#Kuvira voice: god I love it when he does that

[cold-neon-ocean]

While yes I draw Baatar really buff to please my ‘muscular glasses man enjoyer’ brain, I also have genuine plot and character reasons for it. Like I love the idea that he still comes across as unassuming as any sort of genuine threat bc he’s a non bender, so he coasts on that societal presumption meanwhile he’d just... crush your spine instead lol

[feiiizhu]

Anonymous asked: what does opal think about her family? like, each of the members in them?

// Oh gosh, I mean-- Opal is probably close to a lot of her family members. They seem to be a rather tight knit group and I love that about them. Pre-book 4 she is often worried about upsetting her mom for leaving to train with the other airbenders and leaving home, so its safe to say that Su has a somewhat tight leash on the kids when it comes to leaving home-- which is kinda weird because Toph gave Su and Lin a lot of freedom  and I would assume that Su would do the same for her kids. But perhaps since Su got in trouble with the law and had that big turn around she wants her kids to be safe and make good choices.  

Opal is always happy to see Su and Baatar, which I’m really happy she has such a good relationship with her parents (RotE not included. Because in that Opal is very ooc and often picks fights with Su throughout it. I mean, it’s understandable but it could have been written a lot better.) Baatar Jr. I feel like him and Opal would probably be fairly close because they’re the only two out of the kids that aren’t benders until book 3, and god I always have this feeling like Opal is like “oh... I somehow got bending and I’m leaving Jr. behind...” Like, Jr. has his own things that he thrives in! He’s a well written character! But I feel like it might have been strained faintly when she got bending and he still doesn’t have bending, ya know??? I love that in book 4 after Jr. has a change of heart after Kuvira almost kills the main team that Jr. is concerned for Opal and was like “aw shit. she was right all along. I gotta apologize to her.” which is just wholesome af. We need more of that. With Huan I feel like Opal is quite supportive of his art and fun style choices. Tbh I feel like she would also be like “Oh you’re dying your hair? Can you do mine???” and after she kinda comes out of her shell in book 3-book 4 and finds her own voice she probably is more willing to be part of his hobbies and interests. The twins! omg. She’s probably always looking out for them. And they’re always looking out for her. always concerned when she gets hurt and I love how much they care for her. It makes my heart happy. She probably helps keep score of their disc games and I could see her even joining in them when she gets better with her bending. She probably spars with them now and helps them to train and vice versa. Oh boy. Kuvira. So... This relationship I have talked about many times on my Opal blogs-- past and present. In my headcanons, they are STEP-SIBLINGS. Which just makes sense since Kuvira came to live with the Beifongs at such a young age and Kuvira grew up with them under Su and Baatar’s roof. and when people ship Opal and Kuvira it just makes my skin CRAWL. Like-- how can you not see them as siblings and if you do and you still ship them. Fuck. Get off my blog.  But as a kid, Opal tried to be Kuvira’s friend/sister and Kuvira was like “nah” I believe??? because I think they changed it when RotE came around and Opal was straight up rude to Kuvira and vice versa. Anyways! I feel like their relationship was always strained and even more during book 4 when when Kuvira was trying to fix the earth kingdom and then announced her engagement to Jr. Like-- ughhhh gnfdnbg no thanks. anyway. Kuvira tried to injure and kill Opal /the beifongs many times through book 4, and you can’t really forgive someone for doing that. She will never forgive her for that. (and honestly. rote can go away because they completely erased all that pain and I am NOT HERE FOR IT.) I’m gonna go on a huge rant if I keep going. I have made many other posts about this, feel free to look for them in my hc posts? I think they would be in there.

[guymaito]

For the ask thing :3:

Top 5 animals? Top 5 fav/comfort movies? Top 5 fav cartoons/shows?

I’m honestly glad to know theres other people including you who actually like Pakku and his character :3 Yes he was a completely asshole at the start but he did change, it’s just that it was so subtle that not everyone saw it

Also random song associations with characters:

Fighter by Jack Stauber reminds me very well of Piandao, Pakku, and Jeong Jeong as their younger selves during the war.

Why do I associate Grace by Lewis Capaldi with Bumi? (the music video tho would give more context to why it might make sense)

Oh Klahoma by Jack Stauber reminds me of Piandao and his overall anxieties for his partners.

Consider some of these songs as sorta song recs? Idk but still :3

1. Giraffes!! the reason why their tongues look like That is cause of extra melanin and to prevent sunburn!!

2. Seals!! there are 33 different kinds of pinnipeds and there over 50 extinct pinnipeds

3. Dogs!! they can only see in shades of blue and yellow, so bright red roses look yellowish brown and lively green grass look dehydrated and dead

4. Crows!! a group of them are called a murder

5. Cows!! they’re actually colorblind, they can’t see red specifically, so male cows, bulls aren’t getting mad at the color, they’re getting angry at the movement

1. The Losers movie from 2010, it’s a action mystery movie about Clay and his team that are a part of an elite US Special Forces Unit and are approached by a mysterious woman to exact revenge on their handler, Max, who betrayed them and just,,,the characters, CHRIS EVANS, jake jensen and all of his kinda weird glory, THE ELEVATOR SCENE, also cougar!!

2. Captain America and The Winter Soldier movie, it’s a action movie, which makes me realize that a lot of my faves are prolly gonna be action something, but anyways, it’s about Steve Rogers, who now lives in the nation's capital as he tries to adjust to modern times. An attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague throws Rogers into a web of intrigue that places the whole world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Natasha Romanov, and a new ally, Sam Wilson, Steve struggles to expose an ever-widening conspiracy, but he and his team soon come up against an unexpected enemy. oh my god,,,just,,,the fight scenes, the running scene at the beginning of the movie, steve meeting sam that way, just everything!! this was also my introduction to marvel so in my mind no other marvel movie can live up to this (other than spiderman away from home)

3. Spiderman Far from Home, again, it’s a action movie, i’m not gonna explain this cause the post is getting long, but!! mj and peter!! just,,,all of their scenes!! also jake gyllenhaal!! the fight scenes!! the soundtrack!! everything about it is amazing!!

4. Thunderforce, again, i’m not gonna explain, it’s an action adventure and comedy movie (ofc it is look at the other 3 🙄 /s), the relationship between lydia and emily!! the relationship between lydia and emily’s daughter!! the humor!! the fight scenes!! the soundtrack!!,,,,just everything about is good despite the bad ratings

that’s more like a top 4 than a top 5 but that’s like,,,,all the movies i genuinely like and will rewatch if given the chance and for that where’s a honorable mention: Hamilton (the movie version on disney+ that came out i think nearly a year ago), the soundtrack is amazing, the characters are better, got some funny moments and is mostly historically accurate, like yeah angelica did forget her name cause at the time of her meeting alex ham, she was married to a man named john church (or something church idk) so her last name was church but she introduced herself to alexander as angelica schuyler, not angelica church, so in satisfied she was telling the truth about forgetting her own name, but in the same song she said that her father had no sons even though the real angelica had 3 brothers.

1. Avatar the last Airbender, ofc or else i would have a blog (mostly) centered around it and it’s sequel /s but fr though?? it’s such a good show!! zuko’s redemption arc, iroh’s redemption arc (even though his more subtle than zuko’s) , aang!! love him and his character so much, especially when he gets to be a sassy little shit, sokka and his shit humor and brains, katara, toph, hakoda and HIS shit humor, the fight scene with hakoda (he fights kinda like a waterbender, using his opponent’s momentum against them), bato and his lovely, lovely voice, piandao, aang going ‘how about he get on YOUR back and you can fly us to the south pole’ or something like that to sokka after he complained about appa not flying higher, the boiling rock episodes, hakoda apparently being a good dad but a shitty prison riot starter (love that for him), just!! atla is such a good ass show, im not changing my mind. also!! i like the way they introduced ozai, not showing his face but still presenting him as not only a shit dad, but a shit person as well, like up until book three, we only saw him like, the neck down and in like, a flashback or two (i don’t really remember how many flashbacks ozai was in actually cause it’s nearly been a full year since i last watched it) and that’s it, so it made seeing his face for the first time all the more better cause you was already like ‘what the hell does this shitbag look like’ and then you see him and now ur like ‘oh!! THATS what he looks like!!’

