#also yes the title is from great comet what about it

[juminsswife]

my thoughts on Netflix's ATLA live action

As an adult who watched this show growing up and was there for the countdown to the comet (iykyk!!) I have thoughts!

Best: Zuko. angsty, teenage boy depression, father issues, determined to a self-destructive degree. The actor is great at capturing all these facets of Zuko's conflicting, complex character. Really great with the choreography/martial arts too. Its not easy to pull off Zuko's mostly shaven but with a ponytail haircut, but this actor manages it. And yes, the opening scene with him seeing the beam of light from the iceberg and saying, "Finally." did give me some chills. Honestly the actor just captures Zuko really well. Great casting.

Worst: Katara. has the personality of an elegant yet unassuming well watered house plant. Its more because of the writing than the actress… she's doing her best with this depressing egg whites version of Katara she's had thrusted upon her. It's not going to be convincing when Toph comes along next season and calls her sugar queen.

Aang: never has any fun. spends every episode staring into the distance being sorrowful and melancholic. *teardrop rolls down cheek* he is a depressed 40 year old in the body of a 12 year old. He has no fun side to him anymore- an important side for a 12 year old kid to have! Also spends the entirety of season one (you know, titled "water"!) and doesn't learn a lick of waterbending, not even from Katara, who spends a lot of it learning from the waterbending scroll!! Why??? However the actor is doing a great job and I think he captures Aang's essence really well. He is young and I think next season he will improve a lot.

Sokka: I almost forgot to write thoughts down for him, which I think says more than anything else. He's essentially been boiled down to the same old overprotective big brother, but now he comes complete with daddy issues. It's a little hilarious that Katara's worst memory is watching her mom get burned alive by a firebender soldier while Sokka's is hearing his dad say he's disappointed with him. Kind of ruins the moment tbh. They really took all the fun aspects of the main Gaang and dulled them down completely, its sad. At least he's cute though- and imo, the chemistry with Suki's actress was there.

The previous avatars: every single one meets Aang just to berate & yell at him and tell him he shouldn't have friends and where has he been for the past 100 years without giving him a second to speak. What?? Sadly it seems any dignity, grace, or wisdom the previous avatars had in the original, has been completely wiped out in this live action. Also, this idea of them telling Aang about things that are going to happen makes no sense. Did no previous avatar tell Roku his friend was going to betray him, let him die on the island, and start a 100 year long war? Also the idea of Aang being able to communicate ONLY if he's in one of their temples is stupid. What is the point of the avatar state, then? Will Roku be able to teach him anything at all?

Princess Yue: yes I wrote an entire paragraph about her lol. She is one of my favorite minor characters. I think they wanted her to look so accurate to her original counterpart that she just looks too much like a cosplayer, with such a stiff and lifeless looking wig. This is the one and only time I will concede I prefer M. Night's version of Yue as far as costuming goes, though both funnily enough forget her eyebrows shouldn't be dark. The actress was fine. But this version of Yue is quite a different person from og Yue, I can't really compare. Plus, it feels like we see her for a good 10 minutes before she dies for the moon spirit. I couldn't buy into her and Sokka having feelings for each other because it felt like they knew each other for a good 2 hours at most. Ideally, I think these two versions kind of fused together would be perfect.

Azula/Mai/Ty Lee: Grouping them together because. Azula is the most unconvincing out of the characters for me. I don't buy that this girl is supposed to be the princess Azula for a second. I'm neither intrigued nor intimidated, and that's pretty bad as Azula was one of my top favorite characters from the original. The costume is fine, the wig feels cheap, her dialogue is horrendous, the actress can't convince me. Azula isn't smart or cunning, sharp, or collected, and her "working with Zhao" just made her look dumb when the entire plan flopped. She is a whiny, petulant little girl stamping her feet in every other scene. It's not for me. Also, the way her relationship with Ozai is depicted here makes Ozai look like a loser, too. It's like they want us to not be afraid of either of them.

As for Mai and Ty Lee. Ty Lee is fine. She looks okay, the actress is fine for how little we see her. On Mai, the wig is just so bad I don't get what happened. It's like they're struggling on the line of being realistic with the styling, or leaning completely in cartoon-character-came-to-life. I don't think the actress for Mai here was a good choice.

Dialogue: the worst part of this show. When they're not completely quoting word for word from the original, it's.. just bad. Everything is always exposition and thats not good. The few moments that aren't are just... idk.

CGI: not bad. I was expecting worse. Fire, earth, and air all look great. Water feels a little slow, mostly when its just water and not ice but that can be improved I assume. Koh was pretty cool, as was Wan Shi Tong.

Settings: Beautiful!! Omashu looked great. South and North water tribes looked great. Ozai's throne room looked incredible and I was annoyed every time we see it, he is just standing around and not sitting on his throne. It just reminded me how amazing the buildup to Ozai and Azula's reveals were in og season 1.

Costume: Its either a hit or a miss. There's strangley not much in between. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Iroh, June, Ozai, Jet, Suki, the Kyoshi warriors, all look pretty great. Then you have characters like Azula, Mai, or Yue, who just look like half decent cosplayers. It kind of takes you out of the moment when it looks like the person is a cartoon character, rather than just a normal person. For example, compare how Katara looks compared to Azula.

Music: of course it was fantastic. A lot of it (I think most) was from the original show, which has one of the greatest soundtracks an animated show has ever had imo.

Final thoughts: Ultimately, it was kind of what I was expecting. You can't condense 20+ episodes worth of development into 8 and expect it all to flow perfectly. However, there are also a lot of changes that really don't make sense to me. I am very curious to know how on earth they will do seasons 2 and 3, as season 1 is the slowest in pace compared to the next two seasons. The original's finale was split into four episodes! Unless they add more episodes for next season, it's going to be a big jumbled mess of lore being shoved into our faces. I am also concerned about Toph. The Gaang so far has been stripped of their fun/unique personality traits. Is Toph going to be the same?

[desultory-novice]

First Sentence Game

The Rule: Share the first sentence of your ten most recent fics.

Personal Caveat: I’m going to assume comics count or my sister wouldn’t have tagged me. Also, instead of stuff I’ve published, I’m sharing the first (haha, just kidding I’m sharing more than one line when it suits me) lines of comics on my to-do list...!

--

"What... do you mean... by SIDE EFFECTS?!" [Noir, "Apologies AU”]

"...You are not wary of me, unlike your original." 'Be afraid of death? Please.' [Morpho + Dark Meta Knight "Fear"]

"Hey, Mags?" "Don't touch me." [Marx + Magolor, "This Always Happens On Date Night"]

"Meow meow meow?" "Squeak, squeak." [Clawroline + Daroach "The Squeaks of NIMH"]

"Don't cry, Marx... I know what you're going through..." "Mmph! Mmrrrph!!" [Yandere!Magolor + Marx "Parasitical"]

"Meta Knight, en guarde!" "...You're Kidding." [Kirby + Meta Knight "What We Can Control"]

"...Gh... Rgh!" "Your majesty...?" "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?" [Magolor + Waddle Dee "Overlord"]

"Comets and corncobs, Meta. You look like hell." "...I'm rescinding my title of knight, Your Majesty." [Dedede + Meta Knight, "The Moon Is Beautiful, Isn't It?"]

"Where did you go, Marx?" “...Down here....” [Magolor + Marx, "Objects in Space"]

"What's he, uh, doing...?" "He's begging your forgiveness." [King Dedede + Meta Knight "Through a Mirror Darkly"]

[BONUS ROUND]

Because I'm so bad at working on it and because ten would bring us exactly to THE BIG MOMENT in Marionettes' Pavane, I have decided to share the first line of the next ten chapters of it here too!

"Tell me something: if the ancients were so obsessed with stars, how come you can't see any from the surface of the planet?" [Marx, Chapter 6 "Let Me Play Amongst the Stars"]

"Shields... boosters... yes... I'd say this should just about do it!" [Magolor, Chapter 7 "Take Me Up, Wake Me Up"

"A witch REALLY taught you magic...?" [Magolor, Interlude 0.1 "Witches' Allemande"]

"I hope you know you look ridiculous..." [Magolor, Chapter 8 "Several Glorious Minutes"]

"So, that dragon... It really freaks you out, doesn't it?" [Marx, Chapter 9 "A Beautiful Sight"]

"Uh, Mags? Why is this room the same as when I got here?" [Marx, Chapter 10 "I've Known Worse"]

"Come on outside, Magolor, the weather's really nice out!" [Kirby, Interlude 0.2 "Liar's Courante"]

"What the...?" [Marx, Chapter 11 "You Make Me Fall to Pieces"

"...And that's 80! Great work out there today!" [Magolor, Chapter 12 "False Paradise"]

"Marxy, I'm beginning to think you LIKE ruining things." [Gryll, Chapter 13 "The Real Stars Were In Your Eyes"]

-- Because I forgot to do this, anyone who sees this post may consider themselves formally tagged by me to share/hype their own most recent work with this format OR their latest WIPs!

[lil-oreo-crumbles]

Aw, man, any thoughts about Rasticore?

YES HE’S MY GUYY

Ah yes, another example of a the whole running themes with Septarians being this “certain way.” Though, interestingly, unlike Seth and Toffee, he’s not as villainized as they are. Instead he’s literally just turned into the butt of a joke… which still isn’t great.

But I already kind of went into the show stereotyping Septarians as X and X in my Seth post, this is solely about Rasticore my boy and my thoughts on this dude!!

TL;DR: I love him a lot he is way too underrated.

Here’s some headcanons with thoughts mixed in there. (Though admittedly this is basically just Septarsis-Dragonfly AU Lore… but as long as it doesn’t impact the progression of the story it’s fine💀)

Rasticore is Seth’s (only and biological) son. He’s a result of a little fling that was mainly orchestrated to hatch a potential heir. Seth is a (very deeply closeted who’ll scoff if you even mention the notion despite his history of “flings” and “relationships” with men) 100% gay man, and even Rasticore is surprised by his own very existence.

Rasticore is older than Toffee by two decades (it’s not that long for Septarians they’re relatively close in age).

Seth and Rasticore have good standing and a good relationship, but they’re not particularly close

Rasticore IS however, extremely close with his Aunt, Princess Zarina, and handmade her robotic arm when Eclipsa permanently severed it with her darkest spell

The only reason he doesn’t outrank Toffee is because he not only doesn’t have the leadership skills, but also cares a lot less about the war effort than Toffee does. Seth is not the type to give Rasticore a higher rank for the pure sake of being his son, he has to earn it like everyone else. He just particularly didn’t put the work in. The war didn’t spark his interest until the Comet situation

While he didn’t like Toffee for a while as a child/preteen, they became incredibly close in their teenager days and formed a trio with Toffee’s then girlfriend, Ericka. They distanced again after the trio split and didn’t become “close” again until around Comet’s reign. This is all despite the fact that they literally live with each other in the castle.

While Toffee was studying as a historian and planning his destroy magic plot, Toffee’s (now ex) nerdy engineer boyfriend, Favian, designed and crafted Rasticore’s famous dimensional chainsaw (using stolen dimensional scissors). He also made several tracking devices that Rasticore ends up using.

It was around this time that he met Heinous (aka Meteora). Yes, they absolutely 100% dated on and off for a while, keeping it on the down low as a casual thing.

When Toffee volunteered to go to Comet’s banquet, Seth insisted that Toffee take Rasticore with him. This is really where the two men bonded again after all those years.

After Comet’s death and Moon’s spell, he retreated back to Septarsis. It was there that he finally admitted to his father that he was tired of being a “prince” and wanted to instead forge his own path.

He left Septarsis shortly after Toffee, renouncing his title and changing his last name from Kardona to “Chaosus-Disastervaine”

He has both of his eyes and both of his arms, he just uses the gem and robotic arm to better conceal his identity. He doesn’t actually think anyone would recognize him as the “Prince of Septarsis,” but he has to make sure. He also alters his voice sometimes for this exact reason.

He was pretty shocked about Meteora’s true heritage (go figure), but what disturbed him the most was the fact that she not only was Eclipsa’s daughter (he was WELL AWARE of Toffee’s friendship and falling out with her) but also the fact she kind of bore a resemblance to the baby who ambushed their meeting and blasted Toffee in the fact that one time. THAT’S why he skedaddled so quick and broke up with her (only to be blasted into an arm again)

A small part of Rasticore being with the other assassins trying to take out Eclipsa was deeply personal. He knows firsthand that Eclipsa not only took off his Aunt’s arm and killed many other Septarians, but deeply deeply hurt one of his longest and closest friends. Out of everyone there he had the most reason to actually want her dead.

He’s still working at there to this day, but with the arrival of the Echo Creek humans they’re not very popular and business is very slow. Part of him wants to go find a new job, but he’s made friends there who he doesn’t want to leave behind.

Yeah honestly most of these is just his backstory from my AU 💀 whoopsies. It’s hard to separate the two sometimes I just kind of lump canon in with my AU. But yeah that’s the gist of it! I think Rasticore is real cool and he’s one of my absolute favorites.

But then again I stan every single Septarian in this show so I am a heavily biased party

(My favorite Rasticore scene by far)

[cloobert]

Who Is Clooby

Hi everyone-- I’ve had this account for almost a decade now but now that twitter is slow-motion dying I want to dive back into this site.

