#re-interpretation series

[aminotvxq]

I tried to re-interpret/recreate some scenes from Yugioh DM: fan art series

#5. Episode 183 - It only would've taken tentacles to destroy the world

The anime directors were too bold to assume that the scene would hardly get minors to have dirty thoughts and that tentacles were appropriate to air during the prime time. I was only 14 to 15 when this episode aired, and knew what fucking hentai tentacles were💀💀

(Question to fellow Yugioh fans: did 4kids censor this scene or left it as it was?)

Dartz was such an unfortunate supervillain who happened to land on a children's card game show. He wouldn't even have needed the cumbersome Seal of Orichalcos. All he needed was the power to break the 4th wall. Then all he got to do was kidnap the gorgeous main characters, torture them with the tentacles, and air the scenes in real time globally. He would've collected hundreds of millions of souls tainted with dirty thoughts in no time 😂😭

See #1, #2, #3, and #4 here:

[ #1 ] [ #2 ] [ #3 ] [ #4 ]

[shannonsketches]

he's so important to me

[ossy-serenity]

Voice

on my nostalgia kick. i made a compilation of voice clips from gaara`s first appearance in my native tongue

so

how did gaara sound in your dub ?

[rmorde]

The realization of Megumi's DE being called Chimera Shadow Garden (CSG).

CHIMERA - a mythical monster that is an amalgamation of various animals - an organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues via fusion - an impossible/unrealistic wish; illusory false hope

It's really cool since Megumi's CT allow him to mix two or more different Shikigamis into a new one - his very own chimera/s.

Megumi's goal was also impossible/unrealistic. Ouch. He also had false hopes. Double ouch. But he can use "illusions" or clones inside his domain... Yay?

Poor Megumi. His fate is sealed by Gege the moment his DE was named.

GARDEN - A garden that is taken care of very well would always grow plants - an unlimited resource. - Experimental gardeners may use grafting to help plants to survive or develop further

The "Garden" part alludes again to how Megumi's CT works and its unlimited potential for creating powerful Shikigamis.

Another cool thing about CSG is the shape of the spine part in the garden seem to resemble the bones from the lumbar spine. So, I assume the bows at the bottom allude to the coccyx (tailbone) as seen in the images.

If that is the case, again it's a nice symbolism. The tail bone supports the uterus. The uterus is where babies are developed which the CSG is kinda like? It is a place where chimeras and illusions are grown.

[wolperkinger]

Didn't occur to me until I re-read the book recently, but, Moss probably wasn't the entirely original character I initially thought he was. In fact he's likely the TV Series version of Groundsel

There's the obvious factor of both rabbits becoming new Chief Rabbits of the old Efrafan Rabbits, but in their feelings and actions there's similarities (even if we only see most of that from Groundsel near the end of the book). Both also temporarily stay at Watership Down for a time

Hell, I'd even take it a step further and say that Sainfoin in the Miniseries is probably straight up meant to be Groundsel as well

[prokopetz]

Folks act like "maybe the author isn't the final authority about what their work means" is some wanky post-modern nonsense and not a simple recognition that a lot of authors are perfectly prepared to bullshit about their own work. Like, leaving big-name popular media aside, I have personally encountered authors being actively disingenuous about their own work for all of the following reasons:

A true answer wouldn't fit the image they've cultivated.

They've decided they like the explanation the readers/viewers have come up with better than what they actually had in mind.

Something that was originally intended as a standalone work ended up growing into a franchise or series, and now they're pretending that was the plan all along for some reason.

They don't want to admit that the bit you're asking about is genuinely just a plot hole.

The real answer gets into some shit they don't care to discuss, so they've prepared a cover story to explain away the parts they don't want to talk about.

Their politics have changed since they wrote it, but they don't want to acknowledge that, so they're constantly trying to re-interpret everything they've ever written to be perfectly consistent with whatever their positions are this week.

They wrote it decades ago and they honestly don't remember what they were thinking at the time, so they're just making shit up; sometimes they also don't remember what shit they made up the last time, so the answer is different every time they're asked.

The work in question is at least partly autobiographical and they can't tell the truth without confessing to a crime in the process.

Most of the good bits are plagiarised and they don't really understand it themselves.

They're lying to you on purpose, for evil reasons.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Actually, I think this does link in with a wider conversation that I have been thinking for a while Tumblr maybe needs to hear.

There's a common meme on this site now that no one here has any reading comprehension skills. The best one is, of course, the original "No offense but reading comprehension on this site is piss poor/How dare you say we piss on the poor" post, which gave rise to the nickname "pissing-on-the-poor website". There's also the "I like pancakes/How dare you say waffles are terrible" one. Both of these are great, because they're silly jokey ways to show two closely related phenomena that are probably the commonest ways to fail a reading comprehension check.

