ty Lee had no idea that Azula had apparently learned instant lighting in the two years she had spent in the asylum, Azula is still capable of short bursts of fire that could have disoriented Zuko, leading to a similar outcome as to what actually happened in canon once Azula had the above period of time.

But moving on to something much more concrete, Ty Lee remembering the Fire Nation Palace’s secret tunnels and being able to pinpoint locate the one leading to Azula’s secret lair has some very negative implications about Ty Lee.

For even if she says it in a really roundabout way, The Sisters comics has Ty Lee say that she joined The Kyoshi Warriors at least in part to make up for the imperialism she helped perpetuate under Azula’s command.

Moreover, The Kyoshi Warriors agreed to be Zuko’s bodyguards in order to help protect the fragile peace that The Gaang helped establish at the end of the war. And in order to do so that means they have to be able to secure the Fire Nation Palace to the best of their abilities.

However, despite knowing about these secret tunnels, Ty Lee apparently never mentioned them in the year that the Kyoshi Warriors had been in The Fire Nation (The Promise takes place one year after Sozin’s Comet Part 4; The Kyoshi Warriors become Zuko’s bodyguards during The Promise; The Search takes place one year after The Search with the main plot of Smoke and Shadow taking place a couple of months after the climax of The Search).

And this lead to not only The Fire Warriors being able to walk into the palace and almost kidnap Kiyi unmolested (in fact, if it wasn’t for their smoke, The Fire Warriors would have kidnapped Kiyi without anyone being wiser), but for an entire conspiracy to operate right under their noses.

Not to mention what could have happened if The Fire Warriors where a little bit less mentally ill and used the fact that they had access to secret tunnels that no one knew about to do the obvious: carry out covert assassinations of all their enemies, which, depending on the time, could include important foreign figures like Aang, Katara, and Sokka.

Making things worse is that just like Mai really wasn’t challenged narratively or by anyone in-universe for her treason, Ty Lee is never challenged by the narrative or by her fellow warriors, Zuko, and/or Aang for knowing such a gaping security hole and not telling anyone earlier.

I mean the lack of knowledge of the secret tunnels could help, partially at least, explain why Zuko faced so many assination attempts, like Kori’s, that got frighteningly close to killing him. 

For instead of his original guard being disloyal and/or incomptenent, they could have had a lack of knowledge about the tunnels and thus didn’t know how to protectly seal them off and/or monitor them for threats.

Like I understand Azula being freed probably impacted her ability to think rationally (Ty Lee all but says she hasn’t had a peaceful night of sleep ever since Azula got out) but it doesn’t excuse the fact that she forgot to tell anyone about this security gap beforehand.

For doesn’t Ty Lee have a professional and moral duty to protect the Fire Nation palace and The Royal Family to the best of her abilities?

Kei Lo

I don’t hold him to the same standards as the heroes and outright adults in this analysis since  most of Rebound and Smoke and Shadow was about his heel-face turn and redemption arc.

But there is one thing that does bother me about post-redemption Kei Lo’s actions and this is when he attacked Azula in The Garden of Tranquil Souls without any apparent plan and got himself turned into a (brief) hostage.

For I understand that it was a moment to not only show how far Kei Lo had, but also to show Azula evilness by mocking Mai’s taste in men and implicitly threatening his life for daring to touch her/interrupt her “dialogue” bullying, assault, and psychological torture of with Mai.

But looking at Kei Lo’s actions from the bigger picture, they don’t really make sense and don’t paint a good picture of Kei Lo at all.

For Kei Lo had not only seen Mai defeat an entire NOS hideout with a toddler strapped to her back, Kei Lo was in fact the last person she fought before she left (spoiler alert: it was a total curb stomp battle).

Moreover, during the time that he had spent dating Mai and spent with Zuko and Aang, it is highly unlikely that the topic of Azula didn’t come up even if there was no comic panels showing us this (when you have limited space, you can’t waste panels on “superfluous” dialogue) and should have known that just like Mai was way out of league in terms of combat prowess, Azula is similarly beyond his abilities.

In addition, even if he didn’t believe what people mostly likely told him about Azula, he should have believed his own eyes as he wanted Azula basically toy with Mai despite Mai actually fighting with true lethal intent (I know some people might disagree with me but the art makes it clear that Mai was trying to kill Azula and not just pin her).

And finally, instead of rationally thinking and trying to get Zuko and/or Aang’s attention so someone way more equipped could help rescue Mai, he charges at Azula. But instead of using his knife or trying to get Azula into a chokehold, he just shoves her. 

Allowing Azula to not only shoot him with concussive lighting but then hold him at firepoint, forcing Mai, who had been able to stand up to Azula, albeit terribly I admit, to basically beg for Kei Lo’s life and leave herself vulnerable to Azula’s attacks as well.

For I know they are not analogous situations, but what Kei Lo did reminds me of dumbasses who try to intervene in active shooting situations, thinking they can be the hero, but end up making things worse due to being taken hostage, if they aren’t outright killed, making a peacefully resolution that much harder for the relevant authorities.

Likewise, Kei Lo, by getting himself taken hostage, could have, and should have as far as he knew, led to a nasty outcome. 

For as far as he knows, Azula is a sadistic, seditious, child-killing, child kidnapping, genocidal domestic terrorist who has no qualms about killing or cruelly treating “friends” or family. And so what is not to say that Azula wouldn’t have tortured him to get back at Mai and/or tortured Mai in front of him, forcing Mai to take her cruel punishment in order to prevent Azula from killing her boyfriend?

Kei Lo is very lucky that Zuko intervened when he did and is even more lucky that Azula was more interested in making her brother “strong” than really hurting anyone.

But instead of showing everyone berating him after the kids had been rescued, there was no narrative time spent at all. 

Which leads me to believe that that particular moment just happened, in part, just to showcase how vile Azula is despite in not being in line, imo, with the conscientious and aware person Kei Lo seemed to be growing into (as seen when he broke up with Mai since he realized despite being aloof for Smoke and Shadow that Mai could never get over Zuko).

Sokka & Katara

There isn’t much to say other than they were the only ones who interacted with post-canon Azula who treated her like the threat she.

That and it was obvious they were written out of Smoke and Shadow before Azula’s involvement with the kidnappings was revealed because if they were still in the Fire Nation when it happened, Azula and her girl gang would be back in jail instead of remaining menaces to society. 

Or at least at bare minimum they would have had to work much harder during the climax (ex. The Fire Warriors, including Azula, would have had to fight with lethal intent).

Toph

Other than the assumption that Toph helped Zuko search for Azula after the climax of The Search, all I have to say is that there is a good reason why Toph has not really shown up in any of the comics Azula has been. 