And part of that is explaining who I am, now! I’m Clay or Clooby, a writer of fiction, bad joke, and tabletop games. I’ve always loved the Gothic, the grand, and the mythic, and try to harness and repurpose that every chance I get. Other than that, I cook pasta and walk long distances, generally. I’ve yet to decide what specifically will go where, between here and @cloobywrites, but here’s what i do: My two published (ish) works are: Over Sea, Wander Home, a book for Jay Dragon’s Wanderhome about adding a sort of epic maritime dimension to the game’s wandering. Perfect if you want to play a former sea captain, lying (or honest) big-fish storyteller, or a cartographer looking to bound the world in maps.

END THE WORLD, a painful PBTA ashcan about, well, ending the world. It’s run straight through with my feelings about a recent death in my family and the pain of the summer of 2020, so it may never be truly finished, but it’s certainly playable right now.

I’m also working on a lot of current projects: I’m writing Mobile Chariot Aurochs (working title), a mecha novel about vampiric wood Chariots piloted with marionette strings. It's got sex, duels, and my complicated thoughts about Sayla Mass and Haman Karn threaded through it.

Next is another untitled project--this time my expansion for Austin Ramsay's Beam Saber. Real Robot is often about war, yes, but it is so often also about living in the shadow of the greatest war anyone has ever seen. So I'm adding five playbooks, two squad playbooks, and a setting made for emulating things like Zeta Gundam, Iron Blooded Orphans, After War Gundam X, and a whole bunch of others.

Below is the Comet, a playbook about flying in and out of history's great orbits:

And here are some abilities from the Shrike, a pilot burns their mechs hot and fast:

Next, I'm developing the Sparked by Resistance game Last Day Academy-- A game about teaching at the awful school for magic and monsters that you once attended. It's a personal, painful game, but it also lets you play a pyromancer who burns their own futures for the energy to get through grading season.

or a toxic-soul-waste repository who uses the runoff in their soul to work miracles:

Next, is The Lies from Friday Rhapsody's, a game about doing Lupin III style cartoon heists in a weird city with a shattered sky. This one has an all new system based around both playing and cheating at blackjack in genuinely every way to cheat I could imagine. You can also play an invertebrate clown. This one is on a back-er burner solely because it really wants a real  deck of cards to be marked up and altered as the adventures go on.

Finally, I've been writing Death Comes to Little Island, a Chuubo's Marvelous Wish Granting Engine campaign in the mode of things like Stand By Me and Anohana about grief, growing up, and also fistfighting Death on the beach. One of the main characters dropped out of world-killing void god school. They're a hoot.

[polarnacht1]

3, 6, 25, 29 for the ao3 wrapped asks!

3 - what is the work you are most proud of? Even though I started posting it end December 22 and also wrote a big chunk of it in the year, I still go with The Absence of Hate, my Jalec fic placed in a Hunger Games setting and my longest fic ever with over 80k. It was so much fun to write, it was such a fight sometimes (on page and off page) and I am really proud that I accomplished something like it.

6 - favourite title I used: that was a hard one, but I go with Like a Comet, as it captures the force of nature Yassen is perfectly, especially when someone threatens what is his (Alex).

25. Did you receive any gifts this year? - Yes I did!! My first one from you (thank you so much, I absolutely loved it) for my birhtday Calming the Storm- a Yalex fic with hot smut and feelings. I also received When Yassen Calls by Morfox, a great Yalex fic written for me during the Spyfest After Dark exchange; The most loyal cat you've ever known , a lovely Jalec AU by trinipedia and written for me for Fandom Trumps Hate, and an amazingly soft Yalex fic, Lifetime(s) by the lovely @myulalie!! Thank you guys so much for all these great gifts!!

29. Favourite line/passage you wrote this year - *digs* uh that was really hard, there are favourite lines in every fic, but I settled on a scene in The Absence of Hate again, the scene where Alec gets mad at Jace for taking him for granted and using him, and therefore Jace has to finally admit and adress his feelings and confesses (sort of) his love:

“Just leave,” Alec says softly, his fist closing around nothing.

“I don’t want to,” Jace replies stubbornly, because of course he never does what Alec wants.

“Have you considered that it’s not always about what you want, Jace? Maybe it’s for once about what I want?”

Jace swallows visibly, Alec’s eyes following the bob of his Adam’s apple. He sees the small cut on the side of his throat where his blade bit his skin. He has to clench his hand harder to suppress the urge to reach out and caress the wound. 

“The thing is,” Jace says slowly, “I don’t think you really want me to leave. I think you want me to stay. So I will stay. Alec, I know I… I know I was selfish. I know that, and I’m sorry. I…” Jace sucks his bottom lip between his teeth, clearly struggling for words.

Alec wants to look away or tell Jace to leave once more, but somehow he can’t. Suddenly he’s so fucking tired, too tired to move or say something or even properly think.

“I think you’re beautiful too.”

[iamthecomet]

FOR THE WRITING ASK GAME- 1, 2, 3, 7, 13, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28, 32, 35, 36, 56, 63 (Step by Errant Step), 75, 77, 78, 79 I know no limits and I apologize in advance, Comet

SCOUT! I love you. Ok. They're going under a cut so that I don't destroy anyone's dash with what will definitely be a massive post since I don't know when to shut up about anything.

Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike?

I daydream A LOT about my original fiction. My brain is basically permanently set to daydream, so I'm doing it more often than not. I just do less about fan fic, I have no idea why. It might be because with original stuff I'm thinking in terms of novels, and fanfiction is in terms of much more contained stories. But generally, if I'm not writing or reading, I'm daydreaming about writing.

2. Where do you get your fic ideas?

Daydreaming, haha. Sometimes from other people. Someone will say "I wish there was more xxxx" and I'll go "oooh I could write that and it would be fun". Sometimes the ideas just appear, and I have to run with them and see what happens.

3. Do you share your fic ideas, or do you keep them to yourself?

Both. It really depends. I don't tend to share detailed ideas, but that's mostly because I don't want to spoil my own writing. But I absolutely do the thing where I go "I'm working on xxxx" and then give very little details about what that actually means.

7. Post a snippet from a wip.

He’s going to get Rain back for this, he thinks. He’s elbow deep in soapy water. The stack of pots Mountain used to make them breakfast is stacked to his left. Rain’s the dish bitch—not him. But Mountain wanted to take Rain out for a picnic, and Rain promised Dew he’d do anything for him if he traded jobs with him.

The entire thing makes him want to puke. Picnic? Satanas, who takes another ghoul on a picnic. Gross.

13. Do you listen to music while you write?  If yes, what have you been listening to recently?

Yes. Always. I have a playlist that has close to 600 songs on it. And I just add new songs to it when I find something I like. That's usually what I listen to. It has everything from Cattle Decapitation to Billie Eilish on it. When I'm writing longer stuff I make specific playlists for projects or characters, but I haven't done that with fanfic (yet).

22. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process?  How do you come up with titles? After. And it's the hardest part? I either try to find a song lyric I think works well. Or I try to find a line within the piece that I think sounds good as a title. It's literally my least favorite part about writing.

23. Is writing the beginning, middle, or end of the story easiest? Hardest? Middle is the easiest, hands down. That's where everything happens, the whole reason you're writing the story happens there. Beginnings are the hardest. I always end up going back and completely rewriting them once I've written the middle. I always want to make sure I'm giving enough context without overdoing it, and it's a balance that I struggle with sometimes.

25.What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)? Actual writing. It feels like being possessed sometimes. It just happens, and it's really really wonderful. I also enjoy editing because I'm weird.

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in? Dialogue. Internal and external. Just characterization in general, actually. I'm also really good at killing my darlings. Meaning, I am great at cutting out things I really like if they're not working. I am a ruthless revisionist. And everything I write is better for it.

28. What area of writing do you want to improve in?

Description. I'm a character-driven writer, so I'm not always great at sinking into physical descriptions of places, and people, and physical feelings because I am always caught up in emotions. I'm working on getting better at it though.

32. Do you take fic requests?  Why or why not? Yes? to some extent. I will take any idea and chew on it. It doesn't necessarily mean it will become a full fic. And I'm a sucker for ficlet/blurb prompts.

35. What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted? Fuck. Ok. I really love Spontaneous Combustion.

36.What fic are you proudest of?

Let Me Decide What You Need.

It took me FOREVER. It's long. There were a lot of logistics to figure out and choreography, and through it all, I managed to keep everyone in character and having a good time. And I still sort of can't believe I pulled it off.

56. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics?  Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

I have an oral fixation. So therefore, so does every single character I write. Everyone is biting, and licking, and marking, and I cannot help it.

63. What was the hardest part of writing Step by Errant Step?

I wrote Step by Errant Step in what felt like a fever dream. The hardest part was going "I have no idea how to break in boots the right way and now I have to write it" and then I realized that Dew probably has no idea what he's doing either. He's just trying to get off. Also, getting Mountain and Dew alone in a room together, and getting Mountain to allow himself to enjoy it.

75.Is there a particular fic that readers gravitated towards that you didn’t expect? Flip of a Switch. Literally the first fanfic I wrote in a decade. And I posted it and it go minimal attention (which was what I expected) and then all of a sudden it got more? And people were telling me how it made them feel things? and I had no expectations with that fic AT ALL. So I am still a little in awe of how much people enjoy it.

77. Why do you enjoy writing fanfiction?

No pressure. Zero. I'm allowed to write whatever self indulgent bullshit comes into my brain and not worry about it. Original fiction comes with a whole slew of stresses (is my idea original enough but also not too original? will people like my characters, are they too mean.)

Fanfic is a really wonderful break from all of that.

78. What motivates you during the writing process?

Music. The desire to just get the fucking thing done. Sharing snippets with other people when it gets hard so they get excited about it and then I can be excited about it again.

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

There are no rules. Editing is way more important than anyone thinks (half the story gets written there, seriously). The only way you get better at it is by doing it (and also by reading).

[heirscrchd]

ok yeah ozai and aang were pretty cool but are we gonna ignore the fact

ZUKO AND AZULA LITERALLY SPITTING FLAMES BIG ENOUGH TO LIKE. IDFK, DESTROY HUGE SWAVES OF THE CAPITAL CITY--

yes i know they're both powered up because of the comet

BUT STILL. LOOK AT THAT. LOOK. AT. THAT. AND TELL ME EITHER OF THEM ARE WEAK. YOU CAN'T.

for all the shit I see people give Zuko for him being "weaker" or whatever the fuck, no. Zuko is resourceful.

We have to look at what Iroh said about the element of Fire and the symbolism behind it.

Zuko, has the energy and will to achieve what he wants. What he wants is Peace, what he wants is to stop his sister from hurting herself further and stop his father from effectively destroying the world.

The problem with Azula, is at this point: She has what she wanted. Being the Fire Lord. There is nothing left for her to want and desire. Her will is broken because she was handed it like it was *nothing*. Her father treated the title like it was *worthless* and in turn, she became worthless and had no drive or want to continue. Why continue when what you worked so hard to achieve is brushed aside like it's nothing by the one who held it above your head like it was everything?

Zuko understands this. He knows exactly what it was and that he already experienced his lashing out on a smaller scale back in The Beach. He had everything he wanted, and he knew it wasn't enough and it broke him. He lost his bending, and he had to re-learn what it meant to be a firebender and find his breath to ignite his flame and will again

He sees Azula imo, in the same light. She has *power*, but she has nothing to want and no will to strive for more. So she effectively was always destined to lose this fight.

" Something's off about her. "

I also want to quickly mention how Azula's fire being blue also is super fucking great thematically because blue is mostly associated with water, and what is it that the water tribe excel and value most? The one thing Azula could never have

And in the end, who is it that truly defeats Azula? Katara, the bonds that Zuko had made, the Change he went through

[daggerzine]

Gary Olson talks afternoon into evening! (interview by Eric Eggleson).

It’s been a while since I caught up with Gary Olson of The Ladybug Transistor; he’s quite the busy guy, but he’s never too busy to take time out of his schedule for Dagger. When he told me about a reunion tour and an amazing concert in Norway, I had to find out more. 

How did you end up in the Norwegian festival? (Egersund)  The Ladybug Norway connection goes back a couple of decades now. We had a lot of opportunity to play there in the early 2000s after Albemarle Sound was released. Audiences were great and we developed a lot of lasting friendships. It seemed like a natural place for a reunion. 

What was it like playing the old tunes again? How much preparation went into practice?  Oh, so much fun! It really brought home that we had four distinct writers (Gary, Jeff, Jennifer, and Sasha) in those days and our individual styles rounded into something special. We chose a set list months in advance and made notes… Everyone came prepared as we only had four days for rehearsals. We practiced in Norway as most of us live in different cities these days. Julia and I are in New York, Sasha is in Montana, Jeff is in Burlington, and Jennifer is in Pittsburgh.  

How did you choose your setlist?  We got together in 2019 to play the entire Albemarle Sound record for its 20th anniversary so we stuck with what worked best from that set and added some of the stronger material from Argyle Heir and Self-Titled.  

Many great bands at Egersund, which were you excited to see?  There was so much to see in those few days! High Water Marks, Minus 5, No Ones, Rishis and Teenage Fanclub. A new band called Colored Lights really stood out. They have an LP out soon that you should check out.  