The first is someone reading certain catchphrases or buzzwords in the post, and based on their own biases or prior experiences or whatever else, their brain simply fills in what it reckons the poster is saying on the topic. Instead of reading the rest of the sentence and digesting it, the reader then just uses their assumption as the interpretation, and reacts to that.

The second is closely related, because it also uses biases and prior experiences to to interpret the post, but rather than ignoring what the OP is actually saying, it instead performs a series of gymnastic leaps to construct a whole new assertion on the OP's behalf that simply isn't there.

There's also a third, of course; that one is people being so eager to feel smug and superior over someone they perceive as Bad that they wilfully assume the OP is stupid or being serious when they're actually joking. And if the reader hadn't been so blinded by their desire to get to look down on someone, they'd have seen the very obvious tells, sometimes even including sentences like "Obviously this is a joke." (I think we have all seen examples of these. Also, in a bid to avoid as many reading comprehension fails here as possible, this does not include misunderstandings borne entirely of neurodiverse struggles to parse intentions; but, neurodiverse people are just as likely as neurotypicals to have ego play a part in their misinterpretation of others, and that is what this point is about.)

And the thing is... actually, we are all capable of any of these. I imagine a sizable chunk of people reading until this point were probably thinking "Lol, yeah, people are so stupid," but na, nage, I'm not having that. Literally everyone does these sometimes. And it becomes a particular risk when the topic under discussion is something that might brush against an issue that is a pressure point for you, like a social justice talking point that you are forever having to argue with internet strangers about, for example. Your brain holds schemas! And sometimes it likes to pattern match things before it deigns to tell you about its findings! And that can hit you right in the emotions, which if they are strong enough, really can shut down all rational thought.

But. This brings me to the real point of the post.

Because the thing is, we have all saddled up and gone to war under these conditions, or at the very least been strongly tempted to. And a vital skill that literally everyone has to learn, sooner or later, is:

Before you hit 'reply', double check the post to make sure you fucking understood it.

And that does not mean "simply re-read, confirm your bias, carry on." It means, "Is it possible to read this post from the point of view of someone who doesn't intend it the way I've taken it? If I put myself in the shoes of an innocent, could they still have written these words? Is there another interpretation for these phrases?"

And you do have to do this step. You simply do have to. Because if your desire is to 'clap back' and call someone a gargling knobskin made of garbage, fuck me sideways but you must see that it is imperative that you check if they actually deserve that kind of treatment first. You cannot spend your time claiming that we must all choose to be kind and then not bother doing your due diligence before screaming a person's various and assorted bigotries at them. If you misread it, and they were innocent - you are the raging aggressive cunt in this situation.

It does not matter that you reacted from an emotional place of normally having to defend yourself either, by the way. Sure, that makes the quality of your human soul better than that of the average Redditor who just enjoys anonymously hurting people, I guess? But it's also irrelevant. If you messaged someone and called them a misogynist because you performed several mental somersaults and landed on your own sore spot when they meant no such thing, you are the attacker. You owe them an apology. And yeah, sure, you can explain your over-reaction as the product of your normal experiences if you like, but that is only an explanation, not an excuse. You are still the asshole here. You still need to apologise and mean it.

And you could have avoided it if you'd done that due diligence, as you should have. If you're going to take a swing, make sure it's the right target. This was once described to me as donkey people - they don't think, they just kick. This is admittedly a little unkind to donkeys, who always do their due diligence, but I feel it's an apt metaphor.

TL;DR: If you feel moved to angrily reply to something, first make sure you've interpreted it right. Don't be a donkey person. And if you ask for clarification, people are innocent until proven guilty. Ask nicely. If they are a bigot, you can then smelt them for parts.

[yeah-thats-probably-it]