And that is because Toph would have never tolerated any of Azula’s bullshit or treated her with kid gloves instead of the genocidal war criminal who is still trying to negatively influence Fire Nation politics that she is as of current canon.

Other World Leaders

Note: Yes, there is no evidence that Azula was part of the war council meeting that ordered the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. But considering how comfortable Azula was in the “let’s burn down The Earth Kingdom” war council meeting plus the fact that Iroh thought it was appropriate for a 13 year old Zuko to partake in a war council meeting, I don’t think it is that much of a leap to assume that Azula was part of the war council meeting that ordered the Northern Water Tribe attack.

From Kuei’s perspective, Azula led a coup that ended with him in exile before suggesting and helping plan a genocide of his people. From Hakoda’s perspective, Azula almost killed both of his children several times. From Chief Arnook’s perspective, Azula was part of the war council that decided to not only invade his country, but to also kill the Moon Spirit and indirectly force his beloved daughter to sacrifice her life to restore said spirit.

So once Azula gets into Zuko’s custody, shouldn’t they have had established monitoring protocols to make sure that Zuko, who had less than six months ago willingly worked with her to conqueror Ba Sing Se and help Azula kill Aang, keeps one of the most dangerous war criminals in their world locked up while also establishing contingency plans to deal with scenarios in which Azula escapes?

Especially since Aang took mercy on her and didn’t remove her bending, meaning that Azula could grow stronger if she ever escapes (though I guess being in an asylum does allow for exponential growth anyway…) and eventually be able to get a cheap shot on Aang again before violently retaking the throne and restarting the 100 year war?

But instead of doing that, they naively trust that Zuko will keep Azula locked up without any check-ups (none of Zuko’s interactions with Kuei or Hadoka ever imply the topic of Azula’s status ever comes up). And while I understand the meta-reason for this (so it is more believable that Azula could remain an undetectable fugitive), it still has the potential to make them all look really, really bad.

For what happens, for example, The Fire Warriors create an international false flag terrorist attack that gets people from the other nations killed, in addition to Fire Nationals, that leads to a short skirmish that gets even more people killed before The Fire Warriors are found to be the true culprits and dealt with.

For even if they manage to capture The Fire Warriors, how are the world leaders going to explain to their subjects/citizens the lack of security measures they took in ensuring that Azula stayed in jailed or, if she ever escaped, the lack of plans to make sure she was apprehended as swiftly as possible?

Moreover, how are they going to explain the fact that they naively wholeheartedly trusted Zuko to make sure that Azula remained in prison or, if she escaped, that he would tell them and ask for their help if needed in apprehending her instead of trying to cover up the fact that it was his selfish desire to find mommy that gave the most dangerous person on the planet the means to escape? 

Especially after the Yu Dao fiasco showed that Zuko might not be the most trustworthy or reliable partner?

Do any of them take their responsibilities seriously!? No and that is why the Red Lotus had a point for why should a bunch of clowns be in charge of nation-states if they can’t even use state power to properly protect people.

Bending & Combat

One of the more endearing things about Avatar is the fact that its combat & magic system is based on IRL martial arts. And this is reflected in the fact that all of the named prodigies except for Katara & Sokka (who likely the greatest prodigies in the franchise in terms of speed of skill acquisition and mastery) have undergone years of rigorous training to be the master benders and fighters that they are shown to be in the show.

Moreover, the show explains that bending & fighting are not just martial arts, but are also a spiritual practice as well and that the more spiritually in tune you are the stronger your combat prowess will be. And that the less spiritual and/or the more out of balance you are, the weaker your combat prowess will be. 

For not only does your mental state affect things like your breathing or tactics, but also your willingness to incorporate other styles of bending/fighting into yours as well.

And the show makes it very clear that the strongest and best benders/fighters incorporate all the other styles of bending.

Finally, the show, whenever it introduced new bending/fighting techniques and/or power ups, made sure they didn’t contradict what was previously established (ex. Metal bending is possible only because most metal still has pieces of unrefined earth in them; chi-blocking is possible because everything has chi in it) or gave them logical weaknesses to make sure they weren’t completely game breaking (ex. Lighting redirection does negate lighting bending, but you need to be in the proper stance and make sure the lighting never touches your heart or else you will still die; chi-blocking only works if you can touch someone).

But the comics, in an effort to keep Azula a credible threat, seem to disregard all of the previously established rules and themes about bending and in doing so leaves the Avatar franchise in a worse off state.

For why was Azula, after two years in an asylum where it can be presumed she wasn’t able to train like she used to, didn’t have anywhere near the same resources, and went further into psychosis was able to retain her physicality and remain the hype-athletic fighter she was during the war?

Moreover, how did Azula get so strong and fast during her time in the asylum (and later in the wilderness and as a fugitive) to the point that she is arguably the best H2H fighter in Avatar?

For not only did Azula manage to hold off a serious and in armor post-canon Suki and Ty Lee despite wearing a billowing cape and a mask that blocked vision in her left eye, she also managed to consistently and causally dodge Mai’s knives despite the latter actually trying to kill her.

Not to mention how she managed to over-power Zuko, who was arguably the second best swords fighter in the franchise before having two years to add to his sword fighting prowess, in their short fire-sword fight in the tomb to the point that Zuko thought he could only prevent his death by convincing Azula that no one would ever accept her on the throne.

Zuko! You know the person who literally has to be knocked out and/or dying before giving up in a fight did not believe he could get out of Azula’s hold before she presumably stabbed him to death.

How come Azula’s fire managed to not only get stronger (ex. During the war, if she released her fire from her control it became orange, but after the asylum, it stays blue) but also why was Azula able to develop several new lighting techniques, several of which where completely unseen in the franchise, or hadn’t been seen for centuries as far as the reader was concerned (ex. Concussive lighting; instant lighting; quick charge lighting; lighting sphere; a bootleg chidori; instant area of effect lighting; lighting zaps; the ability to split and control her stream of lighting after she has fired it; lighting redirection).

And speaking of new lighting techniques, how did Azula manage to learn the lighting redirection technique on her own? For none of Iroh, Zuko, and Aang ever showed her the technique and Azula only saw the technique like four times (Iroh on the ship during The Avatar State; Zuko during Sozin’s Comet; Zuko twice during The Search). 

And as far as I remember, the TV show never implied or showed that Azula was a Goku-level prodigy in that she only had to look at technique only a handful of times to completely master it and/or develop a counter to it.

Not to mention the fact that Azula is still a hyper-nationalist who still has no respect for the other nations, let alone their bending arts.