Did you join any of them on stage?  Sasha and Jennifer sat in with the No Ones for a song.  

How long were you in Norway?  A few weeks. We arrived early to settle in, practice and do some sightseeing… hiking in the fjords. It’s a spectacular place to spend time in the summer. I did a duo tour with Ole Johannes (The Loch Ness Mouse) following the Ladybug show so that kept me there an extra couple of weeks. 

The Elephant 6 documentary also aired; was that your first time seeing it? Yes, glad to finally see it. I was waiting for the opportunity to watch it on the big screen in a proper theater. Jeff Baron took part in the Q & A, along with Hilarie from Apples (and The High Water Marks), and Adrian from Elf Power.  

Let’s move on to the reunion tour. Why only these five venues? We had a show at The Andy Warhol Museum booked in fall of 2020 and that got postponed during the pandemic. When they rescheduled for this year, we decided to build a little tour around it. Five shows seemed manageable. If it goes well, we will certainly be open to more.  

Why these venues? Have you played at them before?  We’ve played at Schubas in Chicago many times, but it’s been a while. We played Warhol ages ago. The rest are all new to us.  

Any chance for more dates later?  2024 will be the 25th anniversary of The Albemarle Sound so I hope we have the opportunity to do something special. Feel welcome to make any suggestions!  

Will you be bringing merchandise? (My t-shirts are getting small!)  Yes, working on that now. Sasha is an astrology enthusiast and says this is meant to be the year of Ladybug’s return so we may make some comet themed merch.  

Any news on opening acts? Kyle Forester and his band will open in Brooklyn. It seems especially appropriate as he’s been such a good steward to Ladybug through the years. Giant Day (Derek Almstead and Emily Growden) are opening in Pittsburgh. And we've just confirmed that Derek will be joining us on drums for the November dates.

Will you be playing any new songs? Just the oldies, but It would be fun write some new ones with them. 

And now some updates on your production work. What bands have you been working or will be working with? Finishing some of Phil Sutton’s projects, Love Burns and Pale Lights. He’s a constant in the studio. I just completed an album for Auguste Juillet Meets The Swedish Miles, which is Jay (Hough) from Sapphire Mansions latest project. That should be out later this year. I worked on the new Sloppy Heads album that was recently released. Give them all a spin! 

Are you writing any new music? Your solo album came out in 2020 (Wow, where did the time go?). Loved that, I’m also a huge Loch Ness Mouse fan! How did that come about?  Ole Johannes from Loch Ness has been a close friend since my early visits to Norway. We started writing songs together along with his brother Jørn about six years ago and that evolved into an album. It’s a great partnership and we will do more.  

Looks like Let’s Whisper is your most recent release. (That also includes Jeff!)  Yes, it’s always great to work with the Vermont crew.  

I see Jennifer is releasing another The Garment District album in the fall.  Very excited for Jennifer’s new Garment District album. I got a preview of the vinyl, and it looks and sounds wonderful.  

Well, there you have it, Gary is as friendly today as he was back when I interviewed him many years ago. (Time to check the Dagger archives.) I’ve listed the venues and ticket websites if you’re interested in catching this reunion tour. I know I won’t miss this one. I’m hoping the tour goes well so more cities can be added.  

www.gary-olson.bandcamp.com

www.tapeterecords.de

[babybluebex]

𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 | 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐱 𝐟!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 | marrying the prince of russia would be dream if he wasn’t such a dick, but a late night conversation leads to a mutual understanding. 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | prince paul (catherine the great, 2019) x fem!reader 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 | smut (minors dni— p in v sex, unprotected sex, choking, breeding kink) hatefucking, possessiveness, mentions of death, mentions of blood 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 | i wrote most of this after i drank a coffee at midnight so if it’s nigh incoherent don’t worry about it 

From the first glance, you did not like Prince Paul of Russia. And, apparently, he didn’t like you. 

The first glimpse you got of him was at court, as you were being introduced. Your sole purpose in Russia was to be the prince’s wife and, while you resented your reasons for being in Russia, you had been treated well. Bathed and clothed in fine silk, there were worse fates for a girl. But there was something about the look of him that was offsetting to you. 

For one, the powdered wig was a bit much. Along with the smeared triangle of rouge on his cheeks and the dab of it in the middle of his lips, it was a sight you weren’t familiar with. Your family was well-off, but not nearly important enough for your brothers or father to dress that way. It was just… Wrong. It wasn’t what you knew. 

The way he stood and presented himself was another awful thing you spotted about him. He looked annoyed,  almost as if he didn’t want to be there and had other things that he could have been doing. One of his hands was situated in the pocket of his ornate green jacket, the blue sash stretched across his chest, and the other hand  hung at his side, tapping his fingers impatiently. You spotted the decorative sword that hung on his hip, and you held in laughter. He was the prince; of course he would have his weapon, even if it likely was fake. 

Altogether, there was something off-putting about Prince Paul, and you didn’t like it. 

You had to like him, though, or at least pretend to. He was the only reason you were brought from Germany— he was your husband. You had been married with the hope of giving him a child, and, even though the carriage ride from your home to Moscow had been long and tedious, you had hoped that at least Paul would be kind and that would make up for everything else. 

There weren’t many accounts of the Russian prince, even fewer that painted him in a good light, but you had decided that you were going to make the decision for yourself whether Paul was a good man or not. And, so far, the way he was looking at you, with disdain and almost hatred in his owlish brown eyes, was not indicative of someone who would enjoy your company. 

You didn’t get to have a proper conversation with him until after dinner. Even though you sat next to him and tried to engage him, he would never answer you, only curling up his lip and ignoring you. You knew better than to confront him in front of everyone, so you had to wait until after dinner, when you were alone with him. 

Thankfully, your apartments in the palace were directly next to each other, and you opened the shared doors to see Paul. He was sitting at his desk, already dressed for bed, only the hints of rouge left on his lips as he read something by the light of the candles. 

“Can I speak to you?” you started, and Paul turned to you, like he hadn’t heard you open the heavy wooden doors. He certainly knew you were there the whole time and only brought his attention to you when you demanded it; like an asshole. 

“About what?” Paul asked. “There is nothing to discuss.”

“I think there is something,” you told him. “Are we not to discuss the marriage? Our expectations, our needs…?”

“Must we?” Paul said, and you frowned. “Fine. I only ask that you never make that face again.” He turned fully to you then, setting down his paper, and he gestured to you. “Out with it, then.” 

You tilted your head as you watched him, and you crossed your arms over your chest. “You could lose your foul attitude,” you started. “You act like you do not want to be married.”

“I don’t, but go on,” Paul interjected, and you huffed. 

“Why not?” you asked. “Why don’t you wish to be married?” 

“I’d rather not discuss it with you,” Paul said, and you rolled your eyes. 

“We’ll never thrive if we keep on like this,” you told him, and Paul knitted his eyebrows in annoyance. “Not that our marriage has to be strictly successful, but I would prefer it if my husband didn’t despise even the sight of me.” 

“You shouldn’t have accepted my proposal, then,” Paul told you flippantly, and anger suddenly burned in your chest. 

“You act as if I had a choice,” you sneered. “I was not asked if I wanted to be married, I was suddenly told a week ago that I was already married to you.”

“As is your role,” Paul insisted. He stood from his chair in all of his self-righteous glory, and he strode across the room to you until he was right on top of you. You took a step back, but he only followed you. 

Something about being in his space was almost intoxicating, and you felt dizzy with his presence. Maybe it was the anger radiating hot off of his chest, or maybe it was his own princely aura, but something affected you greatly the closer that Paul got.

 “Your role requires you to marry and bear children, preferably boys, and you’ve already succeeded at one of those things,” Paul spat at you. “You don’t get a choice in this.” 

You sighed heavily, and shame radiated in your stomach when you realized that you had been staring at Paul’s mouth and his rouge-stained lips. “You still have lipstick on your mouth,” you told him; maybe if you played it as smug, he wouldn’t notice the way you trembled under his gaze.

“Did you hear anything I just said?” Paul asked. “You don’t get a choice, neither do I, and neither does any of the other fucking people in this palace.” 

That stopped you dead in your smug tracks, and your face softened. “You didn’t have a choice?” you asked. “Is that why you resent me so?” 

“Yes,” Paul started, but then squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t resent you, exactly, but I resent what you stand for. My first marriage...” Paul finally sighed, and he slunked over to his desk once more. “I’d rather not speak of it now, actually.”

“Oh,” you said softly. “I wasn’t told of your first marriage.”

“And I didn’t think that you had been,” Paul replied. “But now you know. So, no, I do not want to be married, I do not like you— if you returned to Germany tomorrow, that would please me— and I did not have a choice in this matter at all. The only choice I got was who I married, and even that was decided definitely by my mother.”

“What do you mean?” you asked. 

“I mean, I was shown your portrait,” Paul sighed, turning to you once more. “I thought you looked lovely, so I said you, but my mother had the final say. If she had said no, then I would have had to pick a different girl.” 

“It was decided for you,” you said slowly, and Paul nodded. “Neither of us quite know what autonomy is, do we?”

Finally, a smile cracked across Paul’s face, and he chuckled bitterly. “No, I suppose we don’t,” he said. “Now, leave me, I have things I need to do.” 

“Like what?” you asked curiously, and Paul sighed heavily. It seemed your moment of levity was over, and that tepid, boiling anger returned. 

“Nothing that concerns you,” Paul told you, shuffling his papers around. From your vantage point, you could spot another’s handwriting on the paper, much more feminine than anything that you were sure Paul was capable of, and your breath caught in your throat. 

“What are those?” you asked. 

“Nothing for you to worry about,” Paul replied, and he shuffled them around once more to hide them from your view. 

“Paul, please,” you said. You moved closer to him, further into the room, and you watched Paul gather up the papers and shove them into a drawer of the desk. “Are they business?”

“I said not to worry about it,” Paul said, and you could tell that he was seething. His chest rose and fell rapidly with angry breaths, and his cheeks were red; this time, though, it wasn’t the rouge. 

“Paul—”

“You don’t know when to stop, do you?” Paul asked, his bitter laughter returning. “You don’t need to know, so you won’t. Leave my apartments, go to your own, and forget you ever saw them, do I make myself clear?” 

“You can’t command me,” you said. Your own anger was starting to boil over, but there was an odd extra feeling, the heat from your angry belly slothing down between your legs. You couldn’t possibly find Paul’s anger arousing. He was your enemy, your sworn husband and biggest foe, he was not arousing. And yet, the way his eyes were dark, a different sort of darkness than before, made the feeling pool in your cunt.

“Would you like to bet?” Paul spat. He was right up on you again, his anger radiating in waves off of him, and the ugly feeling in your chest only got worse. “You infuriate me, woman, how are we to be married for even long enough for you to give me a son?” 

“Fuck me,” you told him. “Go ahead, do it, get it over with. I know that’s the real reason you chose me; you saw my portrait and thought I would look nice on my back. Isn’t that right?”

“Don’t you dare presume why I chose you,” Paul said. “I told you, I thought you were beautiful; who knew you had a serpent’s tongue?”

“Beautiful?” you echoed. “Or fuckable?”

Within an instant, Paul was on you. For a moment, you expected him to hurt you, for his anger to have come to a high point and for his emotions to make him do something to harm you, but that wasn’t the case. Paul pounced on you, his hands grabbing your face, but he kissed you. He didn't even kiss you at the wedding  ceremony. His mouth was searing hot, his kiss heavy and hungry, and you couldn’t help but kiss him back. You fisted at his shirt and drew him close, and you groaned as he opened his mouth against yours, his tongue snaking past your lips. 

You had been kissed before, but never like this. Paul’s hands fell from your face and touched every bit of your body that he could find, your hips and shoulders and neck, and his hand finally found purchase around your throat. You gasped, his fingers digging into the flesh on the sides of your throat, and your heartbeat became loud in your ears. He wasn’t choking you; no, he was cutting off blood supply. As suspect as the action was, it made that hotness pool even heavier between your legs, and you felt dampness touch you. 

“I’ll make this quick,” Paul told you, his lips lingering mere centimeters from yours. 

“Make what quick?” you asked breathlessly, and Paul used his free hand to grab at your nightgown, all bare underneath. Quickly, your brain caught up with him, and you gasped. “Oh!”

“You’re so worried about being fuckable,” Paul said, and he pushed you to his bed. It was soft under your touch as he shoved you down onto your back, and you gasped as his kisses attacked your neck. “I’ll put that worry out of your mind, darling.” The nickname sounded venomous coming from Paul’s flushed mouth, but you dragged him but his curls back down into a searing kiss. 

His hand fell from your throat in favor of tugging your nightgown up and off, and he chuckled lowly at the sight of your bare body. “What a thing to see,” he said, and his hand fell down to your waist and lower, and you writhed as his fingers swiped at your leaking slit. “Oh, and already so wet. You love fighting with me, don’t you? Do you find it a pleasure when we fight?”

“Paul,” you whimpered, and your back arched as he sank a finger into your wet heat. You had never had somebody inside you and the feeling was beautiful, exactly what you needed, and you felt your anger melt away as he worked his finger inside you. 