#what i love about this is that to bertie it's a foregone conclusion that it's Their Car#it isn't 'you should take the car' it's 'why on earth would you take the train? we've got a car you know!'#the employer-employee relationship has become the thinnest possible fiction for married behaviour#and honestly this is making me feel a lot better about the spinoza thing. like. to bertie being mindful of jeeves is just normal.#why WOULDN'T he take the car. it's easier. bertie might not have remembered to tell jeeves to take the car#if jeeves hadn't told him when the train was leaving but it isn't because bertie doesn't care. he just assumes jeeves would take the car.#the guy had to order the spinoza. we know we don't see a lot of the conversations they have and basically all they do whenever there isn't#any plot going on is talk to each other about daily news literature history whatever jeeves is reading.#so it seems a lot more likely that we just didn't see that bit of communication happening than it is for bertie to forget briefly about#the book he wanted to give jeeves and then decide oh well let's hold onto it until christmas. because that doesn't make any sense - that's#a level of unthinking that's more about 'well who cares' than about 'i had a very busy few days and was at my aunts place so i couldn't#pick up your book'#the same in regards to bertie interrupting jeeves - because he (iirc) usually only does it when Something Is Going On#he likes hearing jeeves talk about poetry! he asks about his family! but he doesnt want to hear about jeeves aunts while he's In A Situatio#(and honestly. 1) jeeves sometimes has very bad timing. see the bicycle story. the 'cheesewright is going to crush you like a fly' thing.#the 'that's a lot of money you're owing and captain biggar is not patient' thing from RFJ. he just gets a little carried away#2) having started tally ho (thank you for recommending it btw!) this is so incredibly stressful. like. i have been underestimating#just how stressful the situations bertie gets into are. jeeves must have nerves of steel. we know that bertie does not.#and if i had to deal with not even an unwanted engagement but just a situation like 'this guy's fake moustache might fall off after#i went to some lengths to smuggle him in' and someone tried to talk to me about their aunt i would also think that This Is Not The Moment.#Can't You See Everyone Here Is An Idiot And I'm Somehow Responsible. this is the most stressed i've been in my life. (i am having a lot of#fun aside from and during the stressful! it's just stressful af) so really bertie should get a break for that#very long story short this is absolutely married behaviour

tags from @noandnooneelse

While we’re on the subj. of Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, this earlier scene drives me insane too, because speaking in just black and white, contractual terms, Bertie, you literally DO have the option? You’re the only one who has an option in this situation. You have the power to tell him he can’t go, you are literally his employer. And then he offers Jeeves use of the car to go to London, even though Jeeves never would’ve asked! Married behavior! Married behavior!!! This is the sort of negotiation spouses have with each other, we are fully out of the realm of master/servant now

[nonadraws]

Eclipse

Happy (belated) 5th TTS Finaleversary!! I posted this on time on my Patreon, but here is the public post finally! As you all know March 1 is the series finale, and because it's been 5 years I really wanted to make something special this year <333

Because the sundrop and moonstone longed to find each other and be together in space again, this was the message I wanted to interpret visually. Plus I was inspired by none other Jayvik's final scene from Arcane, and not only was it visually stunning, but also at least to me, I felt that the scene gave off BIG Cassunzel in TTS finale energy, and it snowballed into this idea I had been brewing for a long time. So happy and proud of how this turned out, and I also want to thank everyone who joined me on stream for this piece!

Process and PSD now available on Patreon! Support me there for hi-res, process pics, PSD files, and more exclusive rewards.

Reminder to also join the Fadarios Discord server to get updates and art posts from me first before anywhere else!

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

Relistening to Checking Out, and I’ve always liked this scene in particular, as it is one that’s very open to interpretation.

I believe, from what I’ve seen personally at least, one or the most common interpretations is that Helen’s observation is either incorrect, or intentionally misleading, and that Jon’s response actually stems from touch aversion, or a degree of it, attributed to his trauma, particularly moments where he’s been left helpless and at the whims of others. E.g. Kidnapped by the Circus, almost killed by Daisy etc. And while I think this interpretation is both interesting and plausible, I don’t think I’ve seen much for the opposite interpretation, which is that Helen’s observation is correct.

It can be difficult to talk about Jon’s humanity sometimes, as there’s a lot of nuance and layers to cover. The fact is, Jon, especially in season five, does not completely think like a human. He is simultaneously a painfully human character such with deep compassion and guilt and self-loathing, while also being a being of immense knowledge who sees and understands the world in a different light, and in a way no one else can possibly comprehend, which has to be very isolating all things considered.

As with everything in TMA, Jon makes a choice, and his choice is to end the apocalypse, to stay with Martin, and to stay as human as he possibly can. We know from Annabelle that had she have taken Martin, who is presumably acting as one of his main anchors to humanity, Jon potentially would have snapped completely, the final push over the edge as she puts it. It has to be a difficult thing for him, to try and balance his existence when he is so fundamentally changed, and when this world naturally feels right to him, and you could argue that him snapping at the mother here is simply his instinct, being what he is.

He is The Archivist, the meant-to-be Pupil of the Eye, one of the most important beings present, and so it makes sense there’s almost an instinctive detachment from the victims. He is meant to Watch them, and Watching means no physical interaction. By touching him, the mother has broken this barrier, and so, instinctually, he reacts — with anger, notably.

I’d say it’s meant to contrast how we see him acting prior to the touch, where he seems genuinely sympathetic with the mother, and he is trying to help in what little way he can. Because before she touches him, that gap between Watched and Watcher is still firm in place, and so he can handle that.

Bearing in mind, I haven’t re-listened to the rest of season five with this, so I may have missed something.