Like have you seen all the times she calls Sokka and Katara snow peasants despite the two of them technically being her equal politically, Katara defeating Azula during Sozin’s Comet and almost defeating her during The Crossroads of Destiny? Does comics!Azula seem like the person to willingly incorporate waterbending principles into her bending, which is necessary to redirect lighting?

Also, what the hell is smoke-bending?! For I know in the Kyoshi novels, Kyoshi bends smoke as part of her first attempt at firebending and that Aang generated smoke during The Firebending Master (so smoke-bending is a subset of firebending as the seeming precursor to firebending itself).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqLW99cn1A8

But how did The Fire Warriors manage to learn how to psychically generate and manipulate smoke?

Moreover, how did The Fire Warriors manage to learn how to use smoke-bending while using their firebending at the same time? 

For as far as I know, other than Azula in the Smoke and Shadow Omnibus Cover, there is no other instance as far as I know of a non-Avatar bending an element and a sub-element at the same time. So how were they able to do so?

And how come Aang and Zuko (two master firebenders, one of which is also a master airbender) were not able to do anything about The Fire Warrior’s smoke? 

For shouldn’t they have been able to use their bending to clear to smoke instead of either choking on it (Aang) or allowing Azula to escape despite being a tomb with only one exit (Zuko)?

But I think the most frustrating thing is how strong the Fire Warriors are. For yes, I understand that the Gaang aren’t the only prodiges in the world and that for a children’s action-adventure series, it is hard to write conflicts if heroes face no physical challenges whatsoever.

But there is no justification both in-universe or out of it for why the Fire Warriors are so strong both in terms of bending but also in terms of athleticism as well. Especially considering the fact they were heavily implied to have been kept in the same conditions that Azula was (and thus shouldn’t have been able to train to an elite master level) and the fact that they too were wearing long billowing capes with their left eyes blocked by their wood masks.

In fact, this ties into my next point…

Fire Warriors & The Asylum System

How was Azula able to break out six girls from her old asylum without Zuko finding out? For even assuming that Azula killed everyone there, eventually someone had to have come and found out that at least six girls where missing? Especially when, assuming Zuko really did try to find Azula, one of the things he would have done is put a guard there since it was likely that Azula would try to return there.

But instead of getting an answer on how Azula was able to break them out without anyone finding out (other than the meta-textual answer of Azula needed a new girl gang and the only people who she could have plausibly convinced considering her living conditions of the past 2 years were her fellow asylum inmates), all we are left with is speculation, some of which implies some very nasty things about Zuko’s reign and The Fire Nation. 

Like the idea that the asylum system remained in control of Ozai loyalists and are currently weaponizing the inmates to create a shadow army to overthrow Zuko using the group of people Zuko and his regime would be least likely to suspect.

And speaking of speculation, what are The Fire Warriors’ motivations and/or goals in regards to joining Azula’s ongoing seditious domestic terrorism plot? For I understand that Azula needs new hench-women in order to carry out her plots since it would break the suspension of disbelief to have Azula carry them out by herself, but neither non-ableist explanation I could think of makes any sense.  

For either they are scared of her and/or being manipulated, but that doesn’t make sense since Azula no longer has any political power and thus they can ignore her once she breaks them out. Not to mention Azula doesn’t seem to have regained all of her mental faculties (ex. her Mochi rant during Smoke and Shadow and how her eyes bulge out like crazy!Azula in The Search at the end of the rant). 

Or because she became non-ironic friends with them, which doesn’t make sense since Azula during her time in the asylum was clearly not in the mental state to take care of herself, let alone make friends not relying on her status or fear-mongering. Especially when The Search has Azula blame “Ursa” for making Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee stop fearing her, heavily implying Azula still thinks fear is a good way to maintain relationships.

Which leaves us with the ableist answer (sorry for the language, it is to get my point across): they are crazy bitches and crazy bitches don’t need any reason to do harm!

And do you know how harmful that is to IRL mentally ill people? For mentally ill people have had to fight really, really hard to fight the association that being mentally ill makes you evil or prone to evil. And it is only recently they have been able to fight back against such associations thanks in part due to positive representations in various artistic works.

So it makes me really disappointed that Avatar, a franchise that handles several difficult topics (ex. Child abuse, rescue parents, imperialism/colonialism, child soldiers, physical disabilities, war orphans, sexism/misogyny, hyper-nationalism, genocide, abusive sibling relationships, abusive friendships, etc.) with such grace that even children can clearly understand and learn from them, engaged in such harmful stereotyping. Especially when one of the most highly regarded arcs in LoK is Korra overcoming her PTSD from being poisoned with mercury over the course of several years and with the help of several people.

For at least Azula, with all the cries of ableism about her treatment in the comics and other post-canon works like Legacy of The Fire Nation, has reasons for being evil other than her mental illness. 

Like the fact that she was indoctrinated and groomed from birth to be an active member of the ruling family of an authoritarian, genocidal, imperialism empire.

But what are the Fire Warrior’s reasons for helping Azula outside of being mentally ill?

Themes (The Search)

To be quite honest, I really don’t think The Search has a theme since it mostly exists to answer the question of what happened to Ursa. So I don’t think there is much to analyze or criticize in terms of themes.

Themes (Smoke and Shadow)

However, Smoke and Shadow does have a central theme: fear, or more importantly, getting over the fear of: Ozai (for Ursa), Azula, and/or being a tyrant (in Zuko’s case).

And in regards to Ozai, I think Smoke and Shadow actually did a good job of showing Ursa getting over her fear of Ozai. In fact, I think their confrontation in Ozai’s jail cell, with Ozai being reduced to a mad dog after seeing he has no hold on Ursa anymore is one of the few good things that come out of the comics.

But in regards to the other two themes, which are heavily tied to each in my opinion, are butchered by the need to keep Azula a credible villain.

For I think fear does serve a valid purpose: to make sure we avoid situations and/or people that are likely to put ourselves or the people we love in danger. 

And boy do a lot of people have a lot to fear about post-Smoke and Shadow.

Mai and Ty Lee have every reason to continue to fear Azula after Azula basically humiliated them in combat and made it very clear that they are only still alive because Azula wants them to be. Not to mention in Mai’s case, Azula basically bullied Ukano into action, causing her father to eventually have to go to jail for a long time, and kidnapped her brother before put him in a holding cell for a good period of time.

Aang has ever reason to continue to fear Azula considering she has several lighting attacks that can bypass lighting redirection, the fact that Azula herself knows lighting redirection, the fact that Azula has smoke bending powers similar to The Fire Warriors that caused him to be knocked out cold, and that Azula has successful shown that she can cause Zuko to fall down the path of his ancestors, meaning that Azula could eventually succeed and indirectly wipe out everything Aang and his friends fought for during the war.