“Be a good wife,” Paul said, his hand skating up our thigh to open your legs wider. You felt small under his hungry and lustful  gaze, but something about it was reassuring. He would take care of you, you were sure of it. “Take me inside you. Just like this, darling, yes.”

You grabbed at the silken sheets and furs on the bed to try to ground yourself, keep yourself from floating into the stars with the glorious feeling he was giving you, and your mouth fell open when you felt his second finger prod at you. He pressed his second finger in without much resistance, and you whimpered at the foreign stretch. As odd as it felt though, it made the fire burn hot in your belly, and your thighs quivered. 

“Jesus,” Paul laughed. His wide eyes were exploring your bare body, and he quickly leaned down to you and pressed a kiss to your chest. “I was told you were a virgin, but you react so beautifully, I can’t help but know it’s true. What would you do if I did… This?” He cocked his fingers inside you, pressing up towards your belly, and you cried out as a bolt of lightning stuck your belly and cunt. 

“Fuck!” you cried, and Paul smiled wickedly down at you. “Paul, oh my God—”

“I know, pet, I know,” Paul whispered, shushing you and your whining. “It feels so good, doesn’t it?”

“More,” you choked out, and Paul, again without warning, withdrew his fingers from you. You felt almost sick at the emptiness that invaded your body, but, before you could even complain, Paul was undoing the buttons on his pants. 

“I’ll give you more,” Paul told you. “Don’t worry, darling, more is coming.”

Your skin thrummed with excitement and arousal, and you slid yourself further up the bed carefully. Paul smiled at you, his eyes wide and blown-out, and he climbed up onto the bed to chase after you. His pants halfway unbuttoned, he grabbed your wrists and pinned them to the bed, and you giggled at his playfulness. 

“Open your legs,” Paul told you. One of his hands stayed on your wrist, but the other went down to his pants, finishing up with the buttons. You did as he instructed, parting your legs open wide for him, and he sighed at the sight of your weeping cunt. “So wet. My little wife is so wet for me, aren’t you?” 

“Yes,” you gasped. If it were anybody else, you would hate being spoken to that way, but something about Paul in that moment permitted him to speak to you in any way he pleased. “Oh, Paul, please—”

Paul shushed you gently, and he abandoned his pants, now fully open and allowing you a peak of the coarse hair inside, in order to grab your thighs. He pulled your legs up, pressing your knees close to your ears, and his arms settled in the crook of your legs, holding you there and open for him. “Good girl,” he whispered, and you winced at the pull on your tendons and muscles. 

All pain was forgotten, though, when Paul pulled out his cock. You had never seen a man’s cock before, and your husband’s was beautiful, thick and cut, flushed dark red with arousal. He didn’t say anything as he touched the burning head of his cock to your open hole, and his eyes connected with yours for a moment.”It might hurt,” he whispered. 

“I can take it,” you told him. 

Paul nodded, and your chest flushed warm at his words. He was concerned about you. As angry as he had started, he had softened his demeanor for you. “Tell me if it’s too much,” he told you, and he leaned down and pressed a kiss to your mouth. It wasn’t like the angry kisses from earlier, it was softer, no tongue and no hot breath. Maybe he did care after all. 

Finally, Paul pushed himself into you, sliding in easily with your slick arousal, and the stretch and burn made you whimper in pain. Paul shushed you, putting another soft kiss on your lips, and he whispered, “Give it a moment, it’ll feel better soon.” 

“Paul,” you whined, and your hands went up to grasp his short curls. Your breaths came rapidly as he sank further into you, and you moaned softly at the exquisite feeling of him so deep inside you. It was something truly beautiful, and you pulled at his hair.

That didn’t seem to deter him at all, in fact, it seemed to spur him on. “Good, good,” he whispered. “Taking me so well… I was right, darling; you do look beautiful on your back.” 

“You—” you started, mildly annoyed that he was now confirming a theory that angered you so, but his but his hands grasped at your hips and he slowly began to properly fuck you. His thrusts were shallow at first, getting you used to the feeling, and every press inside you made you moan. “Paul, fuck.”

“You’re so fucking tight,” Paul hissed. “God, you feel like heaven.”

“Fuck me,” you whispered, pulling him into a frenzied kiss. “Please, husband, please—”

“I am, pet,” Paul told you, and he snapped his hips quickly into you, filling you with him in a single moment. You threw your head back, moaning, and Paul’s tongue came out to touch his teeth. “You wanted it, you’ll get it.” 

He quickly gained a rhythm, fucking you hard enough for whole body to shift with each thrust. His hands came to rest by your head, gripping the fur blanket, and he bared his teeth as he fucked you fast. 

You could feel every inch of him inside you, burying deep in your body, and you whimpered and cried as his pace became relentless. He was chasing his own orgasm, you knew it, and you wondered if he would even care for you. That didn’t seem likely, but you were too distracted to properly ask him. 

However, it seemed as if he could read your mind, because his hand came from your hip and settled above your cunt, and his thumb expertly touched a nerve on you. The feeling of it made your back arch as much as possible in your position, and you cried out his name. “Paul!” you mewled, and he grinned wickedly. “Oh my God, what—”

“You really know nothing about sex, do you?” Paul asked. “Oh, my sweet little whore, your head is so empty. So’s your cunt, but I can fix that.”

His finger played with your sensitive nerve as he fucked you, drawing you closer and closer still to your release. You knew little about sex, he was right, but you knew enough to be sure that he was going to make you cum quickly. “Paul,” you whimpered out, and you grabbed at the bedsheets as his thrusts became quicker than before, hitting home inside you and making lightning strike your whole body. “I’m close,” you told him, and the prince nodded. 

“I can feel it,” Paul told you, and your face burned. “Your cunt is getting tighter than before… Didn’t know that was possible.” He huffed out his breaths, his cheeks red with exertion, but his eyes were blown wide, and he looked truly beautiful. 

“You look good like this,” you told him, your hands lifting to tangle in his hair. “M-Maybe I look good on my back, and you look good above me.” 

“Aren’t we a pair?” Paul chuckled. “Fuck, are you going to let me breed you? You’re going to give me my son?” You nodded, and Paul gave you that same wicked smile from before. “Good,” he whispered. “You’re mine.”He shoved himself deep inside you, so deep that you could feel it in your throat, and you moaned at him. You couldn’t tell whether you were moaning in pain or pleasure, but it all felt the same. “Right, darling? You’re mine, nobody else’s.”

“I’m yours,” you assured him, and Paul made a noise, almost like a growl of sorts, right into your neck. 

“Fuck,” Paul whispered. He rutted deep into you, drawing those pained moans from you once more, and his hands came up to grab your ankles. Your legs were still wide open to fit him, and he held onto your ankles as he fucked you, long and hard. “You’re mine, you’re mine… Nobody else’s, just mine… All mine…” 

Before you knew it, the lightning bolts in your belly became too much, and you grabbed at Paul’s messy hair as you bit your lip hard, hard enough to taste blood. “P-Paul…” you managed to mumble, and one more fuck into you had you unraveling. Your heartbeat was wild in your chest as heat flooded your whole body, starting in your curled toes until it reached your head. Your moans turned into sobs as he continued to fuck you through your release, the new wetness adding lewd volume to his fucks. 

“Good girl,” Paul whispered once your cries died down, and your hips lifted and shook as he fucked you harder still. “You’re going to take my cum, you’ll give me a son… Fuck…” He seemed like he was talking more to himself than to you, reassuring himself that you would do all of those things, just as you promised, and you tugged him by his hair down to you. You kissed him softly, both of your mouths slick with spit, but you didn’t accept his tongue when he tried. 

“I’ll give you everything you want,” you whispered. “Everything. I promise.”

Paul’s moan was wrecked and broken as he came, fucking his release deep inside you, and you held him tight as his fucking slowed down to a stop. He was panting, as were you, and you giggled just a bit as you wiped at sweat that hung on his forehead. He carefully pulled himself from you, hissing a bit with the assured oversensitivity of his cock, and he rolled off of you to lay on his back on the bed. Your hands shook as you helped undress him, and he smiled softly at you, exhausted, as his own hands aided you in your efforts.

Paul’s chest was slick with sweat as you settled your head over his heart, and you listened to his steady heartbeat. He sighed heavily, but you knew that it wasn’t a sigh of exhaustion. He had something he needed to say. 

“I apologize for getting angry with you before,” Paul said softly, his finger lightly grazing over your bare back. “I only… My first marriage is not an easy topic for me.” 

“Tell me,” you whispered. “What happened to make you so bitter, my love?” 

“My first wife,” he began softly. “She was… Everything. She was beautiful, she was kind… You remind me of her. But she was always very close with my close friend, Andrei. I never thought anything of it, but apparently everybody else did, because they all saw something I didn’t. Natalia became pregnant, and I was… Happy. So happy. I was so ready to be a father, but it…” He paused, his back teeth clenching with restraint. “It wasn’t meant to be. He was born, but Natalia did not survive the encounter, and neither did… Neither did my son. And, as I am mourning, not two weeks, my mother tells me to read Natalia’s letters, and that I would find evidence of her having an affair with Andrei. My mother even said that my child was Andrei’s. But I know he was mine. I feel it in my chest that the boy was mine.” 

Your heart sank into your stomach as you listened, and you pressed a gentle kiss to Paul’s chest, just over his racing heart. Suddenly, everything made sense. The anger, the possessiveness; he was hurt.  “And those documents you were reading,” you began softly. “At your desk…” 

Paul shook his head. “Natalia’s letters, proving my mother right,” he said. “I wish that I were kinder to you earlier. But I was angry from reading, and you were defying me, and I… I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.”

“I understand,” you told him. “It’s alright—”

“No, it isn’t,” Paul said. “The way I spoke to you, no man should speak to his wife that way. I apologize for it. I will do better. I have to.” 

“You will,” you reassured him. “You will do much better, and our son will be born with you at my side.”

Paul nodded, and he buried a kiss in your sweaty and messy hair. “Stay with me tonight?” he whispered. 

“I would love nothing more.” 

[shapeshiftinterest]

We Just Got A Letter, Wonder Who It’s From?: sun x moon x monty

yes the title is the letter song from blues clues. sequel to Slide Into Fun! but can be read by itself

a daycare kid passes a note to sun and moon

glittergolf week event

day 2: Arts and Crafts/ Gifts

story under the read more

We Just Got A Letter, Wonder Who It’s From? (also on ao3)

“Ok kids, it’s almost time to get ready for naptime!“ Sun called out, clapping his hands together to get their attention. “Put away your toys and get your sleepy time stuff from the cubbies. Inderpreet! Terrion! No pushing, please!“

“Hmm?“ Sun looked down to see Rolden tugging on his pants. Well this was a surprise. They were one of the shyer kids in the daycare since their older brother, Jamie, had hit the age limit.

“Hello friend! Didja need something from me, Starshine? If you have a question for Moonie, I promise he’ll be out in a jiffy so-“ Rolden shook their head.

“No?” They started digging through their satchel, not letting go of his leg. “What’re you- Oh!“ Rolden thrust a green envelope into his faceplate. Sun gasped. “What’s this? A letter? For us??“

Rays spinning excitedly, Sun tilted his head. “Oooohhh, I wonder what it says!“

“Ah.“ Wowie! Contact and verbal communication? Today must be their lucky day if Rolden was being so open! “Jamjam.“

“Jamie gave you this letter?“ Rolden nodded. “Aaww, that’s so sweet of him to write us a letter.“

Rolden shook their head.

“He didn’t write the letter?“ They nodded again and made a few motions. “Someone gave the letter to Jamie to give to you to give to us?“ Rolden smiled and ducked their head, nodding.

Sun was confused, he could feel Moon pressing in the back of their subconscious, curious about the contents of the letter.

“Thank you for delivering it to us, friend!” The animatronic took a sticker from their chest plate and handed it to them. “You did a great job, go ahead and get ready for naptime and Moonie’ll give you a Moondrop before you sleep.“

Sun looked at the letter in his hands. “This is so interesting, huh, Moonie? We never ever get letters! At least none that come in envelopes.“

‘Hmmm. Looks sus.‘ Moon joked, squinting at the letter through Sun’s eyes. Sun laughed, walking over to the light switch once he saw everyone had settled down. “Let’s read it once everyone’s asleep, I don’t think I can wait until closing!“

“Agreed.“

Sun flipped the switch and let Moon out. “Hello, little comets. What story would you like today?“

Once everyone had fallen asleep, Moon called his cable and flew up to their balcony. Digging out a flashlight under one of the staffbot torsos, he took out the envelope and opened it with a pair of safety scissors.

Unfolding the letter revealed a stack of Monty themed stickers that fluttered to the floor. Moon’s face plate rotated once, twice, before he picked them up. “Monty?“

‘Read the letter! Read the letter!!‘ Sun urged, practically vibrating in their headspace.

“Shoosh, I’m getting to it.“ Moon stuffed the merch into their chestplate and looked at the letter. Inside was a poorly drawn picture of his and Sun’s faces on golf themed stationary, and another picture under that one but of Sun, Moon, and Monty playing golf. Moon squinted, tilting his head.

