bobthetitanisback

[bobthetitanisback]

I have tragically yet seen a A:TLA crack fic where canon! sokka gets suck in a modern, no powers AU. While juggling his counter identity, the everlasting bullshit that's American high school, bumbling at modern devices and slang, avoiding his sister and dad of this universe, and trying to find his way home... he's just like, huh. It's nice to have a hot minute thats not being a child soldier. And thus begins Sokka's journey doing absolutely batshit insanity thinking its even remotely in the ballpark of normal which includes but is not limited to:

• Joining the cheerleaders thinking that they’re like the kyoshi warriors. Furthermore seeing the make-up and skirt as integral to the art. (He's not wrong, and pulls it off amazingly)

• Met in universe Zuko, whos currently a jerk, but isn't also a human flamethrower and literally hunting him down. Sokka's just normal about it while Zuko insistences they're rivals. They fight in the hallways at least once (less a fight and more of zuko frantically throwing punches and Sukka ducking and blocking with the utmost and infuriating chill.)

• Wants money. So what does he do? Goes to a karate competition. Wins. Then proceeds not to tell anyone. Not out of any actual secrecy but because this is pretty standard Gaang stuff back home.

Que the frantic sensei that arrives at the door answered by the very confused Katara and Hakoda.

•Gets more into martial arts and literally freaking everyone out. Turns out, spending the majority of your short little life fighting, keeping up with, beating, and trying to survive from not only full grown masters, but also masters that can control forces of nature plus maybe a spirit or two makes you pretty damn good at fighting.

• Casual parkour. Twenty-four seven. On roofs. Climbing up brick walls. Gravity defying jumps. Ridiculous reflexes.

Naturally the modern him that lands in his universe is just screaming 24/7. But hey, they both go home in the end. Canon sokka gets a break, modern sokka gets a crisis, as a treat.

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Let's imagine Steve and Bucky who were well established in their local queer community. Because they lived in one of the few underground queer cities at the time, and it seems damn near impossible that they *wouldn't* know other queer people

Actually, for that, we probably should talk about Sarah first:

as a nurse she saw it as her duty to help anyone and everyone, no question asked and no matter where they come from, and soon developed a reputation for just that

so she had all sorts of people come to her for help

including queer folks in gender and/or sexuality, what we'd nowadays call drag queens and kings, disabled folks, people of colour, jews and so on

little Stevie grows up around a very diverse group of people

when he was only a couple of years old, he asked Sarah ie why that woman had a beard, and she'd explained to him that there are all kinds of people and there was nothing wrong with being "transsexual" or with men liking other men or women liking other women

and that if he ever found out he was like them, she wouldn't care and love him all the same

and that was one of the lessons that stayed with him, along with always getting back up, always protecting those in need of protection, and later from his own experiences, that he didn't like bullies

the community Sarah builds around herself ends up protecting Steve more than once, no matter how much he hates accepting help

So at some point Steve and Bucky meet and befriend each other and become inseparable. And of course the older they get the more people talk. That they're too close, that that sickly Rogers boy is a fairy (or that he's a waste of oxygen and should be dead, let alone ever reproduce), that there are so many pretty girls for Bucky to choose from. You get the idea

Sarah of course figures out they're dating pretty much immediately. she knows her son, she loves Bucky like her own like she knows the Barnes family does in turn for Steve

To me the Barnes family is supportive but it took them some time because they're the "ideal" middle class family and their oldest son being a fairy wasn't quite ideal but they love Steve and Bucky too much to give a rat's ass about it later on

and with all the people Steve grew up knowing and introduced Bucky to, they have plenty of friends, even if they'd choose each other over the world on any given day

society as a whole wasn't kind to them, would never be kind to them, they knew as much, but they weren't alone

sapphic couples to go on double dates with as a cover (though Bucky goes out of his way to find more women to date as a cover, lest people ask too many questions)

underground bars to meet at, in the "bad" parts of town, to drink and kiss and be a normal couple for once

meet artists of all flavours, punks (our modern definition, relative to the time), go to protests and rallies for women's rights and workers' rights

