#and suffering from writer's block

[mah-o-daryaa]

The Cycle Repeats: Part VI

One of the key themes of the ATLA franchise is the concept of the Avatar; master of all 4 elements, the fusion of humanity and Raava, the spirit of light and order, whose sole duty is to bring balance to the world, and be the bridge between both the physical and spiritual realms. Along with this comes the idea of reincarnation, which is the premise of the Avatar Cycle, the idea that the Avatar reincarnates in a cyclic order in any of the four nations (fire, air, water, earth). Another concept related to the Avatar Cycle (although originating from the fandom) is the idea of the Avatar fixing the mistakes of their past life, which is often indicated in differences in both habitual circumstances and personalities between both predecessor and successor, and therefore differences in morality.

But what if I were to tell you that the saying "history repeats itself" is also true among Avatar incarnations? Not exactly going the same way, but rather parallels between the lives, personalities, and accomplishments (and failures) of past lives?

In this series of metas, I will be going over parallels (or in some cases, foils) between certain pairs of Avatars that lived decades, or even centuries apart, and yet could not have ever been more similar.

Equivalent Elements II: Avatars Aang and Yangchen

"Aang was an Air Nomad born in 12 BG and the Avatar during the Hundred Year War, succeeding Avatar Roku and preceding Avatar Korra. As the Avatar of his time, he was the only person capable of using all four bending arts: airbending, waterbending, earthbending, and firebending. He was also one of a select few Avatars and one of the first in many cycles to learn the ancient art of energybending as well as the first Avatar known to have actively used the technique."

Yangchen was the Air Nomad Avatar succeeding Avatar Szeto and preceding Avatar Kuruk. She grew up in a rather isolationist time for the four nations in the aftermath of the Platinum Affair. After mastering all the elements in her youth, she was eager to make a difference in the world despite her inexperience. Following her confrontation with General Old Iron in Tienhaishi, Yangchen resolved to adapt to the complex political strategy of the four nations, using manipulation, espionage, and deceit to her advantage in an era where loyalty was bought rather than earned.

Here's a thing people need to understand: No two people are exactly the same, inside or out. They might come from a different background, they might look or dress different, they might behave differently, they might even hate ATLA (which is just not cool). And yet, all humans have the same desire: good health and success. They just achieve these goals via different means.

In ATLA, the Avatar's sole goal is to bring balance to both worlds, but each Avatar achieve this goal differently. This is true for both Aang and Yangchen, as despite being from the same nation, unlike their respective successors, they differ significantly in their personal morals.

First, let's get the similarities out of the way. Both Aang and Yangchen are Air Nomads (hailing from the Southern and Western Air Temples respectively) and therefore grew up surrounded by monks or nuns. Both had an older monk/nun and looked up to said figure as a family member (Aang had Monk Gyatso as a father figure, and Yangchen had Jetsun as an older sister). Gyatso and Jetsun were also revered in their own right as spiritual leaders; however, they both sacrificed themselves to defend their fellow people (Gyatso took down at least a dozen Fire Nation soldiers during Sozin's Comet, whereas Jetsun died while accompanying Yangchen during her first journey to the Spirit World). Both were identified at young ages (12 and 11 respectively); although they both began mastery of the four elements later. Finally, both Aang and Yangchen were involved in worldwide crises during their respective tenures at young ages (Aang ended the Hundred Year War at 12 (or 112, depending on how you look at it) and Yangchen was involved in the Platinum Affair at 17).

However, as I mentioned above, Aang and Yangchen differ in morality. Aang grew up believing that all life is sacred, and while Yangchen also had the same belief initially (as seen with her confrontation with General Old Iron), she grew to slowly give them up overtime, believing that being detached from worldly affairs was a detriment to the Avatar's duty to the world. Aang was reluctant to kill Ozai because of his title as the last airbender, and he felt a lot of pressure trying to uphold the legacy of the Air Nomads on his shoulders. Yangchen, on the contrary, had no such pressure, but rather slowly gave up on her spirituality to become the Avatar (she had a freaking god-complex! Who in Tui's gills gave her the right?!).