“Thx for the candy, got u parmesan (does he mean permission?) to leave daycare if u gays- wait no, that says ‘guys’, wanna learn how to golf. -Monty“

‘YEEEEE!! HE GOT US PERMISSION TO LEAVE THE DAYCARE!!! ACCEPT! ACCEPT! HOW DO WE SAY YES, MOONIE?!?!‘

“Wow, his spelling is terrible.“ Moon scoffed playfully. “And he called us the dorks.“

‘We’ll think about his spelling later! How do we tell him yes?!?!‘

“Calm down, Sunny. We can just ask Rolden to pass a message back. Or just message Monty ourselves, but this would be more fun, don’t you think?“ Moon ‘smirked‘, one hand on their elbow, the other holding their cheek in a thinking pose.

“Oooohhh!! Yes yes yes yes!! We should write him back, it’s only polite.“

And with that, Moon returned to his post, the two of them sharing ideas for their rough draft to Monty.

____________________________________________________________

Extra Context:

if you weren’t sure what happened, Monty made a note, stuffed it in a letter, and gave it to Jamie (he/him), who gave it to Rolden (he/they), who gave it to Sun and Moon

Jamie grew up and is too old to be registered in the daycare, they are Rolden’s older sibling

Rolden is a shy and quiet kid, they are the younger sibling of Jamie and used to be afraid of other people including Sun and Moon unless Jamie was there with them

Monty got the higher ups to somehow get Sun and Moon ungrounded, they can now leave the daycare without needing a reason (eg: emergency, patrol, field trips etc.)

[inuyashaha]

Yashahime Episode 15

I think so many of my feelings and observations have been stated by others at this point, but here go my rambling thoughts anyway.

First the negative:  It was an oddly structured episode.  The introduction threw us straight into the past, very, very briefly framed by Riku as the narrator.  Did Riku break the fourth wall or were we to assume a listener we did not see?  I’m still not sure.  So much information was thrown at the audience that it did not feel like there was enough times to savor the emotions of the moments ...  very very important moments that showed us Inuyasha and Kagome’s home and married dynamic, pregnant Kagome, RIN HAVING HER BABIES with Kaede, Sango and Kagome being there (I LOVED that), Sesshomaru taking his babies...I’m willing to wait and assume this rushed narrative is on purpose, but it was a little jarring.

Now the good:

Rin is the mommy!  I knew that.  I was convinced on August 1st during the livestream, but it was a sweet (if all too brief) moment.  Mamiko Noto’s voice as Rin was so perfect.  It was sweet, but it was subdued.  It was the voice of a someone who had just birthed twins and knows something awful is about to go down.  To hear her name the babies was a beautiful moment, and how sweet were baby Towa and Setsuna.  Towa looked a little grumpy/sleepy, but baby Setsuna was already smiling :).  I do think they will show that Setsuna, deep down, is a smiling sweet girl like her mother and that circumstances made her like she is.  It also makes me think that we have only seen one side of Towa -- we haven’t really seen what she has inherited from Sesshomaru -- yet.

I loved that all of Rin’s friends surrounded her and helped her have her babies.  The twins hurrying to get Kaede, Sango going for Kagome...it was a community event!  But seriously, to know that if only for a short while, Rin got to be surrounded by love and peace with her babies by her side makes the bitterness of Sesshomaru taking the babies so quickly afterwards a little easier to bear.  Just a little.  Sango the experienced mom.  Kaede the midwife.  Rin the new mom.  Kagome the expectant mom.  Imagine the conversations and bonding.  Their kids should have grown up together :(. 

And I am going to speculate, until the show proves me wrong, that Rin probably had her own hut and continued to live in the village after she married Sesshomaru, or at least after she got pregnant.  The fact that the twins came to get Kaede at night makes me think that she was not in Kaede’s hut.  Wouldn’t Kaede be at her own place at night? 

Like Inuyasha and Kagome, I think Rin and Sesshomaru had their own place:

This looks different from Kaede’s hut.  I don’t remember the little pathway on the left, but it’s impossible to tell if they are next to the gate here.  Again, I’m choosing to believe they had their own place.

So, this makes me consider how much Sesshomaru really did settle down for Rin.  He gave up his titles.  He did not take her to a castle in the air.  He let her stay among her friends and start a family WITH HIM but still within the village.  He gave her the best of both worlds.  He MARRIED her.  How many times was she called his wife or bride?  She’s no concubine or human piece on the side.  He MARRIED her.  Since he had not seen his mother in a while, I’m assuming he married her in her village, letting everyone know she wasn’t just some poor village girl taken advantage of by the powerful yokai. And it clearly wasn’t just a human marriage.  All the big bad demons called Rin Sesshomaru’s wife. What honor, respect and love he showed to her, a mere human peasant (though of course we all know she is so much more than that, especially to Sesshomaru).

Was he like many lords and installed her in her own home, visiting and staying with her when he did not have business to attend to?  Or did he tell Inuyasha that he better get used to having another demon hanging out in his forest by the village?  Like...for all intents and purpose, Sesshomaru may have been living in the same village as Inuyasha, both intending to raise their families together.  I love that.  Please Yashahime, don’t dissuade me of this.

Poor Sesshomaru...sigh...I know it doesn’t look great for him right now...but that will change.  The story is not going to make him the villain.  It’s just not.  But yes, poor Sesshomaru.  He got to be happy about his babies being born for all of about two seconds before Zero interrupted him.  Look at his little smile while he listens to his daughters’ first cries:

He had his worried face on, and then he smiled.  He’s a dad in the waiting room.  And the TONE of Jaken’s voice when he declared that they had been born.  The WARMTH, the LOVE.  Grandpa Jaken I love you so much.

This bitch, though, I don’t love at all:

Does she have some kind of magic yokai ultrasound that lets her know Sesshomaru had twin daughters and predicted Kagome would have a daughter?  I look forward to seeing how this all unravels, but the fact that she showed up IMMEDIATELY after the girls were born is frightening, and maybe that was why Sesshomaru was at the outskirts of the village instead of closer by?  Clearly, they were expecting some kind of attack, but dang...that happened fast.

Who is this lady anyway?  I’ve seen it speculated that it may be Riku’s mother...and yes?  I could see that.  Did she have a hanyou she was not allowed to keep,  poor Riku tossed overboard, and now she seeks revenge? Or was she rejected by Toga? Those tears of hers.  Who was she crying for?

As many others noticed, this was a little odd:

What about Sesshomaru’s mother?  He hasn’t seen her in years (such a bad son), and when they go to her castle, she’s missing.  Was she just off doing flying dog stuff in the sky?  Was she shopping for expensive jewelry and designer silks?  I’m assuming she was not at Sesshomaru’s wedding.  Or did Zero do something to her and Sesshomaru just wasn’t aware?  I’m dying to see more of Sesshomaru’s mom.  I want her to meet the twins and just throw out her arms all, “Come to Grandma!  Let me buy you things and tell you stories about your dad.”  But that remains to be seen.

Speaking of grandparents, can I say yet again that I love the honorary grandparents Kaede and Jaken, both trying to protect Rin in their own way.  Kaede doesn’t hold back and calls Sesshomaru a fool (imagine what she was like when Sesshomaru was truly courting Rin) while Jaken comforts Rin when her babies are taken away.  Again, the voice acting by Jaken’s VA is EVERYTHING in this episode.  The LOVE he conveys.  He’s perfect.  I love him.  I do.

And Rin knew the plan. She knew what was going to happen, but poor thing...I wish it could have been different for her.  Look how much she loves and trusts Sesshomaru.  That expression clearly says “Look what I made! Look what WE made!”  I wish we could have seen them react to the babies together. 

Also, look at how Sango is about THISCLOSE to putting on her slayer clothes and kicking Sesshomaru’s ass when he scooped up those babies and turned away:

The rest of the episode was such a jumble of events.  Sesshomaru AND Jaken were with Inuyasha and Kagome when the comet arrived, which was after the twins’ birth but before Moroha’s.  Even if they are hanyo, I don’t think Jaken and Sesshomaru would have left newborn babies alone.  Rin was with them.  Jaken even said he was bringing Rin to them (I assume after she recovered from birthing twins).  Further supporting this would be the dream gazing spell business --  Like others have said, I’m pretty sure Rin sacrificed herself to keep her remaining daughter safe after Towa was pulled into the future.

Miscellaneous observations:

1. What the hell is going on with the comet? Every 500 years?  So, the Higurashis might be in for a surprise pretty soon?  Comet remnants are still in the sky though...

2. Why in the hell did Inuyasha bring his pregnant wife along for the comet destruction? Why exactly was she there?  Unless he was too worried about her safety to leave her behind?

3. Riku is one shady fellow.  HE found the compact?  How did he know where to look? I know, I know.  Don’t be hasty, but c’mon.  We don’t have that many episodes left.

4.  I like how they portrayed a pregnant Kagome.  I like this little side view where you can see she’s chunky, but it’s not an exaggerated thing:

5. Sesshomaru and Rin had babies before Inuyasha and Kagome! On one level, it is very sweet.  Of anyone, Rin and Sesshomaru are very aware of the fragility of life and how fleeting time is.  Look at the names of their daughters.  It makes sense that they wanted a family quickly.  On the other hand, I cannot shake the idea that the brothers did get competitive with each other.  I can imagine Inuyasha knocking up Kagome as quickly as possible after finding out that Rin was pregnant.  Then Sesshomaru has TWO daughters to Inuyasha’s one.  I am longing for some brotherly interactions.  Let Inuyasha call him a hypocrite at least once.  Let Sesshomaru gloat that he has TWO super awesome daughters. Let the daughters watch their ridiculous fathers fist fight while their mothers pour water on them and tell them to SIT.  Please.

6. Besides emphasizing the fact that Rin is Sesshomaru’s WIFE, the episode also emphasized the fact that Rin actually birthed the girls. Rin is in labor, it will be soon, you did well, Rin, Rin resting in bed with her daugthers, her voice weak and tired, the tub used to wash the babies in the background.  There was no magic switcheroo.  The twins were not found beneath a tree.  Sesshomaru did not sprout them from a forgotten limb. They came out of Rin’s body.  She’s the mom. She made them with her husband. End of.

6. Finally, this is the best part of the episode.

You sure did, Rin. 

Now where are A-Un and Shippo?

[bewitchedbodyandsol]

If I Were Not Myself

Description: Reader is a mandalorian from Din’s covert who was manipulated into taking off her helmet. HEAVILY based on Pierre and Natasha from Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. Takes place before the child (bc age reasons and character development has not happened). Trying to stay as close to the approximate ages in Great Comet/War and Peace, putting Din at 27 while reader is 19. 

 Notes: Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 makes me absolutely mad. The only spoken lines in the musical and it makes my heart shatter. Okay, I don’t think Din would be as courteous towards a dar’manda as I write him but also like, this is a Din/Pierre hybrid, so. And yes I know that based on these ages Toro Calican would have barely been born, but um, yeah <3. IT’S MY FIC AND I CAN DO WHAT I WANT.  Also, this is my first time writing and posting fan fiction so um, yeah <3

Word Count: 2.9K

Rating: G

Tags/warnings: Thoughts of death (in an almost philosophical way). fem!reader Dar’manda!reader, war and peace au? No use of y/n, slightest hint of Toro Callican x reader and Paz x Reader (like they’re mentioned), age gap

If I were not myself,

But the brightest,

Handsomest,

Best man on earth,

And if I were free,

I would get down on my knees,

This minute,

And ask you for your hand.

And for your love.

The mandalorians-the mandalorian and the dar’manda, stood in front of each other. The air still. When he had initially seen her he ran towards her, he stopped less than a foot away and reached a hand out to her, but instead of taking his outstretched hand like he had expected, she slowly moved past him. She put an awkward amount of distance between the two. The gap between them too large for how friendly they normally were, while anything closer seemed too overwhelming. Din knew he had to stay far enough away to keep himself from completely engulfing the girl in an embrace, fists curling at his sides to stop himself from reaching out to her again. 

---- 

Din had known the young woman her entire life, for she was born shortly after he had been taken in as a foundling. While all families in the covert were friendly with one another, theirs had been especially close. And they had been especially fond of each other. The age difference caused them to participate in different activities and talk with different social groups but did not stop them from interacting completely. In fact, the two mandalorians had grown to be close friends. The young girl confided in Din about her newest crush on the covert while he doted on her for it and she would laugh at the gruff noises he made while being teased by peers, watching him try to act tough while knowing he would huff and puff to her about it later. 

He had watched her grow, from a nervous young girl who stood in the middle of a room filled with people simply to make them listen to her sing, to a young woman who knew how to carry herself and gain the attention of her peers from sheer presence. At the same time, the girl watched Din grow from a flustered teenage boy to a closed off young man who became more and more stoic with each passing visit. 

As the years went on the two became distant, caught up in the paths life had put them on. Din started running with Ran’s crew, his visits to the covert became few and far between, while she had stayed and chose to act as a nurse for the foundlings. Their friendship seemingly evaporated, dissolved to nothing but pleasantries. The young woman noticed the growing weight on her dear friend’s shoulders, but was unknowing of the whirlwind he found himself caught in. His growing reputation, worrisome discoveries he made about himself, and the insatiable twi’lek girl he had gotten tangled with. 