Bucky meets other jewish queer folks, too, to his delight

they run from cops more than once

lose more than one friend in that time too, who got found out and sent to "conversion therapy" at best, but more than once was found beaten to a pulp in the street

Sarah passes away and Steve is distraught, but he's not alone in mourning, her funeral has so so many of the people she'd helped in her life, and there's some solace in that, despite feeling more alone than ever

Bucky moves in with him and they get those few happy years with a lot of the same they'd done since becoming a couple, before the war comes

not only is Steve upset he can't join the war effort, he's now seeing his friends joining, getting drafted, or denied for the same reasons he is. queer women join en mass and he knows he'd find his people there too, but they just won't let him

then Bucky gets drafted and TFA plays (mostly) as we know it

their friends freak the fuck out when Steve's suddenly gone, then shows up as "Captain America"

some of the chorus girls pick up on Steve being queer, and suddenly the whole group feels a lot more comfortable around him, and he actually ends up enjoying their company a lot

the Howlies don't care, Howard doesn't care, Peggy is a Nazi so her view doesn't matter, no one really does, and they get to be pretty open about their relationship, with everyone covering for them

Bucky falls

the Barnes family gets a letter on what happened to Bucky, from Steve, and suddenly they know that they'll lose both their sons/brothers in that war, because there's no Steve without Bucky and no Bucky without Steve

they've always known it would end like that, but just like Steve, they'd never expected Bucky to be the one to die first

Steve puts the plane down

When he's confirmed alive in the 21st century, not only do the families of the Howlies reach out to him, who'd spread far by then

not only the Barnes family, Bucky's niblings and, hell, grand niblings (who all also insist on calling Steve their uncle, because that's who he is to them, and Steve cries at that)

but also all the children and grandchildren of the community he and Bucky had been part of

that had seen so much loss, he gets told, in the 80s and 90s, and before that, but still stands strong as ever and he's welcomed back with open arms

because those people, too, were his family

he's also told how after his death, some asshole wanted to discredit him for being queer, and all the people he'd ever known jumped to help him

his and Bucky's relationship was their families' best kept secret

that loss still weighs heavy on him, so he doesn't have the energy for pride, but there's something about queer rights having advanced enough that people like him can get married, that fills him with both overwhelming joy and longing

then Bucky is alive, and after everything is said and done, they come out to the world and get married, for real, not the fake wedding their community had thrown for them, or the one the Howlies did

and the rest is history

[bobthetitanisback]

Black Widow July 9, 2021 | dir. Cate Shortland

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a forever favourite 🤍🪽⋆˚࿔ ˚⋆

[bobthetitanisback]

Steve was a Coney Island incubator baby. One of the first practices to offer specialized preemie care in the US was a side show on the Coney Island Boardwalk. It was free to parents and was funded by charging people to see the babies. I think it’s realistic to think Steve could’ve been a preemie and well, that’s twice they but Steve in a machine to make him stronger.