I think this conversation between them in Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters (3:19) is the perfect example of their dichotomy:

Aang: Avatar Yangchen, the monks always taught me that all life is sacred. Even the life of the tiniest spider-fly caught in its own web. Yangchen: Yes. All life is sacred. Aang: I know, I'm even a vegetarian. I've always tried to solve my problems by being quick or clever. And I've only had to use violence for necessary defense. And I've certainly never used it to take a life. Yangchen: Avatar Aang, I know that you're a gentle spirit, and the monks have taught you well, but this isn't about you. This is about the world. Aang: But the monks taught me that I had to detach myself from the world so my spirit could be free. Yangchen: Many great and wise Air Nomads have detached themselves and achieved spiritual enlightenment, but the Avatar can never do it. Because your sole duty is to the world. Here is my wisdom for you: Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs, and do whatever it takes to protect the world.

(Let's just ignore the fact that Aang is clearly lying about not killing anyone, shall we?)

This conversation makes it obvious that Yangchen's dark side isn't necessarily the culmination of the Anti-Air Nomad, but rather what Aang could have been had he actually killed Firelord Ozai as planned: powerful and venerated, but having long given up spirituality.

To add insult to injury, if you've read the Kyoshi novels, there's actually a glaring reason why Yangchen's advice wouldn't have worked in the long run: Kuruk. In Shadow, it's revealed that Yangchen neglected the spirits, which led to an increase in dark spirits crossing to the mortal world and attacking humans in revenge. Kuruk (then known as the greatest hunter and tracker in history) was forced to hunt them down and (because spiritbending wasn't invented yet) kill them. This caused his physical, mental, and spiritual health to rapidly decline, until he finally died at 33. Had Yangchen treated both sides fairly, her successor would have been spared (yes, her actions killed him). Aang thought that, had he actually killed Ozai, not only would he have broken his vow to the sanctity of life, and thus his culture would become extinct, but (if the Avatar can actually connect to their past lives' memories) he would've also indirectly harmed his successor (Korra) the way Yangchen did to Kuruk.

(Although this is debateable, if this is true then Aang would've either been traumatized to the Spirit World and back, or gathered the courage to call Kuruk out for lying to him. My bet's on the former.)

Therefore, I can conclude that while Aang and Yangchen are from the same nation, this isn't a guarantee that they are exactly the same person. Their different circumstances, and consequently their different views on the world and their duties, helped to shape their unique identities. In the next past, I'll discuss both the similarities and differences between Avatar Aang and his successor Korra, and discussing how the Avatar's tenure can shape that of his/her successor.

Yes, Zuko, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not finished yet? I still need to get to the big part!

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[bluewolfangel01]

-The way to a demon's true form is cuddles-

When comfortable and very relaxed, and mainly alone with mc/you, the demon brothers shift into their demon forms, on purpose or not, and you can't change my mind about that

I imagine when cuddling or sleeping with Levi or Belphie and they'll let their demon forms out, they'll curl up slightly and wrap their tail around you

Levi's tail will wrap his tail mostly around the legs and arms, and maybe if he's a bit more needy then normal, around the torso

Belphie's tail will wrap around any and everywhere, he'll even let you use the fluffy bit of his tail as a pillow or cuddle buddy sometimes the tail will even move on its own to be held by you but Belphie will never admit it

Sadly Satan's tail is too sharp to be allowed to be cuddle with, unless precautions are taken, but if there's a nice plush blanket wrapped around you or his tail then it can be cuddled with

When cuddling or sleeping with Mammon or Lucifer and their demon forms make an appearance, they tend to wrap their wings and arm(s) around you

Mammon being the clingy boy he is, likes to fully wrap both of his arms and both of his wings around you, he requires to be held or doing the holding there is no other way (unless you just don't care to have demon form cuddles)

Lucifer is okay with almost any cuddling position (he's a bit iffy if you want to be big spoon though) he's happy as long as he's holding you to some capacity, although his two favorite ones are where he is big spoon and he'll wrap his wings and arms around you or the other where he'll hold you with an arm and 2 of his wings

Although Asmo and Beel both have wings their wings are not as sturdy and a tad more delicate then Luci's or Mam's are which sadly means theres a slight risk if their wings are laid on, but that doesn't stop demon form wing cuddles

Idk why but I feel like Asmo probably has the weakest wings so he can't just wrap em around you while sleeping to make sure they dont get crushed, but he does like holding your hand and laying his wings on top of you while laying on his stomach if his demon form does decide to show itself

Although Beel's wings are stronger then Asmo's, he still has insect wings, so he can only lay them on top of you sadly, but when he's really happy/comfy, which mainly happens when he's holding you in his arms, his wings will make buzzing sounds

[zorlok-if]

I fucking loathe this ad that keeps showing up on my dash.