2. The Legend of Korra, again, ofc or else i wouldn’t have a blog (mostly) centered around it and it’s prequel, just,,,,korra’s arc from being hot headed to calm is fantastic but also sad considering the way she went from that to this, korra’s book 1 character!! for whatever reason i really like b1 korra, just,,her design, her hair style (even though she had it for nearly the entire series) just!!! book 1 korra <3, also the entirety of book 1!! just amon posing as a anti bender nonbender despite being a waterbender himself, the scene where tenzin and his kids nearly lost their bending, which would’ve meant that, if tenzin did lose his bending but his kids didn’t, that would’ve meant the strongest airbender would’ve been his 11 year old daughter, the gruesome way to end the season finale episode by doing a murder suicide which was dark as fuck for what?? a kids show??, also the villains in this show!! their good as hell!! the backstory of the red lotus and how and why they were created?? amon and his anti bending?? kuvira and her plan to basically rule the earth kingdom (idk i haven’t finished book 4), unalaq and his spiritual stuff and wanting to become a dark avatar and fusing with vaatu?? also!! the other disturbing scene of korra basically getting tortured near the end of book 3, i mean?? it deadass left her hella traumatized and unable to walk, again hella dark for a fucking kids show

3. The Walking Dead, even though i haven’t finished it or watched in like, 4-5 months, i just,,,the way the presented negan!! practically foreshadowing him the entirety of season 6!! him appearing at the very end of the season 6 finale and pretty much having an entire episode dedicated to him in the very beginning of season 7 (which is why some fans argue he was introduced in s7 not s6 cause of the fact that he didn’t show up until the very end of the s6 finale but had an entire episode with him in it in s7, while others say vice versa cause the very the first time we see him was in s6 not s7), the fact that the walking dead logo was getting progressively more and more decayed as the series go on?? the fact that the WALKERS (the zombies) are getting more and more decayed as the series go on?? dale’s death scene?? shane’s death scene?? negan’s relationship with rick’s daughter?? the fact that this show also has what?? 11, 12 seasons?? which reminds me that i’m still on season 9 of twd

4. Sabrina the Teenage Witch, just,,,salem and his sarcasm?? sabrina’s aunts?? sabrina herself?? just!! everyone is just so fucking funny in this show it’s unreal, specially salem!! a lot of my favorite scenes have salem in them, the ‘are you on a women’s chat room again?’ (or something like that) and salem saying ‘i like the attention’ in response, that one harvey and salem scene that i don’t know how to describe without turning this into a giant paragraph like the ones before this one

5. blue’s clues, it was my favorite childhood show and i love the reboot of it so much!! especially p for pride moment in that song i don’t remember the name of, blue themself!! steve leaving which was sad but getting an equally amazing host in the process?? amazing!! the scene where salt and pepper introduced their baby, paprika?? just,,,it’s such good show and i loved it when i was younger and i still love it now!!

[lunaxmadel]

My thoughts on LOK characters after watching season 1 (spoilers (obv))

Thoughts on characters before watching | after season 1 | after season 2 | after season 3

Korra: I do not understand how people dont like her. Shes spunky and doesnt take shit and she has her own opinions... definitely a Taurus with ADHD you cannot change my mind. I feel like the reason ppl dont like her is purely based on the fact that shes a poc and a woman with a strong opinion and mindset and we're all taught that that's not acceptable. Ppl just can't stand that shes not like Aang. ANYWAY I LOOOOVVVEEEEE HER AND I RELATE TO HER SO MUCH I know shes not canonically ADHD but I still feel very represented

Jinora: sooo different from what I imagined! I thought she'd be more of an extrovert!! Shes so cute tho and I love how shes clearly a daughter of Tenzin!!

Amon: WHAT. HOLY CRAP. I did not expect him to be like....this.... this man is so OP!! How does he???? What is he???? This just creeped me OUT! What an amazing villain. And yk big thanks to him for getting Korra in touch with her air bending and the spirit world. Helpful man

Tenzin: I dont think I was wrong about him in my first post. I love him so so much i want him to adopt me lowkey???

Mako: still very attractive to the point that I just hate it. Idk I really like him but there's something off... and I know hes not gonna stay with Korra(?) But i dont think they're right for each other. He wasnt being honest with Asami and Korra and idk I like a man who's honest my dudes. Love the fact that he loves his brother so much!! So so cute!!! I love Mako, I just dont think either Asami nor Korra are right with him. But maybe I'll change my mind on that throughout the next seasons???

Bolin: THE AXTUAL LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!???? I LOVE THIS DUDE IF HE WERE REAL I WOULD MARRY HIM SO HARD LIKE HALLO THIS PURE BOY IS A DREAM MAN

Kuvira: I dont think I've met her yet??? So I dont know

Asami: still haunts my dreams this queen is the most beautiful person in any room shes in. In the beginning I felt like there was smth off... like she was so kind so quickly and that was just super sus but maybe shes just very social and just wanted friends!! I love when she stood up for herself when Mako wasnt being honest. You go queen!

Zaheer: I dont think we've been introduced yet so idk

Eska: same as Zaheer

Kya: I have no idea but now that I'm thinking about it maybe shes Katara daughter? Her mom's name was Kya right?

Lin: definitely bisexual. Fierce. I love her oh my god we stan a strong woman

Opal: we've not met her yet?

Wan: also haven't met

Bumi: WEVE HAD A FIRST GLANCE AT HIM AND HIS PERSONALITY IS LIKE AANG AND SOKKA COMBINED???

Suyin: I'm pretty sure now that she is Tophs daughter

Unalaq: I'd like to retract the statement that he has daddy vibes. He does not thank you. Well he does, when we meet him and at the end, in the middle hes lowkey an asshole though. Still hot though cant help it. When it was revealed he was Amons brother my mind was blown and the backstory is so tragic (so it turns out I switched the brothers but I'd figure I'd leave it in bc I was so confused and it was hilarious anyway read Tarrlok for that)

Meelo: HOW DARE THEY WRITE ME INTO THIS SHOW WITHOUT MY PERMISSION HAHAHAHAH MY MAN INVENTED FART BENDING??? ME BITCH I want to adopt this lil dude and mother him and that says something considering I dont want children so, yk, Meelo best boy

Varrick:have we met? Is he the referee at the fight club? I dont know. He looks fab tho

Pabu: AAAAAAHHH I LOVE HIM AND I WOULD STILL VERY MUCH DIE FOR HIM THANK YOU SIR? SIR?I WOULD DI3 FOR YOU SIR.

Pema: best mom. Looks like a cinnamon roll but could very much kill you. This queen gave birth to 4 whole ass kids and still just does her thing strong queen

Hiroshi: he is rich. Great mustache. Absolute douch tho

Tonraq: I honestly dont know OH WAIT IS HE KORRAS DAD?

Desna: still dont know

Saikhan: chief of police...? Still mean grandpa vibes

Shiro: is this the hobo man? I'm so lost in all the characters man

Senna: KORRAS MOM OH MY GOD THE MOST BEAITIFUL LADY ICE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE

Ikki: so okay I thought she was a princess but shes Tenzins daughter. Very cute, probably has ADHD. Just a a generally sweet bub. I still think shes a princess so I wasnt wrong

Tarrlok: ....wait? Hes Amons brotjer?? Then who the fuck is Unalaq? I think I'm confused

Naga: BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY my child I want you as my pet friend please please I love you please my heart goes boomboom

Adding:

Iroh: I was confused bc the picture it shows is old boy Iroh but this is Zukos grandson so. Anyway when he came on screen and i heard zukos voice i SCREAMED and then someone was like "general Iroh" AND I STARTED SOBBING I MISS MY BUB IROH anyway this is a dream boat hes gonna accidentally steal as much hearts and Zuko did

Overall thoughts so far:

OKAY SO I've waited with watching this for such a long time bc I just figured it would disappoint me bc I love Atla so so much!! So I never got to watching it always coming up with excuses for myself. Now that it came to NETFLIX though, I had no excuses left and boy am I happy I didn't. This show has already been amazing so far. There are certain things I still dont really understand but I'm sure we'll get clarification on that (why couldn't Korra airbend and spirit thing yk why and how can Amon take away powers? Etc) I'm so excited to watch more! It hold my attention so so well, I love the characters (I LOVE KORRA!!!) Anyway I was not disappointed and that was a great surprise!! I'm gonna start on season 2 and write another on of these when I finish that!

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Wrought Iron Machine (Part 23)

I swear to God I spell Ghazan’s name differently every single time but like who needs proofreading. *Shrug*

Azula thinks herself to be recklessly ambitious at best and something of a flat out fool at worst. She dresses herself in tribal wear. Around her neck and in her hair, she wears a splendid plume of bright red and yellow feathers with a dash of orange here and there. Equally adorned in feathers is a gold fringed bra with many beads and dangling gems. It is a risky apparel choice for a high scale event. But Fire Of Agni is high risk--everything about them. In way of a skirt she wears an authentic Sun Warrior piece--all four of them will wear such. They will all perform barefoot and with a simple golden band around their biceps.

Her hair is tied up in a high ponytail, fashioned into a golden cuff. In her bangs are a few wooden beads. Under her eyes are three horizontal  finger trails of golden face paint.

Zuko stands at the opposite end of the room, entirely topless, exposing his new chest piercings. Azula had questioned that decisions but ultimately it is up to him what he has pierced. He too has weaved some feathers into his hair. Alongside the vertical face paint over his unscarred eye is a similar trail down his chest.

Trying to use her voice as little as possible, Azula motions TyLee over. The girl skips over. She has gone overboard on the feathers. Azula pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. “You’re going to have to pluck some of those feathers.” She instructs in a whisper. She helps TyLee pick a few feathers from her braid and her outfit. She replaces them with a wood-bead necklace.

“Can you give me a hand?” Mai asks from across the room. She instructs Zuko where to weave the shells into her hair, muttering something about how she’ll have the stylists fix it later. She waves off Zuko’s reluctance with a flick of a wrist decorated with a bamboo and palm leaf bracelet. She fingers the shark tooth necklace Zuko gifted to her.