Zuko has ever reason to fear Azula considering: she basically broke into the palace and operated a conspiracy from right under his nose; she kidnapped a bunch of kids, including their half-sister, and he could do nothing until Ty Lee remembered the secret passageway; that she has taken away his trump card over her and has essentially become the strongest firebender in history; that he is only alive because Azula has plans for him; and that she is still loose and plotting the next step in her dastardly plot to remake Zuko in her image.

Moreover, Zuko has every reason to fear turning into a tyrant since he not only has failed to capture The Fire Warriors post-Smoke and Shadow, all that he has done to show that he won’t fall prey to the Fire Warriors manipulations and assaults once.

He doesn’t order a sweep of his government to make sure that there aren’t any more mavericks like Constable Sung in his ranks. 

He doesn’t try to craft policies to ensure the various Ozai loyalists groups can’t take advantage of alienated people like Kei Lo to fill their ranks with people willing to die since they have nothing in life. 

He doesn’t institute any safeguards or protocols to make sure that if he has to ever institute authoritarian measures ever again, he does so because it was the best and logical decision possible and not out of fear. 

He hasn’t undergone training (ex. Combine his firebending with his sword skills as is implied in the “Old Friends” artwork) to close the gap that has once again opened between him and Azula so that if he ever encounters Azula again, his life won’t be in her hands once more.

Hell! People like Iroh, Noren and Ursa have a lot to fear considering that Azula has easily breached the palace (and probably has other means of getting in undetected even if the tunnels are now known since she was responsible for evacuating Caldera City during the DoBS), one of the secure places in the world, and has demonstrated continued willingness to not only hurt Zuko but also now hurt Kiyi.

Moreover, assuming they ever find out where the other Fire Warriors came from, they will (and should considering their eras’ lack of knowledge on mental health) fear the inmates in the asylum system. 

For if six of them were willing to join Azula and were really strong benders who could even knock out a fully realized Aang, what will happen, hypothetically, when Azula builds herself an army out of the asylum inmates she and her warriors break out of the various asylums in the country?

So I guess what I am trying to say is that, by keeping Azula a villain, Smoke and Shadow undermined its own theme of “we have to learn to live with fear and never let it rule us.”

For only fools would not live in fear of Azula and The Fire Warriors until they are apprehended and I don’t think any of the characters mentioned in this section are big enough fools to underestimate what Azula and The Fire Warriors can do and what they are willing to do to achieve their goals.

Conclusion

Azula was one of the best villains in Western Animation and part of that is because the characters and the narrative treated her like the threat she was and that, even if her schemes did rely on good fortunes (ex. Sokka vouching for The Kyoshi Warriors before leaving with Aang to his father) they were created by various characters acting like they did normally and not in OOC fashion (ex. Kuei is an airheaded fool and so it is not out of character for Kuei to forget that he told Azula about the DoBS invasion plan and/or tell anyone associated with the plan that he spilled the beans before going on exile) just so Azula could win. 

Moreover, Azula doesn’t display new powers/abilities when the plot demands it just to remain a threat; all she does is exploit her previously established abilities and intelligence/cunning (ex. The Avatar is slowly floating up in the air in his Avatar State that is previously established to turn him into a berserking force of nature. Ok. I’ll just take advantage of the fact that he is exposed to shoot him dead with lighting before he can harm my allies, my friends, my brother, and/or I).

However, in the comics, Azula, despite remaining just as big as a threat, if not bigger, is not treated as such by either the narrative or the characters she interacts with. Moreover, Azula and her henchwomen frequently come up with new powers just so they remain a credible threat. And it not only ruins Azula as a villain, but also the characters that she has the misfortune of interacting with directly or indirectly.

For it really hurt to see a fully realized Aang essentially get knocked out by some faceless goons.

It really hurt to see Mai break up with Zuko because he visited Ozai without telling her and then hide from Zuko the existence of the New Ozai Society and the fact that her father was leading it. Not to mention, when confronted for treason, seeing her avoid owning her mistake before everyone unceremoniously dropped the subject.

It really hurt to see post-canon Suki and Ty Lee, two of the best H2H fighters who have learned each other’s techniques, essentially get fodderized by a half-blind Azula. Or to see Azula learn lighting redirection with no prior indication of how she managed to learn the technique. Or to see her invent concussive lighting because the comics want her to spam her iconic lighting at everyone like the villain she is but don’t want to deal with the consequences previously established in the TV show or in LoK.

It made me angry to see Zuko keep giving Azula second chance after second chance when Azula deserves no chances as long as she is on her current path. Especially when she keeps on hurting the people Zuko supposedly loves and the subjects he supposedly cares about.

Anyway, before my rant gets too long, the point is that not that Azula can’t remain a good villain. For even I, as someone who believes an Azula redemption would be compelling, believe there are ways to keep Azula a credible antagonist in line with what was shown in the TV show.

But if this is the way Azula is going to be continued to be written as a villain, as a living plot device, I don’t want her to remain a villain. 

Especially when the bad writing surrounding villain!Azula starts to ruin other character’s previously established characterization as well as previously established world building and lore.

–Submitted by justanotherthrowaway1950

[soyeahitsmiddleearth]

Hello there! Can I request a Legolas x reader oneshot where the reader suffers from an injury, and Legolas being the best friend takes care of them? Fluff pleasee. Thankyou <3

Safe With Me

---

It happened during the Battle at Helms Deep. 

There was death, pain, anguish, and sorrow everywhere. No matter where you turned or where you looked, someone somewhere was suffering (either from the pain of death, grief, or fear). 

You've always been confident in your fighting skills; you know that you're good and can hold your own in a fight, but 'holding your own' paired with protecting others never seems to end well. 

Those fools thought it better to put weapons in the hands of children rather than the shield maidens who hide down below in the caverns, and though it does make sense that they would be the last line of defense, surely they could still spare some women instead of forcing the children to pick up their slack?

Even so, it's because of this decision that you're in your current state of injury. 

After the wall had been blown to bits and everyone began their retreat to the inner levels of Helms Deep, you tried to gather everyone you possibly could. 

Being as you're a rather skilled fighter, having trained from a very young age within the confines of Mirkwood, you managed to save a good deal of men and slay an excellent number of orcs, but there is a limit to your victories.

With each stroke of your short swords do orcs fall; every slash and stab reaching a mark that leaves the orc army with one less ally. Try as they might to overwhelm you, you're just too quick for them, so their blows remain useless for the most part (though you do get the occasional cuts and slices that leave you hissing in pain). 