I also think both interpretations can co-exist too, and that could be just as interesting to explore. Either way, I find that, with Jon, it’s important to consider his status in the Eyepocalypse and his nature vs his choices, although, his nature vs his choices goes for the whole series I think, as choice is such a consistent theme in TMA and in the Avatars.

[aminotvxq]

I'm working on a re-interpretation fan art series of some Yugioh DM episodes, starting from this piece :D

#1. Episode 128 - Atem gets devastated by Joey's "death"

Although the fatal condition (probably cardiac arrest) was temporary, this incident was arguably among the most heart-rending experience Atem has ever had. The face he makes at the sight of the inconceivable tragedy is simply unforgettable.

What drives me even crazier about this scene is that the sky is so fucking bright blue after the dark fogs are all gone; the shadow game has already ended. The dark fog has taken Joey's life force with it. This creates a striking and poignant contrast with what's actually unfolding atop the tower.

[aliusfrater]

i was really excited to read this but it sucked i stopped ¾ of the way through lol i was hoping it'd get better or culminate to something interesting

fic so good it's triggering

[everythingchnges]

MYTHS VS HELLENIC POLYTHEISM : What’s the difference? What to actually look out for?

I’m going to start this blog off very blunt at first and then I’m going to dive deeper in, first off:

Mythology ≠ Religion.

That’s as blunt as I can actually get. Now, to dive in deeper,

“How are they different?”

Well, we first need to take a look at the actual definition of mythology.

See how it says “exaggerated”? Yeah, exactly. Myths are a collection of stories that are often made over the top and fictitious to often serve as a “moral of the story” and a lesson to people reading them, to show aspects of humans and how their live and act and what their ethics are. How does that work? Well, usually when you read myths (I’m going to put the story of Icarus here because it’s the most famous one), they tend to deliver a certain message to the reader, for example with the Greek myth Icarus who got too close to the sun despite the warnings given to him, depict a lesson on the consequences of not listening to someone/disobeying. Usually, it just serves and life lessons and are NOT supposed to be taken so literally. Like no, you aren’t gonna make wings and fly up to the sky and fall in a LITERAL sense…

You can take Alaska Native story telling as a reference who use these stories to teach the community, or serve as lessons for their heritage. (Or in my culture what we have is called “Zārb Ol-Māssāl” which are a series of poems or stories that tend to deliver a message to the reader on their actions.)

The whole point of myths is to tell a story in hopes that the reader or people passing down these stories will understand them on a deeper level instead of looking at it in a literal and surface sense. It allows people to connect with these stories on different aspects like love, loss, grief, etc… and to use them to create a path to share these stories with future generations. Believe it or not, myths actually serve as a powerful tool to keeping a culture alive. Why do you think Greek myths and Nordic myths are so popular?

Now, here comes the question on,

“Well why is it so bad to take these myths literally when it comes to religion? Aren’t they stories from these religions?”

Myths - although do share a purpose to aspire and teach - become way too mixed with the concept of religion at times and messes up the whole narrative. And in Hellenic Polytheism, it’s very VERY common for non-HelPols to mutter a “But Zeus was a 🍇ist!” Here or a “Hades kidnapped Persephone!” There. And this can be VERY damaging to the religion as a whole.

Now say it with me:

The gods are NOT their Myths.

Read that again. It’s exactly what’s written there.

During these myths, the gods are depicted more as characters instead of spiritual and natural beings. Think of the gods not as people, but as energy. A force of nature like spirits. Shoving these energy forces into a corner and labelling them as this and that is extremely disrespectful because you’re just throwing their spiritual depth away like it’s a cartoon show. The gods aren’t your characters you can headcanon. They’re actually forces of nature.

Most literal readings use the myths as a way to corner people who genuinely practice this stuff and force them to explain the “cheating” and “affairs” that they’ve seen from these stories, which creates a stigma around these people to explain themselves and it makes them view this practice as absurd and disgusting. What’s even worse is that the myths usually make people completely block the theological interpretation and place the gods as being only this and that. Hellenic Polytheism is a RECONSTRUCTED religion. Say it with me now:

RE. CON. STRUC. TED.

Which means it has evolved through studies and modern day practice. Basically let’s say back then the Greeks had their temples to worship the gods but now, modern day HelPols don’t actually HAVE those huge temples to go to since most are destroyed, so we make our own small, roomy altars for the gods since we have no other choice. Get my point?

And not to mention, most people who name Hellenic Polytheism as an absurd religion full of people who defend 🍇, are often conditioned by Abrahamic religions and use THEIR teachings into Polytheistic religions like Hellenic Polytheism. In Abrahamic religions, most stories are actually taken literally and seriously so when you see myths from another religion trying to tell you about the consequences your actions have on yourself and others and it’s not ACTUALLY what the text LITERALLY says then they lose their shit. These misinterpretations can often lead to memes and pop culture references that are harmful stereotypes for a VERY REAL religion

(Cough cough looks at Lore Olympus COUGHHHHHHHH)

So yeah, generally not so good.