After fussing a tad more with TyLee’s outfit, Azula turns her attention back to her own appearance. Her stylist finally emerges with overly large gold-plate earrings. With careful hands they fix them into her ears and begin brushing her hair. She watches the other members of their makeup artist team get to work on the other three. She instructs the man doing her hair to give it some waves.

“Oh you look so, so cute, Azula!”

She is going for fierce, perhaps even a little feral. But she doesn’t protest, she has to save her voice for more pressing things. Instead she nods in way of a thank you.

“You all look so cute!” TyLee claps her hands together. She fishes around in her personal bag and snaps a few photos. Azula frowns, she wasn’t picture read. TyLee throws her arms around her and snuggles her.

“Careful with my make up.” Azula says softly. “We don’t have time to do it all over again.”

“Oh sorry.” TyLee loosens her hold.

As soon as she runs up to Mai, Zuko approaches her. “Are you sure you want to do this? You can just play your guitar and TyLee can fill in for you.”

Azula shakes her head. “I need to do this Zuko.”

She sees him bite the inside of his lip. She is worrying him.

“I’ll be fine.” Azula insists as as one of the makeup artists adds a few final touches. “I promise.”

Their crew packs up their tools and Azula motions for her bandmates to stand before her.

When all is said and done, Azula is satisfied. She has worked hard to design their costumes and they have come together just as perfectly as she had planned. Perhaps, better, with their hair and makeup in order.

Her content smile fades.

She can’t help but feel as though they’ve gotten all dressed up for nothing.

.oOo.

Kuvira stands in her dressing room, her stylist just having finished fashioning her hair into a elegant and braided low side bun. It had been tricky to find the perfect outfit so last minute, having something custom made had been out of the question. So instead she wears something she found a second-hand store of all places. Deep forest green in color and with a high, black collar. She had handed it over to the band designer and let the woman and her team make tweaks and adjustments. To make it into something more unique. The woman hasn’t failed her. Her stitchwork is impressive with lovely embroidered patterns. She has taken it upon herself to adorn the hem and sleeves with black gems and sequins. All in all it is a rather ritzy gown.

Baatar chooses to wear the dress suit and top hat from the music video. Their designer pins a few broaches to the left chest area; their logo, a guitar, a saxaphone, and a music note among other small symbols.

She slips into the dress and asks Baatar to help her with the zipper. To her relief it goes up without a hitch. She smooths the fabric down and drapes her arms over Baatar’s shoulders. He kisses her on the cheek, sending her teardrop earrings swaying. “You’re going to do wonderful tonight.”

Kuvira rubs his shoulders. “As long as you’re here I will.”

The man flushes and rubs the back of his head. She intends to draw the small moment out.  But P’Li barges in. “Have you seen my monocle anywhere?”

“Have you tried your own dressing room?” Kuvira quirks a brow.

“That’s the first place I checked.” She grumbles, pushing at her conductors hat. The V shaped tail of her suit flap about as she picks her way through the room. Her dress shoes click loudly on the ground.

“I found it!” Ghazan calls. He gives P’Li a second to look over before tossing the eyepiece to her. The man standing in the doorway looks more suave than he has in a long while in his long tailcoat with his beard and long sweep of hair combed and styled nicely for a change. He has a few copper pieces threaded into his hair and beard, she could imagine that Ming fancied it.

The woman appears next to him clad in a pair of over-large goggles and a pair of loose fitting overalls. In the pocket are a faux wrench and a faux hammer, they will serve as her drumsticks tonight.

Fashion-wise they are at their best, they will match well with the mechanic, orchestral atmosphere they are trying to create while Kuvira does her best to represent the jazz side of the band.

With luck, they will bring their crowd into a new world, at least for the twenty or so minutes it takes them to play their introduction and sing their three songs.

Kuvira checks her makeup a final time and asks her stylist to highlight her beauty mark a little more as another works to curl a few more strands of loose hair. She inspects the other three and asks if they have any final requests.

“Make my face look more dusty.” Ming instructs. A good idea if she is going to be playing a mechanic.

The stylists take a step back and Kuvira takes it with them. She observes the band as a whole, finding herself satisfied. She goes to join them and motions for their photographer to do his thing. The camera flashes.

Kuvira picks up her decorative cane and leads them to the designated seating area.

.oOo.

They watched an hour’s worth of bands some of them more pleasing than others. Though she absolutely hated some of them, stylistically--Kyoshi’s Power Fist to name one--but regardless they were all undoubtedly talented. Kyoshi’s Power Fist, if nothing else had been unique with their corpse paint and guttural vocals. They were among the new debuts. It is the very same category Fire Of Agni are about to perform under.  

Azula is dissatisfied to know that, that meant she will be among the first few bands to perform. But they are the last of the newer bands. With luck the crowd has been warmed up enough.

Standing behind the curtain she is horrifically nervous, maybe even downright terrified. But they need this. They need this more than anything or they will have nothing. Nothing but a smug Ozai taunting them. She is a mess up away from having to resort to begging the man to take her back.

“You’re gonna do great.” TyLee gives her a quick kiss. On a normal day it would have washed the nerves away.

“I hope so.”

She hears the announcement and they are on stage. It puts a dismal pang in her heart to leave the introduction fully to Zuko. “It took a lot to get here.” He announces. “When we started out we could barely scrape together a simple music mover. We were just a small candle.”

The crowd cheers.

“Now we’re here.” He pauses. “And our Fire Of Agni can’t be extinguished.”

The knot returns to her belly; perhaps water and bad press can’t put them out. But a small cyst can smother them completely.

“Get ready Southern Air Sounds, because we…”

“Are the flame!” The crowd chants over him.

Without missing a beat, Azula tears into the first song that they have written. Normally she would save that one for last, but Agni forbid she can’t make it through the whole show. She wants to start strong.

The guitar wails in her hands, in tune with Mai’s bass. TyLee is surrounded by a collection of drums both standard and tribal. If all went according to plan, her drum display will be surrounded by a ring of dancing flame.

So far things are going well, she is forcing out her screams, powerful as ever while Zuko provides backing vocals and a steady flow of fire. Halfway through she sends a thin trail of flames in the direction of TyLee. The wall dances around their drummer as she wails on the cymbals. With each hit, Azula and Zuko flare the flames higher until the song fades out.

The crowd is frantic with cheers. So much so that Zuko almost can’t announce their second song. One of their newer ones. Azula passes her guitar to him so that she can move through a Sun Warrior traditional belly dance. It is something of a cop out, but she likes to think it a clever one. Fire Of Agni has never performed an instrumental version of any of their songs. Not until now. But it leaves a critical window of rest for Azula’s tortured vocal cords.

She tries not to dwell on the injury as TyLee begins. Instead she sets the scene, trying her best to imitate what her music mover had in terms of the haunting blue lighting. TyLee is doing a stunning job of creating a foreboding sound. It is a low and rhythmic pounding of a large fox-deer hide drum. TyLee beats upon it slow and steady with a single drumstick nearly as large as the drum itself. Next to her stands a newly hired woman. She is draped in a feathered cloak with a shekere. Every few beats, the woman gives it a shake. For herself, Azula occasionally gives her rainstick a shift. With each beat a new cloaked figure emerges. One stands with a kora gitar another stands with a small balafon. TyLee has worked tirelessly to teach others to play djembe drums and bongos among other things. TyLee ends the ominous intro with a hit on a gong. A moment of pause and Zuko and Mai begin with their guitar and bass respectively.

Azula has worked just as tirelessly as TyLee to learn this traditional dance inside and out. The beads in her hair smack against her neck and back as she goes through the twirling parts of the dance. The gems stones glimmer across her middle as she shifts and rolls her waistline. The crowd is wholly quiet, they listen more closely than they have in a long while. Towards the end of the song, the guitar and bass fall silent.  The song tapers off into a rhythmic beating of the drums. And Zuko comes to dance with her. A highly intimate dance. Close with his body pressed against hers and his hands trailing over her torso.

That is when she spies Ozai in the crowd. The man crosses his arms, his face the picture of disgust.

Azula ignores the man, her performance is better than it ever has been and she isn’t going to sabotage it just to make the man uncomfortable.

By the end of their dance the room falls into complete silence again. They leave no room for cheers and get right into their final song. The song Azula has been dreading. The one with the shrillest shriek midway through.

Her voice seems to have already reached its limit by the end of the first chorus. Her mind screams at her to cut the show short. But ambition takes over. She moves into the tricky climax of the song. She lets out a scream but it isn’t the one she had in mind. Her voice cracks and pain sears through her throat.  

It is instinct to try to cry out in pain.

She fights back tears.

And she makes a mistake.

She looks into the crowd.

The smirk on Ozai’s face is wickedly smug.

Azula’s stomach lurches. He has come to watch her fall and he is getting the show he paid for. Her voices has failed her.

She has failed her band.

Failed herself.

.oOo.