You're in the midst of battling those nasty orcs 4 on 1 when it happens. Having been doing all you possibly could to keep the numbers off of the unskilled and dying men and young boys, you begin to focus more attention ahead than behind you, and one of those foul creatures manages to run up on you and finally get in a proper hit. 

The initial blow is easy for you to dodge, for you feel its' presence lingering behind you, but you quick duck prevents you from escaping the lower blow dealt to your right leg.

As soon as the blade makes contact with your calf you know you're done for. 

The deep slash causes your leg to give out from underneath you and you collapse to one knee, left crying out in shock and pain as your arms grow weak. 

Very vaguely do you hear someone yell your name, your sharp elf ears enhancing your hearing so that it may reach you, but you can't turn to look. 

In your downed state the enemy begins to overwhelm you, so you push your pain away and drop back as another blade comes swiping above your head, an action that would've taken your head with it had you not moved in time. 

You jab your sword up and impale the closest creature, muscles shaking and aching as it goes lax and slumps over towards you. 

Your energy wanes quickly, and the heavy, dead orc only further drains what little fight you have left in you. 

There is no time for you to reclaim your blade from the body of the dead monstrosity, so you're forced to release your beloved short sword and strategically roll away from the other oncoming attacks, and while it does prove to serve you well, you're now left injured and with only one of your weapons. 

The imbalance caused by losing one of your short swords is an alien feeling, for you always have both to fight with, and on rare occasions, neither. 

Another one of those dastardly abominations comes for you in when it sees your hasty retreat and weakening form and tries to stab you, but you role low to the ground and knock it off of its' feet, jabbing your remaining sword down into his belly as soon as he's at your level. 

Fighting so low to the ground, unable to stand is no easy task, and very quickly are you overtaken again. 

A large armored foot comes up and hits you right in the face, and you go down with it having been unable to react in time.

You fall back and land none too gently on your aching spine, and in mere moments is your left shoulder run through and pinned to the ground.

The unnatural feeling of the intruding weapon in your shoulder draws a pained cry from between your parted lips, and you find that you can no longer move that arm (if it were any bigger of a blade, you would've lost the arm altogether), so you rely on the other weaponed arm to stop the killing blow. 

With the last of your strength, you jab your sword upwards and stab it through the chest, relishing in the telling squelch and screech as metal and flesh alike are ripped to nothing, and then the wriggling creature stills and slumps heavily atop you. 

It's heavy and knocks the wind out of you completely, an unwelcome and suffocating feeling, and you'll later learn that this saves your life. 

Moments later, your world fades to black.

---

You were so sure that it was all over. That, while you tried your hardest, you failed. 

The last thing you remember was the horrible pain blooming from your shoulder and the blade protruding from your broken and battered body, and then the newly dead orc falling on top of you followed by complete and utter darkness. 

The bodies of man and orc alike littered the very ground you once stood on and the enemy was gaining more ground than you had to spare, so when you did finally wake up to see color again, you thought yourself to be dead just like all those around you. 

Only, you didn't quite anticipate that the Halls of Mandos would allow you to feel the pain and anguish of your past life. 

A quick look around tells you that you are, in fact, not actually in Valinor, for one of the very first sights you see is that of a dim wooden ceiling and your body laid out of a bed of mans creation. 

Pain is the first thing you feel once the anesthetic of unconsciousness wears off, and it's quite the pain alright. 

A quiet, agonized groan puffs past your chapped lips and your teeth clench together in tandem with your soft whimpers.  

You try to sit up, slowly raising your upper body from the bed, when a fresh pang of pain shoots through your shoulder and pins you back down to the bed. 

Instead of trying to get up this time, you just angle your head down and analyze your shoulder wound.

It's at this moment that you realize that your outer layer has been removed (probably cut away), and you're left with nothing but the gauze wrapping your shoulder and a covering for your modesty.  

When you look further down you see that your cut up calf has been treated much the same, and the only missing layer is that single leg of your trousers. 

Your vision suddenly goes blurry and you're forced to squeeze your eyes shut again, but this time when they open, there is another presence in your line of sight. 

It takes a few seconds for you to recognize the person hovering above you, but as soon as you do a small smile up turns the corners of your lips.

"Legolas..." Uttering that single name takes quite a bit of energy from your already bone dry reservoir, but you don't regret it for even a moment. 

Those sparkling pools of blue shine with relief when your whispered speech reaches his ears, and as soon as he's there does he disappear from your immediate vision. 

"I thought you were never going to awaken." He breathes, leaning over you once again with a damp towel in hand this time. "Tell me, how is the pain?" 

The towel is most likely to keep you from overheating, though you can't feel any sort of cold or hot like other mortal beings, and you appreciate it greatly. 

Your voice is barely a whisper when you reply, and it makes his elven heart throb in his chest with many emotions. "Painful?" Truthfully, it's a rather intense suffering that makes it hard for you to even think straight, but you don't wish to worry him any more than you already have. "Nothing that I cannot handle, I believe."

"That look in your eyes betrays a different story." He counters softly, reaching down to graze your too-warm cheek gently. "I will have to change your dressings soon. But I'm not so sure you will want to be awake for that." 

An alluded to promise of pain much worse than what you currently suffer, something you seldom wish to experience, though it's not like you can just pass out on command. 

"I will have one of the healers prepare for you a sleeping elixir, should you agree to have it." 

"What of the others? Surely I am not the worst of the wounded. You should conserve what you can." The words leave you even though you don't necessarily want to abide by them, but you don't take it back either. If you could prevent pain from anyone else, then you would. There's no guarantee that you'll react promisingly to it any ways. 

"There is plenty to go around. Do not worry yourself over others for the time being and allow me to help you." Those words don't make you feel any better.

If there is an abundance, then that means there haven't been enough wounded to use it (and not from a lack of injury either). 

A moment of silence washes between the two of you, and then in that same delicate whisper of yours do you ask, "How many...?" 

Hesitation rears its' ugly head and morphs his pleasant stare into a sorrowful, crestfallen frown, and it promises you nothing good. 

"Too many. But we must worry about that later when you have regained your strength and replenished your health. Please, rest." His places his hand over yours, touch as soft and careful as a feather, and he says no more on the matter. "I shall-" 

"Please, don't leave." You plea before you can engage your filter, curling your fingers around the warmth of his own, "I cannot handle the solitude right now." 

He hesitates once more but does not require further prompting, for he takes the seat next to your bedside and sits down. "Then I will stay right here with you." 