But then you must be asking:

“If they’re all myths, then how are the gods related? How is Apollo the son of Zeus if it’s just a myth?”

Great question! And I’m here to explain the concept of “branches” to you.

Let’s place Zeus and Apollo as a point here. Who is Zeus? Well, Zeus is the “Sky Father” of Olympus. He is often seen as the highest order of the Olympians. What about Apollo? Well, Apollo being his “son” often shares the divine authority with him for example with music and prophecy and the sun. Which can all also be traced back to Zeus like an archetype relationship, like a branch. They share things in common and cosmic functions to be connected to each other on a more spiritual basis rather than “blood”.

You can also see them as metaphors! Like how Zeus is Apollos “father”. But what they really mean by this would be something like:

Zeus is … -> order and kingship. A divine authority.

Apollo is -> prophecy and light. Shares a piece of that divine authority with Zeus.

It’s a symbolism. And not only does Hellenic Polytheism use this but other systems like Egyptian, Norse, Hindu, etc… use these as well to connect divine authority and spiritual power.

Yes the gods are “related” but not in the way us humans actually think of when the word “related” comes to mind. It’s more of a spiritual thing connected by forces of nature.

Have a wonderful rest of your day. 🤞🏻

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

I am so glad about your booktube post. Their entitled, condescending and frankly bigoted behavior is something I am frustrated but utterly powerless about.

I am particularly crept out by just how many of them use social justice language to both justify their hatred for everything and everybody out of the norm and make it harder to spot.

The most blatant and most disturbing example I saw for this is someone named crowcaller. If you don't look at the bigger picture and don't know these books it seems like she criticizes sexist, ableist and queerphobic tropes in obscure bad YA books from 2000-2010. Very necessary work, and without context her criticism seem reasonable and rooted in real life problems.

Then she did that with books I had actually read. And oh by did she not just interpret it in the most bad faith possible and completely ignored the Zeitgeist and conventions and history of the genre, she also just. Did not pick up anything but the most obvious plot beats, character motivations and messages, and then got condescending about the book being too shallow and openly cheered on the downfall of this series.

She also constantly presents herself as this fighter for minorities rights, especially disabled peoples rights, but then I caught her talking about a mental health issue she never had and has no experience with as if she 100% knew how this works and how this needs to be portrayed. I know this issue, and what she claims is only something a small part of the community feels. However, it is what aligns with neurotypicals automatic horror about this, so these opinions are the only ones that spread.

After that, everything fell into place. How she writes "I've seen it all" about tumblr, quirkily saying how good she knows this site without being one of *those* tumblr users. How she made her entire career out of mocking books targeted at girls. How she doesn't acknowledge the things that are progressive about these books at all. How she never outright says how teen girls are so silly and stupid and inferior for liking these books, and how [insert ableist slur] people who hyperfixate on uncool things like these are, but it resonates in every video she does.

I am queer and autistic too, and as I was still too naive to spot it, I was so glad that someone like me for once managed to create a platform and be heard. Turns out she could only do that, because unlike me and most other queer autistic people, she is confident to the point of not being able to see just how unqualified she is, and even more, she only says exactly what neurotypicals (and the more assimilated queer autistic people) want to hear.

And I get it, it feels good to think you are superior to those pathetic boy obsessed girls. Which probably makes this such an effective tactic.

I hate how platforms only ever push people like this. And I hate that people like this are able to shape the publics opinion when they have the least skills for that.

I hate how they get away with hiding their loathing behind feminism, or anti-ableism, or queer advocacy while mocking everybody in these groups who doesn't manage to conform.

Now, crowcaller is far from the only Booktuber who uses these tactics. But it struck me particularly much because she as an queer autistic person really should know better than behaving like this. Peak Pick-Me. And also... using your minority identities and progressive beliefs to hide your bigotry behind is just so gross.

And I hate just how little people seem to pick that up.

I'm gonna be real dude I think my nitpicks of various videos and whatever you've got going on specifically with this crowcaller person are like. maybe totally different issues.

I'd also like to point out that re: your first sentence, referring to the entirety of booktube as "entitled, condescending and frankly bigoted" as if every person posting about books on youtube is sone sort of hive mind is exactly the kind of unsubstantiated overgeneralization that I have been dogging on various booktubers for making. I am by no means trying to expose all of booktube as corrupt or innately bad, namely because that's impossible to do for hundreds if not thousands of unaffiliated creatives with wholly different styles and interests.