Kuvira cringes at the sound that tears from her rival’s throat. Reflexively, she grips Baatar’s hand. It isn’t normal. It is pained and horrible. And she feels some sort of secondhand agony.

There is something overwhelmingly unsettling about watching the poor girl get escorted by a team of paramedics from the stage. It is a wonder the girl is keeping herself together. Deep down, Kuvira knows that the girl will break behind the curtains.

She looks to Baatar who wears a sympathetic grimace.

But the fire isn’t extinguished. The band pushes on with the girl’s brother taking her parts and the drummer taking his. Kuvira is impressed with their quick thinking. Though it leaves her with a sneaking suspicion that they were well aware that the girl was having vocal trouble.

Kuvira is left with way too much time to dwell on it. She finds it hard to pay attention to any of the following bands. She can’t focus on Tears Of Yue, the new band she had been looking forward to. She hopes that she will calm by the time Wan Shi Tong’s Waltz, the very band that inspired her to start her own, took to the stage. They are on after her band, she is thankful for that. With luck she will be able to watch them and enjoy them in full without having to worry about her nerves.

For the time though, they are frayed and frenzied. She simply can’t get the sound of the Fire Of Agni girl’s faltering scream out of her mind. Out of her ears.

She forces it to the back of her mind as she is beckoned backstage.

Wrought Iron Machine is one of the last bands to perform. It is both intimidating and thrilling. She knows how these shows work, they start with lesser known bands to warm up the crowd and move into the esteemed and renowned ones. She is starstricken to be among them. Only Tui & La, Chong And The Nomads, and Wan Shi Tong’s Waltz perform after them.

It settles her anxiousness some to know that, even if they don’t win, they are famous enough to perform nearly last. They are on in ten minutes. That leaves her with ten minutes to sooth her baby. She is under the impression that her own anxiousness has reached the child-to-be. She rubs circles on her belly in an attempt to get the baby to stop squirming so much. It takes Baatar kissing her belly and murmuring something soft and cooing to sooth the babe. Baatar rests his hands on her waist and presses his forehead to hers until they are called onto the stage.

They have a few extra minutes as their full orchestra plays through an extended version of what will be their newest album.

“Let’s kick some fuckin’ ass everyone!” P’Li shouts, as Ghazan pops a bottle. He fills all of their glasses until he comes to Kuvira, “sorry, none for you.” With a boyish grin he skips over her glass and fills Baatar’s.

“Fuck you too, Gazhan.” Kuvira jests.

“Here.” Ming holds out one of her watery arms. “Drink.”

“Gee, thanks, Ming.”

Baatar chuckles.   

They set their glasses to the side. P’Li and Gazhan make their way on stage first. Ming waits for the claps to die down before following them. And then She and Baatar wait for round two to die off. She lets the venue go completely quiet before they walk, hand in hand, onto the stage. Her cane thumps on the floor and echos.

She skips the greetings and goes right into her operatic introduction. After another moment of quiet Baatar and P’Li start in with their lead and rhythm guitar and Ghazan follows with his bass and Ming with her drums. The orchestra doesn’t begin until the chorus.

The set itself is a chaotic flurry of moving cogs, wheels, and spokes. A fully functioning and whirring machine that spits smoke and sparks at designated intervals. It doesn’t take on a particular shape, it is more or less a collection of clanging parts that look aesthetically pleasing.                                                                                                            

The crowd is hyper with an energetic buzz that they had lacked since Baatar’s near departure. Kuvira grins at the crowd. Their first song comes to a close and her nervousness give way to exilheration. “It’s wonderful to be here again.” Kuvira leaves a pause for applause. “How long has it been, Baatar?”

“Ten years.” He replies.

“Ten years.” Kuvira repeats. “Ten years since we first came here. We were just a rookie group.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “Raava, I didn’t expect us to get this far.” The smile doesn’t leave her face. Because she has made it, they have made it. She wishes that her childhood self--even her teenage self--could see her. “For a second I thought that…”

Baatar rubs her back. “But we have. And of course we have the lot of you to thank for giving us enough attention to land a spot here.”

“And for supporting us despite our…” she considers her words. “Our mishap.”

The crowd gives another uniformed cheer.

“You guys kick ass!” P’Li announces.

Ghazan pulls out another bottle. “If you got a drink, you better drink with us. Most of us anyways, Kuvira still isn’t invited.”

This time the crowd gives a few light-hearted boo’s.

“Pregnant.” Ming points out.

Another round of cheering. “Congratulations!” She can’t place where in the crowd the booming voice has come from. Kuvira gives a soft laugh, looking down to cover a light blush, and wipes some locks out of her face. “Thank you.”  

Ghazan finishes his toast and they enter their second song. She scans the crowd for the frontman of Wan Shi Tong’s Waltz. It sends a pleasant trill up and down her spine to see the man nodding his approval at their new take on jazz. It is surreal to have her idol staring up at her with approval.

She unravels her braid and tosses her head back for the final note.

She doesn’t think too much of it, moving into their final song just feels so natural. She may not be able to dance with her baby bump in the way, but she can still give the crowd a show. She puts extra care into her vocals; working with flawlessly through more difficult vibratos.

She adds a flare of metalbending from shifting platforms up and down for she and her bandmates to stand upon to crafting herself a case of stairs to lean on when the baby started acting up.

Normally with a crowd so energetic and lively she would enter it. But her management and doctors had advised against so she leaves that to Ghazan and P’Li, settling for simply brushing fingers with front row attendees.

Ghazan and P’Li finish out the song from within the crowd. The last note echos about the venue only to be swallowed up by cheering and hollering. Kuvira is grinning rather uncontrollably. Perhaps even laughing. One hand falls to her baby bump and the other holds her microphone to her lips. She manages a few thank you’s before they are motioned off of the stage.

They have made it.

Victory or none, they have left an impression.

[ourimpavidheroine]

quick question for ya. do you really think bataar and kuvira loved each other?

Quick question! Quick isn’t really in my toolbox, heh.

I will attempt to be brief. I make no promises.

Well. Here’s the thing. I do think they loved each other, but I think how and why they loved each other were on completely different wavelengths.

It goes without saying, I think, that they are clearly not very openly loving; we only see them embrace the one time and to be honest, it’s not exactly passionate. Now that doesn’t mean they don’t love each other, of course - plenty of people are more reserved than others - but it was obviously done deliberately as a way to establish what their relationship together was like. We see plenty of tender moments between all of the other established couples on the show - Tenzin and Pema, Bolin and Opal, Mako and both Korra and Asami, etc. - so it’s a big tell.

All of their conversation together revolves around The Cause (aka the Earth Empire and the Great Uniter). Even their declaration of love for each other:

Kuvira: Are you ready to show the world what a true superpower looks like?

Baatar Jr.: [They stop walking, looking at each other.] Yes. I’m honored to march into the city by your side. [They take each others’ hands.] I love you, Kuvira.

Kuvira: I never could have done this without your help. After we claim victory, we can finally get married [Kuvira and Baatar Jr. embrace one another.] and rule our empire together.

This little bit of conversation from Kuvira’s Gambit completely sets up the end in Republic City, when Kuvira purposefully fires on him.

Baatar tells her he loves her. Kuvira not only does not return the sentiment but she frames their relationship completely around herself as the Great Uniter and their mutual devotion to The Cause. 

In other words, Baatar is a part of her goal to unite the Earth Empire and rule it.

So what happens in Republic City? She sends Baatar, her #1 and most trusted person, to accept President Raiko’s surrender. She clearly trusts him to do this; that goes without saying, right? 

Eh….maybe not so much. If you think about it, we never see Baatar alone. He’s either with Kuvira or he’s surrounded by metalbending guards. Ostensibly to protect him? But he’s always being watched over by people that are completely loyal to her. Which, by the way, is not the case with Varrick or Zhu Li or Bolin, is it? Not before they prove themselves as disloyal to her, of course. But Varrick does his experiments with just Zhu Li present and Bolin is given free reign to go and seek out his brother in Republic City during Wu’s coronation, for example. But Baatar is never once left alone. And me? I think there was always a part of Kuvira that trusted no one, not even the love of her life. She was always The Great Uniter, and she always held herself apart. 

Why is this important? Well, it’s important because he does actually betray her in the end.

Back to the attack on Republic City. They are not together; she’s in the Colossus and he’s on the airship, going to meet with Raiko. And he gets shanghai’d. Kuvira is….unhappy….when she finds out that he’s been taken, sure. She cares about him, absolutely.

We then go back to Junior in Asami’s factory. Where he’s being a real dick (like the good little Beifong that he is). He’s rude, he’s smug, he’s arrogant, he makes his mother cry, he gives the Avatar the virtual finger. Oh, he’s an utter shit until the moment that Korra clues in and threatens to never let him see Kuvira again. And he just crumbles. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Instant panic, instant capitulation. He will do whatever it takes to not be parted from Kuvira, this is painfully obvious. This is a man who really loves his fiance.