Your head tilts to the side to look over at him and the smallest of smiles brightens your pale face, "Thank you, Legolas. You've always done well by me." 

"For you, my friend, I would do anything. This is nothing." 

You're in good hands being left in his charge, and this thought lulls you into a pleasant, painless sleep. 

[mrsgiovanna]

Bruno Bucciarati x Fem! Reader

A bit of a drawn out scenario with Bucciarati and the reader in an AU where everyone lives 💭❤️💙

No warnings, just fluff 😅💭

Word Count: 2117

“So Bucciarati, what do you think? I believe she’s the best person for a job like this. She has the ability to judge when to use force and her stand ability is well honed… you have reservations… what’s wrong?”

Bruno wasn’t known to wear his disdain so evidently on his face, but when it came to you, managing his emotions was slightly more difficult than usual. It also didn’t help that Giorno knew him so well. He was Giorno’s closest ally, his most trusted confidant, so he was able to be frank with him and voice concerns that would have otherwise gone unspoken.

“Well, she is strong, but I know she can be reckless when it comes to her own safety, much like someone else, might I add- but that’s a discussion for another day… perhaps, someone should accompany her just as back up in case the situation deteriorates,” suggested Bruno as he walked over to the balcony overlooking the sea. He always felt a sense of calm when looking at the ocean.

“You could always go with her…”

“Is that an order, Giorno?”

“Of course not. Look, I could send a small convoy of bodyguards with her and you’d still worry, Narancia could be tracking every living creature within meters of her and you’d still be uneasy, so rather just go yourself,” explained Giorno, watching him for even a hint of a reaction, which he did detect, but the young Don decided not to comment on that. “That’s settled then, I’ve already texted her asking for her to come over, she should be here soon,”

With Giorno’s words hanging in the air, Bruno turned his gaze back to the ocean, trying to calm the stormy feeling in his chest. Bruno always looked out for you, just as he looked out for everyone in his team. You shared a lot of history with the handsome raven-haired man, both having to join Passione as a necessity at a young age. You joined his team after working with a few other groups under Polpo’s control, finding a place that you truly felt you belonged. You both complemented each other well, compensating for what the other lacked. His maturity manifested in his quick thinking and his naturally kind nature and yours in your ability to put anyone at ease and talk to people at their own level. None of those traits could be mistaken for weakness however, as you were both capable of doing the unthinkable when your group or ideals were threatened.

You hurried along the spotless marble flooring that lead up to Giorno’s study, delicately knocking on the door before entering after hearing a soft invitation to do so.

“Buongiorno, Giogio, Bruno… ” you greet with a sunny smile. Bruno turned around to greet you with a smile while Giorno spoke.

“Buongiorno (y/n), thanks for coming over so quickly, this early in the morning, there’s just something very important that we need to discuss and we could really use your help later on,”

“Of course, sounds serious, I’ll assist in any way possible, you know that, Gio,” you reply, a hint of concern in your voice. The rest of the morning was spent discussing how to go about the mission without attracting any unnecessary attention. Once the strategy was ironed out, you and Bruno left Giorno’s villa and spent the rest of the day making sure you both had everything you would need, giving yourself a couple of hours to get ready before Bruno would come by to pick you up. You would have thought having 2 hours to get ready would be enough but you were mistaken. You just weren’t used to fancy evening gowns and stilettos, even less so to that much makeup, but you needed to channel your inner femme fatal and blend in with the rest of the guests at the flashy event.

Staring at your reflection with a critical eye, you had been tinkering with various accessories and rearranging your hair, this way and that before deciding that it was enough, the longer you took to do all of this, the more your nerves frayed. This would be the first time in years that you and Bruno would be on a mission by yourselves, and it’s definitely the first time ever that he’d be seeing you that dressed up. A wave of self consciousness washed over you, diluting the confidence that you’d been trying to build. Before you had time to further chip away at your confidence, your housekeeper came in to inform you that Bruno had arrived and was waiting for you downstairs.

On the drive over, Bruno thought about you and how much you had grown. When you had met each other, you were both just a pair of kids, who were forced to grow up too quickly. You’d taken everything in your stride though, and had seamlessly integrated into his team. Everyone loved your gentle yet protective nature. You were the one person he could be himself with, the one person who he could express his fears to, that he could fall apart on without any fear of judgment. He was the one who took care of everyone, but you were the only one he’d allow to take care of him.

He was let into your home and waited for you for a short time, barely having a chance to sit when he saw you gracefully descending the spiral staircase. You looked so beautiful, he was rendered speechless for a moment, quickly catching himself before you could notice how he was staring at you.

“(y/n)... you look beautiful, are you ready to leave?”

“Bruno, wow, you clean up well, and thank you… umm, I think I have everything I need, we can go. Thanks for coming with me, Gio told me it was your idea, I’m sure you have a million other things to do,”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he said through a strained smile, making a mental note to talk to Giorno about that. On the drive to the event, you couldn’t help but steal glances at Bruno… he looked so handsome, swopping out his white spotted suit for a black one, making the gold accents stand out even more. Everything about him was just perfect, from his perfectly cut, jet black hair, to his sparkling blue eyes and his well defined physique, it felt intimidating to have to be next to him for the night.

When you arrived at your destination, it was not difficult to zero in on your target. He was a spoiled, entitled looking brat. Both him and his father were not impressed with Giorno’s new rules for Passione, but stayed regardless, however, when his father died, his bad behavior was left unchecked. He always gave off the impression that he was waiting for an opportunity to betray Giorno. So you wanted to see what he would do when presented with an opportunity to do so.

Everything was going well, you and Bruno were satisfied that he wouldn’t betray the organization after he had passed every test you had set for him. Feeling relieved, Bruno excused himself for a moment to get you both a drink. Unfortunately for you though, you had caught the attention of the very man you were investigating. As he slowly walked toward you with a weird glint in his eyes, you became very aware of how much you needed Bruno there.

“You know, I’ve been waiting all night for that boyfriend of yours to leave so I could talk to you… the name's Elio… ” he says, twirling a lock of your hair in his fingers.

“Approaching a woman you believe is involved? And you should know who Bucciarati is… should you really be referring to him so casually? You’re not making a good case for yourself here, Elio. Now if you’d excuse me,” you made a move to put some distance between yourself and Elio, but in his persistence, he softly grasps your forearm and steps in front of you preventing you from going.

“Awww, don’t be in such a rush to leave signorina, we’re just talking… I was hoping to get to know you a little better, we run in the same circles but haven’t been formally introduced, it’s a crime, really”

You were getting annoyed, both with his persistence and the fact that Bruno was taking forever to come back. You decided to ignore him in the hopes that he’d go away without you having to use your stand or cause a scene.

