#diffused tension

[psychronia]

I've been rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender because why not and I'm losing my mind at Zuko's proper introduction. I don't know if it's hindsight, shifting characterizations, or just me not watching this in a long time, but this was amazing.

We start off showing he's an impatient and very angry kid. Reasonable, and the sort of flaw we might expect to see in a villain. Kinda funny that he expects to go up against an adult and fully 4-Element realized Avatar, but the kid is desperate and Iroh clearly expects his nephew to get the banishment-denial kicked out of him.

What's important here, though, is Zuko's introduction to the Southern Water Tribe.

Here, we have a very intimidating entrance where his entire ship just sails through the ice right up to the village's front door. It's quite ominous and this is our first proper introduction to how the Fire Nation interacts with a foreign people.

Sokka charges, I'm assuming fully prepared to die, and Zuko casually knocks him out of the way. Okay, so clearly the Water Tribe are entirely outgunned.

He asks "Where are you hiding him?" and the people of the Water Tribe go silent. I assume they're either just too scared to talk or actually protecting Aang.

Whatever the case, it's important to note that the Southern Water Tribe know the terror the Fire Nation can inflict. We have a whole episode dedicated to tracking down a division of raiders. Sokka was able to not only identify the ash-mixed snow as signs of an incoming attack, but estimate how many ships the amount of ash measures to. These are a people who have experience being terrorized and are probably expecting something terrible to happen.

And then, after they don't answer, Zuko grabs Gran-Gran. There was a horror sting to it, and everything the tribe knows about the Fire Nation suggests that Zuko is about to threaten or straight up hurt her to get answers. Classic "terrorize the elderly" bad guy stuff.

And then...

He goes "He's (the Avatar) be about this age and is a master of all four elements!?" and lets her go.

And all of a sudden, the tension that was built up is shattered as Zuko went "I know, I'll give them a reference for the person I'm looking for because clearly they're confused and I wasn't specific enough."

This went from a show of villainy to a show of Zuko being totally socially awkward and misreading the situation entirely. Not helping is that when he does try to menace them a moment later, his fire is slow and angled quite safely.

It still worked on the Water Tribe because they're understandably scared, but all I could think of is that this was the equivalent of a playground bully trying to make someone flinch with that fake-out lunge thing.

Because the fact-and something we'll come to learn-is that Zuko is TERRIBLE at being a Fire Nation oppressor. He's capable of doing morally dubious things and is a competent fighter. But he's lousy at terrorizing people and cruelty-that's kind of the point of his banishment.

And while we can see the story paint this picture of Zuko's true character as the story goes on with hints of good and conflicting loyalties, here we get to see just how bad he is at being "the bad guys". He's still unambiguously being the villain of this scene, and it makes no real difference to the oppressed themselves, but there is a comical gap between where Zuko thinks he is, where he actually is, and somehow it still puts him on the same page as his victims just because of how terrible the Fire Nation's influence is on everyone involved.

[buttercups-revenge]

Everything we know about Plutarch now makes it so much funnier that he was the gamemaker that fell into the punch bowl during Katniss’ private session.

[wisteriasymphony]

go my scarab (shitty storyboard)

[remyfire]

[daily-hanamura]

[jetgrime]

watching season 11 for the first time and i think sam and adam are literally going to fight each other in the streets

[flores-desyatov]

My delulu coping rn is that USFS doesn’t know whether Bratti/Somerville are going to be ready in time for Canada, and if they pull out Bella/Vanya get that spot, so the mid MIDA team would then get the host spot. If B/V don’t get Budapest I’m hoping it’s because they’re going to Skam (since Skam is the next weekend), but if they do get Budapest, I wonder if that’s confirmation they go to Canada in place of Bratti/Somerville. Idk this whole thing is stupid. They won the head to head, so they should get the host spot.

the Flores/Desyatov fandom right now

But in all seriousness, I know I'm still new to this sport but I can't believe how complicated it is to even compete as an ice dancer. You would think that considering their scores they'd get assignments right away for at least a challenger 😑

The most upsetting thing is that Bella and Vanya have earned that host spot by now. They're the best of the middle pack of ice dancers in the US!

USFS, just send them somewhere and let them do their thing! Let them show how hard they've worked, how fantastic they are.

[theplottdump]

Poppy: Suddenly I'm not feeling very hungry. Orange? Hinoki: All those open books, but no endings. Poppy: 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. Hinoki: Maybe you just need to open them a little wider.

Hinoki: Ah yes- your dream of becoming a - what was it? - A flight attendant? Or is it a Park Ranger now? It's so hard to keep up when you never call- Poppy: Orange, we're done here.

Orange: Sorry Hips but if I could uh- interrupt you Mrs. Plott.

Hinoki: Please darling, here I am simply 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯~ Orange: Okay, uh, well Mountain-

Orange: It's just we really wanted to keep it a secret- Poppy: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵- Orange: -from my fans. The internet can be vicious. Hinoki: 𝙊𝙝?

Orange: But your daughter and I- Hinoki: ��𝘦𝘴?

Orange: - Actually broke up. A few months ago.

Poppy noticed I was struggling and helped me look inwards. And finally- I realized that I never actually liked dating women. She really set me on a path to self actualization.