How about "help me fight the person who created you"?

[azen13]

Just read the Sunday short from the pawnshop and it was indeed everything I had hoped for!! 12/10, very tasty, would absolutely consume again. Stellaron Hunter Sunday is such a power trip. I hope darling has a good time ♡ I can't help but feel that while Sunday would let darling play video games with Silver Wolf and interact with Firefly, he would be wary about letting darling interact with Kafka or Blade...

CW: Yandere Themes, Spoilers for Penacony's Story Quest

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Oh, absolutely. Best believe that in the first few weeks after reuniting with you, Sunday barely lets you out of his grasp. He'll run his hands through your hair and whisper sweet nothings in your ear, his wings puffing up whenever one of the other Stellaron Hunters so much as comes near you.

I definitely agree that out of all of them, Blade is the one he tries to keep you away from the most. Ominous aura, brooding personality, mysterious past? Someone so gentle and pure as you cannot be around someone so unstable and amoral.

Kafka is 50/50. As long as she keeps her teasing and slyness at hand, Sunday is alright with you having some interactions with her. But the moment she starts flustering you and asking too many questions, Sunday is quick to pull you back in his arms, making some quick excuse as to why the two of you must leave.

Firefly I'm conflicted about. From what we saw in the story question (to the best of my knowledge at least), her views directly oppose Sunday's. Because of this, I want to believe that Sunday would actually try to keep you away from Firefly at all costs because of what she might inspire you to do. One spark can start a blaze, after all.

And then there's Silver Wolf. I think after a while, Sunday would likely be alright with you interacting with her. When he watches you playing video games, he'll try to understand what the two of you are playing, though his comprehension varies. Fighter games? When Silver Wolf hands him a controller, his character just flails around for a bit, before either you or Silver Wolf KO him. But give him a sandbox game, and he'll be making palaces and paradises just for you. The affection he shows as you all play is so glaringly obvious that eventually, Silver Wolf leaves.

[clancycosmic]

More Shenaniverse! Legend has agreed with Hyrule to avenge Sky! Do not worry! The blorbo was not harmed! Now, how will Legend exactly do this? Which item will he choose? Or if he can pick up Twilight to begin with?

[the-bloody-sadist]

ONLY SIX OF YOU WILL SEE THIS IM SURE BUT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WRITE AGAIN TODAY AND I AM MAKING PROGRESS ON THAT SINNER EPILOGUE THATS BEEN THE HANGNAIL OF MY LIFE LATELY AND I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH IVE FELT LIKE I CANT WRITE ANYMORE BECAUSE MY FOCUS AND MOTIVATION HAS BEEN FUCKED UP (since my brain is too aware that writing doesn’t make me money and new followers, ART does, so I’m wasting time) BUT I DONT KNOW MAYBE I STILL GOT IT. QUESTION MARK.

THATS ALL. 🫡

JUST KNOW IM WRITING THAT SINNER THING.

On a quieter note, I really miss having commentary and compliments on my writing. It was a huge source of fulfillment and comfort to me. I still get a nice trickle of it over the months from new Sinner readers mostly, but I miss when I was posting Dancing With Death on here (even though I loathe looking at the absolute dogshit versions that are up on tumblr because the formatting for posts is INSANE and I can’t copy-paste from my word doc for updated edits….oh god the minx sex chapter is so bad…oh god…) to the point where I’m ALMOST. Almost. Thinking about taking it out of Patreon lockdown and posting all of the chapters I have here? Because I’m really stuck on it and I think that any sort of feedback/interest might be the shove I need to start working on it again.

That is, if it even gets interest 🙂‍↕️ which is the issue. Do I want to sacrifice the small chance I have at professionally publishing DWD by posting everything on here and dooming it to self-publishing? Or do I want to keep it in the basement on Patreon where nobody engages with it except my best bud (who’s the biggest fan I love him so much) and I’m not sure if I’m making the right story choices….?

TOUGH DECISIONS. I DONT USUALLY POST ABOUT RANDOM THOUGHTS BUT IVE HAD TO CUT OFF SO MANY PEOPLE AFTER THE ELECTION AND IM A BIT LONELY. YOU UNDERSTAND IM SURE.