And then this happens:

Baatar Jr.: Listen to me. [Cut to a close-up of his face.] If you try to take Republic City, the Avatar will never let me see you again … and I refuse to live that way. [Cut to Kuvira, listening carefully to Baatar Jr.’s words.] Forget the United Republic; we have our empire! We have each other! [Cut back to Baatar Jr., as a shadow of happiness and hope flits across his face.] Let’s go back home and get married. The only thing that matters is that we’re together for the rest of our lives.

Cut back to the cockpit. The operator turns his masked face to Kuvira.

Mecha operator: We’ve identified their position. 

Kuvira flips the switch back up and talks, her voice thick with emotion.

Kuvira: You’re right. This city isn’t worth sacrificing our life together. [She shuts her eyes; the view cuts to a spot behind Kuvira, facing out on the city before her.] I love you, Baatar.

I was watching this with my kids and I yelled, DUDE. And my heart just shattered for that poor fucking asshole. Because here’s what they actually just said to each other:

Baatar Jr: I love you so much that I do not give an actual fuck about Republic City. Or any of it, really. Fuck The Cause. All I want to do is marry you and be with you in Zaofu - which I just referred to as my home, despite how many times I’ve said my home is with you - I don’t care if you are the Great Uniter or not, it’s Kuvira that I love.

Kuvira: You’re right. This city isn’t worth us sacrificing our life together. That being said, I am going to sacrifice our future together anyhow, because of two reasons: 1)The Cause of the Great Uniter and the Earth Empire is greater than you or our happiness together and 2)you’ve just told me straight up that you don’t care about The Cause enough to actually follow through with whatever it is you need to do to make it happen. Which hurts me, my dude, because I seriously hoped you were as devoted to The Cause as I am. On the flip side, it’s pretty gratifying that you love me that much, so thanks for that. So now I’m  going to sacrifice you for The Cause that we both have given so much to, and I’m going to tell myself that it’s what’s best and then move on. I love you, and I’m sorry.

And then she did her level best to kill him. And she was sad! She was sorry! I do believe that! She regrets that he was a necessary sacrifice, for sure. But Baatar, for her, was secondary to The Cause. His death was justified, in her mind, because by killing him she’s going to kill the Avatar as well, the only person in the world she sees as even remotely being a threat to The Cause. (And if she gets rid of Su Beifong and the rest of her kids, well, that’s just the cherry on top.) It’s just how it is for her. It’s why she doesn’t even ask Su if he’s still alive as she and Lin are hauling her out of the wreckage in cuffs; in her mind, she and Baatar are over and done with because The Cause is now dead. (And why her apology to Su for causing her family grief comes off as so patently false. Not sorry enough to ask if the woman’s son, the so-called love of your life, is alive or not? NICE.)

But god, poor fucking Junior. She completely breaks his heart, because right up until that very last second when he sees that purple fire heading straight for him he honestly thinks she loves him more than The Cause. And she doesn’t. And that’s that.

(All of this, by the way, is behind my take on Junior for I Do Not Ask the Night for Explanations.)

It’s also why I just cannot fathom people headcanoning that after all of this that Kuvira would be welcomed back to the family by any of them, including Junior. I mean, do not get me wrong, people are entitled to their headcanons! It’s not for me to say! For fuck’s sake I’m shipping him with a grown-up Ikki! But I just cannot see how he could ever love her or even stand to look at her again after she made it so very clear that he was never as important to her as The Cause. He was just another piece on her Pai Sho board, just like everyone else, and he never knew it until she tried to take him out of play. His death would have certainly hurt her worse than any of the others; as I said, I do believe she loved him in her Kuvira way. But his love was not more important than The Cause and I don’t think you can come back from that. Or at least not without really working your ass off to justify it in a fanwork.

(Also I am 150% certain Su Beifong would instantly kill her on sight and never lose a single night of sleep over it but I get that people who don’t actually have kids might not quite understand how maternal rage works that way.)

[lokgifsandmusings]

Definitive Ranking of Book 4 Episodes, #3/13

3. 4x10 Operation Beifong

Toph’s mothering skills wow everyone. Zhu Li is the world’s worst saboteur. All the tropes get busted. The spirits give no shits about anything.

Okay. If you’ve been following these definitive rankings, you know that I have one main issue with Book 4: while Kuvira worked very well as a foil for Korra, and a way to externalize Korra’s *internal* struggle, Kuvira in her own right is a little less successful, since everything is framed as being about the Beifongs for her, and that thread gets effectively drop-kicked.

For that reason, I objectively know that “Operation Beifong” is an issue with the whole of Book 4 considered. It’s essentially the culmination of the Kuvira/Suyin tension (which I’d argue is far more important and central than her relationship to Baatar), and the rationale for why she didn’t get her ass kicked by Toph at the end of the episode was more or less, “the script said not to.” I mean “leave it to the kids.” 

See, it had to be reserved in its climax because Kuvira’s downfall had to be saved for Korra. Which is fine; protagonists should be considered first and foremost when writing antagonists. But it also meant that the high-high-high emotional and personal stakes of this episode for the characters were always set to fizzle. In fact, the only tension that paid-off here was Lin working through her fractured relationship with her mother, and even that just ended on the note of Toph saying “maybe if you don’t hate me it’s fine.” Sadly for our unsung hero, that’s the happiest resolution she’s ever going to get.

Oh wait, Bopal forgave each other too. And you can make the argument that this was the climax of Bolin’s maturation arc: we saw him rise to the occasion in 4x07 and take charge in a way he hadn’t before, but his decision to save Zhu Li at great self-risk fully demonstrated his moral fiber. I personally think that he already exhibited these traits, he’s just a bit easily led (giving people apples = helping them...just don’t look to the right or left or ask the deeper questions), but fine.

I guess my real frustration is for Suyin and Kuvira’s characters here, who you could easily view as the primary “actors” of this episode’s A-plot, especially given the number of scenes throughout the season we were given to set up this tension. Suyin gets practically no resolution of any sort from this episode, or frankly this season. She escapes imprisonment, sure, but what it boils down to is that she fights Kuvira and quasi-loses, then flees, only for her moments in the finale to be focused on forgiving Baatar and destroying the spirit gun. Sure, she played her part in taking down Mega Maid and was the one who led Kuvira off with that super-memorable-and-not-at-all-just-a-never-replaced-placeholder line, but I fundamentally don’t understand why so much emphasis was placed on her and her point-of-view in this conflict. And it’s one thing if it’s Suyin telling Korra a backstory to set-up the final conversation, sure. It’s just....consider how many scenes we have to explain away that have *nothing* to do with Korra’s arc, including the entirety of this episode.

I guess it kind of reminds me of the Winterhell plotline in GoT Season 5, where it’s an uphill battle to argue that Sansa was the protagonist because Ramsay had 5 or 6 scenes dedicated to his fraught relationship to his dad. In this case, it’s not that Korra ever stopped feeling like the protagonist. It’s just that if we’re going to have so many non-Korra (and frankly non-Krew) characters cannibalizing our screen-time, can we at least give them a complete story?

I know I’ve talked about how it’s a problem before given Kuvira’s arc, but yeah, it’s a problem for Suyin too. It’s honestly a problem for the entire Beifong clan, since other than Suyin and Baatar’s weird “we’ll get through it” scene, the strife that had consumed their family wasn’t really given any kind of space tp land. They’ll get through it. Nifty.

In my brain, I know that this is a shortcoming of Book 4. It’s one of the primary reasons I feel this season needed a draft #2 (I suspect Bryke would have preferred a longer time-line and a heads up about resources as well). And yet... I love this episode. I LOVE this episode.

No you don’t understand: every minute, every aspect of this episode, I love.

Well, I feel rather tepid about the B-plot actually, so let’s knock that off first. It’s just the planning for an inevitable Kuvira invasion in Republic City. Varrick introduces Asami’s hummingbird suit and I have to assume does all the talking because of the voice actors involved (you *use* John Michael Higgins when you have him, and I’m wondering if Gabriel was limited to a set number of episodes). I liked the instantly photoshoppable blueprints that were held up, but remember thinking how ridiculous this biomimicry was given how completely energy inefficient hummingbirds are. I try to at least make sense of it as a suitable countermeasure to Kuvira’s spirit cannon in my newest fic, though.

(x)

Wu suggests evacuating the entire city in case Kuvira attacks. I guess in fairness they didn’t know the two-week timeline of the planned invasion, so it’d seem feasible to be able to craft that strategy, but you’d think fortifying the borders (with the help of Izumi’s troops, like she promised) would have taken priority. Personally I’d be doing everything I could to keep the fight out of my country’s population center. But it was a simplistic idea to show that Wu was actually concerning himself with the safety of others, and that Mako is an easy-to-impress boyfriend.

Finally, Korra decides she’s going to enlist the help of the spirits to defend the city, and they tell her to fuck right off because even though Kuvira is using vines to her own ends, helping the other side would be just as bad, or something. In other words, the spirits continue to be butts, and the entire thing went a little like this:

At the time this aired, I actually thought this was going to set-up a moment like the trees arriving at Helm’s Deep, but no. The spirits really didn’t want to be involved. Sucks to be human.

Like, all of this was fine. I can nitpick military decisions and engineering details, but it was fine.

It just was heavily overshadowed by the most wonderful, complicated familial dynamics.