He was in there…

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if it’s meant to be

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Ethel Cain summer

~~~~

Religious signs in the middle of nowhere, decaying barns in the countryside, old bicycles on the side of the road, half empty Coke cans on an antique kitchen table, waking in giant fields, exploring abandoned houses at night, driving past old chapels, scraping knees climbing trees, cigarettes on the side of the road

[bobthetitanisback]

like always im thinking about an au where will from ealdor lives and eventually makes his way to camelot. im trying to think what would be the funniest profession he could take up. Option A is being the Cook Merlin Has Unexplained Beef With’s Assistant (will is the best helper she’s ever had and she feels so betrayed when merlin comes say hi to him). Option B is working for geoffrey because imagine the lancelot episode

will: what are you doing with that crest? are you. are you copying it

merlin: what? no

will: this is about that fella with the hair isn’t it? i knew he wasn’t a royal. merlin you can’t–

merlin: why are you here anyway?

will: i work here?? im cleaning?

merlin: yeah but this… isn’t this is a restricted section?

will: geoffrey thinks i’m illiterate

[bobthetitanisback]

Angry again over the ATLA fandom's treatment of Ursa, one of the biggest victims in the entire series of the FN Royal Family.

People treat the Royal Family like it's just another abusive household, which results in the overly harsh treatment of Ursa, who was the most powerless person in that entire family by political standards. She was a lowborn, engaged to the younger prince as a test to merge the bloodlines of the Royal Family with that of an Avatar's. She was basically forced into an experimental arranged marriage to a disposable heir, cut off from her family, and thrown into a pit of vipers AKA the Royal Palace.

Imagine being in her shoes. Imagine having virtually no support or standing in an unfamiliar place where even the slightest mistake could result in either humiliation at best or death at worst. She is married to a horrible man who despises the fact that he doesn't even get a noble for a wife, that he is being ridiculed by being married off to a lowborn and basically being told that it was impossible for him to ever be the Fire Lord, since if he had a fair shot wouldn't they have ensured a better marriage prospect? He gains no supporters or additional backing through his wife, which he should have had as a prince, and doesn't that just sting? He's discredited in Azulon's eyes, and in the eyes of the nobility, so what chance does he have to rise above his station now?

Who do you think took the brunt of his shame and anger at his situation? Who would have suffered most at the hands of an angry young man who had no qualms with burning his own thirteen-year-old son for just daring to speak up unasked?

People claim Ursa had let go of Azula because she thought Azula was a monster and that she only helped Zuko because he was kind. Zuko was allowed to be kind because he was deemed weak, and Ozai didn't want to pay attention to him. He is only kind because of his mother's influence, which he wouldn't have had if he was up to Ozai's standards. If he had been, Ozai would have kept Ursa and Zuko separate to better control Zuko and ensure his son's loyalty. He wanted his heir to be a child that he could paint entirely in his own image to cover up the fact that their other parent was a peasant, which would cast further doubts on his rights and position within the palace.

People make it out to be like Ursa CHOSE to save Zuko, laughably assuming that this woman had the ability to CHOOSE anything, much less ANY sort of power within the palace. Even her own children outranked her in the nobles' eyes by virtue of having royal blood. She lived in the place where her husband worked and where all the servants answered to either him or his father, so she was never truly free to move or act. Every move was watched. Every interaction was noted.

Ursa was able to influence and help Zuko by showing him a form of kindness, but notice how she never said a bad word about Ozai or the Royal Family? She couldn't. She never twisted Zuko away or tried to outright call her husband wrong—she even defended some of his actions despite knowing otherwise. She could not act or speak freely. She knew she was being watched. She couldn't even pull Zuko away completely from Ozai—that's how utterly powerless she was. Her children loved a monster, and she could do nothing to stop them.

We are shown in canon that Ursa and Zuko spend time together, but that's just it. Ursa never tries to turn Zuko "good" or convince him Ozai is terrible because she CAN'T. She does her best by being stern and setting examples, and Zuko is desperate enough for love to internalize every moment with her, but the pond scene shows how Ursa was only able to do just that—play the role of a stern, kind mother.

And the thing is—if given the chance, she'd save them both. She loved them both, even if Azula reminded her too much of the monster that she married. If she had ever had the opportunity, she would have left with both. Except she couldn't because once Ozai had his prodigy, she was never going to be able to go near her child ever again. Ursa would try, through Zuko as we see in the flashback, to reach her daughter somehow, but it never worked. If she truly always thought of Azula as a "monster", would she let her "perfect son" go play with her? She could have shut Azula out completely and discourage her from ever coming close, Azula is young enough to still listen to her Mom, but we see both Azula and Zuko at her side reading the letter. Ursa doesn't lean away from her daughter. We see her hesitate but never flinch away when she is near Azula.