[sokkastyles]

I’m so amazed how people can’t see the emotional burden that gets put on Katara throughout the show. I just re-watched “The Deserter” (Book 1, Ep 16) and oml. First, Aang straight up ignores all the wisdom and advice given to him, and pushes too far with fire bending even though he has no control, and burns Katara. And like yes, I get it he is young and naive and impatient. But what really struck me is he burns Katara, she runs off, and learns she can heal herself. (Also really wish they had have her keep the scars, would have been an interesting lesson and more lasting imo) Anywho, then Zhang shows up and she goes to get Aang, and Katara has to end up comforting him because he’s being mopey and self-deprecating saying he’ll never firebend again. My man BURNED this girl and then throws himself a pity party that SHE has to pull him out of and comfort HIM into feeling better. Being healed aside, this makes me so uncomfortable because for a lot of people in unbalanced relationships, this exact scenario plays out all too often. Someone gets hurt, and then it’s their job to make their partner feel better when they get all upset because they’re guilty. Then, after they escape, Katara heals AANG from his battle, and her burns are never mentioned again. I was expecting him to apologize again now that things had slowed down, and nope, nothing! Other than his frantic apologies while she was writhing around in pain, he never says another word about it.

Since she’s healed, it’s all good I guess, right? I’m watching a reaction series of ATLA, and even this guy who’s brand new to the series is calling zutara all the way from halfway into book one. So much about Kataang just feels so icky, and unbalanced, and so much physical and emotional labor on Katara’s part. Forever grateful that there are good fanfics and fandom circles out there to do Zutara justice.

Sorry for the rant, but it just gets to me that some fans seem to have not a lot of media literacy, like how does this inspire thoughts of a happy healthy relationship? Lol but I love your blog sm! Thanks 💛💛

It's actually not that people who ship KA are media illiterate. On the contrary, they are interpreting the show in exactly the way it was meant to be read. It's just that the trope of the Nice Guy stuck in the friend zone who has to prove he's grown up enough for the girl is such a common trope, and appeals to the misogyny that is ingrained in our society. Many people do not recognize the unfair burden put on Katara because it's expected for her to be the one to bear that burden.

And you're right about the situation in the Deserter being manipulative. Aang doesn't do it on purpose, but you're right that in real life, it's a red flag and a hallmark of abusive relationships. It's not framed that way because there is literal magic used to make Katara's pain go away, but it's all part of the narrative of the show choosing to address Aang's feelings about Katara over Katara's actual feelings.

What happens between Katara and Aang is actually very similar to what we see between Azula and Ty Lee in the Beach episode, when Azula makes Ty Lee cry by slut-shaming her, then Azula tells Ty Lee to stop crying and is juuust vulnerable enough to give Ty Lee an excuse for her behavior, and also a reason for Ty Lee to now focus on her: Azula only did that because she was jealous, so now Ty Lee can help by teaching Azula how to pick up boys.

The difference in the way these two scenes are portrayed is that Azula is clearly a villain and Ty Lee has been shown time and time again to put up with things we know she shouldn't. Whereas with Katara and Aang, we're supposed to think Katara bearing the brunt of the emotional labor is fine and normal and not Aang's fault, because the narrative twists to make it not Aang's fault.

I also find the way people mock zutara shippers for imagining Zuko doing the emotional labor to lessen the burden off Katara highly misogynistic. Like, this is so obviously the Nice Guy myth rearing its ugly head again. Women who think they know better about what they need than the Nice Guy does will wind up in an abusive relationship, because no man can actually be better than the Nice Guy. The Nice Guy actually NEEDS to think that no man can be nicer than him, not only because he needs it for his Nice Guy identity, but because it means that he doesn't have to be responsible for any of the labor foisted onto his object of affection.

In contrast, Zutara is threatening precisely because it validates Katara. Zuko's pain is not addressed until he addresses Katara's first, in the caves. His wish for forgiveness is not granted until he helps Katara get closure for her pain. Zuko is forced to do the emotional labor that the show always forces Katara to do. Not just with Aang, but with her brother. That scene where Katara eavesdrops on Sokka talking about how Katara is like a mother to him, with the guiltiest look on her face, is meant to reinforce that Katara should just quietly accept her rile.

Often, enemies to lovers ships are popular because the enemy is the only one that a female character is allowed to express her pain and hurt towards. And boy, does Katara express it towards Zuko. And he takes it in, and listens, and tries to make amends. Zuko actually needs Katara to forgive him in order for the gaang to function. He has to be Aang's firebending teacher. Katara could have just kept on being angry at him, and eventually her anger would have faded the way it does with all the men in her life, and she probably would have quietly internalized it as another part of herself that she needs to repress.