The shining star was Lin and Toph, as it should have been. For Lin to be in a place where she’s risking her job (again) to save Suyin and is going to these extreme lengths given where they had started a few years before is nothing but touching, especially given how Suyin is more or less living the idyllic life (her rich-ass mom bought her a city to run, she’s got a loving husband and a bunch of kids, etc.) and Lin is still, ya know...

But her relationship with Toph...just murder me.

Every dang conversation they have with each other is more painful than the last. It’s made so clear how much Lin truly loves and respects Toph, and is just desperate for her approval in some ways, but there’s been so much hurt in how Toph brushed off her feelings over the years and is unwilling to actually state her own (you know you’re an INTP when...), that Lin can’t help but be closed off and sardonic. Then you’ve got Bolin picking at the baby daddy wound, Toph just randomly volunteering the information, and...

Toph: Lin, I can feel your enraged breathing from here. Just say what you have to say and let's get it over with.

Lin: Just get it over with? Yeah, let's not linger on the fact that I grew up without a dad. No need to get all touchy-feely about it. Just one of those things, right?

I have to imagine this was Toph’s general approach to parenting, and gods, Mindy Sterling SELLS the hell out of how deeply Lin feels things but how unable she truly is to express herself. As a brief side-note, I do have to imagine that Lin the detective *did* figure out who her dad was, since she doesn’t react to that information itself, but more to why the fuck Toph is willing to talk to Bolin of all people when it was kept from her previously.

Toph: Hey, I forgave you for all your garbage a long time ago and Su and I worked things out. You're the only one who wants to hold on to this family drama nonsense for the rest of your life.

Lin: Forgave me for what?! And not knowing my dad is nonsense to you? It was pretty important to me. And until now, you would never even discuss it.

Seriously, forgive her for what? Toph, again, just wants to avoid and evade the whole “feelings” piece of this. But keeping in mind that it’s been like TWO DECADES since they’ve talked, for Lin to be able to spit this all out and call her mom out on her dismissiveness is huge. HUGE.

Lin: You know, after Su and I patched things up, I thought, "maybe I should try to reach out to mom." But now that we're together again, I remember why we stopped talking. You make me furious and you don't even know why. And when I tell you, you don't care. Once we save Su, you and I are finished.

Toph: If that's your decision and it makes you happy, then fine.

Treat yourself and listen to the voice acting, because the way Philece Sampler does this little inhale and the break in her voice when she says Toph’s line is tragic, simply tragic.

Toph. Just tell your daughter you fucking love her and you care. You obviously care; you’ve been creeping on her in the swamp for years. And Lin just putting it all these raw emotions out there.

I know I’m gushing, but this is so fractured and so beautiful and if they could just flippin’ COMMUNICATE we can *see* how they care about each other underneath. It’s not a witchy-Repunzelesque mother situation or anything about escaping toxicity, but more a mother and daughter with a Shakespearean flaw that prevents them from having a happy relationship, at great personal cost.

And yeah, somehow Lin finds it in herself to apologize for snapping, and Toph just ends on the whole “if you don’t fully hate me, I’ll take it” note. In one episode we watched 20 years of hurt acted out, and it never felt forced or even a little dumbed down for the Y7 audience as like, Asami saying that she “should” try to forgive the dude that wanted to murder her sort of did (frankly that Hiroshi dialogue was all a little wonky if I really want to nitpick).

The second most important relationship in this episode was, of course, Suyin vs. Kuvira. What’s interesting is that the decision to engage with Kuvira instead of sneak away wasn’t made until after Bolin and Opal decided to go after Zhu Li, so it was a little passive on Suyin’s part, but once that fight started, nothing else mattered. Not a single word was uttered and yet you could *feel* how charged and fraught it was. Which yeah, maybe it’s reading a little too much into subtext, but there is something THERE, damnit.

However, the way Suyin’s entire family operated was just delightful. I love that Huan and Baatar Sr. were never expected to fight, and never shamed for it, and Suyin’s shrug to Lin when Baatar Sr. clung to the side of their cage in terror was just perfect. Yeah, they don’t conform to traditional gender roles, and it goes with no more comment than that shrug. Then Wing's “We can’t let Opal be the coolest!” was hilarious, and just felt...real. The Beifongs feel real, and I think that’s one of the things I appreciate the most about them. Dysfunctional, led by a hypocrite, fractured at the moment, but real. Though full disclosure: I’ve been known to call them “aspirational” in the past, if that’s any indication on why such dynamics appeal to me.

It’s worth noting that Baatar Jr. cleared the lowest possible bar possible in not wanting to murder his sister with his cannon. But fuck Zhu Li; she doesn’t even get a re-education camp. I don’t get Baatar Jr. apology (and I *especially* don’t get Kuvira apology), though given where he ends up (regretting his actions) we could have stood to see just a bit more of his reaction to the ensuing fight between his ENTIRE FAMILY INCLUDING HIS GRANDMA and his fiancé.

I should say the Zhu Li saboteur thread didn’t work super well, mostly because you’d think such a cold, heartless war machine could have thought up a better way to actually make the thing malfunction. Or just not have kept the missing pin on her body. Maybe she want to the Galen Erso School of Engineering Sabotage. But the reveal that she was purposely messing things up (and Bolin’s happy face) was lovely. Her devotion to Varrick is certainly not free of problems, but knowing she wasn’t on-board with fascism and actually jumped at the opportunity to undermine the campaign in a big way? I’ll take it, happily.

I’ll also ignore the possible implication that she only did it to save Varrick from more of Kuvira’s wrath, knowing how he’d operate on his own. Anti-fascist Zhu Li is the only Zhu Li. That’s the 2017 hero we need.

That finally leaves us with the Bopal plotline. I cannot believe the amount of hate that Opal got as this season was airing, but I have to think that on rewatches, especially in this cultural context, her point-of-view seemed a lot more reasonable, as well as her frustrations with Bolin. Yeah, her anger towards Kuvira at the very, very start of the season could be framed as a bit OTT and likely the result of loyalty to her mother (who wasn’t exactly the model of reason then), but after that... like, no! We *know* she’s seen prison camps, we *know* she’s learned about dissenters being dragged off, and when her entire family was captured (and to her own admission quite possibly being tortured or already having been murdered), her boyfriend came back and said he was responsible for it (oh Bolin and your logorrhea), but just wanted to pick up exactly where they were right away. And this was after he outright ignored her in Zaofu when she clearly lay out what was happening. Who the hell wouldn’t be pissed?

Frankly, Bolin should have been suggesting how they could save her family, so when she suggested that he should come with her to fix things, it’s...reasonable, even if high-risk. It would demonstrate that at the end of the day, he does have her back. I really have a hard time finding a fault in that.

I do think her line “he’s been in the polar bear doghouse long enough” was overly reductive. We can tell that the moment he was willing to get himself killed to save Zhu Li is the moment that Opal forgave him. Because it showed that his heart is always in the right place. He just sometimes needs a little coaching, and doesn’t do nuance well. If the people *he’s* seeing are happy, it’s difficult for him to think the campaign is doing something bad.

So really, I have zero problems with it. They were two young adults growing apart in a long-distance relationship, and the fact that this mission placed them decidedly on the same side and Bolin took initiative with it...yeah, it works. Their long-term is uh, well, let’s just hope they don’t find themselves in morally ambiguous situations too much.

Also I don’t want to sound like Opal is the font of wisdom and truth either. She can be bad-tempered, impatient, she can let her emotions guide her (though it never pushes into the hysterical woman trope), she can be biting and bitter and cutting when she wants; she’s a fully realized and fully fallible character. I just don’t happen to think she mistreated Bolin in any way during Book 4’s run.

The Bopal take-away, too, is important: women can assert their frustrations and that doesn’t mean their relationships will blow up. Too often we see narratives where women must stuff it, where their emotional needs are always always on a back-burner to the men that they’re with. It’s frustrating and I’ve had enough of it (I’m in a mood thanks to Supergirl lately), so this is dang refreshing. Bust ALL the tropes, Opal.

Frankly, bust ALL the tropes, Beifongs. That’s truly what makes this episode amazing. The central fight is between two women, one of whom is middle-aged and has children, while her husband and elder son (that isn’t Baatar Jr.) are guarded by her mother. There is a mother/daughter “reconciliation” that still ends with them both shoving their feelings down as far as they can go, though they at least achieved a less hostile relationship. There was the Bopal resolution, there was Zhu Li, not Varrick, taking on the role of the saboteur, and there wasn’t instantly a neat redemption for Jr. because he had one moment of human decency.

Yes, this episode was a little contrived in its existence, and it gave us a bit of a false resolution. But it was packed, exciting, and utterly transgressive, while also delivering a wallop of feels.

#13: 4x08 “Remembrances”

#12: 4x11 “Kuvira’s Gambit”

#11: 4x09 “Beyond the Wilds”

#10: 4x07 “Reunion”

#9: 4x06 The “Battle of Zaofu”

#8. 4x12 “Day of Colossus”

#7 4x01 “After All These Years”

#6 4x03 “The Coronation”

#5 4x04 “The Calling”

#4 4x05 “Enemy at the Gates”

Book 2 ranking/essays found here

[divine-identite]

RULES. repost, don’t reblog. tag ten. TAGGED. @thegreatunxter  thank you Lari :) TAGGING. anyone else who wants to do this.