Ursa only spent time with Zuko because he was the only one she COULD have paid attention to, not because she CHOSE to. Ozai paid him no interest, so she was ALLOWED to spend her time with Zuko. If she had the chance, the allowance, to spend time with Azula she would have done it in a fucking heartbeat. People paint her as "saving" the one "who could be saved" or "throwing Azula to the wolves to focus on Zuko" as if she had any fucking choice, as if she didn't took what crumbs she could get to be close to her children. She didn't toss Azula aside, Ozai KEPT THEM APART. I REPEAT, HE KEPT THEM APART. He did NOT want his lowborn wife influencing his prized heir with her ways, so he kept them apart, READ THAT AGAIN.

It was never Ursa "choosing" which of her kids to save and protect. It was always her doing her best to use her limited, almost non-existent freedom of movement to reach her children in any way, and Zuko just happened to be free. If anyone was doing the whole "focusing on one kid and tossing aside the other" it. Was. Ozai.

[bobthetitanisback]

i always thought they were cute, but bifong’s tag for them is otp: emo kids and idk why but that has stuck in my head very intensely

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Could you draw an adult Maiko dancing that would be so gorgeous thank you!

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Gobber fanart :> I finished the album of HTTYD and u can find it in tg

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‘Natural blood stained blonde’

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It Could Happen To You: mediocre tv show with baffling politics has really compelling characters in it

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Inktober day 18. Day 17. Day 16. Day 15. Day 14. Day 13. Day 12. Day 11. Day 10. Day 9. Day 8. Day 7.  Day 6. Day 5. Day 4. Day 3. Day 2. Day 1.

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‘I loved you when it hurt inside to’

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Heya Loopy!

So, since I'm fresh off of reading For Better and For Worse (OMG, how do you manage it everytime?! I'm sucker for when Zuko gets to hear Mai's grievances and insecurities except she wouldn't actually come out and tell him and your plots always serve the characters so well—!)

Anyways! I find characterisation in your fics more in line with the show than the comics so I have to ask: if you were to write avatar comics, what direction would you have taken with Mai and Zuko. You talked about Mai and Tom-Tom on the server so I know about that, so other than that.

Well, something I do like from the early comics is the immediate focus on the matter of the colonies. (That is also the only thing I liked about it.) And rather than going with the idea of having the gAang implement some dumb policy on a whim that goes on for a whole year before blowing up on them, especially when nothing in the main plot needs a year-long gap except for Zuko apparently not having been able to sleep for 365 consecutive nights and so having the decision-making capabilities of a mushroom, I'd rather have them immediately get started on the issue of what to do with the colonies use it as a long-term plotline.

And with Zuko busy trying to pacify a nation that yesterday was running from Azula worshiping at Ozai's feet (and he's getting enough sleep to remember what the word "delegate" means), he appoints someone as his representative and negotiator who is well-educated, cool under pressure, absolutely loyal, and dangerous enough to not need protection in case of riots. Which is good, because somehow this political plotline is going to involve a lot of magic kung fu fights.

So yeah, that's my concept. On the discord, we've noted that Mai never really got a chance to do a Redemption storyline for her part in the Fire Nation's imperialist agenda, so I like the idea of having the daughter of the guy who conquered Omashu helping to transfer the colonies out of Fire Nation control. Depending on the needs of each individual story (I like self-contained one-shots that slowly progress an overarching plot), we can shuffle her back and forth between the Fire Nation and the colonies, so she can see plenty of Zuko and interact with him for the Maiko fans, but then not be present when we don't want her around to keep him smart. I also like the idea of having Sokka being her counterpart from the Water Tribe for the colonies issue, so this gives me a chance to build a friendship between them, as well as Suki when she's available to guard her boyfriend.

Assuming LoK is still setting the agenda with the colonies becoming a 'United Republic' which is really just a single city and the resource-rich land around it, owned and operated as a shared colony by the four nations. I've always liked to shade this in my fanfics as a failure by the gAang, that they couldn't find a solution which would do right by the people of the colonies. So, unfortunately, this is going to partially be Mai's failure at the culmination of the big colonies plot. (It's Sokka's fault, too, so it's okay.) But I think we can cast it as the completion of her redemption arc, that when she fails to get the colonies proper self-governance, she actually sheds tears and rants to Zuko. And he points out that while she might feel terrible about it, she can at least be sure she did her absolute best.

And when she asks how he can be so sure, he says, "Well, because I know you. And I can see, right now, in your tears, how much you care."

And if we really want to get sappy and Avatar Studios isn't nixing anything that smells of character progression, he can add, "And that's why I want you -- need you -- at my side as my Fire Lady."

So I think the fans would probably like that.