But it's Zuko who chooses not to accept this. Which he also could have done, because lord knows Zuko is used to living with people who hate him. At least Katara won't be actively malicious towards him.

But Zuko actually does what nobody else in the show does. The show makes a point of telling us that nobody else does it, too.

And you know what? Katara still heals her own pain. Zuko makes it possible, but he's pretty passive at the important moments. He watches, and that becomes something really powerful for a character like Katara who is always made to hide her own needs, her pain.

Zuko could have not gone with her on this journey. He could have sat back and waited for Katara to heal herself and reassure him that all was forgiven. But he doesn't. He witnesses. He validates. He lets her rage at him, then accepts her forgiveness when it's time for him to. He knows enough to know that he can't make the decision about what Katara needs, only she can do that.

That's why people write fic where Zuko is sensitive and a good listener and does the cooking and the cleaning and is otherwise the perfect partner. And I think they're so valid for that.

What I said about Azula and Ty Lee is also why Azula x Katara doesn't work as enemies to lovers, because Azula would not be able to do the work that Zuko does to acknowledge Katara's pain. She can't even do it for her friends.

[katnissmellarkkk]

so re: @rosegardeninwinter’s ask about how burdock is related to the covey, i’m gonna tell you my interpretation. i don’t necessarily consider this a headcanon, though i probably should, but i feel so strongly this is the way we were meant to take burdock’s connection to the covey. so sorry to anyone who disagrees but ya know. if you reblog please be nice. we don’t need people getting all rude and snippy up in here. i know a lot of people dislike katniss being covey so keep going with your headcanons but this is how i interpreted the text.

and yeah, y’all, this is me with my tinfoil hat trying to make this all work together to make sense :

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okay so, let me break this down from small to large.

the covey consisted originally of six members.

we had barb azure, lucy gray and maude ivory, blood cousins, all with the last name baird.

clerk carmine and billy taupe who are blood brothers with the last name clade.

then we have tam amber. no blood relations or last name in sight.

so there’s no reason to believe that any others are related to the covey unless it’s through these six. the whole idea i’ve seen thrown around on tiktok and twitter that maybe more people could be related to the covey is anti-canon. these six members were stated to be each other’s only living family in tbosas. there’s no other way into the covey than through one of these six.

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so anyways, from there we can move onto the deaths in and after ballad.

we know billy taupe left/got kicked out of the covey when he started cheating on lucy gray with mayfair. and we know he and mayfair both died. so that takes him completely out of the conversation here. if suzanne ever decides burdock is his relation into the covey, it’ll be a weird, left field decision. so until then, i’m gonna count billy taupe out. although there is a sweet irony if billy taupe was burdock’s grandfather, considering that would mean katniss is the descendant of lucy gray’s ex and that would make it so much more infuriating for old coryo.

after that, lucy gray either was murdered by snow or disappeared. we’ll never know which. she had a gravestone in the covey graveyard but it’s most likely they did that when she ran away with coryo and never returned. the possibility of her return and later death creates a whole series of hoops to now jump through to make it work and with suzanne, often the simplest and most obvious answer is the correct one.

then we know maude ivory died somewhere between ballad and the ending of sunrise because she has a gravestone too in the covey graveyard. we’re not given any more info on this so this is where the real interpreting must begin to take place.

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now we move onto lenore dove. here’s all we know about my girl here. her mother died in childbirth with her. she’s being raised by her uncles, clerk carmine and tam amber who are not biologically related to her, and her last name is also baird. no one knows who her father is. so to me, all signs point to her mother being maude ivory. she’s dead in the graveyard and her namesake poem is about a woman being scorned by her lover when he chooses to marry someone else (which fits well with lenore dove’s father never claiming her/maybe not even knowing she exists or is his).

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so now that we’ve explained how everyone else is related in the covey, we need to cover our final two bases here :

barb azure is not mentioned in sunrise on the reaping once. she’s the only member of the covey, aside from billy taupe who kicked the bucket, who isn’t mentioned in the book.

burdock everdeen is related “distantly” to lenore dove, but haymitch says she’s not one of his everdeen cousins and that she has to be related through burdock’s mother. now why would suzanne specify this, unless she’s strongly hinting to us about the connection?

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the only available avenue for burdock to be related to the covey would be through barb azure. as i stated before, there’s no canonical other option for someone to be related to the covey outside the six members mentioned in ballad. three of those members are dead by sunrise. that leaves three possible ones left and we know neither clerk carmine or tam amber are burdock’s father, because neither had kids and it’s through burdie’s ma that he’s covey anyways. that only leaves barb azure.

the relation would be considered distant as well, because lenore dove and him would be the children of two cousins. meaning their common ancestors would be their great-grandparents. that more than qualifies as a distant relation lololol.

another thing that links burdock to the covey biologically is his voice. singing voices are inherited, genetic traits (it’s not guaranteed you can sing if your parent can but i think y’all get what i mean). no male in the covey was said to be a talented singer but all three baird girls were. burdock has a remarkable singing voice according to katniss, peeta, otho and less so, haymitch. as does burdie’s little girl, katniss. this seems to also point to him being biologically related to the covey, which again, can only be through barb azure.