BASICS.

FULL  NAME.   Paddra-Ballad Caius, Caius Ballad NICKNAME.   none AGE.   2,000+ BIRTHDAY.   December 27th  ♑  Capricorn ♑ (Capricorn Sun / Scorpio moon) ETHNIC GROUP.   Indigenous/Aborginals/Paddran NATIONALITY.   Pulsian LANGUAGE / S. canon: Pulsian  ;New World: French, Italian, Russian God of Death: Nigh-omniscience  SEXUAL ORIENTATION.   Heterosexual  ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.   Demiromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS. Single (canon) / in a relationship (AU) CLASS.  N/A HOME TOWN / AREA.   Paddra CURRENT HOME.   The New Unseen Realm PROFESSION.   Seeress’s Guardian, God of Death

PHYSICAL.

HAIR.  Long purple hair, goes down to her mid-back. Smooth with light purple tufts of hair. EYES.  a vivid purple, almond-shaped. His eyes are normally sharp, stern, and intense usually some moments, which may intimidate some people who see them NOSE.  Wide bridge but slender nostrils it's also tall and straight  FACE. His face is kinda of square, prominent, strong jaw, open forehead, and subtle high cheekbones. LIPS. Full lips, the bottom is a bit more full COMPLEXION.  tanned - earth tones mostly, smooth, and soft with some weathering. BLEMISHES. He has freckles when looked upon closely have lightened up over the years but are distinguishable under a keen eye SCARS.  A few but they have faded possible or just non-existent due to the nature of the heart of chaos. TATTOOS. N/A HEIGHT.   6′4″ WEIGHT. 197 lbs BUILD.   Athletic, slender FEATURES. My seem imposing, vivid purple hair  ALLERGIES. N/A USUAL HAIR STYLE. Usually let down, held in place by his headband a large sweeping bang from the left. USUAL FACE LOOK.   Stern, unmoved and confident, even seen smirking arrogantly. While it’s not rare nor is it a common occurence, her features tends to soften up when he’s around people such as Yeul USUAL CLOTHING.  Armour made by Etro reverence of Bahamut

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S.  Failure, in the past many perhaps not being personal worth. ASPIRATION / S.  To end his and her suffering and free themselves from this accursed torment given by the Goddess Etro POSITIVE TRAITS.  Determined, Persistent, Dutiful, Practical, Wise,  NEGATIVE TRAITS.  Apathetic/Callous, Dogged, Blunt, Manipulative, Merciless, Cruel, Nonsense, Dogged MBTI.   LOGISTICIAN (ISTJ-A) ZODIAC.   Capricorn TEMPEREMENT.   Phlegmatic/ Choleric SOUL TYPE / S.  Hunter/ Caregiver ANIMALS.   Sable VICE HABIT / S.  N/A FAITH.  Agnostic GHOSTS? Yes AFTERLIFE? Yes REINCARNATION? He has none ALIENS? No. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT.  N/A  ECONOMIC PREFERENCE. N/A SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION. EDUCATION LEVEL.  Home-schooled 

FAMILY.

FATHER.  N/A MOTHER. N/A SIBLINGS.  N/A EXTENDED  FAMILY.  N/A NAME MEANING / S.   Caius is classical and serious but also has a simple, joyful quality. There was a third century pope named Caius, as well as an early Christian writer, several Shakespearean characters, and a Twilight vampire. We would pronounce the name to rhyme with eye-us though at Cambridge University in England, where it's the name of a college, it's pronounced keys. Caius is currently Number 164 on Nameberry. 

HISTORICAL CONNECTION ?  N/A

FAVOURITES.

BOOK. N/A MOVIE. N/A 5 SONGS.  “ Heavy” - Florence + The Machine, “Caius Theme” - Final Fantasy XIII-2  “Oblivion“ - Bastille Sun and Steel” - Audiomachine “ Dawn ” - Skyrim DEITY.  N/A HOLIDAY.  N/A MONTH.  November, December SEASON.  Fall, Winter PLACE.  Paddra WEATHER. Fair temperatures, little  humidity, weather with slight forecast SOUND. Rainfall, night-time cricket ambience, the night, THE QUIET SCENT / S. like night, like fresh after a rain storm night. Coupled with a bit of sea water, jasmine, metal and earthy tones.  TASTE / S. Salt, Honey FEEL / S.  Leather, animal hide, scales ANIMAL / S.  Bahamut NUMBER.  N/A COLOUR. Green

EXTRA.

TALENTS.  Piano, creating metal sculpture art BAD  AT.  Critical, Self-Expressing, Fastidious, Judgemental, Conservative, Apathetic TURN  ONS.  An interesting personality, a good rival, determination, passion, being vigilant and perhaps just someone battling the odds.  TURN  OFFS.  Ignorance, constant nonsense, terrible personality, invading personal space, Weakness HOBBIES. Reading, taking long walks, training, stargazing TROPES. Papa Wolf: Seriously, do not mess with Yeul when he's around. That includes you, universe and you too, Etro. AESTHETIC  TAGS.   Moon, rain, mountains, forests, charcoal, feathers, leather, time, Fog GPOY  QUOTES.  “ Forever isn’t bright; it isn’t like that. Forever is cold and hard and final. .” - Deathless, Catherynne M. Valente

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC / S. N/A ALT  FC / S.  N/A OLDER  FC / S.  N/A YOUNGER  FC / S. N/A VOICE  CLAIM / S. Liam’ O Bren

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1.   if you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?  A1.  Walk to Oblvion - that explores the boundaries of morality between what is typically good and evil, and understand what is truly human in character in our core. I think perhaps a western movie or a high fantasy movie which Caius cause’s destruction for a greater purpose.

Q2.   what would their soundtrack / score sound like? A2.   Oh, boy I say Dawn - Jeremy Soule, Skyrim. 

Q3.   why did you start writing this character? A3.    From long story to short, it started when I was in yoga class when Book 4 was still airing. My muse for her came out of nowhere and I told myself the feeling is going to go away, but that night…I ended up making a blog for her. And here I am now.

Q4.   what first attracted you to this character? A4. Oh boy, this is a long explanation you’re demanding from me lol but I’ll bite. Well to star,t I picked up Caius out of curiosity and perhaps chance, I originally wanted to do Noctis - but Tumblr was so oversaturated with Noctis that I didn't want to be a clone. So, I had to go through the “fishing for a muse” phase.  I roleplayed a bit as Riku from KH , Kefka from FF6 and thus Caius. Now I chose Caius because from what I was told usually people pick him up and drop him like a dime - it sounded like a role I could take to see how it went since he was my first villain (at that point was a bit insecure at the time  ) At first, I was unsure if I would be good with him when I went on a massive study on him, he was this compelling villain and seem always to have a recognisable appearance which i was worried I would not master or convey into my other rps. Later,  I learned he was the most human of all final fantasy characters out there; with him wanting to destroy time for just one person, which other final fantasy 13 character such as Lightning, Fang wanted cocoon destroyed just to save those they loved and that kind of drew in more the more I realised it; the whole grey spectrum and his personality I could just connect with it off the bat ( I don’t know something about stoic attitude that always kinda makes me want to roleplay them so well and it always works for me, funny as it was since I used to RP Cloud Strife back on myspace). Though I think me and Caius have many differences we do have many similarities which made me fancy the character and got me to portray him to this level where. It’s perhaps easy to know  So, I guess you can say I roleplayed him as a mistake?

Q5.   describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5.  Being cryptic and generally just being callous so many things that some people would be, pretty much an asshole to people and his unfiltered honesty. Not being expressive

Q6.   what do you have in common with your muse? A6.   quite blunt lol and down to earth actually, i guess being practical at least.

Q7.   how does your muse feel about you? A7.  cool dood just needs to lighten the fuck up sometimes and be less blunt and callous, he would make a lot of friends if he did that.

Q8.   what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with? A8.   Kuvira (Avatar. Legend of Korra), Alex Benedetto (Gangsta), i think mostly Moana (Disney’s Moana), Fang ( Final Fantasy XIII trilogy), Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)

Q9.   what gives you the inspiration to write your muse? A9.  SE not fleshing out Caius, a lot of gothic horror pieces of literature, Lovecraft and Poe to flesh out his emotional states in some of my rps and what not. To expound upon such an amazing character is an honour and give my perspective on certain events, ones even sensitive, that have shaped his bleak future which he woefully remembers most of his life.

Q10. how long did this take you to complete?

Like a week lol because I was so on and off and doing multiple things

[grrlwonder-archive]

RULES. repost, don’t reblog. tag ten. TAGGED. the bae @magicxecustos TAGGING. @perfectforayear, @thirdwcnder, @theredwonder, @yallneedahero, @favdream, @thegreatunxter, @notbctmcn, @twerpzilla, @illuminatedflight, @xmarksthescott, @futuresuper, @canary-noir, @cacciatriice

BASICS.