“Is there a problem here? I’m sorry for taking this long tesoro, I was held up by an associate… in any case, come on, bella, we have to get going now,” You were thankful for Bruno’s intervention, but you were unnerved by how angry his eyes looked and the strong grip he held your hand with. You were confused. Was he angry at you? If not you, then who or what put him in this mood? Those questions swirled around in your mind as Bruno drove you home.

As much as your mind was clouded with unanswered questions, so was Bruno’s mind overtaken by anger. He hated the fact that some creep touched you, and he was even more upset that he couldn’t say or do anything about it… yet. He looked over at you, but your head was turned towards the window so he couldn’t see your face. Were you upset by how he dragged you off? You looked uncomfortable though, what if he read the situation incorrectly…

“Bruno, are you angry at me?”

“What? Of course not,”

“Really? You should let your face know,”

“Well, I guess this is just my face,” explained Bruno. You just nodded in acknowledgment, not really believing it, you knew his resting face well enough, and it wasn’t this. Feeling defeated, you continued to look out of the window until he drove up to your door. You remained quiet, rather choosing to look at your hands to avoid that sharp gaze. A few painfully awkward moments passed like that, before you summoned up your courage to speak. Evidently, Bruno had the same idea as you both turned towards each other and spoke at the same time.

“It’s clear that we both have things we want to say, so let’s talk inside rather?” you suggest, to which Bruno agrees with a small nod.

“I’m the one who interrupted you, so please, go first Bruno,” you say in an encouraging tone, while you both sat down, facing each other.

“Alright, thank you… here goes… I’m not angry at you, not even a little bit… I just lost it when I saw that cretin touching you so casually. You’re the most precious person in the world to me…I… ”

You stayed silent, encouraging Bruno to continue, trying to fight off the fluttery feelings coursing through you from what he just said.

“(y/n)… I love you, I’ve loved you for years now. I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you… I guess that’s now… look, you don’t have to say anything, I’m sure it’s a lot for you to take in, and all I really want is for you to be happy,” the tenderness in his eyes and voice as he spoke was almost too much to bear, as you gently took his hands in yours.

“I… I love you too… for the longest time. I’ve only ever wanted the best for you, to help you realize your dreams in whatever small way I can. So you must know how happy I am to hear you say those words,”

Being deeply moved, Bruno leaned forward and hooked his finger under your chin to bring your gaze up to meet his own and captured your lips in a sweet but passionate kiss. You smiled into the kiss, tangling your fingers into the blunt ends of his hair, resting your forehead against his when you both had broken away from the kiss.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this for,” he says in between a barrage of smaller kisses, suddenly breaking away to look at you.

“Tesoro, are you sure about this? You know first hand how this life can get, there’s always dangers to avoid, storms to weather…”

“Bruno, I don’t think anyone has endured more than us, and I’m certain that whatever else life throws at us, we can tackle together. I would choose to weather your storms with you, than bask in someone else’s sunshine any day.”

That was all the invitation Bruno needed to pull you into another passionate kiss, giving himself permission to indulge his own desires for once.

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

the foreshadowing of miguel telling sam "love conquers all" and then hawk rescuing demetri as soon as he saw him hurt. his love for demetri literally conquered his devotion to cobra kai which he truly believed was forever. 🥺🥺

FOR REAL THOUGH

Like I don’t think people fully understand what a BIG deal it was for Hawk to betray Cobra Kai for Demetri. I mean, basically ever since he “flipped the script,” Cobra Kai was arguably THE most important thing in Hawk’s life. For the first time in his entire life, he felt like he could make something of himself, be someone impressive--be more than just an overlooked, mocked freak. Cobra Kai really made him feel like he had inherent value--like he actually added something to the world instead of just existing in it. And because of this, he let Cobra Kai become his identity, and the thing that mattered most to him in the world. This was the place he finally felt like he could be something of worth, and the place that helped make him the happiest and most confident he’d ever been, and because of that, he pledged himself to it--”Cobra Kai for life.” It built up a life for him where he got a freedom and reverence he never really had before, and he felt he owed Cobra Kai everything for this. He feels he would be nothing without it. It’s his very lifeblood.

And what is it that makes him finally turn his back on the most important thing in his life? The thing that pushed him to the top, made him ruthless and feared and respected and visible without being a laughingstock and everything he ever hoped he could be? Demetri. Seeing Demetri in danger, and seeing Demetri about to be seriously hurt by the people Hawk is supposed to be allied with. Realizing that no matter how much Cobra Kai had done for him, none of it’s worth it if they make him hurt Demetri again.

Because Demetri never needed Cobra Kai cred or tattoos or cool hair to think Eli Moskowitz was important. Demetri never needed him to become an intimidating, tough-as-nails survivor to think Eli Moskowitz was worth his time and deserved his adoration. Demetri always saw Eli’s value, and it was never reliant on how much Eli gave him in return or how many punches Eli could throw or how many “babes” Eli could impress with his karate skills. It just...was. Eli mattered, just by existing, just by being him, and nothing was going to change that for Demetri.

Were there other factors that contributed to Hawk switching sides? Sure. He saw his old bullies join the dojo, he saw the kid who had paralyzed one of his closest friends join the dojo, he remembered how much of his training he owed to Johnny and not Kreese, he realized that Johnny was probably right and he was just a pawn to Kreese. And all of these things made him feel uncomfortable, and certainly conflicted, but they weren’t enough to make him turn against the Cobras. Hell, even seeing Kyler wail on Miguel, his former best friend from Cobra Kai and a recovering paralysis victim, wasn’t enough to make Hawk switch sides, even if it did make him question his side (Hawk had to have seen Kyler beating on Miguel from the get-go, so seeing Miguel in pretty serious danger couldn’t have been what truly triggered his Heel Realization).

So what is the final catalyst in spurring Hawk to decide he’s fighting for the wrong people and turn on the dojo that has been everything to him for so long? That has become his entire identity, the “shield” that kept him safe from being the wimpy, ridiculed freak he once was? Yeah, you know it--it’s seeing Demetri in danger. Because that’s the last straw for Hawk. Here is the one person in the world who had his back and thought he was worth something when no one else did--before Miguel, before Johnny, before Aisha, before Moon, before Mitch and Bert, before everyone. The one person who Eli never had to change anything about himself for him to enjoy having Eli around. And he’s about to get hurt again by the best friend he always tried to protect, in his own way. And like hell Hawk is going to let Demetri suffer for him any more, after everything Demetri’s been through. He’s going to make things right, and he’s going to risk the wrath of John Kreese himself and every other Cobra Kai asshole if it means he can do anything at all to keep Demetri safe. The Cobras are going to be out for his blood now, and Hawk knows this--and yet he saved Demetri anyways, because he would take on the entire world and put a thousand targets on his own back if it meant he never had to see Demetri get hurt again. AND. THAT’S. LOVE.