During his last visit home, Din had introduced the young woman to his friend Paz Vizsla. The two had known of each other for quite some time but had never formally been introduced, and quickly after he acquainted them Din felt a shift in the air, as if he was intruding on something he was not meant to see. He had not expected the pair to become so infatuated with one another. Aware of Paz’s past, the hardships he faced, losing not only a wife but a child at a young age, and the battles he fought; and the young woman’s naivete, having rarely left the covert herself and her general lack of life experience. So when he heard that they planned to wed, he had been surprised to say the least. 

That had only been one year ago. A year, and yet so much had changed. Din truly had not planned on a return home for quite some time. While he had been on the planet for a while, as the crew had a job that stationed them there, he had not planned on visiting the covert. As he had no obligations to do so, prior to the holo he had received from the girl's aunt in which she explained the situation to him and pleaded for him to return. She explained how the girl had broken off her engagement to Paz and made plans to run away with Toro Calican, whom she had only known for a few days, instead. Din had heard of Calican before and had even had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting him once, he found the suave young man obnoxious and to be nothing but trouble. Oh but what angered him the most about the young man, was seeing his own worst qualities reflected right back at him. His fears and flaws were flaunted by the young mercenary. When Din heard it was Calican the girl had become involved with, he didn’t even have time to think before it had slipped past his lips that the young man himself was married, and unlike Paz his wife was still alive. The girl’s aunt had begged him to return to scare Calican off the planet and to attempt to speak some sense into the girl. But when Din had returned it had been too late, she had revealed her face to an already married man, and unknowingly to her, his friends as well. Leaving her dar’manda. 

--- 

It felt almost inappropriate to stand in front of her in this state. With her lack of armor and helmet, she might as well have been naked from a cultural standpoint. She stood in the middle of the room in her thermals. Her beskar had been stripped from her, no doubt to be given to someone more deserving, a foundling most likely. Her back towards him, Din noticed her arms hung still next to her, obviously too exhausted to even subconsciously twiddle the edges of her shirt like she used to do when she was a younger, more nervous girl. When she turned around and looked at him, it felt like she could see into his soul. The helmet prevented her from looking him in the eyes, but having worn a helmet herself and interacting with so many others who did the same, she easily knew where his were hidden behind the mask. And when he looked into her eyes, Din could see the weight of the galaxy crashing down on her. 

“Din Djarin.” She tested out his name. And something in him shattered. No one had referred to him by name in so long, simply referring to him as ‘mando’, but Din Djarin was not the name she had used the last time he saw her. No, she had simply called him Din. The sudden change in formality made tense, as he took a second to respond. “Din” He took a breath and corrected her. It wasn’t until the girl’s face shot down did he realize he had started leaning forward, his weight shifted to the balls of his feet, left hand flexing at his side. 

He hadn’t seen her face in six years. No one had. Like most in the covert the young girl had sworn the creed promptly at the age of 13. After swearing the creed she had grown into herself, the young nervous girl Din had become friends with was replaced by a confident young woman. A skilled fighter and diplomat, yet as charming and giddy as ever. He could only imagine how she had grown ever more captivating as time went on. Din had never thought it to be a shame if a beautiful face was hidden behind a wall of beskar, his religion more important than simple vanity, and yet. As he saw her face on full display, he understood. Understood how someone who had become so enamored by the girl could do such a selfish thing, ask her to take off her helmet. 

“Vizsla was, Vizsla is your friend.” She corrected herself. Her ex-fiancé had fought in a far off battle for so long she had developed the bad habit of assuming him dead. Once again, the girl’s sudden formality was not lost on Din, referring to her ex fiancé as Vizsla rather than her usual endearing Paz. “He once told me that I should turn to you.” 

He had always reproached dar’mandas, finding them to be less than. Thought they had already shown themselves to be unworthy of the mandalorian title and armor if they could so easily take it off. That it took a truly weak man to break from The Way, from a people that loved fiercely and unconditionally. He wanted so badly to despise her. To give her the same scowl and acid laced words he might anyone else. But there was something about the way the young woman held her head. As if, even though she no longer had her helmet, she still did not want her face to be shown, and at that any chance of reproach towards her had died. Instead it was replaced by a feeling of pity. He had wanted to believe he felt nothing but pity for her, but he knew that wasn’t right. There was something else, something he was unable to place. 

“He’s returned. When you see him… Can you please tell him to, please tell him to forgive me.” She moved as if she meant to wring her hands, but when her fingertips found skin instead of leather gloves, they quickly shot back down to her sides. 

“Yeah, I’ll-I’ll tell him.” Din’s throat tightens as he recalls his conversation with Paz. How his friend returned from battle only to hear of his fiancé having an affair, removing her helmet in front of people who were not her riduur or ade. Recalling Paz’s posture, his voice almost malicious yet so pained when he said he could not forgive the girl of her actions. How the image of Paz, a man Din looked up to, had been shattered with a few simple words. “But-” 

“I know everything’s over, that chance of anything is gone.” Her head shot up, as if she had read his mind, anticipated his words. “But still, I’m haunted by what I’ve done, what I’ve done to him. Tell him please, to forgive me. For everything.” 

“I’ll tell him to forgive you. I’ll tell him everything.” Din nodded, as he thought of his next words carefully. “I want to know one thing. Did you really love him? Did you love that bad man” His voice sounded hoarser than usual. 

“Don’t call him bad.” She spat out. “But I, I don’t know. I really don’t.” Though the speed of her response told Din her real answer. That in some said way, yes, she really had loved Toro Calican. The man who had pushed her farther than anyone else had, pushed the boundary most important to anyone who shared their creed. Pushed her to do something she had never previously thought about. So uncaring of consequences. And if she had not loved him, she at least still held strong feelings for him. For the man who had manipulated her.

The young woman turned away from Din and began to cry. And he could hear the dam of emotions she held back break in the sob she let out. He could do nothing but watch as she began to crumple in on herself. The same feeling of pity from earlier returned, but it was now accompanied by a tenderness he had become unfamiliar with and that same something he was still unable to place. Din felt the tears pool at his jaw before he was even able to comprehend that he had started to cry. Thankful for his helmet as it prevented anyone from seeing the tears that rolled down his cheek. 

“Hey, we don’t. We don’t have to talk about it anymore, ner vod.” The familiarity slipped out of his mouth, meant to comfort them both. He slowly made his way towards her, reached his hand out the same as he had done earlier. “But. I’m still, your friend. And if you ever need someone to talk to, or someone to open your heart to. Not now, but, when your mind is clear. Think of me.” 

Din grew confused.

He had no idea where any of this was coming from. Especially after her had become so closed off over the past few years. He had felt more in the past few minutes here with her, warm and tender feelings that he had not realized he so dearly missed, than he possibly had in years. And there it was, that feeling he had been unable to place, unable to give a name, coming to the surface. Love. He had always carried affection towards her, in one way or another, but this was different. Love, something he had started to wonder if he was incapable of. 

“Don’t talk to me like that.” She snapped. “I don’t, I don’t deserve it.” Came out softer, sadder, and she practically scurried away from the man. Like she truly believed it. 

“Stop! Stop. You have the rest of your life-” The first stop a command, the second a plea. The girl stopped, her back still faced him. 

“The rest of my life? My life is over.” The girl reached the doorway she had entered through earlier, a tight grip on the wall. 

“Over.” He repeated. Looking at the girl, he saw a reflection of himself. His fears and flaws hung heavy around the girl. The same horrible thoughts that had plagued his mind not so long ago. 

The knowledge that one was capable of hurting people doing bad things, the thought that death might be more accepting and caring fate. The fear that life had ended before it even began. But unlike when he had seen those same traits in Toro Calican, who wore them with pride, he saw the same level of fear in the young woman that he had felt. 

And suddenly, everything stopped. 

“If I were not myself.” 

The young woman froze at his words. Din had not even registered that he was speaking until he had finished. 

“But the brightest, handsomest

Best man in the galaxy” 

Din had done bad things. Din had done bad things and enjoyed doing them. He had dangerous thoughts, dangerous intentions, and a dangerous way of life. He knew he was still not the man he needed to be. So much to improve upon before even thinking of settling down with someone, let alone the young woman in front of him. Though she was not perfect either, not the woman he knew she was capable of becoming, but he still thought she was deserving of perfection. 

“And If I were free-” His throat threatened to close. 

The Xi’an of it all was, Din was not in the position to be offering his love to someone else. And while they were not the ideal couple, he was still tied to her. He had his suspicions that the twi’lek girl might have been seeing other men along with him, but it did not stop him from remaining faithful to the girl. Along with the weight of his relationship on his heart, was the beskar lock he kept tight on it. His creed, the most important thing in his life. What he held himself to above all else. She was dar’manda, while he was not. A fact he could not simply ignore. Any hopes of a relationship between the two had been destroyed when she revealed herself. But he could not stop himself from loving her, from wishing he could do this one thing for her. 

“I would get down on my knees this minute 

And ask you for your hand” His voice strained. It could truly be that simple, they could be married in the matter of seconds. Vows exchanged, tied to each other for the rest of their lives. It was something he had never dreamed of, but as he stood in front of the young woman now. There was nothing he wanted more. 

“And for your love” 

The young woman turned around.

And reality comes crashing down. 

She makes her way over to him faster than Din thought safe for someone in her state. Her breaths jagged as she tries to control her tears. Tenderness replacing the earlier weight in her eyes. 

His breath hitches when her hand touches the cheek of his helmet. But he lets her, trusting her single hand to not make any bold moves, knowing the girl would not dare to lift the helmet off his head, to damn him to the same fate she had damned herself. Din’s breath catches in his throat, his eyes closing behind his helmet as he leans into her hand. A tear rolls down his cheek. The young woman simply looks at the man in front of her. And she gives him the softest smile he has ever seen. 

“Oh Din,” she whispers. ‘Thank you’, she means to continue, but the words are caught in her throat, leaving her to simply mouth them instead. She lets her hand fall from his face and leaves the room, smiling. 

Din stands and watches her leave, trying to hold back any oncoming tears, and lets out a shaky breath. Realizing his job here is done, he turns around to leave. Bumping into the doorway on his way out, he takes a deep steady breath, and makes his way to the Razor Crest.

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (3/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Yep yep yep, I'm liking this season a lot! 😍 Although I hope we'll get into a more frantic situation now, like with more battles and more bonding moments (Nya and Maya hopefully, but with Bentho too 🦈🦈🦈)! We got half a season to go, I'M READY!! 😎😎

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

I do like the season a lot, maybe MoM was a little more cohesive? Idk but it's not a big complain, I still love it so far 😍

Also maybe I would've liked more interactions between Nya and Maya about how they've been apart for so long, they had a chit chat but I would've loved even more. Maybe with Nya saying that it was fine and she grew up only to realize she is still hurt by that, even though it wasn't Maya's fault. I still like how they did it, I wished there was more that's it 🤷‍♀️

While I do make sense to Maya's behavior, that while it seems a little different from Hands of Time it had its logic in my opinion, maybe Ray feels a little weird? He seems less courageous than before, and it was established that he is a hothead like his son so that came off as unusual 🤔🤔

But I do love the fact that he's here and he's bonding with his son, for real, I've been waiting for this for so long so I'm happy nonetheless 🤩

Maybe I'm just easy to please and I take all I can get idk 😅

THE STORM AMULET

Oh, are we gonna address the wind element? It feels like we haven't really seen a Morro reference since Hands of Time, that would be cool! 😍 I mean, why even mentioning the wind then 😅😅

Well what do you know, they tracked them, who saw that coming?... me, I saw that coming... we all did probably 🤷‍♀️

Jay took upon himself making a quick recap on how Ninjago will be destroyed this time, thanks Bluebell 👌

Yep nyeheh electricity makes Nya go crazy for sure ❤💙 ... wait it wasn't a Jaya pun?

Jay wear your seatbelt please, you risk you life enough 😅😅 Pff lol "are we there yet" and they are actually there, biggest plot twist I've ever heard of 😂

LEGO HUG 💜💜💜

And with someone who might as well join the League of Jay apparently 💙

I liked The Island yet it was not as exciting as I hoped for, but now understand the meaning of it. The ninja helped the keepers and they are all allies. Without The Island the moment where Mammatus gives Nya the amulet wouldn't be as meaningful

Is it just me or Nya looked even more gorgeous during that moment?... just me huh? Okay then 😂💕

Wait that's a fake? Wait... UNCLE POWERS?!? OMG THAT I ACTUALLY DIDN'T SEE COMING 🤯

Here I thought he was just messing around, he always makes things harder 😅 Or maybe better? I mean, they kinda missed a bullet on this one...

BENTHO IS SO SWEET AND COOL OMG HE IS ALREADY OUR FRIEND 💙🦈💙🦈

Jay somehow had his own TV show in the past and yet he's got that horrible acting skills wth 😂😂😂

Kalmaar is a very cool villain, like, deeply evil. Not only he's calculated and merciless, he stops at nothing to get what he wants. And the people that get in the way? He wants them to suffer because they had dared to confront him 😳

And yes the voice does help a lot, I'm sorry I'll keep saying it until the season is over 😂 (or even beyond? Please cast Giles again LEGO 🥺🥺🥺)

Awww Nya no my poor girl 😢 Jay wanted to hug her to comfort her he is so sweet my SHIP ❤💙❤💙

MOM PEP TALK MOM PEP TALK!!! 🤩🤩🤩 How cool was it?