 FULL  NAME.   stephanie alice bellinger  NICKNAME.   steph, stephie, stephers, eggplant wonder  AGE.   22 (verse dependent)  BIRTHDAY.   august 17  ETHNIC GROUP.   caucasian  NATIONALITY.   american  LANGUAGE / S. english, swahili, basic spanish & french  SEXUAL ORIENTATION.   heterosexual, bicurious  ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.   panromantic  RELATIONSHIP STATUS. single (verse dependent)  CLASS.   lower  HOME TOWN / AREA.   gotham city, new jersey, usa  CURRENT HOME.   an apartment in the city with a rather lousy landlord  PROFESSION.   law school student

PHYSICAL.

 HAIR.   honey blonde with golden reflects, about mid-back in general length  EYES.   generally described as blue, though they tend to look teal in certain lighting. too round to be almond shaped, too wide to be considered round. bright & almost child-like, but they’re often narrowed in suspicion  NOSE.    once it was cute & button-y, now it’s a little too long & wide. it has suffered too many fractures, most visible one the bridge now  FACE.   round with rather chubby cheeks, a pointy chin, wide forehead, & slight widow’s peak  LIPS.   full & a little round. if she’s not wearing only chapstick, she has on a deep, almost burgundy shade of lipstick, or a bright red lipstick. they tend to be chapped from picking & biting at them  COMPLEXION.   fair, but she tends to tan easily during the summer  BLEMISHES.    there are a few scars from missions gone wrong, one faded one from when she had chickenpox and picked at when she was five SCARS.   her entire body is littered with soft, faded scars. from knife to bullet wounds. there’s a particularly nasty knife slash that goes across her chest; it starts on the middle and ends just short of her left nipple.  TATTOOS.   when her daughter turned 1y/o she used a fake a id to get the outline of a star on purple on her right shoulder blade  HEIGHT.   5′5″  WEIGHT. 129 lbs / 58.5 kg  BUILD.   slender, small waist & wide hips, well toned  FEATURES.   tends looks fairly average from an outside perspective, especially because she tends to slouch a little as to not attract too much attention  ALLERGIES.     USUAL HAIR STYLE.   down, doing its thing, or up into ponytail or braids  USUAL FACE LOOK.    serene & approchable  USUAL CLOTHING.    she wears a lot of muted colors & denim. the occasional leather jacket is a must, along w/ her staple military-green jacket

PSYCHOLOGY.

 FEAR / S.   major abandonment issues. failure. the sound of drills. scalpels, needles, & other medical equipment  ASPIRATION / S.  to do & inspire good on others. prove to the world that your background doesn’t define you  POSITIVE TRAITS.   witty, chatty, friendly, approachable, upbeat, resilient, persistent  NEGATIVE TRAITS.   sarcastic, quick-tempered, vengeful, cynical, stubborn  MBTI.   enfp-a the campaigner  ZODIAC.   leo  TEMPEREMENT.   sanguine  SOUL TYPE / S.   hunter, caregiver, helper all at 17  ANIMALS.   eagle  VICE HABIT / S.   social drinker, former smoker  FAITH.   agnostic  GHOSTS?   was one once  AFTERLIFE?   been there, done that  REINCARNATION?   don’t wanna find out yet  ALIENS? one is her best firend  POLITICAL ALIGNMENT.   fairly liberal. anarchic, even  ECONOMIC PREFERENCE. indifferent  SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION. shrug emoji  EDUCATION LEVEL.   high school diploma, law student

FAMILY.

 FATHER.   arthur brown  MOTHER.   crystal agnes bellinger  SIBLINGS.   none  EXTENDED  FAMILY.   not in too much contact with her aunts & uncles, grandparents are deceased. cassandra cain is considered an surrogate sister  NAME MEANING / S.   stephanie: french origin, crown. alice: english origin, of noble kin  HISTORICAL CONNECTION ?   none

FAVOURITES.

 BOOK.   the adventures of alice in wonderland  MOVIE. none  5 SONGS.   one girl revolution - superchick, don’t hurt yourself - beyoncé, royal jelly - deap vally, cool girl - tove lo, uprising - muse  DEITY.   -  HOLIDAY.   new years  MONTH.   -  SEASON.   fall  PLACE.   the top of wayne tower  WEATHER. as long as it’s not too hot or cold, she’s okay with whatever  SOUND. the laughter of children by the closest playground  SCENT / S.   sweet / candy  TASTE / S.   warm mashed potatoes with gravy   FEEL / S.   silk, cotton, warmth  ANIMAL / S.   cats  NUMBER.   -  COLOUR.   eggplant

EXTRA.

 TALENTS.   playing the piano. great marksman. quick learner  BAD  AT.   handling abandonment & rejection. thinking before talking  TURN  ONS.   suits!! confidence. intellect  TURN  OFFS.   disregards for others. cockiness.  HOBBIES.   doodling. training. reading  TROPES.   action girl. the chick. girly bruiser  AESTHETIC  TAGS.   cityscape, bruises, neon, bats, shadows, denim, leather  GPOY  QUOTES.   “believe you can and you’re already halfway there.” – theodore roosevelt

FC INFO.

 MAIN  FC / S.   gigi hadid  ALT  FC / S.   nicola peltz  OLDER  FC / S.   margot robbie & charlize theron  YOUNGER  FC / S.   -  VOICE  CLAIM / S.   -

MUN QUESTIONS.

 Q1.   if you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?    A1.  action movie all the way. it would feature the batman: eternal story w/ some major changes regarding steph’s involvement; mainly i would mingle in some of preboot history. occasional flashbacks to stephanie’s god awful childhood to provide background on why she’s so angry at arthur. crystal wouldn’t disappear by the end of it.

 Q2.   what would their soundtrack / score sound like?  A2.   a healthy mix of soundtrack music especially composed for the movie & some post-punk, rock, hip hop to add to the atmosphere of gotham

 Q3.   why did you start writing this character?  A3.    i’ve said it many times before, i was always fascinated by the idea of there ever being a girl robin in the comics that i had never heard of. when i learnt she was batgirl, by heart-eyes levels went off the roof. the more i read about steph, further i liked & identified with her. whens entered roleplaying she seemed like a nice fit for me to grasp as i continued to get more involved in comics. i didn’t plan to fall so much in love with her character, but after writing her for 4 yrs, i’ve become practically a one woman stephanie brown defense squad

 Q4.   what first attracted you to this character?  A4.   two words: girl. wonder

 Q5.   describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.  A5.   she tends to speak & act without thinking, mostly in the heat of the moment. while sometimes it is blessing, some others she has ended up severely damaging other people & her relationships with them. this has made her be a little more guarded with her feelings, evading to even say the good things.

 Q6.   what do you have in common with your muse?  A6.   i also tend to put my foot in my mouth, though it takes me far more to realize i’ve done it. i try to keep an optimistic look at things too, but inside i’m cynical as they come. i can also be just as hardheaded tbh

 Q7.   how does your muse feel about you?  A7.  i think she likes me--most of the time. when i’m not putting her thru needless pain & suffering just cuz it’s entertaining for me.

 Q8.   what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?  A8.   goddamn--well, there’s a lot of people i’ve interacted w/ over the years, so it’s hard to pick & choose. there’s definitely a lot of people i loved interacting w/ that now are sadly gone, & there’s nothing i can do about that. but anyways, let’s see if i can do this

there’s cass, who is as close as it gets to having a sibling for steph. they’re always Up to Something; either between them or against each other. when things get low for one, they’re always for each because they know what it’s like to be seen by others (& amongst the bats themselves) as potential trouble. they’re truly the epitome of the term hetero life partners.

then there’s tim. they have had their ups & downs, but they’re finally at a stable place where they can call each other close friends once more. joint patrols are only made awkward by the fact they are naturally awkward people. (also the earth 3 threads are 👌👌 certified gold)

on the other hand we have tim who is both a blessing & the bane of steph’s existence. everything is made 10x worse by the fact that they there’s a major lack of communication & repressed feelings between them. but hey, even if they took one step forward & two steps back, there has been some progress made.

we also have kon who is slowly but surely becoming one of steph’s favorite people. he’s alway down for some shenanigans. he’s for steph to be around, and he’s definitely made up for the time he had her flying unwillingly.

lately addison & steph have had some super interesting interactions. steph sees a lot of herself from back in her spoiler days in the young vigilante, beyond the obvious physical similarities. she wants to help her reach her potential in a more consistent manner than she had herself--now if only addy would let her know wtf is going on, that would help.

this is getting super long so i’m just gonna quickly mention sheri, tim, kuvira, kory & scott (im prolly missing a few people but this is too long already forgive me. basically, if ur tagged in this thing ilu ok 💖) 

 Q9.   what gives you inspiration to write your muse?  A9.  i guess seeing the people above & just people i want to interact w/ really brings out my muse. reading & re-reading comics definitely does help too; i constantly have this nagging feeling to fix where dc fucks steph up tbh

 Q10. how long did this take you to complete?  A10. i dunno--like 2-3 hrs?? i drafted this & came back to it a couple of times lmao