OKAY GOODNIGHT SLEEP TIGHT MUAH SHOULD I SING YOU A LITTLE LULLABY?? NO???????? NO??? WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT?!?

[tamprongs-and-padsfoot]

The URGE to write an absolutely heart wrenching and angst-filled fanfic is KILLING ME RIGHT NOW. But do I have the motivation? Lmao no

[duskandstarlight]

169 unread asks and submissions. I guess this is what happens when you disappear huh?

[trashisstillhere]

Akari: *zoning out*

Serenity: "Uh.. Akari?"

Tai: "Yeah don't worry about her, she's zoning out."

I feel her honestly. I too zone out sometimes :]

Yeah I did the Ninja Tai, hope that’s okay!

[headfullof-ideas]

I saw @dark-orca-dynasty draw an incorrect quote with Ant and Fontaine in it, remembered the actual hundreds of incorrect quotes I’ve compiled, some of which wound up posted to Ao3, further remembered I know how to draw, and decided to draw a few of them. I have plenty more beyond these three and very well may just draw more

[missdarhk]

GUESS WHOS FINALLY WRITING AGAIN GUESS WHO GUESS WHO

[ghoulbrain]

i finished the draft for the first chapter of my medieval fantasy ghoulcy fic and i just hope folks are ready for this to become my entire personality. preview under the cut!

The walk was littered with blackened torches, this part of the dungeon rarely patrolled. Maximus continued until he was at the end–the last cell. It was silent inside. He glanced at King Henry, who nodded solemnly, his own eyes focused on the darkness. He lifted his torch through the bars, partially illuminating the pitch black cell.

A figure laid flat on the floor at the edges of the light, face covered by a weathered wide brimmed hat. Their hands were folded over their sternum, their ankles crossed. Their cloak was splayed beneath them in a tattered mess, the fabric crawling across the stone floor like reaching tendrils. They wore a pauldron on their shoulder that boasted long, sharp spines. Their armor was so dark, it didn’t glint in the firelight. It swallowed it. 

There was no fog of breath, no sign of life within the figure. Maximus felt a chill of nervous anticipation roll up his spine. While ghouls were aplenty, an affliction of the cursed magic surrounding the kingdom of Vaultence, there was only one entity that was referred to solely as The Ghoul, and for the first time in his life, Maximus was looking directly at him.

King Henry stepped forward, cloaked in heavy furs to abate the chill of the dungeon. “Rise, Ghoul,” he said, standing closer to the bars than Maximus was comfortable with.

There was no answer. The figure did not move.

The king’s lips pursed. “I know you can hear me.”

Deep laughter echoed in the darkness. Slowly, stiffly, as if reanimating from death, the Ghoul rose into a sitting position, hand catching his hat to slide it atop his bald head, turning to look at them. It took everything in Maximus not to wince at the sight of him.

The Ghoul’s eyes were deep set, pitch black in the shadows cast by the fire. His skin was dry and gnarled, lips pulled in such a way that his yellowed teeth were perpetually on display. In the center of his face, a great black hole served as his nose.

“Well, well, well…” The Ghoul drawled in a low oily voice. He had the accent of a man from the Outer Ring of the kingdom, where the livestock and crops were farmed. “How long’s it been this time, Hank?”

[angels-creative]

alignment chart 2/??

[mythicalmagical-monkeyman]

MK: You can eat a block of cheese or work on your play, which one are you gonna do? Macaque: *a known lactose intolerant person* eat a block of cheese clearly MK: *facepalms*

(@/i-am-a-fan be like :3/j)

[opttagoyeo]

Naruto: I'm home, Hinata!

Hinata: Welcome home, Naruto-kun!

Hinata: Would you like to take a bath first?

Naruto: Sure! thanks a lot Hinata!

after that>>>

Naruto: I'm super refreshed!

Hinata: Naruto-kun, would you like some coffee, milk or m-me?

Naruto: *mouth hangs open* *towel falls dramatically on the ground*

Naruto: S-say WHAT, Hinata?! *flustered*

Hinata: Uhm, I asked you Naruto-kun if you would like coffee, milk or tea?

Naruto: A-ah.. AH! ah *chuckling awkwardly* ! *hand on his neck* Oh, a tea would be nice, Hinata! *embarrassed to the core* *flushed face*

'What the heck is wrong with me? ' - Naruto

'He almost caught that! How can I proceed to tell him without fainting?! ' - Hinata

end.