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now i’m moving onto a few counter arguments i’ve seen against barb azure being burdock’s mother and why they don’t dissuade me from this interpretation at all :

“she’s gay” being the number one reason. because she was seeing a girl in ballad. i don’t know why this is such a strong argument against her being burdie’s mama. first off, barb azure likely could have been bi! or she could be in a lavender marriage in sunrise with burdock’s everdeen pa. i mean suzanne did take the time to sit down and tell us about there being an anti-gay sentiment in panem so maybe it was meant to be a double implication. maybe snow made this a thing when he came to power specifically to target the cousin(s) of lucy gray. who knows. but one line in ballad isn’t anywhere close to enough to discredit barb azure being burdock’s mama. and personally i prefer the she’s bi, because it’s much happier, for both her and burdie.

“she’s old” being the other reason. some think she’s too old and must be burdock’s grandma, and to that i still say, no <3. because it feels too complicated. and like i said above, with suzanne the most obvious is usually the correct assumption. also we don’t know how old barb azure is, just that she’s a little older than lucy gray. however we never ever hear of there being birth control in panem and especially not in the districts. so even if she’s in her forties, it’s not that hard to believe she is burdock’s mama. especially because we don’t even know how old burdock is technically. just that he’s younger than haymitch, who’s sixteen. but not by much since he’s standing with him at the reaping in sunrise.

the one thing i’ll also throw out there is, barb azure does not have a gravestone at the covey cemetery. meaning she’s not dead yet. i understand she could be burdock’s grandma and still be alive, of course lololol. but her being his mother and being on the older side would actually track much better with katniss never mentioning having a grandma/knowing her grandma at all. like haymitch knew his mamaw and talked about her/had fond memories of her. but katniss didn’t. she never even mentions meeting her grandparents. and from haymitch’s account, burdock’s ma sounded like a sweet lady, letting the kids play and waste the family resources for fun. like katniss would have loved her if she’d ever known the woman, so it tracks katniss didn’t know her or else she’d have mentioned it to us (or if suzanne had this more fleshed out back in 2008). which also fits well with barb azure being an older mother, meaning she probably died before katniss was even born since people don’t live typically to be that old in the seam.

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now onto the other possibilities for burdock’s distant relation to the covey :

i already covered that i don’t buy that there’s a way to be even distantly related through any way other than the six members introduced in ballad.

barb azure and her lady friend from that one line in ballad adopted burdock. i don’t mind this one as a fanfic idea or if it makes people happy if they hate the katniss is covey theory because it takes away the biological connection to the family but i don’t see any reason for it to be taken too seriously. its once again too complicated and probably more hoops than suzanne intended for us to jump through.

maude ivory is burdock’s mom and lucy gray is lenore dove’s. I don’t dislike this idea at all. in fact, i really like it. i always wanted maude ivory to be burdock’s mom. and considering lenore dove is wearing remnants of lucy gray’s rainbow dress and she sings her songs (not that she knew her either way but still, the similarities) and the fact that a dove is half gray, i think it’s a really cool theory. but it also ruins the mystery of lucy gray and further complicates the story and i don’t buy into it unfortunately. but another reasoning i’ve seen for this idea is burdock knew where the graves were, indicating maybe maude ivory is his mother, as she had definitively already passed by the end of the sunrise and barb azure hadn’t. to which i just say, yeahhhh. but it’s their family graveyard. i don’t see why someone has to die for burdock to know where it is.

also just to throw in here one last detail : barb azure is named after the ballad of barbara allen, which based on my google search is a poem ultimately about a woman who rejects the love of a dying man only to die of grief herself after his passing… i don’t know, it’s not a perfect fit but why does that almost sound loosely like burdock and asterid, with him dying in the mines and her seemingly never recovering from her grief? why does it almost feel reminiscent of katniss and peeta in mockingjay? i don’t know, maybe it’s nothing, but i felt it was worth mentioning.

and now i hope that explains my interpretation well enough, because i’m so tired i can’t think of anything else to add. hopefully that all made sense but just to wrap it up here, once and for all :

maude ivory —> lenore dove (potential daughter) or burdock everdeen (potential son)

tam amber —> no biological kids

clerk carmine —> no biological kids.

billy taupe —> no biological kids.

lucy gray —> no biological kids/maybe lenore dove’s mother.

barb azure —> maybe burdock’s ma.