Like, this isn't even Maya asking Nya to believe in herself, this is her saying that she KNOWS her daughter can do anything when she puts her mind into it. FINALLY SHE SEES HOW AMAZING WATER GODDESS IS 💜💜💜

MORE LEGO TEARS OMG THIS SEASON IS FILLED WITH TEARS 😱 Which... kinda makes sense considering it's a water based season 😂

Nice one, and now? NOW WE GO BACK TO KAI COLE AND RAY YAS!!! ❤🖤❤🖤

RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX

That is... surprisingly Egypt theme like? It feels like a title coming from the Fire Chapter of season 11... well we got two fire elementals so 😍😍

SPARRING KAI AND RAY

I REPEAT SPARRING KAI AND RAY!!! SPARRING KAI AND RAY!!! ❤❤❤ Lol Ray got old, but how can someone blame him? He did touch death while aging in Hands of Time, I'm just happy he is alive 😂

Yep, master prankster Wu, that's what I love 👌👌 I always thought Wu had become a father figure for Kai at the beginning, so seeing Ray and Wu in the same picture feels very wholesome to me 😚

Ah, uncle Powers, I both love you and hate you so freaking much 😌😌 But you make cool slides nonetheless 😂

ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME WITH BEAUTIFUL SMITH INTERACTIONS??

BECAUSE I LIKE IT KEEP GOING 🤩

Oh no you guys are stranded on an island whatever are you going to do?? It's not like you had already before and managed to survive (Skybound) or you got stranded on a rock in a sea of sand filled with giant monsters (Fire Chapter) or you were on a freaking COMET in SPACE (Rebooted). Yeee, this is the worst yet 🙂

I'm starting to think these ninja are just a bunch of drama queens so no matter what happens, it's always hopeless 😂😂 I feel like I'm kinda right on this one honestly 😛

Whoa whoa WHOA WHO IS NYAD THIS SOUNDS VERY COOL???

Aww I like that, while Ray told his kids stories about dragons and how they traveled through the Underworld, Maya told them about Nya the first water master that could summon whales 💙❤💙❤

Pff imagine if it turned out Nya was the master of fire, carrying a very water based name? Lol

Maya: I would know if it was possible!

Nya: Yeah, like she knows that I can control a bit of ice because it's frozen water

Maya:...

Maya: YOU WHAT

I find both interesting and very annoying that this explorers club thinks so highly of themselves, to the point the deny to aid even the FREAKING SAVIORS OF THEIR FREAKING LAND 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Misako got good reflexes after all, Kai was probably ready to melt this guy's face 😅

Oh, so a trial by Sphinx is a challenge? A mental one? A cultural one? A physical one? Idk but Misako is actually taking charge and that is cool I guess 🤷‍♀️

Okay this is kind of weird, how is Ray so afraid? Is it because there's fire?... did he... did he grow afraid of fire for some reason? Because it feels a bit off for now, but if there is a deeper meaning that could be interesting 🤔

Wait is that the riddle from Decoded? That's fire right?

IT IS FIRE 🔥🔥🔥

Lol at least in this one Kai wasn't completely ignored 😂 I know my flame babe isn't the most rational person, but I do like that it was an answer connected to his element where he used his head!

Ah Clutch, you really got no backbone 😅 And apparently you're the only explorer who doesn't, dang look at the others go! I'm having a bit more respect for them now 😚

LOOK AT SENSEI GO FINALLY!!! 😍😍 FIGHTING SCENES HECK YES!!!

Kalmaar: I'm your conquerer

Wu: so after skeletons, the serpentine, nindroids, the Stone Army, Chen's army, ghosts, oni, more snakes but on fire and people from a game, that makes you the tenth. Have a free cookie

Kalmaar:...

Wu: you're not special

Is this a little throwback to Possession too? Nya seems to always control better water when she doesn't actually think about it. When her feelings are free, so are her powers 🌊🌊🌊

Also this opens up more possibilities! Creatures connected with other elements might get summoned too! I would love something like that 😍😍

This was NEAT, or maybe I just missed Kai that much ❤ What's next??

PAPERGIRL

ANTONIAAAAAAAA!!!! MY GIRL IS BACK!!! All my girls are back in this season, I'm so happy 😍😍😍 And if she is here, sweet little Nelson has to be around and I cannot wait! Bring in the purple ninja! 💜

Owww Antonia's last day as a papergirl? Nooo why??

She's got a job at the... DAIRY DRAGON??? OMG OMG OMG IT'S THE ICE CREAM PLACE BRAGI TOLD US ABOUT ON TWITTER!!! 🤩🤩🤩 I remember the post, he was asking about names for the place and ice cream flavors. Now I can't wait to see what did he choose 🍦🍦🍦

UNAGAMI BABY HI HONEY!!! 🙋‍♀️ I hope he's doing great 😘😘

This is so cool honestly, Antonia got her own character arc going on! Living in a chaotic city like Ninjago City must be pretty dang exhausting 😅

Was... was that Dareth in the garbage can? Am I wrong? Poor brown ninja 😅🤎😅

SPINJITZU SWIRL, BANANAKHAN, ORANGE SERPENTINE, I'M DYING 😂😂😂

Their friendship is so wholesome, I'm so happy they are still together no matter what happens 💕

I thought Kalmaar wasn't much of a fighter but DANG he's got skills! Also the fact that he uses tentacles makes the fight very cool to watch! 😚😚

RAY RUNNING IN AFTER KAI GOT HURT HECK YES ❤❤❤

Well at least you tried Ray 😅

Ah, little cameo of the original Weekend Whip, always nice to hear it again... AND DO THE WEEKEND WHIP!!! 🌪🌪🌪

EVEN NELSON GOT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I'M SO PROUD 💜

I don't even know what is cooler, the kids being mad lads on their bikes, Kalmaar driving a TRUCK or Kai going full parkour on the buildings to follow them 🤯

I'm sorry... am I the only one that during the Kai and Kalmaar talk kinda thought of Jestro and Clay? I miss my boys from NK, they're even more at odds now 😭😭

KAI YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE OR EVEN TRY TO DIE GET BACK HERE AT ONCE 😱😱

Kalmaar just loves to make everyone feel inferior, gotta be his hobby 😶

Oh good Kai is back

OH NOT GOOD KAI IS NOT BREATHING?!? FLAME BABE I TOLD YOU YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE 😱😱😱

Antonia, Nelson, you guys are now my heroes. You saved my fave, I'll be forever in dept with you ❤❤❤ Am I being overdramatic? Most likely, but Kai is one of the few that didn't almost die or did die in a dramatic situation and he is also my absolute favorite character so that... kinda keeps my sanity in check in this show 🥴

I wonder... does he still not know how to swim? He saved Lloyd in Possession but I wonder if he was only trying to float on the surface... THAT'S TERRIFYING

This episode was so adorable, I love Antonia and Nelson so much 💜💕💜💕 It's nice to see what the other people of Ninjago do while everything goes mad 🤣

Wait hang on my Ninjajan is a little rusty

"Ninjago City. City that never sleeps" well if that ain't the truth 😂

MASTER OF THE SEA

Like Master of the Mountain? Wait are we going back to Shintaro?? VANYA?? ANOTHER BEST GIRL RETURNS??? 💛

Hey hey hey, we got a full Nyad backstory! I really like when they do these little drawn shots, they feel more like legends! And... the ending sounds terrifying? Like, they wouldn't let Nya sacrifice herself and die... again... right? 😱

Bentho: and the world was in balance, until now because of my brother

Lloyd: and the Overlord before of course

Bentho: the what now?

Lloyd: the evil one my grandpa the first Spinjitzu Master fought?

Bentho: YOUR WHAT NOW

Why do I like this offscreen "hiiiyaaa" that sensei Wu does before actually going into the scene? 😂😂

No matter if they come from the underground or the sea, these are all snake-like creature with the same intellect 😅 Kalmaar and Garmadon would have a lot to talk about, sea king dealing with his minions does remind me of Lord Garmadon in season 2 a lot 😂😂

KAI AND RAY FIGHTING TOGETHER KAI AND RAY FIGHTING TOGETHER ❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤

OMG Kalmaar is such a brat and petty villain I love him so much 😂😂😂 Yes I didn't even mention his amazing voice!... AH DANG IT 😳😳

*Misako kicks Kalmaar and is actually useful* 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️

*Misako gets taken as hostage immediately after* 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

KAI LITERALLY JUST GOT SAVED FROM DROWNING WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO HIM!!!... and Ray and Cole and Wu of course, I care okay 😅

OMG that face 🤣🤣🤣

That some meme material right there

Whoa Vincent that voice just got super up when the Unsinkable showed up, it kinda sounded like Jay's lol

NO NOT BENTHO!!! 😢😢😢

Kai: Nya talks to whales now? (I snorted so hard at this 😂😂)

HECK YES NYA GOT THE AMULET!! 😍😍😍 ... we got, like, four more episodes to go so something needs to happen in between... do I need to be scared? I feel like I need to be scared 😅

Jay starting a fire then blaming Kai?... this is so in character I got chills 😂😂

SHARK BOY IS STAYING TO THE MONASTERY THIS IS SO PRECIOUS!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 I want all the shenanigans and we need to write fanfictions about more shenanigans and AAAAHHHHH 🦈🦈🦈

Bless these two fire idiots

They own my heart ❤🔥❤🔥 Also Vincent, this is supposed to be a fun little gag moment, your amazing voice acting is kinda distracting me 😭😭😭

ANOTHER LEGO HUG

YOU GUYS ARE SPOILING ME OVER HERE HECK YES 💙🌊💙🌊

Maya learned that her daughter is capable of everything, I love that. Nya simply understood that she doesn't have to give up when something gets difficult. She is AMAZING and can do anything she puts her mind into. She simply has to hold on until the end 💪💪💪

Omg Benthomaar playing billiard with the guys I already love this 😍😍

YES IT IS SHINTARO!!! THE UPPLY ARE HERE OMG!!! HI VANYA YOU LOOK AMAZING GIRL MISS YOU I HOPE YOU'RE DOING OKAY!!! 💛💛💛 ... I just really like Master of the Mountain okay 😅

I love how Vanya doesn't even question it. It comes from Cole and he said it needs to be protected? Done and done 👌

Wait what, did something fall?

IS THAT THE FAKE?!?!? WHAT HOW WHEN??? UNCLE POWERS??? OR KALMAAR DID SOMETHING??? SOMEONE??? I'M LEGIT CONFUSED AND EXCITED??? 🤯🤯🤯

Well dang, I didn't see that coming, now what Seabound? What do you have for me?

[hello-yue-here]

The Great Comet is my favorite musical ever D:::: so great to see anyone talk about it ever haha. But I wanna hear you talk about the sokkla and wicked song! also the zutara one is spot on

great comet is LITERALLY tied for my fav musical (les mis is the other it was the first show i ever saw and it was amazing and enjfoaiend so many feelings for that musical)

i am SO GLAD you asked ab sokkla and wicked because that along with the yuekka great comet no one else song is what inspired me to make that list

so without further ado: sokkla: as long as your mine

one of the big things with sokkla as a ship is that most of the fics i read and most of the art i see if that many sokkla fans and artists rlly play into the whole forbidden romance theme; moreso than any other fm swt pairing in the series (ie zutara zukka azutara u get the gist)

and this song is ALL ABOUT THE FORBIDDEN ROMANCE

you see: fiyero in wicked is a carefree guy who plays up his charm and plays dumb a lot when in actuality i think hes a very smart character. i know sokka doesnt pretend to act dumb and thats a difference between him n fiyero: but the fact that theyre both pretty smart strategic characters is why i associate them with eachother

azula as elphaba?? HANDS DOWN AMAZING. elphaba is an outsider. she isnt liked by many people. she is very thoughtful and precise with her actions and has shown she can be cunning and manipulative when she needs to be. sound familiar? consider a post-redemption arc azula for this role. just just think of it.

now onto the lyrics:

"i need help believing your with me tonight / my wildest dreamings could not foresee / lying here beside you / with you wanting me"

elphaba in this moment cant rlly believe that the fact that she is with fiyero is reality. azula has been seen in the finale of atla to struggle in terms of reality and people wanting her (ie her mother saying she loves her and azula not believing it because it isnt real) i know this is a bit of a stretch because elphaba isnt hallucinating and has never been known to do so, but azula and elphaba definitely both have issues with people genuinely loving them and wanting them.