Nothing else was enough to make Hawk betray Cobra Kai, no matter how bad the abuse got. But like you said, Hawk’s love for Demetri conquered his devotion to Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai may have made Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz feel like he could be something spectacular, but Demetri always knew that he already was.

Also Anon lowkey you gotta tell me what episode Miguel tells Sam that “love conquers all” because I admittedly can’t remember that bit but it sounds like a really cute Samiguel moment and now I highkey want to find it

[leonawriter]

I often see that when people do meta or analysis (or even headcanons/fics) on Chuuya, they’ll touch on how he is with the mafia, and they’ll ask the question of “is he actually happy there, how free is he” among other things. Often these opinions are ones I have conflicted feelings about, as I’ll freely admit I’m biased toward him staying in the mafia, and some may have a harsher view on the mafia’s influence on him, or just in general, than I do.

Earlier I saw a post that touched on several things about Chuuya and the mafia that made me think. Some aspects had been mulling in my mind for a while, too. 

(I may go into a ramble here. I’m tired and there’s stuff going on. I just hope some of it makes sense.)

The first thing is that when we compare Chuuya’s relationship with the Sheep to that with the PM, it’s easy to say “he was never respected in the Sheep, they took advantage of him and used his power, emotionally manipulating him to feel responsible” but something that sticks out when Chuuya is dealing with Mori is that in spite of the Sheep being a “democratic” organisation, everyone outside of that group sees Chuuya as its leader. He’s the one who looks out for the members, he’s the most visible, so he’s the “king.”

Effectively, Mori treats him as such in their interactions, and recognises and respects that Chuuya, despite saying “I’m not a king, I just have a trump card up my sleeve!” several times, does want to have that kind of respect. To be listened to when he says to people “don’t do that” because he knows it’s in their best interests.

Chuuya’s downfall in the Sheep is that he’s the one with the most power in terms of violence and raw physical power, having all of all of his agency and social power taken away from him in small ways. Even such things as him wanting the kids to not go to the docks and buy alcohol is them saying that they don’t care about his opinion, they don’t care about his well-being. In their opinion, they do as they like, and when they fuck around and find out, he bails them out. 

Despite his repeated protestations of “I’m no king!”, he must have on some level have internalised the idea that not only should he take responsibility, but that the responsibility to look after the kids under his protection means that they should, in theory, listen to him as well. He was no king because he was a puppet monarch; someone who is there for show, but doesn’t make any decisions.

When Chuuya watches the way that Mori works, he’s already seen how the Sheep treat those they’re afraid of, even those that they should have trusted. He sees that his former allies, his former family, would give him up in a heartbeat if they thought he was a threat. Anyone who went through that would at some point ask “where did I go wrong?”, and Mori is the one who answers him in a way that doesn’t spare his feelings, and also encourages him to pick himself back up.

If you look at what Mori says, it explains to Chuuya why Shirase (and assumedly the Sheep council) acted the way that they did. He isn’t stupid, he knows it was controlled and orchestrated by Dazai and Mori, and even says so when he’s picked up by the mafia after being betrayed. But hearing Mori leads Chuuya to understand why it happen, and if you can understand why something went wrong, then you can learn how to handle things better next time.

Chuuya respects people, he likes people, he wants them to live. He grieves their loss. I truly think he’d come at being the boss - as I think he’d inevitably become, at some point in the near or distant future - in an entirely different way to how Mori does, purely by how Chuuya doesn’t think about things in such a logical, optimal solution-based way. However, he does very much think in a way that suits the mafia. He can weigh one life against another’s, and choose the life of his own against that of someone who's done no wrong other than to go against him. He can choose the “organisation” over other people. He was good at the jewellery business when he first started out, and I’d love to know what he’s been doing since then. And he doesn’t seem to show any discomfort with that!

The thing is this - there are many reasons Chuuya stays in the mafia. 

One is that he respects and admires the people he works with, and his boss. That respect and admiration is also not a one-way street; these people see him as more than just his ability, even when they know what that is and what his origins are. That’s enough for a lifetime of gratitude, and more than just gratitude, but a feeling of “how can I ever repay this?”. And the only thing that they want from him in return is that he keeps developing, becoming more confident and better at his job(s).

Another reasons is, as said above, he has the mindset for it. He is that strange kind of person who is both infinitely kind and capable of love but also infinitely capable of cruelty and violence. Each time I think “where would Chuuya be if he weren’t in the mafia” I think of how the closest we see to his sort of mindset is either in another criminal organisation, in the Hunting Dogs (who aren’t criminal, but are the only organisation that are allowed to do such things and also be within the law), and, well... Tanizaki. Tanizaki, who would be perfectly happy to assassinate a guy just to save his boss’ life, and who someone said would do just fine in the mafia. 

The thing is, the ways in which Chuuya is trapped by the mafia are general only of his own making. He seems to have this idea that he has to have a certain kind of self-image, one that he began to cultivate back when he first joined, so that he would be given respect. In some ways, however, this also is reminiscent of Mori himself, who will be acting in an unprofessional way (trying to get a “young” girl to please get some clothes on) but have to cover that up once someone walks in. 

But this isn’t just a mafia thing! Fukuzawa does it too, and we can see it in the way that he wants to make the right kind of responses, but if he weren’t director, he’d just go with the flow more. With how he wants to just go out places and pet cats, but has to put up this image of the dignified director that people can rely on. 

In Chuuya’s case, I think it’s something he needs to work on, so that he can become a self-assured and confident adult, but in general it’s just... adulthood, to need to look professional while you’re doing your job. The problem with some of these characters is that their job is so closely tied with who they are.

To summarise:

Chuuya wanted the respect of being a leader even as he was denied personal agency while in the Sheep, and was given the ability to work toward that respect and earn it from others on his entry into the mafia. Mori’s words showed him what he lacked, but also highlighted what hadn’t been given to him before.

Chuuya’s place is in the mafia as it is where his talents lie, but more importantly it is most likely where he would feel the least out of place, and the least uncomfortable by peoples’ assumptions that he “should” act or think in a certain way. Just as in many ways he is seen as “too nice and kind” for the mafia, so would he be seen as “too violent, cruel, and callous” to work in the light, within the law, and his continued ability to stay loyal to the mafia without discomfort for what they do would make it impossible for him to work for the ADA.