Hinoki: Oh. Ugh, 𝘼𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣? Orange: Your daughter is really special Mrs. Plo- sorry, Mountain. Hinoki: Well that explains the shirt at least. But what it doesn't explain is why you're here Pop Star.

Orange: Y'know that is an excellent question. I for one would 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘷𝘦 an answer to it. Poppy: Oh you'd like that wouldn't you? Orange: 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮.

[lokh]

oughh i wanted to do a cute laishuro take on the blu ray extras (what if laios had been eaten instead) but lets be honest. they absolutely would not have made it as far without laios

[113457]

[c-duceusclay]

Bless you Travis/Chet for always being there to diffuse the tension

[iwouldhavebroughtyouviolets]

No because jaskier making jokes about geralt dying as a coping mechanism for them BOTH like the reason they work together and have lasted so long is because geralt NEEDS that lightness and the jokes and the downplaying how bad it is bc otherwise he gets too in his head he NEEDS jaskier to come in a joke about milking his death for at least three songs (and one epic poem) because they both know deep down that geralt dying would change jaskier as a person forever and so jaskier joking about it (IF geralt dies) is a way for both of them to take heart because geralt knows that jaskier just has this complete faith in him and THAT’S why jaskier makes the jokes because the alternative to jokes is too horrifying to even consider

[cleromancy]

heres the thing. vkaz, venoms princess carrying kaz over puddles so he doesnt get his feet wet, right. but whats also good is vquiet because even if she didnt Fucking Love Puddles she wouldnt let him. but she does love puddles and he knows this. so he wouldnt try. duality.

[simplydnp]

glass wall is the new glass closet (i mean, it's not new, but you know what I mean)

🥺 i do know what you mean

[genderdotcom]

strong feelings abt the emperor's pronouns: i think if you asked it the answer would vary based on the person asking. because i don't actually think he cares much about which pronouns people use for him. like it's very clear about preferring its illithid form to its previous despite the differences. and yet he still does have remnants of his old life in his room. ANYWAY i got off topic but like. the dream guardian is obviously a customised form made to best manipulate the player. and it's clear that the manipulation doesn't stop after the truth comes out, even though there's a lot less leeway to work with after so much has been stripped away. so if most people asked i think he would say "he/him" just to cement that tie to humanity in more (in much the same way as his little room tour) but if someone asked that was trans, used neopronouns or was generally pro- unconventional gender expression and wouldn't consider it/its dehumanising, the emperor would say "it/its" and draw parallels to that person's own experience to invite compassion.

[invinciblerodent]

btw since I'm Verbenaposting, nice as your LI's smile is at the end as it is, and how I like how it kind of echoes the way they gaze up at the Inquisitor and their advisors after the final fight of that game (which, really nice, here they're beside you and in no way below, driving home the way Rook in the story is part of the group while the Inquisitor is always above in some way), I kinda wanna rewrite it for myself the same way I did then, and hc that the immediate aftermath of the final fight is far less dignified.

Like you can't give me sweet, passionate men like Davrin and Dorian, and just have them SMILE at their beloved after they return from what, to everyone reasonable, looks like absolute mortal peril.

It's not just a nice, fond smile, but a fucking bone-squeezing, leg-swinging, drunk on victory kind of hug that's still dripping all sorts of grime and blood, but nobody really cares because (to live with Davrin's turn of phrase) bleeding thorns, you're here, we won, you're alive, you're here, you're mine, I love you.

... So I think that following the endgame, Ver holds it together just until they manage to descend from the Thing (the one that I keep wanting to call the brainstem even though it's not), and Davrin was left down there to help defend the people so he's there to catch her as she basically leaps into his arms and crumples- just like he's always been there to catch her, to lend his strength, and wherever you are, that's where I am, god bless

in my mind, the bottom of that thing being just. a big heap. a cuddlepile.

Ver first crumples into Davrin's arms from like a foot up that thing still. then Taash and Bellara, who came up with her, silently embrace the both of them (Bel on shaky fawn-legs and looking like she's unsure of whether she's about to burst out laughing or into tears; Taash with their head dropped and stock still save for the tremble in their hands- processing still but about five minutes from a "WHOOOO!!!! YEAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"), all three (now four) covered in Elgar'nan's weirdly sticky, tarlike blood that smells like death and clings like a shadow (but it no longer sings with Blight, so Davrin honestly doesn't give half a shit).

Assan is circling their legs like they're slalom poles, overjoyed that his other favorite person is back again. There's all the couples embracing (with most of Neve's weight probably being supported by Lucanis tbqh, poor woman must be so terminally exhausted), but honestly, few people really care whose hand they're shaking or whose arms are circling around their waist, because they fucking won and survived, and there's the fucking Sun, and the overwhelming joy ripples out from the epicenter of it all until the soldiers and citizens in Minrathous are all crying and laughing and embracing one another.

(Dorian is off to the side fussing over his amatus for climbing down a fucking Blight-wall with essentially one hand because for some reason he didn't think that he shouldn't wear his everyday, carved wood prosthetic hand this morning instead of one that moves in any way, and honestly, what is he to do with this man, Maker he's going to be the death of him, they'll have to find another Archon, and then he'll be sorry.)