"maybe im brainless / maybe im wise"

LJGFJHGF my favorite hc that i have for sokkla is that while they are the two smartest characters in all of atla: they become dumb when it comes to each other. thats personally a hc i have for this ship and this line just supports that wholeheartedly. Sokka becomes a lovesick idiot when it comes to azula and he knows this. so is he dumb for acting like an idiot around her? or is he smart for loving her anyways. (both. its both.) also just the symbolism and implications of sokka saying this line when we all know hes a genius but in the show hes seen as insecure in his abilities and strengths just.... wow. this line is so sokka it makes me lakshfgwky

"say there's no future for us as a pair" "just for this moment / as long as your mine"

this is less to do with the ship itself but moreso with the fandom ab the ship. lots of people dont like this ship (and thats fine! not every ship is for everyone) and they think that it wouldnt work out and while i personally disagree i think this line is good for pointing that out. because ppl think it would never work and that its doomed and maybe since sokka and azula are both geniuses they recognize that their relationship may look that way to other people too. they arent dumb. theyd know how people would look at them as a couple and theyd realize that hey maybe this wont work, but i dont care because right now im with you anyways: sokkla core

and finally, the most iconic line in this entire show, literally where the title comes from

"for the first time, im feeling, wicked"

im sorry but azula would def say something like this. ugh i have so many emotions about this show and this ship and i love this musical and i rlly love this ship. wicked sokkla au anyone? goddammit im adding it to my list of fic ideas rn. sokkla wicked au is something i desperately need right now. zuko nessarose? suki glinda? morally grey aang wizard?? somehow katara fits into this?? idk i became inspired by writing this post to actually think about a sokkla wicked au. ill get back to this one day. maybe. idk. yeah.

ALSO YES FIRST DATE/LAST NIGHT IS SO ZUTARA

like the vibes???

bad first impressions, he made her cry because he was an ass, she gave him a second chance, extremelt awkward first date??? TELL ME that isnt how a zutara relationship would start. tell me. i dare you. also this fucking song is just so cute and well written and beautiful and yeah. first date/last night is fucking zutara to a T

thank you for indulging my theatre kid atla rambles :)))

ask me about why i think these songs go with these ships :)

[forever--rain]

I mean if you’re making playlists.... I’ve seen a lot of Zutara playlists and that Sukka one you made was freaking adorable! Can I request a Taang one 🥺

I just have very soft feelings for them and would like to cry to a playlist pls 😭🥺💛

OF COURSE YOU CAN REQUEST A TAANG PLAYLIST, JOY. WHO DO YOU THINK I AM? I WOULD NEVER DENY YOU SOMETHING SO PURE.

We both know this is you subtly trying to get me to be more of a hardcore Taang shipper. 😉 No, I'm kidding. I know you love them. I love them too! 💛

Oh, this playlist was so sweet to make! I have so many E.M.O.T.I.O.N.S now. (Explanations below the cut to save space.)

Wildflowers by Tom Petty

Seven Wonders by Fleetwood Mac

Fools by Lauren Aquilina

Why Can't I? by Liz Phair

The Louvre by Lorde

Precious Metal Girl by Weezer

Doors Unlocked and Open by Death Cab for Cutie

Wild Heart by Mumford & Sons

From Afar by Vance Joy

My Arms Were Always Around You by Peter Bradley Adams

Send me a playlist title and I’ll give you 5-10 songs I think would go on it!

Wildflowers

You belong among the wildflowers/You belong somewhere close to me/Far away from your trouble and worries/You belong somewhere you feel free

This song makes me think of the moment Aang asks Toph to teach him earthbending and join the Gaang. I also think it could carry over into plans they make post-war and could represent their adulthood. Really, it's a song that feels applicable to them at any point in their lives. And it goes both ways! They'd want one another to have freedom and they'd want to be by each other's side in that freedom.

Seven Wonders

So it's hard to find/Someone with that kind of intensity/You touched my hand, I played it cool

I see this as a "Toph is pining" song. It's probably a post-war POV for her. She's been around the world with Aang and has developed feelings for him, and she knows that she'll never find this kind of adventure with anyone else. Maybe they part ways for a time after the comet. They're still friends, of course, but their post-war plans take them in different directions and Toph has that big "OH" moment.

Fools

Friends, I watched us as we changed/The feelings in my headspace rearranged/I want you more than I've wanted anyone/Isn't that dangerous?

Best friends to lovers anyone? Honestly, I could see this song from either of their POVs. If we're talking Zutara, Sukka, Taang endgame, I see Toph and Aang taking the longest to get there. Possibly even into their mid-to-late twenties. Everything is just so good and easy between them, you know? They have an easy camaraderie and they can tell one another anything, but they know something is there underneath it all and they're terrified. Katara and Zuko are probably the ones who finally tell them that they need to have The Talk.

Why Can't I?

Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?/Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?

Mutual-pining-but-they're-with-other-people, anyone??? I mean, you could even tie this into the previous situation. Toph and Aang are such good friends and they can't hang on to significant others because other people find their closeness weird. The vibes they throw off around one another are just a big red flag to anyone else who wants to date them. And they're like, "No! We're just best friends! I don't get butterflies! My breath isn't taken away by the most mundane moments! THIS IS FINE!"

The Louvre

But we're the greatest/They'll hang us in the Louvre//Okay I know that you are not my type/(Still I fall)/I'm just the sucker who let you fill her mind

Ah, yes. This one is a Toph POV for sure. She's in denial, you know? "He's not my type! I'm not into him!" But her heart just starts hammering whenever Aang comes around. She gets so caught up in him. And one day she gives in and decides to make a move and... Broadcast the boom boom boom boom and make 'em all dance to it. 😉

Precious Metal Girl

'Cause you're my precious metal girl/My best friend in the world

Okay. I know this is super cheesy, but COME ON. She's his precious metalbender girl.

Doors Unlocked and Open

Down in the ocean of sound, sound/We'll live in slow-motion/And be free/With doors unlocked and open

This song gives me so many domestic!Taang vibes. They sleep with the windows open at night and they don't lock their doors and breezes curl throughout every corner of their house (which they built from stone themselves) and they're free.

Wild Heart

It took a wild heart to tame mine/And it took a wild heart to charm/Now a wild heart has gone and floored me/With this ever lasting glance

I see this going both ways! Aang has a wild heart in that he's so free and Toph's heart is wild in that she's Toph Fuckin' Beifong. It takes them to round out each other's edges and smooth one another's rough spots. They never fail to astound one another every day, whether it's with a new bending move or the sheer force of their love for one another. And maybe it took them a long time to settle down, but when they did it was with each other because they are perfect together.

From Afar

You lined me up/Across the room/Two falling sparks/One willing fool//It shouldn't come as a surprise/What I'm feeling, what I'm feeling now

Okay, I gave you Toph pining and mutual pining. Now... I give you AANG PINING. I personally headcanon Toph falling first but being very in denial about it. But if Aang were to fall first, this would be the song. And maybe it freaks her out because she's like, "We're friends! This is not what friends do! Why are you throwing off those vibes, Twinkletoes?" He doesn't understand how she's so surprised by his feelings, of course, because she's incredible. She's Toph Beifong. But she is because his first girlfriend was Katara and he's had other girlfriends like that since. And Aang is like, "Yeah. And they were all great in their own way. But they're not you." (Nobody look at me. I'm v emotional now.)

My Arms Were Always Around You

Your pretty little wings/They must be getting tired/Trying to keep your feet/Up off the ground//No more dreams/Must I sacrifice/My heart is safe/You'll guard it with your life

Ohhhhh. Yes. Okay. This song is for both of them. Toph gives Aang a safe space to ground himself and Aang gives Toph the freedom to chase her dreams without inhibition. They always have one another's backs. They're always there to support one another. At the end of a long day, they're always there to let the other sink into the comfort of their embrace. 🥺

[arce-elliot]

Magnus Archives - First Impressions (126-150)

Season 4 is a doozy, but we’re gonna make it through I swear. As usual, as an intro, I had about 75% of the show already spoiled for me and now I’m getting through it and recording my initial comments. Here we gooooo

EP 126 (Sculptor's Tool): - good lord lady leave Gabriel alone he's just trying to learn - ah yes Sannikov Land, my favorite amusement park, I hear their rollercoasters are killer - it's nice that Martin has a pet, even if it is just a tape recorder - hey Peter kick rocks EP 127 (Remains to be Seen): - Ah yes, another letter to Jimmy Magnet - "I want that tree obliterated" - alkjflaskdf this poor random man - Basira's trying that's something - EXCUSE YOU RAT MAN - basIRA TF U DOIN EP 128 (Heavy Goods): - JON LEVELLED UP NICE - and so ends the story of our little cockney couriers :C EP 129 (Submerged) - God can Martin and Jon please be friends again I'm suffering - as someone who lives in a hurricane area this is funny EP 130 (Meat): - wonder what entity this episode's about -  AYYYY GERTRUDE - meat pit meat piet meat pit - lmao as much as I rag on Gertrude she's great EP 131 (Flesh): - Jon just casually chopping his fingers off, what an opening - "Melanie I'm trying to chop off my fingers get out of my room" - "I need the Boneturner" "Well guess what buddy it's your lucky day" - "is it gonna hurt" IT'S YOUR RIBS, YOU STUPID MAN, OF COURSE IT'S GONNA HURT EP 132 (Entombed): - COFFIN TIME MOTHERFUCKERS - "i think i'm stuck" just keep digging, just keep digging, just keep digging digging digging - guess y'all are just gonna be roommates now - thank GOD now someone get them some damn water EP 133 (Dead Horse): - father son camping we love to see it - okay but "Everchase" sounds badass - can everyone get along for FIVE MINUTES EP 134 (Time of Revelation): - O O F MARTIN'S INTRO HURT ME PHYSICALLY - oh hey Adelard what's good - New Fear Unlocked! - damn that's a lot of bodies - I'm super interested in this fear study we're getting into - Martin yelling at a full ass avatar is hilarious - OH WAIT MARTIN LEFT THE RECORDERS AWWWWW EP 135 (Dark Matter): - time to go back to spaaaaace - that's an old ass tree - YOOOO THEY JUST TRAPPED SOME RANDOM DUDE ON THIS R O C K E T??????? THAT'S FUCKED OH MY GOOOOOD - Elias is such a s h i t EP 136 (The Puppeteer): - why are we all babysitting daisy she's grown - LMAO JON QUIT COMPELLING EVERYONE - spiiiiider tiiiiiime - jon and daisy being buddies now is actually v nice EP 137 (Nemesis): - OH is this the statement that Gertrude had sent over? Did she record it and just never send it back? - MURDER SHIP MURDER SHIP - nice try Slaughter better luck nex- well just nice try I guess - I mean hey Gertrude was right I guess - they DID have to blow up the Unknowing from the inside - also awwww Gertrude's attached to the lil emo man - ERIC DELANO MENTION I know we're approaching that episode and I am not ready actually EP 138 (The Architecture of Fear): - FINALLY THIS MOTHERFUCKER - lmao what a sad old man, him and leitner would be friends - damn I sure hope Jonah doesn't become an avatar of the eye, that would surely suck EP 139 (Chosen): - AYYYY AGNES! - DIY messiah - I feel so bad for Agnes - Jon is so upset about Martin :C EP 140 (The Movement of the Heavens): - "some weird monster disease" - comet boy's a zombie now, nice - YES THE RIB SCENE - Basira and Jon are gonna kill Santa EP 141 (Doomed Voyage): - oh this is a good title seeing as we were JUST planning to go somewhere - LMAO POOR BASIRA - Jon: my tape recorder senses are tingling - OH SPIRAL? - GOOD POINT JONATHAN!!!! Like I love Basira but he's right, they all can't keep wanting him to use his powers and then also being mad at him for not being human - In the same vein they can't keep praising Gertrude and then getting mad when he acts like her EP 142 (Scrutiny): - "I need to speak to a manager" - Martin: I've decided I am the manager now - "he look like shit? ah that's Jonathan" - awww this poor lady - "no one talks to me anymore" Martin that's not fair you're literally avoiding everyone EP 143 (Heart of Darkness): - there's seeing and then there's Seeing - "eye's peeled" LMAO - ayyyy astrophysics lady - jonny boy please stop trying to look at entity shit it hurts ur eyeballs - AYYY HELEN HOW ARE YOU - helen's just like "did you have fun with your playdate? okay go get your sister and get in the car, I'm making pot roast for dinner" EP 144 (Decrypted): - AYYY NUMBER STATIONS - I diagnose you with doom - Martin stop being a shit EP 145 (Infectious Doubts): - GERTRUDE IS INCREDIBLE AHHH - Gertrude: Banishment ritual complete Mother of Puppets: What was that? Gertrude: Banishment ritual? Mother of Puppets: Say it again, slow, just the first word Gertrude: ...Banishment- Mother of Puppets, binding her to Agnes: Wrong EP 146 (Threshold): - Door Time Door Time - OH IT'S THIS KID - okay funny haha aside I'm trying to be forgiving here but everyone constantly ragging on Jon and making excuses for everyone else is gross EP 147 (Weaver): - I SAID TO LEAVE THIS DUMP ALONE - hehe nice Daisy - stop wanting Jon to use his power and then get mad when it drains him for the love of GOD make up your MINDS - Annabelle is terrifying bye EP 148 (Extended Surveillance): - okay Basira is on my nerves rn but this is pretty great get his ass - god I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss Elias, Ben Meredith is a treasure - god I know why people say to take this season slowly it drains you - AUTO-CANNIBALISM, AMAZING EP 149 (Concrete Jungle): - love Professor Mansplain - okay to be fair if I saw a little stone snake I would also pick it up - I'm starting to feel like Martin like "OKAY PETER I GET IT THE EXTINCTION IS REAL" - "maybe he just needs some help" THEN WHY DON'T YOU HELP  HIM, MARTIN?? - lmao martin can go ghost now EP 150 (Cul-De-Sac): - "life is hard" me too Herman me too - the MOOSE - i miss when Jon and Melanie would actually get along sometimes rip